Cheesy Polenta with Poached Eggs, Greens, and Bacon

So happy it is Friday once again!  Sometimes it feels like the week will never end and it drags on a lot like the GIF I posted below.  My mission in Hood River this weekend is go to antique stores and try and find the perfect lantern hook so that I can finally set up this beautiful copper hanging lamp that my fiance got me for Christmas.  Copper is one of my favorite metals and my goal is to have a kitchen that will have accents of copper all over it whether it be in the design or actual kitchen utensils.  It would be absolutely amazing to one day have an entire copper pan set, but I think only people like Juila Child can afford that kind of luxury...so in the mean time I will stick to copper accents.  Speaking of dreams next week we have a meeting with a home buying specialist through The Portland Housing Center and we are going to get into the nitty gritty of budgeting and qualifying for a home loan.  I think it will be a positive meeting and put us in the perfect position for our next step which is talking with a loan officer and qualifying for a mortgage.  Now onto the food, I adapted this wonderful recipe from Bon Appetit and it was a wonderful evening of breakfast for dinner!

Serves 4

The Ingredients
4 large eggs, room temperature
Kosher salt
1 cup polenta (not instant)
4 ounces bacon, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic chili sauce
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 large shallot, finely chopped
8 cups torn red Swiss chard leaves (from 1 large bunch)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces sharp cheddar, grated
1/4 cup white vinegar


The Process
1.  Bring 4½ cups water and white vinegar to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan. Crack an egg into a small bowl, then gently slide egg into water. Repeat with remaining eggs, waiting until whites are opaque before adding the next one (about 30 seconds apart). Poach until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to paper towels as they are done; set aside.


2.  Bring same saucepan with new water (4 1/2 cups) to a boil and add a couple pinches of salt. Whisking constantly, gradually add polenta. Reduce heat to low, cover saucepan, and cook polenta, whisking occasionally and scraping bottom to prevent sticking, until tender, thick, and creamy, 25–40 minutes, depending on coarseness.


3.  Meanwhile, cook bacon in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, until bacon is crisp, 8–10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a small bowl with slotted spoon. Combine garlic chili sauce and red wine vinegar in another small bowl. 


4.  Pour off all but 2 Tbsp. fat from skillet; cook shallot, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add chard in batches, letting it wilt slightly before adding more, and cook, tossing, until completely wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper, and some chii-soaking vinegar. 


5.  Remove polenta from heat and season with salt and lots of pepper. Add butter, then gradually add cheese, whisking until melted and combined; thin with a bit more milk if too thick. 


6.  Divide polenta among bowls; top with chard, poached eggs, and bacon. Season eggs with salt and pepper.

Crustless Caprese Quiche

Well our all day home buying class we super informational and I feel like I have a much better handle on everything that goes into buying a house now.  I feel lucky because we have a lot of knowledgeable friends and family that can help us with this process and fixing the house up to be just the way we want it.  It was kind of nice being in that class all day because it has not stopped raining since last week it feels like and this weekend was no exception.  To help beat the rain Sunday I hung out with my two best friends and we made a fabulous brunch and talked all about life, it was just what I needed to help me decompress from the busy week.  Work has been pretty chaotic with our approaching conference, I leave for New Orleans in a little over a week and I sure don't feel prepared yet but I guess that is what this entire week is for.  Let's talk food, we made this recipe for our Sunday brunch and it was so healthy and delicious.  We paired it with my infamous garlic tahini kale salad.  Enjoy!

Serves 4-5

The Ingredients
½ of a small yellow onion, chopped (approximately ¼ cup)
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large Roma tomatoes, one with the seeds completely removed and chopped, the other sliced to desired thickness
⅓ cup packed fresh basil, chopped
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, shredded
4 large eggs
2 large egg white
¾ cup milk
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper


The Process
1.  Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray an 8" or 9" pie plate with non-stick spray. Set aside.

2.  Spray a large skillet with non-stick spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and garlic (and a pinch of salt and black pepper) and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, or until tender. Spoon onion and garlic into a medium bowl and allow to cool.

3.  Slice one of your tomatoes in half and scoop out as many of the seeds as you can (to prevent quiche from getting soggy). After seeds are removed, chop tomato and add to onion/garlic mixture.
Pack washed basil leaves into ⅓ cup measuring cup, then chop to desired size (I chopped mine quite small). Add chopped basil to onion/garlic and tomato mixture and stir well. Spoon this mixture into the bottom of your pie plate and spread into an even layer. Top with mozzarella and set aside.

4.  In a medium bowl whisk the eggs, egg whites, milk, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined. Pour the egg mixture evenly on top of cheese layer. Lay tomato slices gently on top of egg mixture (overlapping slices is fine). It is ok if egg mixture comes up over tomato slices. Sprinkle salt and black pepper on top of tomato layer.

5.  Bake for 50 minutes or until filling is set. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Summer has officially begun and boy does it feel like it in PDX, by this Saturday it is suppose to be 102 degrees in Portland.  We happened to be headed up the Columbia Gorge to an even hotter destination for my birthday this weekend too...we will just have to find a swimming hole!  This past extended weekend was amazing, we went on our yearly trip down to Manzanita, OR with my mom's side of the family.  It consisted of many beach walks, tons of ladder golf, and amazing food.  I adapted this recipe for Monday morning breakfast and it turned out super delicious.  In other news links have been found between eating fermented food and how it calms the nerves.  I already love fermented food and this is just another reason to add to the list!

Serves 10

The Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small red onion, cut in half vertically and thinly sliced
6 ounces (170 g) fresh baby spinach leaves
2 cups diced yellow potatoes
8 ounces (226 g) sliced mushrooms (I used shiitake and portobello)
9 large eggs, whisked
1-1/2 (228 g) cups crumbled Feta cheese
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
16 ounces (454 g) carton cottage cheese
1/2 cup (20 g) chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup (85 g) grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced


The Process
1.  Preheat the oven to 400° F/200° C.

2.  Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in the nonstick skillet, then sauté the red onion over medium heat. Add all the spinach and cover with the lid. Allow to sweat until the spinach starts to shrink, about 5 minutes. Drain off any liquid and transfer the spinach mixture to the prepared casserole dish.

3.  Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet, and add the potatoes and mushrooms. Sauté over medium heat until they have softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid.

4.  In the large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, Feta cheese, milk, cottage cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir in the potato and mushroom mixture. Pour over the spinach in the casserole dish. Sprinkle sharp cheddar cheese all over the top, then lay the tomato slices on top of the cheese.


5.  Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350° F/175° C and continue baking until the casserole is lightly browned and just set, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool about 5 minutes or so, then serve. (if top isn't golden enough broil for a couple minutes).

Beautiful Manzanita

Steak and Eggs with Caramelized Onions

As a foodie I do lots of research looking into local events, restaurants, and stores and this week I came upon Blind-Tasting Bingo at OMSI.  It looks so amazing, chef Ryan Morgan from Bon Appetit will be cooking all the tasters and people have to guess what they are eating while blind-folded.  Unfortunately I can't go this time but I hope it is a reoccurring event.  I also recently listened to an episode of America's Test Kitchen and it was all about Iceland and their cuisine and I now have a hold on the book they talked about North: The New Nordic Cuisine of Iceland .  I can't wait for our trip to Iceland to try all of the traditional and new foods.  It finally started raining in PDX again, we had so much sunshine for a while that I needed my rain back.  Rain is perfect soup weather which has inspired my dinner plans for tonight.  Onto the recipe, who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?  Created by yours truly.

Serves 2

The Ingredients
2 eggs
2 6oz petite sirloin steaks
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced in rings
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Steak sauce (optional)

The Process
1.  Salt and pepper steaks and set aside.

2.  Heat olive oil in a small skillet to medium heat, when hot add onions.  If onions start to brown right away turn the heat down.  These will cook for about 20 minutes.  At about 15 minutes add the balsamic vinegar.

3.  While onions are cooking heat up butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, when hot add steaks.  Cook on the first side for 5 minutes.  Then flip and cook 4 minutes (for a rare steak).  Take steaks off skillet and let rest.

4.  While onions and steaks are cooking and are almost done, heat olive oil another skillet over medium-high heat.  When hot add eggs and cook until desired done-ness, mine were over easy.

5.  Service with steak sauce drizzled over the top of the steak and eggs.

Meat Crust Quiche

This past weekend I had two of my lovely friends over for an awesome paleo brunch.  These two also follow the paleo lifestyle so it was fun to share methodologies and recipes with them.  Post brunch I had planned to garden all afternoon but of course Portland's "70 and sunny" afternoon turned into a manic rain and wind storm, might I add I'm still waiting for the sunny day to get some seeds planted.  In other news I'm headed to another book club meeting tonight, we were all reading The Monuments Men which turned out to be a super boring book so we switched mid-month.  I'm happy that I am part of such a wonderful group of women who accept change and encourage it, I have heard otherwise about other book clubs...  I found this recipe in a search for good paleo brunches, all of which seem to involve sweet potatoes and I think that gets a little old but this sweet potato plays a minor role in the dish.

Serves 4

The Ingredients
1 pound pork sausage
1 small sweet potato, diced
½ yellow onion, diced
2 cups fresh spinach
4 eggs, whisked
2 garlic clove, minced
1teaspoon garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon ground paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons bacon fat

The Process
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Now  make your sausage into a crust. In a pie plate and begin to press your sausage into the pan until it is even all around and pressed up to the rim of the plate.

3.  Place the pan on a baking sheet (in case of any spills) and in the oven, and bake for 18-20 minutes until meat presses back when you poke it. It doesn’t need to be completely cooked through, but pretty close.

4.  While your crust is baking, place 2 tablespoons of bacon fat into a saucepan over medium heat. Then add the minced garlic.

5.  Add in the chopped onions and sweet potatoes to the pan and mix. Once the onions begin to become translucent, sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on top and cover to help steam the potatoes and cook quicker.

6.  Once potatoes are tender after about 4-5 minutes, toss in the spinach and cover once more to help the spinach wilt.

7.  After a minute or two, once the spinach is wilted, remove your mixture from the pan and place in a bowl to let cool.

8.  When mixture is cooled, add in the eggs, garlic powder, ground paprika and a bit more salt. Mix well.

9.  After the crust is done baking, remove the excess oil that may be left behind, then pour your egg mixture on top of the meat crust. It’s just fine if some leaks over into the pan because the meat will shrink just a bit.

10.  Place the pan back into the oven and bake for 23-25 minutes. Once the middle pushes back when you poke it, it’s good to go.

11.  Let cool, cut and serve.
 

Spinach and Bacon Strata

I sure do love strata, hence this being the second one featured on my blog.  It is a really nice gourmet breakfast dish that can feed a lot of people for not a lot of money.  Plus it is really nice to make it the night before and then just pop it in the oven in the morning.  It definitely isn't a healthy meal but everyone needs a little bacon and cheese in their life sometimes.  My boyfriend and I made this during our last trip to the coast with his family and we didn't hear any complaints :)  The strata kept us nice and full so we were able to take HWY 101 home and hit up the Oregon Coast Aquarium, the jellyfish were the coolest by far!  I found and adapted this recipe from this blog. 

Serves 8-10

The Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups yellow onion, finely chopped
1 bag fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
8 cups cubed French bread, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2/3 cup Italian blend or Parmesan cheese, shredded
10 eggs
3 cups milk


The Process
1.  In pan skillet melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes or until soft.  Then add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and spinach and cook for 2 more minute.  Take off heat and set aside.

2.  Grease a 3-quart baking dish.  Layer the bottom of the dish with 1/3 of the bread, top with 1/3 of spinach and onion mixture, and 1/3 of the cheeses.  Repeat these layers twice more with bread, spinach, and cheese.

3.  Then in a medium bowl combine eggs, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Whisk together until well blended.

4.  Then pour the mixture over the layers of bread, cheese, and spinach.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 8 hours or up to 1 day.

5.  Remove dish from refrigerator (and remove plastic wrap) after these 8 hours and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake uncovered until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through about 45-55 minutes.  Then let stand for 5 minutes and serve.

<---Cutting up the bread and watching the cooking onions.

 

Strata

Quick and easy.  You read that right, yup quick and easy, no over-night time consuming setting in the fridge for this strata, just assemble and go!  Of course the bread is not as saturated and spongy as it would be if I let it soak all night, but I really like the texture of chewier bread in a strata, so I felt that this self-created strata was exactly what I had hoped for.  This strata was another one of my weekend cooking adventures to help make light of all the changing happenings in my life right now, and what followed the strata was pretty traumatic too! I made this breakfast for my lovely friend Erin and it was the morning after a fun night on the town and since her fiance was out of town I spent the night with her and her dog.  Little did we know her dog would get into my purse (post strata) and chew on my bottle of sleeping pills (because yes in fact I am an insomniac...not awesome).  So we proceeded to freak out not knowing if her dog had actually consumed any of the pills, and we had to make the dog throw up and all!  We wanted to call poison control, but did you know that to talk to someone they charge $65!!!! That is wrong and insane! Anyways long story short her dog is ok, but that was our post strata experience...good thing we had full bellies and brain food to stay on our toes and save her dog.  Definitely a scary situation that I hope doesn't happen to either of us again.  So here is the day saving strata.

Serves 4

The Ingredients
1 zucchini, shredded
1/4 cup cheddar, shredded 
1/4 cup mozzarella, shredded
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh italian parsley, finely chopped
4 eggs, beaten
3 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 medium size slices of sourdough bread, torn into little pieces
1/2 cup tomato, diced

The Process
 1.  Turn oven to 375 degrees and grease a medium size glass dish.

2.  In a large bowl thoroughly mix together zucchini, cheddar, mozzarella, onion, garlic, parsley, tomato, and bread.  Then put mixture into the glass dish.

3.  Next in medium bowl beat together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.  Take this mixture and pour it over the dry mixture in the glass dish.

4.  Put strata in oven and cook for 1 hour, then broil for 5 minutes or until golden brown top.  Serve hot!

While this isn't the healthiest dish, it is good that it is a breakfast item because then you have all day to work off the yummy cheese and bread.

Breakfast Bagel Sandwich

These bagel sandwiches were to die for!  Once again this is most definitely a fat kid recipe created at the beach with my lovely friends.  We could hardly move after eating these monsters.  Combined by yours truly.

Serves 3

The Ingredients
3 bagels (we had 10-grain Kettleman's bagels the best)
9 tablespoons scallion cream cheese (Kettleman's if possible), this is 3 tablespoons per sandwich
3 slices bacon, cooked
2 tablespoons bacon grease
1/2 bag fresh baby spinach
1/2 tomato, sliced in small pieces
3 eggs

The Process
1.  In skillet fry up 3 eggs (individually) in bacon grease.  Make sure the centers are still runny.

2.  Cook up bacon to preferred crispness.  Then begin toasting bagels.

3.  Put bacon grease in hot skillet and add spinach, cook for about 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted and covered in bacon grease.

4.  When bagels are done toasting put cream cheese on them, then stack on tomato slices, bacon chunks (torn apart), then fried egg, and then cooked spinach.

Also watch out because since the egg is still runny it will spurt everywhere so make sure you eat over your plate.  These were amazing and I want to eat them everyday!

Breakfast Casserole with Turkey Bacon

This recipe intrigued me the minute I found it.  Not only does it contain some of my favorite breakfast foods, but it is healthy!  I normally don't eat heavy breakfasts unless I go out to eat or it is a brunch.  But once again this was up in Hood River when my mission was to make sure my grandparents were well fed, so here it is:)

Serves 4 (it's deceiving)
Adapted from Cooking Light

The Ingredients
6 turkey bacon slices
1 cup red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (30 ounce) package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (10ish ounce) can of condensed 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
Cooking spray

The Process
1.  Spray cooking oil in large skillet and turn to medium heat, add turkey bacon and cook till crisp.  Take turkey bacon out of pan and set aside.

2.  In same pan add red onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.  (Add more cooking spray when needed throughout cooking process).

3.  Then add potatoes to skillet and cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.  Preheat oven to 350F, and spray 11 x 7 cooking dish with cooking oil.

5.  In a big bowl combine crumbled turkey bacon, 1/2 cup sharp cheese, green onions, sour cream, salt, pepper, and soup and mix well.

6.  When potatoes are done add them to large bowl with mixture from above, mix well but gingerly.

7.  Put potato mixture into cooking dish and sprinkle the last 1/2 cup sharp cheese over the top.

8.  Cover dish with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove tin foil and bake for another 30 minutes until slightly crispy and brown on top.

It was really really tasty!  Not to mention it kept me going all morning.  Here are some nutritional facts:
Calories:293, Fat:10g, Sat Fat:4.8g, Carbs:41g, Protein:12.2g, Fiber:4.7g
So you can see for such a delicious breakfast casserole it is pretty darn healthy

Picture from: http://www.cookinglight.com/food/top-rated-recipes/five-star-casseroles-00400000039138/page7.html

Huevos Rancheros

Here is one of my own creations again.  I decided late sunday morning...well perhaps it was noon already hehe...that I needed some huevos.  My dad use to always make them for us as children and they were oh so tasty.  I also often get huevos in restaurants if I go out for breakfast, it is one of my standbys.  My other standbys are cornbeef hash, eggs benedict, chicken fried steak, and thanks to Helser's on Alberta St. potato pancakes!  Anyways with a meal like this I can't even count the many ways to create them...so here is my version.

Serves 2

Ingredients
2 white corn tortillas
2 large eggs
1 1/2 ounces of goat cheese
1/2 can black beans with juice
1/2 tablespoon of garlic salt
1/2 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
 Smart Balance (butter substitute)
Spray olive oil
Salsa
Sprinkle of cilantro
Tapatio

The Process
1.  Put beans with juice in small saucepan over medium low heat.

2.  Add garlic salt and cayenne pepper to beans and stir.

3. Heat  2 skillets one large and one medium.  Spray the medium skillet with oil and turn to medium heat.  Turn large skillet to medium high heat.

4.  Spread smart balance sparingly on both tortillas front and back, then put into large skillet when hot and brown each side about 1minutes each side.

5.  Add the 2 eggs to medium skillet when hot and cook to preference, in my case they were over easy, then set them aside.

6.  When the tortillas are browned on both sides generously put goat cheese on each tortilla (still in skillet) and turn to medium heat until cheese slightly melts or becomes mushy about 4 minutes.

7.  Beans are fully warmed up by this point, eggs are done and tortillas are ready.

8. Put tortilla on plate cheese side up.  Put two big spoonfuls of black beans on tortilla.  Next put egg on top of that.

9.  You can then add a little salsa, tear up a bit of cilantro for the top, and of course I always add Tapatio to most breakfast items....so feel free to SPICE IT UP!

Note: if you are feeling really hungry you will want two to yourself....so double the recipe.

Picture from: http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/sahuber/rpd/Egg%20Drop.html