Its no secret that I love my veggies- and that I love hosting brunch…for really ANY reason. It’s your birthday? Let’s have a brunch! It’s Saturday? Let’s have a brunch! It’s President’s Day? Let’s have a brunch! You get the idea…brunch is my favorite meal to cook, to eat, and to host. So, I am always trying to come up with fun new menu items so that I don’t bore my friends and family.
I made this egg bake for a family brunch- and though I had a lot of biscuit and gravy lovin’ folks around the table- this healthy, colorful egg bake was quite a hit!
I served it with a simple sweet potato hash, some lovely maple glazed bacon, and a my banana oat muffins for good measure! The veggies load it full of vitamins, fiber and beauty…the eggs add protein and yumminess to make this the perfect breakfast bake…its super easy to make- and the veggies can be roasted ahead of time so that all you have to do is heat up the oven, crack the eggs and bake!
Superfood Egg Bake
1/2 C sweet onion, cut into 1″ pieces
1 /2 C yellow, red or orange bell pepper, cut into 1″ pieces
1/2 C zucchini, cut into 1″ pieces
1/2 C yellow squash, cut into 1″ pieces
1 C Kale, stems removed, leaves torn into bite size pieces
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
a sprinkle of paprika or cayene pepper depending on how much you like spice!
6-8 large eggs
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare your vegetables. Spray an OVEN SAFE pan with cooking spray. *I like to use my family’s old iron skillet…you can use anything you would like- just remember the handle will be VERY hot when you take it out of the oven!
Place all of the veggies **except for the kale** into the pan and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, give the veggies a stir, add the salt and pepper and the kale. Roast for another 10-15 minutes.
Now, carefully crack your eggs on top of the veggie mixture, spacing them evenly throughout the pan.
Bake for 5-7 minutes…until the eggs are cooked the way you like them. I made this for a crowd that did not like their eggs super runny- so I baked it for about 7 minutes. If I were making it just for Gavin and I, I would have done about 5 minutes.
This is great served with a quick sweet potato hash…or whole grain toast.
Strawberries make me think of summer…and summer makes me think of long weekends at the lake…and long weekends at the lake make me think of family, sunshine, relaxation, and delicious food! As we are packing up to head to North Georgia for Memorial Day, I have been busy baking some fun summer treats to bring along.
Though they are made with white flour, and white sugar…they are balanced by nutrient packed berries, protein rich yogurt, and perfectly light apple sauce. The brown butter topping adds just the right amount of decadence to make these muffins feel like a special breakfast time treat.
Strawberry Brown Butter Muffins
makes 12 muffins
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup 0% plain greek yogurt
1/3 cup apple sauce
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
Brown Butter Topping
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into little cubes
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and prepare your muffin tin with non stick spray of muffin liners.
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the sugar, milk, greek yogurt and apple sauce. Mix well. Next, combine the dry and wet ingredients. When they are well mixed, gently fold in the strawberries.
Now, fill your muffin tin and set it aside. In a small bowl, pinch together the butter, sugar and flour until it forms a crumble (make sure that there are no big chunks of butter).
Now sprinkle even amounts on each muffin.
Bake for 20-25 minutes- just until the tops are firm and the butter starts to slightly brown.
When I think of comfort food, meatloaf is one of the first things that pops into my mind. Growing up, my Mema was famous for her meatloaf- moist and delicious- served with mashed potatoes and drenched in brown gravy made from the drippings. Holy cow, it was good! When a meal in your family is that iconic, its a pretty good rule to not mess with it- so, when I set out to make meatloaf- I went an entirely different direction…toward the flavors of India!
This meatloaf pairs perfectly with a big pile of basmati rice, cooked with golden raisins and sprinkled with chopped nuts. The white meat turkey keeps it nice and lean- the plethora of veggies keeps in moist- and the lovely array of spices keep it interesting!
This dish has become a staple in our house- hopefully your family will love it too!
Tandoori Turkey Meatloaf
1/2 C onion, finely chopped
1/2 C celery, finely chopped
1/2 C carrot, grated (not packed)
16 oz white meat ground turkey breast
1 egg
1/4 C bread crumbs or 1 piece of bread
1/8 C milk
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t cumin powder
1/2 t tumeric
1 t curry powder
1/2 t ground coriander
2 T tomato paste
1 T worcestershire sauce
Curried Ketchup
4 T tomato paste
1 t cumin
1 t curry powder
1 t brown sugar
1 T apple cider vinegar
2 T water
1/2 t sea salt
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a medium pan over medium high heat, combine the onion, celery and carrot. Cook until tender…about 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the turkey, egg, bread crumbs, milk (**if you are using a slice of bread, soak the bread in the milk and then crumble it in**), and all of the remaining spices and ingredients. Now, pour the veggie mixture on top. Using your hands, kneed and combine the mixture until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the turkey.
Prepare a large cookie sheet by spraying it with cooking spray or covering it with aluminum foil. Using your hands, shape and pack the meatloaf.
Now, make your Curried Ketchup topping. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Using the back of a spoon or a brush, coat the top of your meatloaf with ketchup. Any extra can be reserved for serving!
Bake the loaf at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving!
*To make the rice, combine basmati rice, water, salt and raisins. Cook until tender and then top with your favorite chopped nut!
This soup is great any time of year. The hearty lentils help it to feel warm and comforting in the fall and winter…the beautiful orange color and light flavors make it a lovely spring and summer dish. There is no need for meat- no need for sides- this soup provides all of the protein, veggies and carbs you will need to fuel your body- in a very tasty way!
Mediterranean Lentil Soup
4 servings
onion 1 C, chopped
carrot 1/2 C, chopped
celery 1/2 C, chopped
garlic 3 cloves, minced
ginger 1 inch, minced
1 T tomato paste
1 t salt
1 t curry
1/2 t tumeric
1/2 t cumin
1 C red lentils
2 C water
1 C chicken stock
In a large pot over medium heat, combine the onion, celery and onion and sauté for five minutes. Now, add the garlic and ginger and cook for another 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, salt, curry, turmeric and cumin.
Add the lentils, water and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes.
I like to mix up my dressings pretty frequently, but this one is a consistent favorite. Its tangy and light, but also sweet. It goes great with fruit, nuts, and any kind of crumbly cheese.
Seasoned Rice Vinaigrette
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 T dijon mustard
2 T brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1 clove garlic
Throw all of these ingredients in a magic bullet or blender, and blend for about 30 seconds…until everything is mixed well and creamy looking.
Simple Salad
2 C Leafy greens
2 T blue cheese
1 T chopped walnuts
1 T dried cranberries
1/2 Fuji apple
1/8 thinly sliced onion
thinly sliced chicken breast
Throw it all in a bowl, drizzle with dressing and toss it together!
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Salsa is such a great, healthy way to add loads of flavor and brightness to pretty much anything. It punches up the flavor of eggs, makes an otherwise boring chicken breast interesting and delicious…serves as a fresh and tasty salad dressing, or obviously tastes amazing with chips and tortillas.
I love most every kind of salsa…but one of my favorites is tart and tangy tomatillo salsa! Y-U-M. The tomatillos offer such a nice, different punch…they set this salsa apart from regular tomato salsas…and roasting the tomatillos and a pablano pepper add a nice, smoky flavor the the salsa!
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
8 tomatillos
1 pablano pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 large onion
1 t salt
1 t brown sugar
Preheat the oven to broil. Cut the tomatillos in half, cut the pablano in half and remove the seeds and cut the onion half in half. Place them all on a cookie sheet, seed side down, and spray the tops with cooking spray. Sprinkle everything with salt.
Allow it to cook until the tops turn brown and bubbly.
Now, just toss everything in the blender. Add the garlic, remaining salt, and brown sugar.
Blend for just a bit…be sure to not overblend! You want a nice chunky salsa. Now, pour it on whatever you like! If you want a little spice, throw in some jalapeno!
One of my favorite treats is a great sushi date with Gavin. Not many things top a beautiful plate of sashimi for me…but sushi isn’t just about the raw fish…the experience isn’t complete without warm miso soup and cool, refreshing ginger dressing topped salad.
I CRAVE ginger dressing- but I think that it is pretty much impossible to find a store bought dressing that is anything near the lovely flavor of the restaurant version. So, I whipped out my blender and decided to experiment!
Here is what I came up with: it is bright and flavorful, super healthy, and the perfect topping to any salad…or the perfect add in to any stir fry!
Carrot Ginger Dressing
2 medium carrots
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger
1 clove garlic
2 T soy sauce
1/4 C seasoned rice vinegar
3 T water
1 t sesame oil
1 t fresh cracked pepper (I like it really peppery- you can reduce this or leave it out all together!
Throw all of the ingredients into a blender- and blend until smooth! Wa-la!
When I want a fix of something sweet, cold, and satisfying I head into the kitchen and pull out the blender. Now, smoothie’s quite as creamy and satisfying as say, a big bowl of ice cream, or a slice of blueberry cheese cake…BUT, this one is pretty darn close…if you ask me!
You get the creamy, tart flavor of cream cheese and the sweet, lovely flavor of blueberries…and if you like, the added satisfaction of a nice graham cracker crumble. I like the serve this smoothie in a bowl…because it just seems more like a dessert that way!
8 cubes of ice
1/2 C blueberries
4 T Fat Free or Reduced Fat Cream Cheese
2 T Greek Yogurt
2 packets of Truvia (or 1 T sugar)
Juice of 1/4 a lime
1/2 t vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
3/4 C Milk (I used unsweetened Almond milk)
Put it all in the blender and blend it up until its smooth and creamy! Top with graham cracker crumbs or granola…or your favorite cereal.
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I’m back…and I have finally been cooking away! I am loving all of the fresh yumminess that I am finding at the Farmer’s Market lately. I’ve had so much fun experimenting with different fresh veggies and trying to make things that I have never made before.
I am a Southern girl- so of course I LOVE fried green tomatoes…but I wanted to come up with a way to get the crunchy, slightly sour, fresh tasting goodness of a fried green tomato, but with out all of the added fat and calories that come with deep frying. I set out to make a “fried-ish” green tomato…and it worked…it got the Gavin Tarquinio stamp of approval!
Healthified Fried Green Tomatoes
1/4 C bread crumbs
1/4 C corn meal
1/4 C flour (I used whole wheat)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1 egg white
1/8 C water or milk (I used water)
3 medium size green tomatoes
In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, corn meal, flour, garlic powder, slat and cayenne pepper. Mix everything together.
Next, on a plate, crack one egg (letting just the white fall to the plate) and 1/4 C water or milk. Use a fork and whisk together until it is combined well.
Slice the tomatoes to about a 1/2 inch thick. Coat both sides of the tomato with the egg white mixture and then dredge both sides in the bread crumb mixture.
Heat a medium non-stick skillet to medium and spray with olive oil cooking spray. Once the pan is hot, place a few (do not over crowd) tomatoes in for about 1 minute and then COVER the plan. Allow to cook about 1 more minute and then flip the tomatoes. Leave them uncovered while to opposite side cooks!
Now, for the AMA-ZING topping (I think this part is a MUST!) You know that I have a slight obsession with figs…and that I recently made some great preserves (you can buy fig preserves at any grocery store as well). So, I thought the tartness of the tomatoes would go well with the sweetness of figs…and be made even better with a little goat cheese and walnuts. It is not only good on the tomatoes but amazing on chicken or pork!
Fig and Goat Cheese Crumble
1/4 C walnuts
1/4 t salt
1/4 C fig preserves
1/4 C goat cheese (crumbled)
Gently crumble all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and then top the tomatoes…yum!!
]]>Now, I am not typically a deviled egg fan. They seem pretty boring…and mayo-y and well, just not too crave worthy. But, a few years ago, Gavin and I were invited to JCT Kitchen for lunch. The people with us insisted on ordering the deviled eggs with country ham as an appetizer…if I would have known how amazing our appetizer would be, I would have been REALLY excited. But, I wasn’t, I didn’t have high hopes!
A beautiful plate of deviled eggs arrived at our table, and I reluctantly dug in. The flavor explosion that occurred in my mouth was a much welcome surprise…I was in love…and I knew that no deviled egg would ever measure up to these.
Since the JCT version are a little pricey…and since I now crave them, I decided I should try to recreate them!
I read some recipes online, tried to pick out the flavors in the JCT version, and came up with a recipe that I think is pretty close! They are creamy…with a nice added crispness from toasted proscuitto, and perfect for any party…or lunch, or snack! They are just plain good.
Fancified Deviled Eggs
12 large eggs
3 Tablespoons mayo (I used olive oil mayo)
3 Tablespoons room temp cream cheese
3 Tablespoons room temp goat cheese
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
1 large clove of FRESH crushed garlic
2 small Clausen pickles, diced really small (you can use others but these are definitely best!)
3 pieces of proscuitto
1 green onion (just the green part) finely chopped
Place the eggs in a large saucepan filled with water (one inch above the eggs) and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once the water boils, turn off the heat and let the eggs stand of 10 minutes. Put the cooked eggs into an ice water bath until chilled, and then peel them!
Once the eggs are peeled, cut them in half, length wise and set the yolks aside.
In a medium bowl, mix the mayo, cream cheese, goat cheese, dijon, salt, pepper, garlic and pickle until smooth. Next, add the egg yolks and them, using an electric mixer, beat until creamy.
Now, place the egg whites on a serving platter. Fill a baggie with the yolk mixture (if you have an icing tip, insert it to make the filling prettier…if not, just cut off the corner of the bag and pipe it that way). Fill each white and them place the platter in the fridge to chill.
Next, place the proscuitto on a baking sheet and bake them in a 350 degree oven until crispy…about 7 minutes. Remove the prosiutto from the oven and allow it to cool. Then, break it into 24 jagged looking pieces.
Once the eggs are chilled, remove them from the fridge and top each one with a piece of proscuitto and a sprinkle of green onion.
