EASY BAKED MINI-OMELETS

I see great possibilities with this little recipe. Not only is this the perfect way to use those bits and pieces of veggies, meat and cheese in your fridge, but each mini-omelet can be made to order. Another reason I like this recipe is that it can easily be doubled for a crowd and there is no standing over an omelet pan while your company is waiting for you!!

 

Picky-picky husband loves these little omelets with just diced ham and cheese in them, but I like them with chopped mushrooms,broccoli and bacon. Either way, two mini-omelets make a very filling breakfast. 

EASY BAKED MINI-OMELETS        (makes 12)

1 pound of breakfast meat cooked and drained (ham, bacon or sausage)
1 cup favorite veggies, sauteed (optional)
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (or cream if you're feeling self-indulgent)
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (depending on how salty your meat is)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used swiss)

Preheat oven to 375 and spray cupcake pan with vegetable spray.

Whisk the eggs, milk or cream, oil, baking powder and salt and pepper together until smooth.

Divide meat and vegetables evenly between the 12 greased cupcake wells; top with a little cheese.  Pour enough egg mixture in each well to come to the top.

Bake in preheated 375 oven for 15-20 minutes (my oven took 22 minutes). During this time, they will REALLY dome up like a real cupcake, but they will flatten back down as they cool.

Remove from oven and garnish with a pinch of cheese (I topped them with cheddar). Let the mini-omelets rest in the pan for 5 minutes before you take them out (they will easily lift out after 5 minutes).

 

NOTE:  Use your imagination regarding what veggies you want to include in this recipe, just remember they have to be pre-cooked.

NOTE: These little muffins stay warm for quite a while, and they reheat VERY well in the microwave. They would be a fantastic addition to any brunch table because they are tasty at room temperature as well !!

NOTE:  When I make these for just the two of us, I cut the recipe in half, which gives us 2 mini-omelets each and a couple to snack on later.

COOLEST TIP EVER!!!

I found this little gem of a video yesterday and it was instantly one of those moments where you close your eyes and think to yourself...DUH!! Why didn't I know about this 20 years ago!!!

If you EVER use frosting bags and tips, you HAVE to watch this video from Karen's Cookies. It will make your day, I promise!!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

BEST CARROT CAKE IN THE WORLD

Carrot Cake recipes are a dime a dozen, everyone has one. I have been making the same old recipe (not this one) for as long as I can remember, but today's post is replacing that old recipe card for sure. This recipe is SO good ...full of carrots, pineapple, coconut, pecans and raisins; it is beyond delicious.

DESSERT IDEA - NOT JUST A CUPCAKE

 While still warm,  slice the cupcakes, vertically into 4-5 slices and

arranged them on a dessert plate and top the slices with a big

dollop of vanilla whipped cream. It made a wonderful dessert!!

The rest of the cupcakes went into the cookie jar.

3/4 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1½ cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup flaked coconut (do not pack)
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped pecans (I use walnuts)
8 ounce can of crushed pineapple with juice

Preheat oven to 350 and put paper cupcake liners in cupcake pan (recipe makes 2 dozen cupcakes).

Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla, mix well, beat in flour mixture and mix well.

Stir in carrots, coconut, nuts,  pineapple and raisins. Let batter sit for about 5 minutes. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full (an ice cream scoop works well for this).

Bake in preheated 350 oven for 25-30 minutes (my oven took 25 minutes). Cool and frost.

These cupcakes just keep getting more and more moist (if you keep them covered).

CROCKPOT CHICKEN CHILI

This is a new recipe experiment for us and I must tell you it was delightful. It is one of those rare meals that is not only good for you, but it's very tasty, very hearty and it rings all the familiar bells of comfort food.

This recipe is also a breeze to make because you put most of the ingredients in the crockpot the night BEFORE you want to serve it (no need to pre-soak the beans) and then in the morning, you just add the chicken and carrots and let it cook all day!! It will make your house smell fantastic!!

 

1½ cups DRY Great Northern white beans (rinsed)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup chopped onion (sauteed)
4 ounce can mild green chiles
2 cups grated carrots
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dry oregano leaves
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 teaspoon salt  (see note below)
½ teaspoon black pepper
6 cups chicken stock (see note below)
1 cup Monterrey Jack Cheese shredded

Wash and sort the dry beans (do not pre-soak) and put them in the crockpot. Add the stock, sauteed onion, seasonings and chile's. Cook on LOW setting overnight (or about 8 hours).

In the morning, remove about a cup of the beans and mash them thoroughly. (I put them in the blender)  Return the mashed beans to the crockpot; this will thicken up the broth in the chili.

Cut the raw chicken into large pieces and add it to the crockpot along with the shredded carrots.  Cook this on high for 6 to 8 hours. If your crockpot runs very hot (as some of them do) cook it on low instead.

About 30 minutes before you want to serve the chicken chili, add the shredded Monterrey Jack cheese and stir.

 

I hope you like this hearty
"good for you" chili as much as we did.

NOTE: If you use salt free chicken broth, go ahead and put the teaspoon of salt into the chili. Taste it again after it is finished cooking (and you've added the cheese) to see if it still needs more salt.   If you use chicken broth made from bullion, I wouldn't add any salt to the recipe, as the bullion broth is already quite salty.

NOTE: I hope you don't leave out the grated carrot, it really adds a wonderful taste and texture to the chili.

NOTE: We are fairly timid when it comes to spicy heat in our food. The recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. I used a scant 1/8 teaspoon and it was absolutely perfect for us. If you like more heat in your food, add more cayenne.

PISTACHIO PUDDING with a twist

Today's post is more of an idea, rather than a real recipe. Picky-picky husband loves the old Watergate Salad. I never thought of it as a salad, but that's what they called it: instant pistachio pudding, Cool Whip and crushed pineapple...talk about shades of childhood!!

I re-discovered the old recipe recently and remembered that I haven't made it in years because Cool Whip now gives hubby indigestion, part of getting older I guess.

I decided to experiment and see if I could substitute real whipped cream for the Cool Whip. The result was delicious and much fresher tasting than using the non-dairy topping of yester-year.

Beat 2 cups of whipping cream + 1/2 cup milk with a small (4 serving size) box of instant pistachio pudding until you get stiff peaks, then fold in an 8 ounce can of well drained, crushed pineapple and a half cup (loosely packed) sweetened coconut. Chopped maraschino cherries would go well in this, but I didn't have any.

Chill for about an hour or so (it keeps well and doesn't deflate). Makes about 4 cups of pudding.

JAM BARS

I saw this great recipe on Monica's web site Lick the Bowl Good, the other day and thought picky-picky husband would enjoy them (I was right!!). They are similar to a raspberry shortbread bar that I posted about a year ago, but even easier to make.

This fruit bar gets even more tasty on day two and three. They are heavenly (in spite of my  emergency substitution in the almond department). I hope you try them, you will love the crumbly, buttery, sweet, nutty crust (it has just a hint of cinnamon). This recipe is a keeper.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1½ cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup light brown sugar packed (I use dark brown sugar)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup sliced almonds (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup of your favorite fruit jam (I used an extra 2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (my addition)

Preheat your oven to 350 and butter an 8" square baking dish (I didn't butter the pan, instead I lined it with parchment paper and left the ends long so that I could easily lift out the whole square after it cooled...easier to cut that way).

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder, set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars on high speed until they are light and fluffy; beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.  Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture.

Stir in the nuts. Note: I used walnuts instead of almonds and I used my food processor to chop them fairly small.

Gently press half of this mixture, evenly,  into your prepared baking dish. Stir the jam (I used raspberry) with a spoon to loosen it up and gently spread it onto the bottom half of the bars, leaving a 1/4" jam free border so that the jam doesn't stick to the sides of the pan when baked.

Top the jam layer with the rest of the flour-nut mixture ad spread evenly, pressing lightly to make the layers stick to each other.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes (my oven took 35 minutes) or until the top is golden.

IMPORTANT: Cool completely before you try to remove these bars from the pan. Cut bars with serrated knife.

QUICK STEAK and GRAVY

This great week night dinner is fast and satisfying for sure.  It is  made with cubed beef steak and is versatile enough to feed two or twenty.  It's rich brown gravy is flawless and the whole thing is table ready in about 35  minutes (depending on the thickness of your cube steak).

 

The ingredients listed here are for one pound of cubed beef steak (it makes about 2 cups of gravy). Double or triple the ingredients as you like.

1 pound cubed beef steak (see note)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon flour (to add to gravy)
little extra flour to coat the cubed steak
(1) 4 serving size envelope of Lipton's Beefy Mushroom soup mix (see note)
2 cups water
(no salt...there's salt in the soup mix)
pepper to taste

Cut the cubed beef steaks into serving size pieces and dust them with pepper (no salt). Coat them in a little flour (shake off the excess) and brown them in 2 tablespoons of vegetable (or Canola) oil.

Remove the browned meat to a plate.  Mix 1 tablespoon flour with the dry soup mix and mix it all into the oil and meat juices in the same pan that you browned the meat in. Whisk in two cups of water and use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up any browned bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Stir till the gravy is thick.

Put the  meat back in the gravy and turn it way down to a slow simmer.  Simmer (covered) until the meat is tender (see note below).

Serve over rice or mashed potatoes for a quick and easy dinner that even Picky-picky husband loves.

 

NOTE:   Some people have said they can not find Lipton's Beefy Mushroom soup mix. You can also use Lipton's Onion soup mix.

NOTE: How long you let the meat simmer in the sauce depends on how thick (and how tender) your cubed beef steaks are. The ones I buy are fairly thin, so I usually simmer them in the gravy for about 30 minutes. If you have thick cube steak (or if it looks a little tough) it may take more like 45-60 minutes to get fork tender.