Omelettes, the easy way

I don't claim to be a chef by any stretch of the word, so when I figure out something that I find helpful, I want to share it with other struggling mamas.   During certain times of my diet, I will eat something called a Big Ass Breakfast.  Yeah, you read that right.  No, it doesn't mean this breakfast will give you a big ass, in case you're wondering, lol. It does, however, ensure that you will not be hungry the whole day, which is sometimes nice when you've got a busy day planned.  Since I make all of our meals at home, it's a nice option when I have to be away for all or part of the day.  This post isn't really about my diet so much as it is about how to make an easy omelette, but I figured someone might comment on the sheer size of the finished product.  Really...it's huge! There's a method to my madness, honestly. So let's get busy, shall we?

First of all, it helps to have an omelette pan.  I do not own one, so we'll just use our every day run-of-the-mill pan, mmm'kay?  I always start by browning some onions and bell peppers in some bacon fat, butter or coconut oil.

Turn your burner all the way to the lowest setting.  Sometimes I even take the pan off the burner for a couple of minutes if it's too hot from cooking the onions/peppers.  Combine your eggs and a dash of cream, some salt and pepper and whisk together.  Pour on top of your mixed veggies/fat in your pan.  Your burner will stay on low the whole time.

Shred some cheese on top.  Yup, I do it now, even though the eggs are not set.  Don't worry your pretty little head.  Everything will be just fine.  Deep breaths.

Here's the part where I do something a little unconventional.  I take a clean dish towel and gently lay it on top of the pan.  PLEASE be sure your pan is the right size for your burner.  In other words, don't use a small pan on a huge burner.  I can get away with draping the towel over the whole pan because I have a glass top range.  If you are using a regular electric burner, you can fold the corners of the towel in like shown.  If you are using a gas range, this may not be a good idea altogether.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

So anyway, I just leave the towel on top and check it periodically to see if the eggs are almost set.  You can tell this by shaking the pan back and forth gently.  If it's jiggly, it's not done.  If it's not jiggly, you're good to go. When your omelette is ready, slide a thin spatula around the edges to loosen it.

Then flip a third of it over to the center.  Looking good so far.

Here's where I always screw up.  Lift the other third of the omelette toward the center, breaking it in half, sending molten cheese spewing into the center of the pan!  I'm covering that up with a strategically placed spatula!  ;)

And here's the even funnier part.  If I had an omelette pan, that baby would slide right out, looking like perfection on a plate.  Instead, I have to heave the hot mess out onto a plate, usually ending up with it broken in half.  Looks gawd-awful!

But it tastes like heaven on a plate!  No burned, browned, over-cooked bottom.  Just eggy, cheesy goodness.

So, why is this towel thing any better than using a lid?  Wellllll, from what I can tell, this allows some of the moisture to escape, yet keeps the environment just moist enough to not dry out the eggs.   Any time I have used a lid, I end up with a watery mess.  If I don't use a lid, I end up with a runny mess. Now, I know with a 'real' omelette, you're supposed to tip the pan this way and that, allowing the uncooked egg to slip underneath, blah blah blah. (Or am I thinking of a crepe? LOL!)  Ehhh, who cares.  I don't have the time or the equipment for that business.  I'm going for EASY here, people.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!  Was it any easier than your prior attempts?  It was for me!

"LEFTOVER" Eggs

Here's a good way to use up your leftovers and create a healthy, protein and veggie-rich breakfast!  I hate having to throw away leftovers, but most people just don't want to eat them.  Can you blame them?  Unless it's lasagna, then they're just crazy people!  Here's what you'll need...

Ingredients for one large serving:
2 Eggs
Fat of choice (butter, oil) Not shown
Leftovers of your choice.  In my case:
Chicken hindquarter
Broccoli, fresh
Cauliflower, roasted
Onion, fresh
Yellow Pepper, fresh
Milk or cream

I like to start by adding my fat to the pan (in my case, unscented, unflavored Coconut Oil), then dumping all of my leftovers on top.  I used about 2T of each leftover.  

I forgot that I had some yellow pepper that needed to be used up, too.  So I added that in there, too.  Cook until browned.  Remember, browned food is flavorful food!

Crack your eggs into a bowl and add 2T of milk or cream.  In my case, I've used whey.  Why whey? Well, I made some homemade yogurt a few days ago and this is the why that drained off.  I totally forgot to take pix!  Probably because I assumed it would flop.  It didn't.  It was awesome!  I promise to do it the next time I make it.  I've found many places I can the whey in recipes.  To thin down homemade Ranch Dressing (also forgot to take pix), in eggs, as a treat for the dog, or in any place milk is called for.  It's very nutrient-dense and has probiotics, whatever those are, but they're good for you!

 

Whip that baby up good!

And pour into your veggie/meat mixture.  Be sure to add some more fat if the pan is dry.

Cook it up just like you would scrambled eggs and plop on a plate with some oven-fried bacon!  Of course, you could always add some grated cheese at the last minute, too. You're getting 1/2C of veggies, lots of protein, good fats, first thing in the morning!  If you eat a big breakfast like this one with fats and lots of protein, you will be filled up until lunch time and will notice you don't need to snack!  It's a win-win situation!

Oven Fried Bacon

Today, class, we're gonna learn us how to make some oven fraahhhhhed bayyycon!  This is my favorite way to do it because I can actually cook other stuff while it's cooking.  I also like that it stays relatively flat this way.  It's totally crispy because you don't get a lot of 'waves' in your bacon that are rubbery like pan-fried.  Here's how you do it.

Go to the fridge and look for your bacon.  Realize you forgot to thaw it last night and say, "Oh, crap!"  Go to the garage, get your bacon out of the freezer and throw it in the sink.  Cover with warm water.  Wait 15-20 minutes.  Get yourself a nice cup of coffee and read the paper while you wait.

Now, I want to show you something about this bacon.  See that?  In the upper, right hand corner.  That says "Lower Sodium".  I don't necessarily WANT Low-Sodium bacon, but I did want sugar-free bacon.  (Been avoiding sugar and grains lately...long story)  Anyway, if you have a diet requirement of LowSod, Kroger sells one (shown below) that is pretty decent, but you get the added benefit of no sugar. Everyone could use a little less sugar, I suppose. Unless you're a sour puss, then by all means, buy the Brown Sugar cured bacon...mmmmmmm.   If you do not require low sodium, you may actually want to SALT this bacon after it gets done cooking.  Yeahhhh, it's kinda bland.  On with the show...Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Like I really need to show you this, but you take kitchen shears and cut around 3 sides of the package. Who knows, maybe someone in a remote country is reading this and thinking...I never knew!!!

This next part is optional, but I like to think it makes things go faster.  I cut the entire package of bacon in half.

Line a sheet pan (or two) with aluminum foil.  Be sure your foil is wide enough to have an edge sticking up on all sides.  We don't want the bacon grease to get under the foil, making us have to clean a skanky pan!  God forbid!  Of course, you really should clean your pan anyway, but who wants to scrub scrub scrub?

Next, lay down your bacon in tidy little rows, being sure not to overlap. If you are worried about your bacon splattering (it really doesn't that much), you can always put a piece of foil on TOP of the bacon, too, but I find that it takes longer to cook and doesn't get as crispy due to the steaming effect inside the foil.

UPDATE!  I am a total liar!!!!  It splatters like the dickens!  You just don't know it until after you've done a few batches in a row!  See my oven cleaning recipe HERE.  What was I thinking?!

Pop both trays in the preheated oven.  I like to stagger them a bit. Set the timer for 10 minutes.  It will not be done in 10 minutes, but that's a good starting point.  My bacon is very thin. 

Check every couple of minutes after that. 

 

Your bottom tray will quite obviously cook faster than your top tray as it is closer to the heating element.  See the difference?  I sometimes switch them around at this point.

I take them out when they look golden brown, not too dark.  They tend to be a little more 'done' than they look, so err on the side of caution.  Boy, those little guys shrink up a lot!

You'll want to remove them immediately to drain on paper towels.  Be sure to blot the fat off the top, too.  See that big puddle of bacon grease?  Don't throw it out!  Strain it through a coffee filter into a container and keep in the fridge.  Makes a great oil to cook your eggs in, make a bacon vinaigrette, or to cook green beans in.  That's the way Grandma woulda done it!  No waste!

Serve your bacon up with 'Leftover' Eggs and you have a high-protein, low-carb, veggie-filled lovely brekky!  Yum!

 

 When you've had your fill of bacon, store it in a baggie and throw in the freezer.  So handy to be able to just grab a couple of pieces for breakfast or to add to a recipe.  You can either nuke 'em for a few seconds, or do like I do... When I get done frying a couple of eggs, I throw the frozen bacon in the pan and it's hot and crispy in a couple of minutes.  Shoot, you don't even have to thaw them or crisp them.  Half the time, I grab a frozen one and gnaw on it, lol.  I'm serious....they're good!

Breakfast Strata

This is a recipe I've had in my brain for years. When I saw some ground sausage at the store the other day, I thought...why not?  This is something you make up the night before to have the next day.  This is great when you have company over.

Here's what you'll need

Ingredients:
1/2Lb Bacon, Ham or Ground Sausage

10 Eggs

8 pieces day old bread 

3C Milk (not pictured)

8oz Sharp Cheddar 

2T Butter

2oz Cream Cheese 

1/4t Ground Mustard

Fresh Chives 

Salt and Pepper to taste

 Start by browning your sausage.  There is a whole pound

shown, but I only used half.  I froze the other half to use on pizza!

While that's cooking, butter a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Butter each piece of bread on both sides.  I used my leftover white

bread and cut it into thick slices.  I then used my spreadable butter.

That sure came in handy and saved time.  Recipe HERE.

Cut each slice into 1" squares and toss into baking dish.

Taking thin little slices of butter, cut them into 4 pieces.

Lay them on top of the bread.  I used about 2T total.

I then did the same with some cream cheese.

I used only about a quarter of an 8oz block, but kinda wish I had used more.

Lay those on top, just like you did the butter.

 Then shred your cheese over the top.  I used a whole 8oz block

of sharp cheddar, but wish I had used more of it, too.  

I love cheese.  My thighs are living proof.

Drain sausage of excess grease.  I even ran hot water over mine.

I don't normally do that because it removes all my added spices,

but since I didn't add any, I figured I was safe.

Spread sausage evenly over the top of the cheese layer.

In a large bowl, crack 10 eggs.  Yes, I know there are five here.

My husband is heading to Aldi's as we speak!

Add in 1/4t Ground Mustard.

And pepper to taste.  I usually hold off on the salt.

Whisk it all together, breaking up the yolks.  Honey, hurry up!

I'm getting to the point where I'll need those eggs!!!

Ignore this next part.  I was thinking it would save me time if I just

snipped the chives into the eggs.  Don't do this.

Wait until the very end to sprinkle

these on your dish.  Read on, you'll see why.

Pour entire egg mixture over the whole dish.  

And here's why you need to add the chives on at the end.  They

all came out at the beginning when I was pouring.  I didn't have enough to cover

the whole dish.  You can add your chives now.  BTW, my hubby isn't 

home yet with the eggs.  Your dish will be a lot more full than this.

Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, remove foil and place in a 350F oven for

40 minutes or until brown and bubbly and middle is set.

Let rest for 5 or 10 minutes to set.  Serve up a healthy slice and enjoy!

Notes:

This was a really nice change.  It was gooey and comforting and just downright delish.

My 6 year old ate it under duress, but he's weird like that.

This whole batch comes to $5.66 for twelve servings.  That means each 3" x 3 1/4" piece comes to 47 cents.  Not too bad for a homey breakfast.  Even if you eat a couple of pieces.

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