Not Oatmeal Breakfast Salad

For the ladies and gents who asked. Salad is good any time of day. I like it in the am instead of hot cereal. In this case bulgur subs for oatmeal, but so could barley or wheat berry. Any whole grain. The veg can be poached from leftovers. Do yourself a favor and dress with olive oil or lemon juice, or better yet make a super simple vinaigrette that has zero of the additives of store brands.

1/2 cup cooked bulgur warm, cold or room temp

Handful cooked green beans whole, or 1 inch

Handful grape tomatoes, halved

1/4 bell pepper, sliced and diced

2 spoonfuls feta (or cooked white beans for dairy averse)

Sprinkle of chopped parsley, dill, both or nothing

Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon olive oil

2-3 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon-ish

A few grinds of pepper

2 big pinches salt

Shake & drizzle over salad

Double down if you're feeding more than one

Eat – B

 

It’s a Bundt

When you don't have butter, make this cake. Thank you @Hersheys.com for keeping this classic for us. Hot water and veg oil make for a super moist cake. I sacrificed snow day cocoa for this confection and it was worth it. The online version calls for frosting. My number 1 son doesn't care for it, nor did I have much of the aforementioned butter. You can find the recipe here.

I added the fruit just for the photo.

 

Eat sweet – B

 

In Search of A New TB Fave!

 

From my Martha days, I make a great turkey burger called with full truthfulness, “my favorite turkey burger”. But I needed another alternative and a quick search turned up this recipe from the cult eating mastermind behind Ottolenghi. Don't let the fluidity of the meat fool you – it will firm up in the cooking process. That said grilling these burgers is not an option. It is perfect for kosher friends. The serving sauce calls for sumac. Rest assured it works without it.

I'm including links to the recipe in its original (metrics) and to the blog where I found it.

http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/turkey-courgette-burgers-with-spring-onion-cumin-shop

http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/turkey-and-zucchini-burgers-with-green-onion-and-cumin/

Eat – B

 

 

Birthday Biscuits

It wasn't breakfast in bed as promised, but I did deliver the biscuits with bacon and eggs to the birthday child. This recipe is virtually idiot proof. Opt for lightly rolling out the biscuits and not too thin! You may get fewer but they'll rise higher.

I used a pastry cutter to blend the butter. Do not wait until later to eat them. They're better warm from the oven. This may be a Thanksgiving addition!

http://www.marthastewart.com/316713/flaky-buttery-biscuits

(Butter) and eat – B

 

 

Invest-less Entertaining

Don't tell my friends, at least not the ones from last Saturday, but bruschetta has to be the easiest, least costly way to start an event that I know. Use whatever you have for toppings. That's hummus on the left – homemade from an Ina Garten recipe, but store bought is good too. You can even use stale bread (I didn't). Who would know once it's toasted?!

Two brilliant ideas from my stepdaughter upped the game. We steeped 1/2 a cup olive oil with a few rosemary sprigs and a couple garlic cloves for the bread. Then she toasted the slices on the grill. Good for croutons too!

Tomato bruschetta

Chopped tomatoes, basil, a drizzle of oil, salt & pepper

Mushroom bruschetta

Olive oil for the pan, 3-4 chopped shallots, optional chopped garlic clove, sliced or chopped mushrooms, salt & pepper, shaved Parmesan & chives. Soften the shallots over medium heat first. Cook the mushrooms until liquid disappears. Assemble.

Hummus

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/hummus-recipe.html

**note: I use cayenne instead of hot sauce and halve the recipe unless it's a big crowd of hummus eaters.

 

 

Fast and Furious Pasta
If you have a bad day, try this pasta for dinner. Quick, easy, dare I say cheap? It will raise your daily success rating. Use the lemon juice after zesting for the pasta recipe in an EZ vinaigrette or to marinate chicken with garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano. No waste. 🙂 Click here for the recipe.

 

Eat – B

 

 

B-L-inner

Anyone can make this, especially when your child asks for the oh so trendy avocado toast and you only have the toast. Works 24/7.

Ingredients

2 eggs

Tomatoes, handful, halved

Goat cheese or other

Dill or fave fresh herb (chive!) or both

Butter

Salt pepper

Toast (no avocado)

Medium heat, non stick pan. Melt a good amount of butter. Lower heat. Crack eggs and flip when they're cooked through. Crumble cheese on top-any amount. Plate in a minute. Raise heat, cook tomatoes 1-2 minutes while toasting bread. Herbs, salt, pepper.

Eat -B

 

 

Snausage and Egg Frittata

Here's your gluten free one pot dinner, or lunch, or breakfast. I've had the sausage free version and unless you're a vegetarian, with sausage is better.

Btw, this sausage is from my friend Manny who has a small Italian specialty store in my hometown. He makes just enough each week. The difference between his and commercial brands is enormous – far less fat and no filler. This is the real deal. No wonder he reluctantly sold me my first pounds when I said it was going to the grill. It really can dry out if you're careless. Support small biz! 🙂

Ingredients

3 russet potatoes

1/2 pound sausage, out of casing

1/2 large or 1 medium onion, halved and sliced

1/4 pound – ish mushrooms, sliced

8 eggs

1/4 cup Parmesan or other sharp grated cheese

Olive oil

Butter

Salt & pepper


Preheat oven 350. Peel, halve, slice potatoes Р1/4 inch ish. Steam potatoes until tender, maybe 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile cook sausage in medium, non stick oven proof saut̩ pan. Medium low heat. When it's browned and cooked through, remove. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add onions and soften about 5-8 minutes. Add mushrooms and saut̩ 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk eggs, 1/4 teaspoon salt, some pepper, cheese. Sprinkle more oil in pan if needed and a tablespoon or two of butter. Add sausage and eggs. Gently distribute the hard bits with the egg. When edges set, toss in oven until set. 15 minutes.

To remove from pan (not necessary!), loosen all edges. Cover pan with large plate and turn upside down. Then right side on another plate.


Eat – B


Note: Please don't tell anyone related to me about the cheese – I lied about it.

 

Not Penne with Vodka Sauce

As promised … Pasta with vodka sauce. Not penne. Blame Trader Joe's, I do. Plenty of rice and gluten free options. Am I now a minority? So linguine stepped in and twirled its way round our hearts. Two kids took home leftovers, an endorsement if ever there was one. Any way you toss it, Ina did a great job with the recipe. I lightened the load a bit on the hot pepper flakes. I also think it covers more than a pound of pasta.

Click here for the recipe.

Mangia – B

Note: obviously can be gluten free. Just ask Trader Joe's.

 

 

Crowd Pleasing Chicken

After asking 5 children 16 to 26 for their thoughts on dinner, I got chicken. And so did they. Doubling the recipe took a little extra time, but chicken piccata is a great weeknight option. I also only used one pan, cooking the chicken in batches and keeping it warm in the oven. At the end I threw it all back in the sauce with no one the wiser. No pressure, but I served it with pasta in vodka sauce. Recipe to come.

Click here for the chicken recipe, courtesy of Epicuriois.

Eat – B

 

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