Under Construction

Hey!

Things are moving elsewhere and I'm switching it up a bit. It should be fun. Hang on for another week.

There won't be any new posts right now, but I do have a few drafts ready to go when I change over.

Follow along on Instagram for the daily basics!

- Harti

The Scramble

I get hooked on a breakfast item, and then eat mainly that for long periods of time. I had a year and a half long love affair with an oatmeal bowl once. I take my breakfast relationships pretty seriously.

Right now, it's The Scramble. It's easy, high in protien, and low in calories. I can cook it up between finshing toddler meals and ushering them to their seats (about 5 minutes of "Sit down. I said it's breakfast, let's go. Get to your chair. NOW!").

The result is a good portion of food for 150 calories. That's low enough to throw some bacon or sausage on, which I do often.

The Scramble:

1 cup egg whites

2 thin slices red onion

3 cups fresh spinach

1 Roma tomato

1 tsp Sriracha

Salt and pepper

Heat a nonstick skillet, coated in cooking spray, over medium high heat. Add egg whites and cook until just set. Move eggs to one side of skillet. Add onion and spinach. Allow to cook in place, and as spinach begins to wilt, mix with eggs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove egg mixture to a plate and top with tomato and Sriracha sauce.

Polenta Cakes

What comes in a tube and results in the fanciest leftover canapé this side of the Mississippi? Why, it's a polenta cake of course!

Anyone can make these - even with the horribly vague directions that will follow.

Unfortunately for you, I just kind of make these. Luckily though, I think it's so easy that it doesn't matter much. I'll try to pay attention next time and update later. Until then, just wing it.

These are great as a side to a sauced dish. I served it recently, with the Pollo in Potacchio recipe posted here. The leftover chicken got shredded and tossed with remaining sauce for the next day. That mixture was placed on top of a some cakes for a really classy lunch, that probably deserved more than a view of scattered toys in the backyard.

Broiled Polenta Cakes:
Tube of polenta, sliced 3/4 inch thin

Line a sheet pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Place polenta slices on sheet pan and give the exposed tops a hit with more cooking spray.

Place in oven, positioned to the top rack. Broil on high until charing begins. Flip and repeat.

I want to say it takes about 10 minutes or less per side, but in truth I have no clue.

Egg Salad, Straight Up

Egg salad is good stuff. This is a very basic recipe, but that's how The Husband prefers it, so it's what we do. I've fancied it up before and tried different verisons. Nope, this one always wins. It tastes like a deviled egg in salad form - good stuff. 

I'll update this picture eventually. The lighting in my kitchen is really bad late at night when I typically make this. Go figure. 

I always have eggs, so unless requested, this is the back-up to the back-up of the 'what the heck are we eating for lunch tomorrow' question. 

The recipe serves 4, with a decent portion size for a sandwich. Don't want to add on bread calories? Celery is an awesome scooping vessel for this. I actually prefer it. 

Anyways, I introduce to you, Egg Salad...

But first things first though. Let's boil some eggs.

Hard Boiled Eggs:

Eggs

Water

Salt

Ice

Place desired amount of eggs in a single layer, in a stock pot. Fill with cold water, covering by one inch. Pour in a bunch of salt (I do a two second pour from a container - no clue what that equals, but one heaping Tbsp sounds about right).

Heat on stove top over high heat until water reaches a slight boil.

Remove from heat and cover. Allow to sit for 12 minutes.

Transfer cooked eggs to an ice bath, (big bowl of ice, filled with water) and allow to cool completely.

When ready to peel, give one good crack on the bottom and while making sure to break the thin membrane, remove the shell. Toss the egg back into the ice bath to insure any leftover flakes of shell get swept away. 

Egg Salad:

8 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup mayo

4 green onions, chopped

2 tsp plain Greek yogurt

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp paprika

Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork, mashing egg slightly until combined. 

Pollo in Potacchio

This is a fantastic recipe from skinnytaste.com. It's great as written and can handle slight alternations like a champ.

Here's the link to the original. 

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/pollo-in-potacchio.html

Go for it. 

If by chance you drank all the white wine and have failed to grab dried marjoram at the store for two months and counting, don't sweat it. Red wine and oregano work just fine. 

I serve this up with sautéed spinach and broiled polenta cakes. Yes, there is a chicken thigh under that pile of sauce. The sauce is so good!

Good Morning Blueberry Dutch Baby

Sunday morning breakfast is a thing in our home. I make something a little more extravagant than normal, and The Husband joins in on the fun. He typically does a separate meal, due to timing and exercise the rest of the week.

Anyways, this past event was a fun one and I'm happy with the results. The kiddos and I had ours with the pictured dusting of powdered sugar and a bit of maple syrup. The Husband got fancy. His slice was topped with a sausage patty, fried egg, and melted cheddar. I was envious I didn't think of the combo myself.

The baby serves 8 people and totals in at just under 180 calories per person. Not too shabby for an indulgence meal. I plated my slice with a sausage patty and my standard egg white and spinach scramble (which I'll elaborate on soon). It was a pretty substantial meal for under 450 calories in all. 

GMBDB:

1/3 cup unsalted butter

4 eggs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup fat free milk

pinch of salt

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with rack positioned at bottom level.

Beat eggs in a medium sized bowl.

Combine flours in a separate bowl and set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients, excluding blueberries, in yet another bowl. Set aside.

In a medium cast iron skillet, melt butter in preheated oven. Watch closely, so butter does not burn. Remove from oven.

Mix the liquid ingredients into the eggs, and then slowly incorporate the flour mixture. Pour into heated skillet with melted butter. DO NOT mix. Top with blueberries and return to oven.

Cook for 20-25 minutes, until browned and puffed.

Lightly dust finished baby with a teaspoon or two of powdered sugar. The dish will deflate, but man does it look impressive upon 'birth'. 

  

Leftover Broiled Quesadillas

The easiest thing out there. It's pretty hard to mess up, and contains cheese. Eveyone likes cheese.

We normally have some leftover food from the previous dinner (excluding items for The Husband's lunch). It can be meat, or veggie, or both. The beauty of a quesadilla, is that it can contain anything. It's like a pizza. Endless possibilities.

Typically, I chop everything to a fine dice and then add in extra vegetables. I prefer the 6 inch corn tortillas, for bite sized portions.

This is an example, using leftover BBQ ribs and a side of sauteed spinach with garlic. I had about a cup of leftover filling with this appilication.

Leftover Quesadillas Example:
4 leftover baby back ribs, bone removed and diced fine
1/2 cup leftover sautéed spinach
2 green onions, minced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 Tbsp BBQ sauce
3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
8 - 6 inch corn tortillas*

Combine first 5 ingredients, mixing to incorporate filling.

Place 1/2 of cheese on one half of each tortilla. Top each tortilla evenly with filling, and finish with remaining cheese. Fold tortilla over to create one 'half moon'.

On a baking sheet, lined with foil and with the addition of a wire rack, arrange quesadillas. Coat with cooking spray.

Set oven to broil, and using a middle rack position, cook quesadillas until browned bubbles appear. Remove from oven. Flip, coating new side with cooking spray and continue to broil until browned again.

Allow to cool slightly and enjoy.

*Watch for stubborn tortillas. Heat in the microwave for a few seconds to allow flexiblity.