BETTER THAN AN EGG MCMUFFIN

I have a warm spot in my heart for Egg McMuffins. Or maybe I should say for the inventor of the Egg McMuffin. Herb Peterson invented them here in my home town of Santa Barbara. He was a kind and cheerful man. Always approachable and always humble.

This plaque is on the wall of one of his McDonalds.

I don't eat fast food very often but while I was perusing the net I found a blog that I loved. The Yummy Life has fun, creative, and healthy recipes. Monica posted this recipe but made it healthy by using whole grain English muffins and low calorie cheese. She also mentioned that these can be mass produced making it perfect when feeding a crowd or frozen and quickly cooked for a breakfast on the go.

You spray a large muffin tin with cooking spray and drop an egg in each one.

The eggs are cooked in the oven for about 20 minutes until they are set. I put a grind of pepper on top.

I toasted some whole grain muffins but you don't need to toast them.

 The muffins are topped with cheese and Canadian bacon. I had some Hollandaise left over in the fridge so I spread it on one side of the muffin. Holy Moly...that added some big flavor and put them over the top.

Then you top it with an egg. You can heat these in the oven or the microwave. I put mine in the oven for about 15 minutes and they were perfect.  I have some in the freezer for later and I'll give the microwave method a try later.

These were so good.

BETTER THAN EGG MCMUFFINS

6 large eggs

6 100% whole grain English muffins

6 slices Canadian bacon

6 slices cheese (I used Provolone)

Butter to spread or hollandaise sauce

Freshly ground black pepper

Spray a jumbo muffin tin with cooking spray and drop one egg in each hole. Sprinkle with ground black pepper and bake the eggs in a 350~ oven for about 25 minutes or until set and cooked.

Split open the English muffins and toast if desired. Spread one half muffin with butter or hollandaise. Lay a slice of cheese on top and fold the ends over to make it round. Top with a slice of Canadian bacon and a baked egg. Top with the other half of the English muffin.

Bake at 350~ for 20 minutes.

To freeze, wrap each muffin in foil and place in a freezer bag. Bake at 350~  for 30-40 minutes.

If microwaving wrap each muffin in parchment or wax paper and put in a freezer bag. Microwave if thawed for 40-60 seconds. If frozen, microwave for 3 minutes, turning after each minute.

Recipe adapted from The Yummy Life.

For a really healthy version of this Egg McMuffin and the calorie count go over here and check out the recipe and great details on how to make them and other options.

 

CROCK POT STEEL-CUT OATMEAL

I found a way to eat Steel-Cut Oats every day for breakfast. When I'm up early for our morning walk I don't have much time to cook breakfast. Steel-cut oats take 30 to 40 minutes to cook, but this recipe is awesome. Just put a few ingredients in the crock pot and walk away. Five hours later your daily breakfast is ready! Once a week I cook a batch and put it in the fridge. Every morning I scoop out a cup of oats, add some non-fat milk and microwave it for about 45 seconds. Give it a good stir to beak it up and then add a handful of blueberries, half a banana, and some agave nectar. A great nutritional breakfast in only one minute.

CROCK POT STEEL-CUT OATMEAL

1 cup steel-cut oatmeal

1-1/2 cups fat-free milk

1-1/2 cups water

2 tsp. ground flax seed (optional)

Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray. Add all ingredients and stir.

Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours depending on your crock pot.

Add any garnish that you like; chopped nuts, brown sugar, raisins, additional milk or butter.

I add blueberries, banana, and agave syrup.

CAMBRIDGE HOUSE SMOKED SALMON

The best way to bring in the New Year 2012 is with the world's BEST smoked salmon. Cambridge House Smoked Salmon, made right here in Santa Barbara. I'm not the only one who thinks it's the best, the New York Times also called it "the best smoked salmon in the world".

This smoked salmon is made from fresh premium Atlantic Scottish salmon. It is hand cured and smoked only a few miles from my home.

I like this delicious melt in your mouth, with a smoky over-tone salmon served on a toasted bagel with cream cheese, tomato, onion, fresh dill, lemon, and capers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

HUEVOS RANCHEROS

What a nice surprise I had this morning when Ron told me that he was making Huevos Rancheros for breakfast. I'm not much of  a traditional breakfast eater but give me something with salsa and avocado on it and I'm a happy camper.



With all the characters in place, Ron lightly fried the tortillas and set them aside. Next step was to put some black beans on top of the tortilla and top it with grated cheese. The tortillas went into a 350~ oven for about 10 minutes, until the beans were warm and the cheese had melted.

He fried some eggs and topped the tortillas with them. He also quickly sauteed a purple bell pepper that was growing in the garden. The eggs were topped with salsa, avocado, green onions, cilantro, salt and pepper, and some bell peppers on the side.

What a great way to start my weekend.

Thanks Ron!

QUINOA PORRIDGE WITH BLUEBERRIES AND PECANS

Being the Aunt to one niece who is attending Stanford with plans to become an Oncologist and another niece at UCSB getting her Masters degree and who is really into healthy eating, exercising, and eats a vegan diet, I can't help but listen to them talk about nutritious food. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) comes up quite often. Quinoa is the most nutritious of all the grains. Two important minerals found in quinoa are manganese and copper, these two work together as an antioxidant and help fight free radicals, which can cause the body to develop cancer and disease.

Enter...the BLUEBERRY...one of the highest antioxidant fruits......and the PECAN...a rich source of energy and an excellent source of antioxidants.

So, it was not by oxidant :) that I tried this recipe.

This is delicious, easy and quick to make, and so healthy. Give it a try, I think you will be amazed at how great this "super food" porridge tastes.

                                             

                                   QUINOA PORRIDGE WITH BLUEBERRIES AND PECANS

1 Cup quinoa, rinsed

2 cups milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 dashes cinnamon

2 TBSP. maple syrup

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

2 TBSP. pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Bring the quinoa, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 15-20 minutes.

Mix in the blueberries, remove from heat and top with the pecans. 

*optional.....add some whipped cream like Ron did!

Makes two servings.

THE MORNING AFTER...

Begining December 25th there are a lot of morning afters. The morning after Christmas Eve. The morning after Christmas. Our Anniversary on the day after the morning after Christmas. And finally today, the morning after a great anniversary dinner.

I wanted to make something nice for breakfast. I started thinking about what was in the fridge. There was some champagne left over from the Anniversary toast. There was some delicious crab left over from the sushi class. A couple of English Muffins in the fridge, some blood oranges from Sharon, some butter and eggs and

                                                  BINGO!!!

We had everything for Blood Orange Mimosas and Crab Benedict.

And ...OMG......this was to die for.

Ron had two...

I used Julia Child's Hollandaise Sauce recipe and some left over canned Crab. This was sooo good.

JULIA CHILD’S HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

3 egg yolks

1 tbsp. WATER

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice  and a little more to your taste

6-8 oz. very soft unsalted butter

1 dash cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

Freshly ground white pepper to taste

Whisk the yolks, water, and lemon juice in the saucepan for a few moments, until thick and pale.

Set the pan over moderately low heat (I use a double boiler) and continue to whisk at reasonable speed, reaching all over the bottom and insides of the pan, where the eggs tend to overcook.

To moderate the heat, frequently move the pan off the burner for a few seconds, and then back on.

As the eggs cook they will become frothy and increase in volume, and then thicken. When you can see the pan bottom through the streaks of the whisk and the eggs are thick and smooth, remove from heat.

By spoonfuls, add the soft butter, whisking constantly to incorporate each addition. As the emulsion forms, you may add the butter in slightly larger amounts, always whisking until fully absorbed. Continue incorporating butter until the sauce has thickened to the consistency you want.

Season lightly with salt and pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper, whisking in well. Taste and adjust the seasoning. I like to add a little more lemon juice at this time.  Serve lukewarm.

This makes enough for four Eggs Benedict.

I boiled some water and added 1 TBSP. white vinegar to it. When it was at a rapid boil I reduced it to a simmer and dropped one egg in the water. Once it came to the surface I removed it with a slotted spoon and put on a plate and put the next egg in.

I microwaved the crab for 20 seconds, just to warm it. Toasted some English muffins and then topped the muffin with an egg, some crab and the Hollandaise on top.

This was super easy and really good.