Sweet Potato Egg Muffins

OK so my last two post have been breakfast/brunch items and this is no different BUT who cares because breakfast is amazing, anytime of the day. I have been making egg cups for one of my clients that I do weekly meals for and I try to switch it up and make them with different ingredients and different ways, sometimes I scramble the eggs then put in the muffin tins or I drop the egg right into the muffin tins, or I’ll do just egg whites and load it with cooked spinach, onions, peppers, sausage, cheese, scallions, fresh thyme and so on.  My mom called me the other day and whenever she sees something she thinks ill like on the Food Network she will call and tell me alllll about it.  She was watching Ree Drummond, from the AMAZING blog and now TV show The Pioneer Woman made hash and eggs cups in a muffin tin.  She made shredded potato hash and lined the muffin tins with hash and then the egg mixture on top and bake.  I thought it was a pretty cool idea.  It’s great to make a lot and store and have for breakfast on your way out the door for the week.  I figured I’d test it out on my client who loves eggs cups.  He prefers to eat on the healthy side so I knew fried white potatoes wouldn’t work here.  So I thought of using sweet potatoes instead and bake them instead of frying.  I also added maple brown sugar breakfast sausages and that worked so well with the sweet potatoes.  My client LOVED and requested it again the next week.  My tip, store in air tight container in the refrigerator or freezer and pop in the microwave in the morning and start your day on a good foot and happy stomach!

Sweet Potato Egg Muffins

Special Equipment: 2 non stick muffin tins, baking sheet

1 dozen eggs

4-5 sweet potatoes

1 lb breakfast sausage (I used a maple brown sugar flavor)

2 TBS onion powder

1 TBS garlic powder

1 Teaspoon paprika

2 TBS olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cooking / baking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 TBS onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and salt and pepper. Add olive oil and toss together. Line the baking sheet with foil or parchment and lightly spray, then spread out the sweet potatoes and bake for 30 minutes.
3. While potatoes are in the oven, cook the sausages, either in a pan or bake in oven. Whisk the eggs with a whisk or fork and season with the remaining onion powder, salt and pepper.
4. Cut sausages into pieces and set aside. When the potatoes are done, turn the oven done to 350 degrees. Spray each cup of the muffin tins (you can be generous here).  First divide the sweet potatoes among the cups, mine came to about 5-6 pieces each.  Take the back of a spoon or your fingers (best tool in the kitchen) and mash the potatoes into the bottom of the tins.  Then add the pieces of sausage on top of the potatoes.  Then pour the egg mixture into each cup (be careful not to overfill).
5. Bake for about 15 minutes. Cool on a baking wrack and then store in an air tight container. ENJOY!

If you make this, (and you should) take a picture and hash tag on facebook or instagram #PersonalDish 🙂

Sweet Potato Hash with Sausage

hmmmm.. doesn’t it just SOUND amazing??  Caramelized onion, fresh thyme, juicy sausage and incredible sweet potatoes come together in a perfect marriage for this amazing anytime of the day meal.  In the morning, you can throw a fried or over easy egg on top for a quick breakfast, for lunch it becomes the main attraction and so perfect heated up on its own, and for dinner it makes an excellent side dish to chicken, beef,  fish, tofu, hearty salad… ummm you get the point!  This is great meal to make in bulk, and ahead of time as it keeps well in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month (but it won’t last that long..trust!) This whole meal comes together rather quickly, and not to many ingredients, if you’re a vegetarian substitute the sausage for tofu, simply cook up the tofu before adding to the sweet potatoes and onion mixture. So go ahead, get in your kitchen is and make this..now!! Enjoy folks 🙂

Sweet Potato Hash with Sausage

Ingredients

1 lb Italian style sausage

4-5 Sweet potatoes

1 yellow onion, chopped

Fresh Thyme

1 TBS paprika

2 TBS oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Peel and cut potatoes into bite size cubes (don’t need to be perfect but you want the same size pieces so it cooks evenly) Put in a pot and cover with cold water, then bring to a boil and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.  You want it to be soft and tender but not in a “mashable” state.  Test with a fork and taste, you want a little bite, not completely soft.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, heat a pan on medium heat and cook the sausages fully.  Once they are done cut into pieces (about 1 inch)

3. In the same pan you cooked the sausages, add the onions and thyme to pan and cook until onions are soft and slightly caramelized.  Drain the potatoes and add to the pan with the onions, cook for about 4-5 minutes, season with salt, pepper, paprika and oregano.  Add the sausage, mix all together and serve, or store in air tight container in the fridge for up to a week or longer in the freezer.

 

Sunday Brunch: Sausage, Spinach, Sundried Tomatos and Cheddar Cheese Frittata

The title says Sunday brunch but really you can have this for dinner any night of the week. I recently made this frittata for a client that I cook for on a weekly basis. Its filling, delicious and easy! One of the first things I made back in culinary school was a onion frittata and I was so nervous it wouldn’t flip out of the pan correctly, the anxiety was on HIGH that class haha! But it came out great and that’s because I had an excellent non stick pan. That is the key here, and once you have that the rest is piece of cake. Frittata by the way is a big omelet started in a non stick heavy duty pan and finished in the oven to blow up and be nice and puffy. Similar to a quiche but with no crust. You can add any kind of toppings your little heart desires, so its great when you want to get rid of herbs and vegetables in your fridge! For this one I used sweet Italian sausage, spinach, sundried tomatoes and cheddar cheese. The process is always the same, you want to cook your filling in the same pan you cook the frittata in then add your egg mixture, cook in pan and then finish it off in the oven. Then you invert on to a plate. Try this combo or one of your own for you next brunch party or week night dinner!

 

 

 

Sausage, Spinach, Sundried Tomatoes and Cheddar Cheese Frittata

Preheat oven to 350. Use a non stick, oven safe frying pan.
10 Eggs
2 lbs spinach, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage
8 ounces of sundried tomatoes
8 ounces of cheddar cheese, shredded
Butter or oil

1. Crack eggs in a bowl and whisk until frothy and well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside in the fridge
2. Cook the sausages on medium heat all the way through, cool on a plate then cut in small pieces
3. Next heat a heavy duty non stick pan on medium heat, drizzle oil or a few teaspoons of butter around the pan. Add spinach to pan and cook down and season with a little kosher salt, next add onions and cook until translucent. Add in the cooked sausage and tomatoes. Mix all together and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add egg mixture to the pan and let sit for 1 minute. Using a rubber spatula go around the edges of the pan once, then go from one edge to the middle of the pan, letting the middle liquid go to the edge. This will ensure the middle is cooking and as well as the edges. When you see sold pieces of egg forming, turn off heat, add shredded cheese on top and transfer to the oven for 15-20 minutes. The egg mixture will rise and the edges will be a dark brown. You can use toothpicks to see if the middle is well cooked.

5. Let cool in pan completely.  Then take a plate or cutting board and put over the pan and flip over.  Frittata should come out easily.  Then flip over again on to a plate.  Cut in triangle pieces  and serve with a simple salad.

 

                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

Spicy Cucumber Salad

I made this simple cucumber salad at my Memorial Day BBQ and it was a big hit (except for my best friend Tracey, who is super pickyyyy.. who doesn’t like cucumbers??) Cucumbers have great nutritional value, low in calories and helps reduce bloating, so it’s perfect after a day (or weekend) of over eating. This salad has a nice spicy kick to it and the longer it sits in the fridge the better! I would make it the night before need it and enjoy the next day!

Spicy Cucumber Salad

4 Cucumbers (leave skin on and cut as thinly as you can, if you prefer use a mandolin)
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped fine
4 limes
1/4 of extra virgin olive oil
1 TBS red hot chili flakes
Kosher Salt to taste

1. Place the cucumbers in a large bowl. Add the chopped garlic and chopped jalapenos. (NOTE: use gloves to cut open the peppers and scrape all the seeds out so the salad it is not TOO spicy!)
2. In another bowl cut the limes and squeeze out as much juice as you can. Add the chili flakes, salt and oil. Whisk with a fork until combined.
3. Add dressing to the cucumbers and toss everything together. Place in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

Quick Lunch Salad– Kale, Grilled chicken, and Roasted chickpeas

I came up with this salad the other day while I was in a panic in the morning realizing that I forgot to prepare a lunch for the day. I have been trying hard not to buy lunch and thought I would have to that day. But I had a few things in my fridge and had a “make it work” moment and it turned out to be great! The night before I had grilled up chicken breast to have for a salad or to add to a quick pasta dish. I had a kale which I love for salad because it hold up to salad dressing well without wilting and is packed with nutrients and flavor. I had roasted chickpeas the day before(which is my new thing..love it) and a good chunk of blue cheese I had bought the other day. So I thought if I just pack all this up I can assemble a pretty good salad for lunch. All it takes is a little preparation the night before and you have nice gourmet salad and be the envy of all your coworkers who are drooling over your lunch! Pack the chicken in one container, and the vegetables in another. I always make my own dressings so I know what exactly is in them and they often taste better then store bought, but this is your lunch so do whatever makes your stomach happy!

Grilled Chicken Kale Salad
1-2 cups kale, cut up in bit size pieces, hard stem removed
2 pieces of chicken breast, cooked and cut into thin slices
Few pieces of thinly sliced red pepper and onion
2 TBS of roasted chickpeas
Few crumbles of Blue cheese

Assemble a bed of kale on a plate making a slight dome shape. Add the grilled chicken around the dome, then the peppers, onions and chickpeas around and on top of the salad. Add the cheese last and drizzle with your favorite dressing or the yogurt dressing below!

Creamy Yogurt Dressing
1 cup Greek plain yogurt
juice from 1 lemon
fresh thyme, sage or Italian season blend
3 TBS red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Add everything to a small bowl and whisk with a fork or small whisk, add salt and pepper to taste.

Completely addictive roasted sweet almonds

Hello People! Sorry its been a few weeks since my last post, had some computer issues (which im still dealing with) and work has been busy! But I wanted to get back in the swing of things with these amazing almonds.  I love to snack, and this is one of my favorite things to snack on during the day.  These almonds take me back to when my mom used to take my brothers and I to downtown Boston and she would always buy us the fresh hot nuts from the roasted nut stands.  It was one of my favorite things to eat and always looked forward to it.  One of the things I love about certain foods is the history and nostalgia behind it and how one thing can bring you back to when you were 8.    The smell is enticing and I wanted to create that in my own kitchen.  I had almonds but you could use a mix of nuts or one that you love!  Its super quick and easy.  These are sweet but you could make them savory or spicy! (hmmm sriracha roasted almonds anyone?)

 

Roasted Sweet Almonds

2 cups  whole almonds

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon  kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat.

1. Heat a saucepan to medium heat and add sugar.  Let that melt ( you can add a few drops of water here).   Add your nuts and stir with a rubber spatula.  Then add the salt and cinnamon.

2. Transfer nut mixture to the prepared baking sheet and put in oven for about 5 minutes or until your house smells like a roasted nut factory! Enjoy!

 

This is what it looks like when it comes right out of the pot and ready for the oven

 

 

 

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

I LOVE sweet potatoes, in any form, mashed, cut up in little pieces for a breakfast hash, candied for  Thanksgiving, in a pie, fries, but my hands down favorite is roasted. There is truly nothing better than sweet potatoes put in an high oven and roasted to perfection. You can add a little butter and cinnamon but I like it just the way it is, it’s sweet enough that it doesn’t require much of anything.  In restaurants I have seen where they like to “kick up” a baked sweet potato with junk like marshmallows, and not that there is anything wrong with marshmallows but sweet on top of more sweet is just gross and a good way to ruin a perfectly good vegetable.  Not to mention the spike in calories.  Sweet potatoes already have a great amount of nutrients, why not compliment it with even MORE healthy goodness?  I got this great idea from a post on Pintrest. You split open a perfectly baked sweet potato and stuff it with this lime cilantro infused black bean and corn mixture.  The idea is genius, delicious AND couldn’t be easier!   This is a great side dish or main dish.  Try it tonight..seriously DO IT!

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

4 Sweet potatoes

1 can of black beans, drained

1 can of corn or frozen corn, cooked

1 orange or yellow (or red or green) bell pepper, chopped

1 small or 1/2 of a big red onion, chopped

3-4 limes, juiced

1/4 cup of cilantro

2 tbs honey

a few dashes of hot sauce

3 TBS of olive oil

Course salt and pepper to taste

1. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Put potatoes on sheet and roast in oven for 30-40 minutes

2. Meanwhile make your stuffing.  In a bowl mix the onion, pepper, corn,  and beans.  In  separate bowl whisk together the lime juice, honey, hot sauce, oil and salt and pepper.  Add dressing to the bean mixture.  Keep refrigerated until potatoes are done.

3.   Take potatoes out when they are soft and tender throughout.  (you can prick with a fork to test)

4. Using a pairing knife split open lengthwise and cut 3 quarters of the way down.  Making enough room for the stuffing.  Add  spoonful’s of the bean mixture to each potato.  You can add more lime juice to the top or more hot sauce (ME) or even a little feta cheese if you have it!   Its so incredibly refreshing and so good! Enjoy!! (Tip- make extra stuffing and add it to fish, chicken or beef for a great topping!)

Recipe adapted from: HERE

Lentil Patties

My 21 day cleanse is officially over and I feel great and lost a few pounds (hooray!) the best part of this process was trying new foods and new ways of cooking that I’m not normally use to.  I’m a sucker for two things; pizza and burgers.  And I will never give that stuff up, it’s really all about moderation.  I was never into the veggie burger thing, why would I have a veggie burger instead of a juicy, greasy, succulent all beef burger?!  But this cleanse was all about trying new things and being open minded.  I was reading through the February edition of Martha Stewart Living magazine and saw these really good looking lentil patties made with green lentils. She accompanied the patty with capers, yogurt and Bibb lettuce. I figured I would try the recipe (with my own interpretation of course) and it turned out really great! I added more vegetables in the mix and instead of yogurt I accompanied mine with fresh made salsa on a bed of romaine hearts. It was a delicious, fresh and filling meal.

No, it will never replace that juicy, fatty, luscious all meat burger on a bun but its great alternative for a healthful meal! Green lentils are best here, they are firmer and hold the whole thing together really well. I tried it last week with red lentils and it was hard to keep together and way more mushy. I’m going to try next time with a mix of green lentils and black beans..yum!

Lentil Patties

Special equipment note: I used a food processor to grind the ingredients if you don’t have one make sure all vegetables are chopped finely and mash lentils with a masher or fork)

1/2 cup Green Lentils
1 Red onion chopped (if its a big one use half)
2 Eggs (lightly beaten)
1 Cup Almond flour (for binding, feel free to use breadcrumbs or panko)
1/2 of a green or red pepper, finely chopped
6-8 White button mushroom
2 TBS of chopped parsley
1 TBS smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of chili powder
Course salt and fresh black pepper

Accompaniments
Salsa
Romaine lettuce
Sliced red onion
Chopped parsley
Other options: fried egg, plain yogurt mixed with cayenne pepper, hot sauce, any type of cheese, sautéed vegetables just to name a few!

1. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil and add lentils. Season with salt and continue on medium heat for about 20 minutes until lentils are tender. When they are done drain them and let cool in a bowl.
2. Combine lentils, mushrooms, onion, peppers, parsley, paprika, chili powder, almond flour, eggs and salt and pepper in a bowl.
3. Take half the mixture and pulse in a food processors (or mash) until smooth. Add back to the other half and mix together until well combined.
4. Use a small ice cream scoop and form patties. (tip- spray your hands with cooking spray when forming the patties, it wont stick to your hands)
5. Heat a skillet with oil (olive, veg, coconut etc.) on medium heat. Cook in batches until crisps on both sides, about 3 minutes each side. Let cool on a baking sheet.
6. Use one romaine heart per patty. Lay patty on top of lettuce (you can dress your lettuce with fresh lemon juice) then add your salsa on top of patty or whatever toppings you decide to use. Enjoy!

Egg Free, Wheat free and Dairy free Pancakes

I love pancakes, like really love pancakes. While on my cleanse I didn’t think it was possible to have pancakes. I figured even if I got whole grain or wheat free flours, how was it possible without an egg to make it nice and fluffy. And I wanted it to still taste like a good ol’ pancake should. I did some research on pintrest, and of course there are boards of egg free pancakes. Most of the recipes I found had oil and butter. Oil I can use, butter I could not. Then I remembered these chocolate muffins I made from the book Naturally Thin from Bethenny Frankel, she used applesauce in place of eggs in this recipe. The recipe was great and worked perfectly. (recipe here:http://www.bethenny.com/2011/03/08/low-fat-fudge-chocolate-chip-muffins/) So I figured the oil and applesauce could work here in place of an egg. I love cornmeal in my pancakes so I know I wanted that, I had oat flour and on my recent trip to Trader Joe’s I purchased almond meal. Almond meal is ground whole almonds and it works great in cakes and other baking applications. The 3 flours, cinnamon, vanilla and applesauce made a really amazing pancake. And a very guilt free pancake! When on a cleanse its not about being starving and taking away all the things you love to eat, it takes a little work but you can still enjoy some of your favorites. Try this great and easy recipe!

First combine the 3 flours, raw sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and pinch of salt

Use unsweetened natural applesauce

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry. I used almond milk, but you could use any other nut milk or soy milk.

Heat on medium and spray with cooking oil. I found coconut spray at Trader Joes!

Once it bubbles, flip and start to stack. These are going to be a little darker because of the flours. I drizzled mine with a tablespoon of pure maple syrup I got at a local farmers market.

Egg free, Wheat free and Dairy Free Pancakes

1/2 c oat flour
1/2 c almond meal
1/4 cup of cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1 teas. cinnamon
2 TBS unsweetened apple sauce
1 c almond milk
1 teas. vanilla
1 TBS vegetable or olive oil

1. Combine oat, almond and cornmeal in a bowl. Add baking powder, cinnamon sugar and a pinch of salt.
2. Whisk in milk, vanilla, oil, and applesauce. Mix well
3. Transfer the pancake mix to a measuring cup for easy pouring into the pan, alternatively you could us a 1/4 measuring cup to keep your pancakes the same size.
4. Heat skillet to medium heat. Pour batter into pan and cook until tiny bubbles start to form. Flip with a spatula and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Repeat. Enjoy with fruit and a little sprinkle of powdered sugar or a tablespoon of pure maple syrup!

Scottish Oatmeal with Flaxseed, Clementine peel, All spice, Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Honey

I have had all the oats; rolled, instant, steel-cut, and Scottish, and I have found a true winner. In terms of consistency, time cooked, and taste, Scottish oatmeal blows the competition away. It is true oatmeal, what I mean by this is that this is the true form of oatmeal or porridge (original name) many years ago there were not machines to break down or roll oatmeal, so it was grinded into a meal. Therefore making it the least processed and healthiest along with steel cut oatmeal. I jumped on the steel-cut bandwagon because it was the least processed and healthier than rolled or instant oats. It just took SO long to cook and after all that cooking, it was still hard or just not as soft as I would like my oatmeal to be. But because I needed it for cleansing and my mantra of eating less processed foods I continued to buy it. Until one day I was browsing a specialty market and there it was, Scottish oatmeal. I had never heard of it, but it was a whole grain and wasn’t rolled, so it has the same benefits as steel-cut oatmeal, and it cooked in half the time, so I figured I should try it. Because Scottish oatmeal is not rolled or cut, but ground up into a meal it makes for much better consistency, and cooking time is around 8-10 minutes. For further explanation on the difference between these different types of oatmeal check out this article from Bob’s Redmill (rolled, instant, steel-cut, Scottish?)

So I loaded up on the Scottish oatmeal for the cleanse and made up a batch on Sunday morning. I love putting whole spices right into my oatmeal for maximum flavor. I had allspice, nutmeg, and a cinnamon stick. I wanted something with citrus so I thought of an orange, but I didn’t have any, I did however have clementine and figured it would do the trick. If I don’t have an exact ingredient I always find an alternative from something I already have, in the end it always works out. I added some flax seeds for that extra crunch (and amazing health benefits). The combination was a breakfast home run. All the flavors came together in a subtle yet refreshing way with nothing over powering the other. In the words of our favorite little fairytale theif, it was “just right”, Goldilocks herself would have jumped all over this porridge, seriously it is that good. The piping hot oatmeal filled my kitchen with smells of warm spices and citrus it reminded me of apple pie baking in a hot oven. Each bite got better and better, and I was sad when my bowl was empty. I have never been this excited about oatmeal before, this was just that amazingly delicious.

Bob’s Redmill products has never failed me and everything is whole and minimally processed.

Boil your water with salt, whole allspice, freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon stick and a couple slices of orange or clementine peel.

Now add your oats and milk (almond, soy, cow, goat)

And a drizzle of honey or raw sugar

Let cook for about 10 minutes. The result; soft, creamy, sweet oatmeal = Breakfast heaven

Scottish Oatmeal with Flaxseed, Clementine peel, Nutmeg, Allspice, Cinnamon and Honey

1 cup of Scottish Oatmeal
3 cups of water
3 TBS of whole flaxseed
1/2 milk (I used almond)
5 all spice berries
1 cinnamon stick
2-3 slices of clementine or orange peel
1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
A drizzle or two of honey (1-2 teaspoons) or raw sugar
Opt: few dashes of vanilla or almond extract

1. Add water to a small saucepot and let boil along with a pinch of salt, whole spices and grated nutmeg. NOTE: You can do this a couple different ways. I like to add my spices to the pot and let it cook with my oatmeal and I don’t mind picking everything out at the end (lazy method). Another way is to steep your spices in the milk first, heat your milk, then let the spices sit in the milk for about 15 minutes, drain your milk with fine mesh strainer, and you can now add flavored milk to the oatmeal pot (chef-y method). You can also wrap your spices in cheese cloth and stick that in the pot with the boiling water and can stay in the pouch until the end of cooking (smart cook method). Your choice!
2. Once the water is boiling, add the oatmeal and whisk vigorously to avoid lumps. Turn heat down to medium/low and let cook for about 10 minutes.
3. Drizzle honey, stir and serve