Pantry Challenge Day 6 - Crumbled veggie burger breakfast pita

I am definitely moving towards an empty pantry! This recipe took about 5 minutes to make, and it was surprisingly tasty. Also, by trying this recipe, I inadvertently discovered that cream cheese smeared on a veggie burger is a very tasty snack!

Ingredients:

1 egg
1/2 veggie burger (I used an Amy's veggie burger; it was quite large so I only used half)
1 tbsp ranch dressing
cilantro
salt, pepper
2 tbsp light cream cheese
2 tbsp salsa

1) Microwave the burger until its no longer frozen (it doesn't need to be heated through, but you do need to be able to break it up)

2) Crack your egg in a bowl, add the salt, pepper, and ranch. Whisk until its blended.

3) Crumble your burger into a small non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the egg mixture. I added my cilantro here, but it was a cilantro paste that comes in a tube. If you're using fresh cilantro, I would wait a little longer to add it.

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4) While you're waiting for your eggs to cook, you can prepare your pita. By prepare, I mean spread some cream cheese and salsa in it. You could toast the pita, but I left mine untoasted.

5. Scramble the eggs, but don't break them up too much - leave the pieces large.

6. Stuff the pita. Add some salt and pepper if it needs it. Enjoy! (Add some fresh spinach or baby greens here if you have any!)

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Spinach and red pepper frittata

Frittatas are like a more healthy version of the quiche. To me, most of the deliciousness of the quiche is found in the crust, but when you want to cut some calories and not sacrafice protein, a frittata is the way to go. I've filled mine with red bell peppers and spinach, but you can add anything really.

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Ingredients:

10 eggs
1/2 cup milk
a large handful fresh spinach, washed
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
a few generous grinds of cracked black pepper
1 tbsp fat-free ranch dressing (my old roommate taught me about this - I put ranch in all my eggs)

Preheat oven to 350

1. Take a large pie plate and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and ranch. Make sure its mixed well, the ranch can put up a fight.
3. Take the veggies and put them in the pie plate - mix them up. Put about 1/2 the cheese in there too.
4. Whisk the other half of the cheese with the eggs.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the pie plate over the veggies.
6. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the eggs.
7. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the frittata is puffed and golden brown, and the center is firm.

my first souffle!

I recently saw "Julie and Julia", and like most people who saw the movie, I was totally inspired to cook French cuisine. I really want Julia's book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", the book that Julie cooked her way through and blogged about, buuuut i'm thinking its probably mostly meat, and what isn't meat is probably uber unhealthy. I found Julia's recipe for Hollandaise sauce and could NOT allow myself to prepare it. It was literally butter and eggs (not to mention runny eggs freak me out). So, from now on, I will use Isa Chandra Moskowitz's vegan Hollandaise sauce recipe, which can be found in her book, Vegan Brunch, and which also kicks ass.

Anyway, because I was so inspired by Julia, I found one of her recipes that I CAN allow myself to make, despite that its still pretty unhealthy. Cheese Souffle! I've heard souffles can be pretty temperamental, but i think mine turned out ok. It tasted great, even if it didn't puff as much as i wanted it too. As Julia would say, Bon Apetit!

Ingredients:
Finely grated parmesan cheese
1 cup whole milk
2 1/2 tbs unsalted butter
3 tbs flour
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
pinch nutmeg (it was a big pinch)
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1 cup cheese - I used this great Swiss that I found

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter or oil a 6 cup souffle dish and spread the parmesan cheese over the oil. This gives the souffle a nice flavorful crust.

2. Heat the milk in a saucepan until it is steaming. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan and whisk in the flour. Stir for a minute or so, until it starts to thicken, but don't let it brown. Add the milk and whisk a few more minutes. It will get to be the consistency of thick yogurt.

3. Remove from heat and whisk in the paprika, salt and nutmeg.

4. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, whisking after each one. (Tip: separate the eggs in a bowl, 1 at a time, and add each yolk and white into its own container. If you get any yolk at all in the white, that white is ruined.)

5. Let this sit while you prepare the egg whites. This is the base of the souffle and can be made ahead of time (2 hrs ahead). You want this to be room temperature when you are ready to combine the egg whites with it).

5. Using an electric mixer, mix egg whites until they are very frothy and form stiff peaks, but are not dry. If the whites are too dry, add another egg white and whisk a little longer, but don't let them dry again. Whites froth much better at room temperature. See the stiff peaks?

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6. Mix about 1/4 of the egg whites with the souffle base. After this is mixed, gently fold in the rest of the whites. Be extremely gentle and do not over fold. At this time you can - slowly and carefully - fold in the cheese (or whatever else you wanted to put in it).

From Food pics

From Food pics

7. Pour mixture into prepared souffle dish. Add a tin foil collar around the dish, just in case you are lucky enough for your souffle to puff over the rim of the dish. Be sure to spread the collar with oil or butter to prevent sticking.

8. Place in the lower third of the oven and immediately turn the oven down to 375 degrees. It will bake for about 40-45 minutes, but check it after 35 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN BEFORE THEN!

Unfortunately we didn't take pictures of the finished souffle, but let me assure you, it was delicious!! Here is a picture of the unbaked souffle about to go in to the oven. The second picture shows the collar that can be added.

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Berry Berry Strata

This dish is so easy and tasty. Its also perfect when you have to feed a bunch of people - not too much prep work results in a lot of food!

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Ingredients:

4-5 large croissants, broken into bite size pieces
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 cup fresh berries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or halved strawberries with stems removed
1 cup milk
12 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Spray a 13 X 9 baking dish with oil. Take MOST of the croissant pieces and spread them evenly on the bottom of the dish.

2. Mix ricotta with cinnamon and white sugar. Dollop about half of the ricotta over croissants as evenly as possible.

3. Combine berries and spread half of them over the ricotta. Layer the rest of the croissants, then ricotta, then berries.

4. In a large bowl, combine eggs, oj, brown sugar and salt. Pour egg mixture over the berries, ricotta and croissants in the casserole dish. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate at least an hour (or overnight).

5. Cover with tin foil, bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Remove foil, bake another 10 minutes or until the eggs are done. (note: this can be made in different size pans, deeper pans will require longer baking times).

From Food pics

From Food pics