Karen's Deluxe Scrambled Eggs

When I was 12, on weekends I'd make scrambled eggs. Soon my Mom or Dad would be in the kitchen, checking out what I was doing, and sniffing the air.

"Honey, can I have those? They look sooooo good." (sniff sniff)

I'd cave, give up the plate, and start again, only to give up that plate too.

"Can't I EAT?!" I'd wail. My 12 year old self didn't have the foresight to just make them for everyone at once.

These days, I still love really good scrambled eggs. They aren't hard at all, and with the addition of cheese, some good deli ham, and diced green onion, they are more like a scrambled omlette.

To make them for 2 you need the following:

6 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
2 tsp butter
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 pieces of shaved deli ham, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup Cheddar cheese

Beat the eggs with the milk in a bowl, and set aside.

Melt the butter in a fry pan over medium low heat. If you have a non stick pan, you could probably just spray the pan with Pam or something. I don't have non stick. Pour the eggs into the pan.

The secret to good scrambled eggs is cooking them slowly on low heat. Watch them carefully, stirring every now and then. Don't break up the curds too much. They should never, ever, get brown. When the eggs are still a bit juicy but just about finished, sprinkle in the green onion, ham, and cheese. Remove them from the pan immediately so they don't continue cooking.

Enjoy!

Serves 2-3

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

We have been on a bit of a peanut butter and chocolate binge here in the Cookie Jar. Possibly because peanut butter is one of the few nuts that I can eat, and now that Jake is in a school that doesn't ban peanut butter, he can take peanutty things in his lunches.

Awhile ago I discovered the Epicurious App for my iPod. I love it! I browse recipes while I'm sitting with Hubs in front of the TV, save the ones I like to my favorites, and then can pull them up when I need them. About a month ago, my friend Monique shared the most delicious, chewy, chocolate peanut butter cookie with me over lunch. I wanted her recipe but she didn't have it, and then I couldn't find it! All was lost!

Until I found this recipe, which looked good and with the memories of Monique's delicious cookie in mind, I tried it.

These are so rich and delicious, you will love them. I reduced the white sugar by 1/4 cup when I read in the comments that they were very sweet, and I think it was just the thing. They are still rich, but not over the top sweet. I experimented with the baking time, and I think I would remove them right at 10 minutes to keep them soft and gooey. Even just waiting until they were just set resulted in a cookie that's a bit dry. Delicious, but not the brownie-like texture I was going for.

I'm on the hunt for the recipe for Monique's cookie, now. I'll let you know if I find it.

Adapted From Epicurious
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar (I reduced this to 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 2/3 cup (10 oz bag) peanut butter chips
1 cup (8 oz) semi sweet chocolate chips

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

Beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Add in your egg and vanilla, beating until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture in and gently beat until just combined. Stir in the chocolate and peanut butter chips.

Drop the batter by scant tablespoons onto a cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Use my shaping method to get them all nice looking. Then bake them for 8-10 minutes, until the tops are just set (if you like them gooey) or up to 12 minutes if you like them crispier.

Makes about 3 dozen

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Perogies with Sausages and Spiced Onions

This is probably the most fattening, artery clogging, dish in my repertoire. Plus it's not exactly from scratch. What? You thought I'd make perogies from scratch? Are you insane? No, I buy them at the store. In the freezer section. Fried in butter, served with a dollop of sour cream, they are a fantastic comfort food dinner.

**Now I do know how to make perogies from scratch, and I have done it and yes, they are amazing, but there is no time these days to do that. So frozen it is**

-frozen perogies (I usually make about 6-8 per person)
-enough for one sausage per person
-sliced onions (I figure about 1/2 onion each person, if they like fried onions)
-butter
-Club House La Grille Vegetable seasoning (this has salt in it, but you can use some blends that don't have any. Experiment to find one you like!)

Fill a large pot with water, cover it, and bring it to a boil. Once it's boiling good and hard, drop in the perogies and give it a stir. The perogies will float when they are finished cooking, and you can fish them out with a slotted spoon and put them on a plate.

Meanwhile, melt some butter in a fry pan and dump in the onions. Stir and fry until they are a deep golden. This takes awhile, so be patient.

Turn on the oven to 350 F. Put the sausages on a foil lined grilling pan and pop them into the oven, turning every so often until they are cooked through. (um...15 minutes? I'm not sure)

When the perogies are all finished cooking, melt some more butter in a fry pan and drop a bunch in. Don't crowd the pan though, leave lots of room for them to move around. You may need to do them in batches. Keep the heat at medium low, and let them bubble away gently until they are golden brown. Turn over, sprinkle with seasoning, and let the other side cook until golden.

For the next batch, add more butter (be careful to let the pan cool a bit before you add it, or the butter will burn) and repeat.

Throughout all this your onions will bubble and cook down, your sausages will cook, and bit by bit you can just pull it all together. Serve the perogies slathered with fried onions and sliced up bits of sausage, with a dollop of sour cream on the side.

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Veggie Focaccia Sandwiches

I love a good dinner sandwich, and when you find a bakery that has amazing bread, how can you resist? This isn't so much as a recipe, but a guideline.

-Find a bakery that makes a good foccaccia. I toasted and buttered ours. On the bottom I slathered it with store bought hummus, but another time we tried mashed avocado and it was delicious!

-layer in sliced cucumbers, grated carrots, thinly sliced tomato, and some really good cheese. Some store bought pesto on the top half of the bread adds a lot of flavor, too or you could add some fresh basil leaves.

Then just try to wrap your mouth around that baby.

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Sloppy Joes

Jake loves sloppy joes, and these are the one recipe that he asks for again and again! The filling would also be great wrapped up in a tortilla. The beans and rice in it stretch the meat out so you're not filling up on all meat. If you choose to take these in a lunch box, pack the filling separately so it can be heated up before it's stuffed into the bun.

Recipe adapted from Crazy Plates
1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup grated carrot
1 cup mashed kidney beans
1 cup cooked rice (brown or white)
1 cup diced tomato
2/3 cup ketchup
couple splashes of Louisiana hot sauce
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp mustard
salt and pepper to taste
6-8 soft kaisers or hamburger buns

In a large fry pan, heat a small amount of oil and add the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot. Cook until veggies are softened and then remove them from pan to a plate and set aside. Saute the ground turkey until browned and no longer pink, adding more oil if necessary. Break up any large pieces as you go.

Add the onion mixture, chili powder, and cumin, continuing to cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and turn the heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Halve the buns and butter them , then toast them under the broiler until they are golden. Spoon mixture onto the bottom half of the bun, cover with the top half, and dig in!

Serves 6.

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Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

Just in time for Valentine's Day, I have to share this great chocolate cupcake recipe with you. To be honest, I'm a die hard cake mix fan. Somehow the idea of buying cake flour and sifting seems like way too much work. I just get a mix, dump everything into my Kitchen Aid mixer bowl and turn it on.

This recipe is almost exactly like that! Really! All you do is measure the dry ingredients into a bowl, whisk it up, dump in the wet ingredients, turn on the mixer, and voila!! The result is a fluffy, light cupcake that Jake thought was from a mix.

"Mom, this is the best cake mix ever. What kind did you get this time?"



Recipe adapted from Nosh With Me

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water

In the bowl for your electric mixer, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a different bowl, measure out the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Set aside.

Dump the milk mixture into the flour mixture, and mix on low speed for 2 minutes until smooth. Then add in the boiling water and mix on low until it's well incorporated. The batter will be really runny at first, but don't worry, as you mix it will thicken up a bit.

Divide the batter between paper lined cups, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 F for about 22 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool before icing them.

Makes about 24-30, depending on how big you make them.

The icing is ganache. SO easy and so sinful!

Heat up 3/4 cup of whipping cream with 2 Tbsp of butter until it's hot and the butter is melted. Pour over 8 oz of chopped bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate, stirring, until it's melted and smooth. Allow it to sit for awhile and become a thicker consistency, like pudding. (you can speed this up by putting it in the fridge for a few minutes, but watch carefully!) Then spread it over the cupcakes. For the photo, I found some little heart candies at the store to decorate.

When I made them, the ganache was pudding like and I was worried it would drip down the sides of the cupcakes. Put them in the fridge for about 10 minutes to firm it up.

Store the iced cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge. The ganache will harden up a bit, becoming this creamy, truffle like topping that you will just LOVE. I know you will.


***For adult ganache, try adding 1 Tbsp of rum or brandy.

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Eggplant Parmesan

Afraid of eggplant? Don't be. A bit like eating lasagna, this dish is a tomatoey, cheesy, healthier than pasta one. It's light and delicious too, without leaving you feel like you've eaten something you shouldn't. Pair it up with a tossed green salad and some garlic bread.

I had to bribe Jake to leave the leftovers alone so I could get a picture.

Adapted from Crazy Plates
1 cup unseasoned, dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp basil
4 egg whites (I'm lazy-I used 2 whole eggs)
1/2 tsp salt (optional. I never add it)
2 med eggplants (about 2 lbs)
Olive oil cooking spray
3-4 cups your favorite pasta sauce (depends on how saucy you like it)
1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

In a shallow dish or pie plate, stir together the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and basil. Set aside.

Crack the eggs in another shallow dish and beat them. Set aside.

Pre-heat your oven to 400 F

Take the eggplants and cut them crosswise into about 8 pieces. Don't peel it. I usually end up cutting them thinner than that, and end up with more. It's not really a big deal if you do that. Working assembly line style, dip the egg plant into the egg, and then into the bread crumb mixture. Set them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. When you are finished with the eggplants, spray them lightly with the olive oil spray.

If you don't have the spray you can drizzle a little butter over each one. Bake them for 15 minutes, and then turn them over and bake 15 minutes more until they are tender.

To assemble the dish, cover the bottom of a 9x13 dish with about 1 cup of pasta sauce. Top with 1/2 the eggplant slices, then spoon over more sauce and top with about 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat by topping with the other 1/2 of the eggplant slices, and then topping with more cheese and another 1/2 cup mozzarella.

I always use more cheese then the original recipe calls for, by mixing in some more Parmesan and sometimes even Cheddar.

Bake at 400 F, uncovered for about 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

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Mulligatawny (Curried Chicken and Rice) Soup

I love spicy, delicious soups. This one doesn't take that long to make, and the results are great! Spice is a bit relative, though-I don't find this spicy, but you may need to taste along as you make it and adjust as you see fit. I changed up the original recipe, and you'll see my notes in brackets below. The finished soup freezes well and makes a tasty lunch, especially if you take some naan bread to go with it.


Recipe adapted from Crazy Plates

1 Tbsp butter
1 cup each chopped celery, onions, and carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch cubes (I used what I had in the fridge, which was 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs and a bunch of chicken tenders. Thigh meat tends to be more moist, so I'd recommend that here. The breasts can go a bit dry. Eyeball it. 4-5 thighs, maybe?)
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
6 cups low fat chicken broth
one 19 oz can of plum tomatoes, drained and cut up
1/2 cup uncooked long grain brown rice
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups peeled, cored, and diced Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I used cilantro)
3/4 cup low fat sour cream or yogurt
1 Tbsp lemon juice (I zested a lemon and then cut it in 1/2, squeezing the juice from one 1/2 into the soup)

In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat and saute the celery, onion, carrots, and garlic until soft. Add the chicken and continue to saute until the chicken is no longer pink.

Stir in the chili, cumin, curry, cloves and bay leaves, allowing them to cook for about a minute.

Pour in the chicken broth, tomatoes, and brown rice. Turn the heat up and bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

**Brown rice typically needs about 45 minutes to cook. In the soup, it was a teensy bit chewy still after 15 minutes but by the time the soup sat on the stove, etc it was cooked through. If you are eating the soup immediately you might want to try white or a par-boiled brown rice. If you are going to freeze this, use regular brown rice. It holds up really well.***

Stir in the chopped apple and cilantro, letting simmer for another 5-10 minutes until the apples are soft. Zest a lemon right into the soup, then cut the lemon in 1/2 and squeeze the juice from 1 half right into the pot. Stir.

When you serve the soup, swirl in a bit of low fat sour cream and top with a bit of chopped cilantro.

Serves 6

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Tortilla Bake

Want burritos but no rolling? This recipe is really fast and easy. In the picture I used 8 inch (ish) whole wheat flour tortillas and stacked it higher then normal, but you can do it with three larger tortillas if you wish.

3/4 lb ground turkey or beef (I always use turkey)
1 small onion, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 jar your favorite chunky salsa
1 cup coarsely mashed kidney beans
1/4 chopped fresh coriander
Tex mexy pre-shredded cheese
four 10 inch flour tortillas

Place 1 tortilla on a cookie sheet and pre-heat your oven to 350F.

Saute your onion, red pepper, and ground beef (or turkey) together until the meat is cooked and the veggies are soft and yummy. Sprinkle in the cumin and chili powder, stirring. Take it off the heat.

Stir in enough salsa to make it saucy but not dripping-I use about 1/2 jar, so maybe 1/2 cup? Stir in the mashed up kidney beans and the chopped coriander. Spread 1/3 of the mixture over the tortilla sitting on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle with some cheese, top with another tortilla. Top with 1/3 more filling, more cheese, repeat layers, ending with the last tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese.

If you have a lot of filling, you can add another layer of meat and cheese, topping with another tortilla.

Bake in the 350 F oven for about 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything is warm and bubbly. We just slice it up like a pie and eat it, but you could serve it topped with chopped lettuce, black olives, sour cream, etc.

Serves 4.

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