26Jun / 2012

Baked Herbed Eggs With Ham

I’m not a fan of breakfast. At least whole, healthy breakfast foods. I would much prefer a cold slice of pizza over eggs any day. And If I’m going to eat eggs, bring on the cheese, toast, ketchup, ANYTHING to hide the taste and the texture. Many of these additions are terrible for you and trying to find some whole food breakfast foods I enjoy has been a challenge. Along came pinterest and a post that I can’t find which inspired this, but I had to try it — with a twist.

Also, fresh herbs are almost always better. In this case, despite my herb window garden, I only had fresh chives for this recipe, the rest I used are of the dried variety.

Baked Herbed Eggs With Ham

8 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream (divided for each ramekin)
1 tablespoon butter (4) 1/4 tablespoons slices (a slice per ramekin)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 tablespoon thyme
1/2 tablespoon rosemary
1/2 tablespoon chives
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
A few ounces of diced ham (leftover carved ham is ideal!)

Mix all herbs, garlic and the Parmesan cheese in a small bowl and set aside.

In four ramekins, add a portion of cream, butter and ham (whatever amount gets you jazzed, but leave room for two eggs).
Place ramekins on a cookie sheet. Set aside. Preheat broiler to high and move the oven rack about 6″ away from the heating element.

In four separate bowls, carefully crack open two eggs to keep yolks intact (I guess you could also scramble them if you like). Set aside.

Place the ramekins under the preheated broiler for 5 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Carefully pour each of the egg bowls into a ramekin and evenly sprinkle with your herb mixture.

Place back under the broiler for 2-5 minutes, being careful to watch for over-browning. Remove from oven and let sit for 3-5 minutes. The eggs will firm up a bit more and will be ready to eat! I garnished with some diced tomato and fresh basil.

ENJOY!
The possibilities of these little baked nests of love are endless.
I’m thinking some artichoke hearts will be involved in the next batch.

–Lauren

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25Jun / 2012

Meatball Subs

These meatball subs are delish and surprisingly easy to make! I throw all the ingredients in my Kitchen Aid mixer and let it do all the heavy lifting.

Meatball Subs

1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons dried or fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Jar of favorite tomato sauce
Sub rolls
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a large bowl or the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer, add beef, egg, Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix by hand or on medium until ingredients are well incorporated. Roll into 2″ meatballs. In a large skillet over medium heat, add oil and fry meatballs until browned on each side. They won’t be cooked all the way through so don’t worry. In a sauce pan over medium low heat, add tomato sauce and browned meatballs. Simmer covered for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat broiler on high and on a broiler pan lined with foil, lie sub rolls flat. Add meatballs and sauce then top with cheese. Broil for 2-3 minutes, checking constantly to make sure nothing burns.

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21Jun / 2012

Macaroni Salad

This macaroni salad is a staple in our house in the summer. I make a big batch and we eat it as a side dish with just about every summer meal. Funny story about this recipe, is that it actually started out as an accident. It was Spring Break ’06 in Daytona Beach and we had gone shopping for (cheap) food to grill and side dishes to make. I accidentally grabbed the wrong seasoning, ended up using it anyways and it turned out to be delicious!

(and, yes, I’m a big weirdo and I eat my hot dogs with a knife and fork!)

Macaroni Salad

3 cups elbow macaroni
1 cup of mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
7-8 celery stalks, finely diced
2-3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
3 tablespoons McCormick Perfect Pinch Salad Supreme seasoning

Boil macaroni according to package directions. Drain and run cold water over the pasta until cool to the touch. Add all ingredients into a large bowl and stir until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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18Jun / 2012

Leftover Chicken Rice Bowls

This is a perfect weeknight dish for those unsure what to do with an abundance of chicken leftovers. I used all ingredients I had on hand in my pantry. Now I know most people don’t have Sazón lying around in their pantry, but you absolutely should! I grew up with a Puerto Rican grandmother who cooked with it a lot, so it’s become a staple in my own house. This was a huge hit with the hubby who is a big fan of Chipotle’s rice bowls.

Leftover Chicken Rice Bowls

1-2 cups grilled chicken breasts, cubed into 1-inch pieces
1-2 cups frozen corn
1 packet Goya Sazón with Coriander and Annatto
1 can of black beans
1 pouch of ready-to-heat rice (My favorite is Rishikesh Whole Grain Brown Basmati Rice)
Dollop of sour cream
hot sauce

In a medium skillet over medium low heat, add pre-cooked chicken, corn and half of the Sazón packet. Cook until chicken is warm, corn is cooked and the seasoning is well incorporated. Add beans to a small pot with the rest of the Sazón packet. Make sure not to drain the beans. Simmer until warm. Meanwhile, cook rice according to package. In bowls, layer ingredients as follows: rice, beans, chicken/corn mixture, dollop of sour cream, dash of hot sauce.

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14Jun / 2012

Greek Salad Dressing

This one doesn’t need much explanation other than that I use this dressing on everything! It’s delicious on a salad and also great for marinating chicken. It even makes a good dip for warm bread. Canola oil works better in this instance because it doesn’t congeal in the refrigerator like olive oil does. Also using red wine vinegar gives it a much more Greek flavor where balsamic tends to taste more Italian.

Greek Salad Dressing

3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup red wine or balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1-1/2 teaspoons pepper
1-1/2teaspoons salt
1-1/2teaspoonsdried chopped onions
1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Add all ingredients into a glass, Good Seasons cruet and shake well until combined. Refrigerate.

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11Jun / 2012

Monster Cookies

A girl at work refers to me as Betty Crocker so when I brought these cookies to a work function she asked “Did Betty Crocker make these?” to which I replied “Actually, this time, she did!” I only changed the recipe slightly by substituting vegetable oil for butter (because a cup of butter in anything makes me uncomfortable) and by reducing the amount of M&M’s (because too many make the cookies too sweet. Yes, that’s possible.)

Monster Cookies

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk chocolate M&M’s

Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir all ingredients except candies until soft dough forms. On ungreased cookie sheets, place about 1/4 cupfuls dough about 3 inches apart. Add 3-5 M&M’s to the top of each cookie, making sure to press them down. Bake 12 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown. Makes about 20 cookies.

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07Jun / 2012

Watermelon Infused Vodka

Trust me when I say that this watermelon vodka was so worth the effort! It was absolutely delicious and tasted sweet without adding any sweetener. Also, the color was a deep magenta and would look really pretty garnished with a little mint or basil.

Watermelon Infused Vodka

1 small- to medium-sized seedless watermelon
1/2 bottle of watermelon-flavored vodka

Cut up the watermelon into 1-inch cubes and discard the rind. Place in a large glass bowl and add vodka over top. Mix well to coat all of the watermelon cubes with vodka. Place in the fridge for at least 24 hours and then wait patiently. In batches, blend all of the vodka-soaked watermelon chunks until smooth. Over a large bowl, strain blended watermelon through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth and discard the excess pulp. Transfer the remaining liquid to a serving bottle and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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04Jun / 2012

Sangria

Sangria is the perfect drink for the summer. It’s cold, refreshing and fruity. You can use whatever fruits you want, but I prefer to stick with citrus. Also, If you prefer yours to be sweeter you can add more OJ. I’ve also heard of adding 7-Up or granulated sugar to sweeten the drink, but I like mine to be dry and the let the fruit do all the sweetening, naturally. White wine can easily be swapped for red if you’re not a big red wine fan.

As you can see, I had fun trying out some new photo filters with this post. Let me know what you think!

Sangria

Ice
1 bottle club soda
1 bottle dry red wine (like Cabernet, Shiraz or Merlot)
1/2 cup triple-sec liqueur
Splash of orange juice
Fruit, sliced (orange, lime and lemon)

In a large pitcher mix all ingredients with ice and stir until well-combined. Serve in glass with additional ice and fruit.

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the kitchen creative

Monthly Archives: June 2012

Baked Herbed Eggs With Ham

Meatball Subs

Macaroni Salad

Leftover Chicken Rice Bowls

Greek Salad Dressing

Monster Cookies

Watermelon Infused Vodka

Sangria

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