Breakfast Pizza

I found this breakfast casserole recipe (looks more like an egg pizza to me) during the holiday season, but never got around to making it until tonight. You’ll notice that I altered this recipe quite a bit from the original.

Breakfast Pizza
Ingredients
Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Crust
5 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 shredded cheese (cheddar & pepper jack)
1/2 lb ground beef
3 sliced mushrooms
2 baby gold potatoes (peeled and grated)
1/4 chopped bell pepper
1/4 chopped onion
Cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, sage

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place a skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef. Break up the ground beef as it cooks, letting it brown completely. Season, drain fat and set aside.
3. Sautee onions, mushrooms, and peppers in olive oil until soft. Drain oil and set aside.
4. Unroll the pizza dough in the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish.
5. Spread the sausage over the dough, then spread on the veggies.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, salt, and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the casserole. Sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until the crust is golden and the eggs are set.

This was a lot of food for two people, but the leftovers will be good for the morning (real breakfast).

Breakfast Taco

I promised myself that I wouldn’t go grocery shopping this week. Mission accomplished. I didn’t think this left me with interesting menu items, but last night I came up with something pretty tasty for being so basic.

That’s right. I made breakfast for dinner again. But this time, I kept the focus on the veggies and less on the fried. Couldn’t resist throwing in a couple pieces of bacon though.

While this basically just an omelet thrown into a lightly fried tortilla, my boyfriend made a simple cooking suggestion that really perfected the overall texture of this meal.

Instead of mixing the sauteed veggies into the eggs, I cooked the veggies around the edge of the pan with eggs in the middle. This helped the veggies to stay a little crisp, which was really nice.

Peanut Butter Pecan Granola Bars

In keeping with my new year’s resolution to eat breakfast more often, I made some granola bars to get me through the entire week and then some!

I was inspired by Quad City Moms Blog.

Here’s my version of the recipe:

Peanut Butter Pecan Granola Bars

2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 cups instant oatmeal
2 cups rice cereal
1 small package of crushed pecans

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a casserole dish and set aside.
2. Put all wet ingredients in a glass bowl and microwave for about 1 minute. Mix once hot.
3. Pour wet ingredient mixture over dry ingredients and stir together until blended. Flatten down with a spatula.
4. Give the granola at least a few hours to cool before cutting into bars.

I tasted some of the granola that stuck to my spatula and boy, was it good! It’s a good feeling to plan ahead. I’m not going to be starving waiting for my lunch break this week!

An Apple in the Morning and a Lazy Dinner

You’ve probably heard it: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Well it’s true. Apples are anti-inflammatory and protect against disease. While an apple any time of day is good, I’ve read that an apple in the morning is best. This is because the body digests fruit best on an empty stomach. I’ve also read that eating fruit is the best way to replenish cellular fluids. 

I hated apples when I was a kid. Actually, I really hated most fruit. My mom only bought Red Delicious apples when it turns out that I like Granny Smith. Another thing that held me back from eating apples was biting into the skin. While I know that the skin holds the most nutrients, I just can’t stand its texture. Then one day, I realized I could peel my apple and cut into thin like chips. Just like that, I learned to love apples. Good thing too, because the more I learn about this tree fruit, the more I want to eat it. It’s natural medicine. 

 

I give the cores of my apples to our resident squirrel. He comes to our balcony everyday for almonds and apples. 🙂

This has been a hectic week and I just haven’t had the energy to cook. 😦

But I have a quick, inexpensive option for you the next time your schedule gets hectic. 

A delicious sandwich on a French baguette. I filled mine with rotisserie chicken, shredded lettuce, onions, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. When I make this sandwich in the summer, I add avocado and red onions. Bacon is always a great addition. Mmmm. Chili Cheese Fritos on the side. Yum. 

 

Breakfast for Dinner!

Tonight’s meal is a reward. A reward for surviving the week. For being a grown up and making the days count. Tonight is not a night for counting calories or worrying about trans fat. Tonight is a treat, a going against the grade. Tonight…we’re eating breakfast.

I don’t really eat breakfast. Sometimes I’ll have some oatmeal or an apple to hold myself to lunch, but I normally just drink water. I know this goes against the traditional notion that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, but that’s just how it is. I do like breakfast, though. Although somehow I think the meal I’m about to share with you shouldn’t be eaten everyday.

I love Manischewitz Potato Pancakes. They’re also known as latkes, a food traditionally prepared for the Jewish Passover. But when I was growing up, potato pancakes were a special occasion breakfast. A special dish we made on someone’s birthday or on the first morning of the new year. I guess that’s why I get so happy when I make them…because they make me feel like celebrating.

Because I only cook for two, I usually only prepare half the box of potato pancake mix. I find this to be a more practical solution than making the entire amount and saving the remaining mix in the fridge. Because then you only have a day or so to use it up…and we already talked about how I hate leftovers and eating the same thing two days in a row.

Another crucial element in any American breakfast is bacon. Delicious bacon. My boyfriend discovered the perfect method for cooking bacon and I’m going to share it with all of you now.

Place a grate or cookie rack over a cookie sheet with edging, leaving space in between the rack and cookie sheet for the bacon fat to drip (Caution: Never use a flat cookie sheet. It will leak bacon grease all over your oven and start a grease fire). Carefully lay out your desired number of pieces of bacon on the rack, making sure the bacon doesn’t slip under the grating. Now place it into your COLD oven. Cold is critical, people. Then, set your oven to 425 degrees F. I haven’t been good about keeping track of exactly how long they cook, but the bacon is the first thing I start when I make breakfast. My guess is 20 minutes, but I highly recommend keeping a close eye on them until they become a nice golden brown. Once they’re done, remove them from the oven and carefully remove each piece from the rack. Then let the bacon blot dry on a paper towel. Give them a minute or so to cool. The change from the oven to the outside air will help the bacon to crisp.

Finally, what breakfast is complete without eggs? I only really like mine as an omelet or scrambled. Tonight’s were somewhat in the middle.

I start by sauteing chopped onions with a very small amount of olive oil. This brings a nice flavor to your eggs and keeps them from drying out. I cook the onions most of the way through and then add two eggs, shredded medium cheddar cheese, chopped baby spinach, salt, and pepper. Whisk it all together and you get this:

Such perfection! When I was kid, I ate potato pancakes topped with butter and sour cream. Now I eat them with Greek yogurt and the taste is pretty much the same. My boyfriend likes to toast Seven Grain bread and load his eggs, bacon, and yogurt on top while I prefer to enjoy each taste individually. Whichever you like, I know you’re in for a great meal.

Do you ever eat breakfast for dinner?