Not your average Scrambled Egg!

Sometimes when you have company at your house for more than a few days, it is a challenge to come up with an interesting breakfast! After all, you can only eat so many fried/scrambled eggs, bagels or bowls of cereal! And after all those dinners, you probably have lots of its and bits of veggies in little containers that are slowly, quietly, migrating to the back of the fridge only to become next week's science experiment!

So here's a quick and IMPRESSIVE twist on scrambled eggs! In Italian it is called a Frittatta. A similar dish made by adding a layer of fried potatoes is called Tortilla Espanol. Either way, its a winner.

Gather up whatever leftover veggies you have, that you would find appealing to eat in an omlet (ie:broccoli, spinach, asparagus, onions, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, etc) put them all in a 10" skillet with a little EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and sautee until heated through. While that heats up, scramble about 5-6 eggs in a bowl. Yes, it is ok to use egg substitute!

Pour the eggs over the veggies and cook undisturbed over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. The eggs will begin to set on the top and the bottom should be getting brown.

Now, in a traditional frittatta, you would put the pan in the oven at 400 degrees and let it finish until golden brown. Since I do not have the required oven-proof skillet, I placed a lid on the eggs and let it get 99% finished. Then I quickly slid it out onto a large plate and flipped it over back into the pan to brown for a minute or two. Sprinkle the top with your favorite cheese and slice into wedges. Serve with fruit and homefries!

Now, if you are making Tortilla Espanol, slice some potatoes and brown them in EVOO in the skillet. When they are nearly done, add the eggs and follow the same instructions. Either way you have an impressive, interesting delicious breakfast or brunch!

That Can't be Low Calorie!! Redux!

For all of you that have asked about those beautiful little morsels posted on my FB page, it is just a smaller version of my previous post!

Yes, these are just adorable mini angelfood cakes that are selling at Costco! They come in a 2-pack with 6 cakes in each. They freeze beautifully. They are certainly more attractive and much tastier than those little yellow spongecake-like flying saucers you find in the produce section around strawberry season. The other great thing about these little cakes is that you can eat a whole one and not feel guilty or cut it in half to share. I made these with strawberries but I have also made them pina-colada style with crushed pineapple mixed in the pudding/coolwhip mixture and topped with coconut. Enjoy!

1 box Sugar-free Instant Vanilla pudding

2c. skim or 1% milk

1 container non-dairy whipped topping

Your choice strawberries, bananas, crushed pineapple, drained

mini angelfood cakes (or 1 whole cake cut in 2 or 3 layers)

Make pudding using 2 c. milk (this is less than recommended on box) and chill for 30 minutes.

Fold pudding into thawed non-dairy whipped topping to fully incorporate. DO NOT STIR OR MIX! Fold gently! put this mousse-like mixture on one layer of cake, top with one of your favorite toppings and top with another layer of cake. Top with more of the pudding mix and then your favorite fruit or coconut.

That Can't be Low Calorie!!

Well since I didn't give you the picture of the finished stuffed breast of veal, I will share with you a fabulous, low calorie and low sugar dessert!

Necessity and a lack of time are a pretty good motivator for invention and experimentation. On a very busy day (is there any other kind?) I got a call that I needed to bring a dessert to temple that night. I was already careening down the aisles of the supermarket trying to beat all the weekend shoppers and so made a mad dash through the bakery section. Oh how I hate store bought baked goods loaded with chemicals!! Read the labels sometime and you will think twice about even buying bread! So I grabbed an Angel food cake and made a dash to the baking aisle for some sugar free vanilla pudding and a bag of coconut. I made a frantic turn through the frozen foods and grabbed a container of frozen non-dairy whipped topping, aka Cool-Whip, and a half gallon of skim milk. Let me digress a moment...Cool Whip only has like 15 calories per serving to start with so who comes up with Fat-free Cool Whip or reduced calorie Cool Whip? And is this really a necessity? Are those 3 calories really going to get you anywhere?

Ok, back to dessert. As we headed out the door of the house, I realized my bananas were at their peak and I was too busy to bake banana bread. I grabbed the bananas, Angel Food cake, Cool-whip, milk, pudding and coconut. My brain was on overload and now I was thinking like those chefs on Chopped. I have a handful of ingredients and what do I make?

Make the pudding using only 1 1/2c. of milk. Just pour the milk and pudding mix in a container, snap on the lid and shake for 5 minutes. Let it stand while you get the cake ready. Cut the Angel food cake in 3 layers. Put the bottom layer on a platter. Get your pudding and fold it into the Cool whip using a large bowl. (FOLD! DO NOT STIR!) Now, take some of the Cool Whip mixture and just plop it on the first layer of cake and spread it around. Slice ripe banana all over the top and sprinkle with coconut. Add the next layer of cake. More Cool Whip mixture, bananas and coconut. You should be looking delicious and sloppy by now. Top it with the last layer of cake. Cover liberally with the Cool Whip mixture (and you'll still probably have some left over to eat later!) and cover liberally with just the coconut. It looks decadent! It tastes delicious! And your girlish figure won't feel guilty!

Cuttin' Up

Ok, so I have been away for a long while. The long and short of it is Jewish holidays, family came to visit, spring arrived, I have been suffering with hives for 3 weeks now and living in a Benedryl haze and now I am trying to get my life back. OK, so during my hiatus from blogging, and while my family was visiting for Passover, a dear friend sent me an article on Butchering. Yes, I mean, pick out your farm animal, humanely end it's life and carve it up. In a word, ICK! Alright so this is not for me but some people may find it rewarding. Julie Powell of Julie & Julia fame even wrote a second book all about butchering and how she hung out with this group in the Catskills of New York that was really into butchering their own livestock. I try to be a locavore, that is buying locally grown produce and if I can, various meats but we all have limits.

So, imagine my surprise when I came face to face with a butchering dilemma! I wanted to make Stuffed Breast of Veal. It was a dish my mom and my grandmother made every once in a while and I guess that is what made it so special. I knew my dad was going to be here over Passover and thought it would be really nice to make this treat. I have tried for months to buy breast of veal in the supermarkets here but I guess it's just not something Richmonders eat. I asked my dad's significant other if she could bring one from FL. when they came up to visit. No problem she said, it's readily available down there.

Now I have to tell you that usually breast of veal will feed 3-4 people easily so if you have a crowd, you might need more than one. So in my mind, I'm expecting something with about 4-5 large bones and about 12-16 inches across the top. So just imagine the look on my face as my father carries in this JUMBO styrofoam cooler and proceeds to remove this flat package, wrapped in butcher paper that is about 31/2 FEET long!!!!! Holy Cow or should I say, Holy VEAL!! it was the whole thing and frozen solid!! It wouldn't even fit in my freezer without being turned on an angle! We debated how best to cut it even considering asking a neighbor with a bandsaw to do the job. However, this was not to be. No, it would be up to me and a very sharp knife to get the deed done and so, for your amusement, here are some photos of me and my brush with butchering.

So now you want to know where is the picture of all wonderful deliciousness? We got so carried away with how good it smelled and wonderful it looked that we ate it and forgot to take a picture! Trust me, it was really good and I doubt anyone but me would be crazy enough to make it! If you want to try it yourself, call me and I'll send you the recipe!