Ina's Omelet for Two

I LOVE Ina Garten, she is my cooking idol. After seeing this recipe on her show, as well as in her book, Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again, I just had to try her Omelet for Two. I did make a couple of small changes, and the recipe below is the one I used.  It makes a large amount of breakfast, easily 3-4 servings and was easy and delicious!! I am excited to try it with other fixings and will report in when I do!

Ingredients:
1/4 pound thick-cut bacon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup small-diced Russet potato
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons skim milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup chopped scallions
4 ounces reduced fat milk cheddar cheese, plus a small amount to top omelet

Instructions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Cut the bacon across into 1 inch slices. Cook the bacon in a 10 inch ovenproof saute pan over medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Drain the bacon on paper towels and discard the fat from the pan.

3) Add the butter to the pan, and then add the potato and yellow onion. cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the onion starts to brown and the potato is tender but firm. Add the jalapeno and cook for 30 seconds.

4) While potato and onion cook, beat the eggs, milk, salt and pepper together with a fork. Stir in the scallions and 4 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese. When the potato mixture is cooked, add the bacon back into the pan. Pour the egg mixture over the potato, onion, bacon and jalapenos.

5) Place pan in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, or until the omelet puffs, adding a sprinkle of shredded cheddar for the last minute.

6) Enjoy!! This was actually able to cut into pieces like a pie and served.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

I have been pinning "make your own mixes" information on Pinterest forever and finally got to try one tonight when my husband requested tacos for dinner! I have been wanting to try and make my own mixes so that I know what is actually going into our foods. When I looked at the nutrition info for the store bought mix I have always used, in addition to the spices, it contains milk, salt, sugar, potato starch, and citric acid...along with 20 calories, 460mg of sodium, 5g carbohydrates and 1g sugar! I did the math and calculated that this homemade mix has next to nothing in terms of calories, etc. and it will be divided into 7 servings for us...Best part-it cost me nothing because I already had the spices in the house :-)

I found this seasoning mix on an amazing website, Budget 101, with tons of homemade mixes to try...This was called Taco Seasoning Mix

Ingredients:

6 Tsp. Chili Powder
5 Tsp. Paprika
4 1/2 Tsp. Cumin
3 Tsp. Onion Powder
2 1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder
1/8 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper

I placed all of the spices into a small deli container, shook it up and was ready go. To cook with the mix, I simply added 1 tablespoon to 1.25 pounds of 93% lean, ground turkey for some delicious taco meat!  According to the website, the mix can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months...and it will make 6 more taco dinners for us!

St Patty's Day "Shepherd's Pie"

Happy belated Saint Patrick's Day! We got back into town after a week of skiing in Colorado and my husband was craving some homemade cooking and requested Shepherds Pie for the holiday. Knowing that I was not thrilled to be cooking the day we got home, he even found me a recipe to use! How could I say no?!

 

This recipe is adapted slightly from Lightening Up Shepherd's Pie, by America's Test Kitchen.

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds 93% lean ground beef
2 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2.5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup skim milk
1 large egg yolk
8 scallions, green parts only, trimmed and diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 white onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons red cooking wine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups fat free, low sodium beef broth (as always I used College Inn)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions:

 1)  Toss ground beef with 2 tablespoons water, baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until well combined, let sit 20 minutes.

2) Place potatoes in large saucepan, add water to cover. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer and cook 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

3) Drain potatoes, return to saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly for one minute to evaporate any remaining moisture. Remove from heat and mash (we used a hand mixer, whatever you do never use a food processor or the potatoes will turn out gummy and gross).

4) Add butter to mashed potatoes. Whisk milk and egg yolk together, then add to potatoes. Stir in scallions. Cover and set aside.

5) Heat oil in broiler-safe 10 inch skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 4-6 minutes, until soft. Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Stir in cooking wine, scraping up any browned bits and cook until evaporated, about 1 minute.  Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth Worcestershire, bay leaf and mixed vegetables. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low.

6) Pinch pieces of beef 2 inches in size, drop onto mixture. Cover and cook 10-12 minutes, stirring and breaking up meat chunks halfway through cooking time.

7) Combine cornstarch and remaining 2 teaspoons water in a bowl, stir into skillet. Continue to simmer, stirring constantly, until filling is slightly thickened ~30 seconds. Remove bay leaf.

8) Heat broiler. Pipe mashed potatoes to cover entire surface of mixture in skillet. Smooth with a spoon, then use a fork to make ridges, if desired.

9) Place skillet on rimmed baking sheet, broil until potatoes are golden and sauce is bubbling, about 10-12 minutes.

10) Let cool slightly, serve and enjoy!!!