Eggs

Easy Saturday Brunch

/ Fiddle Dee Dee / Leave a comment

Every once in a while scrolling through instagram, I come upon a picture where the food looks so delicious that I want it.

Oftentimes, immediately.

Baked-Egg-Acocado-Dish

 

 

This happened last week, and I was saddened to find there was no link for a recipe, just pretty food.

Egg-Baked-in-Avocado

After studying the picture a little, I decided to try and recreate it myself, so I handed my son the check card and a grocery list and sent him off to grab a handful of items, while I found the rest in the pantry and refrigerator here.

Baked-Egg-Ingredients

{Anyone else ask their teens run errands because you don’t want to get out in the cold?}

The picture that captured my attention was of avocados with eggs and this is how I recreated it…

In fact it was quite easy once it was decided what should go into this recipe.

Really easy.

Baked-Egg-Avocado-Brunch

 

 

 

Ingredients I used included fresh avocado, cage free eggs, grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, fresh parsley and chives, and nitrate-free bacon, cooked and crumbled.

Preheating the oven to 350º I cut two avocados in half, removed the seeds, and placed into a cast iron pan sprayed with coconut oil.

Egg-Baked-Avocado

 

Next I cracked an egg into the hole of each half, seasoned with a little salt and pepper, and sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over it. Pop the pan into the oven and cook until the egg is set as you like it; I like a fairly runny yolk so I baked it about 10 minutes or so.

Remove when done, top with the fresh herbs and bacon and serve up immediately.

This made a perfect brunch for Bradley and I (since we slept in) and was really filling, so it didn’t need any sides.

Baked-Eggs-and-Avocado

If you follow a low carb, keto, or paleo (leave off the Parmesan) diet, this is perfect for you!  It’s very filling with a good serving of protein and healthy fats.

Click here to print off the full recipe for baked eggs and avocado .

I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend!

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Saturday Brunch for Two

/ Fiddle Dee Dee / 2 Comments

Saturday mornings have become quite precious to Audley and me.  He travels so much during the week for work that we have truly come to value a quiet morning together on the weekend.

 We also know these are limited as four kids have kept us hopping for years with anything from color guard competitions to swim or wrestling tournaments.

Autumn-Flowers | ohfiddledeedee

Spending quality time together is something every husband and wife should make an effort to do to keep the lines of communication open and reconnect after the chaos of life has weighed us down.  These moments are also valuable as we go through different seasons together.  We want to be on the same path, not running opposite directions!  Our marriage has always come before our children and I am ever so glad as a new season of life is fast approaching in the form of the empty nest!

Autumn-Tabletop | ohfiddledeedee

Bradley’s wrestling season begins at the end of October, so Audley and I are savoring each Saturday we have available before the chaos of Senior year wrestling season begins.

 What’s a better way to enjoy a morning together and set the mood for conversation, than a pretty table and brunch for two?

Setting the table also creates a romantic atmosphere, and couldn’t we all use a little more romance in our lives?!

Autumn-Table | ohfiddledeedee

Contrary to popular belief, brunch does not have to consist of six or eight courses of fattening pastries, heavy breads, and complicated dishes.

Believe me, you can fill up just fine on bacon, eggs, and fruit.

Saturday-Bruch-for-Two | ohfiddledeedee

Just dress it up a little!

Herb-Baked-Egg-Brunch | ohfiddledeedee

This Herbed Baked Egg dish I served up for our brunch is perfect.  It looks so elegant, yet is so simple and delicious!

It’s also very filling, which we know is most important for our guys.

Assembling the dish takes a few steps, but it still comes together rather quickly (I know you don’t want to spend all morning in the kitchen), and allows for you to multitask if you’ve planned ahead.

Keep it simple and gather your ingredients for the entire brunch first.  This includes any sides that you have chosen.  I prepared bacon and fresh berries for our brunch.

Herb Baked Egg Brunch

 

 

 

The full recipe for printing is just below my steps here.

For the herb baked egg dish, I used four eggs, heavy whipping cream, real butter, freshly grated parmesan cheese, fresh herbs (dried will work), & garlic.

 

First, I put the bacon on, then completed the first steps of the recipe by combining the herbs and parmesan cheese and melting butter and cream in an individual cocette.

{The beauty of this recipe is that you can change up the herbs to suit your taste.}

Herb-Baked-Eggs | ohfiddledeedee

As I flipped the bacon, I added the eggs and the herb mixture to the cocette.

Finally, I removed the bacon from the pan to drain on a paper towel, then removed the eggs from the oven.

{Click here — Herbed Baked Eggs for the full printable recipe.}

 Herb-Baked-Eggs-Brunch-for-Two | ohfiddledeedee

All that is left is plating your food, which is simple enough.

 

Weekend-Brunch-for-Two | ohfiddledeedee

The romantic in me planned ahead for our brunch together and set a pretty table, but you can serve up brunch on paper plates if it works better for you.

 The idea is to spend a little quality time together without too much fuss.

Herb-Baked-Eggs-Brunch | ohfiddledeedee

You’ll enjoy the time and I know your spouse will as well.

What are some ways you and your spouse like to connect with one another?

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Easy Breakfast Souffle’

/ Fiddle Dee Dee / Leave a comment

Sometimes when we are meal planning we choose a recipe with a bazillion pictures that requires visiting four different markets to gather the vast amount of ingredients we need to cook a gourmet dinner.

enamelware-by-Lodge | oh-fiddle-dee-dee

And sometimes, often when we are home alone, we just open up the refrigerator, cross our fingers that there are enough ingredients to make a delicious breakfast just because we have these cute miniature enamel-coated cast iron cocottes that we are eager to use!

{Hey!  It happens!}

lodge-enamelware-cocoette | oh-fiddle-dee-dee

COCOETTE:  a covered, heatproof dish or casserole in which food can be both cooked and served; a Dutch oven.  via google

These “luck of the draw” concoctions as I call them are often the most delicious meals I put on the table.

{Or eat in the living room while watching Netflix…}

For my latest concoction, I rifled through the refrigerator to find eggs from Dad & Mom’s little farm, heavy whipping cream, cherry tomatoes, prosciutto, onion and parmesan cheese.  Perfect ingredients for a breakfast soufflé for one and would be perfect in my little dish.

breakfast |oh-fiddle-dee-dee

For this breakfast for one you don’t even really need a recipe!

Eggs and cream form your base; the rest of the ingredients are at your discretion.

Taking a tablespoon of grass-fed butter I melted it in the little dish, adding a little chopped Vidalia with a little fresh garlic and sautéed it briefly.  While that was sautéing, I whisked 3 eggs with a couple of tablespoons of the cream, and chopped up two little tomatoes.

breakfast-souffle-for-one | oh-fiddle-de-dee

Removing the dish from the hot eye I poured the egg into it, whisking the garlic and onion in the mixture, added the chopped tomato, a little prosciutto and shredded Parm cheese to the mix.

I added a little salt & pepper, popped it into the oven set at 350 until it was set (about 20 minutes) and voila!

breakfast-souffle | oh-fiddle-dee-dee

 

An Easy-peasy breakfast for one in my cute little Lodge cocotte.

{Topped with fresh basil because it was just so pretty!}

Do you ever just open the refrigerator and throw something together?  What are your “luck of the draw” specials?

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Spinach & Mushroom Frittata

/ Fiddle Dee Dee / 2 Comments

Over the weekend I slipped away for a wonderful little brunch with some fabulous ladies from the congregation where we worship.  I knew there would be plenty of pastries, muffins and cheesy quiches that I really didn’t need, so I wanted to prepare something that was fairly healthy, low-carb, as well as tasty to carry along to share.

After flipping through a few magazines for ideas, I found a fabulous recipe for a Swiss Chard and Garlic Frittata that seemed to fit the occasion perfectly.  It sounded delicious so I headed to the kitchen where I ignored the recipe totally, pulling out spinach, mushrooms, bacon, onions and eggs to create my own frittata.

A Frittata is a lovely Italian dish that are egg-based, crustless and similar to an omelette. Because you whisk your eggs together so well, they fluff up more than an omelette and make a pretty dish to share!  Most frittata’s do contain cheese, but since I was looking to create a healthier version I opted to leave out the cheese.

It turned out to be absolutely delicious, so I wanted to share the recipe before I forgot it.  You never know when you might need a quick and easy breakfast frittata.

Spinach Mushroom Frittata 8

INGREDIENTS:

6 whole eggs

12 egg whites

6-8 slices of cooked nitrate free bacon

2 cups baby spinach leaves

1/2 Large vidalia onion, diced

3/4 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Pink Himalayan Salt & Fresh Ground black pepper for tasting

Coconut Oil cooking spray

Fresh parsley for garnishing

ASSEMBLING THE FRITTATA

There are several little steps to assembling the frittata, but they really are quick and easy.  Put your bacon on to cook, and while it is cooking, steam you 2 cups of spinach leaves.  I just added a couple of tablespoons of water to a pan and covered the leaves to wilt, maybe three to four minutes.

Spinach Mushroom Frittata

After steaming, remove the spinach from the pan of water and drain on paper towels; removing as much of the excess liquid as possible.

Spinach Mushroom Frittata 2

In another skillet, melt 1-2 Tablespoons of the unsalted butter and sauté the onions; adding the garlic after a minute.  Sauté the mix until the onions are translucent, then add the mushrooms.

Spinach Mushroom Frittata 3

Finally, add the spinach to your sauté, allowing just a minute for your flavors to mesh.  Season with just a little pink Himalayan salt and black pepper.

Spinach Mushroom Frittata 4

Using a 11 x 8 casserole dish that you have sprayed with coconut oil, spread the sautéed mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan, crumbling the bacon over the top.

Spinach Mushroom Frittata 5

Whisk together your 6 whole eggs and 12 egg whites and pour evenly over the vegetables.

spinach mushroom frittata 6

Bake at 350º for 8-10 minutes until the eggs are set.  Be careful not to over cook as you will have a chewy, rubbery dish that is not very good.

Spinach Mushroom Frittata 9

Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and cut to serve.

Spinach Mushroom Frittata 7

I don’t know about you, but when I make a healthy dish to share I am always so concerned whether or not people liked it.  This was apparently a hit as the casserole pan came home totally empty.  The flavors paired well together, and truly, it was a perfect for a Saturday brunch.

I’m editing this to link up with My Mom’s Junk recipe party … hence the old photo of me heading off to my junior prom in 1989 in honor of my own daughter who just attended her Junior Prom over the weekend.

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Good grief could those sleeves have been any puffier and the bow any bigger?!!

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Have a great week!

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