Tag Archives: breakfast

How to Hard Boil Eggs

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 17 June, 2014 None comments

How to hard boil eggs.

I didn’t realize that it can be a struggle to peel the shell and not have the yoke fully cooked. After talking with a friend, I decided to share my little secret for the perfect hard boiled egg. No problems peeling and no under cooked egg.

I didn’t realize you could actually buy pre-boiled eggs from Costco. I was actually shocked when I heard this and figured it was time to share these simple directions as I boil eggs weekly for snacks throughout the week.

As I was talking with her, she explained that she can never get the eggs just right; a little too soft or too difficult to peel.

So… here ya go. The no fail hard boiled eggs. If you follow these directions you shouldn’t have any problem peeling the shell. I haven’t and would be surprised if you did.

In a large pot place cold eggs. Use COLD water, enough to cover the eggs. (This will keep them from cracking)

Bring to a roaring boil.

Once boiling, turn off heat, cover and set the time for 13 minutes. (Leave the pot on the hot burner)

When timer goes off, rinse with cold water and place in the refrigerator.

Enjoy your delicious eggs that will cook without fail.
Simple as that!

Honey Nut Granola

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 13 June, 2014 None comments

I was craving granola recently as I haven’t made it in quite some time. I love homemade granola with vanilla coconut milk. So delicious on a hot summer day for breakfast or even a healthy snack.

I started eating this about 3 times a day as something about it is so light and healthy yet delicious and fulfilling all at the same time. I go on spurts where I cannot get enough of cereal. This happens more often when summer approaches and I do not want a heavy meal.

I hope you find this just as satisfying as I do!

Ingredients:

6 cups cooking oats
2 cups bran flakes
2 cups shredded coconut
¼ cup chia seed
¼ cup flax seed
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup cashews
½ cup pecans
¼ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup dried blueberries
½ cup dried strawberries
2 ½ cups honey
1 cup vegetable oil

In a large bowl add oats, bran flakes, coconut, nuts and seeds.

Add in blueberries and strawberries.

Stir well and add vegetable oil and toss again.

Stir in honey and mix really well. Once mixed, dump mixture into a large dish; preferably a 10×15. Bake for 18 minutes. Stir mixture and bake another 18 minutes. Depending on how dark the mixture is after the second set of baking, you can bake it another 10 minutes or simply be done. I enjoy a little bit of crunch to my granola and do the three rounds of baking.

Once bake transfer granola IMMEDIATELY to container to allow to cool. If you leave granola in dish to cool down, you will have a heck of a time getting it out as the honey loves to stick to the glass.

Mmmm I love granola. I always eat a cup of granola fresh out of the oven and add a few blueberries.

Enjoy this great sweet yet nutty delicious cereal and I know your kids will love it just as much as my son! Mmmm good!

Ham & Cheese Bake

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 4 May, 2014 None comments

I enjoy making a quick “fancy” breakfast to send with my husband to work to make it seem like he’s eating a decadent meal while he drinks his coffee and sits at his desk. :) This quick meal is easy and great to send throughout the week with one preparation. This meal is also great for breakfast for dinner!

Ingredients:

10 eggs
1 cup milk
¼ cup green onions, chopped
¾ cup sliced mushrooms
½ ham, diced
½ cup grated cheese
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp cumin

In a mixing bowl combine eggs and milk. Whisk well!

In a greased pie plate, sprinkle mushrooms.

In whisked egg mixture, add onions, ham, cheese and seasonings. Mix well.

Pour on top of mushrooms. And bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until fully set. Jiggle the plate to make sure the middle doesn’t wiggle.

Serve warm!

Egg Casserole Comfort Food

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 February, 2014 None comments

This recipe is the ultimate comfort food recipe out there. It makes a very full 9×13 pan leaving you with plenty of leftovers and trust me, you will want the leftovers. I made this the other night for dinner although it is a breakfast treat. My husband was questioning the “casserole” look as I was plopping it into the oven. Once serving this hot dish he came back for seconds leaving him in a food coma as well as a food baby. :)

This is the best breakfast brunch casserole for guests and works fabulously for dinner as well.

Ingredients:

1 lb bag of hash browns, uncooked
1 lb spicy Italian sausage
12 eggs, scrambled
4 tbsp cream cheese
1 onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can green chilies (optional)
1 ½ cups sour cream
1-2 cups cheese, shredded

In a greased 9×13 casserole pan, spread hash browns evenly throughout.

Scramble eggs and cream cheese together to add a creamy texture to the eggs. Mmmm good! :) Layer on top of hash browns.

Meanwhile, cook the meat and onions until done. (Season to your liking)

Once the meat is cooked, spread on top of the hash browns.

In a small bowl combine the cream of mushroom soup and sour cream, mix well. Spread on top of the sausage layer. (If using green chilies, add now)

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle cheese on top and broil for 1-2 minutes.

May serve with fruit or eat alone! :)

This meal is great to serve guests or take to a brunch. This dish can be made in advance or placed in the freezer for a later date. If freezing, compile all ingredients together as listed above and freeze before baking. When ready to bake, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw completely before cooking.

Eggs Benedict

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 17 February, 2014 None comments

Eggs Benedict coming up! Yesterday was my husbands 35th birthday. I decided to start the morning off by cooking him eggs benedict since he absolutely loves breakfast and a good eggs beni.

Cooper was sleeping, Michael was working out and I stood in my stomping grounds whisking up a delicious breakfast right here in the kitchen. Eggs benedict, fresh fruit and asparagus with hollandaise sauce.

This breakfast was absolutely delicious. I was very happy with this meal and so was my husband. Happy Birthday Honey!

Ingredients:

2 English Muffins
4 slices of cheese (I used habanero pepperjack as we love spice)
1 avocado
1 tomato
1 package Canadian Bacon
4 eggs

Open the English Muffins and lightly butter them. Top each half with a slice of your favorite cheese. Place on a broil pan and set aside.

Slice avocado and tomatoes, set aside.

To crisp up the Canadian bacon, fry for a couple minutes each side.

Broil the muffins until crispy and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with Canadian bacon, avocado and tomato.

Begin the sauce now.

Meanwhile in light boiling water add one egg at a time. This will help poach the eggs. Make sure the egg whites are thoroughly cooked and the yolk becomes slightly done. I prefer a runny yolk. Remove eggs with a fork and place atop the English muffins. Drizzle with hollandaise sauce.

Sauce:

You can simply buy a packet of hollandaise sauce to alleviate the tension of making it yourself.

4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh tastes best
½ cup butter, melted
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp salt

Whisk egg yolks and lemon juice together in a stainless steel bowl or kitchen aid mixer until the mixture has doubled in size. Place the bowl over a small saucepan containing 1/2 inch simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bowl. Continue to whisk rapidly making sure the eggs don’t get too hot resulting in scrambled eggs. Slowly add in the melted butter and continue to whisk until the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume once again. Remove from heat, whisk in cayenne and salt.

Serve with asparagus and fresh fruit; mango, pear, oranges and grapes.

Biscuits and Gravy

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 16 December, 2013 None comments

If you have been paying attention lately, I have been on a breakfast/brunch kick the last couple weeks. I never make biscuits and gravy but this past week I have been craving them. I’ve been eating fruit and comfort food; resembles my pregnancy. ;)

Homemade gravy is super duper easy.

Ingredients:

1 lb sausage (I used spicy)
½ cup plus 2 tbsp unbleached flour
½ cup half & half
3 cups milk (I used whole)
Garlic salt
Dash of salt and Pepper
1 tbsp parsley
2 tsp chicken bouillon
Buttermilk biscuits

Directions:

In a large sauce pan cook sausage until no longer pink.

Add flour and stir well. (Adding flour prior to milk prevents lumps)

Add half and half and milk and mix thoroughly. Add seasonings and bouillon and simmer on low heat to thicken up.

Cook biscuits according to package instructions or make your own.

Serve with scrambled eggs!!

This dinner fit my fancy really well tonight. It was flavored with a swift kick from the spicy sausage and was definitely filling. I learned how to make incredible scrambled eggs from my mom as she teaches me many tips and tricks that add much flavor and desire than the standard “recipes.”

Crustless Quiche

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 8 December, 2013 None comments

YAY, we finally sold our car this past weekend leaving us with one car for a few days. My husband was planning on taking the bus for ten days as the holidays are rapidly approaching. This plan would leave us without a second car for a solid month which would work great considering he has plenty of holiday vacation not needing to drive to and from work. This grandiose plan lasted us a solid two days; one of which was on the weekend. I must say it was pretty humorous to see how quickly our “month” plan turned upside down as soon as reality hit. Come Monday morning, we were in a pinch again as we both had things to do while on the weekend we tote around together making life a little more simplistic. His coworker was nice enough to come and pick him up for work as we were hoping to purchase the car before the days end. With this in mind, I wanted to provide breakfast for their bellies as he was doing a nice gesture to pick up my husband.

Most mornings I make scrambled eggs for the little man and send my husband to work with either homemade granola or every now and again make him breakfast burritos. I would transition the granola with coconut milk or greek yogurt. He has been getting pretty tired of it lately as there aren’t many other breakfast options I send him with other than breakfast cookies. He is naturally not a big cereal or sandwich guy but does enjoy my granola at least. I on the other hand could eat cereal three meals a day; I LOVE it. So, I decided to treat him to a crustless quiche due to the adversity of his palate not enjoying a simple breakfast; he looks for the hearty eggs and bacon meals. :) If you want an easy quick breakfast that looks and taste as if you slaved over it all morning….here’s the key to your success; crustless quiche. :)

Listen carefully……I made this quiche the previous night and baked it in the morning. It was fresh and hot from the oven yet the work was accomplished before bed leaving me with an easy morning breakfast. :) I sent them off to work with quiche and my delicious croissants filling their hungry bellies.

Ingredients:

8-10 eggs
¾ cup milk
Minced onions
Sliced or diced ham
Chopped broccoli
Sliced mushrooms
Shredded cheese
Dash of garlic salt
Dash of sea salt
Dash of black pepper
Chopped, fresh parsley

Okay, now these ingredients are what was in the fridge at the time. The great thing with this type of dish, you can add anything you want.

Other ideas: peppers, tomatoes, sausage and/or bacon, and diced potatoes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake 30 minutes or until the middle is firm and doesn’t wiggle.

Mmmmm good and healthy!

Egg Tarts

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 25 May, 2013 None comments

Oh my goodness this dinner was incredible. I absolutely loved it and the flavors were perfect. You can make this for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. I am trying to add more fruits and veggies to our diet and this really helped with the vegetables.

We actually were packing a picnic and going to the park tonight. We have been doing the movies in the park here locally for summer. Every Thursday and Fridays they have a movie in the park. It’s been pretty fun and good quality time together as a family. We usually go around 6:30 and let Cooper play and eat dinner. The movie usually starts around 8:45 (dusk) and depending on Cooper’s mood we stay the whole time or leave a little early. The adventure of Cooper playing in the grass with his toys is so fun for him and he absolutely loves to people watch. The other night we saw the third Men in Black movie. It was definitely fun especially because I have been giving Cooper his second nap a lot later so he is rested when we head out. We were able to stay til 10:30 that night. It was great! This week however we were headed to the park and not for a movie. The movies have ended for summer which is a bummer because it has been really nice out still and a fun time as a family.

We were walking to the Pool on our way to the park to check on pool maintenance. We have a neighborhood pool that we share with 10 families. Apparently this week has been our week to clean, yet we didn’t find out until Wednesday as this is our first time on maintenance. Unfortunately we found out on our walk down on Wednesday that our pool key is different from the pump house key and yet we are put off another day to clean. We feel as if we are becoming “those” neighbors…we don’t want to get there yet…at least not so early. :) Now today is Friday and we must clean since it’s been five days. Anyway, after eating on the lawn by the pool we took a walk to the park and went down to the river. Cooper has never been to the river before and it was so sweet to see his little eyes and brain stimulated by such newness.

It was a fun night full of adventure as we headed out for the river. We are trying to enjoy as much of summer as possible.

Tonight’s Menu: Egg Tarts

Pastry Tart:

1-1 ½ cup flour
½ cup cold butter
1 egg yoke
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp salt

In a food processor add flour and cold butter and mix until it becomes crumbly. Add egg yoke, water and salt. Mix well. It will be very sticky. Fold onto a floured surface and add more flour as you knead with your hands. Add enough flour that the pastry can be rolled out with rolling pin. In four large ramekins divide the dough and fold up the sides of the ramekins and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Filling:

EVOO
4 slices of Bacon
1 medium tomato chopped
½ cup onion chopped
4 large mushrooms
Spinach
6 eggs
2 tbsp milk
Mozzarella cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet add evoo, bacon, onion and mushrooms. Once cooked add tomatoes and spinach, heat through. Turn off heat and crack all 6 eggs directly into the skillet along with 2 tbsp milk. Mix well and spoon into ramekins. Sprinkle with cheese.

Place the four ramekins on a baking sheet and bake 30 minutes or until eggs are cooked and pastry has browned.