Once upon a time I ran across this idea on YumSugar to bake an egg in a ramekin lined with ham. It looked delicious, sounded yummy, and seemed so easy. So this week when I decided I wanted something hearty for breakfast, but really didn’t have the time, I quickly pulled out a few things from the freezer and refrigerator to make a similar breakfast.

A while back I had bought a pound of proscuitto because it was all the store had, so I’ve been keeping it in the freezer (which is really handy — it’s sliced so thin, it defrosts in a minute). I had some pesto from the grilled cheese paninos I made earlier in the week, so I decided a dollop of that would give me some flavor and some veggies in my breakfast (hey – basil and parsley are leaves!!). And of course, there was the egg. (more…)

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Breakfast, Brunch, Gluten free, Quick and Easy by Courtney

Remember the days of Food Network actually having shows with cooking? Ahhh, barely. Thinking of that is almost as nostalgic as the show this recipe came from. Tyler Florence had decided to create an ultimate rainy day menu, which consisted of chicken soup, grilled cheese, and brownies. All with a gourmet twist of course.

With our rainy weekend and cooler days, I decided to make a grilled cheese panino, layering fresh mozzarella, pesto, and tomatoes on Acme’s Herb Slab, then weighting it down to grill until the cheese was nice and oozy. (more…)

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Comfort food, Italian, Lunch, Vegetarian by Courtney

It’s been a while since I posted a recipe that uses the vegetable stock that is so easy to make. This is one of those recipes that I throw together when I’m really not in the mood to do anything, and it’s a great way to use up leftover vegetables you have in the refrigerator. The basics are vegetable stock, soy sauce, and frozen Chinese dumplings, and you can build on the soup from there.

Start with enough vegetable stock for your soup. For me and my husband, I used a 4 cup frozen cube, which I melted while pulling out everything else I wanted to throw in. (more…)

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Dinner, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Soups by Courtney

Popcorn is one of my go-to snacks, because it takes so little time and *can* be healthy, depending on what I put on it (but most of the time, mine’s not). A few years ago I bought an air popper, and I haven’t went back to the popcorn-in-a-bag since. Fresh butter tastes so much better.

However, some days I get in the mood for something a little different, and that’s how I end up with new popcorn toppings. Today it was jalapeno Tabasco with a little butter and salt, and it was definitely a winner. I heated up a 1/4 cup of green tabasco with a little less than a tablespoon of butter, poured it over the freshly popped corn, salted, and I had an instant winner!

Perfect for curling up with a movie or with a game day beer!

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Gluten free, Snack time, Vegetarian by Courtney

Eggs are something that have grown on me over the years. I’ve went from not eating them to loving just about every type of egg you can serve up, so long as they’re a bit wet (unless it’s tamago, in which case, dry is fine).

One of my favorite ways to prepare eggs is with Thai chilis. The heat of the eggs, the sweet, savory flavor of good onions, washed down with a bit of tropical juice (mango or guava being my favorites) sets the tone for a great day. And they really don’t take all that long to make. Chop the onions to get everything going, and pull out the rest of the ingredients while they saute, and you’ve added on 5 minutes at the most to your standard, plain scrambled egg. (more…)

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Breakfast, Dairy free, Gluten free, Indian, Quick and Easy, Vegetarian by Courtney