Broccoli Cheese Breakfast Cups

One of my all time favorite comfort foods is broccoli cheese soup from Panera... Oh. my. deliciousness... I actually made a giant batch of broccoli cheese soup a few weeks ago and it was a huge hit. I should have made a batch of bread bowls to go with it, but I was pressed for time and didn't get it done, but I definitely will post my soup recipe soon.

So you are probably wondering what Broccoli Cheese Soup has to do with breakfast... Quite simply, it was my inspiration for this tasty all in one breakfast treat. I have been making "egg cup" breakfasts for a while now: simple, quick, delicious, and a great way to sneak bits of leftover veggies or meat into breakfast. Vegetables don't normally fit in on the breakfast table, so this is a great way to squeeze another serving in to your family's diet.

These tasty little breakfast cups also have sausage in them, but the sausage could easily be substituted with ham, bacon, even some chopped up sirloin from the night before. Like I said: a great way to use up leftovers!

I have also made a meatless version of these and they were wonderful. And to accommodate my very picky grandmother, I have even made a cheeseless version and those were just as tasty! In fact, she said that it is the best thing I have EVER made for her (I took care of her and my grandfather for 8 months and did a large majority of the cooking, so that is saying something kind of huge!).

Well I hope you like these as much as my family does. I made them this morning and Landon ate FOUR of them by himself. For comparison... I only had two. Ha! And the first time I cooked my boyfriend breakfast, this is what I served... It was a huge success!

Broccoli Cheese Breakfast Cups

1/2 lb mild or spicy breakfast sausage (I used mild this morning. I have also cooked links and chopped them up in the past)
2 large heads broccoli (you will only be using the florets so if your grocer sells just the heads like mine does, buy those so you aren't paying for the stalks)
8 oz cheddar cheese cut into 1/2 inch chunks
8 eggs
milk
salt and pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease 12 muffin cups. They stick pretty badly no matter how well you grease the cups, so liners are preferable... but I didn't have any on hand.

Cook the breakfast sausage until cooked through, and then chop into bite sized pieces. Distribute among the 12 muffin cups.

Chop the broccoli while the sausage is cooking. Cut into tiny florets, discarding pretty much the entire stalk. You can save it for other recipes that use the whole stalk, like soups and casseroles, but for this, we just want the florets.

Cook the broccoli florets in the grease from the sausage, adding a little bit of olive oil to the pan, and adding more as needed. The florets soak the grease up pretty quickly, so be sure not to let the pan get too dry. You could also add some diced onion or garlic here, but I kept it quick and simple and skipped those ingredients this time.

While the broccoli is sauteing, crack 8 eggs into a large measuring cup. Whisk with a fork until well blended. Salt and pepper the mixture, then add enough milk to equal 2 1/2 cups. Since most large eggs equal about 1/4 cup, you will be adding close to 1/2 cup milk, but just in case your eggs don't equal exactly 2 cups, use the milk to make up the difference. Whisk until well incorporated.

Divide the cooked broccoli and chopped cheese evenly among the 12 cups.

Carefully pour the egg mixture into each muffin cup. It should reach just below the top of each cup.

Bake at 375 for 18 minutes or until the egg whites are just set.

Run a butter knife around each egg cup right after pulling out of the oven. This will make them easier to remove from the pan. Let sit for a couple minutes before serving, then serve warm.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Pudding: The Ultimate Comfort Food

Tomorrow I will officially be 9 weeks pregnant... This means I will be 4 weeks away from being out of the first trimester... Most people say that your morning sickness is supposed to stop around 14 weeks, which means that typically I would have about 5 weeks of morning sickness left and then I should get some relief....

HA!!!

Well, if I were typical, that may be true... But I have never been, and probably never will be, "typical"...

So my hopes aren't high for the end of "morning sickness" (yet another thing that makes me laugh, because morning doesn't have much to do with this sickness... I think this baby has a mind of his/her own...) to come anytime soon. Instead I will continue to bring you recipes that have been friendly to my rather easily up-settable pregnant palette. Try saying that one ten times fast: easily up-settable pregnant palette...

Well anyway, today I attempted an impromptu chocolate pudding. I call it impromptu because I didn't plan it out very well... In fact, I started throwing bits of randomness into it as I went, and don't you know that is usually how I end up with my best products...

Well anyway, this is how I did it (well, sort of... I will clean up the craziness for you and just give you a recipe that makes sense...)

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (golden brown is what I used)
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder (this is roughly how much I used... I started with 1/4 cup and the sprinkled in some more for good measure... If you want yours to be more milk chocolatey, then only use 3 Tbs, or 1/4 cup)
2 Tbs cornstarch (I started with 2 Tbs and sprinkled a little more. If you want to use this for a pudding pie, put in 3 to 4 Tbs)
Dash salt

Sift these ingredients together in a sauce pan making sure to remove all lumps. By the time I got done the powder I ended up with resembled the instant stuff you buy in a box.. But of course this will be way better....

Turn the burner on medium heat and add 2 3/4 cup milk. Whisk like crazy (don't get discouraged... at first it will look all lumpy and then all of a sudden you will have a magical moment when it all mixes into a creamy chocolate milk looking consistency.)

I sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon into the pot about halfway through, just for a nice touch... Feel free to do it if you want to.

I also noticed halfway through that it was a lot less chocolate looking than I wanted it, so I tossed in a handful of chocolate chips and stirred those like crazy until they melted too. This is also optional.

Continue to let simmer until it starts to thicken. This will also be a magical moment, so watch it closely or it will thicken into a big nasty blob (that almost happened to me, but I caught it in time!) Once it starts to boil, stir it down and remove from heat. It should be thick enough to cling to the back of a spoon (or cling to your whisk), but not as thick as cooled pudding. Remember, it will set up as it cools.

After removing from heat, stir in 2 Tbs margarine and some vanilla. Stir thoroughly, let cool a bit, then pour into serving cups (or tupperware, if you plan on saving it for later like me!).

Enjoy!!!

Southern Comfort Food: Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Roasted Corn

I am just going to admit it: I don't post as many healthy recipes as I should.

I apologize...

I *really* will try to do better.

But seriously, I can't keep this recipe from you. It is just to easy and too ridiculously good, and if you are missing cooking like mom made, this is the way to get that home-cooking satisfaction.

What I did:

Chicken Fried Steak

2 good sized cubed steaks

cup or so of flour
black pepper
salt
paprika
season salt

1/3-1/2 c milk
1-2 tsp vinegar
1 egg

enough shortening/vegetable oil to make about 1/4-1/2 inch deep in a frying pan

Add the vinegar to the milk and let sit for about 5 minutes. If you have buttermilk, skip this step and just use buttermilk - no vinegar. If you are like me and don't have it, then do this to make your own buttermilk.

Meanwhile, mix your flour and seasoning in a pie pan or big plate or bowl. Beat the egg and mix with the buttermilk in a separate pie pan or shallow bowl.

Cover your cubed steaks with the flour mixture, being sure to pat it into all the crevices. Dip into the buttermilk and egg mixture, then back into the flour mixture. Make sure it is very well coated with flour, then lay on a piece of waxed paper to rest while moving on to the next.



While steaks are resting for about 5 minutes, heat your oil in your frying pan to medium hi - hi heat. Carefully add the cubed steaks and fry until each side is golden brown.

Remove to a plate and cover with foil or transfer on a baking sheet to warm oven to keep warm while making your gravy.

Add about 1/4 c or less of flour to the pan and whisk vigorously to make a smooth paste, heating over medium heat. Add about a cup of milk to the mixture, stirring as you add, until you reach your desired thickness. I used a bit of half and half, and the rest milk.



Add plenty of salt and pepper and pour on top of your chicken fried steak and homemade mashed potatoes.


Mashed Potatoes

I have found that my favorite technique for making mashed potatoes is steaming the potato chunks in the microwave until tender, then mashing with chicken broth, sour cream, and butter. You may ask why steaming them? This is because I always hate how watery the potato chunks get in a pot of boiling water, and with this microwave method the chunks don't retain water, so I can use more yummy liquid to thin it, like milk and chicken broth, instead of already having watered down mashed potatoes.

You can steam any veggie in the microwave with Ziploc steamer bags, or if you have a freshsaver vacuum system, they have steamer bags too. I wash, peel, and cut my potato chunks into halves or quarters, depending on the size of potato. Chuck them into the bag, then seal it in my freshsaver. Then I microwave for about 7 minutes, dump into a bowl and whip with a splash or two of milk, about 1/4 or so chicken broth, and 1/4 c butter. Season with salt and pepper and serve with chicken fried steak gravy.

Roasted Corn

This is now my all time favorite way to eat corn! And it should probably be called char-grilled corn, but I am going to say roasted because it evokes a more sophisticated image... whatever that means!

Have your hubby turn on the grill. Donovan said he grilled them on medium heat. Leave your corn in the husks, have hubby toss them on the grill and close the lid. Leave until the husks are all burnt and charred.



Using gloves or some sort of towel to protect your hands, strip the husks off and reveal your delicious corn. Slather in butter and parmesan cheese (if you desire... we ate it with butter and sea salt and fresh ground pepper).