Birthday in a Ramekin

It was recently my fiance's birthday & lucky for him, we had a snow day, so I was up for making him a delicious breakfast (turned brunch because of his sleepy headed tendencies). Anyways, this is a recipe I first saw in Bon Appetit (one of my favorite mags for easy but delicious recipes). I made it for my family for our Thanksgiving brunch; however, we were all pretty stuffed by the time I finished cooking them, so we didn't truly get to enjoy them until recently. It's a simple, delicious recipe that looks very impressive. My fiance likes it because the combination of the spinach, bacon, and egg creates a creamy brininess that is heavenly! He told me when I made it for him on Friday that it's officially his favorite of the breakfast items I make for him. Hope you enjoy it as much.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

* 6 slices thick cut bacon
* 1 9-ounce bag baby spinach
* 2 whole wheat or sourdough English muffins, split horizontally, well toasted
* 4 large eggs
* 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
*4 1-cup ramekins
* Cheese of any kind :)

Preparation

*Preheat oven to 400°F. Toast sliced English muffins. Cook bacon & save drippings. Crumble when cooled. Cook spinach in just used bacon pan. Season with pepper & toss until wilted. Meanwhile, brush the ramekins w/ leftover bacon drippings.
*Put English muffin half, split side up, in each ramekin. Mix spinach & bacon and divide evenly into ramekins. Shape small space in the center of each ramekin for the egg. Crack 1 egg into each ramekin, keeping yolk intact. Pour 1 tablespoon cream over each egg. Sprinkle with salt and pepper & grate cheese over top.
*Bake eggs until whites are just set but yolks are still runny, 14 to 16 minutes.


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Cavatelli & Broccoli

So after catching on to this blogging thing with a little instruction/help from Katy, here I am. I'm looking forward to doing this as the two of us spend a significant amount of time on the phone or in person talking about food. Our trip to Eataly spurred the blog but we've been talking for years about doing something with our ideas, so here I go with one of my and the kids favorite dishes.

When the kids were little we used to go to Burnham Park pool all summer long. We sat with a big group and as the afternoon progressed all the moms always ended up talking about what we were having for dinner. One girl was talking about making Cavatelli and Broccoli. I said I would love to make that, but there was no meat in it and Potato Heads (Irish men) like my husband want meat. She told me to add bacon which I did and this dish became a family favorite from the very first time. Thanks to Debbie Morris nee Tracey.


Head of Broccoli cut up
1lb Bacon, cooked (I'm sure you could also do Pancetta here)
Chicken Broth
Garlic chopped or sliced
Olive oil
1 & 1/2 cup of Freshly grated parmesan
1 lb of cavatelli (frozen is good, made with ricotta, more protein less carbs.)

Cook the bacon/pancetta ahead of time and break into pieces. Boil the chopped up broccoli in the chicken broth until tender and reserve broth. Boil the cavatelli and and sauté the garlic in 2 tbsp of olive oil, toss in the broccoli and sauté for a few minutes. When the pasta is cooked throw everything in together and add about a 1 ½ cups of freshly grated parmesan cheese, salt and freshly ground pepper. Enjoy!!

Feeling under the weather...or maybe just a little chilly

A perfect post for a sick day turned snow day. I wasn't feeling very well this week at work & thought about taking today off. However, I got the wonderful call from school at about 8:15 last night so I could spend today resting. Luckily, I had stopped by my parents house yesterday where my mom handed off a big Tupperware container of her delicious chicken soup. She's been making this one since I was a kid & trust me whether it's a sick day or a snow day, this is GREAT!


Chicken Stock/Broth I like Swanson. I buy the big 32oz boxes
Chicken Breasts, bone in skin on, salt, pepper olive oil
Carrots, celery, leeks, garlic parsnips
More carrots, celery, canned diced tomatoes, small pasta, parsley and dill.


This is the easiest chicken soup to make. Its quick when all of a sudden someone’s sick. I always keep chicken stock/broth in the house along with split chicken breast, bone in, skin on.

Cook the chicken breast in the oven with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. (when finished cooking, let cool and pick the meat from the bones)

While the chicken is cooking, put the purchased chicken broth in a big stock pot or pasta pot, add a head of garlic cut in half (not peeled) some celery, carrots, leeks, parsnips and parsley. Simmer it for the same amount of time that the chicken is cooking. Strain the broth, add freshly chopped carrots and celery, a can of petite diced tomatoes, some small pasta and the picked chicken. Let it boil and simmer until the pasta and veggies are cooked, add about a 1/4 cup of dill at the end.

Ladle into a bowl & ENJOY!