Broccoli and Cheddar Frittata

This weekend, I ordered a take-out box of “fish” from a Chinese Restaurant. Usually, I’m not one to get ‘fake-meat’ but the restaurant does such a great job of it. They’ve somehow textured the tofu so that it would be similar to the flakiness of fish. I would eat it regardless of meatless Monday or not and I’m so lucky that there were tons of leftovers (huge box). I’m pretty sure it’s heaven in a box for vegetarians.

In other news, I made a frittata this Monday with lots of yummy cheddar, fiber-rich broccoli and high-protein eggs for vegetarians that generally hate soy. (I generally dislike soy)

Vegetarian "Fish": photo does not do this dish justice

Broccoli and Cheddar Frittata
1 broccoli floret, chopped, large stem discared
1/3 c. onions (about 1/2 small onion) diced
8 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 – 1.5 c. sharp cheddar, grated with more for garnish
1/2 tsp garlic powder
s/p to taste
makes a 10-inch frittata

Preheat oven to 375F.

Beat the eggs, add milk, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cut up your veggies and saute them in a little olive oil over medium-high heat. If needed, add a little water, cover, and steam your broccoli so they’re nice and green– otherwise, after the veggies are softened (4 – 5 mins), reduce heat to medium-low and add the eggs. Cook until eggs just begin to solidify and add your cheese. Stir sparingly but try and keep the concoction smooth. Before the eggs have completely set– still gooey and watery in the center, smooth it out and pop it in the oven for 10 minutes. Before done completely, raise heat to 400F, broil, and brown.

Serve with tomato or bacon slices. You know I wanted to.

Egg and Ham Sandwich

Sometimes in the morning, I would love nothing more than a fried egg and ham sandwich. Eggs are a great source of protein and I would normally tell you to have just egg whites but I do love that half-done center– still oozing with that delicious golden honey but firm on the outside.  Heaven.

Heaven in the form of heart-clogging cholesterol. (Attempts to limit egg yolks to once-in-a-while have failed but I’m working on it).

I hate whole-wheat bread so I opted for Squaw– which is made of whole-wheat flour but better tasting. And I definitely love scrambled eggs over a fried egg but I was craving a fried egg. This is a real simple recipe that doesn’t require much thinking but it’s well worth it and you’ll have a quick, satisfying breakfast.

Egg and Ham Sandwich
1 whole egg (or 2 eggs worth of whites) (or 2 whole eggs if scrambling)
1 slice of deli squaw bread, toasted
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 thin slices (reduced sodium or reduced fat) ham
chives
Serves 1

Toast the large slice of toast in an oven at about 300-350F. Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a small pan. When oil begins to shimmer, carefully crack an egg over (Season with s/p). Cook for about 2 minutes on the bottom side. Now you can decide what kind of egg you want here, if you want sunny-side up, just cook it for a little longer and the yolks are still runny– I can’t do this raw.

You may wish to cover the pan so a thin film covers the top of the yolk or flip and cook for just a few seconds for over-easy. Or do like me, and cook for about a minute for somewhere in between over-medium and well-done.

Retrieve your bread when it’s done toasting to your liking and cut it in half. Slide the egg onto your bread. At this point, I took out some ham and lay it onto the pan and just toasted it a little bit to warm it up and folded it onto the bread.

Cut some chives and sprinkle it over your ham or eggs. You can always do cheddar, parmesan, or something of the sort– I always have scrambled egg (white) sandwiches with chives and (turkey) bacon. You can also choose to use thicker ham instead. Whatever is good!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to obtain that runny center today as my dog was crying to get outside. Then when my egg was overcooked:

I let her in because we don’t have a dog door and she wanted my sandwich. But you can see the plate of uneaten food in the back. Pretty finicky for a Weimaraner. She doesn’t do breakfast but she’ll put my breakfast in her mouth any day, can you tell?