Omelet Muffins, Jam, Sides and more

Lots of goodies for you this week, to make up for  a couple of 'dry' weeks.

Baked Omelet Muffins

Found this one on Facebook the other day.  The sky is the limit in the flavor department.   Makes 8-12 depending on the size of the cups in your muffin tin and how much you fill them.  You can zip-bag any leftover muffins and re-heat them the next day -- they stay nice and fluffy and not rubbery.

8 Eggs
Salt & Pepper & Spices to taste

1/3 Cup of Half & Half
1/2 Teaspoon Oil (plus extra to grease muffin pan)
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder, gives the eggs a bit of rise and fluff

Fillings (any or all of the following):
Onion (diced)
Shredded Ham (cooked bacon, chicken, sausage, shrimp, crab, etc)

Mushrooms

Bell Pepper
Grated Cheese of choice

Combine first five ingredients. Whisk well. Add fillings to about half way up the cups. Fill cups 3/4 full with egg mixture. Bake @ 375F for 20-25 minutes until firm and starting to brown (optionally, broil for a couple minutes at the end, like I did). Rest 5 minutes before removing from cups.

They're light and fluffy, and filled with your favorite ingredients -- what more could you ask? Serve with a dollop of BBQ sauce, salsa, or other tasty sauce.

Ascerola Jam

I've talked before about Ascerola -- Barbados Cherry.  Last year I showed you a pie that I made from the tart, vitamin C loaded fruit. I've been saving up the cherries for quite some time. The fruit ripen in spurts and throughout the year, so I keep a zip-top bag in the freezer and just pop in whatever comes ripe whenever they ripen. 

 

I was looking through the freezer the other day, and realized I had quite a stash of cherries, so I decided to make some jam this time.

I took a mostly full gallon bag of frozen cherries, dropped them in a large saucepan, and added about a cup of water. Put the lid on, set the fire to medium high, and brought things to a boil. I cooked the fruit as I would fresh cranberries -- perhaps 15 minutes at a steady simmer. Then I strained off the brilliant red juice, and put the berries in a bowl and set them in the freezer to cool so I could handle them. When cool enough to handle, I rubbed the berries between my hands (messy but fun), breaking them up and trying to separate at least some of the multitude of pips from the tiny amount of meat. The resulting seedy-pulp I pressed through a fairly large hole sieve and added the seedless pulp back to the juice.

The result was about 3 cups of somewhat pulpy juice, to which I added about half a cup of water, and brought it up to a rolling boil. I then dissolved two cups of white sugar in the boiling juice. I didn't want the jam too sweet or too tart, and that much sugar gave me just the taste I wanted. To the boiling sugared syrup I added two packets of liquid pectin and cooked it for a measured one minute. Lastly, I quickly poured the already stiffening jam into screw-top jars and set it aside to cool before screwing down the tops.

What a tasty way to get your daily dose of vitamin C!

Spagetti Squash Two Ways

Sally likes hers with the squash forked from the skin and plated; I like mine with sauce ladled in the hollow. This time the sauce was especially tasty -- Paul Newman's Sockarooni tm Sauce, doctored with a pound of ground turkey, chopped fresh tomato, a stick of celery, a handful of sliced mushrooms, some diced onion, and 1/3 cup of half and half to cut the tomato acidity a bit. Whichever way you choose, choose to try this dish soon!

I half the squash and seed it with a spoon.  Then microwave the halves, cut side down, for 10-15 minutes until soft.  The sauce is assembled in a skillet and simmered to combine flavors before applying to the squash.  

Zucchini Tropical

Another brilliant invention by The Kilted Cook!  I thought you'd like to see this simple and tasty way I created to serve up zucchini. Cut the squash into 3/4" or 1" pieces, and stand them in a microwaveable platter or dish. Sprinkle the tops with the contents of a package of Badia brand Sazon Tropical tm spice blend. Microwave for 2-3 minutes. Serve.

Bananas On The Half Shell

Yet another Kilted Cook Creation!

Here in Southwest Florida we're lucky. A lot of things you northern readers have to buy 'imported' are grown locally here. Take bananas. Please. Sally's neighbor has a number of banana plants growing along the ditch behind his house, and he's not particularly fond of them. So when I was back there walking the dog, and saw where a raccoon had climbed and broken a stem trying o get a snack, I rescued the large bunch of nearly ripe fruit (bananas at right angles to the stem, not pointed upwards). I cut off the bunch, placed them in a large plastic bag and hung them outside for about a week to finish ripening before cutting them from the stem. I peeled and froze several (great for smoothies later); made Mango Banana Smoothies a couple times (banana, mango, blender, whirrrr); and gave some away.  Still had some left.

Yesterday Sally's Mum came to lunch and I need a simple dessert. Hmmm. Excess bananas... Hmmm. Brown sugar..... Hmmmm. Voilà -- Bananas On The Half Shell, a.k.a Bananas Brulee. Slice in half, sprinkle with brown sugar, broil for 3-5 minutes until bubbly.  Let cool, then top with real or spray whipped cream.  Yummy!

You can do this with those bright yellow things from the megamart too, but it's a lot more fun to pick your own.