grilled cheese egg-in-a-hole

Back in April (around National Grilled Cheese Day), I meant to post about my grilled cheese egg-in-hole, which clearly didn't happen. I got distracted.. For three months.

So here is the story. I could not decide between breakfast and lunch. Grilled cheeses are one of my favorite foods, because it is hard to mess up and so so satisfying. All you have to do is make sure the buttered bread is perfectly toasted and the oozy cheese covers the entire surface of the bread. Whenever I'm feeling a little breakfasty (definitely not a real word), a fried egg always hits the spot. So putting the two together just seemed to make the most sense. God, I love when I'm right. It was brunch perfection.

Grilled Cheese Egg-In-A-Hole
Yields one sandwich

INGREDIENTS
2 slices of bread
2-3 slices of cheese (I use cheddar)
1 egg
2 Tbsp butter (more or less depending on preference)
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat skillet on medium to medium high heat. Place 1 Tbsp butter into the pan with one slice of bread. 
2. Cut the slices of cheese into thirds and assemble around the slice of bread, making not cheesy square I the center of the bread. Cover with other slice of bread.
3. Cook until cheese is melty and bread is toasted to liking on the one side, about 2 minutes. 
4. Flip sandwich over and 1 Tbsp of butter to pan so the other side can get buttery and toasty. Cook for about 1 minute on this side. 
5. With a cookie cutter or small glass (with about 2 1/2-inch diameter), cut a circle in the center of the grilled cheese.
6. Crack the egg into the center of the hole. Add a little more butter before cracking the egg into the pan if not using a nonstick skillet or just want to be safe.
7. Cover and cook egg until set to liking.
8. Slide sandwich onto a plate. Add salt and pepper to taste. Eat and enjoy!

egg-in-a-hole with sausage and broccoli hash

Lately, I've been obsessed with featuring a runny yolk on my breakfast plate. This morning, I made egg-in-a-hole. If you don't know about egg-in-a-hole, then you have clearly been living on another planet. But let me break it down for you, anyway. It's a slice of bread with a hole cut out of the center and replaced with a fried egg. The bread gets toasted and the egg gets fried simultaneously. Amazing and easy. I wonder how people don't know about this.

I'm never quite satisfied with just an egg and toast, because I know I'll probably end up skipping lunch. So, I like to make my egg-in-a-hole extra hearty with some kind of meat and veggie hash. I absolutely love cutting into the yolk and having the bright yellow yumminess just gush all over the hash. So freakin good.

Egg-In-A-Hole with Sasusage and Broccoli Hash
Yields one egg-in-a-hole breakfast

INGREDIENTS
1-2 Tbsp butter (use 1 Tbsp for a smaller slice of bread/smaller skillet and 2 Tbsp for a larger slice of bread/larger skillet)
1 slice of bread (I used a big slice of sourdough)
1 egg
1 uncooked hot sausage link, uncased (use whatever kind you like. I use one of the Johnsonville hot Italian sausages)
1/4 cup chopped broccoli, uncooked
2 Tbsp diced onion
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Cut a hole into slice of bread. I used a biscuit cutter but you can also use a glass, cookie cutter, etc etc. 
2. Heat a small skillet on medium high heat. Drizzle about 1 tsp into the skillet and saute onion and broccoli, stirring occasionally until tender but not overcooked (unless you like your veggies like that). Then transfer veggies to a bowl.
3. In the same small skillet, on medium high heat, crumble the hot sausage (uncased!). Do not touch the sausage pieces once they hit the pan. Allow them to brown up on that side, which will take a couple minutes. Then flip the over and allow the other side to brown, about another minute. Once the sausage is cooked, add veggies back into the skillet and stir it all together. Turn off the heat, the hash is done.
4. I tend to multitask, so I begin the egg-in-a-hole while the sausage is cooking. But if you are more comfortable, make the hash first. If you ever make fried eggs, you know that letting a fried egg sit around too long is no bueno. In another skillet (that will fit your slice of bread and it's complementary removed center piece) on medium high heat, add the butter. 
5. When the butter starts to bubble a bit (but don't let it burn!), place your bread and center piece both into the skillet.
6. Carefully, crack the egg directly into the hole in your bread-- you don't want your yolk to break!
7. Allow the bread to get toasted and the egg to cook. I usually check the center piece of toast on the side. When it's all nice and toasty a golden brown, I flip everything over. I have a habit of flipping my fried egg, which disguises the yolk. It's not as visually pretty when serving but breaking the yolk open and see all that yellow is so much more fun.
8. At this time, you can add a little more butter to your pan if you want to make you toast more gold on the other side. Cook for about 1 more minute. Then it's ready to eat. Don't let your egg-in-a-hole overcook and sit in the pan or else you will lose your runny yolk.
9. Add sausage and broccoli hash to your plate and top with your egg-in-a-hole. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on top.
10. Devour the whole damn thing.

egg roll up

I eat eggs almost every morning. In order to keep myself from getting bored of the same looking breakfast, I try to come up with new ways to eat my eggs. This morning I made egg roll ups. They look just like a breakfast burrito or wrap minus the heavy flour/corn vessel. Instead, the egg acts as the "wrap" (and, might I add, holds up well). I like to stuff mine with veggies and bacon for breakfast. But you can use this technique for any type of sandwich wrap, too.

 

Egg Roll Up
Yields about 2

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
1 small zucchini, cut into lengthwise strips (thinner is better)
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 avocado, sliced
4 strips of bacon, cooked
salt and pepper
olive oil

DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare veggies. On medium high heat, saute red bell pepper in a skillet until tender. Simultaneously, lightly dress zucchini strips with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Place a grill pan on the stovetop and preheat to medium heat. Then, grill the zucchini strips. If they are thin, it will only be a couple minutes on each side. I love the grill marks and it also gives the zucchini great flavor. Set aside zucchini and red bell pepper with bacon and avocado.
2. Prepare egg wrap. In a large, liquid measuring cup, beat eggs. This makes for easy pouring. Then, in a preheated skillet with a little olive oil, pour just enough of the eggs to coat the bottom. (Add more egg for a thicker wrap, but I prefer mine to be on the thinner side) Swirl around for an even layer. Allow to cook for a couple minutes, then flip the egg over to cook other side.
3. Assemble. Set your egg wrap on a flat surface. On top of the egg wrap, layer with the bacon and veggies. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top if you like. Then, tuck everything in and roll it up!

 

These egg roll ups are a fun way to shake up your breakfast, while using the same simple ingredients you might see in an omelet or scramble. Especially when I'm eating Paleo, it's also a nice alternative to lettuce wraps. These are substantial but will also keep you feeling lighter and less guilty as you continue your day!

sausage and spinach frittata

Sunday brunch is my favorite meal of the week. Because it's Sunday, I will spend a few extra minutes staring into my refrigerator, trying to get inspired.

Eggs are definitely a friend to the Paleo community. It's the one exception to the "no dairy" rule and such a versatile ingredient. Scrambled, fried, hard-boiled, poached.. I'll eat it in any form (except raw because I'm not that hardcore).

I haven't made a frittata in a while. But I whipped up a good one today that was so so incredibly perfect. Yes, I said perfect. And I mean it! Don't be intimidated by the word frittata, we're just dealing with eggs.

Sausage and Spinach Frittata
About 6 servings

INGREDIENTS
8 eggs
1 cup sausage crumbles (about 2 good-sized spicy sausage links, uncased)
1 cup sauteed veggie mixture (about 1 small onion + 1 red bell pepper, diced small)
1 cup uncooked baby spinach
olive oil 

**NOTE: I didn't add any extra seasoning because I used a spicy sausage. Feel free to add some s+p and/or fresh herbs to amp this up!

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Dice onion and red bell pepper and set aside. I prefer a smaller dice, which seems to make for a more balanced frittata. 
3. Prepare sausage crumbles. On the stove top, heat a saute pan on medium to medium high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan. Once the pan is hot, break up the sausage into fairly small pieces and drop into saute pan. Do not stir sausage around constantly. Allow to brown a bit and then flip over to finish cooking. They should be in crumbles but not crumbs-- there's a difference! The more you stir, the more crumbs you will make. When the sausage is cooked, place into a separate bowl. Leave all the sausage grease in the pan.
6. Prepare veggie mixture. Still on medium to medium high heat, add the diced onion and bell pepper to sausage grease. Cook veggies until they soften. The onions will soften a bit more than the red bell pepper. Then turn off the heat and let veggies cool down.
7. Put it all together. In a medium mixing bowl, lightly beat together eggs with a whisk. Add cooled veggie mixture and 3/4 cup of the sausage crumbles to eggs and mix together. Gently stir in spinach.
8. Lightly grease a baking dish with olive oil. Pour entire egg mixture into the dish and spread so mixture is evenly distributed. Scatter reserved 1/4 cup of sausage crumbles to the top of the egg mixture.
9. Bake in preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until fully cooked. If you pat the top of the frittata, the egg should feel like it's springing back.
10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes (or as long as you can wait!) before serving. If your baking dish was well-greased, the frittata will start pulling away from the edges as it cools.

No milk, cream, cheese, bread crumbs, whatever crazy things people add these days.. This frittata doesn't need all that. It maintains such a wonderful, tender consistency because of the low and slow baking. As long as you don't keep opening the oven to check it, it will turn out beautifully.