Sunday Breakfast Made Simple

Okay... Now this always surprises me when people ask about my breakfasts... It is second nature to me, but  some people have no idea how to make scrambled eggs, etc... SO today's post is about a quick and easy Sunday Breakfast to either surprise your spouse, or to give the person you brought home last night the idea you know how to cook... ;-)

Ingredients... (This is for 2 People... Just double the eggs and add 1/3 cup more milk per person.)

4 Eggs (Remember, use Cage Free Eggs...)
2/3 Cup of milk
Salt
Pepper
Cooking Spray or Margarine
1 Package of Bacon

First we will start the bacon... Now this is NOT how I normally do bacon... My way takes a lot longer, and gets to the PERFECT line of Floppy vs Crunchy, but for today, we are doing Quick, Easy and Simple...

First, Preheat oven to 425. (The directions will tell you 400... ignore them... the bacon is too floppy that way)
Second, line a Cookie Sheet with Aluminium foil. (Not 100% necessary, but it saves a TON of cleaning unless you want to save the Bacon Grease, but thats another blog, anyway...)

Third, you place the bacon on the cookie sheet, overlapping a bit. (the bacon will shrink once cooked)

Once you put the bacon in the preheated 425 degree oven, you will start the eggs.

Put a large nonstick skillet on your stove and turn the heat on to Medium to Medium Low depending on how your stove is, and let it get hot... after a bit, spray with some cooking spray.

                                                 

Next crack your 4 eggs into a medium sized bowl.

Add your Milk, Salt and Pepper, (add your salt and pepper to taste (that means if you like a lot of pepper add a lot of pepper...))

(See how gross Scrambled Eggs are?)

Now you take a Whisk...  "What's that you say?" Well, here is a pic of my whisk, which I use for more things than you think... IN COOKING YOU PERVS!!!

(Yes, that IS a picture of Farrah Fawcett behind me... Andy got her 2013 Calendar...) 

Now... You take your whisk, and break every yolk like so...

Then in a circular motion, start stirring with the whisk.  Do not be afraid to stir hard... The eggs are already broken, and its good exercise for your forearms...

You will want to whisk/stir for at least 2 minutes... How this works, is that what whisking does, is actually adding air to your mixture while combining the ingredients.  SO... the longer and harder you whisk (I am SO sorry, I didn't realize just how semi-erotic this sounds...) The fluffier and lighter your scrambled eggs will be!

After you are done whisking, you then pour your egg mixture into the heated skillet.

(see... easy peasy)

Now... before you do anything... Let the eggs cook a bit  you want the bottom and the sides to firm up and the middle to still be liquid before starting the next step. (while you are doing all of this... look at your bacon... it SHOULD still be cooking, as it takes between 10 and 15 minutes to cook... but oven DO vary)

(Looks like a big pan of Sunshine!)

Okay... for the next step... you will need another utensil. Its called a Rubber Spatula.  You can find these at ANY Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, Target, etc...  these are invaluable for cooking. 

(Yes, I am brandishing one...)

Next... take the spatula, and start pushing the set/solid eggs to the center of the skillet/pan. what will happen is that, when you push the solid to the center, the liquid, will go to the edges...  You keep repeating this over and over until you get the desired consistency and texture... Some people like their eggs slightly moist, some like them cooked hard... this is a question you can ask your spouse or sleepover buddy, 

BRAINS!!!

This is how they typically look. I know My partner's mother cooked them into small bits, while MY mother made them big pieces... its all in how you like them..

Pull the Bacon out of the oven...

Add a sprinkle of Cheddar Cheese to the top of the eggs (Avoid doing so in the skillet... it will just make a mess) Two pieces of buttered toast, plate everything, and you have a Quick, Easy, Simple Breakfast in less than 30 minutes...

Hope you all enjoy, and if you try my ideas, please let me know how they turn out!

Thanks,

Justin

Mary Alice Fisher's Meatloaf

I am starting this off as a tribute of sorts to my "mother-in-law" (Quotes because I am not legally allowed to marry... yet... Rant over) Mary Alice passed away on March 7th 2013 and used to have some great recipes. Sadly, a lot of them were never written down, or we haven't found them... yet, but this is one I've been making for years. This meatloaf is fantastic, and sure to please even the pickiest of eaters. I rarely will endorse certain products, but there are a few, and I'll let ya know what they are. This is a double batch recipe because it freezes well, and two... well you will see the reason for #2 in a minute.

First the Ingredients:
1 pound of Ground Beef (80/20 is fine.... you don't want it TOO lean.)
1 pound of Ground Pork
1 pound of Ground Turkey
2 Cage Free Eggs (I ONLY use Cage Free... yes they are more expensive, but for me... it is worth the extra cost for happy chickens.)
1 Can of Campbell's Tomato Rice Soup. It's gotta be Campbell's because I have never seen any other brand make it
1 Pack of "Meatloaf" seasoning... (Great Value, McCormick's its all the same.... Season salt with dehydrated onion)
2 good shakes of Worcestershire Sauce
Bread Crumbs as needed

 

Put the Beef, Pork and Turkey in a bowl.



Add the 2 eggs (for COMPLETE novices, you must crack them first... Egg shells are not tasty...) the can of soup, the Meatloaf Seasoning pack, and the 2 shakes of Worcestershire Sauce. Then comes the gross part.... Put your washed hand in the mix and start mixing.  (When I am home, I use a Shortening blender because I HATE touching raw meat. it or an old fashioned Potato Masher should give the same results.) The best way is to take a handful of the mixture and SQUEEZE it. It will come out in between your fingers... thats fine... Next, once things are good and icky, you will start to add bread crumbs with your non-icky hand...

 

Add only a little at first... mix it in, and then keep adding more until it starts to hold its shape.

 

Once you are able to keep it in a ball form it is ready for the pan.

Okay... now here is the second reason why i make a double batch.  How many people like "the end" of the meatloaf?  There was always a fight at the Supper table in my house growing up for it. So... I came up with the idea to use... Are you ready???

The Perfect Brownie Pan

This makes Meatloaf Sliders if you want to call them that, but the plus side, is that they are all end pieces, and PERFECT for little Hawaiian Roll Sandwiches... just put an equal amount of mixture in the Brownie pan, or a second loaf pan (They DO make a "Perfect Meatloaf Pan" which I love, but I just don't have it here...)

   

 Now... If you do not have either the above, a 9X12 Cake pan, metal or glass will work just as fine... make sure your spray your pans with cooking spray to reduce sticking and make clean up easier.

Put in a preheated 350 degree oven, and bake for 90 minutes.

Out should come this...

Serve with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy...

                                                     

Or make Sliders/Sandwiches with the others...

                                                       

I hope you enjoy this... it's one of my favorite meatloaf recipes... I do have another one using oatmeal that is VERY dense, but tastes awesome!

If you have any questions feel free to email me here, or at bearscout05@aol.com

Thanks!

Start of something good...

HERE GOES NOTHING... Over the past few years, especially on Facebook, I have posted food that I have made, and insisted that everyone can do it... it doesn't take any special talent, just an ability to follow directions.

                                             
                    [Honestly... nothing the vast majority of us cook are going to look like that...]

 THATS the problem with so many cooking shows and cookbooks... they show you this perfectly plated dish, that is almost impossible to recreate unless you go to culinary school. My goal is to provide easy step by step instructions with pictures on how things look in real life, not on the cooking show... Things may get messy, but thats REAL. I hope you enjoy and try the recipes that I show you. If you like what you see/taste, please spread the word.

Thank You,

Justin Allen