Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled Eggs: My favorite breakfast meal

Guest Post by Noah W.

Everyone in our family likes scrambled eggs. I like to cook them. My dad says that the secret to scrambled eggs is to cook them over low heat. Don't forget the salt and pepper. :)

Scrambled Eggs
Eggs
Milk (optional)
Oil or butter
Salt and pepper

• First crack the eggs into a bowl.
• Stir them until they are mixed up.
• Add some milk if you want.
• Heat oil or butter in a pan over low to medium heat.
• Put the eggs in the pan.
• Get a spatula, turn it over and scrape the eggs in the pan back and forth.
• Add some salt and pepper.
• Keep cooking and stirring the eggs until they aren't runny anymore.
• Then put them on a plate.

Notes: It's good to have at least one egg per person. I like two eggs.

Bacon in the oven

Bacon hot from the oven

Using the oven makes bacon incredibly easy to cook. It requires little monitoring and no flipping, leaves plenty of room on the stove top for eggs, hash browns, etc. And cleanup is a snap. Plus the bacon comes out nice and flat.

Different brands and the thickness of the cut can change the baking time. Also, some people like it crispier than others, but if you use the same type of bacon every time, you'll find a baking time that works for you.

Oven Bacon

• Preheat oven to 400*.
• Place a cooling rack on a foil lined sheet pan.
• Pinch the foil up in the corners to make a tray to catch the drippings.
• Spread out the bacon on the cooling rack in a single layer.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes for thin-cut bacon, 20+ minutes for thick-cut.
• Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate.
• Drain and save the grease or let it cool on the foil and throw it away. 

Notes: If you skip the cooling rack and place the bacon directly on the foil, you might want to flip it and/or drain off some of the grease partway through baking.

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

Pumpkin Bread is another food the whole family can agree on. Whether or not to add chocolate chips, now that's a different story. This pumpkin bread recipe is adapted from a Betty Crocker recipe.

Pumpkin Bread
1 15oz can pumpkin
1 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• Preheat oven to 350* and grease the bottoms only of two loaf pans.
• Mix pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl.
• Stir in remaining ingredients.
• Divide batter evenly between the two pans.
• Bake 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.
• Remove bread from pans and cool completely before cutting.

Notes: Because some of us like chocolate in this bread, I add 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips to the second half of the batter after filling the first pan. To keep the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom and sticking, I spread a thin layer of plain batter in the bottom of the pan before adding the chocolate chip batter.

Broccoli Soup

Broccoli Soup

Broccoli soup is considered "something good" by most of our family. The veggie hater doesn't like it, and once again my husband will bring out the "soup is not a meal" argument. But the ones who do like it really like it a lot. So broccoli soup stays on our frequent meal list.

Broccoli Soup
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons flour
1 potato peeled and diced
3-4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (16 ounce) packages chopped frozen broccoli, thawed
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
Garnish: crackers and cheese

• Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized pot.
• Add the onion and saute until tender about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic and the flour and cook 1 minute.
• Add the potato, chicken broth, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the broccoli and simmer 5 more minutes.
• Use a hand mixer or blender to puree the mixture until it is as smooth as you like.
• Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
• Garnish servings with crackers and cheese.

Notes: If you like larger chunks, puree after adding one bag of broccoli; then add the second bag and cook for 5 minutes. To make this gluten free, leave out the flour and add an extra potato to help thicken.

Beer Bread

Beer Bread

We all love this beer bread. I found the recipe on food.com, posted by Gerald Norman. I use less butter than the original 1/2 cup and substitute olive oil if I'm making it for the little guy. So simple and delicious. My favorite beer to add is Spotted Cow from the New Glarus Brewing Co.

Beer Bread
3 cups sifted all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
12 oz. beer
1/4 cup melted butter or olive oil

• Preheat oven to 375*
• Grease a loaf pan.
• Put dry ingredients into a bowl and mix with a whisk.
• Stir in the beer.
• Spread in the loaf pan.
• Pour melted butter over the mixture.
• Bake one hour.
• Immediately remove from the pan.
• Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting.

Notes: This makes a great gift as a mix. Put the dry ingredients into a quart jar. Give the jar along with directions and a bottle (or six pack) of beer.

Roasted Asparagus

Roasted Asparagus

Spring is almost here; really it is. One of my favorite spring time vegetables is asparagus. We love it grilled, but roasted in the oven is good too. My non-veggie eater doesn't like this, but everyone else does.

Roasted Asparagus

• Preheat oven to 450*.
• Wash the asparagus spears and trim off the woody, hard bottoms (usually about an inch).
• Place asparagus in a single layer on a roasting pan or cookie sheet.
• Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 
• Mix them around so they are evenly coated with oil and seasoning.
• Roast 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the spears.

Notes: To help figure out where to trim the bottoms, I snap them off. Wherever they break easily is a good spot. Another option, if you don't want to lose and inch or so of the bottom, is to peel the hard bottoms with a knife or vegetable peeler.

Chewy Bars

Chewy Bars--definitely something good

Due to a number of requests for the Chewy Bar recipe, I've decided to post it next. However, I will say that the recipe is on the box. This is not an original recipe of mine or even a from scratch recipe, but they're so good that everyone thinks it must be a family secret. I have an aunt who is famous for making Chewy Bars, but she'll also tell you, "it's on the box." I guess the secret is which box: JIFFY Golden Yellow cake mix. Now the secret is out....

Chewy Bars
1 package JIFFY Golden Yellow Cake Mix
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon butter, softened
1 Tablespoon corn syrup
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg
1 Tablespoon water
2 Tablespoons flour

• Preheat oven to 350*.
• Grease an 8 inch square pan.
• In a small bowl, blend all ingredients.
• Spread in prepared pan.
• Bake 25-30 minutes.
• Cool and cut into bars.

Notes: I usually double the chocolate chips--sometimes I even triple them if I'm in a chocolatey mood. You can double the whole recipe and bake in a 9x13 pan, but bake them a little longer, 30-33 minutes.

Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Pasta

Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Pasta

This Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Pasta recipe is the result of accidentally buying precooked shrimp. I chucked my original recipe that called for raw shrimp and ended up with this. The pasta has enough flavor for my husband but not too much for the kids. Not all of the kids like shrimp, but that just leaves more for the rest of us. Enjoy!

Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Pasta
4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
12oz. cooked shrimp
12oz. linguini
1 cup chicken broth or shrimp stock
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Chopped parsley
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• Combine garlic, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the shrimp and set aside.
• Boil the noddles in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water before draining the pot.
• Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add the shrimp, reserving the marinade. Cook for 1 minute then remove the shrimp.
• Add the marinade, chicken broth, and 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Cook until reduced by half.
• Add the pasta, shrimp, and additional teaspoon of lemon juice. Toss to combine.
• Serve with chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese.

Notes: You could use raw shrimp, just peel them before adding to the pan and cook them for about 3 minutes.