Egg and Spinach Casserole

Not gonna lie, totally saw this on Pinterest and just had to try it. I'm not one of those people who can skip breakfast and when I get hungry it's all I can think about (apologies to the boyfriend for putting up with me when I'm cranky and hungry).

That being said, this egg casserole is fantastic.

I went a little overboard with the garlic...

Ingredients:
Spinach (take what you think you need and double it)
Eggs
Cheese
Spices
Anything else you want!

Sauté the spinach (clean it first... and remove any stems). I pour a tad of olive oil into the pan and sprinkle salt and pepper over the leaves. Spinach wilts down to a tiny fraction of what it is fresh, so you should really pile it on. This photo shows a pittance of the amount of spinach you should use, even for a small 8x8 inch pan, but I forgot to take the photo when it was all piled on. This amount was just the leftovers of the spinach I already had (after piling it high in the pan) because there wasn't enough.

Ignore my awful tile. Lime green splatters? Really?

The really great thing about this casserole (well... any casserole) is that you can put anything you want in it. I had a jalapeño that was about to get all wrinkled so I chopped it up. Onions are great additions, as are chives and green onions. Mmmmm....

While the spinach is wilting (and make sure to turn it so each leaf gets properly wilted and no one leaf is over wilted), chop up whatever else you plan to use. Then scramble your eggs. The idea is to have just as much egg to cover the other ingredients; for an 8x8 inch pan I used 6 large eggs.

Put the sautéed spinach at the bottom of the pan (the original Pinterest recipe says to spray the pan with oil, but I've made this a few times and never have and it's been fine), then sprinkle a thick layer of cheese (again, a good opportunity to use what you have on hand - I had some leftover mozzarella and pepper jack), and top with the other ingredients.

Slowly pour the eggs over the other ingredients and use a fork to gently ease the egg into the layers. Then I sprinkled just a little bit more cheese over the top, pushed it into the egg, and generously peppered the top.

Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until it's as brown and bubbly as you like it. I didn't hear the timer go off on this one so it's slightly more brown than normal, but it was not burnt at all and tasted fantastic.

See? Look how beautiful and fluffy that is. 

Then I topped it with sour cream, Tapatio, and homemade salsa. And went back for seconds. And would have gone back for thirds if I wasn't going to be eating again soon...

You can make a big pan of these and save them in the fridge for one of the quickest and healthiest breakfasts that will keep you full until lunchtime, as long as you eat lunch at a normal hour and don't try to hold off until 2pm like some people do.

Total Time: 45 minutes

Total Cost: $5 plus the cost of whatever else you add

Note: In this particular post the photos are courtesy of my phone, which, while awesome and pretty decent at playing camera, is no match for Rich's actual camera. So if the pics look like cell phone pics, it's 'cause they are.

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Gnocchi with mozzarella, basil and tomatoes

It's like pasta but with potatoes.

This is one of the easiest, fastest and cheapest meals and it's hearty and satisfying. Gnocchi are little potato balls that work like pasta and are as versatile as pasta. You could literally put anything on them and it'll be great. I like to keep it somewhat simple because the gnocchi tastes really good by itself.

Ingredients:

Gnocchi

Grape tomatoes

Mozzarella

Basil

Olive oil, balsamic vinegar

Step 1: Boil the gnocchi. Takes about as long as pasta, like 10 minutes or so. When the gnocchi rises to the surface, boil for two more minutes.

 They have risen!

Take the two minutes to shred the cheese and prepare the basil. Drain the gnocchi and put everything together with a small bit of olive oil and an even smaller bit of balsamic vinegar. Fee free to sprinkle with salt and pepper if you want, but we didn't.

Enjoy! A very italian dinner with all the right colors. This can even be gluten free if you find gnocchi that isn't packaged with wheat flour (to keep the potato balls from sticking together). You can also make a mini caprese salad appetizer with the same ingredients.

Total cost: ~$7 (feeds 2-4)

Total cook time: 10 minutes

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Pasta with Eggplant and Asparagus

So, this is pretty basic pasta dish but when you pair it with a vodka sauce it's fucking fantastic. Chunky, flavorful, healthy and very filling and the ingredients are so cheap and the dish lasts a couple of fat kids a few meals.

Ingredients:

Fusili pasta

Vodka sauce

Eggplant

Asparagus

Seasonings

Cheese

We go through this stuff.

Olive oil is going to be the tie-in ingredient. Cook the veggies in it and use it to keep the pasta from clumping together. I'm a big fan of this Spanish oil from Trader Joe's but any extra virgin olive oil will be good. Olive oil is classified in terms of virginity: extra virgin is the very first press of oil from the olives and is great for tasting (drizzled over veggies, in salads) while regular olive oil is not the first press and can be used for cooking. I only buy extra virgin, partially because I really like the taste and partially because I don't have room in my kitchen for a bunch of different cooking oils. But I seriously recommend finding one you like the taste of and using it in everything.

Meaty eggplant

Chop your veggies! Cube eggplant into bite sized pieces and cut the asparagus into half inch sized sticks. Season and layer loosely in a pan on medium heat with a thin layer of olive oil. 

 Adds the crunch

I used to never be a big fan of asparagus but recently I've been in love with it. When it's fresh like this it's so tasty.

Cook the eggplant first to let the seasonings (your basic pepper, garlic, basil, whatever else you like) sink in. Wait until the eggplant is just about done before putting in the asparagus. Limp asparagus sucks.

 Big ol' pot of pasta!

Boil water and cook your pasta! I said fusili because I like the spirals, but you could really use any pasta. Fusili will look the prettiest though. Drain the pasta once it's done to your liking and pour a few tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and stir to keep the pasta pieces from sticking together.

Add the vodka sauce to the veggie mix in the pan. Simmer on low for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors soak together. This will also finish cooking the asparagus.

Nom!

Put it all together and top with cheese! Mozzarella, parmesan or whatever you want. I had the idea to add a can of diced tomatoes to the mix but forgot, so you could do that. This is a pretty decent way to get your carbs in, but it's also way healthy.

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Mini Caprese Appetizer and Orzo Salad

Mini caprese salad

This is simple, quick, and elegant enough to show off. And it's pretty healthy!

Caprese Salad Ingredients:

Grape tomatoes

Mozzarella balls

Basil

Toothpicks

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and pepper

Seriously, you just skewer a basil leaf in between a mozzarella ball and grape tomato with a toothpick. Arrange them on a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper and douse in a little bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (more vinegar than oil, it's more delicious). Finger food!

Orzo Salad Ingredients:

Orzo

Sun dried tomatoes

Black olives

Mushrooms

Bell pepper

Basil

Goat cheese

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Prepare the orzo (boil, drain) chop the veggies and mix everything together! Ridiculously simple. Mix the whole thing with 1/3 cup of olive oil mixed with the juice from half a lemon. You can also add seasons, like salt and pepper, and maybe throw in a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar for a tang. Crumble goat cheese over the mixture and voila! The best thing about this dish is it can be served warm or cold.

Orzo with goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes

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