Breakfast for Dinner! Yum!

Do you remember how great it was as a kid to have breakfast for dinner? I loved it! It seemed almost like we got to do something we weren’t supposed too. It didn’t seem to matter what the breakfast item was if we got to eat it at dinner time we were all in! Most of the time we would have pancakes----delicious. Sometimes we could talk Mom into making waffles-------even better.




When first started living on my own, my first apartment was within walking distance of a great little breakfast spot. I spent many a Sunday morning at the counter drinking coffee and having leisurely breakfasts, reading the newspaper or talking to the regulars! My first real taste of adult hood. I also spent many a early morning (or should I say really late night) in the same restaurant. Since it was within walking distance of my apartment it was a fairly safe place for me to be as a single woman. I still love to have bacon and eggs late at night. Something really comforting about it.


Since summer is upon us and things are getting really hot and muggy here in Florida, I turn to some of my old quick and easy favorites. One of them is this delicious frittata. It is sooooo easy and really quick! Just the thing for the hot sticky nights of Florida. The best thing about it is you can put just about anything you like in it. This just happens to be one of my favorite combinations. I mean---how can you go wrong with bacon, cheese and spinach?

Dinner Frittata

6 slices peppered bacon, cut in half
1 cup onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
6 button mushrooms, sliced
3 cups packed baby spinach
6 eggs
1/4 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1/2 cup shredded monteray jack

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a 10 inch nonstick skillet on medium heat fry bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels reserving any grease rendered in the pan. Add the onion, bell pepper and mushrooms. Saute 6-8 minutes or until mushrooms are lightly browned. Add the spinach and turn with tongs until willted. Chop half of the bacon and mix it in to the spinach mixture. Reduce the heat to low.

In a medium bowl beat the eggs and milk until a light yellow color. Stir in half of the cheddar and 1/2 the jack cheese. Pour the mixture evenly over the spinach mixture.

Cook the eggs on low heat for about 2 minutes without stirring, until the edges of the eggs have begun to set. Add the reserved cheese and arrange the bacon and red pepper strips attractively on top. Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and bake for 8- 12 minutes or until the eggs have puffed slightly and are set in the middle.

Serve hot or at room temperature with a mixed green salad and some crusty bread for a complete meal.

Hello everyone, I’m back after a much needed and relaxing vacation. My husband and I have a cabin in the mountains of Blue Ridge Georgia and we try to get there as often as we can. Blue Ridge is a small mountain town in Northern Georgia and is some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen. Some of the trout streams remind us of the big water in Wyoming or Montana, now what could be better than that?

One of the most surprising things we have learned about Georgia is the abundance outstanding produce. And I mean all kinds of produce, not just peaches (although I am not sure if there is anything sweeter than a fresh picked Georgia peach!) In Blue Ridge and Rome Georgia there are apples. In Cordele and Tifton there are pecans and Canteloupe. Everywhere in Georgia there are Corn Fields. I thought Florida Corn was great but Georgia Sweet Corn is just that ---sweet and delicious. One of my pet peeves of supermarkets is that you can never get a really good tomato. You know the kind I mean, the ones that are so sweet and juicy you want to eat them like an apple. Well the tomatoes in Georgia are the best I’ve had, as good if not better than the legendary Jersey tomatoes!! Really ----- I’m not kidding!!!

This is one of the dishes we always have when we are in Blue Ridge. It’s pulled pork cornbread and it is really good. This is one of those dishes that is a great use of leftover BBQ, but now you can buy premade pulled pork in the grocery. Or if you happen to be in Georgia, just pull over at any one of the roadside stands and buy yourself a pint or two, and don’t forget the boiled peanuts—you’ll need something to go along with your RC Cola!

BBQ Pork Cornbread

1 (6 ounce) package Jiffy cornbread mix
1 egg
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup pulled pork in sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 10 inch cast iron skillet with cooking spray, and set in oven to heat.

In a medium mixing bowl stir together the cornbread mix, egg and buttermilk. Mix about 2 minutes or until well combined. Pour the cornbread batter into the hot skillet. Spread the pulled pork evenly on top leaving a 1/2 inch rim. Bake in the pre heated oven 15 minutes, top with the shredded cheddar cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Serve in wedges with a green salad and RC Cola. To be really southern drop some of the boiled peanuts into the bottle of cola. You’ll be y’allin before you know it!!

Southern Girls and Peaches

There are a few things that all southern girls grow up knowing how to cook. I’m not sure if it is a genetic quirk or an inherited skill, but 2 of them are pork and peaches. It doesn’t seem to matter if peaches are in season, we’ll just open up a can and make due with that. Of course fresh peaches are better but not always available and we southerners are nothing if not resourceful. Now pork on the other hand is always available and I’d bet my porch swing that you would be able to find some kind of pork product in all kitchens across the south.

This delicious dish combines those two southern favorites and is almost more tasty with canned peaches than it is with fresh.

Chipotle Peach Pork Chops

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 1 inch thick boneless pork loin chops

1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup pineapple jam
1 tablespoon finely chopped chipotle peppers packed in adobo
1 14 ounce can sliced peaches in heavy syrup, drained juice reserved

Heat the olive oil in 10 inch non stick skillet over medium heat. Add the chops and brown on both sides. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the pineapple jam, chipotle peppers and about 3 tablespoons of the heavy syrup. Cook until bubbly but still saucy about 10 minutes. Add the peaches and cook another 2 to 3 minutes or until the chops are done. Serve over rice if desired.

Daring Baker’s Party Cup Cakes

I took a little liberty with this month’s bakers challenge. I made the cake batter exactly as it was written but I opted to make cup cakes for our Easter dinner instead of a big cake.

Cup cakes always go over much better in our house than a big cake does and this recipe was really really good! The cake itself was so delicate and just like the Morven from Food Art and Random Thoughts said the light lemony flavor went over big with a fruit filling.

I live in Florida and one of my favorite jams or jellies is Guava. I opted to use my pastry bag and fill the center of the cupcakes with a little guava surprise. Yum Yum Yum!!!

Florida strawberries are always in season around Easter and I can’t remember a Easter dinner when some sort of strawberry dessert wasn’t served, so I took some of the best looking Florida Strawberries I could find and fanned them out as a decoration on top. I love the way the red strawberries looked against the stark white of the cake and the icing.
Check out some of the other cakes from this month’s challenge over at the Daring Baker’s, it’s a party for your eyes!

Braised Spinach and Red Peppers

One of my favorite veggies in the world is spinach. I have always liked it even when I was a kid. My mom made canned spinach and I even liked that. She would always fix it with bacon and scrambled eggs and then we would measure vinegar in the cap to sprinkle on top.

I always get 3 or 4 bags of spinach from the Farmer’s Market and we eat it all week in a number of different ways. Today’s pre washed spinach is just too easy to use and I find that it keeps surprisingly well in the refrigerator. Now that spring is here, summer is not to far away and for us that means a lot of dinner salads and more than likely fresh baby spinach will be the base.

This braised spinach and red peppers is one of my favorite ways to serve a quick and hot side dish. The red peppers ad a wonderful contrast to the deep green color of the spinach. We often have this during the holidays for obvious reasons.

Braised Spinach and Red Peppers

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
1 10 oz. Bag triple washed baby spinach
2 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the bell pepper strips and saute 4 to 5 minutes or until the peppers begin to soften. Add the spinach, garlic and lemon zest turning with tongs to incorporate. Continue turning the spinach until it has wilted and the water begins to evaporate, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add the lemon juice and turn until well combined. Enjoy!

Good Friday Egg Sandwiches with Avocado Mayonnaise

Holiday weekends are really busy around our house. Especially since my Mother In-law moved in with us. Holidays were usually spent at her house and even though I still did most of the cooking things didn’t seem nearly as frantic.

Since we are going to have a full weekend of eating, light seemed just right for Friday dinner. Since my husband and his Mom are catholic good Friday means no meat ( which I sometimes forget, then spend the rest of the evening waiting for the lightning bolt). I had a lot of boiled eggs, (go figure---boiled eggs at Easter), so egg sandwiches were the fare of the evening. I think they are best when I serve them on toasted English Muffins (Bay’s of course!), but any kind of bread is good really.




Just in case any one is wondering, the Corn bread people didn’t call, (well, they called, they just didn’t call me), dagnabit! Maybe I was a little too optimistic. I just figured that since the first contest I entered (Ultimate Recipe Showdown) I was a semi-finalist and the second contest I entered (Bay’s English Muffins) I won, I really expected to be selected for the cornbread cook-off. How silly! Maybe next year


Anyway, here is the recipe for the sandwiches


Good Friday Egg Sandwiches


1 ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup Hellman’s Mayonnaise
4 Bay’s English Muffins, lightly toasted
8 crisp leaves of iceburg lettuce
8 slices ripe tomato
salt and fresh ground black pepper
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
(with the egg slicer you got with your gift card from William’s and Sanoma)


In a small bowl, mash the avocado and mix with the lemon juice and the mayonnaise. Spread 1 tablespoon of the avocado mayonnaise onto the cut sides of each of the english muffins. Layer with 2 leaves of crisp iceburg lettuce, 2 slices of tomato seasoned with salt and fresh ground pepper, the sliced egg and the top muffin. Enjoy!

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

So I was incredibly bored today, the laundry was all done , dinner was made and nothing much on the television except Judge Judy and Basketball. (Now if Judge Judy was playing basketball we’d have a different story.

We went to dinner at our good friends Tony and Maria (inventors of the 20 minute sauce), and Tony made some Kalamata olive bread to go along with the Pasta Fagioli he made for dinner.

Well since I had some time on my hands (the cornbread people will be calling tomorrow), I decided to remake the daring baker challenge French Bread and take a cue from Tony and put some olives in it. I used regular pitted black olives cause I didn’t have any Kalamata Olives and I would definitely suggest using them next time. The Kalamata Olives are really much better and there flavor is much nicer in this bread.

If you want to make it just follow the French Bread recipe and mix in a couple cups of olives into the dough for the final rising. Then I would suggest putting the butter in a really high place so you have to work to get to it or you’ll end up big as a house.

What kind of hair style do you wear with a cast iron tiara? Any suggestions?