egg

Sensational Stuffing Balls

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? The Color of Food: Sensational Stuffing Balls! Two words: OMG, YUM! Seriously, this is the answer to a prayer when asked, “What is a good side dish to serve with meat?” Personally, I like the make-ahead option of having a bag of Stuffing Balls on hand in the freezer. I guess you could even serve them as an appetizer for your next gathering. They’re that tasty. As usual, you can opt out of the shortcut version provided here and make your own stuffing with 5 cups of cubed cornbread, wheat bread, or day-old white bread crumbs. You decide. Go crazy with garden herbs, diced apples, or skip the meat completely. I chose golf ball-size over baseball-size, but that’s totally up to you. After all, you’re the one who will reap the accolades.

SENSATIONAL STUFFING BALLS

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup celery, finely chopped

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 egg, well beaten

1/4 cup chicken broth

12.5 ounce can cooked chicken breast, drained and flaked

6-ounce box chicken stuffing mix

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with foil that has been sprayed with nonstick oil. Set aside. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Do not scorch. Add chopped onion and celery. Sauté until soft. Add chopped parsley, black pepper, sea salt, poultry seasoning, beaten egg, chicken broth, flaked chicken, and dry stuffing mix. Stir well to combine. Shape into golf ball-size portions. Place stuffing balls on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until set.

Quick-Mix Cheesy Grits

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? The Color of Food: Quick-Mix Cheesy Grits! Step away from the usual breakfast smoothie for an occasional southern meal of cheesy grits, eggs-over-easy, and crispy applewood bacon. Grits are not only quick and easy, they’re delicious and filling. This fail-safe method is spot on and can be whipped up in no time at all. It’s packed with enough protein to keep hunger pangs at bay. Save the weekends when you have more time for making grits from scratch.

QUICK-MIX CHEESY GRITS

Ingredients:

1/2 cup instant grits

2 cups water

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded

Pat of butter, for garnish

Instructions:

Combine instant grits, water, and sea salt in a quart microwave-safe measuring cup or bowl. Stir. Microwave on HIGH 3 minutes or until thickened when stirred. Add cheese; stir. Cook 1 minute longer or until cheese melts into a creamy texture. Spoon cheesy grits into individual bowls and add a pat of butter to each bowl. Serves 4.

Egg Drop Soup

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? The Color of Food: Egg Drop Soup! Treat yourself to a Chinese favorite. Using only a few items, you can prepare a festive bowl of chicken broth flavored with green onion, plus a hint of ginger spice. Check out the silky ribbons of beaten eggs and curly wonton strips. Isn’t it pretty? You can do this.

EGG DROP SOUP

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons corn starch

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups chicken broth

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup mushrooms, sliced and sautéed (optional)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 green onions

Fried wonton strips for garnish

Instructions:

In a 2-quart pan, combine corn starch, ground ginger, white pepper, and sea salt. Slowly pour chicken broth into the pan, stirring constantly to dissolve lumps. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. After two minutes, reduce heat to simmer. When the broth has thickened, place a whisk over the pan. Slowly pour beaten egg mixture over the whisk, swirling in a clockwise motion to create silky ribbons. Add sautéed mushrooms. Heat through. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with droplets of sesame oil. Sprinkle green onion snips over soup. Garnish with fried wonton strips.

Quinoa BLTE Sandwich

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Front-Runner Favs: Quinoa BLTE Sandwich! What exactly is quinoa; does anyone know for sure? I took a trip down Wikipedia Lane and discovered “it is an experimental crop in NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration human occupied space flights.” It’s also gluten-free and easy to digest. That’s pretty important stuff in my book. Oh yeah, it’s been around for human consumption for at least 3,000 years. Maybe it’s time to give it a whirl.

QUINOA BLTE SANDWICH

Ingredients:

2 slices organic quinoa multigrain bread, toasted

1-2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 slices tomato

2 romaine lettuce leaves

2-4 slices thick bacon, cooked crisp

1 large egg, cooked over-easy

Pinch seasoned salt

Black pepper to taste

Garnish with parsley

Instructions:

Microwave bacon on paper-towel-lined plate for 5 minutes on High or until crisp. Set aside. In a small skillet sprayed with nonstick oil, crack an egg over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and black pepper. Fry until set, then carefully flip over. Turn off heat. Continue cooking until white is set, but yolk is still runny. To assemble sandwich, slather both pieces of quinoa toast with mayonnaise. Layer ripe tomatoes, romaine lettuce leaves, and bacon strips on one slice. Slide the fried egg onto the bacon. Top the sandwich with the remaining slice of quinoa toast. Garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

Quesadilla Egg Scramble

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Foodstuff Redefined: Quesadilla Egg Scramble! Whether you stack it or fold it, everyone loves a quesadilla. I mean, just say the word, “cay-sah-dee-ya”. It rolls off the tongue naturally as images of gooey melted cheese swim through your mind. Just the thought of a golden brown crispy tortilla dribbled with spicy salsa is enough to make a foodie salivate. Throw in your morning’s scrambled eggs along with slivers of last night’s pork roast and you have a reason to hit the floor running. Quesadilla!

QUESADILLA EGG SCRAMBLE

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shredded pork

3 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons light cream

1 tablespoon butter

2 corn tortillas

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup salsa

Green onion for garnish

Instructions:

Heat shredded pork and set aside. Whisk together eggs and light cream. In a small skillet, heat butter over low heat. Do not scorch. Add egg mixture. Scramble to cook eggs until soft and creamy. Set aside. To assemble quesadilla, place one corn tortilla on a plate. Top with cooked eggs, shredded pork, and cheese. Cover with the second tortilla. Brush the bottom of an iron skillet with olive oil. Carefully transfer the quesadilla to the skillet. Cook on medium heat for one minute until crispy. Brush the top with olive oil. Using a large spatula, flip the tortilla and brown for an additional minute. Remove from heat. Cut quesadilla into wedges. Serve with salsa and green onions.

Avocado Egg Bake

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Sunshine Eats: Avocado Egg Bake! Everyone already eats eggs and avocados, right? At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I must confess, this really is delicious! Forget hum-drum. I mean, just look at the colors! What surprised me the most was not that the eggs cooked thoroughly in the avocado shell, but that the avocado did not turn an unpleasant shade of brown. Seriously. Top it off with onion snips and prosciutto crumbles for love at first bite.

AVOCADO EGG BAKE

Ingredients:

1 avocado, halved and pit removed

2 eggs

1 pinch sea salt

1 pinch cracked black pepper

1 pinch garlic powder

1 slice prosciutto

1 green onion, snipped

1 pinch parsley flakes

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Place oven rack in the middle setting. Arrange avocado halves in a small baking dish to keep them upright. Crack each egg into a custard cup. Gently spoon one egg yolk into the center of each avocado half. Transfer as much of the egg white as possible without overflowing. Discard excess. Season with sea salt, cracked black pepper, and garlic powder. Bake 15 minutes until eggs are set. Meanwhile, microwave prosciutto on High setting until crispy for 45-60 seconds. Crumble and set aside. Remove avocados from oven. Sprinkle with prosciutto crumbles, onion snips, and parsley flakes.

Bacon and Egg Mac ‘n Cheese

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Elevated Edibles: Bacon and Egg Mac’n Cheese! Grab onto your seat because this dish is going to leave you shouting to the rooftops like a kid on a tire swing. Remember how everyone in the neighborhood would congregate around the sturdy oak, count to three, and then pile on the tire like a bunch of monkeys? The biggest guy was always left behind to spin it around like a giant top before grabbing the rope and jumping aboard. The peals of laughter echoed around the block and seemed to go on forever. It’s a wonder the branch didn’t break, or worse.

BACON AND EGG MAC ‘N CHEESE

Ingredients:

1 cup bow tie pasta

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup skim milk

1/3 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

3 slices American cheese

1/4 cup feta cheese

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated

4 strips precooked bacon, crumbled

2 tablespoons red peppers, chopped

2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 eggs, fried according to preference

2 green onions, snipped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 2 individual casserole pans with nonstick oil. Set aside. Cook pasta in salted water, according to package directions. Drain and set aside. In a medium saucepan, warm the butter over medium-low heat. Add the drained pasta and skim milk. Stir. Add cheddar cheese, American cheese, feta cheese, and parmesan cheese. Stir occasionally until completely melted. Fold in crumbled bacon and chopped red peppers. Divide between the two casserole pans. In a small dish, combine panko seasoned bread crumbs and olive oil. Stir to moisten. Sprinkle over top. Bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fry the eggs, according to preference. Remove the casserole pans from the oven. Place one fried egg on top of each. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve immediately.

Jello Strawberry Cake

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Table Food: Jello Strawberry Cake! Take advantage of the price of strawberries when the opportunity arises. Whether it be a local Farmer’s Market, grocery store featured item, or pick-your-own berry field celebrating years of family history, run don’t walk to fill your basket without plans to what comes next. Everyone loves strawberries. The sun-kissed fruit kindles childhood memories of joyous occasions when we would eat our weight in berries as juice ran down our chins. Never mind the red stained fingers or dewy rows from early morning fog. In a week or so, strawberries need to be eaten, canned, or frozen. Anything goes.

JELLO STRAWBERRY CAKE

Ingredients:

16.25 ounce box of yellow cake mix

1 1/4 cups water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3 ounces strawberry gelatin mix

1 1/2 cups water, divided

8 ounces whipped topping

2 cups strawberries, sliced

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9”x13” cake pan. Set aside. Combine cake mix, water, vegetable oil, and eggs. Mix well. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove pan from oven and allow cake to cool at room temperature. Using a fork, poke many holes in the cake. This will allow the liquid jello to fill the gaps creating a ribbon effect. Bring one cup of water to boiling. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mix. Stir 2 minutes to completely dissolve flavoring. Add 1/2 cup ice water to mixture. Stir. Slowly pour the liquid strawberry jello into the holes on the top of the cake. Cover the cake and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Once chilled, “frost” the cake with whipped topping. Garnish with sliced strawberries. Serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Instant Dutch Baby

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Table Food: Instant Dutch Baby! Be innovative. When my Hawaiian friend, Dillyn, sent me a care package of unique foods from the island, I knew I would make something special to show her. I began with the popular chocolate macadamia nut pancake mix, tweaked it a little, and transformed it into a festive weekend breakfast for two. Everything tastes better with chocolate, doesn’t it? With mini morsels in the batter as well as a sprinkling on top, the flavor was ribboned throughout making one forget about the need for extra syrup. A final dusting of powdered sugar provided a tempting image to share long distance. She approved with glee and open delight. Mahalo!

INSTANT DUTCH BABY

Ingredients:

6 ounces chocolate macadamia nut pancake mix

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, plus 1 tablespoon for topping

Powdered sugar, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a one-quart ovenproof baking dish with nonstick oil. Set aside. Combine pancake mix, egg, and milk in a bowl. Using a wire whisk, mix until the large lumps are gone. Fold in 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips. Pour batter into the prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining mini chocolate chips on top. Bake 25 minutes until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar. Serve warm.