Cinco De Mayo Open-Faced Breakfast Sandwich

True to form, we have zero food. With one English muffin, some aging guacamole, two eggs, half a tomato, some random salami and cheese, and cinco de mayo just seconds away, we offer you the cinco de mayo open face breakfast sandwich.

Even if you’re an unbelieving fairy-killer, there are two of us behind slaw and order, meaning that we have to share. One English muffin doesn’t cut it unless it is split evenly. In this case, we wanted our muffin to be a vehicle for our breakfast rather than a vehicle for mopping up the left-offer yolk and sauce–also a popular and valid choice.

Having some guacamole in the fridge and not using it around cinco de mayo is a travesty.  Avocado toast? Give us the amped up version, please. Protein [and a little bit of fat] packing this breakfast, we add a slice of salami (any or no meat will do), a slice of tomato, and some cheese–Taco Mix, of course–for good measure.

Letting a little of the sandwich slide off and using the English muffin to sop up the extra hot sauce and toppings is an added bonus.  As is eating this sandwich later in the day while drinking a corona or margarita.

How We Did It:

We do not want to insult you by assuming that you can’t pile some stuff on an english muffin and call it an open-faced sandwich.  Adding the egg makes it breakfast.  What we did differently here, was the egg.

• Adding the hot sauce, black pepper, and some red pepper flakes to the eggs themselves and carefully folding the whites in as the egg cooks helps contain the yolk and seasonings.
• It also makes flipping the egg easier.  If the whites are condensed, the entire egg is smaller and easier to flip.
• Add cheese
• Lastly, remove the frying pan from heat immediately after flipping the egg and adding cheese.  The egg will be a nice level of medium for your sandwich.

Ole! 😉

Pink Tortellini with Spinach and Mushrooms

Pasta and cheese.  Age-old comfort foods.  Tortellini so wonderfully melds the two and is a great vehicle for a light tomato-based sauce.  This recipe is a childhood favorite created by pops when, you guessed it, he was digging around the fridge and the pantry for enough ingredients to make a meal.  Adding the protein of his (your) choice, this becomes a perfect “one” pot meal– you definitely need more than one pot to make it, even if just one more for the pasta water, but you get the idea.

Tonight’s Protein? Shrimp!

Ingredients:

• Tortellini — we’re fans of cheese-filled, but if the meat ones float your boat, by all means
• Spinach
• Straw Mushrooms
• Tomato Sauce — another time that we’re blessed with enough garden tomatoes to stock pile “fresh” sauce all year round, but a can of Tuttorosso will do the trick
• Half & Half or Cream — just enough to get that pinky color and loosen the tomato sauce
• Garlic — let’s be honest, you will probably never see one of our recipes without
• Shrimp — we like the uncooked, frozen shrimp.
• Red Pepper Flakes — if desired

We definitely white-lied about a one-pot cooking adventure here.  You should anticipate three burners going at once:  A large pot to boil water for the tortellini, a sauce pan heating the tomato sauce, and a large skillet to cook the shrimp, spinach, and mushrooms.  The tortellini will cook quickly, so that should be the last item boiled.  Realistically, this meal comes together quite quickly.

• Cook the shrimp until pink first and remove the shrimp from heat.  Don’t worry about the shrimp cooling too much, you don’t want them overcooked and the other ingredients will warm the shrimp at the end.
• Saute fresh garlic with mushrooms. Once heated, add spinach.  We like LOTS.  Let it wilt.
• Turn off heat.  Return shrimp to skillet, add tomato sauce and cream to desired coloring.
• Add tortellini to boiling water.  The tortellini should be done in about 2 minutes, when it floats to the top.  Add tortellini to cream mixture.
• Toss and serve!  Add red pepper flakes, if desired.

This dish is delicious as is, but also lends itself to the creative cook.  Whether leaving out the cream, using different proteins, or integrating different flavors, there are a number of variations that will be similarly comforting!  Let us know if you have tried it or if you have any suggestions!

Farro Based Mediterranean Salad

We have a love/hate relationship with the idea of farro.  Love, love, love the taste, versatility, texture, health benefits, etc.  Hate that everyone else agrees and that this ancient grain puts a little more of a dent in our wallets.  That being said, and summer just around the corner, we made a big batch of the stuff to eat for lunches.  Here’s what we added today:

• red onion
• tomato
• cucumber
• feta
• chick peas

The result was this colorful masterpiece:

Mediterranean Farro

Alright, it’s not that colorful, but it is a delicious masterpiece and perfect for throwing in a lunch box (yes, we have one and yes, it is ridiculous and yes, we are obsessed), eating as a quick dinner, or as a side.

Because making farro, like quinoa or rice, can be a “practice-makes-perfect” situation, here are some Hints We’ve Come Up With During Our Experiments with Farro:

• Add your spices straight to the farro water.  Today we used:
  • Olive Oil
  • Oregano (dried)
  • Basil (dried)
  • Fresh Garlic
• Feel free to add  your ingredients straight in with the farro.
  • Near the end of cooking, our onion got thrown in to steam a bit
• Be patient.  Cooking the farro on low will let the water/broth/liquid cook the farro evenly and, hopefully, not burn the bottom of the pan.
• You can cover the farro, but we have not found that it’s necessary until the very end, when you want to keep that moisture in there to reach the desired texture

At the end of the day, your farro mixture comes down to personal preference.  We’d love to hear about your experiments!

Italian Date Night: Homemade Gnocchi

Gnocchi is one of the types of pasta that inspires a rumble of hunger at just the thought of the pasta, let alone the style of sauce that will coat it. Luckily, it also turns out to be incredibly easy to make at home. Add in a healthy tomato and basil sauce, and you can spend the remainder of the night on the couch with a (second) bottle of wine, thinking Mario Batali ain’t got nothing on me.

Gnocchi Ingredients:

• 1 Medium Potato per person
• 1/2 c flour per potato
• 1 egg (per 4-5 potatoes)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

• Peel potatoes
• Cut potatoes into even cubes, boil until fork tender
• Mash/Rice potatoes
• Create well for potatoes with measure flour
• Pile potatoes in flour well; create well within potatoes
• Beat egg and salt in potato well
• Incorporate ingredients, pull with fork to center
• Knead, form wide rectangle
• Cut into “slices”
• Roll dough into dowels, cut and fold pieces of gnocchi
• Drop into boiling water, gnocchi will rise to surface when done (approx. 2 minutes)

Tomato Basil Sauce Ingredients:

• 4 large tomatoes
• Fresh basil (1/4 c. or more, to taste)
• Garlic (4 cloves)
• Olive Oil (1/3-1/2 c., depending on amount desired)
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions:

• slice x’s through the skin of tomatoes, on tops of tomatoes
• Blanch in boiling water until skin starts to peel (approx. 3-5 min.)
• Pull tomatoes, peel, and cut into fourths
• Combine oil, tomatoes, garlic cloves in large skillet
• Reduce tomatoes, add basil leaves
• Add gnocchi, salt and pepper

Top with Parmesan cheese and mangiate!

Crock Pot Chicken Philly Cheesesteaks: A Mouthful in More Than One Way

In the real world, I’m a huge fan of girl nights.  In my food world, I am obsessed with my crock pot.  Both of these loves extend from my love of staying in on a Friday night with good company, wine, and some tasty food. The stars aligned this weekend when the boyfriends were away and Amanda was crock-potting.  I learned a new recipe, can skip straight to the experimental cooking stage, had some wine, ate a messy sandwich, and had some quality BFF time.

The sandwich:  a pulled chicken version of a Philly Cheesesteak.  It’s as messy, juicy, and delicious as it sounds.  We used sliced bread, cheddar cheese, and Sriracha for our sandwiches last Friday.  With onions and peppers already mixed in, I was a satisfied lady at the end of the evening.

Any tweaks?  Maybe a few more veggies, but unnecessary if you’re looking for the protein-rich, solid chicken sandwich; jalapenos on the sandwich; a hard roll to suck up more of the juices.  Overall, the basic recipe is a simple, perfect start–delicious in its own right and open to any personal additions.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of chicken (4 breasts/thighs)
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp steak seasoning
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 c Italian dressing
• 1/4 c Texas Pete Hot Sauce

*Cook in the crock pot 8-10 hours on low.  Toast bread, add some melted cheese, and eat!