Italian Omelet

This is a fairly frequent guest at our breakfast table. We usually make it with a red bell pepper and cheddar, but this time I made it with a green bell pepper and feta, because that's what we had. The cheese is optional. The source recipe (which, predictably, we've changed a bit) comes from the cookbook Toddler Menus, the problems with which I've mentioned before. This is one of the good recipes in the book.

Ingredients (for four single-serving omelets):

Butter (about three tablespoons, divided)

1 bell pepper, chopped (red, orange, or yellow will be sweeter than green, and I think red is prettiest in this recipe, but any of the four will work) 

4 eggs, divided

4 T. water, divided

Coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper
Cheese (Optional. We've tried shredded cheddar and crumbled feta, and both work great.)

When we make this, we make one little omelet for each person, instead of making a big one and dividing it up. You could make one huge omelet if you like, but I'll warn you that it'll be harder to work with. Besides, it's just kind of nice to see a cute little omelet on your plate.

Heat about a tablespoon of butter in a small skillet or omelet pan over medium heat. Add the chopped bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it's fairly soft--about 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet and save for later. Return the skillet to the hot burner. Whisk together one of the eggs with one tablespoon of water. Add about half a tablespoon of butter to the hot skillet. Let it melt, then pour in the egg mixture. Cook the omelet until the edges are set--about 2 minutes. Then lift one edge of the omelet with a spatula, and tilt the pan so the egg mixture that's still fluid pours into the open space underneath. Continue to cook the omelet until the entire thing is set. Spoon one-fourth of the peppers over the omelet. Season with a little salt and pepper, then fold in half and move to a plate. Sprinkle with a little cheese. Repeat the omelet-making process with each of the remaining eggs.

Comments:

This is such a simple and delicious dish. We all love it, and I bet you will too.

Potato Corn Chowder

I got this recipe from Boistfort Valley Farm. Turns out they have tons of recipes on their site. I'll definitely be making use of those.

Ingredients:
3-4 ears of corn (I used 4 smallish ones)
1 1/2 quarts vegetable broth (I made mine with organic Better than Bouillon base, because it's cheaper and less wasteful to make broth that way than to buy it in Tetra-Paks or cans. I also actually used chicken base, because I don't have any vegetable base.)
2 vegetable bouillon cubes (or 2 more teaspoons of Better than Bouillon, which is what I used)
Potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch cubes (I used 4 medium red potatoes)
1 large carrot, halved lengthwise, then sliced 1/4 inch thick
Olive oil (a tablespoon or so)
1 onion, chopped (the original recipe calls for a medium onion, but the one I used was ridiculously huge)
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used a red one, and I'm glad I did, because it added to the amazing color variety in the chowder)
Chopped flat-leaf parsley (a couple tablespoons)
1 medium bay leaf
2 cups milk (The original recipe calls for heavy cream but lists milk as an option. That's what I had on hand. As a bonus, it's slightly--or should I say "slightly"--lower in calories, if also slightly lower in rich flavor.)
1/2 t. white pepper
1/8 t. ground cayenne

Cut the corn kernels off of each cob. Then hold each cob with one end resting on a cutting board (or in a wide, shallow bowl), and scrape down the whole length of the cob with a knife to glean the "milk" from the cob. Set aside the corn kernels and "milk." Put the cobs in a stock pot along with the broth, the extra bouillon, the potatoes, and the carrots. Cover the pot and bring everything to a gentle boil. Boil, covered, for about 10 minutes (or until potatoes and carrots are fairly tender but not disintegrating), stirring occasionally. Remove the cobs and compost them. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, and sauté them until they're somewhat soft. Then add the bell pepper and continue to sauté until both the onions and bell peppers are tender. Add the onion/bell pepper mixture to the stock pot along with the corn, corn "milk," parsley, and bay leaf. Cover the pot again, turn down the heat, and allow everything to bubble very gently for a few minutes. Then stir in the milk, white pepper, and cayenne (and salt, if you think the chowder needs it). Remove the bay leaf and compost it before serving the chowder.

Comments:
Very tasty--an excellent autumn meal. I liked the hint of kick from the white pepper.

Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry

My friend Lori added this to our recipe box when she visited us shortly after Liam was born. The recipe is actually the brainchild of her brother, Ryan. We love it and make it often. Thanks, Lori and Ryan!

Wow. This meal is not photogenic--especially considering I forgot to take a photo until after the leftovers 

had been in a container in the fridge for a couple hours. But it sure is tasty.

Ingredients:
1 lb. (give or take) boneless, skinless chicken, sliced into strips
1 lb. (give or take) veggies (I used broccoli, carrots, and bell peppers, because that's what we had, but you could use any stir-fryable veggies)
Cooked rice (to serve)
Canola oil or other cooking oil (a couple tablespoons)

Marinade:
1/3 c. white vinegar
1/3 c. canola oil or other cooking oil
2 T. peanut butter
3 T. shoyu (soy sauce)
3 T. brown sugar
2 T. ginger
1 t. granulated garlic

Mix marinade ingredients together. Add chicken and marinate for a few hours or overnight. When ready to cook, heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or wok. Remove the chicken from the marinade and brown it in the skillet (reserve the marinade). When the chicken is cooked through, add the veggies and reserved marinade and stir-fry for a few minutes--until veggies are cooked but still somewhat crisp. Serve over rice.

Comments:
Great as always.

Barbecue Chicken Salad

This recipe is based on California Pizza Kitchen's BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad. I haven't had theirs for years, but I always really liked it, so long ago, I took a stab at replicating it at home. It's been a long, long time since we've made it, but Steve suggested it this week. We used cilantro, basil, and chives from our garden and lettuce and beets from our CSA share.

This is less a recipe and more a list of ingredients and assembly instructions.

And it definitely doesn't abide by the use-only-ingredients-you-have-on-hand rule.

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts (1 for every 2 people)
Canola oil or other neutral-tasting cooking oil
Barbecue sauce
Lettuce, torn
Carrots, shredded (I actually used raw beets sliced into thin strips this time, because I had some on hand and wanted to try it.)
Jicama, peeled and sliced into thin strips (I suggest using a paring knife to peel jicama. A veggie peeler is hopeless.)
Bell peppers, chopped (I like the visual appeal of yellow peppers in this salad. I actually used mixed mini peppers this time--yellow, orange, and red.)
Green onions, chopped (I used chives instead)
Basil, shredded
Cilantro, chopped
Canned black beans, drained and rinsed (you could also prepare your own from dry beans if you like)
Corn (you can use canned or you can thaw some frozen corn. I supposed you could also cut some off the cob, but I've never done that with this recipe.)
Shredded cheddar or jack cheese (I used cheddar)
Ranch dressing (you could probably use vinaigrette instead)
Tomatoes, chopped (or you can use cherry or grape tomatoes. I used grape tomatoes this time.)
Tortilla chips, crumbled (I used blue corn tortilla chips)
Lime juice

Cut the chicken into strips. Heat a little oil in a skillet over medium heat, and add the chicken. Cook until no longer pink. Add some barbecue sauce and cook for a bit longer. Put the lettuce into a large bowl. Add the veggies and herbs (except the tomatoes) and toss well. Add cheese and toss again. Add ranch dressing and toss once more. Arrange tomatoes around the edge of the bowl. Sprinkle crumbled tortilla chips over the salad. Add chicken on top of the tortilla chips. Drizzle with barbecue sauce and lime juice.

Comments:
This was tasty; it always is. The beets worked well in it.