Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Egg Muffins for Breakfast


Preheat oven to 350º F.

Line a muffin pan using a preservative free meat like Hormel or Oscar Meyer Selects. 

I suggest Hormel turkey or chicken breast (free of preservatives, no nitrates/nitrites) then add diced vegetables of your liking (I used zucchini and broccoli florets) to the lined pans. 

*Beat 4 eggs with 1 T of milk (you can omit) and S&P then pour over the veggies. Add cheese to the top of eggs (optional). Bake for about 14 minutes. Check to see if cooked thoroughly with a toothpick in the center. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 3-5 minutes then serve! 

* 4 eggs will yield 8 egg muffins.

You may substitute or omit any ingredients. If you make yours different, please share. I'd love to share your healthy substitutions with my subscribers. 

Choose, eat, and live well! =)

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Harvest Time - Ratatouille

What is a good way to use up various vegetables for a delicious dish? Why - Ratatouille, of course!! 



What a colorful dish! I hope it can inspire you to make something delicious for your family! BTW, the preparation of the vegetables took about 15 minutes and the rest of the time they were sauteing in the pan (about 25 minutes all together). 

Ingredients:
4- Small Potatoes
1- Onion
1- Large Bell Pepper
1- Zucchini
1 cup julienne carrots
2- tomatoes
1/4 cup EVOO 
1/2 tsp sea salt & pepper
1 tbsp dried herbs of you choice (divided)

Preparation: 
Cut your fall harvest vegetables to roughly the same size for even cooking. Sauté in EVOO, sea salt, pepper, and herbs of your choice. I typically use dried unless it's fresh basil from Abundant Harvest Organics (and then I freeze mine so that it'll last well into the winter). Start with the most dense vegetable (I started with the potatoes) then I browned the onions as the potatoes were cooking. The squash was third followed by the bell peppers, zucchini, and carrots. The tomatoes went in last. Cook until it's the texture you like. Season it (divide the tablespoon after each batch of vegggies go in the pan) while it cooks to bring out the natural flavors of the vegetables and it acts as a preservative as well. I sauteed my vegetables for 10 minutes on medium-low heat. 

I like simple, satisfying flavors. You may want to add more herbs and spices if the EVOO and dried herbs aren't enough to spice things up. The choice is yours but if you have a bunch of in-season vegetables that you don't know what to do with, make a ratatouille! 




You can serve alone or with a side of rice, couscous, or quinoa. I thought the dish was better the second day. Kind of like lasagna! You know some things just taste better the next day! =) 

Choose, eat, and live well! =)