beets and goat cheese.

beets are a polarizing food. i know that, after years of responding "beets!" to the question - what's your favorite vegetable? it's a tough road, not made much easier by the fact that my second favorite vegetable is the brussel sprout. but i make no apologies for my loves.

if you have never had cooked beets in your life (read: if you've only ever had pickled beets from the salad bar), how about giving them a try?

trader joe's sells a vacuum packed bag of cooked beets. guess what else? trader joe's also sells little goat cheese medallions that are perfect for lunches. oh yeah, and hey TJ's also sells SALAD. are you with me yet?

Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese

ingredients:
greens
cooked beets
goat cheese
roasted nuts
dressing

directions:
1. if you can shop at trader joe's, this is the easiest lunch (or dinner) you'll ever make. put the greens in a bowl, top with sliced beets, a smattering of crumbled goat cheese, and a sprinkle of nuts.
2. toss with dressing.
3. Eat!

*I like to eat this with a slice of hearty multigrain bread, or if i have it handy - pita and hummus.

egg-in-a-hole

ok! yes! i love eggs!
now that i'm found out, it will be a much easier relationship between you (my 3 readers) and me. and i should probably start taking cholesterol medicine because can you even imagine?

my new "easy dinner" trick + a picture resulted in this for dinner last night:

(via grapevine twine)

i don't know if there is anything i love more than scooping up runny egg with bread. until i added an avocado. omigosh, run to your stove and make this NOW.

EGG in a HOLE + avocado!

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 piece of bread
butter
avocado
s&p

Directions:
1. cut out a 3" circular hole in bread. i used the top of an empty salsa jar.
2. butter one side (or both sides if you love butter)
3. put bread, butter side down on skillet - let it grill for a minute to make the bread a little toasty
4. crack the egg and put it in the hole! now we're having fun!
5. when the egg white is almost cooked through (about 3 minutes), flip it. let it cook for another 2 minutes. nudge the yolk with your spatula and remove the bread when the yolk is gummy, and has lost that flimsy feeling. this gets easier with practice, but its better to have more runny than hard fried egg!
6. remove the bread and add sliced avocado to the top. sprinkle with salt and other seasonings you prefer.

enjoy. add a salad if you're feeling fancy.

salad + marv n joe

I'm learning to make dinners that are filling, but also healthy and light. You see, we usually don't eat dinner until after 9:30, so I need something that won't stick to my ribs that late at night. My stomach can't hack it. Thus the entry of the salad with slice of bread into my dinner rotation.

I've made 2 versions of this salad now, and I am in love. For some reason I've always had acute anxiety about making a good salad, since I grew up on iceberg, carrots, and cucumber with ranch salad.

Easy steps to a great salad

1. Have a few mix-in's on hand to make it easier. I like to keep pears, apples, roasted butternut squash, and roasted cauliflower on hand. And I also roasted 2 cups of assorted nuts (chopped almonds, pecans, and peanuts) that I keep in a tupperware for sprinkling on EVERYthing. It's just what I like.

2. Pick your greens: I like a good mesclun or baby lettuce mix.

3. Pick your dressing: We've really been enjoying the champagne vinaigrette from Whole Foods.

Make your salad:
We employ the big bowl method at the Taylor household. Throw your greens in a big huge bowl, add in your mix-ins (idea #1: butternut squash, cauliflower, edamame) (idea #2: pears, apples, roasted nuts), and drizzle with your preference of dressing.

Toss it all together until dressing coats the greens well. And most important rule: make sure your dinner buddy gets an equal amount of mix-in's to you (mix-in's are their own currency in our house).

A good partner to the Salad the Marv N Joe. I used to eat the Marv n Joe in the Food Court at Utah State University. It is so simple and SO delicious.

Marv N Joe

Ingredients:
slices of bread cut thick (1 - 1.5 inches)
slice of cheese - something mild like white cheddar or provolone
tomato
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

1. Put the oven on Broil.
2. Drizzle olive oil on bread and sprinkle a little balsamic on the bread.
3. Put slices of tomato on top so it covers the bread. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the tomato.
4. Slice of cheese on top.
5. Put it in the oven and keep an eye on it! Your Marv N Joe will be finished just before the cheese starts to bubble. The cheese will look all melty and delicious. And the bread will be nice and crisp.

Ohhh I need another one right now.

6 steps to spinach and cheese strata.

i made my first strata for naomi's shower. yes, a risky move to make - trying out a brand new recipe on a large group of people - and egg dishes can be especially tricky! i had my quiche lady on speed dial in case the strata didn't work out, but thank goodness it did.

frightfully easy for how delicious it is.

warning: this is not a very "healthful" low-fat meal. it's one that will stick around in your gullet for a while. best left for a brunch for a group of friends. trust me on this - after eating it for 2 days, our household is forced to live in sweatpants. awesome and terrifying.

a few notes for this recipe

1. if you don't have stale bread, cut it up in 1" cubes and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, keeping a close eye so the bread is toasted, not burned.

2. this is best if prepared the evening before you serve to let the flavors meld and the eggs do its thing with the bread. wake up in the morning, throw it in the oven for about 50 minutes, and you have breakfast.

3. it may look jiggly when it comes out of the oven, but it will firm up after 15-20 minutes.

4. hannah added BACON and tomatoes to her strata and it was divine.

this is what a brunch looks like with 2 stratas (stratum?) as the main dish.

Gourmet's Spinach and Cheese Strata (adapted from here)

• ingredients
• 1 (10-oz) package frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 8 cups cubed (1 inch) French or Italian bread (1/2 lb)
• 6 oz coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)
• 2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)
• 2 3/4 cups milk
• 9 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

preparation

1, thaw and squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then finely chop. (i squoze in paper towels)

2, Cook onion in butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in spinach, then remove from heat.

3, Spread one third of bread cubes in a buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other shallow ceramic baking dish and top evenly with one third of spinach mixture. Sprinkle with one third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice (ending with cheeses).

4, Whisk together milk, eggs, mustard, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Chill strata, covered with plastic wrap, at least 8 hours (for bread to absorb custard).

5, Preheat oven to 350°F. Let strata stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

6, Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

monday night migas.

migas.

i've never eaten migas. but i saw a picture, and i was sold. here, look:

i mean, come on. wiping the drool off my desk...

why am i just now, today, hearing about migas? this is the kind of thing i dream about. crispy tortillas, eggs, a little spice, and top it with avocado and cilantro. i can't dream up a more perfect meal for me.

and guess what? it was pretty easy to make! this fits in well with the "brinner" theme we have going over at the taylor household. (other than tomatoes, i don't know if there is anything the husband enjoys more than brinner.)

Monday night Migas (adapted from here)

Ingredients:
5 eggs
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup of oil (i used vegetable)
3 corn tortillas cut into strips
1/2 an onion diced (about 1/2 a cup)
1/2 cup of shredded cheese such as Longhorn cheddar or Monterrey Jack
1 cup of salsa
1/2 cup of cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
optional: if you like spice, add some chopped jalapenos in with the onions.

Method:
1. In a bowl, whisk eggs together with milk. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
2. In a large iron skillet, heat up oil on medium-high, and place tortilla strips into skillet, cooking for until light brown and turn once. Remove the tortilla strips to a paper-towel-lined plate. Drain the oil from the skillet leaving about 2 tablespoons in the skillet.
3. Add onions to the pan, and cook for a couple of minutes
4. Add egg mixture and tortilla strips to the skillet and let eggs sit for about one minute or until set on the bottom and then gently stir. This was the fun part. I liked to crush the crispy tortillas a little to make them more bite size.
5. Sprinkle cheese on top of eggs and continue to cook until melted.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste and top eggs with salsa and cilantro.
7. Remove from heat, plate, and garnish with avocado, sour cream, more tortilla strips - whatever you fancy.
Serves two.