Review of Baked Omelet Roll Special Breakfast Day

I am always looking for recipes that make my life a bit easier. I got this one from Allrecipes.com for a Baked Omelet Roll. The recipe called for me to blend the ingredients of 6 eggs, 1 cup milk  1/2 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  I thought I could get away with using a whisk, but alas, I had to put it in the blender with some green and red pepper.


After a quick pulse, I added the eggs to a buttered jelly roll pan and baked it in the oven at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Here is where I had the problem. The eggs were probably done after 10 minutes so be sure to check in on your eggs often. Around the last 5 minutes I added the cheese. (Surprise! My kids ate all the shredded cheese!)

I brought it out of the oven and let it cool for a minute or so. I used a spatula to loosen the eggs from the pan and gave another sprinkle of salt. I then rolled the eggs into a spiral starting at the short end and tucking it under until I had a roll. I made pinwheel sized eggs for my daughter and cut the remaining portions in half for my husband and I.

In general, I liked the recipe. My only suggestion is to watch the cooking time and use a knife to puncture any air bubbles. It was fast with not much mess.

out of the oven

beginning of the roll

completed roll

Salisbury Steak

I learned this one from my Mother-in-law a long time ago. When I was a kid and didn't know any better, one of my favorite TV dinners was the Salisbury steak dinner. Little did I know I would crave it all these years later. When my Mother-in-law was still alive, she passed down this recipe to me. I have been using it ever since. This is the perfect accompaniment to mashed potatoes and butter.

The patties I made on my indoor grill in about 8 minutes. You can pan fry them also. They need to be almost cooked though. They will cook the rest of the way in the gravy. All gravy starts the same. Flour, butter, and some kind of stock. I used beef bouillon in this case. I also sometimes use my onion soup in this gravy also.

Salisbury Steak and Gravy

The Patties

1 1/2 lb ground beef
10 Saltines crushed with your hands
salt and pepper
2 TBSP  milk

The Gravy

2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
1 TBSP beef bouillon like Maggi
1 1/2 c. water or beef stock
5-10 mushrooms chopped

Mix the ground beef, saltines, salt, pepper, and milk in a bowl. Form into patties and grill or pan fry until nearly completely cooked though. In a separate stock pot add the butter and flour and stir with a whisk until the flour is a light brown. Add the bouillon or beef stock and stir until the lumps are all out of the gravy. Add the mushrooms and cook the gravy until it thickens. Add salt and pepper. Add the patties to the gravy and let the patties cook through. Serve over your favorite mashed potatoes.

Chicken En Mole' Love This Recipe!

Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter?  This is my second time making this recipe from the Sandwich King on Foodnetwork. Some Mexican mole' sauces have up to 20 ingredients. This cuts down on the ingredients but not on flavor! We are used to spice here in our house but you can adjust the spice by cutting down on the number of peppers you use. The recipe calls for almond butter which is pricey. This recipe also works well with chunky peanut butter. The recipe is for pulled chicken. I used chicken quarters which are very cost effective. I paid under $4.00 for twelve quarters which are the thigh and drumstick together. I also froze the left over sauce and can use it another day.

Chicken En Mole' sauce

6 chicken thighs or quarters
2 TBSP chocolate chopped (I used a 70% chocolate)
2 New Mexico dried chilies
2 TBSP toasted sesame seeds
1 small onion diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup rasins
1-2 diced chilies in Adobo (these add a lot of heat)
1 can diced tomatoes drained (14oz)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper

I browned the chicken in a separate pan first making sure to season both sides well. I made sure there was a good color on both sides which took about 12 minutes.

In a large stock pot I added the onion and a bit of oil and browned them until they were translucent. In a 350 degree oven I put the dried chilies on a baking pan and baked them for 5 minutes until they were pliable and I was able to take the seeds and stem off. I then chopped the peppers into small pieces. The Adobo chilies were added along with the garlic, chocolate, and peanut butter, diced tomatoes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and the cinnamon and clove.
Once the chocolate and peanut butter melted I added the chicken stock and heated on a low heat for 20 minutes.  Then the mixture is put in a blender and pulsed several times. Be sure to take the middle cap out of the blender lid and cover with a clean towel. You may have a volcano on your hands so pulse slowly!

I added the mole' back to the large stock pot and then put the chicken meat side down in the liquid. I covered the pot and let simmer on low heat for 25-30 minutes. This process is similar to making Arroz con pollo.

At this point you can decide to shred your meat of  keep it whole. I kept it whole but served it over rice with tortillas and beans. If you like a thicker sauce, you can reduce it for another 5-10 minutes. I love the combination of sweet and spicy. The sauce is great when sopped up by a tortilla!

I freeze the Adobo chilies in freezer bags and pull out when I need them. 

Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

There is nothing more easy than making your own sloppy joes. We used to eat Manwich all the time. I didn't realize how different it tastes since we have been making our own. I like ours better. This one is great for parties and can be set in the slow cooker all day to be waiting for you to come home. All you need to do are a few simple steps.

Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 tsp garlic
1/2 green pepper diced
1/2 red pepper diced
1 small onion diced
1 can 14oz tomato sauce
1/2 water from the tomato can
1 squirt mustard
2 squirts ketchup
2 TBSP brown sugar
salt and pepper

I like to brown the meat on the stove top with the onions, garlic, and peppers in it. Season with salt and pepper. Drain off the fat several times. It doesn't need to be perfectly brown but browning it does help with the overall look. Mash up the meat with a large spoon.  You can also add a half of a chopped and seeded jalapeno for added zip. In the crock pot add the tomato sauce, water, ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar. Mix all the ingredients together and let meld in the crock pot for up to 8 hours. Serve on your favorite buns.

Low Country Rice Pilaf Review

I still am not feeling the greatest still but had to go for work. I need something that can be on the table in about 20 minutes and this fit the bill. I did cheat a bit and had my hubby make the rice in the rice cooker ahead of time. We use Riceland rice that we buy in a huge 20lb bag. I haven't had Minute Rice since I was a single college student. Once you learn how to make long grain rice on the stove, you will never go back! 

I also had some pre-cooked shrimp that I had to defrost in some cold water. This recipe was from Myrecipes.com and also called for Old Bay seasoning. Be sure to use the one without the lemon. Our rice was good but a bit acidic. I also added a few pat of butter and some chicken soup base or bouillon because I thought I needed something. I also didn't use any oil and just softened my veggies in the reducing broth. 

Low Country Shrimp Pilaf 

1 1/2 c. green pepper

1 cup onion diced

1 TBSP garlic

2 tsps old bay seasoning

1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp

1/2 cup wine

1 8oz bottle of clam juice

1 1/2 cups white rice cooked (I didn't use the instant but long grain)

2 TBSP thyme 

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with jalapeno

chicken soup base or bouillon

2 pats butter

salt

Here is where I did my own thing. I am trying to avoid oil so I added the onion and pepper to the wine, clam juice, Old Bay, and Thyme. I let it come to a boil and reduced it for about 3 minutes. I then added the tomatoes and the pre-cooked shrimp. I only needed to heat the shrimp up for a few minutes. Then I added in the rice and let the rice soak up the tomato juice. I then removed it from the heat and added the few pats of butter and some salt. All in all we liked this recipe and it's something we would eat again. We were eating in about 15 minutes. 

My 3 1/2 Days in the Hospital and New Beginnings

I haven't blogged in the last week because unfortunately I have been in the hospital. I have suffered with IBS symptoms for years and a few years back I was supposed to have a colonoscopy to confirm Celiac disease. Around the same time I also had a chance to be a stem cell donor for someone. That gave me the perfect excuse not to get the colonoscopy. I have been dealing with the stomach issues on my own but 3-4 times a week at it's peak. Flash forward to this past week...on Thursday morning at about 3 AM I experienced the worst abdominal pain I have ever felt accompanied with some bleeding. This scared me more than anything and prompted me to finally seek the help of my doctor.

Frankly, I was embarrassed.  I have known my doctor for 15 years but have never had this type of exam. I think that is why so many people have a fear of going into a colonoscopy. Sure it's embarrassing to some extent and the prep you have to drink tastes horrible. I also had some other procedures but when you are sick, you learn to put aside your modesty. But overall, the procedures were forgetful  Literally. I was given a numbing medication for my throat for the endoscopy and some medication that put me in a twilight sleep. I woke up near the end but didn't have any discomfort during the procedure.

I still don't know exactly what is wrong. The doctor is leaning towards Colitis. We are waiting for all the tests to come back yet. My main point is to encourage those that are embarrassed by symptoms or like me put everyone else before yourself, put yourself first.

All of this made my family realize how much I do for them. And how much I rely on them. My kids are my life. I have been suffering in silence all these years and avoiding certain situations. That has diminished my life. I am looking forward to the journey to find out what is wrong. I am doing so much to better my life. I am glad all this happened when I am on a break from school. School starts at the end of the month and I can't be more excited to move forward!