Terre Pruitt's Blog

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Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

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Not Many Nutrients In Spaghetti Squash

Posted by terrepruitt on October 26, 2016

I was talking to a friend of mine about spaghetti squash because I recently cooked it again, after I Finally Cooked Spaghetti Squash .  I had to cook it for 15 minutes before I could cut it.  I had started to cut it.  I got one end off, but, it is just easier for me to cook it then cut it.  She is superwoman because she says she muscles through and cuts it.  When my friend and I were talking about it we were definitely agreeing that the squash has more nutrients than pasta, but we didn’t know what.  So I thought I would look up the nutrients and make note.

When my hubby and I enjoyed it again I served it once with red sauce and meat.  It was ground turkey meat and jarred sauce.  It was good.  I hadn’t really thought that it would hold up to red sauce, but it was fine.  That was only one way.  The other times . . . for the left overs, I had it once with mushrooms and once with just butter and cheese.  My hubby had it with the persimmon chicken juice.  He loves to put the juice from the cooked meat on his pasta or rice.  Obviously the nutritional value of the meal is affected by what you put on the squash.

But the squash itself seems pretty low in everything according to the National Agricultural Library.

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Calories —- 31
Protein —- .64 gram
Fat —- .57 gram
Carbohydrates —- 6.91 grams
Dietary fiber —- 1.5 grams
Calcium —- 23 mg
Iron —- .31 mg
Magnesium —- 12 mg
Potassium —- 108 mg
Sodium —- 17 mg
Vitamin C —- 2.1 mg

Versus the a cup of the average spaghetti

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Protein —- 8 grams
Fat —- 1.3 grams
Carbohydrates —- 43 grams
Dietary fiber —- 2.5 grams
Calcium —- 1% of the DV
Iron —- 9% of the DV
Magnesium —- 6% of the DV
Sodium —- 1 mg
Vitamin C —- 0% of the DV

So there are quite a bit more calories and carbohydrates in the pasta and there is also a lot more protein.  With a meat sauce on spaghetti squash the protein could be supplied from that.  Even though it is a vegetable, it doesn’t really seem all that nutrient dense.  It is more on the empty side which makes it perfect to add sauces and toppings to because it is not as if there are calories being added onto calories.  And I really like the taste of it.

This last time I made it I roasted it.  I cooked it in the oven at 450° F for 15 minutes, then I took it out and sliced it in half lengthwise.  I rubbed olive oil on it (inside and out) and salted it.  I cooked it for 10 minutes at 450° F for 15 minutes. Then I cooked it for another 35 minutes at 400° F.  I roasted it cut side up.  The last 35 minutes it was cooking while I was not home so I had it at 400° F.  I might cook it a bit longer the next time I do it.  I make these notes so I will remember.  I hope to be cooking it a lot.  My husband and I like it.

Do you?  Do you like spaghetti squash?  

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , | 8 Comments »

Pan Fried Gnocchi

Posted by terrepruitt on October 12, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitWhen I get home at noon on Wednesday it seems like the day goes by really quick.  I am working on my Nia routine for class the next day.  I am working on the stretch routine for class the next day.  I might have to put together something for yoga for the class the next day.  Plus I have a blog post I would like to write.  So I just don’t have a lot of time to think about dinner.  Well, tonight was one of those nights.  I hadn’t even really thought about a blog post during the day.  And I was making up dinner as I was cooking it.  I really didn’t know what I was doing.  Cooking the steak we have is always an adventure.  I hadn’t really thought about a blog post as I was flying by the seat of my pants as I cooked dinner.  At the last minute I thought well this might work and I snapped a couple of pictures.  I didn’t really know how I was going to cook the meat or gnocchi.  I had taken out two packages of meat.  I thought each one was a steak, but it turned out each one was two cuts of meat.  Yay.  Now, we have dinner for tomorrow, well at least the meat part.  I always try to have some gnocchi in the freezer, I thought it would go well with the steak.  But I wanted it different – normally I just boil it.  I thought after I boiled it I could pan fry it, to give it that crispy brown.  My friend taught me that.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitI have a friend who used to make . . . now I don’t even remember what type of gnocchi was . . . I think it was butternut squash gnocchi.  Perhaps it was sweet potato.  I didn’t even like gnocchi until she gave it to me.  She apologize when she gave it to me because “it didn’t turn out right” and she recommended pan frying it.  I thought, “Ok, whatever.”  It wasn’t potato gnocchi so I thought it must be better cooked differently.  Turns out ALL gnocchi is better cooked that way.  But her gnocchi was THE BEST.  It was sooooooo yummy.

Most gnocchi has to be boiled first and then it can be pan fried.  Well, that is the way I like it best.  With a little bit of browning on it.  I had never done such a large batch before and some of it broke up and got a little mushy, but then the mush browned so I was ok with that.  I threw in some kale and it rounded off our steak great.

Do you like potato gnocchi?  Do you like it boiled? Have you ever tried browning it?

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Chicken, Broccoli, and Cheese Casserole

Posted by terrepruitt on October 5, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitSo I wanted something easy to cook the other night and I thought it would be nice if I could use the broccoli that came in our latest produce delivery.  So what is easier than a casserole?  Not much.  So why not a chicken, broccoli, and cheese casserole!  So here is what I did, completely easy!
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Chicken, Broccoli, and Cheese Casserole 

1 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
2 cans of chicken
1/4 of an onion
3 cups of chopped broccoli
1 tsp garlic salt
a couple of twists of pepper
1/2 of a bell pepper
2 1/4 cup shredded cheese
3 tablespoons butter
3/8 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 425° F.

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Grease a casserole dish (I used a 8 inch X 11 inch), then pour or scoop the mixture into the dish.

Melt the butter and mix it with the panko bread crumbs.  Then mix in the rest (1/4 cup) of the shredded cheese.

Sprinkle the butter, bread, cheese mixture over the chicken, broccoli, and cheese mixture.

Then put the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitI was so intent on making the casserole, I didn’t make anything else.  I think I would serve it over noodles.  Or at least rice.  But, as I said, I didn’t think about it.  So we ended up using flour tortillas.  We put the casserole in the tortilla one bite at a time.  It was very good.

While some people might cringe at using canned chicken, I don’t.  A long time ago my father-in-law made a yummy casserole and when he said he used canned chicken, I thought, “Well, it was damn good.”  Now the brand you buy makes a big difference.  We buy the Cocsto brand.  Kirkland Signature™ Premium Chunk Chicken Breast.  It is just big chunks of meat.  We bought Swanson’s before and I think I ended up throwing it out.  It was . . . . not big chunks of white meat.  So I don’t trust any other kind.

I am sure that three cups of cut up cooked chicken will work.  But if you want to keep it really easy . . . use two cans.

Oh, I just had a thought, I might not be able to get my husband to go along, but crusty french bread.  This would be really good with crusty french bread.  Yum.  My hubby is not a french bread fan so I don’t usually think to serve things with bread, but this would be perfect with bread.

What do you think?  Sound easy enough?  What would YOU serve it with?

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I Finally Cooked Spaghetti Squash

Posted by terrepruitt on September 28, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitI often see people on my Facebook feed comment about how difficult it is to cut butternut squash.  I just figured they didn’t have very sharp knives.  I mean, it doesn’t slice easily, but it is not really difficult.  It is not as hard as some other fruits and vegetables.  I also always see a bunch of recipes for spaghetti squash.  It could be that the fervor of it has calmed down a bit, but for a while there was a spaghetti squash recipe on my feed at least once a day.  But not once did I see anything about cutting spaghetti squash being difficult.  Not once did I see that as one of the main things about spaghetti squash, as I often heard in regards to butternut squash.  Whew!  What the heck is up with spaghetti squash?  I thought I was going to break my knife.  I love my knife and I would have been very upset, so I was trying to be a bit careful . . . but what is up with that???  I had to cook it for four minutes before I could BARELY break the skin.  Then I had to cook it for two more to get to the middle.  That stuff is TOUGH!!!

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitSo . . . anyway . . . after all this time I finally got around to trying spaghetti squash.  We liked it.  It was good.  I am curious if we liked it because it had ground beef on it.  When I planned the dinner, I thought I had a jar of red sauce, but I didn’t.  So my red sauce with meat faux spaghetti dinner did not materialize.  Instead we had ground beef with garlic butter on spaghetti squash.  It was good.  It was really good especially the second night when I cooked it more.  The first night I was — as usual – starting late and I had no idea it would take so long to cut and cook.  I would have preferred to roast it in the oven, but it happened to be over 90° F that day and I didn’t want to turn on the oven.  So I used the microwave.

Another thing I had not heard anyone say when making this for dinner was the challenge in shredding the squash out.  I mean, it wasn’t HARD per se, but it was a challenge because the dang squash is so hot.  It is tricky to hold and scrape at the same time.

Anyway, here is what I did.  But, keep in mind, anything with ground beef on it, is so yummy.

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Spaghetti Squash With Ground Beef and Garlic Butter

Water
shallow casserole dish
1 spaghetti squash
salt
lid (to the dish) or plastic wrap, wax paper
half of a medium onion, chopped
half of a pound of ground beef
Italian Seasoning
garlic salt
two tablespoons of butter
three cloves of minced garlic

Put water in a shallow casserole dish, about halfway up the side of the dish.  Then try to poke a whole or two in the squash and cook it on high (in the microwave) for six minutes.  If your microwave does not have a rotating turntable, turn the dish every two minutes.

Once you can, cut the squash cut it in half – lengthwise.  Take out all the squash “guts” and seeds.  Place each half in the dish – cut side up.  Cook in the microwave on high for six minutes with the cover on the dish, or use the plastic wrap, or wax paper.

Take the dish out and salt the cut sides of the spaghetti squash.  Then cook for ten minutes with the cover on the dish, or use the plastic wrap, or wax paper.  (Again, remember to turn the dish every two or three minutes if your microwave does not do that for you).

While the squash is cooking prepare your topping/sauce.

Heat up a pan with olive oil or coconut oil.  Then cook the onions.  Then add the half of a pound of ground beef.  Add some Italian Seasoning and salt.  Cook until beef is done.

In another pan, heat up two tablespoons of butter.  Once melted add a few cloves of minced garlic.  Cook for a few minutes.

Check the squash.  It should be really soft.  A fork should insert easily with no pressure required.  If you think it is ready (mine was not) then take it out of the microwave.  If you think it needs to cook more, sprinkle on more salt, then cook it for six to ten more minutes.  Then take it out and let it cool a little.

Then use one fork to hold the squash as you use another fork to shred and scrape the flesh of the squash out.

Put the shredded squash in a dish, toss with the garlic butter.  Then put the beef in the dish and toss.  Serve with Parmesan cheese on top.

(Total squash cooking time: 32 minutes)

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I don’t think the squash will hold up to a red sauce but my husband does, so I might try that, as that was the original plan.  But, even if not, I will definitely cook it again.  It was good, but it was NOTHING like spaghetti.  It was sweet.  It was stringy.  It was good.  I am thinking chicken and mushrooms . . . that sounds good to me.  Also, roasted.  I can’t wait to roast it!

So what are your tips on how to cook spaghetti squash?  How do you shred it?  What do you mix with it? 

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Sweet And Spicy Mixed Nuts

Posted by terrepruitt on September 14, 2016

So, this is kind of a “cheat” because it is so close to the Sweet and Savory Mixed Nuts, ha, in fact it is, but with minor changes.  But there were enough for me to have to make note of it and I thought I might as well put it online since having recipes online helps me a lot.  Plus I thought someone else might want to make the sweet and savory nuts sweet and spicy nuts.  I actually did not try them because I knew they would be too hot for me.  The last time I made them I put one packet of crushed red peppers in them and my hubby said that it was not really that hot.  So this time I upped a few things.

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Sweet and Spicy Mixed NutsDance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

–1 cup raw unsalted almonds
–1 cup walnuts
–1 cup raw unsalted pepitas
–1 cup raw unsalted pecans
–2 tablespoons olive oil
–1 tablespoon and 2.5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
–1 teaspoon thyme
–1 teaspoon crushed rosemary leaves
–1 HEAPING teaspoon rosemary leaves
–1 teaspoon cumin
–1 teaspoon salt
–1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
–1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
–3 packets of crushed red peppers / flakes
–sea salt
–brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F.

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Then stir the nuts and spread them out again, making at thin layer.  Sprinkle with another packet of crushed red peppers / flakes, some sea salt,  AND brown sugar (not a lot, just a sprinkle over all of the nuts) bake for 10 more minutes.

Then stir the nuts one more time and let bake for 10 more minutes.

Then take them out of the oven to cool.  You have a choice while cooling, you can stir them to break them up or you can let them cool in one big chunk or chunks.  It depends on how you like to eat your nuts.

______________________________________________

Basically, let nuts and more of everything else, and the addition of the crushed red peppers / flakes.  That is what the original recipe, the one my friend made for us for Christmas, had in it.  But I don’t like spicy hot so I adjusted the recipe.  I was originally making the nuts for me, since my hubby doesn’t normally like nuts.  But when I make them he liked them so I make more – as I said with one packet of crushed red peppers / flakes, but that wasn’t enough, so I added more.  I think it might be enough.

I mean I could just continue adding more until they are just hot nuts, but the sweet needs to come through, too.  I wish I could taste them.  I just can’t/won’t because a burning mouth is just not comfortable for me.

I think next time I will experiment with adding another flavor, like GARLIC!

So, do you like spicy food?  Would these work for you, ya think?

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , | 8 Comments »

What To Do With CousCous

Posted by terrepruitt on August 26, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitWhat do you do with couscous?  I like couscous.  One time when I made it, both my husband and I decided that we really like it.  I usually buy Near East brand.  I usually by flavored kind.  Our favorite is a Garlic and Olive Oil.  We also eat a Parmesan flavor.  But the boxes are very small and they really, when I think about it, are kind of expensive. I usually pay over three dollars for a box.  It really only works for one meal.  So to me that is expensive.  So I went to where I always go to when I am shopping for less expensive stuff – Amazon.  I ended up buying a lot of couscous.  I got FOUR bags, that can serve as FOUR meal sides EACH, for $16!  But now what do I do with all that couscous?

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One thing I LOVE about it, is that cooks so fast.  It is so easy.  So really adding too much to it, just takes away from that.  But when you have as much as I do ya look for different things to do with it.

One thing I did that was awesome and easy was just chop us some kale and throw it in.  I chopped up the kale and two minutes into the last five minutes of the couscous cooking I put it in the pot and stirred it.  Then let the couscous continue to cook.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitBut that to me is still more of a side dish.  I wanted something to eat as a main dish.  So what do I do when I am trying to add some “weight” to a meal?  AND I happen to have made hamburgers a couple of days before?  Well, I throw in beef, of course.  It was very good!  So I thought I would share what I did.

 

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Beef, Kale, and Couscous

1/4 teaspoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon red onion

a little less than 1/4 pound ground beef

2 kale leaves

1 1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

3/4 teaspoon powdered garlic

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

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Fine chop the kale.  After the water has boiled, add the couscous to the water.  Set a timer for 2 minutes.  When the timer goes off sprinkle the garlic and turmeric on the couscous and add the kale, then sprinkle the garlic salt on top of the kale.  Stir everything together.  Then set the timer for 2 minutes and let it all finish cooking.

Once the couscous is done add the meat.  Then stir it all together, mixing it well.  Then serve.

______________________

 

 

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitAs you can see from my pictures I used too small of a sauce pan to mix it all in it.  So I did the final mixing in the pan I used to cook the meat.

The beef adds a richness and not a lot is needed.  The beef also helps it be satisfying as an entrée.I added more garlic salt while it was on my plate.  I added pepper to my husband’s plate.  My hubby and I really enjoyed this so I will probably be doing it again.

So, as I said – what do you do with couscous?

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PS  While I was looking for my kale and couscous pictures a search reveal this post Couscous, Fennel, and Garbanzo Beans.  I forgot about this.

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Sweet and Savory Mixed Nuts

Posted by terrepruitt on August 22, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitEvery year at Christmastime my three friends and I gather for what I call “Christmas with the Girls.”  We have been doing it since were 18, so I’ll just say decades!  Well, when one of us four moved away it was sad.  We couldn’t have the four of us meet for Christmas.  Three of us still meet.  There is usually eating, drinking, opening of gifts, laughing and visiting.  Well, last year our distant friend sent us some mixed nuts.  She had made Sweet-and-Spicy Mixed Nuts from a Bon Appétit recipe.  They were pretty good.  A little spicy for me as they had crushed red pepper flakes in them, but they were good.  I thought I could just leave the peppers out when I made them.  The recipe also calls for maple syrup.  We didn’t have maple syrup.  When I would go to the store I would forget to buy some.  Plus I was thinking I needed a couple of tablespoons and I didn’t want to buy a whole bottle for just that.  So I kept putting off making the recipe.  Eventually I did buy the nuts (from Amazon).  But when I went to the store I kept forgetting the syrup.  Finally one day I remembered to buy the syrup and it was sitting on the counter and my husband says, “What did you buy maple syrup for?”  And I explained the whole thing to him.  He says, “We have maple syrup.”  He explained to me that someone went to Vermont and had asked him if he wanted anything and he said, “Maple syrup.”  So she had brought a little bottle back.  It probably would have been the perfect amount.  Oh well, I am sure I will make these nuts again.  Although I did not use the recipe my friend used.  I ended up making something up.  I am not too big on the spicy so I didn’t use any crushed pepper flakes.

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Sweet and Savory Mixed NutsDance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

–1 1/2 cup raw unsalted almonds
–1 cup walnuts
–1 cup raw unsalted pepitas
–1 cup raw unsalted pecans
–2 tablespoons of olive oil
–1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce
–1/2 teaspoon thyme
–1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary leaves
–1/2 teaspoon cumin
–1 teaspoon salt
–1/3 cup and 1 teaspoon maple syrup
–tiny sprinkle of cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Put all the nuts on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Put the pan in the oven, letting the nuts roast, for 10 minutes.  In a big bowl mix the olive oil, worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary, cumin, salt, maple syrup, and sprinkle of pepper all together.  Then put the nuts in the bowl and mix.  Coat the nuts with the mixture.  Then transfer all the nuts back onto the parchment lined baking sheet.  Let the nuts toast/bake for 20 minutes, but toss them occasionally.

Allow nuts to cool before storing.

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This makes a flavor snack.  And, of course, you can use whatever type of nuts you like.  And perhaps futz with the amount of spices and herbs.

Now I need recipes that call for maple syrup.

Do you like mixed nuts?  Do you have any recipes that call for maple syrup?

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

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Hard “Boiled” Baked Eggs

Posted by terrepruitt on August 15, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitI love eggs.  But I only like scrambled eggs.  I don’t like them any other way.  NO OTHER WAY.  Not fried, not hard boiled, not soft boiled, not poached, nothing!  My hubby likes them different ways.  He even likes hard boiled eggs.  He is famous for his deviled eggs.  One reason he is famous for his deviled eggs is that he has been working to perfect them.  Ya know . . . he has worked to find a way to make them come out really well.  A while back I had heard about people baking the eggs INSTEAD of boiling them.  For years I kept saying, “I’m gonna try that.”  I had a friend, my chef friend I often mention on my blog, who did an experiment on hard “boiled” eggs.  I forgot exactly all that she did, but baking them was included in the test.  She concluded that baking them didn’t make them easier to peel.  This encouraged me to put off trying the baking method.  Then one day my husband came home with a new idea, he was going to bake his eggs.  <sigh>  Then, HE never did.  But he, like me, kept saying he was going to.  One day I just threw some eggs in the oven.  I used a muffin tin . . . but you might know from Muffin Tin Eggs post that I don’t have a TIN, I have the silicone kind.  It worked.  My husband liked them.  And that is all it took.  Sometimes it just takes someone . . . even if it is not you . . . to take the first step.  After I made them in the oven and they came out well and my husband liked them, he decided to try it.  But his method is a little different.  I asked him to take pictures for me so that I could post about it on my blog for you.  So here is my husband’s method for making hard “boiled” eggs.

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Hard “Boiled” Baked Eggs:

As many eggs as you want (that is the beauty of this method, you can do as many as will fit on a towel in your oven)
a dish towel
a bowl big enough to hold ice, water, and ALL the eggs
ice
water
timer

If you are making hard boiled eggs for deviled eggs you might want to turn the eggs on their sides for at least 24 hours.  This helps center the yolk so you will have a nicely centered cavity to fill.

Preheat the oven to 325°.  Wet the dish towel, ring it out.  Then spread the towel out over the oven rack.  Place your eggs on the oven rack.  Allow for space between the eggs.  Then bake them for 30 minutes.  When the timer goes off, open the oven door and leave the eggs in there for 5 minutes.

Fill the bowl with ice and water.

You will notice the egg shells have spots on them.  I have not researched this and I don’t know why that happens, but don’t fear my husband said that you can’t really see them on the outside of the egg.  He said you have to actually look for the spots to even notice them.  He calls them “heat freckles”.

After the five minutes with the door open, VERY CAREFULLY gather up the corners and edges of the towel (using oven mitts if necessary) holding the eggs.  Then wet the towel and eggs.  Then rinse each egg and put it in the bowl filled with ice and water.  Let the eggs sit for 30 minutes.

Then dry off the eggs and store them.  Or eat them.  Or make them into deviled eggs.

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My husband took pictures of every step.  He wanted to show you how nicely these eggs peel.  He has had better results, as in easy to peel and quick to peel, with this method than his boiling method.  The results are better as are the number of easy to peel eggs.  Sometimes there is a difficult one or two, but for the most part they peel easy.

I believe he originally saw the wet towel method from Alton Brown.  But, as I said, my husband has been working to perfect the deviled egg and he has found that this method of making hard boiled eggs is the easiest because you can easily cook more than a dozen at a time.  And they peel really well.

Do you have preferred method to make hard boiled eggs?  Any tricks or tips?

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit
Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

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Muffin Tin Eggs

Posted by terrepruitt on July 25, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitI am sure you have seen these eggs baked in muffin tins on the internet, too, just like the Caprese Bites.  And just like that yummy appetizer I thought I could do this without looking at a recipe.  I mean, it seems so easy.  It is.  I am sure you can do it, too.  But sometimes it is nice to have tips and advise.  Experience from those who have come before.  I thought I would need an egg per muffin cup, but I did not.  I ended up making eight mini muffins and four regular sized muffins with 6 eggs.  So this really isn’t a recipe with actual amounts of things because that is up to you.  But it is an idea of things and some tips.

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Muffin Tin Eggs

6 eggs
Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitmilk  (1/4 of a cup – ish)
salt
pepper
other seasonings
cheese  (1/2 cup-ish, grated)
broccoli  (1 cup-ish)

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Clean the broccoli and rough cut it into bite sized pieces. Grate some cheese.

Crack your eggs into a bowl big enough for you to mix them and add a little milk.  Mix up the eggs and milk.  Add the salt and pepper to taste.  Any seasonings you would like.  I used garlic powder (of course).

If you are using metal muffin tins then you probably want to spray them with some cooking spray or put some oil or butter on them.  Whatever you would normally for muffins.  I used the silicon kind and they don’t need spray.

Place a few pieces of broccoli into each muffin cup.  Then add the grated cheese into the tin.  Then pour the eggs on top.  Only fill it about half way.

Place the muffin “tin” in the oven and let it cook for about 12 minutes.  Check the eggs.  Cook them to your liking.  Some people like “wet” eggs and others like them dry.  So you get to decide.

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitNot having cooked the broccoli beforehand will allow it to stay somewhat firm.  But if you like softer broccoli you cook it beforehand.

As I said I made two different sized muffin tin eggs.  I imagine this would make at least eight regular sized muffins or twelve to sixteen mini ones.

These are like scrambled eggs except you don’t have to do all the work every morning.  You can make them on Sunday evening and then have a quick breakfast everyday all week.  They are also like scrambled eggs in that you can put whatever you want in them.  Whatever you would eat in a scramble put it in the tin.  Somethings you might want to or need to cook before putting them in the tin.  Meat would need to be cooked prior to putting in the tin for baking with the eggs.  And we all like our veggies done differently so you might even want to cook some before putting it in the tin to bake.

I want to use mushrooms next time.  I would cook them before putting them in the muffins.  What would you put in yours?

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Caprese Bites

Posted by terrepruitt on July 20, 2016

You’ve probably seen these before.  I know I have.  I don’t know where, but I know that when I saw them I wanted to make them.  I was having company over last weekend and I didn’t know what to make because I didn’t know who was eating what and we usually end up with so much food.  I decided I would do these as an appetizer and supply the dessert and the company could bring the rest.  Worked out great!  🙂  As I said I had remembered seeing these before, but didn’t bother to look them up because I thought I could figure them out.  I did, but as I sat down to write this I thought I would give it a quick look-see.  I should have looked before I made them because, of course, there are much better ways to present them shown on the internet.  Mine were ok, and I will probably do it again, but I do like the swishy drizzle.  Not that I could ever accomplish that.  I tried to drizzle and the new thing from Costco that is on the balsamic vinegar, just dripped it all over the plate.  I gave up and used a spoon.  Anyway . . . here is a quick and yummy appetizer.  Caprese salad or as I am calling these Caprese Bites.

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitCaprese Bites

A tub of mozzarella balls
two tubs of grape tomatoes
a bunch of basil
balsamic vinegar
salt

Drain the mozzarella and let it dry out a little bit.  Wash your basil if you desire, then let it dry a bit.  Wash the tomatoes and let them dry.  Then cut the mozzarella balls in half.  Sprinkle the cheese with salt.  Then decide the order.  I had cheese-tomato-basil.  Then stick a tooth pick through the cheese, then the tomato, then a basil leaf.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with a little salt.

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So, I made these last weekend.  I didn’t take a picture.  I had leftover cheese, so I made them again for this post.  I salted the cheese the second time I made these.  Then I salted the entire “bite” after I drizzled on the balsamic vinegar.  I barely used an salt and half of it rolls off.  But I really think the salt helps bring out the flavor in everything.  Salt is a flavor enhancer.  YUM.

Also the second time, I tried to stick the tomato on one side . . . in other words NOT IN THE MIDDLE.  I tried to pierce it closer to one side of the tomato so it would rest better on the plate.  I did also try doing it with the tomato on the bottom and the toothpick up in the air, I didn’t like that.  It probably would have worked better with the cheese on the bottom.  Or if the tomatoes are cut.

Either way . . . such an easier appetizer.  And so yummy.  I actually assembled it the night before.  But I put the vinegar and salt on right before I served it.  Both kind of make the cheese “melty”.  So it got a little messy.  But it was still good.

I was actually surprised how much I liked them.  I made a lot and I think I ate most of them.  My hubby and I even had a few in the days that followed.

Now we have more.  Yay!  Yum!

Have you made these before?  How do you assemble them?

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

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