Pasta Carbonara

Ok, I've never had pasta carbonara. Never made it at home and never had it in a restaurant either. Why has no one told me how amazing this is?! I have heard of it, but I guess I ruled it out because I don't eat bacon. Enter turkey bacon. Thank goodness for these strips of smoked salty turkey because this is by far the best pasta dish I have ever made. Even better than my favorite. Now, its not as fast and easy as my favorite pasta, there are a few steps involved, BUT it is soo worth it. Oh my gosh, it was so good – garlicky, creamy, cheesy, smoky, slurps through your lips. Mmmm. Please make this. It is absolutely ridiculously heavenly delicious!

Pasta Carbonara

adapted by Pastor Ryan via Pioneer Woman

1 lb angel hair pasta

4 eggs

a couple strips of turkey bacon, or the real thing

1 cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for garnish

8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 small onion

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup white wine or dry vermouth

handful of parsley, I didn't have any fresh so I sprinkled some dried parsley

ground pepper

1 Slice up your turkey bacon and cook in a medium skillet until browned and crispy. While the bacon is cooking, heat a big pot of salted water for your pasta. When it comes to a boil, add your pasta and cook until al-dente. I used angel hair, which is very thin, so it cooks fast so be sure to watch it if using angel hair.

2 Remove and drain turkey bacon on a paper towel. Meanwhile, throw in diced onion into the same pan and cook until softened over medium high heat.

3 Thinly slice the garlic and throw in with the onions. Cook together for a few minutes and remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

4 Now, drain off any grease from the pan and return it to high heat until starts to smoke a little. Pour in white wine and whisk to get all the juicy bits stuck on the pan, thereby deglazing the pan. Add 1 cup chicken stock. Return the turkey bacon and onions and garlic back to the pan and bring to a simmer.

5 In a large bowl big enough for all of the pasta, crack 4 eggs and add the freshly grated parmesan cheese and parsley. Stir all together.

6 Drain the pasta. Be sure the pasta is very hot. Pour pasta into the egg mixture and then pour the turkey-bacon onion mixture. Mix all together and toss well. Tongs work well here. Garnish with more parmesan and parsley and get ready to taste heaven.

Fried Egg Sandwich – the perfect hangover breakfast

I recently bought the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics and once I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. New years day was the perfect opportunity after a long night of celebrating until 4 am! I surprisingly woke up at a reasonable hour, and this was exactly what I needed — fried cheesy bread topped with a fried egg. I used multigrain bread instead of white because thats what I had at home. I also used sharp white cheddar instead of gruyere or fontina, and arugula instead of fresh oregano. This sandwich is easily adaptable to whatever you have lying around the kitchen, so be creative! That's the beauty of sandwiches after all.

Fried Egg Sandwich

serves 2

4 slices of bread, I kept the crusts on but you can cut them off if you'd like

3 eggs

splash of milk

a few slices of white cheddar

a few arugula leaves

salt and pepper

chives optional

1 Prepare two sandwiches with a few slices of cheddar, some leaves of arugula, and salt and pepper. 

2 In a small bowl, whisk 1 egg with a splash of milk. Heat a pan with olive oil over medium heat.

3 Dip the two sandwiches into the egg mixture and let the excess drip. Pan fry the two sandwiches until golden brown and the cheese is melted. Set sandwiches aside on plates.

4 Crack the two remaining eggs into the pan, until the white is set but the yolks are still runny.

5 Top the sandwiches with the fried eggs and serve. Garnish with chives (optional)

Baked Eggs with Spinach

This was our dinner the other night.

Jealous?

You should be. Breakfast for dinner is my idea of the ultimate comfort food. The first time I made baked eggs at home, it was with tomatoes and onions. This time I opted for a spinach version, mainly because I had a lonely bag of spinach in the fridge ... and it was absolutely delicious. I served it with a dinner roll and the meal was surprisingly filling. This would be a great brunch dish for guests because it is not as time sensitive as scrambled eggs or omelets. This a sinfully delicious egg dish that will definitely be added to the repertoire, for brunch or dinner!

Baked Eggs with Spinach

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

9 oz bag of fresh spinach

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup half and half

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

4 eggs

shredded parmesan

1 Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2 Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a heavy oven proof skillet. Add half the spinach and toss until wilted. Add remaining spinach, toss, cover and cook for 2 minutes until tender. Drain in a colander and cool with cold water. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can (I did this with my hands) and roughly chop.

3 Wipe the skillet dry and melt butter over low heat with onions and garlic until softened. Stir in cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and chopped spinach. Stir and remove from heat. Here, I transfered the spinach mixture to a casserole dish but you can leave it in the skillet if you'd like. Make 4 indentations in the spinach and crack four eggs in those indentations.

4 Bake uncovered for 7-10 minutes until whites are set. Lightly season with salt and pepper and parmesan cheese when done.

Shakshuka!

Many of you may not be familiar with this Israeli dish, but let me tell you, Israeli or not — you will LOVE this! I grew up on this dish and it was a treat every time my mom made it for brunch. Last year I had it at the famous Dr. Shakshuka restaurant in Tel-Aviv. They served it right out of the skillet and was absolutely amazing. It was even better with toast to soak up every last bit of juice. I decided to make it for dinner tonight as a treat and boy was it a treat! AND it was quick which made it even better. This is definitely a crowd pleaser and easy to double or triple the recipe. Perfect for guests or just yourself!

I forgot to add the basil before I took the picture, so pretend its there. Thanks!

Shakshuka (Serves 2)

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pepper (green or red), sliced

1 can tomatoes, crushed (you can use fresh tomatoes and crush them by hand too)

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

black pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

3 eggs (you can use 4 for this recipe, but I only had 3 on hand)

cilantro, basil or parsley for garnish

1 Saute onions until softened. Then add green peppers until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or so.

2 Pour tomatoes and water in the same pan as the veggies. Season with salt and pepper and cumin.

3 Crack egg into a glass and pour directly into the sauce. Proceed with the rest of the eggs, equally distanced from each other.

4 Cover and cook until eggs are set. Garnish with basil cilantro or parsley.

Hard Boiled Eggs & Pesto Pizza

There are many things I often reminisce about my trip to Miami. The clear warm turquoise water, running my fingers through the fine sand, smelling like the beach, the cold refreshing drinks, and....this pizza. I know it might sound weird, but when I saw it on the menu I knew I would fall in love. I love finding unexpected ways to incorporate eggs into dishes and this one is a definite winner. The one I had in South Beach had some hard boiled eggs, mushrooms, and other goodies I can't remember. I decided to switch things up and put my own spin on it. I chose pesto and hard boiled eggs on my pizza— simple flavors so that the eggs will really shine. The pesto really added a nice flavor with the eggs, gooey cheese and hot tomato basil marinara sauce. Is there a dish that you've had dining out that you can't wait to try at home?

Hard Boiled Eggs & Pesto Pizza

1 store bought pizza crust, or make your own dough. (I bought whole wheat and I couldn't even tell the difference)

Marinara sauce, enough to cover entire pizza surface

3-4 hard boiled eggs, a great tutorial can be found here

A couple of tablespoons of pesto

About 2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2 Slice already cooled hard boiled eggs into thin slices, keeping the yolk and egg white intact in each slice. Set aside.

3 Spread marinara evenly onto pizza dough.

4 Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese Next, dollop some pesto wherever you want it. Top with egg slices and pop into oven for 8- 10 minutes.