leftover cornbread casserole

 I seem to often have a lot of leftover sourdough cornbread, which I freeze.  So in interests of emptying the freezer, I decided to make something with it.  Got a few ideas from online, but I wanted it more about vegetables and less about eggs/breakfast.  I"ll edit depending on how it turns out. 

Ingredients:

• about 4 cups of cornbread, preferably day old and dried up, cut into about 1" cubes/crumbled
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2# hot Italian sausage
• peppers (i used jalapeno peppers and a can of green chiles)  
• 4 eggs
• 2 cup milk
• salt & pepper
• garlic powder
• vegetables (I used green beans today but other things would be good)
• 1 cup shredded cheese 

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  If cornbread isn't dried up, but it in the oven for about 10 minutes to try to dry it more.  

Heat skillet and saute onions and sausage until done.  Add vegetables including peppers and stir up.   

Whisk together eggs, milk, and spices.  Set aside.  Shred cheese, set aside.

Put half the cornbread in bottom of pan (I used a 9x13, just in case a smaller pan would be too small).  Put half the sausage/vegetable mix on top, then half the cheese.  Repeat cornbread and sausage layers, then pour egg mixture over the top, and then the cheese.  Bake about 35 minutes. 

green borscht

 I picked up some sorrel at the farmers market and what to make, what to make?  This recipe for green borscht popped up.  I made it vegetarian because I don't care for pork, and I didn't put the raw egg in because I don't care for egg drop soup and such, though I did put in hard boiled eggs.  

Ingredients

• 500 grams Young Potatoes cubed
• 200 grams Sorrel fresh
• 1 Onion
• 1 Carrot
• 4 hardboiled eggs
• 1 raw egg
  
• 1 tbsp Sour Cream or Smetana if you can find it
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp Oil

Instructions

1. Bring broth to boil; add in the potatoes and bring back up to a boil. Let cook for 10 minutes.

 2.  While the potatoes are cooking quickly fry some grated onion and carrot in a pan with a bit of oil. Add to the borscht and give everything a stir. Also chop up the hard boiled eggs and add that in. 3.  In a small bowl beat together an egg and the sour cream. Swirl the pot of boiling borscht and slowly pour in the egg mixture so it cooks immediately as it hits the soup. 4.  Turn off the heat and add in the chopped sorrel. Give everything a good stir and let sit for a few minutes before serving. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.

summer squash scramble

 I keep struggling with what to prepare for breakfast, and I also struggle with what to do with the vegetable bounty from my garden.  

Finally, after a week of staring at an identified summer squash (not what I planted, but what grew), I realized I can just saute it with eggs and add parmesan that I shredded too much of, and make it a meal.

I can do this with most vegetables, adding whatever cheese or other thing is about like salsa.

Not sure why I keep forgetting this, but putting it here to remind me. 

- Chop up squash or whatever vegetable is lurking

- heat cast iron skillet, add olive or whatever oil

- saute vegetable

- mix in bowl: eggs (I usually use two smaller), salt, pepper, seasonings such as onion and garlic powders

- add egg mixture to vegetables and cook to desired doneness

- top with cheese, salsa, or whatever else needs to get used up

Chinese cabbage and egg stirfry

Just got some locally grown Chinese cabbage, and this looked like a good idea.

Ingredients:
- chopped (Chinese) cabbage
- 2 eggs, beaten
- fish sauce
- green onions (or garlic scapes)
- garlic
- carrot, grated
- (red) onion, chopped
- red chili
- sesame oil
- sesame seeds

Heat oil in wok.  Add garlic, stir a minute, add onion. Then add grated carrots. 

Stir in cabbage.

Add a bit of water (maybe 1/4 cup?).

Add chili, black pepper, (salt - do you really need it if adding fish sauce?), fish sauce, and green onions.  Stir and cook 2-3 minutes, until water evaporates. 

PUsh vegetables to side, add some more oil, then the eggs.  Let them cook in place a couple minutes, then stir eggs until cooked, then stir in vegs. Add sesame seeds.  Turn off heat and serve.

pasta frittata

This pasta frittata is a great way to use up leftover pasta.  I made up some with carrot top pesto and it was kind of bland and soft, so this is better than just reheating. From here.

INGREDIENTS
¼ pound spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine or other long pasta (or about 1/2 pound cooked pasta)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter or extra
virgin olive oil
¼ cup minced pancetta, bacon or prosciutto, optional
6 eggs
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION
Y I E L D 4 to 6 servings
T IM E 40 minutes
Pasta Frittata
By Mark Bittman
This dish is one recipe calling for leftover pasta that is actually worth planning for. It's portable, it's endlessly versatile, and it's practically foolproof. Substitute almost any cheese for the Parmesan (or leave it out altogether) and toss in any cooked vegetable or meat. Make it your own.
One last bit of advice from Mr. Bittman: “The key to extreme enjoyment is to make sure that some ends of pasta pieces protrude from the top of the mixture when you put it in the oven. They will become crunchy, giving the leftover pasta yet one more pleasant dimension.”

Step 1
If using leftover cooked pasta, chop it up. If using dried pasta, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and salt it. Cook pasta until barely tender, somewhat short of where you would normally cook it. Drain, and immediately toss it in a wide bowl with half the butter or oil. Cool it a bit.

Step 2
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put remaining butter or oil in a large nonstick ovenproof skillet, and turn heat to medium-high. If you are using meat, add it, and cook, stirring occasionally until crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. (If not using meat, proceed.)

Step 3
In large bowl, combine pasta with remaining ingredients, along with salt and pepper (less salt if you are using meat). Pour into skillet, and turn heat to medium-low. Use a spoon if necessary to even out top of frittata. Cook undisturbed until mixture firms up on bottom, then transfer to oven. Bake just until top is set, about 10 minutes. Remove, and serve hot or at room temperature.

sweet potato hash

I'm in a refrigerator-clearing phase and landed on sweet potato hash for breakfast (and leftovers for most of the rest of this week).

I looked at this for some guidance but mostly went off script.

Preheat oven to 400.

Saute for about 10 minutes:
-1 onion (I used 1/2 onion that's been in fridge a long time)
-3-5 sweet potatoes (I shredded but next time I think I'll chop into small cubes)

Add in and cook about another 8-10 minutes:
-sausage (I had some spinach/feta sausage from a sale in the freezer; any kind is good)

 Put on top and let it steam for about 5 minutes
-some greens (I used the mizuna that was starting to bolt in my garden, a leftover spinach salad from earlier in the week, and the last of the refrigerator spinach)

Mix it together, then make indentations and add:
-eggs (duck eggs from friend are perfect!)

Bake for 10-15 minutes.  I did just over 15 minutes and the yolks weren't runny at all. 

frittata with sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts and feta

This has been pretty wildly successful (and I plan to make it tomorrow evening), so I need to jot it down.  From here, with some modifications.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 3 tbsp whole milk, cream, or half and half
• 10 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 8 artichoke hearts 
• a green onion 
• 1 large handful of fresh spinach or whatever is in the garden (kale, swiss chard, etc.)
• Feta cheese crumbles, 4 oz
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Use butter to coat the baking dish.  (I used a 9 1/2" oval baking dish.)
• Finely chop sun dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts and sundried tomato.
• Whisk together eggs, milk and salt and pepper.
• Place chopped vegetables and greends at the bottom of the baking dish and pour eggs to cover.
• Sprinkle with feta cheese crumbles.
• Cover pan with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil covering and continue baking for about 25 more minutes or until middle of egg dish is fully cooked.*
• The edges of the frittata should be golden brown and slightly crispy.

*Wish I'd remembered to put this down when I remembered how long it took to cook. 

shakshuka with feta

This is shamelessly taken from NYT and adds feta. Which I have a fair amount of to use up. And simplifies prep because I don't to turn on my oven most of the year.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (I usually omit, but could be jarred peppers)
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped
• ¾ teaspoon salt, more as needed
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
• 5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 6 large eggs
• Chopped cilantro, for serving
• Hot sauce, for serving

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell pepper and garlic. Cook gently until very soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in cumin, paprika and cayenne, pour in tomatoes and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; simmer until tomatoes have thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in crumbled feta.
2. Gently crack eggs into skillet over tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon hot tomatoes over eggs and let cook on stove top until eggs are desired texture, about 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with bread.

Note:  I make a whole batch like this, cook two eggs in it and eat that, then use the leftover sauce to make another meal or two by reheating it and cooking more eggs in it.  

spaghetti carbonara

from NY Times 

Ingredients

• Salt
• 2 large eggs and 2 large yolks, room temperature
• 1 ounce (about 1/3 packed cup) grated pecorino Romano, plus additional for serving
• 1 ounce (about 1/3 packed cup) grated Parmesan
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 ½ ounces of slab guanciale, pancetta or bacon, sliced into pieces about 1/4 inch thick by 1/3 inch square
• 12 ounces spaghetti (about 3/4 box

Preparation

1. Place a large pot of lightly salted water (no more than 1 tablespoon salt) over high heat, and bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl with hot water, and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and pecorino and Parmesan. Season with a pinch of salt and generous black pepper.
3. Set the water to boil. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the pork, and sauté until the fat just renders, on the edge of crispness but not hard. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Add pasta to the water and boil until a bit firmer than al dente. Just before pasta is ready, reheat guanciale in skillet, if needed. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain pasta and add to the skillet over low heat. Stir for a minute or so.
5. Empty serving bowl of hot water. Dry it and add hot pasta mixture. Stir in cheese mixture, adding some reserved pasta water if needed for creaminess. Serve immediately, dressing it with a bit of additional grated pecorino and pepper.

 
 
 

frittatas

As usual I have WAY too many windows open and I'm getting frustrated with trying to find the appropriate ones, so ...

I made this frittata with kale and leeks to use up stuff I had.  Not a fan of the kale in it, or the eggy crust.  But otherwise a good texture.

This tortilla looks really good.

Hope my zucchini plants are prodigious and we can have this.

Fontina?  OK.  add this to the list when I want mushrooms.

Now that I'm getting a dozen eggs every couple of days, I gotta be strategic!

frittata

Just made an amazing frittata that I'll have warmed up all week for breakfast.  I had no idea how wonderful it could be, so open to interpretation. 

What I did:

*Saute 2 leeks and 3 cloves garlic

When getting soft, add:
*about 1.5 pounds of zucchini

Again cook a bit, then add in:
 *about 3-4 c. of chopped spinach

Preheat oven to 425.  Then mix together and add:
*7 eggs
*about 1/2 c. milk
*feta with herbs

Cook it in the pan (which is ok for ovens) until the eggs set around the edges - when they've about cooked through.

Then pop in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Yum!!! I'll eat it with fresh tomatoes.

Next time, I'm putting in potatoes and okra.  And whatever else I have around.