Baked Eggs With Potato, Bacon & Tomato

The original recipe was from Sobey's and it sounded interesting.  I made a few changes since I was using my own produce.

Ingredients
5 strips thick bacon, cut into 1" pieces
2 potatoes, baked
1 tsp paprika
1/2 to 1 cup chopped onion
1/2 quart of canned tomatoes
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Fry bacon slightly until some of the fat is released.

 



Cut up the potatoes into bite sized pieces.  I made baked potatoes the night before and just cooked a couple extra.  If you don't have any on hand, you can quickly partially bake a couple in the microwave.

Add the potatoes to the bacon and sprinkle on the paprika.  Cook until bacon is crisp and potatoes are browning.  Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

Drain some of the bacon grease if it is too much.  My bacon wasn't too fatty so I didn't need to.  Fry onions in pan until translucent.

Add tomatoes and cayenne pepper and cook until most of the liquid is gone.

Put potatoes and bacon in a casserole dish.  Add tomato mixture.

Mix well. 

Make 4 hollows and break an egg in each.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake at 375°F for 22 to 25 minutes.  Enjoy!

It was very tasty and we could see ways to make it even more so.  Next time, I would either fry some mushrooms with the onions, or add some peppers and salsa.  You could also add some cheddar cheese chunks to the mixture or sprinkle on cheese during the last few minutes of cooking.  :)

Potato Frittata

I am not fond of quiche because I find it too rich with the eggs, the filling and crust.  I decided to try a frittata which seemed to me to be a crustless quiche.  I combined the two recipes below and made some of my own changes.

http://www.cheapcooking.com/Recipes/eggs/frittata.html   http://allrecipes.com/recipe/potato-and-cheese-frittata/

Ingredients
2 Tbsp oil
1 - 2 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
4 eggs
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
paprika
chili powder
salt
pepper


Heat oven to 400°F.

If potatoes are large, half or quarter them and then sliced them into thin slices.  Chop onion.

Brown potatoes and onions in oil.  I used a cast iron pan so I could use it in the oven.

Turn occasionally until potatoes are nicely browned.

Beat eggs with salt, pepper and spices.  I used a pinch of chili powder and some paprika.

Add eggs to pan with potatoes and onions.

Place pan in oven and cook for about 10 minutes or until eggs are firm.

Sprinkle on cheese (I used both cheddar and Parmesan) and return to oven for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Remove from oven.

Cut into quarters and serve.  It was very tasty.  We tried it with salsa, ketchup and also sour cream.  All three condiments work well with the frittata.

I would make it again and try other additions to the potato and onion.  Bacon chopped and fried would a nice addition as would mushrooms or peppers.  It would also work at lunch with a salad or a side of refried beans.  Experiment and enjoy!  ;)

Lulu Lays Large Eggs

Lulu started laying eggs again after she finished molting a couple months ago.  We can tell when she's going to lay because she eats crushed egg shells.  I bought oyster shell to make sure the chickens got enough calcium to lay eggs with strong shells.  Lulu never was interested in the oyster shell and her eggs sometimes had weak shells.  I was afraid of her breaking an egg inside herself and having troubles so I keep a dish of crushed egg shells by her food to provide her with calcium.  Lulu usually eats them the day before she lays.


Here is Lulu's nesting box set in the corner of the closet.  When we travelled to my mom's birthday, we took it with us and set it on the floor in the back of the van.  When Lulu needed to lay an egg she would jump off the seat and settle in her nesting box.  She usually didn't like to lay while the van was moving so she would sit there and wait until we stopped the van for a meal or a break.  We had a blanket on the seat that hung down almost to the floor.  Lulu would pull the blanket over herself when she was in the nesting box so we couldn't see her.  I guess she likes her privacy.

Here is Lulu in her nesting box.  Note the awful wallpaper behind her.  When we moved here several years ago, the house was mostly panelling and loud wallpaper.  I've been stripping paper and painting every winter and was going to do the kitchen this winter until I broke the bone in my foot.  Oh well, next year.

Lulu sings her egg song before she climbs into the box.  Most chickens sing when they are finished but she likes to announce that she's going to lay.  She'll announce she's coming into the house even before she climbs the stairs.  Once in the house, she lets us know she's on her way to her nesting box.



She is very nosy and has been known to get out of the nesting box to check on what I'm doing if I happen to be in the kitchen out of her sight.  She'll squawk a bit, eat a bit and head back into the box to finish her job.  After she lays her egg, she'll often go back in again after awhile as if she is going to lay a second egg.  We're not sure why she does this, but she goes back more times than she doesn't.  We call it "Lulu laying her phantom or invisible eggs again."

Once Lulu started laying again, she was laying about 3 to 5 eggs a week.  While we were gone for those 10 days, Lulu laid an egg every second day.  Then we returned home she stopped completely for over 2 weeks and just started laying again on Monday.  It is as if she didn't have time to lay once she got home as she needed to take many dustbaths and to check out the whole yards.  She had much area to cover - places to scratch, things to eat - a very busy girl!

Lulu's eggs are very large.  They don't fit in an egg carton made for extra-large eggs.  Here are three of her eggs and an extra-large store bought egg.  Sometimes the other chickens would lay large egg that were double yolks, but Lulu's haven't been.  They are just super-duper sized eggs.

Once she lays her egg, she comes looking for treats.  I usually give her some unsalted peanuts which she just gobbles up.  If I don't give her peanuts, she'll stand by the fridge hoping something will jump out for her.  She has me well trained, doesn't she?  ;)
 

Weird Eggs

Every once in the while, one of the girls decides to show some individuality and creativity and leave us a unique looking egg.  Don't you love it when you're chickens get artistic!  ;)

The first one was rounder than usual and covered with chocolate coloured freckles.

  

The next offering was almost looked like is was textured in white Spackle like you use on the ceiling or when you texture a wall.

The third artistic egg was done in a patchwork design.  It looked cracked but was sturdy and hard.

 The last egg is the hands down (or should I say wings down) winner in individuality.

The shell was not completely finished and a tube-like structure protruded from the end.

The whitish area you see had a rubbery feel to it.

The next day the white tube had been sucked into the egg and all you saw was a rubbery indent in the one end.  Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of it. :(

Homemade Eggnog

One of the popular Christmas drinks is rum and eggnog.  I've not been a big fan of it because I think store-bought eggnog tastes artificial.  There is something about it that leaves an aftertaste in my mouth.

When I was young and taking home-ec (before the days of not eating raw eggs), we learned how to make eggnog.  It was simple - beat one egg with a spoon of sugar and a bit of vanilla, add milk and drink.  Sometimes I would add cinnamon or nutmeg or both.  I would sometimes add ice cream so it was thicker.  As I grew older, I quit making the eggnog because it didn't have enough taste.

I belong to the Backyard Chickens Forum and Miss Prissy shared her eggnog recipes.  I adapted mine from hers.  http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=202168#p202168

Ingredients
12 eggs, separated
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
4 c (1 liter) half and half
4 c (1 liter) 2 % milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
nutmeg for sprinkling if desired
**optional - spiced rum if desired for extra zing for the adults

I used my Cuisinart and several large bowls to mix the eggnog.  Separate the eggs and dump egg whites in mixer bowl.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and slowly pour in 3/4 cup of the sugar while beating.  Gently move the egg whites to another bowl so you can reuse the mixer.

Notice how lovely the egg yolks from my girls are - none of those pale store bought yolks for us.  ;) 

Beat yolks until creamy and slowly pour in the other 3/4 cup of sugar.  The egg yolks will be thick and light yellow in color.  Mix in vanilla. 

Pour egg yolks into a large bowl. 

Add egg whites to bowl.

Fold egg whites into beaten yolks.

Sprinkle on nutmeg.

Pour in milk and cream and stir carefully.

Look at those lovely frothy clouds of goodness.

Pour into glasses.  Sprinkle with nutmeg if desired.  Add spiced rum if desired.  Enjoy!

Miss Prissy used whole milk and heavy cream in her recipe but I think mine was rich enough.  Next time I would make a half recipe since it is so rich and creamy.  We each had 2 glasses of the eggnog because it was so good but now no one wants supper.  It was too filling.  I still have 2 1/2 containers in the fridge for later.  We'll see how it fares staying in the fridge to use another day.

PS:  The eggnog does lose its fluffiness sitting in the fridge but is still very tasty.  It also doesn't seem as filling.  When it is so foamy, the air that was beaten into the eggs had a filling effect on us all for a number of hours.  So I retract what I said about halving the recipe - its not needed.

To all my readers and friends - have a very Merry Christmas.