Fluffy Eggs, by Cheryl

I could eat eggs every day. Usually I have them over easy, but I've been making some omelets as well. However, I really like it when a nice brunch place has them really light and fluffy. They're so good and I always wanted to try them that way. I found an easy recipe that was very good! I would definitely make them again and maybe add some extra spices to them. I'm trying them again tomorrow! Yum!

Ingredients: 

2 eggs (I added one more egg white to the mix)

1/4 cup shredded cheese

2 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1) Crack the eggs in a small bowl and whisk vigorously for one minute.

2) Melt the butter in a pan on low heat. Wait until it begins to foam. 

3) Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggs.

4) Whisk the top of the eggs vigorously again, careful not to scrape the bottom. 

5) Return the pan to the heat. Continue to whisk the eggs until the top is foamy. Sprinkle the cheese on top and whisk to incorporate. 

6) Let the bottom of the eggs set for 5-7 seconds. Run a silicone spatula from the edge of the pan into the middle. Tilt the pan so that the uncooked eggs can slide onto the surface area that you just created with the spatula. 

7) Continue to slide the cooked eggs into the middle with the spatula and rotate to allow uncooked eggs to hit the surface pan. 

8) After about 30 seconds or so, the eggs will be mostly set. Remove them from the heat. The heat from the pan will finish cooking them. 

9) Season with salt and pepper. 

Dot Cake, by Cheryl & Maddie

Maddie went to a baking camp for a couple of weeks this summer and fell in love with one of the desserts they made.. a dot cake! She brought the recipe home and wanted to try her hand at it. Her friend came over yesterday and they eagerly gathered all of the ingredients. We didn't necessarily follow the original recipe as that had us making the dough from scratch. Since this involved two 9 year olds who very much wanted to do this on their own, I found a recipe that used a funfetti box mix to help the process. These turned out SO well! And they (mostly) made them all by themselves. A sweet treat for all of us. Yum!

Ingredients: 

Cake: 

1 box Funfetti cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup milk

4 oz sour cream (we forgot this even though they took it out.. oops! Didn't notice it missing)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp milk

Decoration: 

1 bottle rainbow sprinkles

Directions: 

1) Preheat oven to 325. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

2) In a large bowl, combine eggs, cake mix, oil, milk, sour cream, vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and fully combined. 

3) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 33 minutes. 

4) While it cooks, make the buttercream. Beat the butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix. 

5) Gradually add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing after each cup. Add the milk a little at a time until the frosting reaches a sooth consistency. Continue beating until light and fluffy. 

6) Once the cake has cooled, use mason jars to use as cutters. Simply press each jar down into the cake and lift. 

7) Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag and pipe a generous amount into each cake. Use a spatula to smooth. 

8) Add rainbow sprinkles to the top. 

9) Serve immediately or refrigerate. 

Greek Ground Beef, by Diane

I recently saw an IG post by @birdee.lili on how to cook Mexican ground beef, and her method involved a few different approaches to cooking ground beef that I had not heard of in the name of flavor including not draining the beef to hold moisture (I previously thought this was all fat but it's mostly water) and letting beef get a brown crust for flavor when the water reabsorbs. I decided to try it this week but with Greek seasonings for some Greek hummus bowls, and this was so flavorful and moist! The only complaint is that it was pretty salty so I reduced the amount of salt as shown below.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp EVOO

1lb ground beef

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp tomato sauce

1/4 cup or less beer or water (I used water)

Greek seasonings (cinnamon, clove, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder)

Directions:

1. Add EVOO to a heated pan, add in ground beef and crumble, cook until just browned.

2. Spread the beef into an even layer and let the water come out, continue cooking until water completely reabsorbs without draining, and then continue cooking further until the beef browns on a dry pan about 1-2 minutes. 

3. Make a circle in the middle of the beef and add the tomato paste, spreading around, and toast for one minute until flavor and smell deepen. 

4. Mix in tomato sauce and spices, cook one minute, and add in beer/water to deglaze the pan. Cook until glossy, another minute or so, then remove.

Marinated Eggs, by Diane

I decided to make a new version of marinated eggs because I love ramen eggs so much but have not yet stumbled upon a recipe I love (there are two others on here already!). I made this up at random with pantry ingredients, and this was the BEST combo! I loved these so much and will absolutely make them again. Yum.

Ingredients:

12 jammy eggs, cooked 9 minutes (drop in boiling water for 9 minutes then transfer to ice bath and peel)

1 cup water

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup ume plum vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp gochugaru

2 tsp black sesame seeds

Directions:

Cover eggs with marinade and refrigerate overnight.

Turkish Shepherd Salad, by Diane

This was AMAZING and I cannot believe how simple it was to make! I found this recipe from Zestful Kitchen and although I could not find the urfa pepper it was awesome without it. I made it for some Greek hummus bowls, but wound up eating it on it's own because it was that good! I also think this would be good with chicken. YUM!

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced

1 english cucumber, diced

red and yellow grape tomatoes, halved

1 anaheim pepper, diced (I omitted this)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

3 tbsp chopped mint

2 tbsp chopped dill

1.5 tsp sumac

1 tsp urfa pepper (can sub aleppo pepper)

1/2 cup cubed feta cheese

3 tbsp EVOO

1 lemon, juiced

kosher salt

Directions:

Mix all and combine, adjust to taste. 

Okra Kimchi, by Diane

 I love okra, and wanted a creative green veggie for the week. I came across this recipe from @korean.roots to turn okra into kimchi and it could not have been easier! This was really good, and while you can have this fresh right away I liked it the more it fermented in the fridge!

Ingredients:

1.5 lb young okra, tops and tails removed and cut into 1 inch slices

4 tbsp kosher salt

1/2 small red apple, minced

3 green onions, chopped (green parts only or can use both)

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp white sugar

3 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)

2 tbsp black sesame seeds

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:

1. Toss okra in salt, let rest up to 2 hours, rinse and drain 2-3 times. Okra should still be a little salty.

2. Combine okra with remaining ingredients.

3. Serve immediately or refridgerate/ferment in an airtight container.

Tuna Sushi Bowl with Crispy Rice, by Diane

 

I have been craving a chilled, easy lunch recipe for the week to batch cook, and created this bowl out of a few trending recipes I saw online. I used canned tuna for convenience here, but really any protein would work well. I thought this would be great fresh, but it actually worked better after a few hours to sit and marry all the ingredients together.

Ingredients:

3 tins canned tuna (I used fish wife albacore in spicy olive oil)

2 cups crispy rice (click link for recipe)

1 cup julienned carrots

4 scallions, thinly sliced, green and white parts

1 cucumber, thinly sliced (I used a mandolin)

1-2 cups edamame, shelled

2 packets seaweed sheets

2 tbsp black sesame seeds

3 tbsp fried shallots

Sauce: 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mayo, 3 tbsp chili sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and enjoy!!