Soft Scrambled Eggs

I really have a love/hate relationship with eggs. As a child, I loved what my grandpa and gram would call "dunkin eggs." Basically, it is an over easy egg with toast on the side for dunkin. Later in life, my taste  buds changed and I could not stand the thought of eating a runny yolk so I switched to scrambled eggs. Scrambled wasn't really enough though - I had to load them with cheese. Fast forward a few more years and I suddenly did not like scrambled eggs even when they were loaded with cheese. I was ok with egg whites, but not the yolk. For the next several years I then would only eat eggs whites (hard boiled, in an egg white omelet, or cooked over hard so I could dump the yolk) with one exception, deviled eggs.

This last weekend, we went camping. Andrea requested eggs and toast for breakfast, so we obliged since it was her birthday and all :) John loves over easy eggs or poached eggs, so that was easy enough to make for him. Since we had a bigger group, we decided to whip up a batch of scrambled eggs since they are super easy to make for multiple people. To my surprise, they were so good!

I am a firm believer that food does taste better when you are camping, but today I decided to make some soft scrambled eggs to see if I am back to liking yolks in my scrambled eggs. Let's just say these did not disappoint!

The keys to the best soft, fluffy scrambled eggs are to 1. whisk your eggs together super well initially so the white and yolk are fully incorporated and you have one consistent color, 2. use real butter, and 3. cook them low and slow.

Look at those fluffy eggs!

Soft Scrambled Eggs
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs whisked
• .5-1 tbsp of butter
• Salt to taste
• Pepper optional

How to Make Soft Scrambled Eggs:

1. Place butter in a non stick skillet and heat over medium low heat until melted. 
2. Add your eggs to the middle of the pan and using a small silicone or rubber spatula scrape the bottom of the eggs toward the middle as they start to cook (this will take a few minutes). You will see large curds starting to form. Continue this process until the eggs are slightly runny.  
3. At this point, add a pinch of salt to taste. 
4. Continue scraping your pan until the eggs are barely set, remove from the pan and serve immediately.  
5. If you like pepper on your eggs, add some at this point. 

Here are a few more pics of the process:

Eggs prior to going on the heat

Just starting to cook

These are done! Remove from the pan. 

Serve on a breakfast sandwich or simply with a side of toast!

Enjoy!

~H

Cañon de Guadalupe

This past weekend, we took a trip down to Mexico to Cañon de Guadalupe to celebrate our friend Andrea's birthday. Needless to say, it was a blast! The campground we stayed at is known for its natural hot springs. In fact, the majority of campsites each have their own hot tub filled with the natural hot spring water.

In addition to eating, eating, and more eating, hanging out in the hot tub, and sitting by the fire, we took a short 2.5 mile hike up to a waterfall. It was more bouldering than hiking, but either way it was very pretty and super fun. You naturally assume that since you are surrounded by natural hot springs, the waterfall is going to be warm as well - well, you would assume wrong. It was freezing and my clumsy ass fell in! After the initial shock, it was quite refreshing since it was a pretty warm day.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Found the waterfall!

The scene

Stopping for tacos

Sheila was thirsty

The drive

Always climbing rocks

And hiding under rocks

A few wildflowers

Trying to not get sunburned with EZs umbrella 

John is such a good helper

EZ was a little overheated

Someone has a crush on John

Some water - so cold!

The Melrose'

Cheese!

Stinky feet - ok they don't stink!

Oops! Ran into a rock and broke the bumper. 

He seems ok with it though. 

Happy to be heading home to have a shower!

Campsite from a different view

Enjoying the cold water

Pack mule

Trying to stay in the shade

Our camping spot

Hot tub!

Enjoy!

~H & J

No Fuss Risotto

Everyone loves a good shortcut when cooking, right?!? Well, this is a major one because making traditional risotto is just down right time consuming. You have to constantly stir, add stock, etc. With this no fuss recipe, you basically start the risotto on the stove, then finish it off in the oven without all the fuss.

Risotto is another recipe that you can get quite creative with. I simply added some parmesan and peas and called it a day. I served this as a side, but you could certainly add protein and make a meal out of it.

Pea and Parmesan No Fuss Risotto
Makes 5-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup arborio (risotto) rice
• 4-5 garlic cloves minced
• .5 medium onion diced
• 4.5-5 cups chicken stock divided
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• .5-1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Hot to make No Fuss Risotto:

1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Drizzle a medium size dutch oven with olive oil. Over medium heat. saute the onion and garlic until the onion starts becoming translucent (3-4 minutes). 
3. Add in the arborio rice and continue to saute until it starts to become a light golden brown. 
4. Add 4 cups of chicken stock and salt, pepper, and red pepper flake to taste.
5. Place the lid on the dutch oven and place in the oven for 25 minutes. 
6. Remove from the oven and add in .5-1 cups of the leftover chicken stock, peas, and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. 

So easy peasy and another bonus is that it doesn't even require cream to make this a luscious risotto! Yum!

Enjoy! 

-H

Pizza Pockets

Pizza! What more is there to say, really? This is a very fun meal to make with your family or friends. It is super interactive and the great thing is everyone gets to create their own pizza pocket. Start with your basic pizza dough, add in your toppings, and bake to perfection. It is just as easy as that! You can buy pizza dough either in the can or fresh dough from your market and that makes this recipe even easier! Of course, if you have a go to recipe, go ahead and use homemade dough.

Pizza pockets
Makes 2 large pizza pockets

Ingredients:

• 14-16 oz pizza dough
• Your favorite pizza toppings (Italian sausage, pepperoni, green pepper, jalapeno, onion, mushroom, cheese, etc.)
• Marinara or ranch for dunking

How to make Pizza Pockets:

• Follow the package directions for the cooking temperature for your pizza dough. Mine said to preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Divide your pizza dough in two and roll out to 1?4" thickness. 
• Pile all of your desired toppings on one side.
• Fold over the other side and seal - use a fork if you would like to assure it is sealed. 
• Place on a greased cooking sheet and follow the pizza dough package directions for cooking. Mine said 18-22 minutes. 

As you can see in the pictures, John and I also top each pocket with a few toppings for the visual appeal. This is not necessary, but just gives a nice look. Something to note is that I do not put sauce inside the pizza pocket as it makes it a bit mushy. I like to serve it on the side as a dipping sauce. You can also see that yes, I truly do make a pizza pocket and John - on the other hand - just throws his toppings in the middle and wraps it up in a ball. They are super forgiving and just easy to make overall. 

Have fun with this!

Enjoy!

-H

Lemon and Butter Baked Cod

I am fan of fish, but John is not. He has been traveling out of town lately for work, so that gives me an opportunity to cook fish. I am a big fan of light white fish - cod, mahi, halibut, etc. and this recipe can really use any light white fish so don't just limit yourself to cod if that is not a fish you love.

This recipe is super easy - just season your fish and bake for 15 minutes. You will then have a perfectly flaky delicious dish!

Lemon and Butter Baked Cod
Makes 2-3 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cod filet (.75 to 1 lbs)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cayenne pepper to test (optional)

How to make Lemon and Butter Baked Cod:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Place your cod in a small baking dish. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. 
3. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the cod. 
4. Drizzle with olive oil and place 1 tbsp butter in the dish. 
5. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. 

Follow this simple recipe and you will have the perfect flaky fish dish every time! The butter makes a nice silky sauce as well. 

Enjoy!

-H