Baked Eggs, Mexican style

With my first bell peppers from the garden, I decided to make this recipe. It was a surprising household hit, so it might make it into the regular rotation. At MDS's suggestion, I may try to add sausage to the bread and vegetable mix. This recipe gives these baked eggs a Mexican flavor, but adjustments could be made to create other flavors

I did not have six-ounce baking dishes, so I used a muffin pan. I did learn that large eggs might be a bit too large for muffin tins, so next time, I will make more of the vegetable and bread mix and make some additional baked eggs using the extra egg whites. When I made this recipe, after adding the eggs, I did not have room to add tomato juice, so I used powdered tomato bouillon instead. Also, instead of cheddar cheese, I used cotija cheese, which is something like a Mexican Parmesan cheese. And because this recipe is a bit of work, I might make more and store some for later. I did not try to freeze any from this batch, but I bet they will freeze well.

Baked Eggs, Mexican Style 

• 1 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 2-3 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 9 slices white bread, cubed
• 6 extra large eggs
• 6 tablespoons tomato juice
  
• 1/2 cup grated cheese

Saute the onion, green pepper and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in seasonings; simmer for five minutes. Stir in bread cubes. Spoon into 6 buttered six-ounce baking dishes, pressing firmly on bottoms and sides. Break egg into center of each. Spoon 1 tablespoon of tomato juice over each egg; sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until egg is set. Enjoy!

Grilled Pineapple

Mom recently went to a fundraiser for Haymarket Center. She brought home the menu because she thought I might like a bunch of the dishes served. She was right. One interesting item was the salad with grilled pineapple. I had not thought about grilling pineapple before, so I had to give it a try. I used canned pineapple for its convenience. Fresh pineapple could easily be used as well. I thought that using slices was easier to flip than using chunks, but chunks would grill up just fine. This salad was a great use of the grilled pineapple. I also think grilled pineapple could be used as a dessert when served with ice cream or cake.

Grilling pineapple is quite easy. I used my grill pan on the stovetop. You could also use an outdoor grill. The salad from Mom's menu called for some fancy items, like Boston Bibb, Radicchio, Arugula, Frisse, shaved almonds, Peruvian peppers, tomato garnish, Gouda cheese, and red wine vinaigrette. I was able to recreate the salad. I did have to use regular sweet pepper. I also could not find frisse, which is a type of endive. But otherwise, the salad was delicious.  

Grilled Pineapple 

• 1 can pineapple sliced, drained
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• olive oil or butter for grill pan

Place the pineapple slices in a ziplock bag. Mix the lime juice and brown sugar together; pour into the ziplock bag. Allow the pineapple to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Heat a grill pan greased with olive oil or butter. Place the slices on the pan and grill for three to five minutes per side. Serve on a salad. Enjoy!

Strawberry Pop Tarts

Pop Tarts made a regular appearance in my childhood. Recently Jerry Seinfeld's movie about Pop Tarts, Unfrosted, came out and reminded me of my love for Pop Tarts. I have not had store-bought Pop Tarts in a long time, but I do not think Pop Tarts would taste as good now as they do in my memory. So, I decided to make homemade pop tarts. These pop tarts are so much better than any store-bought Pop Tart could ever be.

The pastry is a pie crust, so the resulting pop tarts are nice and flaky. And using strawberry preserves is much better that the goo that you find the store-bought version. This recipe yields eight pop tarts based on the four by three inch size. You could make smaller or larger pop tarts, at your preference.

Strawberry Pop Tarts 

• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter, cold and cubed
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 1/2 tsp. honey
• strawberry preserves
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• dash vanilla
• sprinkles, optional

In a large bowl, blend flour, sugar, and salt. Use a pastry cutter to cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Pour in cold water and honey while mixing until a dough ball forms. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. Roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 3x4 inch rectangles. Place a rectangle on a lined baking sheet. Spread about a tablespoon of strawberry preserves onto the bottom, leaving about a 1/4 inch edge. Brush water onto the edge to help the top lay stick. Place a second rectangle over the preserves. Crimp the edges of the two layers together. Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool. Combine the powdered sugar, water, and vanilla to make the frosting. Spread onto each pop tart. Add sprinkles. Enjoy!

Fish Fillets Florentine

This recipe has only 3 ingredients and is so easy to make. Dishes that use spinach are often called Florentine, although there is some dispute over how this came to be; it seems to be based on Italian influences on French cooking.

I used tilapia because it is such an easy and light fish. But just about any fish could work well. The only other ingredients are spinach and cream of potato soup. When I made this recipe, I served it over noodles. Any type of noodle, rice, or grain could nicely accompany this dish. In making this recipe, I accidentally added the entire can of soup to the spinach, so I just spread some of the mixture in the pan and the rest covering the fish.

Fish Fillets Florentine 

• 2 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 can condensed cream of potato soup
• 1 pound fish fillets

Mix the spinach and half the can of soup. Spread into a 9x9 pan or a 9-inch pie pan. Top with fish. Then spread remaining soup over the fish. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

Brigadeiro

Brigadeiro is a lovely Brazilian chocolate candy treat. Brigadeiros have a rich fudge-caramel flavor. The Brigadeiro is named for Brazilian Edwardo Gomes who was active in Brazilian military and politics. This dessert was created during Gomes's presidential candidacy in 1945. This version is the traditional recipe. Other flavors have been developed, which I will have to try another day. I was introduced to these tasty treats by Rich and Christen at a Brazil night dinner at their house in honor of their friend Nick visiting from Brazil.

Like many Brazilian desserts, Brigadeiros feature sweeten condensed milk. Cooking the sweetened condensed milk gives this dessert a nice caramel flavor that blends well with the chocolate. Like any candy, while making the Brigadeiros, it is important to keep stirring to prevent burning. You can make these treats ahead. They will last in the refrigerator for about a week.

Brigadeiros 

• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• dash of salt
• chocolate sprinkles
• mini baking cups for serving

Butter a large plate and set aside. In a heavy bottom pan, heat the sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder, butter, and salt on medium for about 15 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to stir. The mixture will slowly thicken. It is done when the spoon runs through the middle and it does not run back together for about 3 seconds. Pour the mixture onto the buttered plate and refrigerate for one hour. Set up mini baking cups and a bowl of sprinkles. Before rolling the dough into balls, butter your hands. Use about a tablespoon of dough to create a ball, then roll each ball in  sprinkles. Place each Brigadeiro in a mini baking cup. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Onioniest Burgers

MDS is a burger fan. When we eat out, he frequently orders burgers. Recently, we ate at Scratch on Lake in Oak Park and found a burger called the French Onion Burger. The burger was inspired by French onion soup. Of course MDS had it without the cheese. It was a very oniony burger. So this recipe is inspired by that tasty burger.

When I made these burgers, I made two large half-pound burgers. But you could easily make these burgers smaller or even slider size burgers. For fancy burgers, I prefer pretzel buns or brioche buns. But I also like English muffins for burger buns. I usually broil the burgers, but you could use any cooking method that you might like.

Onioniest Burger 

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 envelope onion soup mix

Toppings

• caramelized onions
• crispy french fried onion

In a bowl, blend the ground beef, onion, egg, and onion soup mix.  Form into burgers of your preferred size. Place burgers on a pan and broil for about 10 minutes. Flip burgers and broil for 5-10 minutes more. Serve the burgers on the buns of your choice topped with caramelized onions and french fried onions. Enjoy!

Fruit Cocktail Dessert

This dessert is easy to make and quite delicious. When I was a kid, I loved fruit cocktail, especially the one or two cherries that you might be lucky to find. This cake uses a can of fruit cocktail, so I guess it is a variation on a fruitcake. But it is not like a stereotypical fruitcake that is hard and stiff. This cake is soft and chewy with a sweet fruit flavor.

When I made this cake, I did not have a 10x7 pan as called for in the recipe, so I used a 9x9 pan. I just had to adjust the cooking time to about 35 minutes instead of 40 minutes. The recipe says to serve the cake topped with whipped cream. Next time, I will have maraschino cherries to add one to the top of each piece.

Fruit Cocktail Dessert 

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1 medium size can fruit cocktail, drained
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together. Then mix together the dry ingredients with the egg and fruit cocktail. Pour batter into a greased 10x7 pan. Mix together the brown sugar and chopped pecans. Spread over the top of the batter. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve the cake topped with whipped cream. Enjoy!