Baked Avocado and Egg

My husband actually found this recipe and sent it along for me to try. It was so obvious that these two ingredients would be perfect together, not sure why we didn’t try it sooner. It tasted like a mashed potato almost with its rich, creamy taste due to the avocado and saltiness with the egg.

The first time around I cooked the egg a little too much making it more of a over-medium style, which I think was fine, but I prefer it to be a little more gooey in texture. The best part of this recipe is you can add anything you want for toppings – bacon (or in our case, fake bac’n), chives, green onions, shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa and more.

Ingredients:

•          Avocado
•          2 Eggs
•          Salt/pepper
•          Topping Options: Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream, Salsa, Bac’n Bits

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice avocado in half, take out pit. Place the avocado slices on a baking pan. Crack one egg into each avocado slice (*don’t worry if egg drips out a bit). Sprinkle whatever you want on top – cheese, bac’n bits, etc. Place in oven and cook till your eggs [are done how you] desire. Around 10-15 minutes for soft-medium, 15-20 for medium. Top with sour cream, salsa or green onions.

Veggie Quesadilla

Ingredients:

•          Large flour tortillas
•          Grated cheddar cheese
•          Olive oil
•          Chopped onions
•          Chopped green peppers
•          Avocado – smashed into guacamole

Instructions:

Heat a large cast iron frying pan to medium high heat. Add a small amount of oil and spread it around the bottom of the pan. Cook your onions and peppers for five-seven minutes, and then remove and place in separate bowl. Next, take one large flour tortilla and place it in the same pan.

Spread your avocado mixture on the bottom of the tortilla. Next, take a handful of grated cheese and sprinkle over the top of the tortilla. Then, add cooked onions and peppers (and anything else you may like, just don’t overload it).

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add second tortilla on top and press down to secure. Let cook for five or so minutes until you can tell cheese is melting. Check that bottom tortilla is crispy by using a spatula to lift up. The tortilla is slightly browned and crispy, flip over carefully. Once other side is crispy, remove from pan and cut into four wedges.

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Potato Skins with Veggie Bac'n Bits

Ingredients:

•          Russet potatoes
•          Olive oil
•          Kosher salt
•          Freshly ground pepper
•          Veggie bac’n bits
•          Shredded cheddar cheese
•          Sour cream
•          2 green onions, thinly sliced, including the greens of the onions

Instructions:

Scrub the potatoes clean, then rub with olive oil and bake in the oven on 400 degrees F. for an hour. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let cool enough to handle. Cut in half horizontally. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out the insides, reserving the scooped potatoes for another use, leaving about 1/4 of an inch of potato on the skin. Increase the heat of the oven to 450°F. Brush or rub oil or canola oil all over the potato skins, outside and in. Sprinkle with salt. Place on a baking rack in a roasting pan and cook for 10 minutes on one side, then flip the skins over and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle.

Arrange the potato skins skin-side down on the roasting pan or rack. Sprinkle the insides with freshly ground black pepper, cheddar cheese, and bac’n bits. Return to the oven. Broil for an additional 2 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven. Use tongs to place skins on a serving plate. Add a dollop of sour cream to each skin, sprinkle with green onions.

Green Bean French Fries & Basil Aioli Sauce

•          ½ Package of  Trader Joe’s Green Beans (8 ounces)
•          1 cup of flour
•          1 egg
•          1/2 cup of skim or almond milk
•          3 cups of Panko bread crumbs
•          2 teaspoons of garlic powder
•          2 teaspoons of paprika
•          2 teaspoons of salt
•          2 teaspoons of pepper

For Aioli Dipping Sauce:

•          2 tablespoons of olive oil
•          ¼ cup of basil leaves or 3-4 frozen basil tablets
•          ½ teaspoons of lemon juice
•          1 medium garlic clove, pressed
•          1/2 cup of mayonnaise

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Fill a large pan with water and bring to a boil. Blanch the beans for 5 minutes and immediately remove them and drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water to stop cooking.

Gather three medium-sized bowls. In the first bowl, combine the flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. In the second bowl, combine the egg and milk, whisking to combine. In the third bowl, place the Panko.

Pat the beans dry and dredge in the flour mixture, then into the milk/egg mixture, and finally into the Panko to coat. Arrange the beans in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil which has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake beans for 18-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

While baking, put all your aioli ingredients into a blender and mix together.  Refrigerate until served.

Banana Cream Pocket Pies

I got a Wilton's mini pie press and finally used it this weekend to make mini banana cream pies. I wanted something easy to make and even easier to eat. These mini pocket pies remind me of the ones I used to get during college to crave my sweet tooth, but they only had Bostom cream pies and fruit pies, but not my favorite type of pie - the banana cream pie. I modified a standard banana cream pie recipe and simplified even more by using store bought pie crust.

 
I just rolled out the crust and used the mini pie press to cut out the right size. Then, filled with the pie filling recipe below, a few thin banana slices and baked for around 20-25 mins at 400 degrees on a baking sheet.

They came out great. And for an added bonus I made some whipped cream to dip them in. So, good. My next pie? A savory one for sure.

Banana Cream Pie Filling:

• 1 ½ bananas
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup corn starch
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla