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Lemon Herb Eggs in Ciabatta | The Pajama Chef

SRC: Lemon Herb Eggs in Ciabatta

November 5, 2012September 26, 2016 Sarah

For the month of November, my Secret Recipe Club assignment this month was Aly’s fun and fashionable blog, Cooking in Stilettos. As I say every month, I love being part of the SRC. It’s a fun way to try new blogs and recipes and be part of a great community. If you’ve missed my past SRC posts, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog… all while keeping your assignment a secret! Everyone else posts about their secret blog the same day. It’s fabulously fun to try out new blogs. If you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining! I highly recommend it.

Aly has an amazing collection of recipes on her blog. I had such a hard time just picking one! She is a self-taught cook and draws inspiration for her food from the people and places around her–most notably her grandfather, or as she lovingly called him, her Bampa. I just love Aly’s tribute to him on her blog–I feel the same way about my own grandpa. If I had planned ahead, it would have been fitting to make one of his recipes, but alas–I did not. Instead, I made pretty much the awesomest brunch dish EVER.

This impressive looking Lemon Herb Eggs in Ciabatta looks complicated, but is in fact quite simple to make. [Just don’t tell anyone!] And you know what? It’s as tasty as it looks [even if it sounds weird].

Despite any preconceived notions you might have about what should go with egg, you should definitely give this recipe a fair shot. It’s the most light and refreshing egg dish I have ever had. And eggs aren’t something I would consider to be heavy… but there’s just something about the lemon-herb combo that just squeals “refreshing!!!”

Since lemon isn’t actually mixed with egg, this dish isn’t quite as bizarre as it sounds. The lemon flavor is baked into the crust, also known as the shell for a snappy herb egg bake. In order to achieve this, the ciabatta shell is brushed with a mixture of herb-infused olive oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest… then toasted, prior to adding the egg-herb-bread filling. This gives the bread maximum flavor for minimum effort… especially if you purchase the bread from a bakery, like I did.

I infused my olive oil with an Italian seasoning that is actually intended for olive oil, you know, those gourmet food shop seasoning containers that you’re supposed to add to olive oil for bread dipping and whatnot? Well, that’s all I’ve used mine for actually. Then, for the herb-in-egg mixture, I used fresh parsley, since that pairs so well with lemon. We all know it’s more than that! Aly used chives, but I couldn’t find any fresh so I improvised.It’s not too often that a dish highlights parsley, and I didn’t want the parsley to feel like it was just a garnish. And here, it is so good.

I just don’t have anything more to say about this dish except that it’s so beautiful and stunning and EASY that you should make it this weekend and impress everyone you know. Even those of the feline variety. I was just trying to impress Ben on a recent Saturday morning, but the kitty wanted in on the action too.

Lemon Herb Eggs in Ciabatta

Servings: 4-6
Time: 15 minutes active & 45 minutes to bake
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from Cooking in Stilettos

Ingredients:

1 loaf fresh ciabatta bread
2 tablespoons herb-infused olive oil [I just mixed a bit of Italian seasoning with some good extra virgin olive oil]
1 teaspoon lemon juice
zest of half a lemon
4 large eggs
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a paring knife, hollow out the loaf of bread. Reserve for later. Then, mix together olive oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Brush on inside of ciabatta, then place on a baking sheet. Toast for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut reserved bread pieces into 1 inch pieces. Next, whisk the eggs, then stir in parsley, Parmesan, pepper, and milk. Add the bread cubes and stir gently to combine.

Remove toasted bread from oven, then pour in egg mixture.

Return to oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until eggs are fully cooked. Cut into pieces and serve immediately.

Notes: This is best fresh, but leftovers aren’t bad. Just toast in the oven to reheat. Also, original baking time was listed as 35-40 minutes, but mine definitely took 45. If it starts to brown too much on top while baking, just cover with foil.

Be sure to check out the other fabulous recipes posted today [click below] for this week’s SRC reveal. Have a great day!

Appetizers, Recipes

Mexican Rollups

October 25, 2012June 5, 2015 Sarah

So, I think I’ve mentioned a time or two that the first Sunday every month I organize food for a church event. It usually appears on my Menu Plan as an “appetizer and dessert” night. Sometimes “organizing” means planning, shopping, recruiting help to cook/bake, and setting/cleaning up the actual event. Other times, things are a little more involved. For one reason or another, I end up doing most of the cooking and baking. And that’s okay. For the most part, I don’t mind since I love food. But sometimes that gets a wee bit time consuming. So those months, I turn to something easy and delicious that I know everyone will love. Something that is always a hit are my Mexican Rollups. I think I’ve made these on [or had a friend make them] no less than three separate occasions. For someone who’s an avid nonrecipe repeater, how could I not when I had a cheesy, spicy hit on my hands? Each of these two-bite appetizers is absolute packed with taco spiced deliciousness. Black beans and corn. Two kinds of cheese. Cilantro. Onions. Salsa. All wrapped up in a soft flour tortilla. Amazing. Though they aren’t really healthy, I do have ideas for healthifying them [add spinach, cut down on cheese, etc.]… but I just haven’t. Sometimes you gotta be a bit excessive. Besides being tasty, these Mexican Rollups are incredibly easy to throw together in about 15 minutes or less. You can even make them a day or two ahead–for ease on the day of a party or get-together, as well as for better marriage of flavors. All you gotta do before serving is cut them up. Perfect, right? Or guess what… if you happened to not be making these for an event, I won’t tell anyone if you just eat them burrito-style. I may have done that a time or two…. shhhh! Just kidding. But now I am uber-tempted. Seriously though–these rollups are simple and well-loved. Every time I make them, I get so many compliments and recipe requests that I figured it would be easier to just blog about them. No one gets tired of them and they are always devoured [and I always make a double batch. Wowsers!]. One bite of this fresh yet indulgent Mexi-flavored app and you’ll see. 🙂 I guarantee anyone who tries them will agree… even those who say they don’t like black beans. There’s so much other good stuff in there. I don’t usually say that you have to try something… but you have GOT to try these. Enjoy!

Mexican Rollups

Servings: 80-100 slices, approximately 20-25 servings total
Time: 15 minutes + 2 hours to chill
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12 ounces cream cheese, softened [I used Neufchâtel]
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese [I’ve used Sharp Cheddar and a taco blend]
½ bunch cilantro, diced
6 green onions, chopped
1 package – 2 ounces – taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa
20 flour tortillas

Combine cream cheese, corn, black beans, cheese, cilantro, onions, and taco seasoning in a large bowl. Add sour cream and salsa gradually [if it seems too runny use less of either]. Microwave tortillas to just warm up before adding filling. Spread evenly in each tortilla and roll up tightly. Don’t overfill; you don’t want it to be difficult to roll. Place all tortillas in a baking dish, separating each layer of rolled tortillas with foil or wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting into small slices–approximately 4-5 per tortilla, and continue separating each layer with wax paper or foil.

Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes

Mom’s Lasagna

October 21, 2012 Sarah

So, I’m super excited about this pasta recipe I have to share with you today. It is my absolute favorite of all time. I know people say [myself included] that something is their favorite, or the best, and most of the time, that’s a huge exaggeration to emphasize how good something is. But this time… I am 100% serious. My Mom’s lasagna is my absolute favorite pasta dish, or dinner for that matter. It’s my Grandma’s recipe [the same Grandma of the famed blueberry muffins] and it can’t be beat. I just call it Mom’s Lasagna cause a) the recipe is from my mom, b) the recipe originated with her mom, and c) that’s how it’s written on the recipe card. That’s a lotta mom, so it’s gotta be good.

This lasagna is the perfect mix of cheesy goodness and rich tomato meat sauce. I recently started making my own sauce, and I can’t wait to share the recipe later in the week, btw. It’s made in the crockpot and it’s super easy and flavorful. But that recipe will have a chance to shine later–right now it’s lasagna’s turn. 🙂

I know a lot of lasagnas favor special ingredients like Italian sausage, veggies, or fancy cheeses, and those are good. I’ll never turn down a hearty slice of lasagna… but those aren’t the cozy, comforting lasagna from my childhood. I can’t tell you how many birthdays or weekend visits home from college featured this lasagna, and I’ll never get sick of eating it.

The base of the cheesy layer [aside from the mozzarella and parmesan] is not ricotta cheese, as many expect, but rather cottage cheese. I know that’s a semi-common substitute that may not sound the most appealing… but I promise promise PROMISE that using cottage cheese is not only a more frugal choice, but actually a creamier choice that highlights the flavor of the smooth mozzarella, sharp parmesan, chewy noodles, and sweet, bold tomato sauce. If you want to sub ricotta I won’t be offended [and actually have tried it myself], but I prefer cottage cheese in this and use ricotta other times.

Every bite of this saucy, meaty, cheesy hearty lasagna is savored, cherished, and devoured in our house. It’s actually a little embarrassing how much of the pan we can chow down on when it’s piping hot out of the oven. Now you can enjoy it too!

For the record, I’m not entirely sure why I haven’t shared this recipe on the blog yet, but I am glad I hadn’t. See, a few weeks ago I got an email from Sarah at Yahoo!’s Shine Supper Club inviting me to join the monthly recipe challenge club. Each month has a theme, and October’s happened to be favorite pasta recipes. So this was totally perfect!! If you have a blog, definitely check it out and see how you can get involved. I’ll be back later to link up other entries for this month so be sure to come back and check those out too.

We love this lasagna and hope you do too!

What’s essential to your favorite lasagna?

Mom’s Lasagna
click to print

Ingredients:

9 lasagna noodles [regular not no-cook]
1 pound ground beef
28 ounces spaghetti sauce [homemade or your favorite jarred sauce; can really use 24-36 ounces]
16 ounces cottage cheese [or ricotta]
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2-1 cup grated parmesan cheese [depending on preference]

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Begin by heating a large pot of water to boiling to cook the lasagna noodles. Next, brown ground beef and drain, then stir in spaghetti sauce.

Meanwhile, stir together cottage cheese, eggs, oregano, garlic, and black pepper. When water is boiling, cook noodles almost to al dente [I usually cook them a minute or so under the time on the package]. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water.

Prepare lasagna by first placing a layer of sauce [about 1/5 of the sauce] in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Top with 3 noodles, then 1/3 of the cottage cheese mixture, 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese, and a 1/3 of the parmesan cheese. Repeat twice, ending with a layer of sauce.

Bake, uncovered, for 60 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Time: 90 minutes [20 minutes active].

Yield: 8 servings.

Chicken, Main Dishes, Recipes

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce

October 16, 2012October 19, 2012 Sarah

So, if you’re on Pinterest, you probably have the same problem as the rest of us: you pin about a kazillion things on all your boards but never actually do any of them. Sigh. In order to remedy this, Lisa at The Splattered Apron has started an every other week linkup called Pinteresting Recipes. This is my first time to participate, and I am so excited!!

I love Pinterest and the ability to find great blogs and new ideas, as well as the obviously ability to save and share things for later. However, I absolute hate the way some people discuss the popular pin in the name/comment section. “Some pinner says…” Then they usually talk about how this is the best or most wonderful thing ever. Ugh. Don’t know why, but that just bugs me. And it kinda makes me want to boycott all pins that have those words attached to them, since they’re somehow tainted. Tainted with what? Popularity? I’m weird. But for this post, I decided to suck it up and try one of those popular pins. Because they must be good if they’re so popular, right?

I chose White Chicken Enchiladas from Joyful Mama’s Kitchen.

Here’s a photo of the original:

The pin of this recipe that I then pinned was labeled as “According to many pinners-THE BEST white chicken enchilada recipe ever!! Easy too.” See? Pet peeve right there! But is it worth the hype?

Here’s how mine turned out.

I must say, these White Chicken Enchiladas were pretty tasty and easy. The best? Well, I’m not sure I’d go quite that far, but they were delicious.

We loved how each bite of these enchiladas was full of flavor: tender shredded chicken and sharp cheddar cheese absolutely drenched in a luscious white sauce made with sour cream and sweet green chilies. The original recipe used all white cheese [Monterey Jack], but when I made these my grocery store was completely out, so I had to improvise. I’m sure they would be awesome either way–cheese is cheese, after all!

Will I make them again? Sure thing. They aren’t healthy or authentic Mexican food, but they do provide a good dose of cheesy comfort food. You can never have too many comfort food recipes. 🙂 So thanks to Pinterest for pointing me to this awesome new recipe and blog. On that note, I’ll close with a link to a post I recently read about Pinterest/blogging/internet etiquette. It’s a great read, so I hope you check it out. 🙂

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce [from Joyful Mama’s Kitchen]
click to print

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded cheese [Sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack]
10 soft tortillas [I used wheat]
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
4 ounce can diced green chillies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, stir together chicken and half the cheese. Divide bewteen tortillas, roll up, and place in pan.

Next, make the sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for one minute. Slowly pour in broth and whisk until smooth, then heat until sauce thickens and begins to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and chilies.

Pour sauce over enchiladas, then top with the rest of the cheese.

Bake enchiladas for 22 minutes, then broil for a minute or two until cheese becomes brown and bubbly.

Time: 45 minutes [15 minutes active].

Yield: 5 servings.

Recipes, Rice, Sides

Brown Rice, Feta, and Tomato Salad

August 29, 2012August 28, 2012 Sarah

I can’t believe it’s almost September! Yikes! Not just because the clock is continually ticking down to when I absolutely have to, have to, HAVE TO have my thesis done (December 15th, no exceptions) but because the end of my favorite produce season is almost near. Oh summer and your juicy peaches, sweet corn reminiscent of candy, fantastic watermelon, sweet tomatoes, crunchy peppers, how I love thee! Not that I don’t like the apples and pumpkins of fall [I mean, hello, I’m a pumpkin-obsessed girl here] or anything like that… but summer means relaxing strolls through the farmer’s market ~~while dripping in sweat because we went running beforehand~~ getting the absolute best fruits and veggies imaginable. And I’ll be sad to see that end. However, there’s still plenty of time to gather yummy summer foods so I’m going to do my best to share all my new favorite summer dishes now, before it’s too late.

This simple rice salad is one of those fabulous summer dishes that I wanted to be sure to share.

Brown Rice, Feta, and Tomato Salad is filled with pantry staples like brown rice and chickpeas, but is spiced up with three of my favorite things on the planet: cherry tomatoes, feta, and mint. Oh goodness, that combination gets me every time!

It is so so so good. You should have seen me trying to maneuver my bites as I ate this salad for lunch on campus last week. I was sitting in the shade of a huge maple tree, balancing my Kindle on my lap while trying to carefully construct each bite to contain a piece of tomato, a chickpea, some feta, and some mint, all while avoiding the rice clusters that I ate last because they weren’t as exciting. I’m sure I looked perfectly ridiculous… and for the record, this is all 100% true, even if that might sound a bit fabricated for the sake of a blog post. Eating outside while reading is pretty much what I do everyday it’s nice outside. I’m trying to break myself of the habit of eating at the computer/while I’m working, to give myself a break in the day. So far, it’s working pretty well. I’ll be terribly sad when late fall comes and it’s too cold to do that… but maybe soon after that I’ll land a great job in a warm climate and I can eat outside year round! That would be nice!

But until then… there’s this fabulous salad, with a wonderful mix of sweet and fresh flavors, paired with hearty grains and legumes [I just looked it up, chickepeas are legumes, fyi] and a little feta for some salty flavor. I think it’s best that I make it it again before tomatoes return to their dreary out-of-seasonness… and it would be remiss of me to not encourage you to do the same!

Brown Rice, Feta, and Tomato Salad [adapted from PBS Food]
click to print

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice, uncooked
1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped mint
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Prepare brown rice according to package directions. After brown rice is ready, set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, combine chickpeas, feta, tomatoes, and mint in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar.

Add about 2/3-3/4 of prepared rice to chickpea mixture and stir to combine. Don’t worry about being precise, just eyeball the amount. I was probably closer to the 2/3 mark. Pour dressing over and toss to coat. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serve warm or refrigerate for a cold lunch or side salad.

Time: 45 minutes [10 minutes active]

Yield: 4-5 servings.