Perfect Hardboiled Eggs

Having grown up with my mom boiling eggs to death, I set out early in my cooking career to find the perfect hard boiled egg technique. I'm definitely a "white of the egg" person, and can only stand eating egg yolks when they are perfectly yellow with a creamy, slightly soft center. The technique below has held up with repeat testing. And it's so easy, you will wish you thought of it first!

Say "ADIOS" to chalky, green yolks... the recipe is below!

Perfect Hardboiled Eggs (according to Lydia)

1. Place eggs gently in a single layer in a pot, and just cover the tops of the eggs with cold water. 
2. Bring water to a boil on the stovetop, then immediately turn off the heat and cover the pot for 10 minutes. 
3. Drain hot water, and run cold water over eggs for a few minutes. Peel and eat! 

Resuming Where We Left Off

First, I'm not quite sure why I haven't posted in 8 months. Although the timing of the abrupt stoppage was coincidentally around the time when 4th year rotations started. Thinking back, I have been alternating between busy and really really busy ever since rotations began. Work life does suck all the energy outta ya... The last thing I want to do when I finally get home after putting in my 9-10 hours at work is spend more time in the kitchen. 

So, less free time + much less energy = no cooking, and definitely no blogging.

But, I remembered why I started my blog in the first place (outlet source). And right now, I definitely need a distraction and a satisfying project in my life to take my whirling mind off of residency applications. Food + pics always places a warm, fuzzy feeling of accomplishment in me. 

I saw a picture of these individual portions of monkey bread on allrecipes.com (4th or 5th favorit-est website) yesterday. Had all the ingredients. Had a little bit of time. Was and have been craving sweets.  Sooo... I got my lazy butt off of the couch and peeled my eyes away from Big Bang Theory for a moment. Voila! Be warned, these go fast- I can probably eat all 6 in one sitting if I allowed myself!  

Monkey Bread in a Muffin Tin - modified from allrecipes.com 

(makes 6 muffins)

1 12 oz. can biscuit dough

1/4 cup white sugar

1-2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tbsp. butter

1. Preheat oven 375 degrees F. Line 6 muffin tins with paper liners. 
2. Combine white sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Cut each biscuit into quarters, and thoroughly coat each piece of dough in cinnamon-sugar mixture. (Alternately, you can place the cinnamon-sugar in a large ziplock bag, add biscuit dough pieces, then shake to coat.) Place 6-7 pieces of dough in each muffin tin. 
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine butter and brown sugar. Bring to a bubbling simmer, stirring constantly, and heat until sugar is dissolved. Spoon mixture evenly over each muffin tin. 
4. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until biscuit dough is lightly springy. 

Banana Crumb Muffins

I whipped up a batch of these banana muffins in under an hour when hanging out with a friend last week.  It's a fast, easy, high-reward recipe. Not only do they taste delicious, but also the smell of fresh muffins wafting out of the oven is better than any store-bought home fragrance! I wrap these up individually in plastic wrap, and grab-and-go as I rush out the door in the mornings, so they can be a perfect morning breakfast for those of us who aren't morning persons.

A few modifications on my part: I don't typically worry too much about fat or caloric content in my baking, but I followed a couple of the tips from other reviewers of this recipe. The healthy additions certainly do not detract from the recipe! Butter (in the batter) can be substituted with vegetable/canola oil or applesauce. Also, I try to use a combination of brown and white sugar instead of all white sugar in the batter.

Banana Crumb Muffins
modified from Allrecipes.com

1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 bananas, mashed
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 c. melted butter or canola oil

1/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 12 muffin tins or line with muffin liners. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, egg, and 1/3 cup butter (or canola oil). Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. 
3. In a small bowl, mixture together remaining brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter. Stir until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins. 
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

bon appetit! 

Crepes Galore

Crepes are easy, as I found out a few Sundays ago. You just wait, reclining comfortably on the sofa, and it's brought out to you, fresh off the stove! I guess I should preface, I had some hard-at-work folks in the kitchen to make this delightfuliousness happen! 

The Crew

The Crepes Recipe

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 pinch salt

1 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil + more for pan (or substitute with butter!)

Dash of vanilla extract (optional) 

Directions: 

1. Blend together eggs, milk, flour, salt, oil, and vanilla extract (if using) using either a blender or hand-mixer. Mix until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. (We didn't have the patience to wait- so chill for as long as you have will be fine.) 
2. Heat skillet with a flat surface (or crepe pan) on medium heat, and spray cooking spray on surface of pan. Pour 1/4 cup batter (batter should be thin) onto pan, tilting to completely cover surface of pan. Cook 2 to 5 minutes, turning once, until golden. Repeat with rest of batter. 
3. Filling: Fill crepes with assortment of cut-up fruit (bananas, strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, etc.), fruit sauces (See Blueberry Sauce below), sweetened cream cheese, chocolate chips, Nutella, etc. Drizzle with chocolate/caramel sauces, and top with whipped cream. 
4. Blueberry Sauce: Combine 1 1/2 c. blueberries and 1 tbsp. cornstarch in saucepan. Add enough water to cover bottom of pan. Bring to boil, stirring until desired consistency is reached. Sweeten with sugar if desired. 

The "Everything" Crepe
with mango chunks, bananas, blueberry sauce,
chocolate sauce and whipped cream on the outside!

One of the Fatties (I was the other)

Christmas Morning and The Crustless Quiche

The Ideal Christmas Morning:
Waking up early, full of excitement for the day to begin. Running downstairs to be with family and opening presents in front of the toasty fireplace. Holiday smells and warmth from the kitchen permeating every room.

Yep, that's how the movies always show it, so why can't I have a little part of it?

I woke up Christmas morning knowing I was headed off to work in a few hours. But I made the most of the few hours I had. I was an inventor and creative mind this morning, concocting the most delicious quiche (if I do say so myself), which made me feel super productive. But then again, what doesn't taste good with bacon, cheese, and eggs? Happy holidays!

The Crustless Quiche

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 roma tomato, diced
3 strips of cooked bacon, roughly crumbled
5 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cup cheese (I used a mixture of Parmesan and Cheddar)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin pan. (Make sure to grease sides and bottoms!)
2. Heat oil in saute pan. Toss in diced onions and cook until onions are soft and translucent. (My onions ended up a bit charred- result of too little oil and too much heat too fast, but it was fine nonetheless). Toss in tomatoes, and cook until moisture is gone. Add a 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste. Remove mixture from heat.
3. Season beaten eggs with a dash of salt and pepper. Add in onions, tomatoes, bacon, and cheese. Stir until combined.
4. Pour mixture into muffin tins, filling each muffin tin until 2/3 full.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.