Baked Eggs: Eggs Squared!

My daughter turned 9 this past weekend. I remember when her older sister was turning 5 and thought to myself - I can't believe I have a 5 year old. Now I have an 11 and 9 year old - and I am still in disbelief! How do they keep getting older while my hubby and I manage not to age?
Unfortunately, I know I am just kidding myself. I actually had a friend come over the other day who had not been to my new home. I was giving her the tour when she spotted a wedding picture of me and my hubby. She asked who the couple was in the photo. Not what a girl wants to hear - trust me. I said it was me and the hubby and she just laughed. (That's not a good sign - is it?)
One recipe that HAS stood the test of time is this recipe for Baked Eggs. Jensen, my newly 9 girl, asked that I make these for her birthday breakfast. The morning of her birthday I went to go wake her for school and this is what I found! Needless to say - I could have eaten THEM for breakfast and been totally satisfied!



This recipe was given to my mother from my grandmother, Anna Mae, years ago. It has been a family favorite ever since. Who doesn't love cheesy egg goodness first thing in the morning? I hope you love it as much as we do!

Baked Eggs
1 cup Bisquick
1 1/2 cup Cottage Cheese
1/2 pound cheddar cheese, grated
2 tsp. dehydrated chopped onions
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
6 eggs beaten
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. melted butter
Put melted butter in 9 x 13 dish. Mix all ingredients together and pour in baking dish. Bake at 350 for 45 to 55 minutes.



To have a perfectly "Well Rounded" meal - add Big Red Kitchen's Pancake Squares and some bacon and you have one great birthday breakfast! Don't forget to smother your whole plate with Maple syrup!

The Perfect Poached Egg!

Recently one of my girlfriends gave me some fresh eggs, straight from her chicken coup in her back yard. They looked too perfect to eat, and certainly too beautiful to put in any old recipe. What to do? I decided it was the perfect time to get out my new "Eggshell" poacher and eat these little jewels all by themselves.



The "Eggshell" comes with two silicone egg cups. Fill a pot with 2 to 3 inches of water. Bring water to a boil and float the "Eggshell" containing one egg in the water. Reduce heat to medium. Place the lid on the pan and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, depending on how firm you like your egg.



Remove "Eggshell" from the water. Run spoon around the inside of the cup and pop out your perfectly poached egg!
I love a poached egg, but usally end up with mostly egg yolk since my whites are left floating all over the water. These little silicone cups were perfect and kept my eggs completely intact!



Two thumbs up for this Perfect Product - The "Eggshell".

Quiche Craving!

The day Robin Sue and I did our "2 Cheap Chics" Blog we started our excursion with a wonderful lunch at a little outdoor cafe in Reston. The Quiche I had that day (pictured above) was probably the best quiche I have ever had. That one little piece (Ok it was the size of my head) probably had enough butter in it to kill a cow - but it was AMAZING! I haven't really stopped thinking about that wonderful slice of heaven, and so I decide to quench my quiche craving by making one for my family dinner.



I dug through my recipes and decide on one that always comes out creamy, cheesy and plain old perfect. Don't be afraid when you see mayonnaise on the ingredient list - it helps to make this ham and cheese dish rich and wonderful!

Creamy Ham and Cheese Quiche

1 (9-inch) Pie shell, thawed
2 cups shredded sharp cheese
1 cup chopped ham
1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 375. Toss together cheese, ham, and onion. Spoon into pie shell. Whisk together remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour over ham and cheese mixture. Bake 45 minutes, or until golden and knife inserted into center comes out clean.



It hit the spot on that warm October night - but I look forward to hitting that little lunch spot again some cold November afternoon!

Lunch: Think INSIDE the box

OK moms and dads - let me see a show of hands of how many of you are already tired of making the kid's lunch?
Oh good, I'm glad it's not just me. Every summer I get so excited about all the fun and nutritious things I am going to do for my daughters and just about this time of year - I am TOTALLY over it! I psych myself up with cute new lunch boxes for the girls - but the excitement never seems to last. This year we are trying the "Lunchopolis" lunch boxes. I do love the fact that they are bag-less. They come with the containers shown below.



The bummer is I am constantly washing them to make sure they are ready to pack in the morning. I guess it is a small price to pay for saving the planet! One treat my girls love is devil eggs. I have found they never travel well - until I starting thinking "Inside the Box"!



I purchased an egg "cuber" years ago and just dug it out at the beginning of the school year. The eggs seem to travel great. No sliding upside-down, and the kids get a kick out of the unconventional shape.



For those of you who have never seen a "Cuber" - it is composed of 4 parts. The Cube, the bottom plate, the top "pusher", and the screw top. As soon as you hard boil an egg, while it is still warm, you peel the shell and put it in the container. Screw the cap on and watch it "Cube up"!



Stick it in the fridge overnight and presto change-o, a square hard boiled egg.
How do you think "Inside the Lunch box"? I would love to have some new ideas for this old chore!

Cancer with a side of Egg Salad

If you have read my profile on blogger you know that I am a cancer survivor. When I was 36 years old, and on my way to tennis one day - my doctor called and told me that I carrying around two types of cancer. I totally held it together for that phone call, went and played my doubles tennis match (kick booty) and then proceeded to fall apart as I was leaving the court.
Since I didn't know the other two ladies my partner and I were playing that day - I'm sure I gave them a game they will never forget! Now that I think back on that - those poor ladies I lost it on. I'm sure they didn't know what to do! Let's face it - I didn't know what to do!



I immediately went out and bought books like the ones pictured above. I hunkered down and cried behind my closed doors as I mourned the loss of my boob, my hair and my mayo! That's right...I said MAYO! I love mayo. I love chocolate. I love chips. I love pretty much anything that has an ingredient list a mile long and is a color that is not normally found in nature!
The books I was reading were telling me that breast cancer cells need certain fatty acids to grow and a low fat diet is best.
This couldn't be. Mayo and I go way back. We're buds. He (Hellmann's) had gotten me out of many sticky stiuations. Not really but I was definitely in love with him! I thought I would never be able to love on my little man with the blue bowtie ever again.



I do still love him - DEARLY, but I have decided to start seeing less of him! I broke it to him gently and I think he took it pretty well. This egg salad is a wonderful rendezvous with my favorite bow-tied "Mann"



Rindy's Egg Salad
6 Hard boiled eggs, cooled
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2 tsp prepared Mustard
1 tsp. dill weed
1 tsp onion powder

Smash eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients! Enjoy on roll or toast!