Andyboy Cooks!

Something I have yet to master...

Cinnamon and Banana Oatmeal

I'm an oatmeal junkie. There I said it. My favorite breakfast is oatmeal, my favorite cookies are oatmeal, the list goes on. The only thing about people who make oatmeal for breakfast is that they don't know how to make it taste good. They know it's healthy and they eat it for the many benefits of it, but they don't know how to spruce it up without adding all kinds of sugar and other "bad" things to make it delicious. Well I'm here to tell you how, people! I've been tinkering with different oatmeal recipes for a long time now and this one is probably my favorite. It's very simple, very good for you and takes no time at all to make. Enjoy.

Cinnamon and Banana Oatmeal

1/2 cup of instant oatmeal
3/4 cup of water
3 pinches of cinnamon
1 pinch of nutmeg
6 packets of Splenda (less or more, depending on your taste)
1/2 banana, sliced
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup Soy Milk (I prefer Vanilla for this)

Put all ingredients except for the soy milk in a microwave safe bowl, mix and then cook for 3.5 minutes. Remove and stir. Add soy milk and spinkle with cinnamon.

Cinnamon Rolls

 

I decided to whip these up after I saw a recipe for them on foodgawker. Not bad but not great. I don't mean that the recipe isn't great, it's fine. It's just that this kind of cinnamon roll isn't really my taste. I'm more a sticky bun kind of guy. Also, I didn't use a bread maker. I made them by hand, so you can do it that way if you like. And I threw in some raisins. Here is the recipe, care of Blogchef.net.

Cinnamon Rolls


Ingredients:

Dough
¾ cup warm water (+plus 2 tablespoon of water)
2 tablespoons butter
2 ½ cups bread flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon bread machine yeast

Filling
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter (softened)

Glaze
1 cup powdered  sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk


Step 1: Put ¾ cup warm water, 2 tablespoon warm water, 2 tablespoons butter, bread flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, salt and bread machine yeast in a bread machine and start on the dough cycle.

Step 2: When dough is complete roll it out with a rolling pin on a floured surface into a 9” square.

Step 3: In a measuring cup mix cinnamon and granulated sugar. Spread the 2 tablespoons of softened butter over the dough and top with the cinnamon mixture. Roll up the dough tightly. Cut into 1” slices and place into a lightly greased baking dish. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.

Step 4: Remove plastic wrap and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Step 5: Meanwhile, in a bowl mix together powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Drizzle over cinnamon rolls and serve.
(Makes About 9 Rolls)

Eggs Benedict Pizza

 

Eggs Benedict is a dish that consists of a half of an English muffin, topped with ham or bacon, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce.

Here's an idea that I've been toying with for a while. I adore eggs benedict but I always felt that the english muffin was kind of a weak point in the dish. So why not try it with pizza? It worked out really well, in my humble opinion. To sum up, I made the dough, made indiviual sized pizzas, brushed it with olive oil, then put on some fresh spinach and prosciutto and baked them for about ten minutes. When they were done I put two poached eggs on each one and then drizzed them with hollandaise sauce. Pretty simple and VERY delicious. The pizza tutorial and eggs bene recipe are below.

Pizza - click here.

Eggs Benedict

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vinegar
4 eggs
4 thin slices Canadian bacon
2 English muffins Hollandaise sauce:

3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon hot water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and hot
Salt and pepper
Paprika
Chopped parsley

Directions

In a large skillet, bring 2 inches of water and the vinegar to a boil. Crack one egg into a glass. Reduce water to a simmer and pour egg into water in one quick motion. Quickly add remaining eggs. Let eggs cook for 4-5 minutes. The white should be firm but the yellow should be runny. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

In a non-stick skillet heat the bacon until warm.

For the sauce: Place yolks, water and lemon juice into blender. Blend for 1 minute. With blender running, pour butter through open hole of blender lid. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

To assemble eggs benedict: Top each muffin with bacon and a poached egg. Pour warm sauce over and garnish with paprika and chopped parsley.

Sunday Morning Frittata

 

 

A frittata is a type of Italian omelette that frequently features fillings such as meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Like a traditional French omelette, a frittata is prepared in a skillet. However, whereas an omelette is cooked on a stovetop and served folded, a frittata is first partially cooked on a stovetop but then broiled to finish and served open-faced.

This is another one of those must-know recipes because, like pizza and pasta, it's cheap, it's delicious and it's an excellent way to use up leftovers in the fridge. For example, for the frittata you see above, I browned some turkey sausage in a pan with some olive oil, then added some cooked peppers, mushrooms, red onions and asparagus and sauteed them just enough to heat them through. I added the eggs (eight total, whipped up with some salt, pepper and water) and poured them over the goodies in the pan. Then I added some tomatoes, brie and parmigiano reggiano (always add those at the end) and after a few minutes it went into the oven. About seven minutes later, presto. Here's the method (after a few efforts you will probably want to tweak it a little to suit your tastes). Recipe from Low Carb Diets.

 

1. Adjust top oven rack - with a skillet (ovenproof!) on it, you want the top of the skillet to be 4-6 inches from the broiler. Turn on broiler.
2. Put skillet (preferably 12" nonstick) on stove and add about a tablespoon of oil. Add any raw vegetables or meat you want in your frittata and saute them until done, adding any herbs, spices, and salt you desire.
3. Add any cooked ingredients and heat them through.
4. Whisk eggs (12 eggs for a thick frittata in a 12" skillet, fewer eggs for a thinner frittata or in a smaller skillet) with salt, pepper, and 3 Tablespoons of water, milk, half and half, or cream. (Half and half is said to produce the best results.) If using cheese, add about half to the eggs (or you can save all of it for the top). Add egg mixture to skillet.
5. On medium heat, cook eggs for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom with heat-resistant spatula. When eggs are mostly cooked but still very wet, stop stirring. You want to see cooked egg scattered throughout, but loose egg in between.
6. Continue cooking on stove for another minute so underside sets.
7. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Put skillet under broiler. Watch carefully while top browns. This will take 2-4 minutes
8. Remove skillet from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes to finish cooking in center.