Guest Post: Spinach and Eggs Baked in Tomato Cups

Hey guys!  Just thought I'd let you know that I'm still on 'vacation' and enjoying every moment of it. ;)  

I miss you guys, though!  It's weird not being on blogger every day!  Anyway, I'll be back next week with pictures and recipes.  I promise!

Until then, I'm lucky to have a delicious guest post from Sheila.  If you haven't visited her blog, you're missing out.  Her photos are gorgeous and she always seems to pick the best recipes!  

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Hello everyone! My name is Sheila from Elements, and when Katie asked me if I would be a guest blogger, I was honored! I love all her tempting and mouth-watering recipes, and I always look forward to seeing the next thing she's baking.

Anyway, I had a hard time deciding what to share with you today, but I finally decided on something that I think not only looks beautiful on your plate but also tastes great!

It's a spinach and cheese mixture that's stuffed inside a cored out tomato and baked with an egg on top.

Every bite is packed with flavor, and it's a meal we certainly plan to enjoy again and again. :)

Spinach and Eggs Baked in Tomato Cups

Adapted from: Recipes from my Mom

Ingredients:

• 5 large tomatoes
• 5 large eggs
• 8 oz. fresh baby spinach leaves
• feta cheese
• ricotta cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup finely diced onions
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. pesto paste (I used Amore pesto paste)
• salt and pepper to taste
• dried basil and oregano for sprinkling
• Optional: 1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers (add them if you end up making your filling a bit too leaky)

Instructions:

Step One:  Prepare the Spinach

• Wash the spinach leaves, and then place them in a large pot with about 1 quart of water.
• Cover with a lid, and cook on medium high heat until the spinach wilts.
• Drain the water off the spinach, and then set the spinach aside so it can cool.
• After the spinach cools, squeeze the excess water out of it.

Step Two:  Make the Filling

• Mix some crumbled feta cheese, ricotta cheese, and Parmesan cheese into the spinach. We didn't measure...just added a little of each.
• Then stir in the pesto paste, nutmeg, and some salt in pepper.
• Add some crushed saltine crackers to thicken up the mixture if needed. You want it to be creamy...not thin and watery.

Step Three:  Assembly

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a glass baking dish with a little oil.
• Horizontally cut the tops off the tomatoes, and then core out the centers. (Use the centers that you cored out for another meal.)
• Place the tomatoes in the greased dish.
• Add stuffing to the insides of the tomatoes, filling them up almost to the top, making sure to leave enough room at the top for the egg.
• Crack an egg onto the top of each stuffed tomato.
• Sprinkle some dried oregano and basil on the top of each each egg.

Step Four:  Bake the Tomatoes

• Bake uncovered until the egg whites are firm.
• Sprinkle with a little bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Serve warm.

Yumm, these look amazing Sheila.  Thank you!! :)

P.S. Yesterday was Kellen's 21st birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY to him! 

Breakfast Pie

I'm so honored because I received the Operation Beautiful Award from Lizzie.

She's a wonderful new blogger so go check her out! :)  Thanks, Lizzie! <3

This is what you have to do:


-Write 3 things you like about your looks.
1. I like my face.
2. I like my hair.
3. I like my nails.

-Write 3 things you appreciate about your personality.
1. I like that I'm honest.
2. I like that I can (sometimes ;)) make people laugh.
3. I like that I would be willing to help anybody out that needed it.

-Write about something you find beautiful in other people.
I love when people are caring and compassionate.  I think that anybody can be beautiful as long as they're pretty on the inside.

-Award as many other people as you like and let them know!

Oh gosh, there are too many people that I want to give this to!
How about if you're reading this, you can do it on your blog and say it's from me! :)  You're all deserving of it.

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In other news, I made a breakfast pie.

Kellen hates pie.  Somehow we got to talking about whether or not he would like a savory pie and he said he didn't know.  So... I made one.  And it was delicious!!

:)

Breakfast Pie

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie shell
4 sausage patties
4 eggs
1 potato
3/4 cup cheese
Seasoned salt to taste

Topping (optional... I kind of thought it was too much with the crust):
1 cup all-purpose flour1 teaspoons baking powder1/8 teaspoons salt4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces1 tbs milk or buttermilk

Directions:

1.  Peel potato and cut into small pieces.
2.  Boil potato until it starts to get soft, but not completely cooked.  Set aside.
3.  Cut up sausage patties and microwave for 1 minute, or until warm, but not completely cooked.
4.  In a saucepan, combine potatoes, sausage, and eggs.  Keep stirring on stove for about 1 minute.
5.  Layer pie shell with the 3/4 cup cheese and potato, sausage, and egg mixture.  Salt to taste.
6. *Optional: Mix first 3 ingredients in a small bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until it forms small crumbs.  Add milk.
7.  Layer topping over the pie.
8.  Bake 30-40 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

EatStrong {Veggie & Egg Quinoa}

 
I was fortunate enough to be able to sample EatStrong's new Trail Mix and Energy Bar. 

The Energy Bar is basically a huge bar of peanut butter with a nice crunch to it and "chocolate chips" (organic cocoa) liberally incorporated throughout, but still only has the average 230 calories most energy .  I didn't know what to expect when I opened it because the color is a bit off-putting... but the taste is so good!  And it kept me full for a few hours. 

The snack mix includes cashews, flax, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pistachios, almonds, and organic cocoa drops.  The bag has the perfect amount to satisfy and is full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.  The chocolate drops were obviously my favorite, but the rest was good, too.  The snack mix is a little more calorie dense, but only by a little bit at 260.  It also kept me full for quite a while.

I was pretty impressed with the products and the simple ingredient list.  It's convenient and delicious.  Try it out!!

I figured I'd keep with the healthy topic and give a healthy recipe today because I do actually try to eat well aside from all the baking I do. 
 

Veggie and Egg Quinoa (For one)

Ingredients 

1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup water
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 a medium sized onion
1 plum tomato
1 egg
Seasoned Salt to taste
Garlic Salt to taste

Directions

1.  Bring the water to a boil and add your quinoa.  Cook quinoa until the water has soaked up.
2.  Chop the veggies and heat in the microwave 1-2 minutes.
3.  Cook your egg however you want it.  I scrambled mine.
4.  Add all ingredients in a saucepan and saute for 2-5 minutes.