Zesty Cook » eggs

Zesty’s Top 7 Ways to Use Bacon

zesty — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:00:18 +0000

I am working from home today with a sick boy and have a huge craving for bacon. I thought I would kick start your weekend with some pork fat goodness. You agree?

One of my top 25 foods of all time – BACON. It came to me as I was eating the breakfast all last week at Normandy Farm. Of course I scanned the whole buffet before I started to fill my plate, but I always gravitated towards the crispy bacon

Eating some breakfast and thinking about what to write, I thought that I would share with you 7 ways to cook with bacon that have been featured on zesty.

So here goes….

1. Bacon on Pizza

Whether it is traditional pizza using some leftovers or a kicked up portabella pizza – bacon is a great addition.

2. Chutney

I feature two chutney’s ( Apple Bacon Chutney and Pear Bacon Chutney ) so far and both were out of this world yummy. I attribute that to the bacon and to the slow cooking.

3. Bacon and Eggs with a Twist

One of my all time sunday morning favorites “Bacon and Eggs”. Try these fun little twists on a classic – Bacon and Eggs in a Bowl or a 2 minute Bacon Broccoli Scrambled Egg.

4. Bacon Wrapped Fruit

Once introduced to this lovely creation – I fell in love with Bacon wrapped Pineapple. Such a simple yet crowd pleasing treat.

5. Bacon in a Salad

I really do love adding bacon to many salads. I think i like the salty flavor it adds as well as the crunch. The one listed here is not your traditional salad, but this was very tasty with both the crunch walnuts and the firmness of the asparagus.

6. Bacon with Potatoes

Oh yeah – you cannot forget this incredible combination. Try kicking it up a notch at your next gathering with sweet potato skins with Bacon. These babies are amazing.

7. Bacon Mac and Cheese

Well well well… this is a must try if you love mac and cheese. The bacon really takes this over the roof and will make you very very happy.

So there you have it! A fun look at bacon and all its glory. Feel free to share this with your friends using the toolbar on the bottom. Have yourself a great Fridayand I will see you back on October…. Can you believe that?

Take care

zesty

The Power of the Hen

zesty — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:00:19 +0000

Good morning. A slightly different twist than my traditional post today. I wanted to talk to you about the power of the hen and the high quality food source called the “EGG”. Now I often don’t go on rants about health and protein balanced meals and if you saw my physique in full form you would know I do not frequent the gym everyday and pound protein shakes in on a regular basis. With that being said, I am a conscious eater and very much aware of what I am putting into my body. I tend to focus on things in moderation versus being overly strict with my consumption.

OK moving on to the story at hand. Eggs. Eggs are one of nature’s most nutritious foods. One large egg contains only 70 calories and an incredible amount of nutrition. Include eggs as part of your healthy diet and let the facts speak for themselves!

What’s in the Egg

Eggs are actually quite nutritious. They are not just fat (yolk) and protein (white). In fact, they contain a wide array of essential vitamins and minerals. Here is what’s in an egg…

Vitamins

A: good for the skin and growth.
D: strengthens bones by raising calcium absorption.
E: protects cells from oxidation.
B1: helps properly release energy from carbohydrates.
B2: helps release energy from protein and fat.
B6: promotes the metabolism of protein.
B12: an essential vitamin in the formation of nerve fibers and blood cells.

Minerals

Iron: essential in the creation of red blood cells.
Zinc: good for enzyme stability and essential in sexual maturation.
Calcium: most important mineral in the strengthening of bones and teeth.
Iodine: controls thyroid hormones.
Selenium: like vitamin E, it protects cells from oxidation.

Benefits

There are no nutritional differences between brown eggs and white eggs.
Eggs contain all nine essential amino acids, making them a complete protein food.
Eggs are one of the few foods that naturally contain vitamin D.
The egg yolk is the major source of the egg’s vitamins and minerals.
Two eggs provide one serving from the Meat and Alternatives group in Canada’s Food Guide.

Cooking Methods

Poached
Boiled
Scrambled
Fried
Hard-Boiled
Steamed
Coddled

Recipes

I wanted to share a few recipes over the past little while from myself that use eggs. There are so many recipes where eggs are the feature… below are a few.

Sources

Thanks so much for dropping in today. Eggs in my eyes are 2 things. Delicious and cheap. They are a great way to add protein in your diet for little cost and they are great for any time of the day. Look beyond breakfast when thinking eggs. Have a super Monday and I will touch base with you on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

Leftover Vegetables and Breakfast Eggs

zesty — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:30:13 +0000

Happy Canada Thanksgiving!

Ever have a lot of leftover vegetables from the night before and you are unsure what to do with them? Happens from time to time and I usually create a vegetable hash, veggie cakes or a vegetable puree but today I wanted to share something slightly different. Although this concoction is similar to a hash with the addition of a very special ingredient. Eggs. I love eggs and definitely could eat them everyday.

This recipe is super easy and really has no boundaries. A quick way to use leftover food from a previous meal and also an excellent way to kick start your day with energy. Add whatever else you may have on hand in this such as bacon, sausage, parsley or peppers – you name it. No boundary breakfast.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. Olive oil
Leftover smashed potatoes
Leftover grilled carrots
Leftover grilled corn
4 Eggs
Tomatoes
Whole Wheat Bread
Salt
Pepper

Method

Preheat saute pan over medium heat.
Add oil and potatoes and begin cooking through. Toss in carrots and corn and continue to saute. Once heated through, create a couple of holes in the pan for your eggs

Crack two eggs in each hole you create and let cook sunny side up.

Cook until eggs are complete, season with salt and pepper.
Serve with whole wheat toast and some fresh tomato slices.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: A little sauce goes really well with this dish. Sometimes I mix together ketchup, hot sauce and some barbecue sauce and serve on the side to dip into. You can pour it on top if you really love it.

I am on the road this week to Virginia however I will be continuing to catch up on the consulting side and posting on my normal days this week. I hope you have a great start to your week and I will touch base with you on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

Fridge Leftovers… Plus Eggs

zesty — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:25:10 +0000

Happy Friday! Sorry for the delay in posting. I actually never had time to write last night as we were at the house until 11:00pm prepping the upstairs for the painter today. Progress is moving along and things are starting to take shape. We picked out some plumbing fixtures today which are in stock… whoo hooo. We seem to be struggling on lighting fixtures but hopefully we can find something we like soon.

On to the food

Take a look at this dish… first glance you may think it is a little odd which may be true but I like to call this – the fridge leftovers plus some eggs. I had some left over potatoes, corn and mushrooms in the fridge and I was not sure what to do with it.

As you know I really hate throwing out perfectly good food so this is what I came up with.

Ingredients

Mushrooms
Corn
2 Eggs
2 Large Potato ( cooked and cubed)
1 Tbsp. Butter
Salt and pepper

Method

Add butter to a saute pan and heat to medium heat
Add mushrooms and begin to brown ( about 3 minutes )
Toss in potatoes and cook for 6 minutes; stir in leftover corn and mix thoroughly.
Create two hallow areas in the pan to crack the eggs.
Cover pan and let the eggs cook for about 4 minutes.
Remove and plate

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Never waste food! That is my tip. Just try making crazy dishes like this one and see what you like.

Alright – I have to run to a meeting and figure out some house stuff.

To Do List

Meet with the railing people
Pick out some lighting… please
Order the quarter -round molding
Confirm cabinet arrival on Monday

Hope you have a great day!

Take care

zesty

2 Minute Bacon Broccoli Scrambled Eggs

zesty — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:00:25 +0000

So as you know I pretty much packed the entire kitchen including pots, pans, spatulas etc so I decided to haul out the magic bullet and put it to the test. Bacon Mushroom scrambled eggs using the bullet and the microwave – too easy! The only thing I had to prep before hand was the bacon ( but I had left over anyway). It is a super efficient way to have a hearty breakfast when you have little time or little appliances.

This recipe boasts that it makes the fluffiest, most flavorful eggs you’ve ever tasted. I have to agree that they did taste pretty good but the best part was “No bowls, no chopping and no mess“.

Ingredients

3 Eggs
2 Slices Bacon
2 Slices of Cheddar cheese
1/2 Cup Chopped Broccoli
Splash of Skim Milk
Salt and Pepper

Method

Blend Eggs, milk, salt and pepper into Short Cup of Bullet.

Add bacon, and broccoli and pulse for 20 seconds.

Transfer to the microwave and cook for 2 minutes. Once you see the eggs around the edge start to firm up, pause the microwave and give the mixture a stir. Continue this process until complete.
Add your eggs to a plate.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For a fat free version just add egg whites instead of the whole egg. Of course you can omit the bacon and cheese as well or even substitute your favorite ingredients.

Well my time is running out this week for packing and prepping to close the deal on this house. There are still what feels like a million things to do but the list is getting smaller. I am still looking for a couple of guest posts for next week when I am out of town. Let me know if you are interested and hopefully we can work something out.

Have a great day and keep smiling.

Take care

zesty

Bacon and Eggs in a Bowl

zesty — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:00:19 +0000

When I woke up this morning, I had a craving for something hot but something a little different. Every now and again I get a huge craving for a “greasy breakfast“. A good ole plate of bacon and eggs. It works out great as I have some left over turkey bacon from the Asparagus Bacon Salad the other day.

I thought I would switch it up and cook it all together in one pan. This is how it turned out in the picture below. I topped it with a little bit of ketchup but forgot to include that in the photo.

Basically it is a hot breakfast in a bowl that combines the taste of bacon, eggs and hash browns in every bite.

Ingredients

4 Slices of turkey bacon (chopped)
1 1/2 Cups frozen hash browns
1/2 Cup frozen peas
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat pan to medium-high and start to render the bacon. (about 6 minutes)
Add hash browns and continue to saute until has browns are cooked through.
Toss in peas and season with salt and pepper.

Create two hallow openings in the mixture.

Crack eggs into opening and let cook. (About 6 minutes)
Sprinkle cheese over top and cover with lid.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For a quick hash brown fix I sometimes uses the frozen packaged ones. However for an original way to create your own hash browns, you can start by microwaving the potatoes first then cut them into small cubes. From there, pan fry them in butter until golden brown and then finish in the oven.

Question of the Day: What is your all-time breakfast food?

Have a great Monday and I will see you all tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

A Sunday Breakfast

zesty — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:00:14 +0000

Welcome back from the weekend! We had a great couple days off. We did some family visiting, some relaxing as well as spending time preparing for the week.

The next couple weeks will be the biggest in Zesty history. Now zestycook.com being only 6 months old – that is not that big of deal. However this will will mark the launch of the new and improved look for zestycook as well as the much anticipated free E-Book feature recipes from myself as well as other amazing foodies. I am very excited and looking forward to sharing with you all the hard work.

As for today’s post, I was debating what to post especially with all the sweet treats last week so I opted for a breakfast post. I do eat breakfast everyday… but I rarely post breakfast recipes. Even though there will be no recipe today, here’s a breakfast I prepared yesterday. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Let me know what you think of this somewhat balanced breakfast.

Granola with Yogurt & Berries

1/2 Cup Fibre Flax Granola
1/2 Cup Vanilla Yogurt
Strawberries and Blueberries

Multi Grain Toast, Raspberry Jam and Eggs

2 Pieces of Toast
2 Eggs Soft Boiled (7 minutes)
1 Tbsp. Raspberry Jam

Multi grain toast with oatmeal on top (love the oatmeal).

2 Soft boiled eggs (cooked just right)

Yum!

Raspberry jam on toast with spoonful of egg… oh I really love that.

Me trying to get fancy with the camera… not sure it worked

So there you have it! A zesty Sunday breakfast – pretty easy, pretty tasty, and (for the most part) healthy. I hope you have a great Monday whether you are at the office, in the classroom or at home.

Take care

zesty

Zesty's Top Ten Toast Toppings

zesty — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:00:32 +0000

Happy Tuesday everybody! Quite a title for this post… isn’t it? Well I am hoping to have an interactive post about toppings for your toast. Now of course there is plain butter but I thought I would share with you some of my all-time favorite toppings for toast. In return, I would love for each and every reader to post their favorite topping in the comments section. I think this will be fun!

Let’s keep in mind that the options are endless and it’s very difficult to narrow it down to just ten. It just so happens that I have a couple of different loaves of bread on hand so here are some of my favorites and a couple pictures.

Top Ten Toast Toppings

Apple Sauce (homemade), Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Dash of Brown Sugar – A simple dessert like toast that can be enjoyed anytime of the day.
Peanut Butter, Nutella (or any chocolate spread) and Banana – This stick to your ribs favorite will get you going in the morning.
Butter, Strawberry Jam, Sharp Cheddar Cheese - Possibly one of my all time favorite…. i love the combination of cheese and homemade jam from Mom.
Bacon, Tomato, Cheddar Cheese - A quick BLT without the lettuce… you can add lettuce if you want but I prefer without.
Almond Butter, Honey and Granola - The sweet goodness really fills you up in the morning. great combination of flavors here.
Butter, Garlic, Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheese - The old fashion garlic bread… can you really beat it. Serve this up with a big dish of Spaghetti
Tuna Salad, Celery, Havarti Cheese - A simple lunch that really fits the bill and is so delicious on a thick slice of multigrain bread in the toaster oven.
Butter and Poached Egg - The breakfast classic and oh so good with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice or even a berry smoothie

Brie, Cranberry Sauce and Bacon – Killer snack and even great for parties on mini toasts.
Chicken Salad, Walnuts and Diced Granny Smith Apple - One of my favorite open faced sandwiches.

Zesty Tip: When cooking toast, always try and add the topping as soon as the toast is popped and at it’s hottest point. Also if you are adding a fairly heavy topping, I like to brown the toast a little darker than normal to avoid the bread getting soggy.

So there you have it, my top ten toast toppings! I am sure that there are hundreds of combinations out there, so let’s hear them. This is a great opportunity for you to share your crazy toast toppings. You just may realize that it is not that crazy after all. Have a great Tuesday everybody. Keep Smiling.

zesty

Oh So Easy Quiche!

zesty — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:00:26 +0000

Hey Everyone… Happy Tuesday! I had a huge family gathering on the weekend and with that came a lot of food. One of the feature brunch dishes that I chose was a wonderful, yet simple, kicked up quiche. Talk about an easy recipe that packed a punch. Over 20 people tried the quiche and everyone of them were raving about both the homemade pastry and filling.

Follow along below and try out this quiche. I made a couple of different types. Our feature quiche was ham and spinach with monterey jack cheese. I also made a traditional bacon, mushroom quiche with cheddar cheese.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 (5 ounce) container process sharp cheese spread
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water

FILLING:

1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped ham
1/2 cup Spinach chopped
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup finely chopped bacon
1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Method

In a small bowl, cut butter and cheese spread into flour until well blended.

Add water and toss with a fork until a ball forms.

Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Press tablespoonfuls onto the bottom and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups.

In a bowl, beat the egg, milk and salt. Stir in ham and cheese.

Spoon a rounded teaspoonful into each shell.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until golden brown. (This is actually a shot of the bacon and mushroom quiche in case you thought I was losing my mind)

Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
ENJOY!

So as always, do tell Zesty what’s your favorite quiche filling. I can’t wait to hear everyone’s responses. Hope everybody has a great Tuesday!

Zesty

A Zesty Breakfast!

zesty — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:00:48 +0000

Well I thought I would share a typical breakfast in the life of me zestycook aka Cory. Now I don’t eat this all the time by any means but it is pretty common. I like to touch off most of the food groups for a balanced start to the day for sure.

Below I have 3 boiled eggs with fresh ground pepper. The only tip I have for boiled eggs is about 7 minutes ( if you like them soft as I do). If i am really in the mood for a treat I add a little homemade jam to the eggs and the spoon it on the toast.

Can you really enjoy toast without butter? For me, I usually always have butter on it unless I go with peanut butter or jam/jelly. What do you enjoy on your toast?

For my fruit selection I went with some peaches and blueberries mixed in with some vanilla yogurt as well as a tablespoon of ground flaz seeds. There is really no recipe here… just throw in what you like and enjoy.