Mexican Eggs

We made delicious Mexican eggs this morning, thanks to Lauren for the inspiration!

Sauté red onions until soft
Add one can of black beans
Simmer 10 minutes

Meanwhile, cook eggs to order

You can serve it on tortillas or not, top with sliced avocado, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. Hot sauce (cholula) optional!

Due Date Meat Loaf

Today is Maggie's due date. She didn't seem to want to be born today, so Mike and I decided to cook some more stuff to freeze for later (thanks Lara and Tito for the freezer!). We made a huge batch of meatballs and mini-meatloaves. Here is the meatloaf recipe:

Due Date Meat Loaves
Mix:
1 lb. mixed ground pork and beef
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup cheese (I mixed parm, shredded cheddar, and shredded mozzarella)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
Gently Saute:
1 small yellow onion
2 T fresh thyme
Let the onion mixture cool slightly, then add:
3 T Worcestershire Sauce
1 T tomato paste
1/4 cup stock
Add the onion mixture to the meat mixture and gently combine.


Shape the mixture into small loaves, about 3 inches long, 2 inches wide, and an inch tall.
Spread a thin layer of ketchup over each loaf.
Bake on a wire rack in a baking tray at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes or until the loaves reach an internal temp. of 155-160 degrees F.


Serve with extra grated cheese, delicious!

Home a Year Later.. and good soup!

Well, we miss Scotland. We got home just over a year ago and we think of our travels often and with joy. So much has happened since we came back home, though! We are expecting our first child any moment (she's due in four days!), Mike graduated from MIT, Andrea got married, and more to come! I, strangely but joyously, had my last day of teaching for a while. Now what to do with myself while I wait for baby Maggie? Cook, of course! Here are two great recipes I made today:

Spicy Minestrone with Chicken and Bacon
(serves 2-3)

Brown 4 slices of bacon in soup pot until crispy.
Remove, remove most of the bacon fat.
Add a chopped carrot to the pan and soften for a minute.
Add cubed raw chicken and begin to brown for 2-3 minutes.
Add a carton of stock, bring to a boil.
Add salt, pepper, 1 T Italian seasoning, 1 tsp crushed red pepper or as much as you'd like.
Add 1 can of red kidney beans. (Any beans would probably work)
Add 1/2 chopped fresh tomato and 1 cup thawed frozen spinach.
Simmer half-covered for an hour until chicken is very soft and beans start to burst.
Adjust seasoning to taste. This would be good with fresh parsley but I didn't have any.
Serve with crumbled bacon.

Thick Minestrone with Beef
Brown 1 lb. ground beef or turkey.
Drain and remove from pan.
Saute chopped carrots, an onion, and 3 stalks of celery.
Add 1 T tomato paste and 3 cloves crushed garlic, fry for 1 minute.
Add the beef back in to the pan.
Add a can of beans- cannellini, white, kidney, your choice.
Add 1 large can of crushed tomatoes and one carton of beef stock (as much as you want for your desired consistency).
Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper to taste, and Italian seasoning.
Simmer half-covered for 30 min. to and hour.

Enjoy!