Tortilla Española

Okay - it's almost Friday! There are so many things I'd love to try in the kitchen this weekend...I wish I had more than two days! Tonight, I wanted to whip up something easy and healthy. It's not quite as easy as just scrambling a couple of eggs (breakfast for dinner, anyone?), but the extra effort is worth it. I really believe cooking is a true form of relaxation and meditation - I completely agree with Dana Velden's piece here. I'm often tempted to grab the first thing I see after coming home from the hospital (residency can put you on autopilot like that). I'm not denying that healthy, quick options exist, but I often find that the benefits of cooking extend far beyond just the food. For example, tonight, it allowed me to connect with my husband (who has been incredibly busy lately) in the coziness of our warm kitchen. While I chopped and sautéed, we chatted - and something as simple as that can make the night wonderful.

Ok, let's get down to business. Not only is this is an incredibly simple recipe to make, it is infinitely flexible. A tortilla española, otherwise known as a Spanish omelette, is frequently served hot or cold as a tapas dish. These delicious omelettes are traditionally made with potatoes, onion, and egg and cooked in a rich olive oil. As you'll soon see,  however, you can add pretty much whatever you like to tailor it to your tastes - I went with sliced red peppers and some sautéed mushrooms. If you want meat, chorizo could be wonderful too, but the limit is really your imagination! 

If there's one thing I love about recipes, it's healthiness and simplicity. It doesn't get much better than this: eggs & veggies - a winning combination of protein + fiber & nutrient-packed veggies! Pair this with a small side salad, or even better, convert your leftovers into a hearty sandwich (I can picture this between slices of a chewy whole grain baguette...mmm). If you find that you just can't stop adding things, simply increase the number of beaten eggs so that the tortilla is rounded out (no lumps and bumps please!)

As a forewarning, the only challenging part of cooking this omelet is inverting it. Once you have added the egg to the other cooked ingredients, you'll want to let it cook through until the egg at the surface is almost set. At this point, you'll want to slide the omelette out of the pan (onto a separate plate), invert it, and return it to the pan so it can finish cooking. We had a little accident here - let's just say that this omelette needed a little reconstructive surgery - but it was nevertheless delicious. 

 Tortilla Española

preparation time: approximately 30 minutes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 onion (white preferred, yellow will work too), chopped

3 red potatoes, sliced thin (approximately 1/4 inch)

2 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

1 medium red bell pepper, sliced (optional)

1/2 cup sauteed mushrooms (optional)

Directions

1. Heat 12 inch skillet over low-medium heat. Add olive oil. Once hot, add garlic and cook until fragrant

2. Add chopped onion and sliced potatoes to the skillet. Add 2 tsp paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook for approximately 20 minutes until potatoes are soft and onion is translucent

3. Add bell pepper to skillet; cook until slightly tender, but still crisp

4. Increase heat to medium; add beaten eggs to the mixture. Let eggs cook until almost completely set (keep an eye on the omelette here; if you're not careful and your heat is set too high, you'll risk burning it)

5. Transfer omelette to separate plate. Invert and return to pan. Cook until egg is set all the way through

If you try this out, I'd love to hear what chose to incorporate! Relish in the fact that you've taken the time to try something new and created something healthy, delicious, and nourishing! 

~R

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Pomegranate Muffins

Finally - a moment to post these delicious little muffins! Work has been picking up lately and I'm struggling to do anything meaningful once I get home. I made these last week when I saw a pomegranate still sitting in my fridge - definitely too good to waste!

It's been awhile since I've made muffins, and these muffins are fantastic, adapted from this recipe with a few healthier twists. A welcome change from the standard blueberry muffin, the pomegranate seeds (arils) make a beautiful jewel-studded treat filled with bright, juicy bursts from the arils. These muffins have the perfect amount of heartiness from the whole grains and oatmeal too, so you'll feel satisfied after enjoying them. Temperatures have been so very cold lately due to the "polar vortex" and sitting down with one of these muffins and a cup of coffee is a great way to take the bite out of the chill! As much as the winter snow and stillness can be beautiful, I'm ready to start counting down the days to spring. Hope you are staying warm! 

Pomegranate Muffins 

1 1/8 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup orange juice

1 cup pomegranate seeds 

1/2 cup rolled oats

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2.  Mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl

3. Mix in olive oil, egg, and orange juice until just combined; do not over mix

4. Gently stir in rolled oats and pomegranate seeds

5. Lightly grease a muffin tin. Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes until a tester inserted into the muffin centers comes out clean

6. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and enjoy!

Pear + Apple + Berry Bake

The holiday season is full of delicious spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, ginger, just to name a few. I'm feeling the holiday spirit and nothing makes home more cozy than holiday decorations and the warm smells of these spices! I wanted to create a healthy baked fruit recipe that can be enjoyed as dessert, or just as easily as breakfast. Aside from the natural pairing of apple with cinnamon and nutmeg, I added pears and berries for a little extra tartness and zest.

As for the topping, I wanted to avoid butter-ladened streusel, so I opted for pre-made pie crust, cut into strips instead.  You can think of it as an upside-down pie. I've never had the patience to roll out pie crust on my own, but if you have the inclination, I'm sure it would work just as well!

This is a delicious recipe and so very easy to put together - just slice up the fruit, mix with spices and sugar, and top with your crust. You don't need a lot of sugar (baking will bring out the natural sweetness of the fruit), which is great. This will smell heavenly as the fruit starts to bake and blend with the cinnamon and nutmeg.

You can vary the types of pears and apples you use, depending on your preferences. Some fruits will bake better than others, due to varying water content - for example, don't try to bake Macintosh apples or Bartlett pears. They'll literally melt. Just so you have a few more bake-friendly apple and pear options:

Apples: Granny smith, Crispin, Pink Lady, Fuji, Cortland

Pears: Bosc, Anjou

I love this recipe because it's versatile, easy to put together, and full of great fruits that pack a hefty dose of fiber, vitamin C, and natural sugars to fuel your body healthily - things we all need, especially during the holidays! 

Pear + Apple + Berry Bake

3 pears (I used medium-sized Bosc pears)

1 large apple (I used Honeycrisp)

1.5 cups mixed berries (fresh or frozen)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/8 cup brown sugar

Pie crust, cut into strips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Slice apples into 1/4 inch wedges and pears into bite-sized chunks (very precise, I know)

2. Add mixed berries

3. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Toss to combine thoroughly

4. Lightly grease the bottom of an 8 x 12 inch pan

5. Add fruit to pan, cover with strips of crust

6. Brush top with milk and sprinkle lightly with sugar

7. Bake for 50 minutes. Test for doneness by piercing apple with a fork; it should give easily.

The warm tartness of the apples and berries are a perfect complement to the luscious, sweeter pear. Enjoy with a small scoop of ice cream for dessert, or with some yogurt for a quick and healthy breakfast! 

Thanks for reading! What are your favorite fruit recipes? 

Greek Yogurt Substitution Chart

Since I've been on such a greek yogurt fix lately, I thought i'd share this handy chart, courtesy of Chobani.

The possibilities are endless - for baking, main courses, etc. For example, I'd love to try a cheesecake with some greek yogurt substituted in. I hope you find this helpful!

What's your favorite recipe using greek yogurt?

Greek Yogurt Egg Salad

I love eggs. I always have - just ask my parents. I could knock back 3 to 4 at a time when I was little!  But really, what's not to love? Eggs are a fantastic source of protein, lutein (crucial for eye health), and vitamin D.

 Although eggs (yolks specifically) are high in cholesterol, the degree to which dietary cholesterol affects blood LDL cholesterol levels is somewhat variable and depends on your genetic makeup. If you are healthy with normal cholesterol levels, the American Heart Association recommends up to 300 mg cholesterol a day, and up to 200 mg/day if you have heart disease or elevated cholesterol. A single egg (with yolk) has approximately 186 mg cholesterol.

To all fellow egg lovers out there, this is a great egg salad recipe to try. Instead of mayo, slash calories and saturated fat by using...you guessed it: greek yogurt. As much as I love traditional egg salad, the yolks are creamy enough by themselves. There's really no need to slather them in mayonnaise when greek yogurt is just as creamy - and much, much healthier. Is there anything I won't put Fage in/on? The answer is no. 

Best part about this recipe? It makes a lot of egg salad - lunch next week anyone?

Greek Yogurt Egg Salad

9-12 eggs

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dill 

1 tbsp dijon mustard

dash of salt and pepper 

1. Boil Eggs (if you're new to this, there is a great guide here). This will be the most time consuming part (warm up to finish, about 20 minutes)

2. When eggs are cooked, submerge them in a cold water bath.

3. Drain water from bowl, dab eggs to remove excess moisture.

4. Peel eggs and return them to the same bowl.

5. Mash eggs with a fork into bite sized pieces. Have fun with this.

6. Add dijon mustard, paprika, dill, salt and pepper to taste.

7. Mix well and enjoy.

Let me know how this turns out for you!

~R

I'd love to connect with you! Follow me on bloglovin:  https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11667585/cest-si-bon-md