Hash Brown Omelette

Man, performing in the school play is a stressful endeavor.  Long practices, memorizing page after page of dialogue and stage directions, set problems, being chastised for every little mistake.  Not to mention having multiple formal showings in front of entire audiences.

Yet,

Somehow, all the hard work...

Always ends up paying off in the end.

Tonight is our fourth and final showing of our school play, Up the Down Staircase (third if you don't count the free showing for the school staff and rest home residents).  It's an interesting story about a young teacher, fresh out of college with a master's in English who lands a job at an inner city school in New York... with high, unmet expectations.  Throughout the play, the students and faculty go about dealing with problems at school and in their personal lives.  I play a back-home friend who corresponds with the main character through letters.

It's been a blast, and I know I'll be a little sad when it's over.  But tonight is perhaps the most important showing for me, since the whole family is coming to see!  I'll have more to post on it tonight.

In the meantime, I've found a way to infuse the BEST breakfast foods: hash browns and omelettes.

 BEHOLD!!!!

Hash Brown Omelette

Yields: 4 omelettes

Ingredients:

About 8 oz pork sausage (more or less, depending on how much you like it)

6 eggs

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 large potatoes (trust me, they make more than you think)

About 4 tbsp canola oil

 tbsp minced garlic (with juice)

Garlic powder

Italian seasoning

Instructions:

1.) In a seasoned pan (garlic and Italian), fry up your sausage.  Set it aside, covered to retain heat.

2.) Drizzle one tablespoon of oil into a medium sized frying pan, and let it warm up over medium-high heat.

3.) While the oil warms up, whisk your eggs, 2 at a time, with 1 tablespoon of minced garlic.  Add some sausage (however much you want) and mix well.

4.) Shred half of one potato in a bowl.

5.) You'll need to be a little quick with this step.  Generously sprinkle some shredded cheese into the pan, in a solid circle (like a pancake).  Quickly add a generous handful of shredded potato directly on top.  Flatten with your spatula, keeping it on top of the cheese layer.  By the time you do this, the cheese layer should be just crispy enough to flip.  Very carefully, wedge your spatula underneath the 'pancake' and flip it.  The cheese should be a deep orange, slightly brown, but not burnt.

6.) Let the hash brown cook.  You can flip the pancake every now and again to check on it.

7.) When the hash brown is cooked to your liking, lift it with your spatula and hold it.  Grab your egg mixture, and pour about half of it into the pan.  Quickly lay the pancake on top, and press down gently.

8.) As the eggs cook, you can gently scrape up the excess on the outside of the pancake and press onto the edges, like a sort of crust.  Very carefully flip after a few minutes to allow both sides to cook.  Repeat frequently.  *Protip: while the omelette is pancake side down, use your spatula and pry little openings/tears into the egg.  Not big ones--you don't want to chop it up, but the smaller cuts will allow the heat to cook the inside thoroughly.

9.) When the eggs are fluffy and cooked, remove from pan and serve immediately.

10.) Repeat steps 5-9 until you've used all your ingredients.

CONGRATULATIONS!  You've successfully made the world's most delicious breakfast!!

ECHO out.

Brat Kabobs with White Wine Rotini PLUS A CHALLENGE HIGHLIGHT

CHALLENGE HIGHLIGHT: FROZEN PEANUT BUTTER CUP

My dad was awesome enough to accept the ice cream challenge.  Here's his concoction:

I give you... the frozen peanut butter cup.  My commendations to you, dad.  You make every Spartan that ever lived wordlessly proud.

DON'T FORGET TO SHARE YOUR CONCOCTIONS AND HAVE THEM HONORABLY MENTIONED IN THE NEXT POST!!

Moving on...

Is there anything that can compare to a piping hot, all-American meal?

OF COURSE THERE IS, IT'S CALLED FOREIGN FOOD.

I really wanted to make something using the bratwursts we had in the freezer, but not just anything; I wanted to make something that looked irrationally fancy.  Which would require an irrationally fancy side dish.

In light of this, I remembered that mom has recently taken a liking to making delicious Marsala wine-based goodies.  However, her concoctions have only made use of dark wines.  And seeing how we've had a few small bottles of white cooking wine that have seen no love--

"Nobody wants to drink my insides."

--I figured I might try my hand at using some to make a cream sauce.  For what you might ask?

Fancy curly pasta.

BUT WHAT TO SERVE WITH FANCY CURLY PASTA???

SHISH KABOBS

Brat Kabobs with White Wine Rotini

Yields about five or six babobs and about seven servings of pasta

Ingredients:

3 bratwursts, sliced into chunks

4 medium sized potatoes, also chunked

1/2 onion, chunked

3 cups whole wheat egg noodles

1 cup heavy cream OR ricotta cheese (Note: I used the ricotta since we didn't have any cream; it came out tasting really good, but still had a very ricotta-y texture.  If you use the ricotta, I recommend melting it beforehand)

1/2 cup white wine

2-3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon oil

Chicken broth base

Paprika

Garlic powder

Salt

Pepper
Bamboo skewers

Instructions:

1.) Get your chunked potatoes boiling so that they cook while you work (starting them about 10 minutes beforehand wouldn't be a bad idea).  Meanwhile, get five cups of water boiling in another pot for the pasta.

2.) Start frying your brats in a skillet seasoned with garlic powder, salt, and pepper (to taste, obviously).  Shortly into this, the pasta water should be boiling.  Go ahead and get the pasta cooking.

3.) When the potatoes, brats, and pasta are close to being finished, melt your butter in a small pot.  Add the white wine, stirring constantly.  Let it simmer for two or three minutes, to cook out the alcohol.

Unless you wanna get S!*& faced.

...don't get S!*& faced.

4.) Still stirring, add your cream or ricotta.  Stir constantly until the mixture is well combined and thoroughly melted.

5.) While stirring, add your chicken broth and paprika to taste (I recommend probably a tablespoon and a half of the broth base, and about 2 teaspoons of paprika).  Mix well, take off of the heat, and cover.

6.) By this time, your potatoes, pasta, and brats should be done.  Take everything off of the heat.  Keep the pasta and sauce covered for now.  Toss the potatoes in paprika and salt, to taste.

7.) Over a medium high heat, saute your onions (using just a little butter for lubrication).

8.) Once the onions are done, begin threading the brats, potatoes, and onions onto the bamboo skewers.  *leave a little room at the top and bottom of the skewers to hold onto!

9.) Set the kabobs aside (I'd throw 'em in the microwave to keep them warm).  Spoon helpings of drained pasta onto serving plates, and top with wine sauce.  Plop a kabob onto a plate.

10.) REVEL IN THE DELICIOUSNESS.

Like I said, I'd melt the ricotta first if you plan on using it for the sauce, just so it doesn't have that grainy ricotta-ish texture.  I feel like the cream would come out a lot smoother, so I'd go for that if you have the option.  Other than the texture, though, the flavor was excellent!!  My mom said it was "very comforting", and I couldn't help but agree.  The kabobs, well, they're pretty hard to mess up, and so customizable!  Don't be afraid to add or omit ingredients for them, make them your own!!

ECHO out.

Raspberry Ice Cream Parfait

DID SOMEBODY SAY RASPBERRY ICE CREAM AND BROWNIES?

So it was late, I was fenin' for ice cream and happened to find myself wandering the 'ice cream hacks' section of the Internet.  We had some dark chocolate brownie mix in the pantry.  I was desperate and lonely.

You know how these things go.

My original intent was inspired by this beautiful brownie sundae bowl.  Needless to say, my attempt to make them was... less than stellar.  As in, they came out more like cupcakes than bowls.

WHICH GAVE ME AN IDEA.

The cupcake shape and size just so happened to be just the right size for FANCY CUPS.

Thus, the ice cream parfait was born.  Unto The Spartan'a Kitchen, at least.

All you need is some raspberry ice cream, a heapin' hunk of brownie (dark chocolate is the best, because obviousness), toppings to spare, and an imagination!  You can make one of these babies however your heart desires--ingredients, layering, what you serve it in, anything.

In my case, I layered the brownie between scoops of ice cream, so the bottom of the glass didn't have a gargantuan gap, and then topped it with a layer of whipped cream, crushed up crispy brownie bits, and a touch of toasty coconut.

Plus, the smaller serving container made me feel not only less gluttonous, but incredibly fancy to boot.

A wise man once said: "When in doubt, pinky out."

Since this recipe really couldn't get much easier, I challenge YOU to make one.  Yes YOU, with the face and the mortified expression.

I want YOU to make a fancy ice cream parfait of your own and show the world the beauty of your creation.

You can share it via the comments, The Spartan's Kitchen official Twitter page (@SpartansKitchen), or on my Facebook page (Hannah Parsons).  Who knows?  Maybe I'll round a few submissions up and showcase them in my next post!

Don't forget to #FeedYourInnerSpartan

ECHO out.

Simple Vegetable Scramble

My mom thought it would be funny to hide a bunch of bug stickers all over the house.

Haha.

Very funny mom.

MOM

STAHP

So anyway, I was a little under the weather this morning.

BUT THAT DIDN'T STOP ME FROM LOOKING PRETTY FABULOUS.

#Flawless

I figured since I was a little sick, I might as well nom on something that was a good source of nutritional value.

 One of my favorite things to whip up when I don't feel like spending a long time cooking is a quick vegetable scramble.  Seriously, just throw some veggies together (cooked or uncooked), add some toppings/seasonings, and you're done!

In this case, I boiled some potatoes as a filling base and threw on some grape tomatoes and green peppers.  Then, I sprinkled on a little bit of shredder white cheddar cheese and just a leeeeeetle sprinkle of chicken broth base (which tasted AWESOME).  I also added a very slight touch of Italian seasoning and black pepper.

 It's like a literal potato salad!

*crickets*

It was surprisingly satisfying, and had me feeling a million times better afterward.  Not to worry--I only cooked for myself.  Nobody in my house is down with the sickness.

-1 point for a reference that I doubt anybody will get.

What I would LOVE to make for myself or anybody else in my house that gets sick is a hearty bowl of cozy chicken noodle soup.  In fact... I might just whip some up for the blog when I'm healthy enough to cook for everyone.

...Or I might just be selfish and make a bowl for me tonight.

So what's your favorite comfort meal for when you're sick?  Tell me in the comments!

ECHO out.

Beef Wonton Soup

I personally think the wonton soup came out a lot better (and healthier) this time around!

Second Batch

Excellent amount of broth

Vegetables and wontons had a good flavor

Broth was a little less than stellar (due to less salt), but still very good

Trial Batch

Very little broth (evaporated water left only super concentrated sodium)

Vegetables too salty to enjoy

Pretty much high blood pressure in a bowl

I tried keeping the pot constantly covered, unless I was stirring or adding something, and adjusted the broth--instead of using just bouillon, I only used about four cubes for a HUGE pot's worth of water, and added some other, less salty spices instead.  Also, one of my helpers--Thing 2, Taylor--suggested lowering the heat of the broth.  I took her advice a step further and took the pot off of the hot eye when something didn't need to be boiled.  The results?  Hardly any of the water evaporated!  

Just goes to show--having great friends to help out in the kitchen have a surprising amount of benefits.  Everything was finished in a third of the time it would have taken me alone.  Especially rolling out, filling, and folding probably 30-35 wontons.

Also, a quick note on the wonton wrapper recipe I used--the wrapper came out absolutely perfect once again!  They had an excellent texture and were overall very easy to make.  However, using the original recipe amount, which was supposed to yield 72 wrappers, only came out to about 35.  Now, after cooking this twice and having the same kind of results, I'm inclined to think our pieces of dough per individual wonton may have been a bit too big (even though I thought they were too small, they swelled up after boiling in the broth).  For some of the wontons, the ratio of wrapper to beef was probably 2:1.

But I'd totally use the recipe again, just with smaller pieces of dough.  If you opt to use the recipe, you'll see what I mean.

Beef Wonton Soup

Ingredients

1 prepared recipe for wonton wrappers (they don't have to be rolled out yet, but I think it would be easier on you)
About 1/4 lb. ground beef (depending on how many people you're feeding)
About 8 cups water (I just filled a big pot and added bouillon and seasonings to taste)
4-5 beef bouillon cubes
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Ground ginger (not much)
About 2 sliced cups of each:
     Eggplant
     Green peppers
     Onions
     Mushrooms
Sliced chives (garnish; I had none to use for the picture above)
1 egg
About 1 tbsp water

Instructions

1.) Get your water boiling over a medium high heat.  KEEP IT COVERED!

2.) Meanwhile, start slicing up your vegetables.  Set them aside.

3.) Once the water comes to a full boil, start adding bouillon, garlic and onion powder, and ground ginger to taste.  Once you're satisfied with the flavor, add the vegetables.  Let the soup boil, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and tender.  Remove from heat, keeping covered.

4.) Get your beef crushed up and cooking over a medium high heat, and season as you like it.  I generously used garlic and onion powder.  Cook until completely browned (maybe even a little crispy); drain.

5.) Whisk the egg and water in a small bowl.  This is your egg wash.

6.) Take one raw wonton wrapper, lay out flat.  Brush/rub on a little bit of egg wash onto the edges (this will help the wrapper seal).

7.) Spoon about 1-2 spoonfuls of beef into the center.  Carefully fold one half of the wonton wrapper over the beef and press against the opposite edge.  Using a spoon, press down the edges to seal.

8.) Repeat steps 6 and 7 with all your wonton wrappers.  You'll kind of get into your own rhythm/method of folding the wontons the more you fold them.

9.) Carefully place all of your wontons into the soup.  Bring the soup to a boil for about 10-15 minutes, or until the wontons are al dente (firm to the touch; the texture will be somewhat similar to that of cooked pasta).

Serve hot and enjoy!!

 Everyone in the house gobbled the soup up.  It was very filling and pretty healthy!  Like I said, the broth was sooooo much less salty--almost a little watery, but hey.  I prefer that over too salty.  Plus, I think the subtlety of the broth really allowed the flavors of the vegetables and wontons to stand out.  Overall, I definitely learned a few lessons from doing a trial run first.

Any suggestions for what to cook next?  If not, I'm sure I'll find more inspiration from Japanese class.  Actually, I have really been wanting to try my hand at homemade green tea ice cream...

hehehe...hehehehahHaHAHaHAHAHAHaHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

ECHO out.