Rachael Ray's Cincinnati Spaghetti

I saw this twist on an old classic spaghetti dinner recipe on a cooking show with "make ahead" meals, and thought it looked really good. Although, I didn't need a make ahead meal this time, I did want something slow cooked & relaxed for company and weekend entertaining. It was all of the above! 

My company loved it! It simmered and bubbled away on the stove and made my whole house happy smelling. You know that smell, right? Its the smell of cinnamon rolls or bread baking, or turkey roasting up in the oven... the smell travels and fills all available space. You breathe it in, and pretty soon your mouth and taste buds and stomach are asking you to find out how much longer it will be before the food is done... that happy smell. In this case, the smells were a combination of authentic Mexican flavors of spicy chili powder, smoky paprika, fragrant cocoa powder, earthy Mexican oregano, and sweet ripe summer tomatoes. It makes you wonder if you are making enchilada sauce or chili certainty not spaghetti. (At least not any spaghetti that I grew up eating in the northwest.) This will blow your socks off starting with the slow cooked smell as it fills up your home. 

This is the perfect lazy weekend meal that you should try next. I can't wait to make it again! I meant to snap some more pictures but once the first taste was done.... my table filled up with people, the pot emptied, stomachs were filled, and the rest was history. Then I remembered my camera was still sitting by the stove. 

(My take on) Rachael Ray's Cincinnati Spaghetti

Ingredient list (I know its long just trust me)

2 Tbs olive oil
3 slices of bacon, finely chopped raw
1 lb of ground beef, your choice
3 Tbs of Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs of chili powder
1 Tbs of cocoa powder
1 Tbs smoked sweet paprika
1 1/2 tsp of Mexican or regular dried oregano, lightly crushed
1 tsp of allspice
1/4 tsp of cumin
2 tsp heaping minced garlic
2 large jalapeno chile peppers, seeds and membranes removed, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 raw tomato, cubed
2 cups beef stock
30 oz or 2 (14-15oz) cans equaling 30 oz tomato sauce
salt
i box of thin spaghetti noodles

Directions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven with a lid over medium heat.
2. Add the bacon and crisp it.
3. Then add the raw beef and brown it.
4. While its browning, take a bowl and start measuring out all the spices, so when in the meat is done you can just dump them in.
5. When the meat is done, add all the spices, Worcestershire sauce, onions, garlic and jalapenos.  Cook this for about 10 minutes over medium low - onions should be tender.

6. Stir in the tomato paste. Wait a minute then add the stock, tomato, and tomato sauce.
7. Bring it to the beginning of a boil, then reduce the heat, cover partially and simmer for 45 minutes.
8. The original directions say this is where you stop, if you are making this ahead of time, for a make ahead meal. On the night you want to serve it cook up your pasta and serve it with bread or salad or both.

This one is a bit blurry I was afraid of dropping it in the sauce LOL

9. If you aren't doing a make ahead. In the last 10 minutes of the cooking time for sauce. Start a pot of water on high for cooking the pasta. Don't forget to salt it. 

10. Cook the pasta. Turn the sauce down to low or off if it beats the pasta. When the pasta is complete, drain it and stir half of the sauce in with it. Keep the other half of sauce for topping each plate at the table. This idea was slightly messy with my bunch but I really liked the idea of making sure the noodles were coated in the large pot and not just topped with a sauce that may or may not be enough to coat it. 

11. Serve it with optional toppings typical of spaghetti or not typical such as grated parm, shredded mozzarella, shredded cheddar, finely chopped green or white raw onions, fresh chopped cilantro or parsley, pickled jalapeno slices or fresh chopped jalapenos - there is so many things that you can choose to fit your families taste buds. We served it topped with shredded mozzarella cheese. 

As you can see below.... this was a huge hit in my home. My husband was actually excited about taking leftovers for work. This one is a winner! 

Enjoy this twist to good ol' spaghetti and a relaxing weekend
From my kitchen to yours


Stephanie

Flourless Chocolate Crunch Cashew Cookies Or Not

So in my effort to stop eating white flour for awhile I was intrigued by the use of rolled oats in this cookie recipe. So while I am sharing a new cookie recipe with you, please note for my family this was not of of best or brightest cookie recipe. It tasted great, it was just too crumbly cookie. I completely prefer a cookie that isn't threatening to crumble to the ground every other bite. BUT this turned out to be a brilliant & fabulous chocolate granola for breakfast, brunch, to throw on top of some frozen yogurt, or to layer in a parfait using up summers best fruits & berries. So welcome to a new breakfast granola recipe or cookie recipe... either way I hope you enjoy the crunch. When I adapted the recipe I also cut the ingredients by more than half. Ever notice that most batches of cookies make over 2 dozen? Yeah that's not going to happen here. Ha! Like I need that many cookies in my house. Excess cookie dough.. so yummy. Cookie dough is actually wonderfully freezable, but usually after my spoon and other spoons have gotten some "taste testing in" there isn't too much leftover to freeze. Yes the batches that yield that much cookie dough are dangerous.

Chocolate Crunch Cashew Cookies (Or granola)

Adapted from:King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book

Made 10-12 cookies

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, organic
1/4 + 1/8 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats, ground up in a food processor or coffee grinder
1 cup of salted cashew pieces or coarsely chopped cashews


Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350
2. Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter, cooking spray, or use parchment paper
3. Mix the first 7 ingredients together in a large bowl. Then in the same large bowl, beat in the dry ingredients (ground oats, cashews).

4.  Drop the dough or roll them into circles and place them on the cookie sheet.
5. Use your fingers or a flat bottom drinking glass, press the cookies down pretty flat.
6. Bake the cookies - 12 - 14 minutes.
7. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool right there on the pan for a good 5-10 minutes. They will firm up when they have cooled but they are so crunchy they might crunch part way into a few pieces on ya :)

Crunchy, chewy, rasin-y, nutty - there is all sorts of cookies. Chocolate is one of my favorites.
If you don't find this one to your liking, try it as homemade granola. Instead of using the dough to make round cookies... bake it flat for 12- 15 minutes and let it cool. Store in an air tight container. Eat for breakfast. Or just eat them all with lots of cold yummy white milk or as ice cream sandwiches.

Enjoy!
From my kitchen to yours!
Stephanie

Grilled Fish Taco Bowls

Hi. Happy summer time greetings you ya. Hopefully you are staying a bit cooler than we are in southern Az. Its a bit cooler today at 100 degrees but I am guessing its due the recent wind/ thunder/ lightening/dust storms and cloud cover.  I am just thankful to have a.c.,  yummy food, and my family around.

I want to introduce to you the best thing I have made in the last 6 months. Serious. The picture of the recipe when I first saw it made me instantly start to drool. Thankfully this colorful dish is as easy on the eyes as it is on the scale otherwise I would be in deep trouble (laugh). A wonderful cook/chef/blogger Lindsay came up with this one. You can find the original and many other tempting tasty things on her website Pinch of Yum. You should definitely check out her desserts.

I did adapt it a bit to keep the carbs at a minimum and to degrade the heat level that she was playing with to not overwhelm my kiddo. When I am scouring my cookbooks and magazines and pintrest for new recipes I have a list in my head that I usual go through to determine if its something I should try. THIS colorful flavorful fish dish hit every single thing on my list with a resounding 'Yes'. I hope you eat and enjoy this yummy, easy, grilled fish meal as much as we did. See my list to see if it fits your family.

4 yr old boy friendly check

budget friendly check

 (rice, seasonings, tilipia, & frozen & fresh veg - no fancy ingredients here)

Nutritious check 

(none or only 1 processed food involved - rice okay 2 if you count the old bay)

Easy cook time: check 

(30 minutes or less total)

Summer time friendly check

(grab your grill or bbq)

Make ahead check

(can make the seasoning rub and put it over the fish and refrigerate it a few hrs in advance)

 Not fried nor breaded check 

Grilled Fish Taco Bowls

serves 3

adapted from: Pinch of Yum

Ingredients:
1/2 Tbs chili powder
1/2 Tbs ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp old bay seasoning (lol threw threw this in here just trying to use it up)
1/2 Tbs smoked paprika
1/4 tsp herbes de provence   (surprising - herb blend goes well with Mexican flavors)
4-5 tilapia filets (or other white mild fish) 1 or 2 per person (we did 5 - see picture below)
1/2 Tbs minced garlic
1 cup of frozen corn**
1/2 red onion, finely chopped**
1 red pepper, diced**
1 cup of white rice*
2 cups of water
1 tsp of salt (for the rice)
fresh cilantro, chopped avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa (optional)

*I really liked that the original recipe called for brown rice... love the more natural, nuttier flavor that brown rice gives in addition to a bit more nutrients. I just didn't have it on hand. Brown rice does take longer though so do that first if you are using it.

**If you are bbqing outside see the note below about optional grilling the veg outside instead of chopping it and sauting it on the stove in step 6. 

Directions:
1. Combine the first 6 seasonings in a flat bowl. This is your rub. I can't wait to try it on other stuff...  onion powder, mexican oregano, or garlic powder would probably be good in it as well.

2. Dunk, dredge, and/or cover all the fish with the seasonings - rubbing it on both sides of each fillet... This was a fun activity for my 4 yr old. I am pretty sure he enjoyed it because it was messy. If my hands weren't covered with chili powder at the time I would've gotten a super cute picture.  Set this aside - let the flavors mingle.

3. Start your rice. Make rice... in a small pot add water, rice, and salt. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover 15-20 minutes. When it looks like it is done. Turn off the heat. Let it sit there with the lid on until everything else is ready.

4. Chop up any sort of toppings that sound good... basically anything that would be good on a fish taco, burrito, or nachos would be very well suited for this dish. Be creative and add as much heat as you dare.

5. Heat up your bbq or grill pan and start grilling the fish. I used an inside grill pan since it was 105 the day I made this. I used cooking spray to help but a good tip I learned is that if you leave fish alone it will become unsuck when it is done. Moving fish before its done = mess. Just don't. So don't try to flip it more than once and let it cook all the way through - should only take a few minutes on each side (3-5 minutes).  Once they start to flake easily and are completely white remove them and let them cool.

6. While the fish is cooking, heat the oil in a small skillet and saute the red pepper, corn, and red onion for 3 minutes over very high heat. You want the edges to start to char and get a nice smokiness to them.

**If you are bbqing you could also grill the veggies outside without having to chop and saute in the house.

First do the corn. On one piece of corn, pull the silks and outside green corn stalk down but not off the cob completely. Then rub oil (1/2-1 tsp) and a couple shakes of salt and pepper on the kernels. Last pull the layers back up to the top to protect the corn. And throw it on the grill - indirect heat is best for 15-25 minutes.

Second grill the veggies: Put some oil (1-2 tsp on each veg), sprinkle of each salt and pepper over the red pepper, and red onion cut in large chunks. Separate the different layers of onion but not so it will fall down through the grill or bbq. On an outside grill over medium heat it should take anywhere from 8-15 minutes. Watch it and turn it as it starts to get those lovely charred black edges. If you do this... chop and remove seeds after the food cools a bit to not burn fingers. Remove the corn from the cob and do a quick saute with the garlic. You have added an amazing layer of smokiness that only summer time bbqing can do... brownie points.

7. Add the minced garlic to the pan with the red onion and red pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and let it cook for another 3-5 minutes to soften everything and not burn the garlic.

8. Dish up and eat. We layered everything in bowls...  Rice, veggies, fish, toppings.
Eat with a fork, spoon or dip chips into it and scoop it up on chips. This would also be awesome in a pita pocket bread,  or in a tortilla.

Seriously. Try it. Its perfect for summer. Perfect for summer produce. Totally going to veg it up next time with some fresh zucchini or delicate yellow summer squash sauteed in with the corn. You know me... always trying to sneak another vegetable in.

Enjoy!

From my kitchen to yours

Happy Eating. 

Coping with Summer & Italian Tuna Salad Melt Sandwiches

It's summer yay. It's summer, oh no. Summer in southern Arizona means two completely separate things. Depending on the day it is really warm sunny weather, swimming pools, visiting the local peach farm, and fourth of july, and tons of fresh fruit & berries. On the other hand, summer = 105-118 temperatures for weeks at a time, too hot to go to the park, to hot to go to the swimming pool, must find creative ways to cook without heating up the kitchen, must find creative things to keep my 4 yr old from being too "bored". LOL. He has recently picked up the word, "bored" from someone, ugh. I hope it wasn't me. Anyways I thought we started off the summer strong... I enrolled him in 2 community classes - indoor soccer fundamentals class and an intro spanish class. It was hard to find a spanish class that was appropriate for his age, so I am super glad we did. Its a far drive but its only once a week. This week we are learning fruits. What a cool idea. I love the word strawberry it sounds like it should be fresh and refreshing. Fresa :)

So this post about Italian Tuna Salad Melt Sandwiches, which is completely amazing - the food not the post, was one of my dinners I had been saving and waiting to make until it got really hot outside. I though it would be refreshing, light, flavorful, easy, and not require much cooking. It did. It was perfect. What are your favorite things to eat during the summer, when you don't want to heat the place up? Please share summer tips below.  Word of warning though.... I made one extra for my hubby to eat later on (since he was working) and welll the food was so good I sort of ate it. So ummm... yeah. I don't over eat very often but this was REALLY AMAZING and messy. We had dinner on the living room floor on a blanket and had an indoor picnic with a movie, veggie chips, and these fun sandwiches. It was a good time. I made some of the sandwiches without cheese and some of them with cheese. The ones with the cheese were less messy - but we still made a mess of hands plates and the blanket as stuff fell off the english muffin. IF you are serving it to guests I would recommend eating with a fork and knife, unless you are like my son, and really enjoy eating with your hands.  Perfect for lunch or dinner.  Enjoy!

Italian Tuna Salad Melt Open Faced Sandwiches

Makes 3 sandwiches - 2 halves each
Time to Make: Approx 10-15 minutes
Easily doubled or singled to fit your family meal
Original recipe from Rachael Ray magazine April 2006. 

Ingredients:

1 small can of tuna 5-6 oz, packed in water, drained
1/6 cup of good olive oil
2 small radishes, finely chopped
2 celery ribs/stalks, washed, finely chopped
2 Tbs capers,
1/4 cup of romaine, finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 large tomato cut into 6 thick even slices
3 slices of provolone cheese  (or more if you want each sandwich to have cheese)
1 tsp minced garlic (if you really like garlic do 2 tsp)
3 tsp of lemon juice
1 Tbs Italian seasoning blend
3 english muffins, i used whole wheat, but whatever you prefer except raisin or another sweet flavor
1/4-1/8 red onion, finely chopped (depending on how you feel about red onion)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to Broil & put the english muffins on a baking sheet. Bake for 2 minutes to start getting crisp and light brown on the edges.
2. While oven is working... chop all veggies: Radishes, celery, lettuce, red onion  - set aside
2. Whisk together the dressing:  Olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic lemon juice, and pepper.
3. Toss the veggies with the dressing in a large bowl.
4. Add the capers and tuna to the veggies and dressing. Toss thoroughly. Taste for salt & pepper.
5. Put the english muffins out of the oven and top each one with 1 slice of tomato.
6. Then using an ice cream scoop, gather and press one scoop of tuna salad mix onto the center of each tomato  - will look like a small heaping hill - the words my son used when he saw it.  If you use a little less or use a large bread/roll you might have an easier lol less messy time than we did. But might miss out on the fun.
7. Top each with cheese if using.
8. Bake for another 2-4 minutes until cheese is completely melted, just keep an eye on it.

Serve slightly cooled. Cheese can be very hot straight from the oven. Serve with chips, watermelon, lemonade, fresh berries or any other great summer time favorites. 

Note: This filling/Tuna Salad would be perfect with fresh thyme and arugula or baby spinach in a sandwich wrap.

From my kitchen to yours! 

Tropical Chicken Sausage Salad

As the heat is escalating and wearing my family down, I am thankful it doesn't last for forever. The 102-118 temperatures will end in a month or two,  its only mid-July. Need to start getting creative with indoor activites. But of course the things that keep coming to mind are: snow, fall, football, winter coats, pumpkins, anything pumpkin, thick spicy chili, and one last thing. If I am going to be this hot I might as well be someplace tropical with an super cold, iced beverage in my hand swinging in a hammock with lots of sunblock on, a book or just lazily staring off into a deep blue water. Sounds so picturesque... hammock, sand, sun, drink with an umbrella. This salad is an ode to that official day dream of being someplace wonderful and tropical. Let the flavors of mango and pineapple take you away..... 

Makes 1 adult portion lunch sized salad

Done in less than 15 minutes - Yup. Perfect for easy lunch or dinner. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups of fresh crisp romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 oz  (3 or 4 pieces) of dried mango chopped 
• 1/2 of a fresh mango chopped ( I shared the other half with my kiddo - he loves mango!)
• 1/2 cup of fresh pineapple, chopped (from a can)
• 1 pineapple bacon flavor chicken sausage cooked in water on the stove - approx 8 minutes then remove water and let it crisp up for 2-3 minutes over medium heat
• 1/4 cup of your favorite kind of nuts ( I used cashews)
• 1/4 of a golden delicious apple (something i also shared) sliced super thin in long strips. 

This fresh crunchy wonderful salad doesn't even need any dressing with the fruit in there. The crunch of the lettuce and sweet juicy bites of fruit pair perfectly with the sweet flavored sausage. The only thing that would've made it better would've been some candied bacon in the salad too. Yes I know. Bacon makes everything better. 

Have a wonderful summer sun filled day. 

Enjoy some fruit and daydream about a tropical place. 

From my nontropical kitchen to yours. 

Asparagus & Leek Soup: Perfect Summer Lunch

I tried out this new vegetable soup recipe while my in-laws were visiting. It wasn't planned that way. I didn't want to make them think that I was experimenting on them. I would never experiment on them. At least I wouldn't try something outrageous on them - that sounds more realistic. I blame this on the weather. It was so hot, a light lunch sounded so nice. I was right. It was perfectly light and tasty. My hubby would've been asking for a sandwich or meat I am sure, but for a couple of women it was great!

Healthy + light = perfect summer food.

Cheers to summer and all the wonderful produce available at stands, grocery stores, and farmers markets. I left my soup a little chunky and served it warm. But the original recipe says to serve it cold as a pureed velvety soup just better than anything you possibly could get from a can. Make it however you like... I think this would be great with bacon added. Then again I think most things would be good with bacon, wink.

Asparagus Leek Soup

Serves 4 - One medium bowl each
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 Tbs salted butter, divided
1 cup of chicken stock
1 cup of water
2 leeks, white and light green only
1/2 bunch of asparagus 
1 Tbs all purpose flour
1 Tbs half & half
1/2 Tbs dijon mustard (with wine - not grainy kind)
salt & pepper to taste
bread/crackers/biscuits (optional)
white cheddar cheese or your favorite kind (optional)

Directions:

1. Do all your prep work. Rough chop the asparagus. Chop the leeks into circles, then again into crescent shapes. 

2. Rinse the leeks very well... sand and dirt like to hide in between the layers. It seems time consuming but grab a bowl and run water over them and use your hands to separate most of the layers to get them clean. 

3. Melt 1/2 of the butter over medium heat in a medium-low saucepan. Add the leeks to the butter. 

4. Saute the leeks for 10 minutes. 

5. Add in the asparagus and chicken stock and cook over medium heat uncovered for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.

6. While asparagus is getting tender, in a small saucepan melt the other Tbs of butter to create a roux. A roux is the beginning of most sauces I make. Its super easy.  When the butter is all melted, and begins to bubble, add the flour and stir it in. Let the flour cook for 2 minutes and reduce the heat to medium low. The flour and butter will look yellow and clumpy. Gradually pour in the water. Bring the water to a simmer turning up the heat a little if you need to. Whisk it as it begins to thicken. This can take anywhere from 3-5 minutes. When it takes on the consistency of gravy stir in the dijon mustard. Remove from heat and set it aside. Watch your sauce. Trust me this is not a good time to go check on the laundry.

7. Use an immersion blender, food processor, or regular blender to puree the vegetables and broth until it is the texture to your liking. Like I said before... Ieft mine a tad chunky.

8. Return your soup to the saucepan, taste it, add salt or pepper, or any other seasoning that you want to throw in, and stir in the half and half to create a rich creaminess. 

9. Top your soup with some shredded cheese or just serve it with cheese & crackers, toast or, biscuits and jam for a lovely summer lunch with your best friend, neighbor, or mother in law :) You know I never understood the whole evil mother in law thing... I love mine. She just lives so far away I don't get to see her much. 


Happy Summer Eating
Enjoy your summer veggies
From my kitchen to yours!

Broccoli Chipotle Cheddar Omelet

Happy Saturday after the 4th of July. What a crazy week it has been! Hopefully if you were one of the unfortunate ones that had to work all week, today is your time to blow some stuff up, as my husband would say. We had a good 4th of July. Food. Fireworks. Family. Talked to extended family on the phone. Made a fruity sangria for the first time - had a good time with that. Watched a favorite movie... 1776. What did you do for the 4th of July?

 Now that the holiday is over for us... it is back to the busy weekend of life. Don't get me wrong, I heart  weekends. But, Saturdays and Sundays though are my busiest days by far. The swamped schedule, I must admit, is self induced. BUT my justification, what I tell myself at the end of the day, is that this furious Saturday schedule helps me to stay on track health wise and save time/money/gas. Let me explain.... my favorite gym is near the community center where my son's activity class (this quarter it's a fundamental soccer class with drills every week), which only 2 miles away from my favorite grocery store. Three necessary activities all within a 5 mile radius! All of this is at best 35-40 minutes each way from my house. So if I separated these events across my week that would be A LOT of time driving. Yes I live out in the middle of nowhere. I know.

So to combat my long driving, activity laden day I like to start off with a solid veggie/protein filled breakfast like this.... Broccoli Chipotle Cheddar Omelet. By the way this is the first time I have actually made a omelet that didn't turn into scrambled eggs because it fell apart. Yay! I am super happy and proud of myself for FINALLY conquering this. This has been a 5 year battle.... I probably should explain this. My hubby loves breakfast foods. 95% of the time where we go out to eat is solely based on who has good omelets - seriously. I know all the restaurants in the area that serve breakfast after 11am too so we can have breakfast for lunch or dinner. Breakfast food is almost as serious as football in our house.

Now that I have probably bored you to death with too many details of my life.... here's how I made this delish slightly spicy, cheesy, omelet filled with tender crisp veg.  By all means I am not an expert on omelets this is the first one I have done really well.... pancakes/waffles are a different story (wink). So if you have a better way to do omelets please do that, and use this as a flavor idea... Make broccoli fun with yummy cheese. Enjoy! P.S. One of my facebook friends said I should add bacon. Hahah yes of course bacon makes everything better. Will do that next time.

Broccoli Chipotle Cheddar Omelet 

Makes 1 Omelet

ingredients

3 eggs whisked together with 1/4 cup of milk ( I used 1% organic)

nonstick - cooking spray 

(I don't like using but really didn't want it to stick - it worked)

6 slices/2oz of shredded of chipotle white cheddar cheese 

(Don't need much.. has huge flavor. Used store brand Vermont) 

1 cup of fresh broccoli 

s & p to taste (start with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper)

1/4 tsp of herbes de provence (my favorite herb mixture)

directions

1. Spray a small/medium size non stick skillet 

2. Pour in the mixed milk egg mixture into the small skillet. Salt and pepper it. 

3. Stand by the stove the entire time and watch it cook, stirring just slightly in the middle for a couple minutes over medium heat. Pick up the skillet and turn the pan around to make sure that its coating evenly. You want the center to start clumping like scrambled eggs.... move the eggs around so the liquid egg mixture on top cooks too. This took approx 3-4 minutes. Only move around the center... don't disturb the outside... let it form that solid shell. 

4. When it looks like almost all of the liquid is cooked or looks like wet scrambled eggs. Add the broccoli and cheese to one side. Let it continue cooking turn it down to low if its going too fast. You want the cheese to be almost melted. I let this cook like this for approx 3 minutes

4. Fold the empty side of the eggs over the top of the other with a wide spatula and a fork to help. Once I folded it. I held it down with my fork for just a minute and happy it stayed put. The veggies were slightly falling out but that's okay... just means I am eating good healthy stuff. 

5. Put a couple more slices of cheese over the top and cook it on low until that cheese melts - 

this took another approx 5 minutes. 

Serve it up... eat it warm... don't be like me and burn your tongue on hot yummy melted cheese (wink). Serve it with toast and/or some extra broccoli or fruit. I did the extra broccoli since I am hitting the gym. Need the fiber to keep me full for awhile. 

perfect along side a large glass of water or coffee

Enjoy breakfast any time of the day. It is the weekend, right? 

From my kitchen to yours!