brunch recipe Archives - Pechluck's Food Adventures

Shrimp and Savory Oatmeal Recipe

January 22, 2018 by Pechluck 11 Comments

Did you know that January is National Oatmeal Month? I am a huge Shrimp and Grits fan, but in a pinch making this Shrimp and Savory Oatmeal recipe still feeds that fix without all the time needed to cook grits. I also find that substituting a savory oatmeal for grits is more stick to your ribs filling, while also being slightly faster to cook, slightly lower in calories and carbs, and richer in fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein. I openly admit adding the butter and cheese and bacon and shrimp does not make it any healthier, just more delicious!
Shrimp and Savory Oatmeal Recipe, all the flavor of Shrimp and Grits but faster to prepare and healthier but still all the comforting flavors

When I made these for New Year’s Day, I had plain oatmeal in one pot which I cooked alongside another pot of the savory oatmeal. My version of savory oatmeal includes toasting it, cooking it in a mix of water and bit of cream, then stirring in parmesan and green onions.
Shrimp and Savory Oatmeal Recipe, all the flavor of Shrimp and Grits but faster to prepare and healthier but still all the comforting flavors
Then I set up my kitchen counter to have multiple toppings for an Oatmeal Buffet, from various flavored salts and hot sauces to smoked honey, crumbled bacon, and shrimp. Various fruits and a container of brown sugar can offer some sweetness. After a cold morning hike or shoveling snow or ice, this would be a perfect breakfast for a group that’s so easy to put together. But it’s also a great anytime meal! On an everyday basis, I tend to just toast the oatmeal, cook it in a milk water mix, and then add parmesan.

Savory Oatmeal Recipe, toast the oatmeal, cook with a milk water mixture, and add parmesan

You’ll notice for this savory Oatmeal I added an extra layer of flavor by toasting the Oatmeal with butter before cooking it in the milk and water mixture. This can work even if you don’t want to add the cheese as a special trick when making Oatmeal. This works both with steel cut or old-fashioned oats.

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Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink Tagged With: breakfast for a crowd, breakfast for a group, breakfast recipe, brunch recipe, Cheesy Oatmeal, cooking, easy cooking, easy recipe, National Oatmeal Day, National Oatmeal Month, Oatmeal buffet, Oatmeal party, Oatmeal toppings, recipe, Savory Oatmeal, Shrimp and Oatmeal, Shrimp and Savory Oatmeal Recipe, Toasted Oatmeal

Biscuit Eggs Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

January 4, 2017 by Pechluck 4 Comments

Every year I spend New Year’s Day watching the Rose Parade on TV if I’m in the US. Last year I was in Japan, but I was back to my tradition this January 2, 2017 (they moved it because they don’t ever hold it on Sundays traditionally). There was even a memorable year I was in Los Angeles and my sister (attending USC Law School at the time, now this year celebrating her first New Year’s as a mother to a 3 month daughter) even helped arrange my mom and other sister to get seats and watch it in person. It was incredible being able to see all the breathtaking details of the flowers, though I did miss a bit of the announcer highlights they narrate on TV.
Watching the 119th Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Year's Day

This year to accompany the bottle of sparkling that I cheered the parade on with as I watch, I also prepared this incredible Biscuit Eggs Sausage and Cheddar Breakfast Casserole. You can prepare everything for this Biscuits Breakfast Casserole the day before and then just pop it in the oven, which is perfect for a non morning person or after a long night up. I like how this casserole basically puts all of breakfast – like a breakfast that would have Biscuits and Sausage Gravy as one item, and Cheesy Egg on the side, all together in every bite.
Recipe for Biscuit Eggs Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

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My Review of Cravings by Chrissy Teigen

August 23, 2016 by Pechluck 5 Comments

My review of Cravings by Chrissy Teigen is that it delivers on exactly what it promises in it’s title and cover. There’s plenty of photos that look Instagram ready, per someone who has such a social media following. There’s plenty of her enthusiastic foodie voice – that is, Chrissy is not a trained culinary professional, or in the food industry – she just LOVES food openly and unabashedly. And, her writing on every page is evidence of that love of all things delicious.
Cravings by Chrissy Teigen

The recipes vary over a wide range except for dessert. She and I are alike in that way of preferring savory foods especially our love of cheese or cream and eggs to sweets. The recipes are very homey that are a combination of things you would expect in a family, inherited from various people and passed down because people like it for everyday meals.

11 things for breakfast, and I think it’s completely Chrissy’s fault that for the past couple months I’m in a breakfast craving period – I usually go straight to dinner type dishes, but this summer I’m all about breakfast and brunch dishes and lots of eggs. You’ll soon see because starting next Friday I have a whole Best PDX Breakfast Sandwich series I’m kicking off!
7 soups,
9 hearty salads,
14 recipes under noodles and carbs,
6 recipes of homemade Thai stuff from her mom Pepper in a “Thai Mom” section, which I adore her mom-love and that thsi section includes some unusual Thai choices – not Pad Thai or Fried Rice but Jok Moo (Thai Pork and Rice Porridge) and Pepper’s Pork-Stuffed Cucumber Soup
15 of stuff for parties,
8 short recommendations for stuff on toast on a two page spread,
9 vegetable dishes,
6 “things that intimidate people but shouldn’t”,
17 dinner entrees.

The recipes themselves generally focus on not being healthy, but being crave-worthy – often tasting rich. A recipe for Cheesy Cheeseless Scrambled Eggs with burst cherry tomatoes uses 12 eggs and 1/2 cup of cream and blistered cherry tomatoes to make a rich tasting egg but distribute it over a big dish for many people. Same goes for her party dish of Steak Bites with Melty Blue Cheese Butter that pairs 1/2 pound of NY strip steak and 2 ounces of blue cheese to serve 4-6, or a trick of substituting potatoes with Cauliflower Mash with Roasted Garlic and Ricotta so it is still creamy and garlicky.
Cravings by Chrissy Teigen cookbook recipe, Pull Apart Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

Then there are the recipes that just don’t care. The same breakfast section yielded her Creamy Parmesan Skillet Eggs that are decadent with a cup of Parmigiano Reggiano and 1/2 heavy heavy cream for two servings of 2 eggs each for brunch. But damn if that wasn’t incredibly tasty. One of her soups is a Pot Pie Soup with Crust Crackers with multiple sticks of butter and 1/4 pound of deli ham and a pound of skinless rotisserie chicken meat. Her Chrissy’s Mac and Cheese with Cheesy Garlic Bread Crumbs boasts 3 cups each of grated cheddar and Gruyere or Swiss cheese *plus* 16 slices of American cheese.

Some recipes you can only trust must be incredible because how else would you come up with combos like Cheesy Jalapeno Tuna Casserole with Potato Chip Topping, or Yellow Cake Baked Oatmeal (with yellow cake box mix and oats and raspberries and peaches) or French Toast Casserole with Salted Frosted Flakes.
Cravings by Chrissy Teigen cookbook recipe, Yellow Cake Baked Oatmeal

The best part of this cookbook is her voice in how she isn’t afraid to be dorky about her food love. If you are into that type of voice rather than a knowledgeable one with lots of tips and tricks or history to a dish, and into a mix of recipes that are a bit all over the place, then you will think this cookbook is fun and enjoy it.

And, I really appreciate how amazing some of the food porn photos are. I eat with my eyes a lot and so it really encourages to make so many of these recipes.

Creamy Parmesan Skillet Eggs Recipe

Creamy Parmesan Skillet Eggs Recipe adapted from Cravings cookbook by Chrissy Teigen. I like it as sobering up food/get over a drinking night food over leftover rice like shown here
The recipe I’ve made most often from her book is the creamy parmesan skillet eggs that are decadent with a cup of Parmigiano Reggiano and 1/2 heavy heavy cream for two servings of 2 eggs each for brunch. The change I made is that I took out her call for salt, as I think the cheese already adds a level of saltiness to it. This is currently my new hungover/drinking night recovery breakfast meal. The whole thing takes only 15 minutes so that relief for an upset stomach of alcohol is fast.

My favorite way to serve this is generally on top of leftover rice from some Asian delivery (usually Chinese – soften the rice, usually about 2-3 cups worth, in the pan for a few minutes with a sprinkling of water over it and set aside before making the eggs). She recommends dividing the recipe in half to make it in two 6 inch skillets to serve two people, mainly because it looks cute presentation wise. I don’t care about presentation and just make it all together.

Ingredients:

1 cup finely grated or shredded Parmigiano – Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspooon chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste as desired
2 tablespoons butter
4 eggs

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the 1 cup of grated or shredded Parmigiano – Reggiano, and 1/2 cup heavy cream, and teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper and mix. I’ve done this with both the grated and shredded Parmesan – if you want it a bit more creamy, the grated Parmesan is the way to go. If you want a more solid almost like a soft cheese crispy, use the grated. You’ll be able to see both photos shortly of what it looks like finished…
In a 12 inch pan, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Once melted, add in your cheese and cream mix and wait until the mixture is bubbling all the way through.
Crack the 4 eggs into the skillet and cook a few minutes until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny. I use a silicone spatula to loosen the bottom to make sure it is firm – you should see a bit of a caramelized crust from the cheese and cream under the eggs.
Remove from heat and serve in the skillet or pour the entire hot mess over rice on a platter. Top with more black pepper and chopped fresh thyme.

To the left, you can see the recipe with grated Parmesan, to the right is my version with grated Parmesan which you see has a more solid cheese layer that is a bit crispy at the edges.
Creamy Parmesan Skillet Eggs Recipe adapted from Cravings cookbook by Chrissy Teigen. I like it as sobering up food/get over a drinking night food over leftover rice like shown here

Do you know who Chrissy Teigen is? What do you think of some of the dishes she includes are recipes in her book that I have mentioned? What’s your go to food in the morning after a big drinking night to settle your stomach?

Disclosure: This book was provided to me as part of the Blogging for Books program, but I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

Filed Under: Book Review, Cooking, Food and Drink, Sponsored Post Tagged With: #bloggingforbooks, Blogging for Books, breakfast, breakfast recipe, brunch, brunch recipe, Chrissy Teigen cookbook, Chrissy Teigen recipe, cookbook review, cooking, Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, Cravings cookbook, Creamy Parmesan Skillet Eggs Recipe, eggs and cheese, eggs and parmesan, eggs recipe, recipe, review of Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, skillet eggs, vegetarian

Avocado Breakfast or Brunch Recipes

July 28, 2014 by Pechluck 1 Comment

These Avocado Breakfast Recipes or Brunch Recipes are very simple ways to eat avocado, but so satisfying. I don’t know if I can really call them all of them recipes as much as ideas that are self explanatory. And they are my favorite ways to incorporate avocado into a breakfast or brunch.
The delicious ways to incorporate California Avocados into your breakfast or brunch. When removing avocado, I like to cut them and then peel off the skin rather then trying to scoop the avocado from the skin!

The most obvious way is of course with a breakfast burrito. I decided to make one with bacon and jalapeno with avocado spread This is the recipe for 1 portion, for 1 person.

Bacon Avocado Jalapeno and Cheese Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients:

1 avocado, pitted
1/3 of a jalapeno, finely diced (your call on the seeds)
1/2 of a lime for the juice (about 1 tablespoon)
1 slice of bacon
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup of cream
pinch of salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 flour tortilla
1/4 cup of shredded Mexican cheese

Directions:

In a small mixing ball, add the avocado (I like the cut the avocado in half and then peel off the skin rather than trying to scoop the avocado out of the skin) and the lime juice and mash together. When you chop the jalapeno, it is your choice whether to leave the seeds in for heat, and how much seed to leave in (I only left in 1/4 the seeds of the whole jalapeno) – add this in as well and mash together. When I made mine, I made 3 avocados worth and with the rest I added some crumbled queso fresco and served it with the breakfast burrito.
On a cold frying pan, add the slice of bacon and turn up the heat. Cook the bacon, turning it halfway, until crispy. Set aside on a paper towel to absorb excess oil and to cool so that you can later crumble it into the breakfast burrito.
In the pan, I poured out the bacon fat until only about 1/2 tablespoon was left (I reserved the rest for other cooking. If you are making multiple portions at once, you can leave more in the pan). I then poured in the egg and cream and scrambled, adding a pinch of salt and bit of freshly ground pepper to my taste.
On 1 flour tortilla, spread out the scrambled egg in the middle, and then crumble the bacon and add on top of the egg. Sprinkle the shredded Mexican cheese (a mix of cheddar, monterey jack, and asadero and queso quesadilla cheese), and then add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the avocado jalapeno mixture.

English Muffins and Avocado

Another way is after toasting some English Muffins, I scrambled some eggs and instead of a rich Hollandaise sauce, I just sliced up 1 avocado and added a sprinkle of some shredded triple cheddar cheese and it was luxurious without all the fat.

Or on a weekday, I simply mash 1 avocado in a bowl and spread it on toasted English Muffins, top it with sprinkles of queso fresco or cojita cheese, and off to the rest of the workday we go!
Avocado on toasted english muffin topped with queso fresco cheese

What are your favorite ways to have avocado?

Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink Tagged With: @ca_avocados, #cooking, #healthyeating, #MeatlessMonday, Avocado Breakfast Recipes, Avocado Brunch Recipes, avocado recipes, breakfast, breakfast recipe, brunch recipe, California Avocados, recipe, Simple breakfast, vegetarian

Breakfast Casserole Recipe

April 21, 2014 by Pechluck 5 Comments

This Breakfast Casserole is a perfect way to whip up something hearty and savory for a brunch potluck, and this came to mind immediately when I wondered what to make for Easter, besides corn niblets in butter and mashed potatoes to go with some ham guests were bringing. This recipe has sausage in it so is not vegetarian, but you could substitute for it as long as it is something seasoned well.
Breakfast Casserole Recipe - cooked celery, onion, Aidell's chicken bacon pineapple sausage, a layer of Emmenthel swiss, and then roasted broccoli before adding the 3 eggs/1 cup milk.

I’m sad to report that my refrigerator/freezer seems to be dying a slow death. We hope that maybe we might be able to repair it, but since this came with the house when we purchased it, who knows how old it is and maybe it’s time to replace it.

One of the great things about this breakfast casserole recipe is that it’s really more of a guideline than rule. You can throw all sorts of things into it and it will still be great- which is useful when you have things chilled instead of frozen in your freezer and you want to start using everything you have before it goes bad.
Breakfast Casserole Recipe - cooked celery, onion, Aidell's chicken bacon pineapple sausage, a layer of Emmenthel swiss, and then roasted broccoli before adding the 3 eggs/1 cup milk.

When I did the inventory of my freezer, I knew that by doing a breakfast casserole besides using the eggs, cheese, and milk in my refrigerator section, I’d be able to get rid of one of the frozen half loaves of bread I tend to squirrel away because I can never eat a whole loaf. I added in some frozen Aidell’s chicken bacon pineapple sausage (yes, egg AND chicken together!) and a partially used bag of frozen broccoli. I also used some leftover parsley and celery from a DIY 3 day juice cleanse from last week, and the other half of onions and a jalapeño from a guacamole recipe (I’ll be sharing that at the end of the month in anticipation of Cinco de Mayo post on a guacamole bar!).

Topped with green onions and parsley, this hodge podge of getting rid of misc things was still really tasty and all came together! You can use any combination of vegetables and meats you’d like (such as ground meat or bacon).

Ingredients:

1/4 loaf of old bread (a few days old so it is a bit harder), chopped into 1 inch cube pieces
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced celery
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 diced large chicken sausages or 1 pound ground sausage or seasoned meat
1 diced jalapeño
3 stalks of green onions, chopped
2 cups chopped broccoli, cooked. I roasted mine in the oven with simple salt and pepper at 400F for 40 minutes
2 cups shredded cheese of your choice, divided in half. I often use cheddar or pepper jack but this time I used Emmentaler Swiss
6 eggs
1 cup milk (I used low fat)
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions:

Grease a 9×13 casserole dish and distribute the cubed bread.
In a large sauté pan, sweat the onions and celery in the olive oil until the onions brown slightly. add in your meat and finish until the meat is cooked and browned. Pour the contents of the pan over the bread and let absorb the flavors. This is when I roasted my broccoli and chopped the green onions and jalapeño and shredded cheese…
Top the dish with the jalapeño and a big handful of the green onion. Then add in a layer of 1 cup of the cheese, followed by the broccoli. You can fold everything together, but I left it in layers.
In a mixing bowl whisk the eggs and milk together and then pour into your casserole dish. Cover and let refrigerate overnight (or at least as many hours as you can) so all the flavors have a chance to marry.
When it’s time to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F. Top with the remaining 1 cup cheese and bake for 30-40 minutes until the egg has risen and a skewer through should come out clean.
Remove the dish from oven and top with the parsley. Let cool for 15 minutes at least for it to firm up before cutting to serve.

I love that the breakfast casserole has your breakfast egg, but is also packed with lots of veggies here.

Breakfast Casserole Recipe - cooked celery, onion, Aidell's chicken bacon pineapple sausage, a layer of Emmenthel swiss, and then roasted broccoli before adding the 3 eggs/1 cup milk

You can add color by using red and orange bell peppers, squash, your call. You could use spinach or kale or cauliflower or any number of vegetables. Depending on how many veggies you put in, you might adjust your egg/milk ratio- this had a lot of veggies so I used 6 eggs, but other versions have called for 8 or even 12, which also means that this is easy to scale up for a big group.

I used sliced up sausages, but you could easily used browned ground meat instead, or even a lot of crumbled bacon! As I said, this is a great, very adaptable recipe once you know the basics of the bread (and you can use any kind of bread you’d like- including croissant bread!), eggs, milk, and then meat and vegetable additions per your taste.

For instance, below I made it with some leftover Easter ham with some leftover cauliflower and broccoli and bread I had- just threw it all together because I had old bread, aging meat and veggies… ok, buy some eggs, casserole time!
Ham and Cheese and Broccoli and Cauliflower Egg Casserole