Oh, Ina, how we loved you...

Baked Eggs

 Not only did I sop writing about food during that last semester of my Master's degree, but I had pretty much stopped reading food blogs, too, leaving me to play catch up with some of my favorites.  I was visiting with Mary at One Perfect Bite and found that she had started the new year by participating in the SNAP Challenge.  For the unaware, the SNAP Challenge requires living on the average weekly allowance for food stamp (to use the antiquated terminology) recipients in your state.  I had considered doing this myself, but fearing the wrath of the family, didn't.  I highly suggest reading Mary's posts for the first week of January, she does a beautiful job of illustrating the challenges faced by families receiving assistance.

One of the dishes Mary made for the challenge really caught my eye, her version of  eggs en cocotte, or baked eggs.  We adore Ina Garten's version of baked eggs, and have been making this at least once a month for a few years now.  pMary's version, did not use the cream and much less butter, is much more in keeping with our current approach to eating, so I had to give these a try.  One thing I did keep from Ina's recipe is the garlic and herbs because those are part of the reason we love the dish so much.  These eggs turned out so beautifully that we did not miss the cream and extra butter.  They were actually easier to make as well, an added bonus.

Baked Eggs II

 2  t butter or margarine
4 t parmesan cheese, divided use
4 large eggs
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 t dried thyme, crumbled
1/4 t dried rosemary, crumbled
coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
 2 T milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Mix the parmesan herbs, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Spray 2 2 (6oz) ramekins with cooking spray.  Place 1 teaspoon butter and one quarter of the parmesan mixture in the bottom of each cup.  Carefully crack two eggs into each ramekin.  Top each ramekin with 1onequarter of the parmesan mixture and 1 tablespoon milk.  Place ramekins on a baking sheet for ease in handling.  Bake until whites are set, about 16 minutes for runny yolks, 19 minutes for soft-cooked yolks or 22 minutes for hard-cooked yolks.  Remove ramekins from oven and serve immediately.  Makes 2 servings.


WW PointsPlus Value: 10 points for each two egg serving

I love reading food blogs...

 Roast Pork with Baked Chickpeas and Steamed Broccoli

It wasn't until I started writing my own back in October that I really started reading food blogs, but I am hooked.  I have my list of favorites that I check for new posts, but also look at a random 10 new ones daily from the Foodie Blog Roll.  One of my favorites is One Perfect Bite, written by Mary.  A few days ago she had a recipe for a Black Eyed Pea Casserole that sounded quite delicious.  I thought I would give it a try, but a search of the pantry did not uncover any black eyed peas (I really thought I had some), but I did find chickpeas (which I actually like better anyway).  I was also lacking the fresh herbs, the orange, and the molasses (I used the last of that in the Cincinnati Chili).  Undeterred in my quest for a different kind of "baked bean," I substituted and riffed and made it my own. isn't that what cooking is about anyway?  Take the time to give Mary's lovely blog a read and make one or both of these recipes, you won't be disappointed.