Recipes Featuring Eggs

If you are worried about keeping your egg recipe cold in a lunchbox, you can use my method. One trick is to pack a frozen yogurt tube in the lunchbox. Another is to use a blue ice. But by far my favorite is to pack it in a tupperware that has a blue ice that snaps into the lid. I found them in 1 cup and 2 cup sizes. I keep the blue ice part in the freezer so they are ready to go.

Hard Boil Egg

The perfect hard boiled egg is harder than it sounds. Boil your water too fast and you could end up with cracked eggs in egg soup. Boil your eggs too long and you will have a dark ring around the yolks. It doesn’t change the flavor, but it doesn’t look perfect. And first impressions are so important.

Stove Alert-AHN “Adult Help Needed” to watch

Hardware needed: a sauce pan, a metal slotted spoon, cold water with ice in a bowl aka ice bath

Software needed: one or more eggs, salt and pepper mixed together on a small dish

Place your raw egg gently in the pot, cover the egg with cold water until the water level is 1/2 inch or more above the top of the egg. Place the lid on the pot. If your egg was pulled straight out of the fridge, let it sit in the water for 15 mins. allowing the temperature of the egg to closer match that of the water. Then put the pot on med. low heat for 3 mins. then raise it to Med high heat. Once the water comes to a boil. Boil means that you see big bubbles rapidly coming to the surface of the water and popping. And the lid is moving up and down. Set the timer for 1 minute. After the time goes off. Turn off the heat and set the timer for 15 minutes. When the time goes off again, use your slotted metal spoon to take your egg out put them in your ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once they are cool enough to handle, tap the egg on the counter, peel off the shells, (which can go into your compost pile), rinse if off once to make sure there aren’t any shells left. Dip into the salt and pepper mixture and enjoy. Congrats you have made a perfect egg. This can lead to various other recipes… chef’s salad, egg salad sandwich, deviled eggs, pickled eggs

Basic Egg Salad

Stove Alert-AHN “Adult Help Needed” to boil the eggs

Hardware needed  egg slicer, mixing bowl, spoon for mixing

Software needed- 3 hard boiled eggs, 1 1/2 -2 tsp of nonfat plain greek yogurt, 1 tsp of sweet relish, pinch of Kosher salt, black pepper or white pepper.

peel the eggs, rinse them off in water to make sure there are no shells left. Using the egg slicer, slice one egg so they make little circles. then carefully rotate the egg 90 degrees and slice again. This should give you tiny cubes. put them in the mixing bowl. Add the pinch of salt, mayo, and relish. Mix well. My kids aren’t fond of black pepper so I use white pepper.

I am not a morning person so this on wheat toast or multigrain crackers with fruit makes a great breakfast. (or after school snack)

Angelic Deviled Eggs

Usually deviled eggs are made with all the egg yolks and mayo. These are angelic because we swap out some of the yolks and all of the mayo. You want some yolks because egg yolks not only give your deviled eggs the yellow coloring but they also help to prevent Macular degeneration in the eyes.

Hardware- small pot with lid, bowl of ice water, egg slicer, tablespoon, teaspoon, mixing bowl, slotted spoon,

Software- number of eggs that will fit into your pot (for me it is 6), 2-3 teaspoons of greek nonfat plain yogurt, 2 pinch kosher salt, 1/2-1 teaspoon sweet pickles chopped or sweet relish without the juice, fresh cracked black pepper, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard, small drizzle milk, rinse and finely chop 3 baby carrots.

Normally you want really fresh eggs for cooking but this is an instance where an older but not expired egg is best. Reason being that eggshells are porous. They let air and moisture in and out of the egg. Eggs have an inner membrane just beneath the shell. As the egg gets older and it is hard boiled the air between the shell and that membrane expands and you will notice that the shell won’t stick to the hardboiled white part of the egg. So you won’t be pulling the white off along with the shell when you peel it.

Steps:

• Boil the eggs in the pot. Remember start with cold water on med low for 5 minutes to bring the water and eggs up in temperature. Then turn up the heat to med. Once the water starts to boil set your timer for 1 minute or count for 60 seconds.
• After the timer goes off, turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the water for 15 minutes.
• As soon as the timer goes off, carefully scoop out the eggs with the slotted spoon and put them in the cold ice water to stop the cooking process. Using this method prevents the darkness that often is on hard boiled egg’s yolk.
• Take your eggs out of the water and peel them. Put them back in the bowl of water just to wash off any tiny eggshells that you might have missed.
• Cut the eggs in half lengthwise.
• Pull out the yolks of 4 eggs and put them in a mixing bowl. Give the other 2 yolks to your dog or throw them away.
• Chop up 2 of the egg halves using your egg slicer or a fork and add it to the bowl. This adds more protein to each egg halve and bulks up the mixture.
• Add the greek yogurt, relish/pickles, mustard, carrots (I like the color and crunch),salt and a couple of turns of pepper
• Mix well
• Using a teaspoon scoop the mixture into the egg whites so it makes a gentle mound. Or you can get fancy and put the mixture into a piping bag and squeeze it in the whites.
• Place them on your serving plate
• Either sprinkle the tops of the yellow mixture with paprika or cracked black pepper
• If you aren’t going to eat them right away, put them in a tupperware and stick them in the fridge.

Enjoy.

Stuffed French Toast

My kids will eat this as a breakfast on the run because it is easy to take and eat in the car. I make them the night before and just reheat in the toaster oven/microwave. This is a great recipe to add to any college students recipe files since you will usually have all the necessary ingredients on hand and it is really easy. Pack this with some turkey sausage and you have a nice lunch item too. Don’t forget the fresh fruit.

Stove Alert-AHN “Adult Help Needed” to watch you flip it.

Hardware: pancake flipper, bowl to scramble eggs in. make sure it is wide enough for a piece of bread to fit in it, fork, dinner plate, peanut butter knife, fry pan that a lid can cover

Software: canola/vegetable oil, 2 eggs, cream cheese, your favorite jam, 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract, cinnamon sugar/powder sugar (optional), splash of milk about 2 tsp, small pinch of salt, maple syrup/yogurt to dip

Tip- If possible leave the cream cheese on the counter to soften up 30 mins. prior to use so it is easier to spread. Or you can use the whipped cream cheese.

Spread the cream cheese on one slice of bread, spread jam on the other slice of bread. Put the 2 slices together as if you were making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Set it aside. Crack the eggs into the bowl, make sure you don’t have any egg shells in the bowl. Add the milk and vanilla extract. Using the fork scramble the eggs. Place the egg mixture and the sandwich next to the stove top. Have your empty plate ready. Have an adult turn on the stovetop to medium to med low heat. Pour 2 tsps of oil into the fry pan. Place your fry pan on the heat. While you are waiting for the oil to heat up, Dip your sandwich in the egg mixture then quickly flip it over and dip the other side of the sandwich in the egg mixture. Keep in mind that you do not want the sandwich to sit in the egg mixture too long or else the bread will get soggy from soaking up too much of the mixture. Using the fork transfer your sandwich to the fly pan. When you see the edges getting brown it is time to flip the sandwich. Using the flipper lift up the edge of the bread, slide the flipper under and give it a flip. Read Safety Tip. Once you are frying the second side, put the lid on the pan to ensure that the egg on the side of the bread is getting cooked too. After the second side if cooked, use the flipper to take it out and place it on a cutting board. Let it cool. Once it is cool enough to handle. Cut it into 4 long sticks. using your fractions lesson. Cut it into half, then cut each of the halves into half again lengthwise. Arrange them on your plate. Now you have some fun options. You can dust them with powdered sugar, or dip them length wise into cinnamon sugar, or leave them w/o a topping and have a small dish of maple syrup or yogurt to dip. or leave them plain and take them to eat in the car while on the way to dr appts, sports, music, or tutoring. Don’t forget to pack a bottle of water and napkins.

Safety Tip- It is important to remember to flip thing turning the flipper to the side. You never want to flip things towards you because you might splash hot oil on yourself. I tell my students to imagine they are turning the pages of a book. They should hold the flipper with their thumb nail pointing up and roll their hand so the thumb nail points down and away from their tummy.

Breakfast Casserole with Sausage, Potatoes, Eggs, and Cheese

This is a great casserole to add to your recipe files because you can do all the precooking and assembling the night before. Remember, I am not a morning person. Then in the morning just pop it into your oven and get ready for the day as the tasty smell fills your kitchen. Leftovers, if you have any, can be eaten like a quiche for lunch or dinner.

Oven Alert-AHN “Adult Help Needed” to turn on the oven and pull the casserole in and out.

Hardware- Lasagna pan, knife, cutting board, foil, fork or whisk, big bowl

Software- eggs or egg beaters, milk, southern style hashbrowns from the freezer section, heat and serve sausages (they are already fully cooked) (try to buy the nitrate free ones), mushrooms, sweet onion, shredded cheddar cheese.

I like to use a 8 x 8 pan if it is just my family and use a lasagna pan if there will be guest eating with us. To make it easier for pieces to be removed when serving, take the wrapper of your used up butter and wipe it all around the bottom and sides of your pan or spray PAM cooking spray.

Steps

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Spread a single layer of hashbrowns in the pan.
• Cut the sausages into bite size pieces.
• Peel the onion and slice it into thin slices.
• Wash the mushrooms and slice them.
• In a frying pan, brown the sausages, just to add color. Spread the sausages out on top of the potato layer.
• Add 1 Tbspn of butter in the fry pan and add the onions. Add a pinch of salt and saute until translucent.
• Spread them out over the sausages.
• Add 3 tablespoons of water and add the mushrooms. Saute til soft and darker in color.
• Spread them out over the onions.
• Cover with foil and put in fridge if you will be baking it in the morning.
• When you are ready to cook it, take the 8 eggs equivalent carton of Egg Beaters. Open it up and add 2 tablespoons of milk to the carton.
• Put the lid back on and give it a shake to shake it up. Pour it over the casserole.
• Cover it with foil and put it in the preheated oven.
• After 40-50 minutes, take off the foil to check if the eggs are cooked.
• If so, then have an adult remove it from the oven. Srinkle the cheddar cheese all over the top and return the casserole to the oven just to melt the cheese.
• Once the cheese is all melted have an adult take it out of the oven.
• Turn the oven off.
• Enjoy.

Leftovers can be enjoyed like a crustless quiche with a salad.

Is the Egg Fresh?

Other than the date stamped on the end of a carton, is there a way to check those eggs that have been sitting in you fridge? Yes, there is. Get a clear tall drinking glass or tupperware and put the egg in question in it. Then fill it with water. What happened? Is your egg sitting on the bottom of the glass with the bottom and top of the egg parallel to the table? Congrats you have a very fresh egg. As the egg gets older, air will pass through the shell. So the narrow top of the egg will start to point towards the opening of the glass. If the bottom of the egg is still touching the bottom of the glass, I would still use it. In fact this egg is easier to peel once it is hard boiled, due to the air in it, than a very fresh one. If your egg is floating, it has too much air in it. And like a floating goldfish, it is a goner. This actually makes for an interesting science experiment. Have the students make a hypothesis as to how long it would take for fresh eggs to go bad. Another variation would be to have students hypothesis how to prolong fresh eggs’ shelf life? meaning prevent air from penetrating the shell.

Eggs are something that every college bound, living on your own, cooking for yourself student should keep in the fridge. In my cooking for college class, I teach several dishes that utilize the versatile egg. Eggs are a great cheap source of protein, filling, easy to cook, and play well with other ingredients. I will post some of these recipes for you to try.

Hello world!

Welcome to my cooking with kids blog. I have never blogged before so this is an ongoing experiment. In fact I am rather tech challenged. to put it mildly. I still can’t figure out how to video myself so you can watch my recipes happen. So for those of you interested, you’ll still have to sign up for my classes or catch my live demos at various events. I decided to start this blog because some of my students’ parents asked me if I had a website or blog. To which I said no and that I didn’t even know what a blog was. It took the movie Julie and Julia, which BTW is a great film for a foodie like me, to see what a blog was. Once I found out that it was free. I was all over it.

I started this blog because I hope that people will be empowered/motivated to cook with their kids or for kids to cook for themselves (depending on the age of the kids). I teach a kids cooking class at the local community center. The age of my students are 3 years old and up. The preschool kids cook with an adult, the elementary age kids cook on their own, and I have a cooking for college class geared towards tweens and teenagers. Along with teaching at the community center, I have taught cooking at my kids’ schools, boy scout meetings, girl scout meetings, a birthday party, and Whole Foods Market. I have a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and have taught in public schools for 9 years. I have always used cooking to teach academics, cultural awareness, social skills, and manners in the classroom. I am not a formally trained chef. I am a teacher who loves to teach and loves cooking. If you are able to take anything away from my blog that helps you then I am glad.