Food Bloggers Against Hunger: Cheesy Egg Muffin Sandwich

This past summer, with the help from Nicole of The Giving Table, bloggers joined together and dedicated their posts to fight for slave-free tomatoes.  After posting a Gluten-Free Tomato Tart last July, we were asked to participate in the Food Bloggers Against Hunger event.  Of course, we couldn’t wait to participate!

Nearly 1 in 4 children in America lives in households that struggle to put food on the table.  Millions of Americans who participate in the nation’s food stamp program are limited to an average of $4 per person, per day to supplement their food budget.  As a result, they struggle with hunger at some point during the year.  Rates of food insecurity are substantially higher than the national average among households with incomes near or below the federal poverty line, and among households with children headed by a single parent.  In Washington D.C., 30.7% of children experience limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods at some point during the year.

For a little homework, we watched A Place at the Table.  It’s a documentary that examines hunger in America by focusing on 3 families which struggle to put food on the table for their children.  It discusses how U.S. government subsidies favor products that require processing (e.g., soy beans, wheat, and especially corn) over fresh fruits and vegetables that can be consumed with little or no processing.  As a result, the most affordable food is often calorically dense, processed food, lacking nutritional value.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s food stamp program, is at risk for severe cuts that would impact millions of families and children who rely on school meals and food stamps to survive.  A number of anti-hunger organizations: Share Our Strength, Bread for the World, Feeding America, The Food and Research Action Center– are asking supporters to spread the word.

Our nations policies need to change in order for this problem to be solved.  Here are a few ways you can help and participate:

1) Send a letter to Congress asking them to support anti-hunger legislation.  The more letters we send, the better.  Send this letter, it’ll take less than 30 seconds to fill out.

2) Go see A Place at the Table!  Screenings will be held in select cities through mid-June.  You can also view it on iTunes and Amazon.  Spread the word on what you have learned from the documentary.

3) Volunteer with Share Your Strength‘s Cooking Matters program.  The No Kid Hungry campaign educates and empowers low-income families to stretch their food budgets.

The documentary points out that many children and adults do not have access to low-cost, healthy breakfasts, and many go to school or work without eating anything.  With that in mind, Sam and I decided to post our favorite breakfast- it’s easy, fast, healthy, and low-cost.  Over 200 bloggers are participating in this event, check out what recipes others have posted.

I stopped by a local Safeway to pick up food for our breakfast, and to make sure we were on budget:

 Old Tyme English Muffins: $1.29 for 6; $0.22/English Muffin
 Lucerne Grade A Eggs: $2.49 for a dozen; $0.21/egg
 Lucerne Extra Sharp Cheddar: $4.39 for 16 oz; $0.27/ounce
 Green Onions: $1.39 for a bunch (approx. 8); $0.17/onion

Total Cost for one Cheesy Egg Muffin Sandwich: $0.87

 Total Calorie and Fat content per sandwich:
 Calories: 341*
 Fat: 17

*We used unsalted butter, but feel free to substitute with cooking spray.  We are assuming that everyone has one of these two items in their kitchen.

Cheesy Egg Muffin Sandwich
A Fifth Floor Kitchen blog
Servings: 2

2 English Muffins (preferably whole wheat)
2 eggs
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1 tsp butter or cooking spray
1-2 green onions, chopped
2 oz cheddar cheese, sliced or shredded

The trick with making omelets is to use a smaller pan, so that the omelet has enough depth to allow for folding over.  An 8-inch, non-stick pan is perfect for this.

While cooking the eggs, toast 2 English muffins in a toaster.

Crack two eggs into a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper and beat with a fork until well incorporated.  Coat the pan with butter or cooking spray, and put it over medium heat.  Once the pan is hot, pour in the scrambled egg mixture.  Sprinkle green onions on one half of the egg mixture, wait until it begins to firm up.  When the omelet is firmed up, and only slightly liquidy on top, add the cheese slices on top of the green onions.  With a rubber spatula, gently fold the omelet in half.  Turn the stove top off, wait for about a minute to allow the cheese to melt.  Then cut the omelet in half, and serve each half on an English Muffin.

Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Casserole

As I’ve mentioned before, Sam and I do a lot of running.  Currently, we’re training for the Rock ‘n Roll USA Half Marathon, which is held in DC in March!  Are any of you running it?  I would love to see some bloggers and readers out there!

For me, the hardest part about training for distance races (halfs, fulls, etc) is providing your body with enough nutrition and energy.  Specifically, the day you do your long run- ours tend to be Saturdays.  What can you eat after a run during which you’ve burned over 1,000 calories?  A burger definitely hits the spot, but I some mornings all I want are eggs.

A couple of weeks ago, I was perusing my Google Reader and I saw the perfect post-long run breakfast dish.  It was from Liza, of (a)Musing Foodie– a fellow blogger I met at the Eat, Write, Retreat Food Blog Conference.  The best part was, it’s a dish you put together the night before, and just pop it into the oven in the morning.

Even if you don’t have a long run planned for this Saturday, this is a perfect dish for your brunch guests.  Easy, delicious and very versatile!

Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Casserole
Adapted from: (a)Musing Foodie

Liza used a baguette, I did not have one on hand- so I used leftover whole-wheat bread from Trader Joe’s that had flaxseeds and sunflowers seeds in it.  Feel free to use what you have in your bread box!  Additionally, use any type of milk product for the 2 1/2 cups of liquid (regular milk, soy milk, almond milk, etc)- I ran out of the soy milk so I substituted the rest with the half ‘n half.

2 cups of bread, cubed
6 slices of bacon
1 large onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño, chopped (optional)
1 lb Polish sausage, cut into small pieces
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
10 large eggs
2 cups soy milk
1/2 cup half ‘n half
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Spray a 9×13” baking dish with cooking spray. Then spread the bread cubes on the bottom of the baking dish.

Heat up a large skillet, place the bacon on it and heat it up until crispy on both sides.  Set aside on a paper towel, but leave the bacon grease in the pan.  Then add in the onion, let it cook until translucent over medium heat, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and jalapeño, cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Next, add in the sausage and cook for about 5-10 minutes, until it begins to brown.  Add all of these ingredients into a large bowl.

Once the bacon has cooled off, chop it up and add it to the bowl.  Then mix in cheese, spinach, and green onions.  Once the meats and vegetables are mixed, spread this out over the bread cubes in the baking dish.

Next, in a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, soy milk, half and half, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.  Then pour this mixture over the layers in the casserole dish, and gently press down so the liquid drips down.

Cover the casserole, and let it sit overnight in the fridge.

Once you’re ready to cook it, preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Bake the casserole covered with aluminum foil for 45 minutes.  Then uncover it, and bake it for another 15 minutes when it starts to bubble.

Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Food Matters Project #31: Polenta with Mushroooms

It’s another Food Matters Project post!  This weeks recipe was chosen by Sandra, of Meadows Cooks.  From Mark Bittman’s Food Matters Cookbook, she had chosen the recipe for Polenta Cakes with Garlicky Mushrooms.  Check out what other Food Matters Project participants made here.  For the original recipe, check out Sandra’s post.

Sam and I have been trying to clean out (and by that I mean eat everything) from our pantry, freezer and fridge.  It’s a good way to start 2013- with some organization!  So when I read the recipe and didn’t have all of the ingredients, I decided to use what I did have.  Fortunately, Mark Bittman’s recipes are flexible and forgiving!  The only problem is, the recipe might just not turn out like you had thought.

As you check out everyone else’s posts, you’ll see that everyone has polenta cakes.  Unfortunately, ours did not settle and harden.  So we were left with just polenta- but that did not stop us from eating it.  So this version is slightly different than the original recipe, but I think it’s equally delicious and worth a try!

Polenta with Mushrooms
Inspired from: The Food Matters Cookbook & Honest Fare

Polenta:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup mushrooms, finely diced
2 shallots, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup corn meal
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Mushroom Topping:
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 bacon strips
1/4 red onion, chopped
10-15 mushrooms, sliced
1 jalapeño, chopped (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, then add the mushrooms and shallots.  Sauté for about 5 minutes, next add in the garlic and cook for another minute.  Then remove from heat, and set aside.

In a medium pot, heat 4 cups of water until it is boiling.  Lower the heat and add the corn meal, while stirring so no clumps form.  Continue to stir the corn meal until it creamy and begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.  Then add in the salt, pepper and mozzarella cheese.  Continue to cook and stir for another 10 minutes, then remove from heat.  Add in the mushroom mixture, stir well to combine all of the ingredients.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil, then add in the bacon strips.  Allow them to cook until they are crisp.  Remove them from heat, and set aside.  Once cooled, chop the bacon into smaller pieces

In the olive oil and bacon grease, heat the onions, mushrooms and jalapeño for about 5 minutes.  Once cooked, remove from heat and toss in the chopped bacon.

Pour the cooked polenta (corn meal) into a bowl, top with the mushroom topping, and serve.

Food Matters Project #29: Apples, Blue Cheese & Honey

It’s another great recipe idea from Mark Bittman’s Food Matters Cookbook.  This weeks Food Matters Project was chosen by Jessica.  Jessica’s blog is Cheese Please, check out her version of today’s dish- Cheddar Cheese and Almond Nut Balls.  Also see what other cheese recipes everyone else made: Cheese-Nut Balls.

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s a little hectic and slightly stressful around here.  So upon reading Mr. Bittman’s recipe and seeing pear and blue cheese, I decided to take this in a completely different direction.  Yes, no cheese balls- more like a perfect cheese relaxation plate!

Sam stopped by our favorite cheese store- Cowgirl Creamery, and picked up a giant block of Colston Bassett Stilton.  We had some leftover apples from the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market, as well as some local honey.

When was the last time you had bought yourself a nice block of cheese?  Not when guests come over to serve as an appetizer, but just for yourself to indulge and enjoy?  If you can’t remember the last time- then do this tomorrow.  You will not be disappointed.  This was a wonderful way to wind down after a hectic week.

I know there are some of you out there that don’t enjoy blue cheese.  If you’re one of them- definitely grab another type that you’d prefer.  Blue cheese does have specific taste- and this tangy flavor blended well with the sweet honey and crisp fall apples.

Apples, Blue Cheese & Honey
Inspired by: Cheese-Nut Balls from The Food Matters Cookbook (pg 56)

This is more of a suggestion, rather than a recipe.  The amount of apples, cheese, honey or walnuts are entirely up to you.  You can add/swap something else, just enjoy some amazing cheese (pears, crackers).

apples, cored & thinly sliced
Stilton or any variety of blue cheese
honey
walnuts (optional)

Pour a drop or two of honey onto a slice of apple.  First sprinkle cheese onto the apple slice, then top it off with some chopped walnuts.

Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope you all enjoyed the BBQ’s and fireworks today!

Thanks to our friends who had a great barbeque, we enjoyed the 4th!