Muffin Tin Omelet/Fritata

I think most people who work and need to commute in the morning hate having to cook breakfast, and hate skipping it even more. It's so early and all you want to do is spend that extra 10-15 minutes in bed rather than get up to cook. Who needs to eat anyway? Then it's two hours later and you're looking longingly at a Starbucks for the first time in your life and thinking "They have breakfast in there...sort of!"

Normally I would make breakfast burritos in a large batch, but since Chris is limiting his carbs we needed something that got the job done, was high in protein and didn't require me waking up to cook in the morning. These are the solution! Chris and I made them last night, and I ate mine this morning for breakfast. It was pretty delicious, despite having canned spinach (which is disgusting). 

These are awesome because they're already broken up for individuals, and if you have to make them for a bunch of people you can customize them based on what people do/don't like. And they are super versatile!

We did sort of Mediterranean type thing: Spinach, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, garlic, bacon and I topped mine with a little feta crumbled up. But it would be easy to do something more Spanish (topped with salsa and avocado) or something really traditional.

Bottom Line: 4.5 Stars

Pork is a very misunderstood meat.

Chris was under the impression that he didn't like pork chops. Which I knew had to be crazy. Understandable though, considering what a mess most people make of pork chops, especially overcooking them. Overcooked pork is just... sad. Dry and sad.

Needless to say the situation needed to be remedied. Pork and Seafood fight for first place in my heart. So Friday night I made breaded pork chops, skillet greens and applesauce.

I didn't have bread so I used pre-made bread crumbs so I didn't add any salt like you would in this recipe. I think there was way too many or my chops were just much smaller. Either way I'm cutting back on them next time and increasing the garlic a little.

For the greens I made them according to the recipe using chard and kale, this time we didn't use the bacon fat, and despite what the recipe says I have concluded it is absolutely NOT optional. The pork fat plus the applecider vinegar is what makes that taste so good. However, they were remarkably good cold the next day, and I'm inclined to think the pork fat wouldn't have made it as good for leftovers. So if you are planning on eating them all in one night, definitely go with the bacon, if not it's up to you.

The applesauce was just out of the jar. I'm remaking this recipe (minus the greens) tonight and I'm going to warm the applesauce and doctor it a little.

Bottom Line: Porkchops 4.6 stars and this version of Greens 4.1 stars
No pictures for this one, didn't think about it till it was already consumed!

Skillet Greens with Apple Cider Vinegar Gastrique

These were delicious and SPICY! I use really hot red pepper flakes though, so it may just be me. 

I sort of wanted breakfast for dinner. So I had these with fried eggs. Grits or potatoes would have been great but I was lazy and didn't want to go to the store. I used collard greens and kale raab, which I didn't have any experience with. Major tip for both, but especially the kale: make sure you get every little bit of stem off, it is SUPER tough.

Everybody who lives in the Northwest knows that right now it's really hard to find a vegetable that's actually in season, luckily greens are and they are delicious. It's miraculous to me that my boyfriend grew up in the south and managed never to have them. If I was going to pair this with meat for a more traditional dinner it would be pork. Either slow cooked or chops would be fine. I actually really enjoyed the eggs with them though... I used 4 pieces of bacon to make the drippings, and I'm a little sorry I ate them on the side instead of adding them to the greens. Knowledge for next time. My gastrique was a little on the thin side, but still tasted wonderful. To be truthful though bacon, apple and shallots is a winning combo no matter what else goes in there!

The Bottom Line: 4.8 Stars