eggs Archives - Ari's Menu

Pesto Parmesan Green Eggs & Ham

June 24, 2015 · by Ari ·

Hearty and full of flavor, pesto parmesan green eggs & ham are the perfect healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner!

I went to college in a verrrry small town in Idaho with approximately 2 breakfast options: The Bagel Shop, which was awesome, but more for for those 2am after the bar kinda nights, and The Breakfast Club, which was packed every single weekend morning with all the college kids making their visiting parents take them out for breakfast. Myself included.

I would always either get pancakes (with bacon and eggs and maple syrup on top, of course) or their almost-famous green eggs and ham with pesto and parmesan cheese. It was the bomb. I know nobody says the bomb anymore, but I am stuck in 1997. Don’t judge me. Anyway, I’ve been meaning to recreate this dish for a good long time, and after 20 hours of travel and a crap ton of jet lag, this super easy dish was the absolute perfect dinner.

Lately I’ve been eating a lot of eggs and I’ve been using Eggland’s Best eggs. Compared to regular eggs, Eggland’s Best eggs have 25% less saturated fat, 1o x more vitamin E, 4 x more vitamin D and 3 x more vitamin B12. If you’d like more information on their nutrition benefits, you can check out their nutrition info. They worked out great in this dish with the creamy pesto, and simple balance of flavors.

Pesto Parmesan Green Eggs & Ham

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Ari Ziskin

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 2-4

Hearty and full of flavor, pesto parmesan green eggs & ham are the perfect healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Ingredients

4 eggs (I used [url href=”https://goo.gl/owhi8q” target=”_blank”]Eggland’s Best[/url])
4 egg whites
small pinch salt
generous pinch pepper
2 tablespoons pesto sauce
large handful baby spinach
3 ounces chopped Canadian bacon
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese (+ more for topping)
fresh basil for topping

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and egg whites until well combined. Heat a medium-low nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray with nonstick spray (or olive oil or butter). Add eggs and season with salt and pepper.
Cook about 3/4 of the way (about 5-7 minutes, depending on the size of your pan), stirring often using a spatula or wooden spoon. Add pesto, spinach, Canadian bacon and parmesan cheese, and cook until eggs are fully cooked and spinach has wilted.
Serve immediately topped with more parmesan cheese (if desired) and chopped fresh basil.

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Eggland’s Best.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

May 28, 2015 · by Ari ·

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus gives the best of this summer produce with perfectly roasted asparagus, flavorful prosciutto, and a creamy poached egg. Tons of flavor with only a handful of ingredients!

You guys, you guys, you guyyyyysss! I poached my first egg today!!! It was so exciting, and nerve wracking, and I was 99% sure I was going to mess it up like 17 times before I got it right, but then this beautiful, perfectly cooked poached egg came out on my very first try, and I squealed like a little girl, and then immediately took 700 pictures, and came here to tell you about it.

I’m pretty sure I will never eat an egg cooked any other way again. A perfectly soft white with a creamy, drippy yolk…uggghhh I die. I used Eggland’s Best eggs, and they worked out great!. Compared to regular eggs, Eggland’s Best eggs have 25% less saturated fat, 1o x more vitamin E, 4 x more vitamin D and 3 x more vitamin B12. Also, I may just be biased, but I think they make bomb poached eggs. If you’d like more information on their nutrition benefits, you can check out their nutrition info.

Okay so let’s talk about this little combo. I am a huge fan of roasted asparagus. In fact, I will only eat it roasted or grilled. Steamed asparagus? Gag. I need those crispy, crunchy bites on the end. Asparagus is usually my go-to veggie. It’s so easy to make, and it comes out perfect every time. A little olive oil, salt and lemon pepper and you’re good to go.

I roasted my asparagus like normal, then just divided into two bundles, and wrapped each with half a slice of prosciutto and topped each bundle with a poached egg. Insanely easy (who ever thought you could say that about a recipe involving a poached egg! But it was!), and so delicious. Perfect for a side dish, appetizer or even breakfast!

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Recipe Type: Appetizer

Author: Ari Ziskin

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 2

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus gives the best of this summer produce with perfectly roasted asparagus, flavorful prosciutto, and a creamy poached egg. Tons of flavor with only a handful of ingredients!

Ingredients

1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil (or less–just a light drizzle)
pinch salt
pinch lemon pepper
1 slice prosciutto, sliced length-wise
2 poached eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400. Lay asparagus in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and lemon pepper. Roast until lightly browned and ends are crispy, about 20 minutes.
Divide into two bundles and wrap each bundle with prosciutto. Top with a poached egg. Serve immediately.

Notes

I used [url href=”http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/poached-eggs-recipe.html” target=”_blank”]this tutorial[/url] for my poached eggs and it worked great! I did not have a ruler or a thermometer so I eyeballed all of it based on what I saw on the video, and everything still turned out ok. I used a paper towel for drying.

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Eggland’s Best.

Breakfast Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

March 16, 2015 · by Ari ·

Whether it’s breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast, these perfectly roasted breakfast stuffed sweet potatoes filled with drippy eggs, crispy bacon and a drizzle of maple syrup are sure to impress!

Okay so don’t think I’m weird because I love maple syrup on my bacon and eggs. My favorite thing is a stack of fluffy pancakes with drippy eggs, crispy bacon and real maple syrup. The sweet and salty together…sooo good.

My other favorite thing? Stuffed sweet potatoes. Obviously. And what better to stuff them with when ya want something a little different than some protein-packed eggs? I love eggs. They are pretty much the cheapest and easiest way to instantly bulk up the protein in any dish.

For this dish, I used more of my Eggland’s Best eggs. I’m super into them. Compared to regular eggs, Eggland’s Best eggs have 25% less saturated fat, 1o x more vitamin E, 4 x more vitamin D and 3 x more vitamin B12. Whoa! For more information on their nutrition, check out their nutrition info. I’m sold!

I usually eat this as breakfast for dinner, but it totally works as a super filling breakfast–especially if you roast the sweet potatoes and cook your bacon ahead of time. With just a handful of ingredients, it’s naturally paleo, gluten-free and dairy-free. And the perfect bite of sweet and salty deliciousness.

Breakfast Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Ari Ziskin

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

2 small sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
coarse sea salt
3 slices center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 eggs, cooked to your liking (I did over medium)
pure maple syrup for drizzling, optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400. Use a fork to poke several holes into sweet potatoes. Brush each sweet potato with approx 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle to coat lightly with sea salt. Roast until fork tender (meaning a fork easily slides right into the sweet potato), about 45-60 minutes depending on size of your potatoes.
Once your potatoes have cooked, cook up your eggs. Slice cooked sweet potatoes down the middle leaving about an inch uncut. Stuff each potato with 2 eggs and a generous pinch of crumbled bacon. Drizzle with maple syrup of desired (you only need a small amount) and serve immediately

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Eggland’s Best.

Egg Salad with Bacon

February 18, 2015 · by Ari ·

Lightened up, protein packed egg salad with bacon is a delicious and easy recipe for a make ahead lunch, or a quick and simple dinner. Just a handful of ingredients and tons of flavor–you will never want to go back to regular egg salad again!

Okay, so I am a huge egg fan. Pretty much any way you can prepare them, and for any meal of the day, I’m game. They are such a great, inexpensive and healthy way to get protein, so when I got the opportunity to work with Eggland’s Best, I was immediately on board!

Compared to regular eggs, Eggland’s Best eggs have 25% less saturated fat, 1o x more vitamin E, 4 x more vitamin D and 3 x more vitamin B12. Whoa! For more information on their nutrition, check out their nutrition info.

I was super excited to find out they sell hardboiled eggs cooked and peeled. It made making this egg salad so easy. I often hard boil several eggs at once to keep them on hand, but when I’m in a time crunch, it’s great to have the option of having all of that done for me. Plus, boiling eggs is one of those simple things that I always manage to mess up.

To add even more protein to this egg salad (and cut some of the fat), I swapped most of the mayo with nonfat plain Greek yogurt. You can always use all Greek yogurt, but I find that the tiny bit of light mayo really does add to the flavor and makes it taste more like traditional egg salad.

A few weeks ago, I happened to have some left over cooked bacon lying around so I threw some on my egg salad sandwich. It.Was.Awesome. Like, I never want to eat my egg salad without it again. It’s one of those amazing secrets I almost wish I didn’t know, but now I know and there is no going back.

I also add a little Spike seasoning. My mom always put it in our egg salad growing up, and it’s an other one of those things that I just can’t do without. I literally use it on everything, but it is mandatory in my egg salad. Of course, you can replace it with whatever spices you like to keep on hand, but I recommend going with the Spike–you will thank me for sure! 🙂

Egg Salad with Bacon

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Ari Ziskin

Prep time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped (I used [url href=”http://goo.gl/UxzOBz” target=”_blank”]Eggland’s Best[/url])
1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon light mayo
light pinch salt
generous pinch pepper
generous pinch Spike seasoning (optional, but recommended)
4 slices center cut bacon, cooked and chopped

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined. Serve immediately on sandwiches/lettuce/etc., or store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Eggland’s Best.

Spinach Artichoke Deviled Eggs

December 5, 2012 · by Ari ·

The other day, Steve and I had a little conversation that went something like this…

Me: When are deviled eggs in season?
Steve: Umm, deviled eggs are always in season.

Point taken.

Plus, you can’t just eat peppermint bark and eggnog all day long for the entire month of December, right? Actually that doesn’t sound like a terrible idea…

But with all the holiday parties going on this time of year, it’s always nice to have an easy recipe on hand that isn’t a dessert since, you know, every single person you know will be bringing ginger cookies and truffles. Including me. I will be bringing dessert. Every.Single.Time. But sometimes I also bring non dessert with my desserts to, ya know, “balance” and “make good choices”.

Can we just talk for a moment about the brilliance that is the spinach+artichoke+cheese combination??? So.Freaking.Good. Pretty much every time I go out to eat and they list spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer, I sit there for a good 10 minutes trying to convince myself it’s “healthy” because it has the word spinach in the title.

But I have the BEST news. Yes, the BEST. In all caps because I get really excited about food. These are the best of, like, every world imaginable–deviled eggs, spinach artichoke dip, and still being able to fit into your pre-holiday-jeans all in one perfect little egg!

They have just a liiiittttle bit of miracle whip (or mayo if you’re one of those weirdos who hates miracle whip), Greek yogurt and light whipped cream cheese to get the perfect creamy consistency plus the delicious flavors of spinach and artichoke hearts perfectly spiced and topped with a little parmesan cheese to give you the full cheese dip effect, then sprinkled with paprika because, well, that’s what you do to deviled eggs. 😉

Spinach Artichoke Deviled Eggs

yield 2 dozen

12 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
2 tbs light miracle whip or light mayo
2 tbs light whipped cream cheese
large handful spinach, chopped
3/4 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp Spike seasoning
dash salt
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
paprika for dusting

Directions:

Split hard boiled eggs length wise and scoop the yolks out into a medium mixing bowl.
Add Greek yogurt, miracle whip/mayo and cream cheese to egg yolks and beat until well combined. Beat in spinach, artichoke hearts,lemon pepper, Spike and salt.
Use a piping bag, extra small cookie scoop or spoon to transfer egg yolk mixture evenly between the egg whites (you may have some extra left over).
Top each egg with a pinch of grated parmesan then sprinkle lightly with paprika.

Buffalo Deviled Eggs

April 22, 2012 · by Ari ·

You know what food I really missed when I stopped eating deep fried food? Buffalo wings. Those things are freaking delicious! But really, it is not the breaded deep fried chicken that has anything to do with this deliciousness. The chicken is purely the vehicle to get to the delicious, bold, spicy, flavorful buffalo sauce.

And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love deviled eggs??? Crazies. Weird people. Humans with defective taste buds.

Wanna know something strange about me? I don’t love mayonnaise. In fact, if I am going to eat it, I’m one of those freaks that only really likes the light Miracle Whip with a million fake ingredients. It’s strange, but I’ll own up to it. I mean, if you put some creamy potato salad in my face, I will eat it, don’t get me wrong. But like when I see people slather it on a sandwich, I just kind of don’t get it. Good thing there are much healthier and tastier solutions to getting that mayo consistency, like Greek yogurt!

I know many of you are skeptical. “What can someone who doesn’t like mayo know about finding a suitable replacement?!?!” Well, I may not love mayo, but I do love food, and trust me, you won’t be missing anything!

These, along with the super popular cake batter dip, were also made last weekend for Deann’s bridal shower. I think I made close to 20 eggs, and not a single one was left over.

On a random note, I apparently need to work on my drizzling height because the red sauce coming from seemingly no where freaks me out a little bit in this next picture. I promise, these are deviled eggs, not scenes out of a vampire movie.

Because, honestly, who doesn’t want their eggs to be spicier?

Buffalo Deviled Eggs

inspired by Baked By Rachel

yield 1 dozen

6 hard boiled eggs, shelled
3 tbs nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 tbs light miracle whip (or light mayo, or whatever you like)
1/2 avocado
garlic pepper to taste
1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot (or buffalo sauce of choice, but we all know Frank’s is the best)
1-2 stalks celery, minced
paprika for dusting
extra buffalo sauce for drizzling (optional)
crumbled bleu cheese for topping (optional–I LOVE it with bleu cheese, but not everyone shares my sentiment)

Directions:

Slice eggs length wise. Scoop out yolks into a medium mixing bowl and set whites aside.
Add yogurt, mayo, avocado, pepper and buffalo sauce to the yolks and mix well. Then use an immersion blender to smooth completely.
Transfer yolk mixture to a piping bag or plastic bag with the tip cut off and divide evenly between the egg whites (I used the star tip because I thought it made them pretty 😉 ).
Sprinkle lightly with paprika, then top with celery.
Add any desired optional ingredients, and serve immediately.

Mexican Egg Bake

December 27, 2011 · by Ari ·

I made this recipe a long time ago, back when this blog was titled “Skinnified”, but recently made it again with a few changes, so I just wanted to give it an update with some better pictures. It is equally, if not more delicious, and so perfect for hosting brunch for a large group!

Mexican Egg Bake

yield 12 servings

1 8oz package Pillsbury seamless creations
12 egg whites
4 whole eggs
1 onion, diced
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 can green chilies
1/4 cup red fat sharp cheddar or goat cheddar cheese, shredded
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1 lb cooked turkey or soy sausage, chopped (I’ve made both and I love it both ways)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbs ground cumin
dash chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
splash Chalulah
splash milk (I used 2%)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9×13 pan with nonstick spray.
Press Pillsbury dough into sprayed pan and cook about 12-15 minutes until golden.
Spray a large pan with nonstick spray. Over medium heat, saute garlic, onion and bell pepper until tender. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder.
When veggies are tender, add in sausage and continue to cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Whisk together egg whites and eggs. Add a splash of milk and a couple shakes of Chalulah.
Pour veggies and soy sausage on top of cooked dough. Add green chilies and egg mixture.
Top with cheeses and bake at 350 for about 45 min or until the center is set.