How to make perfect over-easy eggs

 For years I’ve made ‘easy’ eggs steamed, with a cover on. It works, but so often it would only take a few seconds for the yolk to get hard. More often than not, that’s what happened.

And we like our eggs with a nice runny yolk!

So if that’s you, here’s our new fool-proof way to get the perfect over-easy eggs.

• You need a non-stick pan.
• Put your fat/oil* of choice in the pan on medium heat. We like to use coconut oil, approximately 1 tablespoon per egg. Good fats add to the overall nutrition of your breakfast!
• After it warms for a couple of minutes, crack your eggs carefully into the pan. Salt and pepper them to taste.
• After the white of the egg is cooked on the bottom (the top part of the white will still be uncooked), carefully separate the eggs with your spatula and gently turn them over. This is the tricky part, but practice helps.
• Take the pan immediately off the burner and let the eggs cook just another minute in the heat of the pan before serving. Drizzle remaining coconut oil over the eggs.

Voila! Perfect over-easy eggs, totally yummy.

*If you use butter to fry your eggs in, it helps to add a bit of other oil with it. This keeps the butter from browning too quickly before your cooking is done.

Eggplant French toast

This is a great substitute for the real thing (desperation drives one to new creativity in the kitchen!).  It's gluten-free, milk-free, and great for a low-carb candida diet and can be sugar-free.  I've been discovering some different ways to cook and eat eggplant, not one of my favorite veggies, and this is one of the better ones.


This first step can be done ahead of time and frozen or just before you make the recipe.   I freeze individual portions in freezer bags and just do a quick thaw in the microwave when I want to use one.


Peel and slice an eggplant 1/2 inch thick, then bake them on a stovetop griddle or frypan on a lightly oiled surface, several minutes on both sides until golden and tender when pierced with a fork.  (Or, peel, cube, and saute in coconut or olive oil in skillet until tender.)


Arrange baked eggplant slices in a non-stick, oiled skillet.  Heat skillet on medium.


Beat together 2 or more eggs (your choice) with 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, dash salt, and 1/4 tsp. (or more to taste) stevia OR 1 tsp. sugar.


Pour carefully over eggplant, lifting each piece to allow egg mixture to run a bit underneath.   Cover and cook for a few minutes, then turn whole thing like an omelet.  Cover again and cook until done.


Serve hot with butter and syrup or your favorite topping.  (I use a bit of liquid vegetable glycerine mixed with maple flavoring as a sweet, non-sugar substitute--tastes just like maple syrup!)


M-m-m-m!  Yummy.

Breakfast Rice with Stevia

Here is a favorite breakfast recipe we do with stevia.  It's great to make ahead of time and microwave in a dish for a quick meal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blend well together in a mixing bowl:

• 4 c. cooked brown rice (1 1/2 c. raw cooked with 3 1/2 c. water)
• 4 or 5 large eggs
• 1 lg. can (13.5 oz) coconut milk rinsed with 1/2 c. water (or 2 c. milk)
• 1 tsp. good vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 packets (1 tsp.) powdered stevia

Pour into greased 9x13 glass cake pan.  Dot with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean in the middle.

Great served warm with milk on top.  Enjoy!

(Note:  For sugar users, substitute 1/3-1/2 c. brow sugar, honey, or maple syrup for stevia.  You can also add grated apple, dried fruit, and/or nuts for a heartier dish.)

Stevia Blueberry Sauce

This sauce is a delicious replacement for syrup on pancakes and waffles, or to make plain yogurt a bit nicer.  The blueberries aren't one of the sweeter fruits so this works well to cut down on that old sugar!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a large glass bowl, combine 2 c. frozen blueberries, 1 c. water, 1 tsp. lemon juice, and one packet (1/2 tsp.) stevia.  Microwave on high for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix 1 1/2 T. cornstarch with 1/8 c. water to a smooth consistency.  Stir this mixture carefully into the cooked blueberries, then microwave for 2 more minutes.  Stir well to mix.

This thickens when cooled but can be microwaved a bit to thin again.

Store in a glass jar in refrigerator.


NOTE:  You can cook this in a saucepan, following the same procedure.  It splashes blue everywhere so make sure to cover it!

Crockpot Granola with Stevia

Now a heads-up about this recipe.  It's not as sweet as you're used to and adding too much stevia to something actually makes it taste chemical-ly.  But as I've said earlier, when you cut back on sugar, you find you don't need things to be as sweet and can enjoy the subtlety of other flavors and textures.  An added benefit of this recipe is the CROCKPOT!  Great to save on electricity and keeping your kitchen cooler in the summer.  This recipes makes enough for the large crockpots.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a large bowl, mix well:

• 7 c. oatmeal
• 1 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 c. raw sesame seeds
• 1 c. raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 c. raw sunflower seeds
• 1/4 c. flax seeds
• 1 c. nuts of your choice
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 3-4 packets stevia (1 1/2 - 2 tsp.)

With a whisk, blend 1/2 c. oil (we used melted coconut oil) with 2 tsp. vanilla.  Stir into dry mix and blend well.

Pour into crockpot, set on low, and slightly prop open the lid to let steam escape.  After half an hour, stir every 10 or 15 minutes--once it starts to brown it seems to go pretty fast.  Mine is usually done in an hour or so.

Cool.  Store in airtight container.

Crockpot Granola

I've had some friends request this recipe so I'll share it here since it's so great.  Yes, granola even gets brown and toasted in the crockpot!  Another plus is the electricity savings from not using the oven.


Basically, you can take any recipe you like for granola and bake it in the crockpot.  Turn it on low and prop the lid open a bit so that the steam escapes.  After 45 minutes or so, stir and replace lid as before.  You'll need to stir it every 10 or 15 minutes after that until it's done to your liking.  Mine is usually done in an hour and a half or so.


I have the large-sized crockpot and my recipe is as follows.


Mix together:

• 7 c. oatmeal
• 1 c. coconut
• 1/2 c. each pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame seeds
• 1/4 c. flax seeds
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. or less sea salt

Blend in a small bowl:

• 1/2 c. oil or melted coconut oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. honey or to taste (I use stevia powder)

Mix all together well and bake.  Add dried fruit of your choice.