Pepperoni Egg Muffins

Pepperoni Egg Muffins

I'm a big fan of the weekend brunch. Lazy mornings, getting up whenever and then scavenging the fridge trying to figure out what to placate our growling tummies with.

I'm a huge lover of the quiche. In fact, from 2010 to 2011 I had a mushroom or spinach quiche almost every weekday morning on my way to work. What? You can't blame me! The bakery at the Perth train station had a sinfully irresistible smell of freshly baked goods at 7 and since the pharmacy I worked at was in Midland, 1:15mins away, I always had breakfast on the platform as I wait for the Midland train. Mushroom quiche and peach flavoured Nestea was my undoing.

On this Sunday morning however, we had run out of bread and I wanted something more filling than just baked eggs. So I went with my staple egg muffin recipe and took it up a notch with chives, pepperoni and grated cheese. It was nice and moist on the inside with the flour settled around the bottom and edges to form a browned outer shell.

If you're fit fam you can always substitute the pepperoni with a low fat sausage or thin turkey slices or beef ham.

This is an easy crowd pleaser if you're looking to entertain guests. From start to finish this took about 30 minutes. It'll make six large muffins.

Here's what you need

2 large Eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup of milk

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup of pepperoni, sliced and diced.

1/2 cup cheese, grated

4 tablespoon chives

1 tsp dried oregano leaves

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

1 cube Maggi seasoning,

Here's what you do

Preheat your oven to medium-high (about 200*C)

Add the the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper and Maggi seasoning seasoning then whist until uniform.

In a separate bowl, whisk the milk and eggs together. Slowly incorporate the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix until no clumps are visible.

Save some pepperoni slices and half the cheese for the toppings, the dice the remaining.

Add the pepperoni, chives, oregano and half the cheese into the batter and mix

Pour into a greased muffin tray and bake for 12 - 15 minutes.

Take the muffins out of the oven.

Top with cheese and pepperoni slices

Return to the oven but turn off the bake feature (lower burner) and turn on the grill feature (top burner) for 5 minutes or until the pepperoni is crisp and curled around the edges. If you don't have a top burner, you can use the bottom oven feature set on low heat.

That's it!

Serve with a tomato based sauce for maximum flavour. I used some of my secret recipe Italian pasta sauce that I had left over and it was glorious.

Hope you enjoyed this recipe! Let me know in the comment box.

Lotsa Eggy love,

Ummi.

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One pot Beef Shawarma

Shawarma with a twist!

Mr. H and I are such Shawarma snobs! You can't blame us though, most locals like their shawarma full of ketchup, chili, mayo and enough cabbage to feed 100 bunnies. We tend to prefer the more traditional flavour with acidic ingredients like pickles and fresh tomatoes in a garlic tahini sauce. Although once in a while, we do give in to the chicken mayo swirl of Chicken Capitol.

 

 

 

On this very day, we had no pita bread. So I decided to go another way. Shawarma beef sautéed in tahini sauce and served with a fragrant steamed basmati rice.

 

It's a very filling meal that gave us the rich middle eastern flavour of beef and tahini while the rice made it a fully satisfying meal cos we were both sooooo hungry! It went down excellently with the rice and also, thickly sliced cucumbers as a dip.

 

This recipe might look complex because of the long ingredients list, but it really isn't. It's quite straightforward.

Enjoy!

For the beef shawarma

 

300g lean beef

1/2 cup plain yoghurt

2 medium onions (sliced)

2 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

2 stock cubes

2 tablespoons cooking margarine

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons middle eastern spice blend or

• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp clove powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4 tsp star anise powder
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice

For the Tahini Sauce

 

1 cup plain yoghurt

1 tablespoon middle eastern spice blend (or as above)

2 generous tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)

2 limes squeezed

One handful parsley (chopped)

Salt to taste

 

For the fragrant rice

 

2 cups of basmati rice

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

3 inches cinnamon stick

7 cloves

1 star anise

 

Here's what I did

 

Wash your basmati rice until the water runs clear then soak for at least 30 minutes

 

Drain the basmati and transfer to a rice cooker or pot. Add the salt, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves and anise. Add enough water and cook according to your rice specification. Keep warm.

Slice the beef thinly into strips

 

Combine all the ingredients for the beef shawarma except the margarine and onions in a bowl and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

 

On medium heat, place the pan with the margarine in it.

 

 

 

When hot, add onions and stir until the onions have wilted but not burnt. (5 - 10 minutes)

 

Add the beef and stir. Turn the heat down and cover pan

 

Stir every 2 minutes to prevent charring.

 

If necessary, add water one tablespoon at a time so it doesn't dry out.

 

Mix all the ingredients for the tahini sauce in a separate bowl. When beef is tender, add the sauce to the pan and stir.

 

Cook for 10 minutes or when sauce is browned.

 

 

Serve! That's it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Steak and Veggie Puff Pie

 

So you're having guests and looking to make something relatively easy but still want to impress? Try this!

 

Hearty strips of beef steak in a spicy roux + chunks of carrots and potatoes in a puff pastry basket.

 

 

 

You can always mix it up with different veggies. I actually planned to make beef and mushroom pie but I had run out of shrooms, so carrots and potatoes had to do.

 

This super easy recipe serves 5 - 6 adults and maybe more kids. Serve with a simple garden salad for a well balanced meal.

 

 

 

 

Here's what you need

 

300g of beef steak, cut in strips

2 puff pastry sheets

5 carrots sliced

10 potatoes roughly chopped

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic

1 inch ginger

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp margarine

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp barbecue sauce

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp oregano

2 seasoning cubes

Salt to taste

1 cup of water or beef stock

 

 

Here's how it goes

 

Bring out pastry from the freezer to thaw a little (30 mins).

 

Preheat oven to 200*C/medium-high.

 

Melt the margarine in a medium saucepan. Add the onions and stir until translucent.

 

Add the garlic and ginger and stir for two minutes.

 

Add the beef, salt, seasoning cubes, black pepper, oregano and stir until beef is browned.

 

Add carrots and potatoes and Stir fry for another 5 minutes.

 

Add soy sauce, barbecue sauce and sugar. Stir fry until dry.

 

Add tomato paste and water or stock. Cover to simmer for 10 minutes. Start next step immediately.

 

Meanwhile, roll out your pastry to the appropriate size and cover the base and sides of a baking dish.

 

Use a fork to dock a few holes in the pastry. Bake for 10 minutes. It should look half cooked.

 

Don't turn the oven off.

 

Add the flour to the beef in the saucepan and stir into a roux.

 

 

Empty the contents of of the saucepan into the pastry base.

 

Roll out the other pastry sheet and cut into 1 inch strips.

 

Use strips to form a basket weave like shown above.

 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the pastry is evenly brown and crisp.

 

Serve!

 

 

 

WARNING! This recipe is extremely popular and might make people like you. Share only at your own risk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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