Spotting Breakfast - Ham and Cheese Omelet Roll

I love omelets... I usually make myself an egg white omelet for breakfast close to every morning. Making an omelet for a group of people can be annoying though. Everyone ends up finished eating before you've even sat down to start eating your omelet. When I saw realmomkitchen's ham and cheese omelet roll on TasteSpotting I knew I had to share it.

Photo from realmomkitchen

Ham and Cheese Omelet Roll (6 serving version)
via realmomkitchen

2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 plus 1/8 cup milk
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup finely chopped fully cooked ham
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Line the bottom and sides of a greased 9 x 13 baking dish with parchment paper; grease the paper and set aside. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and slowly add milk until smooth. Add flour and salt; mix until combined. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until blended. Add cream cheese mixture; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until eggs are puffed and set. Remove from the oven and use parchment paper to remove egg from the pan. Immediately spread with mustard and sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Sprinkle with ham, onions and 1/2 cup cheese. Roll up from a short side, peeling parchment paper away while rolling. Sprinkle top of roll with the remaining cheese; place roll in pan and bake 3-4 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
Yield: 6 servings.

There's also a recipe variation that serves 12 which can be found here.

On a side note - I found the realmomkitchen blog to have a cute design and a nice layout.

You could easily put any type of filling into the omelet instead of ham and cheese... Lightly sauteed cherry tomatoes and spring asparagus with fontina or cheddar would be a great use of spring vegetables. My favorite kind of omelet would have to be made with my special mushrooms and cheddar.

Here's to chickens and warm bellies.
- Cait

Spotting Lunch - Cannellini Bean and Ham Stew

After a filling "breakfast" I thought I'd like to find a lunch idea that would be filling, but not overly so. I thought of soup of some sort would be a great idea and after looking on TasteSpotting for a bit I came across a bean and ham stew. With Easter coming up it would be a perfect way to use up leftover Easter ham! Depending on the serving size, it would easily be a wonderful lunch OR dinner. The stew was posted on TasteSpotting by recessionipes.

Photo from recessionipes

Quick Cannellini Bean & Ham Stew

via recessionipes.com

Adapted from Gourmet, January 2007
Makes 6 servings
Total Price: NY $17.50
Price Per Serving: NY $2.91

Ingredients

• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped (NY $0.48 for 1 bulb)
  
• 1 large onion, chopped (NY $0.86)
  
• 2.5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (staple)
• 1 14.5oz. can stewed tomatoes, coarsely cut* (NY $1.59)
  
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (NY $1.29)
  
• 2 19 oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (NY $2.98)
• 1 1/2-lb piece baked ham (sliced 3/4 inch thick), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (NY $5.51)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (staple)
• 10 oz spinach (roughly torn) (NY $2.50)
• 1 demi baguette, sliced (NY $2.29)
  
• Grated Parmesan cheese (staple)

Directions

In a large pot, sauté the chopped garlic and onion in 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over moderately high heat until the onions turn golden (approx. 3-5 minutes).

Add the can of cut stewed tomatoes and juice to pot and stir.

When the juice starts to simmer, add the beans, ham and black pepper.

Add the chicken broth, stir and bring to a boil.

When the broth starts to boil, reduce the heat until it settles at a simmer.

When the soup is simmering, pile the spinach on top of the pot to steam the spinach. As the spinach starts to wilt, stir it into the soup and turn off the heat.

Serve immediately, garnished with toasts.

While stew is simmering, preheat broiler or set your toaster over to broil.

To Prepare Toasts:
Put bread on a baking sheet or toaster over tray covered with foil, and lightly brush each side with 1/2 tablespoon oil total. Broil until light gold, approx 1 minute.

Flip toast, sprinkle with parmesan cheese to taste, and broil again for approx 1 minute longer.


With all the April showers we've been having in Bucks County, this stew would be a little bit of sunshine...

Here's to strong umbrellas and full bellies.

- Cait