Omelets

A lot of people I talk to seem to be afraid of making omelets, I'm not sure why, since with a few tricks they are really easy and to me they just look more impressive than scrambled eggs. I wouldn't go to the trouble of making individual omelets for a large family or crowd, but I often whip up a two-person omelet for Hubby and I.

3 eggs
dash of milk
salt and pepper to taste


Fillings: a cheese omelet is the most basic and definitely delicious but I sometimes I like to add things like ham, mushrooms, spinach, onion, bell peppers, fresh herbs, etc. You can add anything you want to your omelet.

Melt a pat of butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Crack eggs into a bowl, add milk and seasonings, whisk together until fluffy.

Pour eggs into skillet and let sit for a few minutes. Resist the urge to touch them for a bit, you want to let them set up.

Once eggs are setting up nicely and look a bit like this

Get your largest spatula and use it to very gently push the side of the omelet toward the center of the pan

Then spread some of the uncooked egg that is on top into the space created.

Once that has set up, use your spatula to gently lift and flip the entire omelet. If you have a lot of uncooked egg still on top, repeat the scooting and spreading step above a coule of times, in different areas prior to flipping.

Once flipped, add toppings to one half and fold the other half over. I usually turn off the heat and cover for a few minutes to allow the cheese to melt and everything to set.

Beef Tips and Gravy

This is a very simple, easy slow cooker meal.  I love how a slow cooker can make magic of a few simple ingredients. You can easily double or triple the recipe depending on the size of your crock.

1 lb beef stew meat (i bought a pre-made package that was 1.25 lbs, so no need to be exact)
1 12 oz. jar Beef Gravy
1/2 onion, chopped

Place all ingredients in slow cooker, gently mix together to break up the beef. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 (if cooking on low, I usually set it to high for the first 30 mins to an hour then turn it down) . If you want, you could brown the meat in a skillet first, but you really don't have to. Serve over hot rice or egg noodles. Sometimes I add a package of sliced mushrooms with the rest of the ingredients.

Fideo (Mexican Spaghetti)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 (8 ounce) package fideo pasta (I usually just use thin spaghetti noodles and break them prior to cooking)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 clove garlic, smashed or 1 tsp garlic powder

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder (starting point, I usually add more)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth (I usually use Better Than Boullion)

Optional: 2 cups chopped chicken

In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat, add noodles and garlic and allow them to gently brown for a couple minutes. Add tomato sauce and broth, bring to a simmer, add spices and chicken if using, cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until noodles are tender.