The little birds...

If you watch little birds you will see they are busy and happy! Using whatever they can find they create the most gorgeous little nest.
I would be the little bird with some glittery thread in her nest!
We can be like this. Happily working away with the things that are available to us to create a beautiful and happy home.
All the while with a little song in our heart.

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Tuesday 5 September 2017

Being rescued by Vicky! Using up eggs.


My packing up of the kitchen and dining room has started and I am re organising as I go. I decided this is also spring cleaning and re arranging my cellar as well.  The whole domino effect has begun!
Lucky for me I have my dear friend Vicky come to my rescue!

With the cost of meat it has been noticed here by many that eggs are mostly the cheapest source of protein. In fact earlier in the year we had almost no eggs on the supermarket shelves at one time and it was because it was winter and chickens lay less then but also that more people are buying eggs as a main meal option due to the prices of meat.  

Other times we can just have a lot of eggs to use up as the chickens all seem to lay at one time and this is when it is great to do heaps of baking, quiches, custards,  slices like zucchini slice and so on.

Anyway over to Vicky:

Having and using a glut of eggs! 

Bluebirds, at times we will all have an excess of something and of course we want to use it with as little waste as possible as we are doing our best to keep up a good economy of our households. Right now I have an abundance of eggs that I am trying to use. Eggs are a cheap protein when money is tight and is a very versatile ingredient. Besides all of the ways to cook them they can also be frozen to use later and are good for about a year in the freezer. I have found when serving something that I have an excess of my family has always let me know when they are tired of it, but I have always tried to keep it varied so they don't burn out too quickly while using the most of the excess. When we have an abundance it is time to get busy! Cooking or prepping for future use either way the sooner it gets taken care of the less will go to waste. So for my egg adventures for this week I am planning ahead for future breakfasts, hard boiling some for egg salad which takes care of lunches and also incorporating them into dinners as well. Sometimes looking to other ethnicities and how they use ingredients can give us some different choices and add some new likes to the menu and meal planning or pulling out some recipes that has been passed down in your family that you have never made and takes the ingredients you need to use up? and I will show an example of a dessert we make with egg whites that I made to use some of them up. 

My best little layer! 


So for the breakfast portion of my egg use up I have scrambled eggs with onions , peppers, and cheese and put the mixture in freezer bags for omelets.
Then I experimented with cooking an egg in a canning ring for a nice round egg that will fit perfectly on an English muffin for breakfast sandwiches. It worked pretty well and I will be making at least a dozen more and breakfasts are done. 
Next I boiled a 2 dozen for egg salad and a few just peeled for either a snack or to add to salad for lunch, but I didn't take a phot of those I think hard boiled eggs always look the same all over. Giggle giggle! 



Then for our evening meals I have made dumpling soup which is just a variation on pasta and is dropped into hot liquid instead of adding more flour and rolling out dough, This is a very filling meal and cheap to make because you can make it with chicken or beef broth, in a tomato type soup or in any kind of vegetable soup and they can be made thicker for a chewier and more firm dumpling or thinner for more of a spaetzli type dumpling.



 Either way they are always good! And I made more pasta dough to put in the freezer to roll out later, but I am ahead in that department and have used up some eggs. 

Rachel's Ravioli, another egg recipe! 


Then for desserts I have made just a few plain cakes, but my biggest egg user is a dessert that my Yugoslavian grandmother always made is called Sampita and uses several egg whites which is when I make it, to use up eggs. It is puff pastry with a very sweet, fluffy filling. It is so sweet that it goes a long way so I share it around. 



There are so many things we can do with eggs from quiches to eggs benedict, French toast, etc, one of our favorites is breakfast for dinner which we may be having several nights this month until I use up all of these eggs! 
What is your favorite way to use up eggs when you have a lot? 
XOXO
Vicky

Thank you so much Vicky!  I love that you showed a desert that is a family recipe also. 

I am going to work on adding an egg based dinner to my weekly menu plan.  Often I keep up with eggs with baking but as a dinner this would give us a meat free night.  I somehow tend to do this more in summer with self crusting quiches and slices which I love to take on picnics and pack for lunches. 
What are your recipes that make eggs suitable for a main meal?  
How do you use up a lot of eggs when you have heaps or they are at a great price? 

Of course today is not my usual Christmas Challenge post.  I will mainly keep to the routine but I have a lot of pantry and preparedness subjects I want to cover before the end of the year.  There are not enough Mondays!  So I might do some extra posts or swap some posts around.

I hope your week is going well!  See you on Friday! xxx


39 comments:

  1. Hi Annabel and Vicky, using eggs as a meal is something that is done a couple of times a week in this household. We love vegetable frittata, impossible pie- savoury or sweet, eggs benedict, simple fried eggs on toast, egg custard, egg custard tart, lemon delicious pudding, lemon or butter, omelette, fried rice and pavlova.
    Yes eggs are a delicious and reasonably cheap source of protein. Thank you ladies. Vicky I love the look of your Nanas desert. Would you be able to share the recipe?
    Life is good.

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    1. Dear Jane, Since chooks are on the Christmas list then this will be good... plus some new egg recipes will be handy!
      I love to make cream caramel/creme brûlée and the whites can be pavlova or meringues. What amazing things to get from the humble egg. We love fried rice. That is a great use it up meal too. I am sure a lot of requests will come in for the Yugoslavian recipe, they are known for their deserts I think, so we will get this posted. Many thanks jane, with love Annabel.xxx

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  2. Dear Annabel, you have my sympathies on the kitchen scenario. EEk!!! As for eggs, well they are almost my favourite thing. Eggs make breakfasts, lunches, dinners, treats and snacks here. A pavlova on Sunday for Fathers Day, an omelette this morning for breakfast, crepes for my daughters school lunch box, gnocchi with fresh ricotta for dinner, crepes filled with a ricotta and egg mixture and rolled like cannelloni and covered with tomato and béchamel sauce. On and on. I couldn't do without them. Great ideas from you Vicky! I love the look of your Grandmothers special cake. Like a puff pastry filled with meringue! Love, Mimi xxx

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    1. Dear Mimi,
      I am in admiration of Annabel's wide hallway! I think it was made for such a time as this!! Ha ha!! I love your cooking!!!!
      Regards,
      Rachel

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    2. Thanks so much Mimi!
      XOXO
      Vicky

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  3. Dear Annabel and Vicky,

    Thank you both for another great post. Eggs are so versatile.Your Grandmother's cake looks fabulous. We love food from other ethnicities so for breakfasts I sometimes make huevos rancheros or shaksuka, both dishes that also use up my abundant crop of tomatoes. For the freezer and on-the-go breakfasts there's a store of omelets cooked in cupcake pans.

    Egg crepes are another item made and kept in the freezer. They're simply eggs that are beaten and poured thinly into a pan as one would a crepe. They contain no flour and are used as a pasta substitute in lasagna, or a tortilla substitute in enchiladas. Egg drop soup is another of our favorites. Pumpkin pancakes for breakfast or dinner which is for every two eggs beat with a 1/4 cup canned pumpkin and spices let sit until thickened and cook as you would a regular pancake. We also love dutch babies and creamed eggs on toast.

    For us hard boiled eggs are a great protein stretcher, making a small amount of chicken,meat or tuna go further into a larger salad and more servings. As they say on commercials from the Egg Council, "The incredible, edible, egg." Blessings, Cookie


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    1. Dear Cookie, Thank you for this as it is a GF idea that is a great help.
      We make something Mum used to make... cooked onion, tomatoes and maybe zucchini in a casserole dish... then little holes are made and an egg goes into these. It is baked in the oven and then served on toast. I love it. Cheese can be added too. Learning other countries recipes really extends the possibilities! Laine said how many countries have more vegetarian options and meat is more the condiment... this is so true! Thank you so much, with love, Annabel.xxx

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  4. Dear Annabel, Vicky and .... Beautiful Bluebirds!!

    This is a fun post! Just the thought of beautiful, soft scrambled eggs with Vicky's onions, peppers/capsicum and cheese is a wonderful thought!! Thanks, Vicky!!
    The egg dumplings, and sampita, are surprises!!!!! I think egg dumplings would be useful for convalescents, too!!

    I'd love to see Annabel's creme caramel and brûlée!! Lovely!!

    I've seen a fancy French custard slice recipe that seems to use a million eggs! Now could be a good time for such a recipe, Vicky!! Ha ha!!

    There are a couple of potentially useful techniques for eggs that I have not utilised. One is steaming eggs, rather than boiling, and then cooling in an ice bath for perfectly peeled eggs. The other is making bottled pickled eggs -- with careful attention to processing temperature details -- for cool storage without refrigeration. The relevant links follow.

    http://challengedsurvival.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/i-will-never-boil-another-egg.html

    http://challengedsurvival.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/canning-pickled-eggs-safely.html

    "Egg-cellent post!" Dad would say.

    Warm regards,
    Rachel Holt

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    1. Rachel,
      You always have the most beautiful things to say! The dumplings would be good for convalescents because the texture can be made from super soft to chewy and firm. All of our babies have loved then as first foods. And they are so economical to make. I have never done a custard haha your right it may be time to try!
      XOXO
      Vicky

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  5. Hi, I just want to clarify if you precook the eggs and freeze them?
    Are they rubbery on reheating? Or do you just freeze the raw eggs? I agree eggs are great and I would like to put away for when the girls stop laying!

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    1. Hi Barb,
      For the omelet mixes I freeze the eggs raw with everything mixed in and for the sandwiches the eggs are cooked. I don't find them rubbery, but they can get that way if they are way over cooked. You can freeze eggs individually by using an ice cube tray or muffin tin for later then transferring to a Ziploc bag also. You give the egg a little scramble first to break up the yolk. I hope this helps.
      XOXO
      Vicky

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  6. I just love this post, thank you Vicky.
    It is always good to find new ways to stretch our budgets.
    We have a meatless dinner 1 to 2 and sometimes 3 days a week. It may be why my freezer stays full till we give grocery bags of meat to our adult children.
    Omelets are wonderful dinners, using up items that maybe leftovers in the frig. My husband's favorite ingredient is leftover rice, I have yet to figure that out. Eggs and pancakes is another. We have Friday's where dinner meal is a large salad with a can of tuna on top.
    We make eggs on muffins for may a breakfast, I just have to get back into the routine of making the English muffins again. So easy also since all you need is a griddle/pan to cook them on. I have slacked off in so many areas.
    Eggs have doubled in price here recently but are still more affordable than meat. Oh when I want to make an omelet be special I will bake a soufflé instead, funny how making it just a tad different makes it special.

    Annabel, hoping all goes well and quickly with your flooring and re-organization.
    Love,
    Rosanne

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    1. Dear Rosanne, These are great suggestions. This is a real mat stretcher. I need to make souffle's as there used to be a place I went and they had cheese soufflé which I thought were so beautiful!
      Thank you so much! With love Annabel.xxx

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    2. Rosanne,
      tuna is a staple in our pantry also and when it is at it's lowest price I buy 50-100 cans at a time because the hubs also has to share with the cats! Haha.
      XOXO
      Vicky

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  7. Egg-spirational!

    We like deviled eggs. It is a quick way to make a dozen eggs disappear at our house.

    Annabel, after your painting projects last year, your bathroom project and now your flooring, every corner of your house will feel brand new!

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    1. Dear Cheri, This is true... it is a lot of renovating! Andy is also working on an area outside that needed doing and cementing. So I wont know myself! September is going to be big for getting things done! Thank you for the devised eggs suggestion! With love Annabel.xxx

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  8. Dear Vicky and Annabel,
    Awesome as always you two. Great information on using up extra eggs, Vicky.
    Best wishes for the redo, Annabel. I am positive when everything is said and done, your kitchen will be very user friendly and beautiful.
    Love and hugs,
    Glenda

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    1. Thank you! Packing up everything at the moment. The last of it over the weekend. Jane reminded me yesterday to take before photos!
      xxx

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  9. Hello Annabel, Our neighbor has chickens and likes to trade me for garden items so sometimes I have a lot of eggs too. The one thing I make that wasn't mentioned was dutch babies or German pancake.My family loves them! Here is a video recipe http://allrecipes.com/video/5241/german-pancakes-ii/?internalSource=videocard&referringContentType=search%20results&clickId=cardslot%205

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    1. Dear Kathryn,
      Thank you for this! I have heard of these and seen them but not tried. They look so yummy! Thank you for the link! With love Annabel.xxx

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    2. Yes:
      --Dutch Babies
      --Pavlova
      --Meringue every custard pie you can think of (almost)
      --Deviled eggs were mentioned
      --Quiche of every type: Veggie, w/meat, meatless
      --My pie crust recipe calls for an egg.
      --Egg 'wash' your top pie crust or lattice crust.

      Here on Guam, MANY entrees are served with an egg cooked over-easy on top: burgers, rice/meat dishes, etc. Especially men like that! Mine does!

      Isn't it great that eggs can be frozen?!

      *hugs*
      Kelley~

      P.S. Baby Girl Quilt (first I ever made) is packed and ready for the baby shower September 16!

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    3. Hollandaise sauce is a great way to use up yolks left from recipes made with egg whites.

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    4. Kelley,
      Frozen eggs have saved me many times before we got our chickens. Even just having a few stashed away is a big help!
      XOXO
      Vicky

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    5. Dear Kelley,
      Actually now that you mention it Andy loves and egg in a burger. I must just do that more often! Also Bacon and Egg burgers which are kind of a breakfast burger! Thank you for your suggestions!
      I hope you will show us this quilt! You must be very excited for the baby coming! I hope the baby shower is just beautiful! With love, Annabel.xxx

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  10. A wonderful post since we have eggs at our Aldi for 24 cents a dozen right now. I really like the frozen omelettes base idea. A frittata makes a wonderful dinner and can be eaten even at room temp. They are wonderful for picnics, too. We love Angel food cake and it uses 10 egg whites. Also chiffon cake uses 7 whole eggs. Angel food is tricky but chiffon cake is just about no fail since it has baking powder in it. If you have the red plaid Better Homes and Gardens cookbook it is Golden Chiffon Cake.

    Please pray for those in the path of hurricane Irma. Our state just declared a state of emergency. The path is still not sure but our pantry is stocked and we need nothing to prepare.

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    1. Dear Lana, Oh the difference i prices between here and there! Ours are $5 to $8 a dozen and we still think this is a cheap protein! The cakes with a lot of eggs are a great suggestion. My Christmas cake uses 5 eggs but I always make a few at once so that is 15 eggs!
      I think this means you are in Florida. I am seeing the reports. This looks absolutely daunting. I am hoping you are not on the coast.... Also being on top of Harvey I am thinking this is a strain and hearing stores are out of water already. I will be praying. Will you please let us know how you are going? With love, Annabel.xxx

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  11. Hi Annabel,

    I hope your floor reno goes well and quickly! This is a wonderful post, Vicky!

    xx Jen in NS

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  12. Such a useful post Vicky and Annabel,
    Currently I am cooking eggs in a cup with a little butter in the bottom. The stove at this place does not work. So microwave it is.
    Much love
    Patti

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    1. So sorry about the stove Patti. My sister loves cooking her eggs in the microwave.
      XOXO
      Vicky

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    2. Dear Patti, I am glad you have a microwave. I don't know if the stove top works for you? If not think of a toaster oven, slow cooker, plug in hot plate... until you can move again of course, with love, Annabel.xxx

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  13. I have found if I crack a scrambled egg into a custard dish & microwave for 35 seconds it is the perfect size for a bagel or english muffin with a breakfast patty underneath and a slice of cheese on top.

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    1. Sounds good Alison. I love breakfast sandwiches!
      XOXO
      Vicky

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    2. Thank you Alison, sometimes a serving for one is just what we need And fast too! xxx

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  14. Hi Annabel, I am late to post but there is also a recipe for Birds Nest Breakfast Cups on allrecipes.com. They are delicious and use quite a few eggs. Great for cold mornings and very popular with my crew. Also good for breakfasts on the go. The name also made me think of you and this wonderful blog (o;
    Lisa xo

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    1. Thank you so much Lisa! Love the name of this breakfast too! xxx

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  15. Thanks Vicky, for sharing! My I have lots of eggs right now. We are enjoying them as lemon curd & using leftover whites in all our baking (muffins, pancakes, waffles, & batter for fried green tomatoes).
    I do need to try dumplings & noodles again.

    Blessings,
    Leslie

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