So we all know that I’m having a love affair with avocados this summer. But that’s not the reason that these scrambled eggs are perfect. There are probably 7 gazillion ways to make the scrambled eggs, but I’m going to share with you 5 tricks that will help you make the perfect scrambled eggs.

1. Milk - Add the same number of teaspoons of milk as you have number of eggs. 8 eggs. 8 teaspoons of milk.

2. Whisk – Whisk the eggs and milk for at least a minute, ideally two. And do it with vigor.

3. Angle of the Whisk – Don’t whisk in a circle. Whisk at an upward angle to allow more air to enter the eggs as you whisk. More air means fluffier eggs.

4. Heat level - Scramble eggs of medium-high heat. Scrambling on high heat will turn your eggs gray. No thanks. (I scramble with my dial set between 6 and 7.)

5. Scrambling – Don’t add the whisked eggs until the greased skillet is hot. Pour in the eggs and let them set before you start scrambling. Use a plastic spatula and move the set eggs to the middle or either side.  Then tilt the pan so the runny eggs move to the open space in the skillet and let them set.  Gently stir around as the eggs set. Serve piping hot. (Cold eggs…blech.)

Ingredients

Eggs
Milk (in the ratios mentioned above)
Salt and pepper to taste

In this case, I added salsa and diced avocado. How to choose and cut an avocado, in case you were wondering.

The perfect eggs and the perfect great way to get a veggie (although it’s really a fruit because it has a seed, but in my mind it’s a veggie) into your breakfast meal.

Avocados. Swoon.

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You won’t be seeing eggs in my Kroger photographs in the weeks and months to come. We have decided to start buying Farm Fresh Eggs for $2 per dozen from our friends from church who raise chickens. And sell their eggs!

While it’s a bit more than paying for a dozen eggs, I’m in it for the quality of eggs. I am making baby steps towards eating more locally grown foods, while staying within my monthly grocery budget.

Baby Step #1 – Farmer’s Market: I have really enjoyed some of the great deals ($1 giant zucchini) on food from the farmer’s market.  I also appreciate that it forces me outside my comfort zone and makes me try new foods or new cooking methods. Like sauteing radishes and rolling and slicing Swiss chard like a cigar.

(I have not joined a local CSA yet. Yet. I’m going to track prices at the farmer’s market this summer to see if it’s a better deal to get the CSA box. Jury’s out on that one.)

Baby Step #2 – Farm Fresh Eggs: I only wish I’d been getting eggs from our friends for the past few years rather than weeks!

Baby Step #3 – Grass-Fed Beef: I waver on this one.  More on that another time.

What about you?!?  How do you manage to fit free-range chicken and eggs, locally grown produce, organic foods, and grass-fed meat into your grocery budget?!?

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I’m thrilled to be guest posting for Erin today, especially after having had the honor of meeting her in person recently. If you’ve never had the pleasure and wonder what she’s like, I have to tell you she is every bit as sweet and fun as she seems and then some! My only complaint is that she made me give her sweet baby boy back! (Erin here…you are too much Christy!)

In the spirit of $5 Dinners (Don’t ya just love her cookbook?) I thought I’d bring you my Omelet Made Easy, a quick fix supper that can be made in a flash and easily accommodates leftovers as the add ins!

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Gratefully,
Christy

Easy Oven Omelet

Ingredients

* 8 eggs
* 1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
* 1/2 Cup milk
* 1 Cup chopped ham
* 1 Cup diced onion and bell pepper blend (to save money, I buy this frozen at around $1.50 per bag) Erin here…or sometimes less!  I see these often on sale for $1 up here…”in the north!”

Directions

In large mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and all other ingredients. Beat until well combined and pour into 8×8 baking dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about forty minutes, or until it no longer wiggles in the middle when you shake it a bit.

Customize your omelet! Substitute a cup of your favorite veggies (or leftover veggies!) for the onion and bell pepper blend, use your favorite shredded cheese in place of the cheddar, and add in bacon or sausage in place of the ham – or leave it out altogether!

Christy Jordan publishes SouthernPlate.com, her website dedicated to classic Southern dishes and quick and easy family favorites. She is a lifelong resident of Alabama where she lives with her husband and two children.

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Breakfast is always a simple and frugal dinner option! A big thanks to Lynn for sharing this great recipe with us tonight. The next few recipes will be from some special guests. I’ll be taking some time away, as we deal with a loss in the family. Be back soon!

Frittatas can be made from a wide range of ingredients, but they all contain eggs and some dairy, like milk, cream, or sour cream.

I love frittatas because, like quiches, they can easily be changed by using different ingredients. You can add meat or change the cheese to give it a different flavor.

I sometimes make this recipe meatless, sometimes I use sausage, and other times bacon.

This frittata uses cooked potatoes. Instead of baking potatoes just for this dish, I like to make extra baked potatoes when I am cooking them for dinner on another night. Doing this step a day or two in advance, when I am already cooking baked potatoes, saves me a lot of time.

Ingredients
4 – 5 potatoes, baked, cooled, peeled, and cubed or sliced
3 tablespoons of oil
1 onion chopped finely
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
10 eggs, whisked
½ cup sour cream

Directions

In an oven proof skillet, cook onion in oil until tender. (I like to use my cast iron pan.) Add potatoes and stir until potatoes are slightly browned. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, sour cream, and cheese. Pour over the potato onion mixture.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until eggs are done. Cool about 5 minutes and cut into wedges and serve.

Lynn is a homeschooling mom of three. She loves to cook and try new recipes. She blogs at Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures, sharing recipes, tips, and ideas to help you meld a love of cooking with a busy life.

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It’s hard to photograph egg casseroles.  Every time I’ve tried, it just doesn’t look as good as it tastes.  I suppose it’s the bland colors.

Anyways…L-O-V-E-D the sausage and apple flavors in this casserole!

Ingredients
6 slices wheat bread ($.25)
1 lb. mild sausage ($1.99)
1 onion, chopped ($.20)
1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped ($.25)
8 eggs ($.80)
1/2 cup milk ($.05)
Salt and pepper
Fresh Fruit ($1)

Directions

1. Spray 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Tear 6 slices of bread and place into the baking dish.

2. Add 1 lb. of cooked sausage.

3. Add 1 chopped onion and 1 chopped granny smith apple.

4. Toss together in the baking dish.

5. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and salt and pepper.  Pour over the bread, sausage and apple mixture in the baking dish.

6. (For best results, refrigerate overnight.) Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes.

7. Serve Sausage Apple Egg Casserole with fresh fruit.

Cost $4.54

P.S. I actually made this for our Christmas guests…just haven’t found the time to share it, until now!

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I started to make this meal in the 9×13 baking dish, but them switched to the smaller baking dish because I didn’t want there to be any leftovers…and I know that with a 9×13, we’d have lots of leftovers.  And from my past experience, baked french toast meals and egg casserole meals just taste better right out of the oven.

And not leftover.

So I went with the smaller 8×8 baking dish and heavy on the fruit!

Ingredients
6 eggs ($.60)
1/2 cup milk ($.05)
1/4 cup maple syrup (free with Swagbucks from Amazon)
6-8 slices of bread ($.50)
1 cup chopped walnuts, divided ($.50) Bought on sale over the holidays!
Butter and syrup ($.75)
Fresh Fruit ($1.50) We had cantaloupe and clementine oranges

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and maple syrup.

2. Place a single layer of bread slices in the base of the baking dish.  Top with about 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.

3. Pour about 1/2 of the egg mixture over the bottom layer.

4. Pour enough to cover the bottom layer.

5. If necessary, move the bread slices around so that they are completely covered with eggs.

6. Place another layer of bread and the other 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts on top of the first layer of bread and eggs.

7. Pour remaining egg mixture over the top layer.

8. Cover the top layer with the eggs, just as you did the bottom layer.

9. Again, press the bread slices around so that they are covered with the egg mixture.

10. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

11. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, or until begins to golden on top.  Prepare fresh fruit while it’s baking.

12. Serve baked Walnut French Toast with Fresh Fruit.

P.S. This easily doubles into a 9×13 glass pan.

Cost $3.90

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Still looking for that perfect Christmas morning recipe…or the morning after Christmas recipe?!?

If you’ve got some diced ham in the freezer, go get it out now to thaw! And use it on Christmas morning to make this for brunch!

If you’re having ham for your Christmas dinner and need a way to use up the leftovers, this would make a fabulous breakfast on the 26th!

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil ($.10)
1 large potato, peeled and diced ($.15)
1/2 onion, sliced into strips ($.15)
2 cups leftover ham, diced ($1.50)
8 eggs ($.80)
1/4 cup milk ($.03)
1 tsp salt and pepper, each
1/2 – 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese ($.75)
Fresh Fruit ($1)

Directions
Preheat oven to 450.

1. Mince garlic.

Using the flat part of the knife, press down on the garlic clove until it crushes.

Cut off the stubby end and peel off the skin.

Chop with knife.

2. In skillet, saute minced garlic, diced potatoes and onions in olive oil.

3. Once brown, add a few tsp of water and cook another 1-2 minutes. Then add in the diced ham.
4. In bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

5. Pour egg mixture over the ham, potatoes and onions.
5. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the eggs have set around the edges of the skillet.

7. Place skillet into the oven and bake at 450 for 5-10 minutes, or until eggs have set in the middle.

8. Add shredded cheese to the top and bake another 1-2 minutes until cheese melts.

9. Serve Ham and Cheese Frittata with Fresh Fruit.

Cost $4.48

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This was one of those dinners that, well, evolved, as I was working on it.  I had all intentions of just making your basic french toast. But then I opened the baking cabinet to add a touch of vanilla to the eggs and milk.  And the bag of almonds practically fell off the shelf.  And nothing goes better with vanilla than almonds.

So…I ground them up, added them to the eggs/milk and that’s that.

And just to show you what it looks like on the counter when I’m dreaming up new recipes.  It’s high tech, really. 

Scrap paper and a broken green crayon! Glamorous, huh?!?

Ingredients
4 eggs ($.40)
2/3 cup milk ($.10) I used rice milk to keep them dairy free.
1 Tbsp maple syrup (free!)
1 Tbsp vanilla ($.10)
1/3 cup ground almonds ($.50) Look for sale prices around $2/lb!
12 slices bread ($.60)
8 eggs, scrambled ($.80)
Salt and pepper
1/2 pineapple, diced (How to Select and Cut a Pineapple) ($1)
1/4 cantaloupe, diced ($.50)

Directions
1. In mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk, maple syrup, vanilla and ground almonds.

2. Dip bread into mixture.

Note: Be sure to stir up the mixture before dipping each bread, as the almonds will sink between dippings!  Stir it up so that each slice will have a nice almond-y flavor!!!

3. Place double dipped bread slices onto griddle.  I set my griddle at 300°.

4. Cook to perfection.
5. Scramble eggs. Cut pineapple and cantaloupe.
6. Serve Almond Vanilla French Toast with Scrambled Eggs and Fruit.

Cost $4.00

**Note: I actually made this a few weekends ago and saved it to post after baby was born!

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Well.  We’ve been dealing with a bit of a crisis around here.  Remember my “Stock the Freezer” list?  Well, I’ve been busy the last few weeks stocking up our fridge freezer and our deep freezer.

So last night I noticed that the power light on the generic brand deep freezer (wish was just about stuffed to the gills!) was out.

Uh oh.

Checked all the electric, fuses, etc.  All fine and in working order.  Made some calls and “they” deemed the freezer broken.  Made some more calls and was able to get my money refunded.  Thankfully!

Made some calls this morning and learned we could have a new, brand name freezer for the SAME PRICE by Sunday.  Woohoo!

But, what to do with the food in the mean time?  I was NOT about to let $100s of dollars and a whole lot of kitchen time go to waste.  We made arrangements and the food stayed frozen and is safe.

Sigh.

All that to say, we’ve had a bit of a change in the menu plan this week.  My “fall back” meals are usually spaghetti or breakfast for dinner. Tonight, breakfast won.

In the freezer, I found English muffins (that contain dairy) for Hubs and myself to make Sausage Eggwiches.  Since the boys can’t have the English muffins, they had leftover pumpkin pancakes from the freezer, scrambled eggs and fruit. (I’ll share the pumpkin pancake recipe tomorrow!)

Since I only used half of the sausage for this meal, I browned the rest of it to make breakfast burritos for Hubs.

This recipe makes 6 eggwiches…since I had 6 English muffins! 

*Note: Extra eggwiches can be frozen.  Or sent to work for lunch the next day. Or reheated for breakfast the following morning!

Ingredients
6 eggs ($.60) On sale $1/dozen this week!
1/2 lb. natural pork sausage ($.50) Bought 1 lb. natural sausage roll on sale this week for $.99 after sale and coupon!
6 slices cheddar cheese ($1)
6 English muffins ($1.50) Bought on sale for 6/$1.50 and froze
Apple slices ($.50)
Cantaloupe wedges ($.75)

Directions
1. In skillet, spray with cooking spray and turn on medium high heat.  Crack an egg and let it fry.

Like this…But I prefer mine…

Eggs Over Easy…so that’s how I made them for these eggwiches.

2. In same skillet, brown the sausage. Slice sausage roll into 1/3 inch thick circles and fry in skillet until cooked through.
3. Assemble sandwiches. Place fried egg, cooked sausage patty and cheese onto bottom muffin part. Place in toaster oven or under the broiler for 3-4 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Add top muffin part.
4. Slice fruits.
5. Serve Sausage Eggwiches with Fresh Fruit.

Cost $4.85

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Making breakfast for dinner once a week is a SUREFIRE way to bring your weekly meal costs and your overall grocery bill down a bit!  This dish would also be great for a brunch/potluck or weekend breakfast.  Just double the recipe and make in a 9×13-inch baking dish.

If you’ve got milk, eggs, bread, the spices and some apples in the fridge, you should totally make this. Like right now.

Ingredients
6 eggs ($.60)
1 cup milk ($.10) I used rice milk
1 tsp cinnamon ($.05)
1/4 tsp nutmeg ($.02)
4 medium or 3 large apples, peeled and diced ($1) On sale 4/$1 this week!
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted ($.40) I used a dairy-free margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar ($.20)
1 tsp cinnamon ($.05)
6 slices of bread, torn ($.30)
1/2 Cantaloupe ($.75) On sale 2 weeks ago for $1.49!
Syrup (optional…I thought it sweet enough and syrup unnecessary!)
6-8 Sausage Links or Turkey bacon ($1.49) We did not have these, but I’m including them in the cost because I think they would nicely round out this meal! Plus I’ve seen lots of coupons for sausage and bacon out recently!

Directions
1. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg.

2. Peel and dice the apples.  In a smaller mixing bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Toss with diced apples.

3. In a greased 8×8-inch glass baking dish, tear 3 slices of bread and add to the bottom.  Then add a layer of the diced caramel apples.

4. Tear the other 3 slices of bread and spread on top of the apples. 

5. Pour egg/milk mixture into the baking dish.  Cover with foil and let stand in the refrigerator for at least an hour (overnight, ideally!).  Preheat oven to 350.

6. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake another 15-20 minutes, or until eggs have cooked through.

7. Serve Caramel Apple Breakfast Casserole with fresh fruit and sausage or bacon.

Cost $4.97

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