Mediterranean Scrambled Eggs on Toast

Some days just call for breakfast food for dinner.

You know those days when you get home too late or you're just too tired to cook anything other than toast?

Or those days where there is nothing in the cupboard but cereal?

Or even just those days where it's the middle of winter and neither of you fancy standing in the kitchen for longer than it takes to make a coffee and a bowl of porridge first thing in the morning?

Whilst I haven't quite got to the point where I'm serving up cereal for dinner (although I have hopefully suggested it a few times....), we are having the 'it's far too cold to stand in the kitchen for longer than necessary' issue at the moment so Mr B and I have come up with a solution to ensure we don't miss out on our Sunday Morning Spectaculars.

You see our normal Sunday morning breakfast consists of bacon, avocado, tomato and some of our home made yoghurt balls on toast, typically enjoyed in bed sometime around midday and true to it's name, it is nothing short of spectacular. But over the last few weeks we have found ourselves more and more reluctant to drag ourselves out of a warm cosy bed to stand in the kitchen cooking.

This left us with two options.....

We stay in bed and don't eat.....

OR we have our Sunday Morning Spectaculars for dinner!

Obviously the second option won because it meant we still got our bacon and we didn't starve.

Last weekend I had a craving for scrambled eggs and given we were already breaking all the rules by cooking the Spectaculars at dinner time, we decided to go one step further and throw the menu out the window altogether and make Mediterranean Scrambled Eggs on Toast.

Mediterranean Scrambled Eggs - Serves 2 

1 small red onion, finely diced
1 small red capsicum, finely diced
1 zucchini, finely diced
1 x  handful of baby spinach
2 tomatoes finely diced
4 button mushrooms, finely diced
5 eggs
1 tbspn crushed garlic
2 tbspns worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
4 pieces of buttered wholegrain toast

(Note - when I made this dish I was feeling like a HUGE veggie hit so this was more like veggies with a little bit of scrambled eggs, if you would prefer scrambled eggs with a little bit of veggies, just halve the amount of vegetables used)

Saute the onion, garlic and capsicum over low heat for 10 mins.

Add the zucchini, spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes and saute for a further 2-3 mins. Season with salt and pepper.

Gently beat the eggs with the worcestershire and salt and pepper. Drain any excess liquid from the vegetables. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the vegetables and stir using a wooden spoon until the egg is cooked.

Serve over (or with) slices of buttery toast. Top with grated cheese if desired.

Enjoy!

Mrs B xx

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Is there anything that cannot be improved by stuffing it with cheese?

Take the humble grilled chicken breast. It's pretty good on it's own but when you stuff it with cheesey goodness it becomes super awesome.

The same can be said for mushroom cups, sweet peppers, jacket potatoes and of course, pizza crust.

And need I even mention the fact that any week night meal can instantly be made appealing by the addition of the words 'cheese filled'.......

In case you haven't noticed Mr B and I are big fans of the whole cheese filled thing having previously made Ricotta Meatballs, Feta Stuffed Meatballs, Italian Mozzarella Stuffed Arancini and Caramelised Onion Risotto Cakes (stuffed with mozzarella of course) so it was only a matter of times before we made that natural progression to Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs!

These meatballs are so easy to throw together, plus they are oven baked which means you can spend more time relaxing and less time standing over a hot fry pan and isn't that what we all want? Oh and melty mozzarella filling in our meatballs.....we want that to.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs - Serves 4 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
500g beef mince
1 large egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tspn crushed basil
Salt and Pepper
250g mozzarella cut into 1cm cubes
500g pasta sauce (we used Dolmio Tomato, Onion and Roast Garlic)
250g spaghetti

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place beef, egg, bread crumbs, garlic and basil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix to combine.

Use your hands to roll tbspns of the mince mixture into balls. Press a mozzarella cube into the centre of each meatball and ensure it is well covered so it doesn't leak out during cooking. Place the meatballs on a plate in the fridge for 30 mins.

Pour the pasta sauce into an oven proof dish. Place the meatballs in the sauce and gently toss so that they are coated. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until cooked through.

Cook the spaghetti in a pot of salted boiling water for 7-10 mins or until al dente.

To serve divide the spaghetti between four bowls and top with the meatballs and sauce.

Enjoy!

Mrs B xx

The Weekend....

Well it's Sunday afternoon and I'm sitting inside snuggled up under the heat pump watching trashy reality TV and waiting for Mr B to come inside for a cup of tea.

We have had such a lovely relaxing weekend which kicked off on Friday night with a dinner date at the newly re-opened Hope and Anchor pub followed by a few hours exploring the Dark MOFO Winter Festival on the waterfront.

 

The waterfront was lit up with this amazing light installation art piece and even though we can see it from our place 30 mins away, it's nothing compared to seeing it up close.

There was also the 'Ferris Wheel of Death' which we were both keen to try because it would have had a fantastic view of the lights and the waterfront but the line was MASSIVE so instead we settled on wandering around some of the other art installations around the city. 

They were located in all sorts of random locations like an old Battery underneath a local park and this one which was located underneath the Town Hall in an abandoned storage room. Part of the beauty of this festival is not only the art and the food and the whole festival atmosphere, but the chance to explore some of these previously unknown and hidden areas of our city. 

Then yesterday we spent the day celebrating this cheeky little money's 2nd birthday.....

She enjoyed her farm animal inspired birthday cake.....

They played on the swings.....

She got spoilt rotten with presents.....

And what day at the park is complete without a game of football? 

And as for Baby B? Well we are now 24 weeks and loving every single second of it!! 

Mrs B xx 

Time....

What is up with time at the moment?

It seems every time I blink or turn around another week has passed.

Another week in which I haven't posted on the blog because I haven't cooked anything new or exciting or different.

Another week where I've outgrown a significant portion of my wardrobe.

And another week closer to meeting our little Baby B.

I wish I had a good explanation for you like that we have been holidaying somewhere remote with no internet access or that our social calendar has been jam packed or even that we have been taking classes in something super exciting, but the truth is we have just been enjoying the whole pregnancy thing.

Our spare room has been transformed into a gorgeous nursery that still takes me by surprise every time I walk down the hallway and our weekends disappear somewhere in a haze of baby shopping and lazing around taking turns feeling the Rocky Balboa style kicking that provides us with an endless source of delight and entertainment.

So I know things have been a bit quiet here and I'm working on it, but at the moment we have some serious baby brain going on!

Mr and Mrs (and Baby) B xx

Chicken Florentine Pasta

So here we are 3 days into a 4 day long weekend and whilst I'm not entirely sure where the last few days have gone, I am feeling pretty relaxed.

Mr B and I have been struck down with a cold / man flu this week so we have been taking it pretty easy, a bit of shopping here, a stroll by the water there and lots of sleep ins, movies and snuggles.

Despite the whole being diseased thing, it has been a lovely weekend and to top it all off tomorrow we are planning on catching up with some friends in the morning which leaves the afternoon free for Mr B to play in the shed and me to play in the kitchen followed by a long soak in a hot bath. Can't ask for much more then that!

Last week we made this Chicken Florentine Pasta for dinner which was packed full of fresh flavours and so simple to throw together!

Chicken Florentine Pasta - Serves 2 

120g pasta
250g chicken breast cut into 2cm cubes
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1 tbspn butter
1 tbspn olive oil
1 tbspn crushed garlic
1.5 cups vegetable stock, plus extra if needed
150g baby spinach
250g grape tomatoes, halved lengthways
1/3 cup shaved parmesan

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper.and toss to coat.

In a large fry pan over high heat, combine the butter and oil. Add the chicken and cook for 5-7 mins or until browned on both sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and reduce heat to medium.

Add the garlic to the pan, stirring quickly to avoid burning. After about 30 seconds, pour in the stock, stirring to deglaze the pan. Allow the liquid to boil and then continue cooking until it's reduced by at least half (most of the surface of the liquid should be bubbling at this point.)

Add the chicken back into the pan with the spinach, tomatoes, parmesan and cooked pasta. Toss to combine until the spinach is wilted.

Serve and enjoy!

Mrs B xx

Mum's Birthday 2014

Yesterday was my Mum's birthday so we all did the only thing we could do - took the day off work to celebrate!! 

I love this photo.....we are 21 weeks along now our journey and this is the first time we have had the opportunity to get a photo of Mr B and I all dressed up and bump proudly on display.

This year we decided to do something different and go out for breakfast. It was a miserable cloudy day at home and given that the restaurant we had chosen is known for its incredible view, we were a bit worried that we would be having our eggs and bacon staring at a fog covered landscape......

We were totally stoked to be greeted by this view instead.....

How beautiful is it? 

And to top it all off, the meals were amazing, gorgeous fluffy scrambled eggs, buttery sour dough bread and crispy hash browns all round! Mr B also tried some smoked salmon infused with gin, vodka and lemon thyme which he tells me was very impressive!

Given the weather was smiling on us, we decided to spend the day leisurely wandering in and out of the shops at Salamanca on the waterfront. It was great checking out all of the new shops and Mum and I made some fairly long mental shopping lists to come back and do when we are boy-free!

After all of that window shopping we had worked up a small but reasonable appetite. We played musical chairs through a few of the local restaurants until we found one with exactly what we were looking for. A bowl of chunky cut chips, crispy onion rings, some fried haloumi and a platter of mini burgers later, we were all extremely happy campers! 

By now it was late in the afternoon (time really does fly when you're having fun) so we headed back to Mum and Dad's for the all important presents and cake!

My Mum is one of Mercury Cider's biggest fans so these signs my Dad had made for her to mimic their bottle tops were a real hit - how cool are they!! 

And last but not least......

Leopard Print High Heel Cupcakes!!!! 

My Mum's face when she opened her eyes and saw these cupcakes made the hours of work that Mr B and I (but mainly Mr B!) put into them absolutely worth it. 

We were really pleased with the way these came out, especially seeing as it was our first time experimenting with gum paste. 

The cupcakes were a simple vanilla cupcake with vanilla bean frosting, the high heels are made from gum paste and I used food dye to paint the leopard print pattern onto them. Mr B gets full credit for the actual high heels though, he spent several hours painstakingly making them and I think he did a fabulous job! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!!!!

Lots of Love

Mrs B, Mr B and Baby B xx