I admit that I allowed myself to glance in the direction of the vortex's beauty. I saw, I liked, I came back for more. If only I would have taken Indy's advice to heart when he warned Marion not to look directly at the Ark. Shut your eyes! No matter what happens, don't look at it! Ah well, what's a girl to do? For those of you strong enough to refrain from idolatrous worship, you may be wondering what the name of this vortex is I keep referring to. It's none other than Pinterest, the ultimate gathering place for women of all ages, interests and obsessions. We share our recipes, our fashion, our holiday traditions, our crafts. In fact, we share so many ideas that we look at every photo on the internet as an invitation to "pin" the latest trend before anyone else discovers it! And if others "repin" your photo, well then, that means you have been blessed with a discerning eye, have the power to inspire the masses, and will surely be named "Homemaker of the Year" at the next Relief Society birthday dinner.
I noticed the past few weeks that I was spending too much time on Pinterest looking for healthy recipes. I would get distracted by pretty interior design ideas, check out links for the best crafty blog websites and read about aperture, shutter speed and ISO for pictures. All of this helps me immensely, you see, because I have an unlimited budget to decorate, craft and buy special lenses for photography. I also have unlimited time, at least that's what Pinterest keeps telling me.
Oh yes, back to the story. I would convince myself that one minute is all I would sacrifice to retrieve the recipe I needed; sixty minutes later I would snap out of my trance and go into full panic mode when I realized I didn't have enough time to accomplish everything else on my "to do" list. For the sake of my sanity and the welfare of my children, I decided I should only check Pinterest once or twice a week to see if there was anything pressing that absolutely couldn't wait one moment longer to be repinned. This morning I was up early (as I am every morning) feeding a little munchkin a bottle and signing on to my laptop. I pulled up the articles I was supposed to be working on, yet I couldn't seem to motivate myself to begin writing. So, what did I do? I logged on to Pinterest. It was the only logical response since my hands and arms were full of baby. And wouldn't you know, I'm sure glad I did because I found a recipe that is going to change the face of breakfast for my family! Three cheers for Pinterest...Hip, hip, hooray!
It's no secret that I really want to feed my family healthy meals that will energize and sustain them throughout the day. However, turning my dreams into reality poses a bit of a struggle as I live with the King of the Finicky, the Prince of the Processed and the Granny of Frozen Meals. I came across a breakfast entrée that looked easy enough to recreate. After pinning the photo to one of my virtual pinboards (thanks Julie Allen!), I checked out the link to get the recipe. I read through the ingredient list and decided to make some substitutions. I will post both versions and let you decide which one you like better.
I promptly went into the kitchen and started gathering my ingredients.
Xavier asked me what I was cooking and I made an enthusiastic fuss about the yummy breakfast we were going to have. He took one look and informed me he wanted Mickey Mouse pancakes. Grammy also inquired about the dish and when I told her they were egg muffins, she turned up her nose and said, "Yuck! Those have vegetables in them." Then my hubby appeared from his bear den to make his morning smoothie. He lives only on smoothies and is losing weight faster than I can type this sentence. He also passed on my breakfast delight so I guess this is going to be a one woman fiesta this morning.
If you are interested in joining my party, you will need the following ingredients:
1 pound Italian sausage
1 cup broccoli florets
8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. baking powder
salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated parmesan cheese
As you can see, the original recipe calls for sausage. I detest sausage, unless it is gracing Bob Evans' homestyle gravy and smothering buttermilk biscuits. The following are my substitutions:
7 slices pre-cooked bacon heated in the microwave and crumbled
California blend steamed vegetables, cut into small pieces (I didn't measure them but filled 1/2 of a Zip n' Steam bag.)
2 cups egg beaters (1/4 cup = 1 egg)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. baking powder
ground peppercorn and Mediterranean sea salt
Kraft grated parmesan cheese
Baking instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Steam veggies and cook bacon.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk, oil, baking powder, salt and pepper.
4. Grease a 12 slot muffin or cupcake pan with cooking spray.
5. Distribute veggies and bacon evenly into each slot.
6. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and bacon.
7. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
8. Bake for 20 minutes. I baked my batch about ten minutes longer because I prefer my eggs on the dry side. Plus, egg beaters don't always cook the same way as real eggs, so I allow for extra baking time to make sure they are cooked all the way through.
Look who overfilled the muffin slots! I peeked through the oven window when they only had a few minutes left. They looked like hot air balloons. As soon as I took them out of the oven, they deflated. They also stuck to the pan like a buggar. I had to use a spoon to scrape them out. They looked a little mutilated on my plate but were light and pleasing to the taste. It's a good thing I didn't have to worry about presentation since I was the only one eating them. I did manage, however, to convince X to try a few bites. Then he asked me for a popsicle to wash them down.
I think next time I will prepare the recipe as an omelet. I'm super excited, though, that this Pinterest recipe did not fail me like the last pumpkin mishap. It would be a bummer to experience another episode of unrequited love. Thank you, Pinterest, for keeping the flame alive. Until our next early morning tryst...
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