Cooking Experiment: Kale/Sausage Omelette and Hash Browns Redux

[tuftears]

You might recall from the other week that I made hash browns... and froze three portions of hash browns for next time.

Well, today is that next time! So how did they go?

First off, I decided to cook a bunch of kale and freeze them in individual portions for future meals-- that way I can always have veggies ready for use! I chopped up some chicken-apple sausages and sauteed those first, then set them aside and steamed the kale with chicken stock, with powdered garlic sprinkled on top. That went pretty well. Trader Joe's sells bags of ready-to-cook kale, 10 ounces/3 servings apiece. I used two of them and got six portions.

Next, I oiled up a frying pan and brought about a teaspoon of oil in it to high temperature. I dropped the hash brown brick (still frozen) into it. It took about 5 minutes to thaw, after which I flattened it out to make sure it would cook. Another 5-10 minutes or so and the water had evaporated, leaving it ready to flip.

I should have added salt to the top before I flipped it. Whoops. I turned the fire down to medium and cooked the other side. It tasted pretty good! Not mushy at all, despite my worries about freezing.

I ate the hash browns while cooking the kale-sausage omelette. If I'd been planning this better, I could have made this at the same time. Oh well! I added another teaspoon of oil to the pan, let it get hot, then
poured eggbeaters in, covering the bottom. Once it was mostly solid, I added the last portion of kale/sausage, shifted it over to cover one side, scattered some shredded cheddar cheese, then flipped the other side of the eggs over. I cooked both sides for a couple mins apiece thereafter.



Behold! Though the picture doesn't really capture the nice golden yellow tinge. It came out pretty decently, but next week I'll be working with reheating kale, so that's when my theory will really be tested.

Of course I don't have to make omelettes again; I can always try making, say, a one-serving quiche or use it as a side dish for dinner...

Comments

[merrycalliope.livejournal.com]

I love kale + eggs! I make a casserole using a large carton of Eggbeaters plus chopped kale and usually chopped ham but any meat is fine. You can change it up a lot of ways. I always use kale because it lends a sort of "spicyness" to the casserole and it's a really good veggie to work into meals. Last time I added "baby bella" mushrooms and lined the bottom of the casserole dish with slices of eggplant before pouring in the egg mixture. When I had tons of zucchini I used that. It's all delicious and a casserole makes about six servings at around 250 calories each (rough estimate of my last batch) so it keeps me in breakfast for almost a week! Oh yes, and it's just as good, if not better (the flavors meld more the longer it sits), reheated!

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Plus kale is quite nutritious, I'm told. ;) You lined the bottom of a casserole dish with eggplant? Did it keep the egg from leaking through so you could use it as a sort of crust?

[merrycalliope.livejournal.com]

With the eggplant, no. It's what I was hoping for but eggplant is spongey and light and it floated up. Zucchini worked better for making a "crust". It may be possible to let the eggplant sit in the egg mixture for a bit and then setting it in the dish.

You can also add a couple tablespoons of flour to the egg mixture which will encourage it to set more like a quiche. I usually leave that out though.

Oh, if you try this bake it for about 30 minutes at 375F then cover with foil and bake another ten minutes or until the top really starts to puff up. Test with a toothpick. The real photo op for this dish is right out of the oven while the top is still puffed up - it deflates as it cools. :D

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

That's actually what happened with my quiche, the top puffed up hugely. :)

If you can have starches, why not try whole grain tortillas as the bottom layer?

[merrycalliope.livejournal.com]

I'm avoiding carby/starchy stuff. Technically I can have some but I find whole wheat, whole grain, brown rice all too sweet for my taste so I just omit it altogether. It's all rather empty calories anyway and I can replace it with stuff with more nutritional value.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. I'd just skip trying to have a bottom crust and oil the casserole dish instead. Parmesan cheese on top maybe!

I was trying to find some spaghetti squash the other day but it seems to be out of season. Boo.

[merrycalliope.livejournal.com]

I haven't tried this yet but, in theory, it sounds tasty but you can make "spaghetti" using zucchini. Here's a site that explains it a bit more.

I love zucchini so I'll probably try that eventually. :D

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

I saw something like that, but they wanted a 'vegetable spiralizer' and I don't have much of a need for stuff like that. I just use a grater. ;)

Though this looks interesting too: a julienne peeler (http://ohsheglows.com/2012/08/27/how-to-spiralize-vegetables-without-a-spiralizer-2-veggie-pasta-dishes/).

[merrycalliope.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the spiralizer is the "in" fancy gadget. The julienne peeler or a mandolin is more practical. Just don't cut the tip of your finger off with a mandolin like I did. XD

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Aiee! D:

I have a mandolin slicer but I haven't used it in a long while. Just not much call for it.

[merrycalliope.livejournal.com]

If you have a mando you should be set - it should have a julienne plate. Sometimes they are thicker julienne slices though.

[rowyn]

The omelette looks lovely! :9

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

Nice omelette work. I'd hire you. :)