eggs | Not Just Sunday Dinner

Fish Cakes with Chipotle Dipping Sauce

Fish Cakes

When I was a kid, salmon patties were on the weekly menu at home. Even when my kids were small, I cooked them a lot. Now, it seems like they are more of a treat that I cook occasionally than regularly. We seem to love any sort of meat cake. Salmon, Crab, Shrimp, and

now fish!

Greg fished in the Gulf recently and brought home fish for the freezer. I always love having “fresh” fish in the freezer. On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I decided to experiment a bit in the kitchen. I pulled out my old faithful food processor, which I believe is older than my children, and went to work.

I first pulsed cut-up snapper and then started adding to my heart’s content. When I had it at the consistency to form into a pattie or cake, I knew that it was complete. Chopped fresh parsley or sliced green onions would be a great addition to these fish cakes.

Chipotle Dipping Sauce

Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 chipotle peppers with adobo sauce seeds removed and chopped
1 lime juiced
pinch salt

Instructions

Which all ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve.

Fish Cakes

Servings 4

Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

3/4 pound white fish (I used snapper)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or Monterey Jack)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
1/3 cup almond flour
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch salt
1/4 cup chopped green onions optional
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley optional
Chipotle Dipping Sauce optional, for serving

Instructions

Cut fish into chunks and place into food processor. Pulse a few times to chop fine.
Add remaining ingredients and pulse a few times to combine.
Using a large scoop, scoop out mixture and form into cakes, using your hands.
Place on a wax paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
While fish cakes are in the refrigerator, heat a skillet with about an inch of vegetable oil.
Cook fish cakes, in batches, in the hot oil, until done and browned, turned when necessary.
Drain on a paper-towel lined pan.
Serve plain for with Chipotle Dipping Sauce.

Amaretto Pound Cake

Pound cakes are my jam! I absolutely love to have one at the house. I think it’s just homey to have a pound cake in a beautiful cake plate on the kitchen counter. Aside from that and more importantly, they are fantastic for breakfast, snacks, or dessert. Greg even loves them toasted with butter.

There is one little secret you should know about me, though. Do not ever believe me if I ever tell you that a particular pound cake recipe is my favorite because they are like best friends. I can not have just one favorite! So, with that said, here is another FAVORITE pound cake!

This Amaretto Pound Cake recipe is terrific! It is from my VeryVera Cookbook. I lived in Augusta for five years, and I know that Vera knows pound cakes. If you follow Vera’s directions, your cake will be delicious! This cake is tender and moist, and it’s delicious for days…if it lasts that long!

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Amaretto Pound Cake

Course Dessert

Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1/3 cup amaretto liqueur
3 cups cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs room temperature
Floured baking spray
GLAZE
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 tablespoons water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325℉.
Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 20 minutes, until light and fluffy.
While the butter and sugar are creaming, measure out the remaining ingredients for the cake.
In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the cream, almond extract, and amaretto.
In another bowl, whisk together the cake flour and salt.
Once the butter and sugar have finished creaming, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
With the mixer on low-speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Let the mixture beat on low speed for 5 minutes.
With the mixer still on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the cream mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until well blended.
Scrape the bowl and incorporate any unmixed batter if necessary.
Prepare a large 12-cup Bundt pan with floured baking spray.
Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan until it is about 1 to 1 1/2 inches from the top. Tap the pan on the counter to ensure there are no air bubbles. (If there is remaining batter, us it to make muffins.
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Insert a wooden skewer into the cake, and if there is no cake on the skewer, it's done.
While the cake is in the oven, prepare the glaze.
Remove the cake from the oven. Allow the cake to cool in the pan, on a wire rack, for 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle with pot holders. Place the wire rack on top of the cake pan and flip the pan over. Gently lift the pan, being careful not to remove any of the outside crust.
Using a pastry brush, generously douse the curved top of the cake with glaze. The cake should appear shiny with the glaze but not saturated.
Glaze Instructions:
Melt the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add the water and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and not grainy.
Remove from the heat and stir in the amaretto until well blended.

Instant Pot Egg Bites

Many parents are looking for quick and easy breakfast ideas for the school year. I know this year will look a bit different for some of you. However, no matter how they are attending school, they need a good breakfast.

We love these egg bites! They are delicious and velvety smooth when cooked in the Instant Pot. No Instant Pot, no problem. Pour the mixture into muffin tins, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, and bake in the oven.

I like to make them up on Sunday afternoon and have them in the refrigerator to heat and go. Make a variety by adding the ingredients that you and your kiddos enjoy.

You can find the Instant Pot silicone egg mold online or at Walmart. Oh, and while you have your Instant Pot out, try making boiled eggs. The Instant Pot is the easiest and ONLY way I boil eggs these days. Add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot, place the trivet that came with your Instant Pot inside. Gently place 6 to 12 raw eggs on the trivet. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and be sure the vent is set to seal. Select the manual setting; adjust the pressure to high, and set time for 5 to 7 minutes. When cooking has finished, quick-release the pressure, according to the manufacturer’s directions. Place the eggs in a bowl of ice water to cool—drain, dry, and peel.

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Instant Pot Egg Bites

Course Breakfast

Author Amye Melton

Equipment

Instant Pot

Ingredients

4 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded Pepperjack cheese (or your favorite cheese)
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup cooked sausage chopped
1/4 cup chopped green chiles

Instructions

Add 1 cup water to the 6-quart Instant Pot. Place trivet inside.
Add eggs, shredded cheese, and cottage cheese to a blender or food processor. Pulse to combine about 30 seconds.
Add meat and green chiles and give it a quick pulse.
Divide the mixture evenly in the silicone mold. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Gently place the silicone mold into the Instant Pot.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot. Make sure the vent it closed to seal. Press the steam button and set the timer for 10 minutes.
Once the cooking is complete, allow the pressre to relase naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure.
Remove the silicone mold from the Instant Pot and cool for five minutes.
Serve or refrigerate.

Notes

Suggestions: Shredded cheddar, shredded Swiss, shredded Gruyere, or crumbled feta. Bacon, spinach, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, green onions.

Banana Bread

I come from a long line of cooks and bakers. Most of the men in my family love to grill, smoke meat, and cook. The women in my family love baking and cooking. Either way, we have never been short on good food at any of our family gatherings.

However, we all have that one cousin, don’t we? That would be Melissa in my family. We grew up next door to each other and shes just like a sister to me. Melissa has a heart of gold, but she did not get the love of cooking. In our old family and church cookbooks, her recipes are easy to spot because her instructions are always “mix and bake.”

To my surprise, she actually shared a recipe with me a few weeks ago. A real recipe! No pinches of this and a little bits of that. With the addition of instant pudding and sour cream, this is wonderfully moist banana bread with great flavor.

This recipe makes two loaves of banana bread. Melissa’s recipe had no pecans, but I added them to mine.

Banana Bread

Course Breads

Servings 2 loaves

Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 cups mashed ripe bananas
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 (3.5-oz.) package vanilla instant pudding
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray two (8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5-inch)loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together oil and eggs. Add bananas and mix.
Add the flour, sugar, pudding, salt and baking soda and stir.
Fold in the sour cream and vanilla.
Spoon batter evenly in both pans. Bake 1 hour or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Fauxtato Salad (Low-Carb, Keto, Gluten Free)

I have been cooking for a lot of years now. So many that I do not even want to calculate them! It never fails, though, sometimes I just have an off day or few days as it turned out recently.

Savannah was home for a long weekend. I always strive for the meals I serve to be extra special if the kids are here. With big plans and expensive ingredients, such as beef tenderloin, I set out to try new recipes. A total disaster is putting it lightly. Nothing about the meal was good.

A dead giveaway was when the family was so nice about it. Even when I have prepared my best meals, they are not nice. Oh, I’m not trying to speak badly of them, but they have been a bit spoiled over the years. Not just at home, but at their grandmothers homes too. Typically, they are not full of compliments.

The entire weekend was a reminder that I need to stick to my basic go-to dishes when I want the meal to be special. Recipes that I have fixed a thousand times before, and probably feel more like home to my kids, anyway.

For this keto, low-carb Fauxtato Salad, I used my Aunt Euly’s family-famous potato salad and made a few changes. First of all, I replaced the potatoes with cauliflower. The cauliflower does not absorb the mayo like potatoes, so I reduced the amount of mayonnaise. I used sugar-free bread and butter pickles that I chopped. Because onions are high in carbs, I chopped them small and only used 2 tablespoons.

This is a delicious substitution to have during these summer cook-out months. I would suggest that you eat it within 24 hours. It’s still good after that, but you will definitely start to smell the cauliflower.

Fauxtato Salad (Keto, Low-Carb, Gluten Free)

Course Keto, Side Dish

Servings 12 servings

Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

1 large head cauliflower cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
3 tablespoons chopped sugar-free bread and butter pickles
4 eggs boiled and chopped
1/4 teaspoon Season-All
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Steam cauliflower until tender. This can be done on the stove, in microwave, or in an Instant Pot. Drain well and pat dry.
In a large bowl combine mayonnaise, mustard, onion, pickles, chopped egg and cauliflower. Lightly mix to combine. Season with Season-All, salt and pepper.
Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Serve within 24 hours.

Notes

Nutrition:

1 g. Net Carbs; 12 g. Fat; 3 g. Protein; 129 Calories