Saturday, August 13, 2011

Eggies.......What Were You Thinking.....

Eggies
Dear Eggies:
I received your little brown box today and I must admit I was excited to try your new product.  I rarely succumb to the temptation of  "As Seen on TV" products, but this one struck my fancy.  I LOVE eggs and all of my family enjoys the occasional boiled egg.  The idea of making them without the peeling mess as well as having the flat bottom really appealed to me.  I also loved the idea of being able to prepare egg whites and seasoned boiled eggs.

Well - right out of the box, I have to tell you I was somewhat perplexed.  The product was poorly packaged and, at least for me, a bit difficult to figure out.  With only a black and white single sheet instruction page, I had some trouble putting them together.  But....I pressed on to my dream of the perfect boiled egg.

I washed all of the pieces as instructed and left them to dry - came back a little latter and was very disappointed in how difficult they were to put together again - I would never recommend these to anyone who has any issues with their hands or the elderly.  My next disappointment was that they require greasing - I had hoped they were made of the newer silicone and did not require this step.  None the less - I moved to the next step and sprayed cooking spray onto a paper towel and wiped them out with this completely as you advised in your sparse instruction sheet.

Okay - my goal was to try 3 or 4 just in case they got stuck and I didn't want to waste my precious eggs.  First egg - not too bad - it precariously slipped into the small opening of the eggie.  Not so lucky with the second - the little cup turned over and egg went everywhere.  Soooo one down 3 to go.  I went very slowly and added the third egg to a cup all while thinking this is NOT easier than peeling an egg!  I then plopped my little eggies into the hot pot of water on my stove.  Well - at least they are very cute floating and bobbing.  I set my timer as per the instructions for 5 minutes -----the bell dinged and I still had runny eggs.  So I reset the timer for another 5, but before it went off I heard a little pop and saw that one of my little eggies had exploded into the boiling water.  Okay - so I had one poached egg - not a total loss since I had never made poached eggs before.  My Jack Russell, Maddie,  and I enjoyed that one - but let's focus here ---- poached is not our goal.

The two final eggies boiled up nicely after about 20 minutes, which by the way is the time it normally takes to boil and egg in it's own shell.  I removed the eggs and placed them on a plate and popped them in the fridge and let them cool about 30 minutes.

I have to say the main thing that I had feared, was not a problem - they popped out just fine and made two little flat bottomed boiled eggs - or boobs as my son advised they resembled.  So.....are they worth the ridiculously high shipping and handling charge (they don't cost that much - the shipping does)???  Ah the million dollar question.  If you are not in need of special flat bottomed boiled eggs or eggs made from the kind that come from a carton or egg whites, then I would not recommend your product to my dog and by the way she liked the poached one better!  Be ashamed Dear Eggies - this product is just not what it appears. But---shame on me for falling for this rather than waiting to find out what others thought after using this product!  Not again Dear Eggies!

We're Cooking Now.....Mashed Potato Casserole

At the ripe age of almost 55, I am relearning the skill of cooking.  I won't bore you with details, that's another story and another blog.  ;o)   But....I have come to enjoy it, even with the flubs and bad food that I many times create. My Guinea Pigs are my 16 year old son and my hubby.  If my recipes pass that test, then I try them on my entire family when all of the boys and their spouses and girl friends and an occasional good friend or other family members come to dinner.  Many don't make the final review, but I am learning and keeping my brain active and at the same time using some of the creativity I still possess.  That part is not always a favorite of my family - my idea of trying new healthy alternatives and ingredients sometimes leaves them underwhelmed. But, every now and then I hit gold and last night's recipe was just that.  ;o)

In search of something simple and soothing last night, I stumbled onto a recipe for a Mashed Potato Casserole.  I would never have thought of this idea on my own.  I had some cheese and instant potatoes on hand and began my search.  If you like potatoes and have not tried this, you must.  I used the instant kind but you could easily use the real ones.  Here is what I came out with in the end:

Baked Mashed Potato Casserole
3 Cups of prepared instant mashed potatoes (I used fat free half and half and skim milk to make these)
Hint - don't use potato buds - use flakes - they work  much better
4 Ounces of cream cheese (use low fat if you are being more health conscious)
1/2 Cup Monterrey Jack Cheese
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese or 2 Slices of Cheese
2 or 3 Slices of cooked bacon or turkey bacon cut into small pieces
Parsleyed Garlic salt

This would work well with leftover potatoes as well.  Soften your cream cheese in the microwave and then add to the Mashed potatoes (works better if the mashed potatoes are hot as well) and stir in the Monterrey Jack and mix well.  The potatoes will begin to look very fluffy - even instant ones.

Then I added garlic salt and pepper to taste and put the potatoes into a greased baking dish.  Set the oven to 350 and cut your sliced cheese into little pieces or shred regular cheddar and sprinkle the cheese over the top of the casserole.  Then place the cut up bacon pieces over the top.  I sprayed the top of the casserole with spray butter and baked it for 30 minutes or until lightly browned on top and the cheese is melted.  It will be almost like a souffle - really.  Enjoy!!!  ;o)