Best Spinach & Cheese Omelet - Video Recipe

Veggies wrapped in creamy scrambled eggs is a great way to start the day. And adding your fave cheese is over-the-top decadence. A Spinach and Cheese Omelet is one of my favorite breakfasts. Go ahead and dig in below.

Play it here. Video runs 1 minute 39 seconds.

It comes together quickly, as fresh spinach sauteed in a hot pan only takes a minute to become tender.

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You can use thawed frozen spinach or spinach from a can, too. Just make sure to drain any packaged or canned cooked spinach, or the omelet will be too soggy.

Any cheese you have on hand can go into this omelet. I used a mild soft white French cheese, but go ahead and fill the omelet with good old American cheese, or even pungent Swiss or feta cheese.

For the eggs, I like to scramble them first in a bowl, then pour into a low to medium hot pan. Not too hot because I want to catch the eggs while they are slightly moist, before I fold the omelet over the sauteed spinach and cheese.

Of course, cook the omelet the way you like it; old-school truckstop or diner-style with a slight crusty brown on the outside and solid on the inside. It's all deliciously good!

I went all out and topped the omelet with a pat of butter, and chopped chives from my small garden.

All the ingredients are the right price for this penny-pinching egg-flipper. Lately, I get an eight-pack of eggs from my local Dollar Tree and fresh spinach from the 99c only Store. I get cheese from both budget stores.

This is an omelet filled with greens made quickly while the coffee is still percolating. So go ahead and start the day with this cheap$kate breakfast, a 99 Cent Chef Spinach and Cheese Omelet.

Ingredients (one large omelet)

• 3 eggs - okay to make it a 2 egg omelet. I used medium size eggs.
• Spinach leaves - about a handful or a packed cup. Okay to use frozen or canned spinach, just make sure to drain the spinach or your omelet will be very soggy. 
• Cheese - about a slice, but add as much or little as you like. Okay to use any favorite cheese, like: mozzarella, Swiss, Jack, string, cheddar, or plain American.
• Butter - about 1 teaspoon. Okay to use a favorite cooking oil.
• Salt and pepper to taste. I find that cheese is salty enough for me, so I just sprinkle on some pepper.
• I finished omelet with some fresh chopped chives - optional.

Directions

Prepare cheese if necessary. Slice or crumble cheese.

I just saute and stir spinach leaves in a medium hot pan until tender. The leaves will collapse and moisten. As soon as the spinach is soft remove from pan. Wipe the pan clean if necessary.

Add 2 to 3 eggs to a bowl, I made mine with 3 medium sized eggs. Whisk eggs to blend well.

Over medium heat, add a teaspoon of butter or fave oil to omelet pan. Spread oil or butter over bottom of pan.

Pour in beaten eggs into medium/hot pan. Lightly scramble eggs. Let the omelet cook until eggs are starting to firm up, but still wet. It takes a minute or two, depending on heat of pan and how many eggs you used.

Spread out eggs to cover bottom of omelet pan as eggs firm up.

Add cheese first so it will melt quicker, and lay on the cooked (and, if necessary, drained) spinach.

Gently roll the omelet to cover cheese and spinach. If you are cooking old school, just fold it in half. Cook omelet to desired doneness, about another 30 seconds to a minute. It's up to you how well done the omelet turns out.

Just slice into the thickest part of omelet to check for preferred doneness. Of course, you can cook the omelet any way you like. A hot omelet will continue to cook until eaten.

I finish the Spinach & Cheese Omelet with a little black pepper, a pat of butter and fresh sliced green chives (optional.)

It's okay to use your fave omelet cooking technique, like just letting egg firm in the pan without scrambling. Adding cheese and spinach when egg is firm, then folding it in half. Click here to see my truck stop diner-style omelet.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Fire Grilled Chicken Pobalano - Deal of the Day Review

A little bit Cuban with black beans and a little bit Mexican with mild poblano chiles, and a whole lot of flavor resides in my latest Latin-style Deal of the Day.

Click on any photo to see larger.

I am always thrilled to see the evol. brand of frozen fare in the deli case of my local 99c only Store. Fire Grilled Chicken Poblano by evol. is a hearty and delicious brown rice bowl that is loaded with veggies and topped with white meat chicken and a dollop of cheddar cheese.

Frozen and Defrosted

There is almost too much flavor, but I'm not complaining. The veggie medley contains corn, red and green bell peppers, green poblano chiles, onion, tomato, and cilantro. All cooked just right.

The corn kernels are crunchy and the peppers are soft but not mushy, as is often the case with frozen then defrosted veggies.

The poblano chiles pieces are large enough and what little heat they carry is mild, only becoming apparent by the time you almost get to the bottom of the bowl.

The white meat chicken pieces are plentiful enough. I got one large nugget and about 3 to 5 smaller ones. With grill marks, the chicken meat was not dried out, as is often the case with white meat. This is real chicken, not a processed loaf, thank god.

And melted on top is a small amount of cheddar cheese. I would have liked a bit more cheese, but this is mostly a chicken/veggie/rice bowl. The cheddar is mild, and when mixed with other ingredients, practically disappears into the background. But that's okay.

Finally, you get your fill once forkfuls of brown rice are factored in. The brown rice is tender and done perfectly - not mushy or too toothsome. And a light amount of tomato sauce binds it all together.

evol. prides itself on hormone-free meats and natural veggie ingredients, so you know what you're getting.

Even the microwave bowls are partially made from recycled plastic. Although we are talking plastic here - maybe evol. will evolve to biodegradable paper bowls one day.

The ingredient list is short and this bowl is a lean meal. Although only 9 ounces, the ingredient mix leaves you quite satisfied, for an extra light lunch or dinner.

My latest Deal of the Day is a feel-good and feel-full meal. So how does evol.'s Fire Grilled Chicken Poblano bowl rate on my Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best?

Oh, I think you can guess by now...this meal rates a perfect 9 ! If you run across this Deal of the Day anytime get a few for your freezer - at almost any price.

The melange of flavors in this Fire Grilled Chicken Poblano bowl are the bomb!

Breakfast Tacos - Leftovers Series

I threw a taco party for the Football's Superbowl and what do I have to show for it? A bunch of leftovers including Pinto Beans, Mexican Rice and some Homemade Salsas.

In my game day menu was: Carnitas with Frijoles and Mexican Rice. If you are looking for your own party food make sure to click on any highlighted recipe name to see all the yummy photos, Gifs, videos and tasty recipe text.

Mexican-style Carnitas - slow cooked pork marinated in Mexican Coke & citrus

My friends and neighbors were glued to their seats during the game, but managed to get up for munchie breaks, so much so that by the 4th inning my Carnitas were wiped out. The only thing left was some salsa, beans and rice.

The food was a hit. Setting up a taco bar is the way to go if you want to mingle with your party guests. What's great is they do all the work, once you set out the goodies.

It is easy to keep the Mexican-style Pinto Beans at a low temperature on the stove top. During the game I would add a little water from time to time as the bean broth thickened.

Once the Mexican Rice was ready I just left it covered. Room temp is fine for the rice, since the beans were kept hot on the stove, so my guest could make their own steaming bowls of Beans and Rice to go with tacos and homemade salsas.


I kept my Carnitas in a covered pan and would heat it up in the stove every once in a while. I kept the stove on at 250 degrees so it would only take a few minutes to heat the Carnitas through. (I could have microwaved the meat as well.) I always keep some meat broth to moisten the meat, spooning on some each time I before heating.

There was plenty of time before kickoff to make some Homemade Salsa. In terms of food preparation, I had made the Carnitas the day before and the pinto beans soaked overnight, so all I had to do was make Mexican Rice and Salsas on game day.

Pico de Gallo and Mango Salsa takes some chopping, but it's not too bad. I made sure to do them first thing, as they are tastiest with a couple of hours chilling in the refrigerator, so all the flavors blend well.

The Salsa Verde is made with roasted  tomtillo and some onion - easy enough, just throw it in the oven about half an hour or so while the Carnitas are heating up. When the tomatillos were soft and onions slightly charred, I let them cool off, then simply blend together.

 My Red Chile Salsa is made with dried chiles (remove seeds)  that are soaked in hot water for half an hour. You just blend them with some of the chile water, and add some onion and tomato for a Salsa Roja, and that's it.

Well this blog post is really about the leftovers. All I had the next day was some beans, rice, tortillas, and salsa. So I started the next couple of days with Breakfast Tacos.

I microwaved some Pinto Beans and Mexcian Rice, while I scrambled one egg and heated up 2 or 3 corn tortillas.

Once the main ingredients were heated through I assembled the Breakfast Tacos, topping them with some shredded cheese and salsa. Boy is this a great way to get the day going.

After your own Taco Party take advantage of my Leftover Breakfast Tacos recipe - table scraps were never so deliciously put to use.

Ingredients (2 tacos)

• 1 egg - scrambled your favorite way. One medium egg is enough for a couple of small tacos.
• 2 to 3 corn tortillas - amount depends on egg size. Okay to make a Breakfast Burrito with flour or wheat tortilla.
• 1 tablespoon Mexican rice - add as much Mexican Rice as you like. 
• 1 tablespoon pinto beans - add as much pinto beans as you like. Okay to use canned pinto beans.
• 1 tablespoon cheese - optional. Any type of cheese, I used shredded cheddar and Jack. Again add as much as you like.
• 1 tablespoon salsa - fresh made or from jar. I made my breakfast tacos with Mango, Pico de Gallo, Salsa Verde (tomatillo) and Red Chile.
• 1 teaspoon oil or butter - for scrambling an egg.

Directions
First take out the salsa and cheese  from the refrigerator, to reach room temperature.

I microwaved the beans and rice together in a bowl.

I started heating the corn tortillas while scrambling an egg. I used a pat of butter for my eggs but you can make your scrambled eggs with oil, or any way you like.

Once the eggs are done and other ingredients heated up, or reach room temperature, assemble the Breakfast Tacos.

Make the tacos as stuffed as you like - just pile on the tasty ingredients. And get out the hot sauce, too!

It's up to you how to make Breakfast Tacos. Don't like pinto beans? - then leave them out. If cheesy tacos are for you then add extra cheese. It's okay to use your favorite grocery  jar of salsa or canned pinto beans. Make this recipe your own.

Avocado & Cheese Omelet - Video Recipe

We get some crazy sale prices on avocados out here on the West Coast, everything from a couple of dollars per large avocado, to six tiny ones for a buck.

Click on any photo to see larger.

I usually make a guacamole, or add sliced avocado to my burgers, sandwiches and of course salads. Sometimes I load an omelet with avocado and melty cheese -- what a decadent way to start the day!

You can see how easy and quick it is to make by watching my Avocado & Cheese Omelet recipe video right here:

Play it here. Video runs 1 minute 51 seconds.

My local Latin grocery has the best avocado deals closest to home. They come in all sizes, but the smallest ones are cheapest and just big enough for a single serving. I find large avocados just too much of a good thing, unless I'm throwing a taco party, where no avocado will go to waste.

I get cheese at my local Dollar Tree and 99c only Stores. You can use any favorite cheese you have on hand, or find on sale. The main thing is that the cheese is soft enough to melt. I've used everything from string cheese to cheddar and mozzarella.

Eggs aren't as cheap as they used to be, but are still a good value, at least nutrition-wise. And sometimes I can get a dozen, or half dozen, medium eggs at my local Dollar Tree.

For this recipe I made a damp, French-style omelette. First mix all the eggs, then you gently scramble until they just start to firm up.

Spread out the eggs to cover bottom of omelet pan, and while egg is still damp, add slices of avocado and cheese. Finally fold omelet to close it. At this point you continue cooking until omelet reaches desired doneness. I like mine a little damp in the middle, but you can cook it all the way through, too.

It's okay to use any favorite omelet cooking style you like. If you are worried about damp egg omelet, then just cook it firm, like an old school truck stop diner. This omelet is more about the yummy avocado and cheese embellishments.

When avocados come on sale, do try my delish Avocado & Cheese Omelet.

Ingredients (one large omelet)

• 3 eggs - okay to make it a 2 egg omelet. I used medium size eggs.
• 1/2 avocado sliced - I used half an small avocado per omelet.
• Cheese - about a slice, but add as much or little as you like. Okay to use any favorite cheese, like: mozzarella, Swiss, Jack, string, cheddar, or plain American.
• Butter - about 1 teaspoon. Okay to use a favorite cooking oil.
• Salt and pepper to taste. I find that cheese is salty enough for me, so I just sprinkle on some pepper.

Directions
Open and remove avocado seed. Slice into avocado halves and scoop out flesh. It is up to you how thick to slice avocado.

Prepare cheese if necessary. Slice or crumble cheese.

Add 2 to 3 eggs to a bowl, I made mine with 3 medium sized eggs. Whisk eggs to blend well.

Over medium heat, add a teaspoon of butter or fave oil to omelet pan. Spread oil or butter over bottom of pan.

Pour in beaten eggs into medium/hot pan. Lightly scramble eggs. Let the omelet cook until eggs are starting to firm up, but still wet. It takes a minute or two, depending on heat of pan and how many eggs you used.

Spread out eggs to cover bottom of omelet pan as eggs firm up.

I sprinkle on the cheese first so it will melt, then add slices of avocado.

Gently fold the omelet in half. Cook omelet to desired doneness, about another 30 seconds to a minute. It's up to you how well done the omelet turns out.

Just slice into the thickest part of omelet to check for preferred doneness. Of course, you can cook the omelet any way you like. A hot omelet will continue to cook until eaten.

I finish the Avocado & Cheese Omelet with a little black pepper and fresh sliced green chives (optional.)

It's okay to use your fave omelet cooking technique, like just letting egg firm in pan without scrambling, adding cheese and egg, then folding it in half. Click here to see my truck stop diner-style omelet.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.