It's the Golden Age of cheap fungi and I'm taking advantage of it especially in the morning, with my earthy and pungent Scrambled Eggs and Mushrooms.
All kinds of small packages of fresh mushrooms have been showing up in my local 99c only Stores. Everything from shitake to portabella, and oyster to regular white or brown button.
Baby Bella Crimini&White Button
Champignon
Oyster & Portabella Mushrooms
I mainly like to cook them one way, sauteed for a few minutes in butter. So tender and woodsy in flavor with a slightly salty/sweet rich buttery taste. I will inhale sauteed mushrooms in butter on their own, like scooping peanut butter from a jar.
I like Cheese and Mushroom Omeletslike this, but for ease and quickness I'll saute mushrooms in butter and go right to adding a couple eggs for a scramble. It's a no fuss, no muss way to start the day.
And use your favorite scrambled eggs recipe. Do you whip the eggs first or just crack them right into an oiled pan? Do you like a splash of milk in your whipped eggs, too? Hey, go for any way you like it.
You can use any packaged mushrooms on sale, or if none are available discounted, then buy 2 or 3 loose button mushrooms per scramble - that's all you'll need for my cheap$kate recipe.
Click on any photo to see larger.
I've been picking up 8-packs of medium size eggs at my local Dollar Tree lately. For this recipe I use 3 eggs per Mushroom Scramble. Of course it's okay to make a quickie one or two egg scramble.
My Scrambled Eggs and Mushrooms recipe is simply delicious and I know you will return to this recipe often....once you give it a go.
Scrambled Eggs & Mushrooms - VIDEO
Play it here, video runs 1 minute 47 seconds
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients (1 serving) 2-3 eggs - I used 3 medium sized eggs for this recipe, but okay to use as little or as many as you like. 2-4 button mushrooms - sliced. Amount of mushroom is up to you. Okay to use any type of favorite mushroom. Butter or cooking oil - about a tablespoon total. Just enough to saute mushroom and scramble eggs. Salt and pepper to taste - If I use salted butter, then all I add is a little black pepper.
Directions
Brush off dirt on mushrooms, if needed. Slice or break apart mushrooms into bite-sizes so they will cook faster and evenly.
Add mushrooms to a heated pan with butter or oil. Saute until mushrooms are soft, about 3-5 minutes.
Add a little more butter or oil if necessary, before you mix in eggs.
Make an egg scramble any way you like. You can blend raw eggs in a bowl, or just crack eggs right into sauteed mushrooms.
Scramble eggs to desired doneness. Depending on heat of pan, it takes a couple of minutes, or so.
My latest recipe is a lighter version of Mexican-style Pork Carnitas. I often look for Pork Carnitas being slow-cooked by street vendors, like Leo's Taco Turck, in a Los Angeles alley or sidewalk. I just pull over and get in line for a luscious Carnitas taco after being on the town late at night.
Hey, with my easy to make Turkey Carnitas recipe, you can cut in line and have a taco or burrito anytime!
I know there are a lot of you who have dietary restrictions against pork products, so this recipe is for you. So all my Jewish or Muslim readers can now enjoy real L.A. street tacos, right at home.
And with Christmas right around the corner, Turkey is extra cheap. And this recipe travels well if you are a designated potluck provider.
For my recipe, I use two dark meat drumsticks, that weigh in about a pound each. They are often on sale for less than a $1.50 per pound at my local Latin grocery store. For extra-tender and juicy Turkey Carnitas, dark leg meat is the way to go, you can use thigh meat or even turkey wings, too. For Thanksgiving or ChristmasTurkey Carnitas the sales are on full blast!
I get my spices and dried herbs at the local Dollar Tree and 99c only Stores. I use garlic powder and dried onion, but you can use fresh veggies if you like. So between dollar store spices and meat sales at an ethnic grocery, a lot of dinero is staying in your pockets!
Click on any photo to see larger.
I first noticed Turkey Carnitas in cafeteria-style heating bins in the deli section of my local Latin market. And they are not cheap at about $7 per pound, so I decided to just make some myself.
Latin market Turkey Carnitas
Theirs seem to be drier than my fresh made, but that could be the result of hours under heating lamps - which do give Turkey Carnitas an extra chrispy edge. To get that I just bake some cooked meat in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes to get some crunchy bits.
I flavor Turkey Carnitas with typical spices and herbs thatPork Carnitas also use. The most important ones are: cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Extra spices include thyme, bay leaf, and chopped or dried onion - so if you don't have those, it's okay to leave them out.
The trick is to slow-cook or braise the turkey legs in water and/or broth for 2 to 3 hours until tender. With Pork Carnitas, pork shoulder is used that has fatty skin and marbling. They are slow-cooked in it's rendered fat, for that luscious flavor.
My Turkey Carnitas are lean and mean, since there is little fat in turkey legs. I do leave the skin on, but you could take it off. Since turkey is much more pungent than pork, this helps make up for the extra fatty flavor you get with typical Pork Carnitas. And two turkey legs will feed the whole family!
Flour and corn tortillas are cheap these days, too. All I do is add a little oil on a pan and heat them up for a minute - stack on a plate and cover with a paper towel to keep warm.
You can use your fave jar of salsa for your taco topping. If you like your tacos gringo-style then chop some tomato, iceberg lettuce and open a bag of shredded cheddar cheese. Or kick it up a notch and click on any of the following salsa names to get my homemade recipes: Roasted Salsa Verde (tomatillo,) Red Chili (2 dried types - but same recipe,) Pico de Gallo, Mango, and anAvocado Crema.
My cheap$kate recipe is easy to make, just turkey legs and a few spices and herbs that are slow-cooked -- so all you need is a little patience, and the payoff is bigtime. And I just use dried herbs and spices, so you don't even have to chop anything.
So if you're looking for a dish to serve at your next taco party then try out my Turkey Carnitas. Let your guests do all the work and build their own. Just set out some chopped onion, cilantro and your fave salsa, oh and kick it up a notch with some sliced avocado, too.
Turkey Carnitas - VIDEO
Play it here, video runs 3 minutes 10 seconds
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients (about 12 tacos)
2 turkey legs - about 3-4 pounds total. Okay to use thighs or wings. Use a turkey breast too, although it's a bit drier to my tastes.
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano - fresh or dried.
1 teaspoon thyme - fresh or dried.
1 tablespoon dried onion - okay to use 1/2 chopped onion.
1 tablespoon dried garlic - okay to use 2 chopped cloves garlic.
1 teaspoon red chili powder - okay to substitute with paprika
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups water or broth
Directions
Add turkey legs to a large pan or pot, over a medium heat. I leave the skin on. It renders very little fat, but okay if you want to remove it.
Sprinkle on the spices including cumin, oregano, thyme, dried or fresh onion and garlic, chili or paprika powder.
Salt and pepper to taste, or about a 1/4 teaspoon salt and half teaspoon pepper.
Pour in 2 cups of water or a favorite broth. On your stovetop, bring the cooking pot to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook covered for 2 - 3 hours until meat separates easily with a fork.
You are cooking the Turkey Carnitas so the broth reduces and intensifies and the meat becomes flavorful.
Check every hour or so, and add water or broth if it cooks out, but it's okay for the liquid to reduce by half for an intense pot liquor to drizzle over finished Turkey Carnitas.
Rotate the meat a couple times during simmering so all sides evenly cook through.
Done when meat is fall-apart tender. Use a fork to see how easily turkey flakes off the bone.
Traditionally Carnitas are fine chopped and piled into flour or corn tortillas. When you peel turkey from the bone, look for small fine bones and chewy cartilage to remove.
For serving, just take turkey pieces and chop them into small 1/4 inch pieces. You could also do the "pulled pork" method of using 2 forks to pull the tender chunks apart to shred.
You can drizzle on some of the "pot liquor" or broth if you are storing the Turkey Carnitas to serve later. Or if you are keeping it warm in the oven, make sure to drizzle on plenty, so cooked meat stays moist.
The above method is the easiest way to make Carnitas. Outdoor sidewalk vendors cook it similar in a large pot or pan filled with pork shoulder and thick skin, intestines, tongue and other parts, slow cooking for hours in the rendered fat and broth. And when you order, the cook just plucks out a hunk of meat and chops it into small pieces to pile on a warmed corn tortilla. The main difference here is way less fat and grease!
You can top Turkey Carnitas Tacos with my Pico de Gallo (recipe here,) or simply with chopped onion and cilantro. Go Americano with your favorite salsa, iceberg lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheddar cheese.
For a Carnitas Burrito, add some of my Mom's Mexican Rice (recipe here) with a heated can of pinto beans, along with the above mentioned chopped veggies. If you have a favorite salsa then use that...and don't forget the hot sauce!
I've also had Turkey Carnitas with a crispy crust.
Roasting for Crispy Bits
This is a lean way. Just add the larger chunks of tender braised turkey to a roasting pan and bake about 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees. To keep the Turkey Carnitas extra moist add some of the broth to the roasting pan, just enough to barely cover the bottom. You just want to lightly brown some of the turkey pieces for crunch. Don't worry about all the small boiled bits, just add them to the larger roasted pieces and chop them up altogether.
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.
Click on any photo to see larger.
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 the 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 the 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.
