Southwest Eggs and Veggie Skillet

One skillet meals are becoming a favorite way for me to make dinner these days. They are easy, tasty, and it enables me to use up whatever I have on hand. In fact, I made a version of this skillet dish just a few weeks ago. This time, though, I amped up the spices, used some canned diced tomatoes, and nuked the potatoes (to save from using an additional pan). It's a quick recipe and I didn't take very many pictures, but it has to be shared. :)

Southwest Eggs and Veggie Skillet
Printable Recipe

1 pound red potatoes, cubed

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped red or yellow bell pepper

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

1 jalapeño pepper, minced

1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, drained (may use Southwest flavored)

2 teaspoons Southwest seasoning *

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 large eggs

Freshly ground pepper and/or paprika for garnish

Place potatoes in a microwave safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until tender; drain.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add the potatoes, onion, bell pepper, corn, and jalapeño pepper and sauté 5-6 minutes, or until potatoes are browned and vegetables are softened. Add the drained tomatoes and seasonings and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.

Reduce heat to low. Make 4 cavities in the mixture with a spoon. Break one egg into each cavity. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the egg whites are set. Sprinkle with ground pepper

*Make your own Southwest seasoning by blending together  1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground coriander, and 2 teaspoons ground red pepper. Store in an airtight container.

It's Improv time! This month our ingredients are Corn and Butter-- fitting for July, no?  A big thanks to Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker for hosting this fun monthly challenge, where we get creative with two different ingredients each month.

I know what you're all thinking....where's the muffin? Am I right? I've gotten a little carried away with muffins lately, but I thought better of it this time. Not that corn and butter wouldn't make an awesome muffin, but I thought I'd better widen my horizons. To be honest, when I'm not thinking about muffins, I'm thinking about pizza. My favorite pizzas have a crispy crust and plenty of cheese and veggies. Sometimes there's sauce, but most often I just use a garlicky olive oil. Wouldn't pizza be a perfect vehicle for corn and butter? I knew you'd agree! Take a look at what kind of pizza I made....

Buttery Crusted Sweet Corn and Tomato Pizza

A buttery, flaky crust topped with roasted sweet corn and fresh tomatoes--the perfect summer pizza!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 2/3 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups shredded Provolone cheese
• 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 cups roasted, fresh sweet corn kernels
• Freshly ground salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven (and pizza stone) to 500 degrees F.
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry knife or two forks, until the flour resembles a coarse meal. Stir the yeast into the warm water. Add the water to the flour mixture and stir until it comes together into a ball. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently knead until you have a smooth dough. Divide it in half, cover loosely, and allow to rest for about 30 minutes.
3. Sprinkle some cornmeal or Semolina flour onto a pizza peel (or use the back of a baking pan). Using your hands or a rolling pin, shape one of the dough halves into a 10" circle. Prick the dough with a fork, slide it onto the heated pizza stone, and bake for 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Brush the partially baked dough with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, a teaspoon oregano, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and 1/4 cup shredded basil. Top with about a cup of shredded cheese, or enough Provolone cheese slices to cover the crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Top the cheese with sliced tomatoes and 1 cup of corn kernels. Return the pizza to the oven and continue to bake for an additional 5-8 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with freshly ground salt and pepper. Repeat with the second half of dough.

Yield: 2 10" Pizzas
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 30 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 13 mins.
Total time: 43 mins.
Tags: pizza, tomatoes, corn, dough, flaky, buttery

This is a lot like making a pie crust, except I always use chilled water for that. This crust turns out nice and crisp...and flaky!

The silpat makes a nice spot for kneading your dough.

Semolina flour is a good change from cornmeal...not quite as gritty.

I happen to like my corn grilled, so I saved several cobs when I grilled on Sunday.

Just use a sharp knife to get the kernels off of the cob.

You can see from the side how flaky the crust is. As a bonus, it stayed crispy, even after a night in the fridge.

This makes for a good lunch and/or appetizer, no?

I wasn't so sure I would like the crust like this, thinking it would be too much  like a pie crust., but it turned out to be one of the better pizza crusts I've made. As a bonus, there really isn't any rise time. Buttery, flaky crust with ripe tomatoes and corn? Oh yes...this I will make again. It's a new family favorite! :)

Check out all of the other delicious Corn and Butter entries.....

Sourdough Banana Pancakes

It seems like every other day I have a bunch of overripe bananas. This time, not only did I have overripe bananas, but I had some sourdough starter to use. Seriously, that stuff can get out of hand! It almost needs more care and feeding than my Chihuahua. Luckily, it didn't take long for me to figure out a way to put both the bananas and the sourdough starter to good use....Sourdough Banana Pancakes. Yup..I could make these  every week. They are that good.

Sourdough Banana Pancakes
Printable Recipe

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup sourdough starter

1 cup low fat buttermilk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the griddle

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat a griddle on medium-high. Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, add bananas, sourdough starter, buttermilk, eggs, butter, and vanilla; whisk to combine.  Add to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

Brush a little melted butter on the griddle. Pour the pancake batter by ¼ cups onto the griddle, keeping the pools of batter 2 inches apart. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 ½ minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

Have I mentioned how I came about my sourdough starter? Check out this box of goodies I won from Food Hunter's Guide to Cuisine. Notice the jar of sourdough starter? It's from the King Arthur Flour site and, apparently, has origins dating back 250 years! To make your own sourdough starter, you can visit the site and buy some of this stuff, or you can make your own. Here's a recipe I found on allrecipes.com: Sourdough Starter.

Remember to not over-mix the batter. No one likes a tough pancake.

The pancakes turned out awesome! Next time, I may add some fresh blueberries for an incredible banana/blueberry pancake, but, in the mean time, these were tasty with just some melted butter and some sugar-free syrup.

What kind of pancakes do you like?