Restaurant Review: The Egg Shop

It should be surprise by now that I have a little obsession with eggs. The most commonly used grocery staple is popping up on top of dishes all over the city for breakfast, lunch and dinner but let's be honest, the tried and true best use of eggs is during breakfast. Long are the days I can pop into a deli and order a bacon, egg and cheese so when given the opportunity I jump at the chance to order one.

The Egg Shop is a not so secret gem in SoHo with 1-2 hour waits every weekend. My first attempt to eat there was a fail, having come from spin class with no chance of waiting over an hour without fainting. This time I got it right. My friend and I swung in to put our name on the list then went next door for Nutella and Banana covered gluten free but loaf. Mmm mm. 60 minutes and one cocktail l later it was time for Egg Shop! :)

The restaurant holds only about 30-35 guests and the kitchen is basically the size of mine... With 5 guys whipping of dishes left and right. 

I knew right away I was ordering a bacon, egg and cheese and made a last minute game time decision to add avocado to go along with their tomato pepper jam. They served it on a toasted gluten free English muffin.  It was damn good!! The egg arrived already cracked and running down the sandwich. I tossed caution to the wind and picked the hot mess of a sandwich right up and started stuff my face. (Judge away. If you barely got the chance to indulge you'd do the same!) 

Every bite was delicious. Runey yolk, smoky bacon, creamy avocado and the perfect little kick of tomatoe pepper jam. I could die a happy girl eating that every day. 

To go with my B.E.C. I ordered the strangest looking blue vodka drink, complete with egg whites. I wasn't a huge fan but that's ok... My Sammy more than made up for it. And you can mark my words... I will be a new frequent guest of Egg Shop!! 

Eggplant-Turkey Pizza Burger

Like several other times over the last few months, my eyes have driven my produce selection at the grocery store. I can't look at the brightest, greenest veggies and just walk away. I know I'll use them in some way. This week, I walked away with fresh broccoli, cherry tomatoes, red pepper and eggplant among other delicious foods.

I was in the mood for something Italian inspired so I sautéed a bunch of cherry tomatoes, peppers and onion with garlic. Next, I thinly sliced the eggplant, brushed each side with olive oil and sprinkled on some salt, pepper and garlic powder and pan fried them until softened. While that was cooking I balanced broccoli and set aside. 

Ok, so now what? I thought about how to compose my meal and remembered I had frozen turkey burger patties in the freezer and shredded mozzarella in the fridge - pizza burger it is! And who needs a bun when you can use eggplant as a make-shift bun! :)

After cooking the turkey, I layered two eggplant slices on my plate then spines on a scoop of my tomatoe and pepper mix followed by the turkey burger. I sprinkled on some mozz next then another layer of tomatoes and peppers and topped with two more eggplant slices. And of course, broccoli seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder was my side dish. 

Not only was this a guilt free meal but every bite was super juicy! If you have some time on your hands you could easily roast the veggies instead of pan frying. Half the work and just as delicious! 

Veggie and Egg Pizzas!

I'm always looking for quick and healthy yet equally delicious dinners during the week. I've been on a big veggie kick lately so I do all my prep work on Sunday's then make different meals using the veggies throughout the week.

Last week I opted for super easy pizza using corn tortillas. To make a sauce, I sautéed 1/4 onion with half of a red pepper and two plum tomatoes. Once fully softened I put the mixture on the tortilla. Next, I sautéed chopped zucchini, eggplant, spinach and broccoli until tender and put them on top of my make-shift sauce. Next I sprinkled on a little cheese and tossed the pizza in the microwave for one minute. (Could I have baked this so it was crunchy, yea. But that defeats he purpose of a quick meal.) ;) 

My last step is the best step. I fried one egg and placed it top. I LOVEEEE when the yolk cracks, running down the mound of veggies adding the perfect creamy mix to each bite. 

Trust me, you definitely need to make this one night! You can literally use and veggies you have: kale, mushrooms, carrots, corn, etc. So good! 

I've also made a version using asparagus and tons of red pepper instead of broccoli and eggplant. Super delicious!

Yes, I ate both of these. Oink oink. 

Turkey and Pepper Zucchini Pasta

I have been on a spiralizer spree lately. First was  "spaghetti" and meatballs which was delicious. This week I wanted to mix it up and have careless tacos. So I skipped the shell all together and put my taco toppings on zucchini noodles.

Recipe:
Ingredients:

1 lb of ground turkey 

1 packet of taco seasoning 

1 tbsp olive oil 

1 clove garlic, minced or crushed

1 cup frozen corn

1 red bell pepper

1 onion

3 zucchinis 

Greek yogurt for topping

Directions:

1) Spiralize three zucchinis, saving and chopping nubs of zucchini that does not fit in spiralizer. Set "noodles" aside.
2) Over medium high heat, cook turkey until fully browned. Turn off the heat then add 1/4 cup of water and 3/4 of the taco seasoning packet. Stir until water is absorbed and season evenly covers the meat. 

3) In the same pan, add the olive oil and heat for about one minute. Add onion, pepper, zucchini and garlic to the pan and saute for five minutes. Toss in frozen corn and rest of taco seasoning packet and cook until all veggies are tender. When veggies are cooked through, add turkey back to pan to combine flavors.
4) To serve, top a serving of zucchini noodles with taco/veggie mix and garnish as desired. I added Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and served it with a side of asparagus. It was DELICIOUS!!