What do you know about an egg?

Eggs and eggdishes are one of the most common food we have. Many years in my life I had chickens of my own and was always using eggs in cooking and food. I used some yokes in mashed potatoes, I used them in warm pasta and the cakes I served were yellow because of many extra eggs in them.

I always had hard boiled eggs in the fridge and learned how to know if an egg was raw or boiled - you just spin it on the table. If it spinns fast it is boiled, if it spinns slowly it is raw. Try it:)

A young hen can usually lay 300 eggs per year. White hens lays white eggs and a brown hen lays brown ones. A young hen makes smaller eggs than an older one.
An egg-shell is made of calcium. The surface has thousands little "pores" that let oxygen in and let carbon dioxide and moist out. In order to "make" shells, the hen must have calcium and/or material to pluck. I used to crush the old shells and give them back into the hen yard.

But - what if there is a chicken inside? Well the eggs you buy in the store have no chickens in them. The simple reason is that the hens never meet a rooster :-D I had roosters going together with the hens so the posibility was there. BUT it takes about 21 days for a chicken to develop inside the egg. If you have a hatcher that do the job you just take the eggs you collected and are keeping in the fridge and put them in it..they star to grow if they are fertilized.
The yoke is the egg-cell. If the rooster have been a good father there is a small dot on the outside of the yoke. Inside the yoke is all the nourishment the little growing chicken needs. The white is also containing water and nourishment. It is also protecting the embryo from pushes and it has some bactericidal components. In both ends of the yoke there are two cords. The yoke is acually "Hanging" in them. They are attatced into the ends of the egg-shell. Talk about protection!
The chicken is also surrounded by membranes. One of them is like a baloon and takes care of the exchange of oxygen and carbon oxide. You can see the rest of it like a little flat baloon in one end of the egg. Peel your egg carefully next time and you can acually see it!

The hen is aware of that there is a life inside her egg. She turns it daily and keeps it warm under her feathers. 21 days she is there but leaves the nest to drink and eat. In the end of the 21 days there is much going on inside. About 28 hours before the hatching the chicken makes a hole in the membrane and starts to breath with its lungs! When it is ready to come out it makes a hole from the inside with an extra hard spot on the beak. It makes its way out and starts to breath air. The hen never helps the chicken to come out. Of course there are siblings too. So you have to wait for all to come out and meet the world. The hen is protecting the small ones so amazing! Once I tried to lift the hen to see how many chickens there were. I could not see any! I just heard them cheeping. Then I realized that the hen had them all stacked under her wings!! That is protection indeed!
I usually gave the little ones chopped hard boiled eggs the first week. Of course they need water too. Then they slowly start to eat regulary hen food...mom is showing them. The hen is acually not tuching the chopped eggs. It seemed like she just new it was for her little ones.
After a while we used to put the hen and her chicken in a separate cage with net both under and over them. ( cats and hawks )

Of course I usually took the eggs daily from the hen house and used them in my cooking. I have so many receipts I want to share but for a start here is a good one:

OMELETT

½cup chopped sweet red and/or green pepper
½ cup water, divided
1 can (8,5 oz) cream-style corn
1 can (4oz) chopped green chilies
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion with tops
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
6 eggs
1 table spoon butter or cooking oil or cooking spray
3/4 cup prepared taco sauce
Fresh cilantro leaves, optional

In small saucepan, combine pepper and 2 tablespoons of the water. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until pepper is tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add corn, chilies, onion and garlic powder. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Keep warm.
In small bowl, beat together eggs and remaining water until blended. For each omelet, heat 1 teaspoon of the butter in 7- to 10-inch omelet pan over medium-high heat until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Pour in 1/2 cup of the egg mixture. With an inverted pancake turner, carefully push cooked portions at edges toward center so uncooked portions can reach hot pan surface, tilting pan and moving cooked portions as necessary. When top is thickened and no visible liquid egg remains, spoon 1/2 cup of the reserved corn mixture across center of omelet. With pancake turner, fold sides of omelet over corn mixture. Slide from pan onto plate. Spoon on 1/4 cup of the taco sauce. Garnish with cilantro leaves, if desired. Repeat for remaining omelets.

So - dont be afraid - there is no chicken in your breakfast egg! :)

Eggs and Blue Bowl Art Print
Foy, Lucinda
10 in. x 8 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com




Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed   Mounted

Egglicious Sandwich
Ingredients:
1 unsliced loaf (1 lb.) French bread
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons honey mustard
4 thin slices of deli ham
4 thin slices deli turkey
4 strips fried bacon
1 large tomato, sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
8 eggs, lightly beaten
4 slices cheddar cheese
4 slices pepper jack cheese
Directions:
Cut bread in half lengthwise; carefully hollow out top and bottom, leaving ½ inch shells (discard removed bread or save for other use). Spread 3 tablespoons of butter and all of the mayonnaise inside bread shells. Line bottom bread shell with ham, turkey, and bacon. Top with tomato, onion and honey mustard.
In a skillet, melt remaining butter; add eggs. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until eggs are almost set. Spoon into bottom bread shell; top with cheeses. Cover with bread top. Wrap in greased foil. Bake at 375ºF for 15 - 20 minutes or until heated through. Cut into serving size pieces.

Pesto Scrambled Eggs
INGREDIENTS
%u2022 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
%u2022 1 egg, lightly beaten
%u2022 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
%u2022 salt and pepper to taste
%u2022 1/2 teaspoon pesto
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. In a small bowl, combine egg, Cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Pour into pan, and cook stirring for 3 to 5 minutes, or until desired doneness. Remove from heat, and stir in pesto.

Bacon, Potato, and Egg Taco Ole
INGREDIENTS
%u2022 8 bacon strips
%u2022 8 eggs
%u2022 1/3 cup milk
%u2022 3 tablespoons water
%u2022 salt and pepper to taste
%u2022 1/3 cup diced onion
%u2022 2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
%u2022 1 tablespoon butter
%u2022 4 corn or flour tortilla
DIRECTIONS
1. Place bacon in a skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Keeping drippings in the skillet, remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Crumble the bacon.
2. While the bacon is cooking, mix the eggs, milk, water, salt, and pepper in a bowl until combined.
3. Add potatoes to the bacon drippings and cook until semi-soft. Stir in the onions. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet. Stir in the crumbled bacon and the butter. Cook until the eggs set to your desired firmness. Spoon mixture into tortillas and serve.

Delicious Egg and Vegetable Casserole
Ingredients:
12 eggs
2 cups non-fat cottage cheese
2 tablespoons Mrs. Dash seasoning blend
1 cup reduced fat shredded Marble Jack or cheddar cheese
2 cups freshly sliced veggies (onions, red pepper, broccoli)
salt and pepper, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place vegetables in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and cook on high for 3 minutes. Set aside. Mix eggs, cottage cheese, seasoning, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Pour half of the mixture in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Top with well-drained vegetables and shredded cheese. Pour remaining egg mixture over vegetables.
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Eggs should be set and top very lightly browned. Serves 8.

Egg Lasagna
Ingredients:
12 eggs
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese
½ of a red pepper
1 small squash
1 small zucchini
6-8 medium mushrooms
12 slices of bacon (you can use already cooked)
4 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
4 ounces medium cheddar cheese, shredded
Fresh minced ginger to taste
2 tablespoons butter
1 lb. deer breakfast sausage
Directions:
In a bowl crack 6 eggs and whisk, mix half of the cream cheese in with the beaten eggs. Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper to fit in a 9 x 13 cookie sheet pan. Lay one of the sheets on the cookie sheet pan and pour the egg and cream cheese mixture on it and bake at 350° until the eggs are done. Repeat this process with the remaining eggs and cream cheese and bake until done approx. 10-15 minutes. Flip the egg mixtures onto cooling racks.
Slice mushrooms and red pepper in strips and then cut the strips into one-inch pieces. Take a zester and score the yellow squash and zucchini to take part of the skin off but leaving some for color. Cut squash and zucchini the same way you cut the mushrooms and red pepper. Mince the fresh ginger to your taste, and put in a skillet with the melted butter. Toss in the vegetables and cook until tender. Drain any liquid off. Cook your breakfast sausage and drain. If your bacon is the precooked then crumble all but 2 slices in with the sausage. If not, cook 10 slices and then crumble it into the sausage. Mix shredded pepper jack and cheddar together.
In a 9 x 13 casserole dish lay your first layer of egg/cream cheese down, take half of the meat mixture and spread it on the egg, then put half of the vegetable mixture on and spread around, finally put half of the cheese mixture on top, then put the other layer of egg/cream cheese down and repeat the process. Sprinkle remaining crumbled bacon on top and bake in the oven at 350° until cheese is melted and golden brown and bubbly. Let cool for a little bit after pulling out of the oven and cut into squares.