Omelet Stuffers

Omelet you in on a secret:

Here in our house, we eat a lot of omelets.
We eat 'em for breakfast, we eat 'em for lunch, and we eat 'em for dinner.
We love omelets.  Maybe even a little too much.
They are the perfect one dish dinner, they are fast as lightening to prepare, they are cheap, and they can go far beyond the typical cheese stuffed variety if you just let them.

We are leaving town for the weekend, so last night was one of those dinners that was centered around using up some of the fresh produce in our refrigerator. I had some spinach that was dangerously close to wilting, and a loaf of French bread that had turned to stone on our kitchen counter.  I used those two ingredients, plus a few more, to whip up this little number by my favorite food columnist, Mark Bittman.
It was every bit as delicious as it looks.

(Click here for this awesome recipe!)

Then, this morning, I realized that while I had effectively used up some of the perishable food in my refrigerator, I now had leftovers. 

Oh, the dreaded leftover.  Does your family eat them?  My family has every intention of doing so,   but somehow they just get pushed further and further into the back of the fridge, until they are completely forgotten about. 

This is exactly where an omelet becomes the super hero of all things that can be stuffed into eggs, which is...well...everything.

Here are the two ingredients from my breakfast this morning.

LEFTOVERS

EGGS

                                   

Oh, and lots and lots of butter. Please, for the love of Pete, please don't try and skimp on the butter when it comes to omelet making. 

You will also need a good omelet pan.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy.  In fact, my omelet pan is really old and full of scratches.  I love it, because despite it's appearance, it never fails to make the perfect, golden, fluffy omelet. Never judge an omelet pan by it's surface.

Beautiful omelets take some practice, but one of the joys of omelet making is that they don't have to be perfect, they just have to be good.

Here are some basic omelet rules to go by if you want a pretty omelet, but remember, a broken omelet is just as much of a culinary delight!

1.  Butter your pan and heat it over medium heat. I normally use 1 tablespoon of butter per egg.  You can use more, but never, ever use less butter than that.

2.  Whisk your eggs gently, just until the yokes and whites are combined.  Over mixing causes them to get tough and runny.

 

 

3. Add just a pinch of salt to the eggs, and not much more seasoning than that.  You want the filling to be the star.

 

 

4.  Stuff your omelet with anything your heart desires.  Feel like being simple?  Plain cheese never fails.  My favorite cheese for omelet making is Swiss, but I never turn down a good sharp cheddar.  Goat cheese is amazing, as is cream cheese.  Combine the two to make a cheesy dream come true.

Leftovers make awesome omelets, too, but remember that if you don't normally cook it, use it to top your omelet instead of stuffing it inside.  For instance, lettuce isn't a good stuffer, but a great topper.  However, this rule can be broken when it comes to things like sour cream.  Just use your noodle.

 

 

5.  Speaking of noodles, yes, you can stuff an omelet with them.  Oh, and that leftover fried rice?  You can use that, too. It's delicious.

 

 

6.  While the eggs are cooking, gently use a spatula to lift them from the side of the pan to avoid sticking.  While you are lifting the egg with the spatula, gently swirl the pan. allowing the runny eggs to become cooked, too.

 

 

7.  Once the eggs begin to set, place your filling in the center of the omelet, being sure not to overstuff. Gently fold the omelet once, turn off the heat, and let sit until cooked through.

 

 

8.Eat. Sigh. Fall in love with leftovers.

Effectively Cleaning Out the Fridge with Minimal Waste.

Lana