Bridezilla Bakes

After a glut of desserts, I have a couple of great dinner ideas coming up to share with you all! I’m pretty darn excited about it — not only to save my reputation (I get a lot of this: “yeah, I was talking to so-and-so about your blog, and, I know that they don’t know you, but they think you bake a lot. A LOT. Like, woah…”) — but also because dinner ideas are hard to come by! I don’t think there will ever be a time in my life when I will ever reach my quota of tasty, quick, cheap, and healthy home dinners.

Although I love to bake, I think that making dinner is when the real kitchen therapy happens. There is nothing like coming home after a terrible day at work and actually creating something nourishing, comforting, and interesting. I don’t know about you, but my usual workday isn’t full of that kind of creative-yet-practical process Luckily, cooking gives me an outlet for both the creative side as well as the part of my personality that has a need to just… fill needs. You know? At least one time a day, I solve a very practical challenge: the dinner challenge.

(Of course, there are just as many times in a week that I come home and say… “You want dinner? Feed yourself!” I’m hoping that staying philosophical about the whole thing may help that little problem…)

The perfect bite!

This particular dinner idea is a real gem, people! Sean and I have already had it twice, and I’m not stopping there. The ingredients are few, easy to find, and inexpensive. It’s also vegetarian, not that you’d notice if you were eating it — another plus in the budget, health, and environment categories. The whole thing is so comforting and yet light-tasting — we’ll be eating this all throughout the summer. And it’s so quick — chop an onion, some garlic, squeeze a few tomatoes (no, really… see the directions!) , and you’re in business.

I know it looks like Mickey Mouse... but it's delicious!

Shakshuka (Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce)
Adapted from smitten kitchen, who adapted it from Saveur

Serves 4 to 6

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 Anaheim chiles or 3 jalapeños. Deb recommends stemming, seeding, and chopping them — I say, if you’re using jalapeños, leave the seeds in at least two of the peppers, and chop.
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed then sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Warm pitas, for serving

Put tomatoes and their liquid into a medium bowl and crush with your hands. Heat oil in a wide (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Add chiles and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft and fragrant, about 2 more minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes and their liquid to skillet along with 1/2 cup water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt.

Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce’s surface. Cover skillet and cook until yolks are just set, about 5-7 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Cook until whites are cooked through and yolks are still runny (if you don’t like runny yolks, cover again and cook longer until your yolk is the desired consistency). Sprinkle with feta and parsley and serve with pitas, for scooping.

Tags: dinner, eggs, vegetarian