300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes (5 page)

4.
Now, turn your burner to the lowest heat if you have a gas stove. (If you have an electric stove, you'll have to have a “warm” burner standing by; electric elements don't cool off fast enough for this job.) Put your filling on one half of the omelet, cover the skillet, and let it sit over very low heat for a minute or two, no more. Peek and see if the raw, shiny egg is gone from the top surface (although you can serve it that way if you like; that's how the French prefer their omelets) and the cheese, if you've used it, is melted. If not, re-cover the skillet and let it sit for another minute or two.

5.
When your omelet is done, slip a spatula under the half without the filling and fold it over and then lift the whole thing onto a plate. You could get fancy and tip the pan, letting the filling side of the omelet slide onto the plate and folding the top over as you go, but this takes some practice.

This makes a single-serving omelet. I think it's a lot easier to make several individual omelets than to make one big one, and omelets are so fast to make that it's not that big a deal to make more than one. Anyway, that way you can customize your omelets to each individual's taste. If you're making more than two or three omelets, keep them warm in your oven, set to its very lowest heat, until they're all ready to eat.

Now read on for some ideas for what to put in your omelets!

Apple, Bacon, and Blue Cheese Omelet

Here are three of my favorite things—wrapped in eggs, another of my favorite things!

3 slices bacon

1/4 Granny Smith or other crisp, tart apple, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons butter, divided

2 eggs, beaten

1 ounce (28 g) crumbled blue cheese

Start the bacon cooking in the microwave—if you don't own a microwave bacon rack, a glass pie plate will work just fine. (In my microwave, 3 to 4 minutes on High is about right, but microwave power varies.)

While the bacon's cooking, melt 1 teaspoon of butter in your omelet pan over medium-high heat. Add the apples and fry for 2 to 3 minutes per side or until they're slightly golden. Remove the apple slices and keep them on hand.

Melt the remaining butter in the skillet, slosh it about, and make your omelet according to
Dana's Easy Omelet Method
(see
page 29
), using nonstick cooking spray if necessary. Arrange the fried apples on half the omelet, top with the blue cheese, cover the pan, and turn the burner to low.

Go check on that bacon! If it needs another minute, do that now, while the cheese is melting. Then drain it and crumble it over the now-melted blue cheese. Fold and serve.

Yield:
1 serving, with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 5 grams of usable carbs and 23 grams of protein.

Chivey Cheese and Pear Omelets

I never played around with chive cream cheese before working on the new recipes for this book. What a versatile ingredient it is! This omelet is a wonderful, unusual combination of flavors.

1/4 pear

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

2 eggs

3 tablespoons (38 g) whipped cream cheese with chives

Slice your pear quarter quite thin. Melt the butter in your omelet pan and sauté the pear slices until they've soften a little more. Fork them out onto a plate and reserve.

Scramble up your eggs and pour them into the omelet pan. Cook as described in
Dana's Easy Omelet method.
When the liquid egg has stopped running, turn the burner to low and spoon in the chive cream cheese in little bits, distributing it over half the egg. Top with the pear slices, cover, and cook until the cheese is melted. Fold, plate, and devour!

Yield:
1 serving, with 362 calories, 31 grams fat, 13 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram dietary fiber, and 8 grams usable carb.

Chili Lime Pork Omelet

This is one of those omelets that makes it clear that eggs ain't just for breakfast anymore—this is definitely hearty enough for dinner. The
Chili Lime Pork
is very quick to make and keeps well in a closed container in the fridge.

2 eggs, beaten

1 to 2 teaspoons oil

1/4 batch
Chili Lime Pork Strips
(see
page 149
)

1/4 avocado, sliced

1/4 cup (29 g) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Sour cream (optional)

Salsa (optional)

Make your omelet according to
Dana's Easy Omelet Method
(see
page 29
). Arrange the
Chili Lime Pork
strips on half the omelet and top with the avocado and the cheese. Cover, turn the burner to low, and let it cook for a minute or two to melt the cheese and finish setting the eggs. Fold and serve. Top with sour cream, salsa, or both if desired.

Yield:
1 serving, with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 42 grams of protein.

“Clean the Fridge” Omelet

The name is not a joke—I made this omelet up out of whatever I found kicking around in the refrigerator, needing to be used up before it went bad. The results were definitely good enough to make it again.

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1/4 medium onion, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 ounce (28 g) jalapeño jack cheese, shredded or sliced

1/2 avocado, sliced

In your skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the pepper and onion in the oil until the onion is translucent and the pepper is going limp. Remove from the pan and keep on hand. If your pan isn't nonstick, give it a shot of nonstick cooking spray before putting it back on the burner and increasing the heat a touch to high. Make your omelet according to
Dana's Easy Omelet Method
(see
page 29
). Put the cheese on half the omelet and top with the avocado, then the pepper and onion. Cover, turn the burner to low, and let it cook until the cheese is melted. Fold and serve.

Yield:
1 serving, with 14 grams of carbohydrates and 6 grams of fiber, for a total of 8 grams of usable carbs and 21 grams of protein.

This also contains a whopping 821 milligrams of potassium!

Cumin Mushroom Omelet

Exotic and wonderful—and even if you're making the
Cumin Mushrooms
from scratch, you'll come in right around the 15-minute mark.

2 eggs, beaten

1 ounce (28 g) Monterey Jack cheese, sliced or shredded

1/3 batch
Cumin Mushrooms
(see
page 265
), warmed

Make your omelet according to
Dana's Easy Omelet Method
(see
page 29
). Put the cheese on half the omelet and then top with the mushrooms. Cover, turn the burner to low, and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Fold and serve.

Yield:
1 serving, with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 5 grams of usable carbs and 20 grams of protein.

Variation:
A couple of ounces (55 g) of purchased grilled chicken strips make a nice addition to this omelet. If you add the chicken, figure on 1 additional gram of carbohydrate (the chicken strips are marinated before cooking) and 6 additional grams of protein per ounce.