Yesterday I realized that I had NO IDEA what I was going to make for dinner. At 3pm. Ack! I had gotten caught up in work/kids/chores and then...well...it was 3pm. I had a few things in the freezer, but it was too late for that to help. When this sort of thing happens and I have no direction in mind (except that it needs to be simple and fast) I try to pick one ingredient and go from there. This time I decided to start with the millet I had picked up on a whim two weeks earlier. I had never cooked millet before, but knew it was a relatively quick-cooking whole grain, so that became my jumping off point. A quick search on epicurious.com brought me to a recipe that happened to be from a cookbook I checked out of the library last month. Despite it's awesomeness, I didn't get very far in the book before I had to return it. While I didn't have most of the ingredients on hand, the cooking method reminded me of things I have done with other grains/lentils/polenta, so now I had a plan. Grain bottom, veg middle, egg top. Boom.
A quick search of the fridge turned up a container of caramelized onions and garlic from the day before (I had doubled what I needed for a pasta dish), spinach from Blooming Hill Farm that was already rinsed and spun, a smallish container of jack and cheddar I had shredded for last week's quesadillas, and eggs from our chickens.
So, I followed the recipe for the millet pretty closely, just subbing in my cheeses for the two it called for and omitting the thyme. The spinach got a quick sauté in the onion mixture and the eggs had a quick pan fry in butter. Then it was simply a matter of layering the items in each bowl.
Millet goes on the bottom. Spinach next. Top with the egg. Enjoy!
Dave and I loved it. I wish I could say the same for the kids. The teenager cleaned his plate, but made a face. The littles, well...they gobbled the egg, ate a bit of the millet and "green stuff", then pushed it around for a spell and declared they were full. Sigh. I could eat like this (happily!) every day, but it's just not their thing. Yet. I will keep trying and hoping.