Spinach-Corn-Sun Dried Tomato Omelette

I know, this is just an omelette. Right? A rather simple, generic food that is most often enjoyed at brunch buffets with delicious "design your own" stations. But it's also a filling, interesting dish you can make in your own home when you have a lot of leftovers and are looking for a quick meal.

Brunch and/or breakfast remains one of my favorite meals, and sadly I have not given it due focus on my blog. I plan to rectify this going forward. Today will feature how to make the perfect omelette, but watch for waffles in the next week or two. And remember, you can always re-read my past posts on pancakes or crepes.

Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: easy-medium (flipping makes it a medium...)

Spinach-Corn-Sun Dried Tomato Omelette
The first thing to remember is that while I will give ingredients for a specific omelette here, the real beauty of these egg creations is that you can put nearly anything in one. Vegetables, meats, cheeses... they can be as simple or as complicated as you would like. This one will include mushrooms, onions, spinach, corn, sun dried tomatoes, and cheese - and that makes it a rather full omelette. But get creative!

Here is some brainstorming by category to help you out if you are stuck on what can go in your omelette. (Remember that this is just a starter list. Let us know in the comments if you have other favorites we should all be trying!)

Veggies: tomato, mushroom, onion, spinach, corn, sun dried tomato, broccoli, bell pepper, zucchini, green onion, potato, salsa, guacamole

Meats: smoked salmon, ham, shrimp

Cheeses: muenster, american, goat, mozzarella, parmesan, asiago, manchego

But now, at last, we'll get to this recipe of the week so you can start making your own delicious creation. Feel free to follow along exactly or experiment as you go.

Ingredients:
1 tsp butter or fake butter
1 cup fresh spinach (if you use frozen use far less since fresh wilts a lot)
1/8 -1/4 cup diced mushroom
1/8 - 1/4 cup diced onion
1/8 - 1/4 cup corn kernels
1/8 - 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
2 eggs
1.5 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
6 tbsp muenster cheese
1 tbsp parmesan cheese

Now, let me say, this will make a HUGE omelette. I have a very bad habit of piling on the veggies and finding out in the end my egg can barely cover them and my omelette will feed me all day long. This is one of those. I put on ranges to try to tone my instinct down since I'm pretty sure I'd use the uppermost of all of those ranges. (It is hard to predict because I never measure with omelettes but just go by how it looks as I move along through the process.)

If the veggies look overwhelming, you have two options. One, simply have a bloated omelette which will taste delicious but probably fall apart when you flip it. Or, have twice as much egg and milk on hand. After cooking the veggies separate out half on a plate. Use the 2 eggs and milk to make one omelette and give it to your favorite person. Then dump the rest of the cooked veggies back in your emptied pan and make the second one for yourself.

So here we go! Heat the butter in a small pan (this is key) over medium-high heat. When the butter melts add the spinach. Stir every few minutes and cook for about 5 minutes or until the spinach has started to wilt. It will continue to wilt as you cook the rest of the veggies so just make sure it has started.

Add the onions and mushrooms. Stir frequently to avoid burning and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the sun dried tomatoes and corn. Cook for another 3 minutes.

In a separate bowl combine your eggs and milk and whip the eggs a bit with a fork to make sure the yolk is evenly mixed into the egg-milk mixture. Use a spatula to push the veggies slightly into the center of the pan, leaving about a finger's width around the edges. Think of it as if your pan was a pizza and the veggies are the topping, so you need to leave a slight crust. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and turn the heat down to medium. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper. (Salt is optional.)

Let the egg cook for about 3 minutes so it sets slightly. Use your spatula to scrape around the edges to make sure the omelette won't stick to the edge of the pan. Tilt the pan as needed if there are pools of raw egg to get them to run around the pan and cook evenly.

Continue to cook your omelette. It should be getting fairly well set at this point. Wait until the egg is nearly cooked but not 100%. You now have two choices. If you are feeling brave, loosen the edges, slip your spatula underneath the omelette, and flip the entire thing and then continue with the recipe and the placing of the cheese. But, if you generally overload your omelettes and they will no longer flip well, just follow along without flipping. Either way, loosen the edges again!

Slice your muenster into cracker-sized slices if not already divided in some way. Scatter the muenster evenly across the omelette and let the cheese melt as you cook your omelette for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle the parmesan on top and continue cooking.

Your omelette will be done when the egg is fully cooked. The outside should also be a bit browned, especially the bottom if you never flipped it. When your omelette is cooked use your spatula to fold it in half, trapping the cheese in the fold. Push down on the top to make sure it will stick together fairly well. Then, slip the spatula underneath the folded omelette and place on a plate. You're ready to enjoy it!

Servings: 1
Serving size: 1 omelette
Nutrition: calories 618; carbs 25g; fat 42g; protein 45g; sodium 1143mg