Easy Lunch At Home

Here's a quick and easy lunch for eating at home which serves 3 adults, or 1 adult and two homeschooled teens who haven't had massive exercise! Serve with bread to feed more.

Includes kitchen skills for kids: safe knife skills to chop the onion and tomatoes; learn how to crack eggs; younger kids can be in charge of washing the vegetables, adding the salt and pepper, mixing the eggs, and chopping the red pepper with a table knife (once you remove the seeds and stalk).




Veggie Omelet with Salsa

1 large onion (or 2 small, or 1 leek)
oil (I use golden olive oil)
4 eggs
water - 1/2 egg shell for each egg
salt and ground black pepper
1 red pepper (green if you prefer)
shredded cheese (I like to use Irish cheddar)

3-4 plum tomatoes or 1 can of chopped tomatoes
Mama Socorro's Salsa Mix or other salsa spices

1. Peel and chop the onion. Compost the ends and skins. Wash onion after removing the skin.
2. Wash the pepper. Remove the stalk and seed core - compost. Chop pepper into strips.
3. Wash the tomatoes, remove the stalk area for compost. Cut into slices then chunks. Follow the directions on the Socorro's Salsa Mix packet (basically you warm the spices with the tomato in a pan on the stove).
   
4. Shred the cheese if it didn't come that way - depending on taste you will want somewhere around 1/2 cup worth. If you are short of time, small slices of cheese work fine.
   
5. Warm the oil (1-2 tbsp) in a cast iron or non-stick skillet. Note - your skillet needs to be OK with being put under the broiler.
6. Gently cook the onion on medium heat.
7. Meantime - crack the eggs one at a time checking that each is fresh before adding to the others.
8. Add one 1/2 egg shell of water for each egg.
9. Mix eggs with a fork and add a sprinkling of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
10. When the onion is turning transparent, add the eggs to the pan.
11. Do not stir the eggs. Add the strips of pepper on top.
12. Warm up the broiler.
13. When the eggs are beginning to cook on top sprinkle on the shredded cheese then take off the stove and put under the broiler.
14. Watch the pan closely under the broiler because it will cook quickly. Remove from the broiler (use oven mitts) when it is golden on top.
15. Serve with the salsa.

Please let me know what you think. Is this the right amount of detail on the recipe, too much detail? Do you like to have a list of tools and utensils with a recipe?

My kids enjoyed this quick lunch and I hope you do too.

Choose from 14 different children's cookbooks from Usborne. Starting Cooking is a Parent's Choice approved book which teaches the skills of cooking with eggs, using the stovetop, and using a broiler.

Mama Socorro's Salsa Mix is manufactured in Raytown, MO. You can contact Socorro's Mexican Products at (816) 358-9332.