Family Omelette Night Recipes

Family Omelette Night Tames Busy Schedules

Normally, omelettes are considered a breakfast food, but in our house we've created a tradition of eating them for dinner on evenings when scheduling commitments makes a more traditional sit-down meal difficult.  Such busy evenings are all too common these days and particularly acute in families with tween or teen age kids that need to get driven to a party, school event, sports practice, music lessons or other event that makes a quick meal essential.

Many families will default to fast food on busy nights but we try to prepare a fresh meal every day. We created Family Omelette Night as a way of taming the scheduling chaos while still putting wholesome food on the table.

Eggs to the Rescue

Omelettes and scrambles really are a great solution to the dinner dilemma for the following reasons:

Photo by Stripey the Crab

• Nutritious -  Eggs are often called natures perfect food.  Eggs are high in protein, low in fat and calories, and packed with vitamins and minerals. 
• Always on Hand - Eggs are a staple in most homes, but this is even truer for families that keep their own backyard chickens. No need to run to the market.
• Fast - Once the pan is hot, eggs cook in just a few minutes. This is critical if you need to be out the door quickly.
• Customizable - While it would be great if everyone in the family ate the same omelette, the truth is that kids can be picky. What child "A" wants can often be disliked by child "B."  With Omelets, you can deal with this pickiness because each Omelettes can be customized to individual tastes.

Some Fast "Recipe" Ideas

I hesitate to call these recipes because the idea is to use relatively few ingredients and ones that are already sitting in the refrigerator or pantry.  Let's say they are more "tips" than true recipes.....

• Cheese Please Omelette - any type of cheese you have on hand will work for a cheese omelet. Don't be constrained by tradition.  Cheddar may be an old favorite, but Brie makes a luxurious omelet if that's what's in the refrigerator. Soft herbed cheeses are even better since they already contain the seasonings that jazz up a traditional omelet. There are lots of herbed cheeses, but one that's been around for years is Boursin. We keep this cheese in the refrigerator for cheese and cracker snacks, but it also makes a fine omelet. You can even use creamed cheese. Kraft sells a variety of flavored creamed cheeses in little tubs. If you have some in your refrigerator, give it a try.
• Salami Omelette - dice up some salami and place in the center of the omelette.  With this and other "meat" omelettes you can add cheese or not depending on the tastes of the person getting the omelette.
• Hamlet Prince of Denmark - same as the above but made with ham.  The best will be made from black forest ham that has smokey flavor but use what you have in the fridge.
• Bring Home the Bacon Omelette - This is my son's favorite. To make it happen quickly, run two skillets at once. Cook the bacon in one pan while making omelettes in the other.  The same skillet can then be used to saute veggies for use in omelettes for family member number 2, 3, 4 etc.
• Veggie Omelette - As mentioned above, get two skillets going at once to speed things along. Cook the veggies in one skillet while making the omelettes in the other. Good veggies include onions, peppers, mushrooms or a combination of all the above.  I've even used arugula from the garden.  
• Scandinavian Omelette (Smoked Salmon/Lox/Gravlax)- OK, this isn't necessarily in everyone's refrigerator but we happen to keep smoked salmon as a staple item.  My favorite omelette is made from smoked salmon and onions. Just saute diced onion in the skillet for a minute or two to soften them and then throw in some diced smoked salmon. Cook for just a few seconds and then transfer the contents to the center of your omelette or just pour scrambled egg over the top and make a smoked salmon, onion and egg scramble. To die for!

Share Your Recipe Idea

Have an omelette idea you love, post a comment and share your recipe with the readers of this blog.