Dinner for Deb

I was thinking of my friend Deb while making this dinner.  She has recently been diagnosed with diabetes and is having to learn to cook and eat in a new way.  This meal would be good for her: it’s relatively low on the glycemic index and, if you omit the cheese from the salad and use a light hand with the dressing, it’s reasonably low in fat too.

Baked eggs in ham cups, with spinach salad and homemade ranch dressing:

To make the baked eggs, start by preparing a muffin pan.  Spray as many of the muffin cups with non-stick spray as you are going to fill with eggs.  Use a couple of pieces of ham or other cold cuts (pepper salami works very well) to line each sprayed muffin cup.  Put the muffin pan in a 350 degree oven and bake the ham until it crisps up a bit, about 15 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and crack an egg into each of the lined cups.  Spoon a small amount of low fat evaporated milk on top of each egg (there won’t be room for more than a teaspoon or two) and then season each egg with salt and pepper.  Return the eggs to the oven to bake until the whites are set but the yolks are still soft.

While the eggs are baking, assemble your salad.  I made mine in layers, starting with spinach and then adding sliced celery, thin strips of red pepper, sliced black olives, and shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.

Make your salad dressing. Whisk together 1 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley,  and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives.

When the eggs are cooked, plate them beside the salad and serve the dressing on the side.