Cheese Filled Birds Nests Food

BIRDS IN A NEST

Steps:

• Place a very large nonstick skillet over low heat. Add the oil and garlic clove into the skillet and gently infuse the garlic flavor into the oil. In the meantime, using a round cookie cutter or an empty can, cut out the center of all 6 slices of bread. Add the prepared bread slices to the garlic infused oil. Crack the eggs 1 at a time and drop them into their "nests" or, the center of each slice of bread. Drain and slice red pepper. Add a strip or 2 of red pepper to each nest. Season the birds in their nests with salt and pepper and sprinkle a little cheese into each nest. Gently turn the birds in their nests and turn off the heat. Let the eggs sit in their nests 5 minutes more, then transfer to a platter and serve.

CHEESE-FILLED BIRDS' NESTS

Steps:

• Make syrup:
• Bring water, sugar, honey, zest, and juices to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then simmer until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Cool syrup.
• Make filling:
• Stir together cheeses, honey, zest, and cinnamon.
• Assemble and bake nests:
• Preheat oven to 350°F and butter 2 shallow baking pans (about 1 inch deep).
• Gently pull apart strands of kataifi in a large bowl to loosen, then toss with all of butter. Pack a 1/3-cup measuring cup with strands and invert into a baking pan to form a mound. Make 36 more mounds (18 in each pan) in same manner.
• With your finger, make a 1-inch-deep depression in top of each mound to form a nest. Spoon filling into holes, then sprinkle pine nuts over filling.
• Bake birds' nests in upper and lower thirds of oven, rotating pans halfway through baking for even browning, until nests are pale golden, about 35 minutes. Discard zest and drizzle all of syrup over nests (syrup will gradually be absorbed). Cool birds' nests in pans on a rack.

BIRD NESTS

Steps:

• Prepare mashed potatoes according to package directions. Remove from the stove and let cool slightly while making the meat mixture as follows:.
• In a large frying pan, cook each slice of bacon on both sides until crispy. Remove from the pan, place on a paper towel and let cool, Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pan. Next, brown and crumble the ground turkey or beef in the bacon fat until no longer pink. Drain off the liquid and add the following to the meat: the 1/2 cup water, 1 package taco seasoning mix - minus 1 tablespoon, and 1 cup shredded carrots. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer, cover and let cook approximately 5 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Drain all of the liquid from the pan, then add 1/2 of the crumbled bacon, the drained sundried tomotoes and 3/4 cup each of the cheddar and goat cheese. Mix well. Set on the lowest heat to keep mixture warm and proceed to make the nests.
• To Make the Bird Nests: On 2 cookie sheets, place 4 six-inch squares of foil on each cookie sheet. Using a paper towel, grease each foil piece lightly with the olive oil drained from the sundried tomotoes. Fill a gallon-sized ZipLoc bag with half of the prepared Simply Potatoes Traditional Mashed Potatoes, close and seal the bag while removing as much air from the bag as possible. Cut off one lower corner of the bag to leave an opening of approximately 1/2" and squeeze the mashed potatoes onto each piece of foil in a spiral - starting in the center - to create a base of potatoes about 4" in diameter. Add one more outer circle of potatoes to create an outer wall for each nest. Repeat with the second batch of mashed potatoes to create a total of 8 nests. Lightly sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of taco mix on top of each potato nest with your fingers. Spoon the meat mixture into the center of each nest and top each nest with some of the reserved cheddar cheese, goat cheese and remaining crumbled bacon. Remove each nest from the baking sheet using a spatula placed under each piece of foil. Serve with a green salad and enjoy!