penne a la Maggie: what's for dinner tonight: Arabian shakshouka (poached eggs in a spicy, tomato sauce)

I've been battling some sort of viral/bacterial infection these past couple of days. 102.1 degree fever and achey joints definitely made it difficult to cook any meal, but I figured I could make a bunch of this yummy shakshouka to last me at least a few days-- or at least until a doctor could figure out what kind of infection I had. I can trek to the grocery store once I'm a little bit more stable, and not so contagious. Plus this warm tomato-sauce dish soothed my pained tonsils. Ohhh, the pain!!

Ingredients

1 28oz. can of tomato sauce

1 12 oz. can of diced tomato

2 cups of broccoli florets (broccoli is not in original shakshouka recipes, but I figured I needed some extra vitamin C in my life)

1 yellow onion, diced roughly

5 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 handful of fresh basil, torn in pieces (I go to Checker's for fresh basil)

1/4 cup of sliced green onion

1/4 cup of cottage cheese

1/4 cup of oil

1 tbsp. of crushed red pepper (add as little of this, or as much of this as you'd like. This recipe made medium-hot shakshouka)

1 tbsp. of chili powder

1 tsp. of ground cumin

1 tsp. of cayenne pepper

4 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

Dice and slice your onion and garlic.

On medium-high heat, add the garlic and onion, along with the cayenne pepper, chili powder, ground cumin, chili flakes and salt and pepper. Saute until they begin to soften, about 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, drain the can of diced tomatoes.

Add the broccoli and basil into the skillet and stir fry until the broccoli start to become tender. About another 3 minutes.

Add in the can of diced tomatoes, and using the back of your mixing spoon, mash the tomatoes into the skillet.

Then add your tomato sauce.

Cover with a lid, and let this simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add each egg individually into different sections of the skillet.

You can add as many or as little as you'd like.

Cover and lower the heat to medium-low for about 10 minutes, or until the whites are completely cooked. Use your mixing spoon to scrape the egg whites around, be careful not to break the yolk!