No Bacon for Breakfast?!

Oh No!  We're out of BACON!  In my house we go through more bacon in a week than most people use in a month.  No. Kidding.  So this am I got into the fridge to make breakfast and saw that there was no meat...or so I thought.  I dug around and found some black forrest ham and thought, "I can work with that."  So I used a muffin tin and shaped the ham slices into it and cracked a few eggs into the ham. Voila!  Breakfast: meat included.  I also sliced up some peppers and onion that I happened to have and tossed in some mushrooms and threw it all into a sauté pan.  OH. Yeah.

Oven baked egg cups:

You will need:
Sliced ham
Eggs
Salt & Pepper
Spray oil
Muffin tin

Heat oven to 400 degrees
Spray muffin tin so the cups come out easy
Shape ham into tin
Crack eggs into ham
Sprinkle with salt and pepper
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes
Let cool a few minutes before removing from tin

I sprinkled with cheddar cheese and fresh basil and served with toast and sautéed peppers.  Man that's good stuff! 

Eggs Nested with Love

  So yesterday for breakfast I made my children eggs in a nest, a simple breakfast I learned from *eek* an ex.  I had gone grocery shopping all over the tri-cities the previous day, in an effort to obtain the healthiest forms of sustenance for my family.  It's not as easy as one would assume to locate chicken free of hormones, antibiotics and not fed any form of animal byproduct.  So, I ventured to the Kennewick Yoke's, Richland Winco, and the Egg Farm in BFE Pasco.  These eggs are not only good for you, they are super cheap which in my house is awesome as we go through more than two dozen eggs per week!
 
  There is a point to all of this...

   So yesterday morning after chasing the garbage truck (well not really), actually he had already gone down our side of the street so my neighbor and I scrambled to drag our cans to the other side of the road to put them with the others that hadn't been picked up (don't judge), in an effort to make an effortless breakfast, I decided to make eggs in a nest.  It is so much more fun to make shapes instead of the boring old standby circle, so i dug out one of our valentine cookie cutters and made my nest pretty :)

Eggs in a Nest:

You will need:
Sliced bread
Eggs
Butter
Frying pan or skillet
Cookie cutter(s) of choice

Butter your shit (bread) on both sides,
Use cookie cutter to cut out the center and save the cutout piece,
Place all pieces of bread on pan,
Crack eggs into hollowed out bread,
Cook to desired doneness.
Plate and serve with fresh fruit (or whatever side sounds good).
Eat.

  *I was going to use the duck shaped cookie cutter, but it's too big :(

Slow Food

   *disclaimer: this post is not intended to offend, just to exercise my opinion, if you find yourself taking offense, you should read on and take my advice*

  I understand how difficult it can be to find the time to cook a decent meal, especially when you have a full time job and a family (or a family that is your full time job). Between racing the kids off to school,  practices, dance/karate/swimming lessons, doing the grocery shopping, paying the bills, keeping house, and maintaining some semblance of a relationship with your significant other (if applicable), who has time to put together a five star (or even a one star) meal when the alternatives are so much less time consuming?  Who among us has never found themselves pressed for time and succumbed to the easy way out?  I myself am guilty of exercising poor judgement and taking the trip down the walk of shame, otherwise known as the drive-thru, for dinner.  I remember the days when it happened more than two nights a week and now that I know what is in that stuff, I feel awful for putting in my children's growing bodies.  After all, they are relying on me to make good food choices for them as they have no control over the matter.  Which brings me to my next topic...

  As their parents, it is not only in our power to control what our children eat, it's our J-O-B.  If they see us making poor choices in any aspect of life they are likely to make poor decisions themselves.  For instance, if I often arrive late, my offspring are predisposed to be tardy because it's okay for me to do it, why not them?  If I keep a messy house, their rooms are likely to be piled with dirty plates, laundry, banana peels and old homework.  Why?  because I''ve shown them it's okay.  So if they see us picking up pre-prepared meals often, it is reasonable to assume that they will follow suit in the future.  On that same point, if they see us eating apples, nuts, and greens, they are just as likely to consume like items. Also, kids eat what is available so if you are one of those parents who say, "my kid won't eat anything other than chicken nuggets and potato chips", it's quite possible that it's because that's what's been made available.  Eradicate such things from your home and offer healthy alternatives such as fresh fruit, yogurt and cheese and those are the items they will choose as there are not other options.

  To make a home-cooked meal doesn't have to be from scratch, either, just preferably not from a box.  I like to make what I call "sort of" home made.  I don't always have time (or I don't wish to cook all day) to do everything from scratch, so I improvise.  Sometimes it's with canned enchilada sauce, other times it's using a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to use as filling for a usually time consuming meal.  Also, I've found that sometimes throwing things into a crock-pot at the beginning of the day can make for a stress free meal at the end of it.

  Use your resources.  If you are reading this you clearly have access to the internet: so use it!  Google fast, cheap, easy recipes.  Start by finding your main ingredient and type it into your preferred search engine followed by the word "recipe".  Or if you need ideas for where to start try a cooking website such as cooking.com.  I find quite a few recipes on pinterest and so far have not been let down.

  If you still insist on stooping at McDonalds, try watching Food Inc, Supersize Me, and The Future of Food.   Or try looking up"pink slime".  If that doesn't sway you, nothing will.

  I'll leave you with my go to "out of time" recipe:

Chickaladas!
Prep time: 10 minutes.  Cook time: 20 minutes.

What you will need:
1 while rotisserie chicken
1 can Rotel tomatoes w/chiles (drained)
1 small can diced green chiles
1 small can green enchilada sauce
1 1/2 cup grated monterey jack cheese
12 taco sized flour tortillas
1 T ground cumin
Salt to taste.
1 can sliced black olives (optional)

Instructions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees
Lightly grease a large baking dish with olive oil (9x13 is good)
Using your hands, take all meat off the chicken and place in large bowl
Add tomatoes, chiles, 1 cup of the cheese, cumin and salt to bowl with chicken and mix together
Spoon chicken mixture into tortillas, roll them up and place them into baking dish side by side
Lightly poor sauce over the filled tortillas and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and olives (if desired).
Bake for 20 minutes or until done.  Serves four (with possible leftovers)

*if desired, taco meat works great too :)

Happy eating!

A pinch of sugar, a dash of love...

  I recently read an article called "The Love Experiment", by Catherine Newman in Whole Living magazine which tasks readers to simply ask their loved ones, "Please tell me how I can love you better."  This is something as complicated as it seems simple.  Brace yourselves, you are about to see the way you love in a whole new light.  What if instead of trying to anticipate what our family and friends need from us, we just ask (and really listen)?  Taking the guesswork out of caring for others may just be the start of simplifying our relationships and reducing the anxiety that we stack on ourselves as we bend over backward trying to keep others happy.  Maybe we aren't making them happy at all.  I challenge you all to see how applying this concept to your own lives can bring you a calming sense of warmth, like a steaming hot cup of tea on a chilly day.  Just add a pinch of sugar, a dash of love and see how it warms your soul.  We really do get what we give in life.
  And to go with your love tea, here is my apple banana bread recipe I've promised:

                                                        Mmmm mmm good Apple Banana Bread


Ingredients:


For the apples:
2 T butter (salted or unsalted)
3 T packed golden brown sugar
2 gala apples, peeled, cored,and cut into 1/2 in pieces
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 t pure vanilla extract

For the banana bread:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t kosher salt
8 T (1 stick) butter
3 T applesauce
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup fresh orange or tangelo juice
1 t pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (2-3) very ripe mashed bananas

Prep:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray with oil and flour a 1 1/2 quart loaf pan.

To make the apples:
Preheat a medium skillet over med-high heat.  Add butter and brown sugar and heat until simmering.  Add the apples and nutmeg and saute' until golden and tender (about 5 minutes).  remove from heat and stir vanilla.  Set aside to cool.

To make the banana bread:
In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients, except the sugar (flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt), set aside.

In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of a countertop mixer) cream butter and sugar until lightly fluffy (about 1 to 2 minutes). Add the egg, mix well and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the orange juice and vanilla.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture at a time alternating between the orange juice mix, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.  Stir in mashed bananas and applesauce until combined, then stir in the apples.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.  Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove and let cool for 20 minutes before unmolding onto a metal rack to cool further.

*Best when served slightly warm.  The bread keeps nicely wrapped in plastic wrap a t room temperature for up to 3 days.  May be frozen wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks.  defrost (still wrapped at room temperature.



  Now that you have the recipe for yummy-ness, let me know your thoughts on it and how you serve it to your family.

Squashed

   I had high hopes of canning and baking and a few other culinary activities for today, all of which were squashed when I woke up feeling out of sorts due to an early visit from she-who-shall-not-be-named.  So instead of jumping up and making coffee upon waking up at the crack of 8am, I snuggled around under the covers trying to get comfortable to no avail.  I hung out in my room for a while talking on the phone, checking emails and prolonging the inevitable: joining the rest of the world for this beautiful Saturday.  Finally after almost giving in to the lovely idea of a mid-morning nap, I made myself get into a very steam-filled shower that should have helped my unsettled (crampy) tummy.  Unfortunately, it wasn't much help.  So hopefully I will get to canning my goodies tomorrow (fingers crossed).

  On the bright side, my haul from the farmers market yesterday (also beautiful) was very satisfying!  I came home with twenty-ish pounds of peaches for canning and maybe an experiment or two, fire-roasted peppers (they roast them in front of you on the spot), a whole pound of chopped walnuts for $6.50(!), purple, yellow and rose fingerling potatoes for grilling, a few huge and very yummy apples, and loaf of scrumptious locally made rosemary-parm bread.  

  Made a trip to Goodwill to drop off a few boxes and decided to go in and look around; I'm so happy I did because I found a barely used metal colander for $2.50 (score!).  When finished with all my laid out tasks I decided to fill up my Growler at Atomic, the local brewery (conveniently located a few blocks from home).  Had a lovely glass of their Platinum Blonde, which very well may be the last of the season as they are almost tapped out (pun intended) and had my jug filled with their latest very tasty IP2A.  I should not be allowed to consume alcohol at such an early hour when I have other chores to accomplish as I am a non-functioning drinker.  I got home and put a few things away and then sat down on the couch, which was a poor decision and I did not want to get back up, damn.  Tried to take a nap and my mommy showed up and destroyed my hopes for that activity.  So I resigned to catch up on a few episodes of Grey's on Hulu in my sweats and vowed to perform all my planned kitchen efforts in the am.  So far I have made coffee and tidied up a little, oh and hung out on my couch reading Whole Living while paying about 40% of my attention to the college football games I was flipping back and forth through.

  So, in lieu of having a fresh perspective on a recipe I've decided to share my stroganoff recipe from a few nights ago.  Alex begged me the night before for "Hamburger Helper" and I don't like to prepare boxed meals so I searched for a recipe to substitute and satisfy; both of my kiddos scarfed it!  This is a concoction I loosely followed found recipes of.  I took the basics and went my own way, removing what I didn't like (processed, prepared and just unwanted ingredients) and adding what sounded fitting.  Lucky for me my adjustments are almost always impeccable.  I didn't, however take any pictures this time around, but will make a better effort to do so for future postings.

  Well, here we go...

                                          Just for Alex Sirloin Steak Stroganoff

Ingredients:

8 oz of egg or whole wheat noodles (gluten free if preferred)

1 lb. cubed sirloin steak

6-8 oz milk (1% ideal)

2-3 T cornstarch 

1 T garlic powder

1 t garlic salt

Johnny's or McCormick seasoning salt to taste

1 small onion or shallot

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 hand-full sliced or chopped crimini mushrooms

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

dried parsley flakes

salt and pepper to taste (always better with fresh ground pepper and sea salt)

Directions:

1. Prepare noodles according to package directions and set aside.

2. In a separate skillet over medium heat, saute the sirloin for 5 to 10 minutes until brown.  Drain any excess fat.  Add onion or shallot, garlic, and mushrooms and simmer over medium-low heat.

3. In a sauce pan bring milk to a boil, reduce to medium heat and add corn starch.  Simmer, stirring slowly until sauce thickens (add more corn starch if sauce doesn't thicken properly) then add garlic powder, garlic salt, sprinkle some parsley flakes, and salt and pepper.

4. Add sirloin mixture and noodles to saucepan. Simmer on med-low covered 8-10 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and mix sour cream, serve immediately.

There you have it.  Tomorrow I will post my Banana Apple bread recipe, but for now I'm going to watch the end of the 4th quarter of the University of Oregon game, Quack!

A nice hot cup of Fall

This morning was different from most for me; I got up at 5:15, made coffee for my boyfriend and had a cup of my own. I'd like to say that this was an act of selflessness, but I was having back spasms and a toothache. The reason I went downstairs in the first place was to hunt for an aspirin. Unlike most mornings I decided to push through the grogginess, have a cup of yummy fresh ground, from the french-press, coffee (great idea!). Surprisingly, I slept through most of the night last night, which is almost unheard of in my world. Most nights, I sleep for around four hours before waking up at about 2-3 am and tossing and turning until David gets up. At which time I noisily (to make sure he notices that he's disturbed my "slumber") thrash around and throw a pillow over my head until he kisses me on the forehead and leaves for work. After that, I try to get back to sleep and almost always succeed within about 15 minutes of my oldest getting in the shower. That's when it's a done deal because I now have to get up to supervise morning routine and make lunches.

Getting back to the point, I was up before David (so he assumed something must be wrong with me.) I feel pretty darned refreshed. Maybe the problem with my sleep isn't that I'm not getting enough, but that I get too much. Don't say' "I told you so", I'm aware that that is the case more often than not for most. I only get 4 to 5 hours of good sleep a night though, so I just assumed that it was lack of instead to more than necessary. Call me crazy, but I think I just had an epiphany (and if you're wondering, yes it hurt.) Now the issue becomes, not how to obtain more quality sleep, but how to drag my butt out of bed when I can no longer sleep. Either way, I'm still no morning person.

I thought maybe if I made a coffee station in my bedroom i t might help, but this poses a few problems: waking up the other room occupant, clean-up, and additives. Crap. Setting an alarm is no good because it actually has the opposite effect, which is to make me think I'm more tired than I really am. Opening the window and letting in the cool pre-sunrise air helps, but then I just want to snuggle back into my cozy and already warm bed with all my comfy pillows. Ugh! Why can't this just be easier?

Moving on, I read in my Whole Living (Formerly, Body and Soul) Magazine yesterday that coffee is good for reducing your risk of Parkinson's disease (wow!), type 2 diabetes and that it is a perfect catalyst for much needed nutrients. "1,299 milligrams: The amount of immune-boosting antioxidants the average American gets in her daily coffee." Who knew?! The article also makes a few suggestions of what to add to fortify your morning cup of brew: Cinnamon helps to stabilize blood-sugar and Nutmeg reduces inflammation. Sugar and creamer are apparently bad (shocker) and organic 1% or calcium fortified soy milk are great options (I like the Albertson's line of Organics: vanilla soy milk.) Honey is also a great sweetener for coffee that is much under used and can help with an unsettled yummy, which I am plagued with often. I also suggest having a banana or apple alongside your am beverage to ward off jitters, which are caused by the metabolism boost brought on by the caffeine in your drink. I'm not an expert, but have experienced much bouncing off the walls as a result of too much, too fast and the comedown that comes with it. This morning I opted (on my 3rd cup) for a little cinnamon and a few drops of pure vanilla extract, YUM. It tastes like a nice hot cup of Fall, which happens to be my favorite season.

As for the rest of this crisp morning, I suppose it's time to get a move on with my morning rituals. I'm walking the kids to school this morning so that my daughter can donate a few guppies to the class aquarium, Alex is off to Pioneer days for his first field-trip of the year, maybe I'll do a little morning Yoga, and then I'm meeting Cheryl at the farmer's market to see what treasures we can come up with for our canning (and wine drinking) adventure on Saturday. Happy Friday :)