southwest breakfast scramble

Ahhh, it's everything I love in one place: eggs, salsa, cheese, chips, and cilantro. Oh, and black beans, too! Just feed me this every day for the rest of my life and I'll be straight.

This super quick Southwest Breakfast Scramble is reminiscent of migas because of the tortilla strips, but I just ended up adding all the things that I like best. It's really delicious and hearty... and who really cares if you eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? I know I'll be bringing it to work with me tomorrow for lunch.

I'll be using the microwave to reheat my leftovers. Sure, it will change the texture a bit (the eggs will get more firm and the tortilla strips more soft), but that's just how leftovers go. It's never quite the same, but still delicious!

P.S. If you're not into cilantro, use some sliced green onion instead. They don't taste similar at all, but it's nice to have something green and fresh on top for contrast.

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golden rice bowls

I was talking with a friend recently who was so excited to be finally getting stove in the house that he's been remodeling and living in. So I asked, "What is the first thing you're going to cook?" "Rice. Lots of rice." he replied. Of course. It's so easy to take simple food for granted. I love simple food because it's easy to make and subtle flavors are not lost in complicated cooking processes or long ingredient lists.

So, I decided to go back to my roots for this one and prepare a simple yet filling bowl of Yellow Jasmine Rice, quick sauteed spinach, and a hearty egg. It's awesome. The yellow jasmine rice really makes this recipe special. It's one of my favorite recipes and I'm happy to be able to use it in a new way.

To make this recipe last throughout the week, I filled single serving containers with the cooked rice, added a scoop of the sauteed spinach and either cooked an egg fresh when I was ready to eat, or I pre-fried an egg and just reheated it all together in the microwave. The reheated bowls that had a pre-cooked egg didn't have that nice runny yolk that almost acts as a creamy sauce, but they were still delish.

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joe's special (my way)

This recipe comes courtesy of my dear friend, Ashley. She was looking for something to cook for dinner one night and decided to type the ingredients she had on hand into google (I think it was google) and Joe's Special popped up.

Joe's Special is a recipe created and made famous by a San Francisco restaurant, which basically consists of ground beef, spinach, and eggs. There have been hundreds of variations since, and this is one of them. What makes this version mine? Well, just that I added what I had in my fridge. Primarily feta cheese, which happens to go right along with the spinach and oregano already in the basic recipe. If you don't have feta, no worries, just use parmesan alone and it will still be delish.

I listed the serving size for this recipe as just one cup. Sure, that's kind of small, but I really see this dish as just one part of a breakfast (or lunch, or dinner). Serve it open face over whole grain toast, stuffed inside a pita, and with a piece of fresh fruit on the side for a well rounded meal.


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dragon noodles

Ooooh lawdie. This is my new favorite quick fix! It takes about 15 minutes, is totally rich, flavorful, and SUPER SPICY. Like, "burn a hole through your stomach" spicy. Call me crazy, but sometimes I want that. No, I crave that.

So, this one goes out to all of you heat seekers!

The simple sauce for this recipe uses only pantry staples and perfectly balances sweet, salty, and spicy. The richness of the butter helps smooth everything out, cilantro adds a fresh note, and the green onions lend a savory back note. It all just works and it happens to be incredibly simple. That's what I'm talkin' about.

I made a small two serving batch because I just wanted something quick and easy. You could easily scale this up, if needed. If you want a heartier dish, try using two eggs rather than just one. Also, I used two tablespoons of butter, which made for a very rich and delicious sauce, but I suspect that it would still be amazing if you cut the butter in half.

If you can't find the same noodles that I used, don't fret. You could make this with ramen type noodles or even regular linguine. The noodles are just the vehicle for all of the other yummy ingredients!

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chorizo breakfast nachos

I had an extremely busy week so I pulled some chorizo out of my freezer that I had left over from another recipe and whipped up these super quick breakfast nachos for brinner. ...because I love breakfast, especially for dinner!

I love cooking with chorizo because it's so highly seasoned that you don't even have to add anything else. Add it to soups, stews, burgers, or burritos and it bring all of the flavor to the table that you'll need.

I decided to make my own baked tortilla chips for this because I had some corn tortillas in the fridge, but you could certainly use store bought. Baked chips definitely have a drier texture, so keep that in mind when decided whether to bake your own or buy some. Another alternative (and probably even less expensive) is to pile all of the toppings onto a bowl of grits. YUM!

In the step by step photos I've included some tips on making scrambled eggs... because there's nothing more tragic than dry, over cooked, flakey "scrambled" eggs.

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lemon herb egg salad

As much as I love eggs, I never make egg salad. I guess it just always seemed a little too heavy, ooey, and gooey.

This egg salad, on the other hand, is light, fresh, and summery! The combination of lemon juice and fresh herbs provides tang and a light herbal flavor to contrast the rich eggs and mayonnaise based dressing.

I used thyme because I recently planted some fresh herbs and have been eager to use them. You can use fresh or dried and I actually used a combination of both (because mine are still quite young and I didn't want to use it *all*). If you're not into thyme, you can also try parsley or dill instead. Both will go well with lemon. I suggest fresh parsley if at all possible, but either dry or fresh dill will do.

For an extra lemony punch, use fresh lemon juice and try grating a little of the zest into the dressing. For extra crunch, try adding some chopped up red onion, green onion, celery, or even cucumber.


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kale & chorizo frittata

Inspired by this recipe that showed up in my mail box last week, I decided to pair two of my favorites, kale and chorizo, into one easy breakfast strata!

I also bought my first cast iron skillet this week, which is awesome because I was able to saute and bake all of the ingredients in ONE DISH! If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you can still easily make this strata by transferring the sauteed kale and chorizo to a casserole dish before adding the egg mixture (as I did in this recipe).

The other reason that this recipe is so easy is that the chorizo brings all of the flavor and seasoning to the table. There is so much flavor in the chorizo, in fact, that it is completely unnecessary to add any additional spices or herbs. Just six simple ingredients and you've got yourself a hearty, delicious dish. Add some toast and a piece of fruit and you've got a restaurant quality breakfast.


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avocado breakfast pita

I've got a quickie for y'all tonight. It's not a super clever recipe, just my current favorite breakfast sandwich. You see, I pretty much only eat two things for breakfast: some sort of oatmeal, or some sort of egg sandwich. Over the years my egg sandwich combinations have morphed into some really wonderful concoctions (see more here, here, and here). This is the one I'm obsessed with this week. It's fantastic.

It ended up being a little more pricey than I expected, but I think a simple swap from spinach to kale will cut the price down significantly. I bought a small bag of spinach this week so a handful (which I estimate to be about 1/6th of the bag) is over 50 cents. An entire bunch of kale is only 99 cents... so I'm sure you can do the math there. Plus, a couple weeks ago when I had the kale salad in my fridge, I stuffed it onto my egg sandwich a few times and it was delightful.

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spinach, mushroom & feta crustless quiche

I'm a big fan of savory breakfasts and this one might be my new favorite. It has endless possibilities and is a cinch to make. ...plus, it reheats well in the microwave for a quick dinner!

A quiche is basically an egg and milk custard filled with all sorts of other things (usually cheese and vegetables). Traditionally, quiches are baked into a pie crust but I felt that I had enough cheese in here to cover my fat ration for the day so I just skipped the crust. If you want your quiche in a crust, make this super simple 60 second pie crust.

To make this recipe extra economical, use vegetables that are in season and on sale for a low price. You can do bell peppers, squash, broccoli, anything. I had some mushrooms that I had planned to use for my slow cooker marinara, but forgot about, so I used them in this. I also had leftover feta, parmesan, and mozzarella, so in they went! Lastly, I bought a super inexpensive box of frozen spinach. I probably went overboard on the cheese but I had it on hand, so I had to use it up!

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salsa poached eggs & grits

Okay, so maybe it's not salsa but it's a really delicious salsa-like sauce.

This breakfast is super easy, really filling (huge portions) and most of all tasty. It was kind of a "sweep the pantry" type of recipe. I knew I wanted eggs poached in a tomato sauce but the rest was whatever I had waiting to be used up (green chiles, green onions, and grits). Luckily, the final product was a winner. A REAL winner.

It was so good that I ate some of this for brunch and then another serving later that day for "brinner" (any Scrubs fans out there? Turk is obsessed with "brinner"). The servings are huge that if you can find a way to fit six eggs into the pan with the sauce, there would definitely be enough tomato sauce to accommodate.


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huevos rancheros

I love a good breakfast and if you do too, then you've got to try huevos rancheros. This dish is hearty enough to settle your stomach after a night out drinking, pretty enough to serve to your love as breakfast in bed, and fancy enough to serve to guests as an after church Sunday brunch. It's just perfect.

Not to mention it's completely customizable. If you need something quick, buy pre-seasoned canned beans and a jar of salsa. I had time so I seasoned some beans that I had previously cooked from dry and then frozen. Also, I made a fresh pico de gallo to go on top. You could also add enchilada sauce, sour cream, avocado, green onion... lots of options here.

Did i mention that pico de gallo? Yes? Well I'm going to again because, honestly, it stole the show. It was so quick and easy yet so delicious that I found myself eating it out of the bowl with a fork. Must make again.

If you're cooking for yourself, you can do as I did and prepare the full batch of pico de gallo and beans but keep them in the fridge so they're ready to use. Then, each morning, just cook the tortilla and egg fresh and assemble your huevos rancheros.



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freezer breakfast burritos

Remember a while back when I made freezer burritos? Well, if you don't, the long and the short of it is that they were awesome but not necessarily less expensive than the frozen burritos from the store. I planned to try again with homemade tortillas and cooked rather than canned beans to further reduce the cost. Today I finally got around to doing so.

You can put whatever you want in the burritos but I used my homemade tortillas, scrambled eggs, black beans from my freezer, salsa and cheese. I made the burritos a little healthier by using half whole wheat flour in the tortillas, using reduced fat cheddar and omega-3 enhanced eggs. Even with the more expensive cheese and eggs, the burritos were still only $0.59 each. I WIN! Now I have something healthy, delicious AND satisfying to tide me over between the gym and work. There will be no temptation to run to the vending machine or coffee shop for me!!


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veggie egg casserole

Okay, I've been without my beloved egg sandwiches for TWO WEEKS now and I'm seriously craving some eggy goodness. So it's time for a compromise. I made a veggie packed egg casserole with only half the yolks, the expensive "less saturated fat + omega 3" eggs and low fat cheese.

I physically had a very hard time throwing the yolks away because a) they're my favorite part and b) I HATE throwing food away. Sure, I could have saved them to use in something else but then that would have negated not using them to begin with. But, I guess it's worth me dying of heart disease.

ANYWAY, the casserole turned out de-li-cious and it will definitely satisfy my egg craving while supplying lots of nutrients and fiber. If you don't want to make the low saturated fat version, just use 10 eggs instead of my 15 (5 whole, 10 just whites). Plus, this is a great "sweep your kitchen" recipe. You can put in any veggies you want so be sure to chop up and throw in any vegetables that look like they might be on their way out.


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cold ramen salad

In case you haven't been following along, I bought a bunch of salad supplies earlier this week to satisfy a salad craving. After eating one salad, the craving went away and now I have a fridge full of vegetables that I'm determined not to throw away. This cold ramen salad is the perfect way to use up extra vegetables.

This salad was inspired by this blog post that highlighted cold ramen salads that other bloggers have posted about (recipe ideas run like falling dominos across the internet). I used the vegetables that bought for the salad, some ham that I had in the freezer (left over from breakfast pizzas) and an egg for some substance. I whipped up my own basic Asian sauce with four basic Asian ingredients that can be bought at almost any major grocery store for just a few dollars. This is one of those great recipes that is completely customizable to what you have in your fridge.

I've always scoffed at the "two servings per package" listed on the nutrition label of ramen packets. I really don't know anyone who just eats half but once you transform it into this veggie packed salad, it really does turn into two servings. The vegetables bulk it up quite a bit and will keep your belly full for quite a while. Promise.

To see the original post about all of my salad goods and the other way I used them, click here.


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salad on a sandwich

This post is not so much a recipe as it is a lesson in creativity and not letting things go to waste. But it's a good lesson and a delicious one, so stick around.

You know how you always use that excuse about not wanting to buy fresh vegetables because they'll just go bad in your fridge? Even I've caught myself thinking that before. Well, the key to using up fresh vegetables is creativity. If you keep eating them the same way (salad), you'll get sick of them and pass them up every time you open the fridge.

This week I had a serious craving for salad. I walked my little behind to the store and picked up a BUNCH of salad stuff, brought them home, washed, cut and packed everything up so it would be easy to just throw together a salad on a whim. Well, I had one salad then lost my taste for them. I haven't wanted a salad since. Big surprise, right? I now had about $9 worth of salad goods that needed to be eaten... the list included:

• 1 bunch of lettuce, $1.59
• 3 roma tomatoes, $1.25
• 1 bag shredded carrots, $1.89
• 1 can chick peas, $1.09
• 1 medium cucumber, $0.69
• 1 bunch green onions, $0.75
• 1 medium bell pepper, $1.49

TOTAL: $8.75

Not bad considering this was a normal grocery store and not the produce market. Of course, I bought only what was in season and selling at a good price (although that bell pepper was more than expected...)

When the salad craving went MIA, it apparently got replaced by a sandwich craving. So, I put my salad on a sandwich. Yeah, I know, you're thinking, "thats just a veggie sandwich..." But, it's better. It's like having one of those little deli salads stuffed inside a huge piece of french bread. Just follow along...



In addition to some of the veggies, I used a loaf of french bread I had bought ($1.49), and eggs, cheese and salad dressing that were already in my refrigerator. Here is the cost break down for the super duper salad sandwich:

INGREDIENTS		COST
1/6th large loaf	french bread	$0.25
1/4 cup	salad dressing (any type)	$0.25
1 medium	hard boiled egg	$0.10
1/2 sliced	roma tomato	$0.21
1 oz.	cheddar cheese	$0.23
1/8th med	cucumber	$0.08
1/6th med	bell pepper	$0.05
1/6th head	leaf or romaine lettuce	$0.27
TOTAL		$1.54

YEAH, ONLY $1.54.
How much does a huge beautiful sandwich like this cost at the corner deli? $3.75? $4? More? With the vegetables I bought and the stuff I already had, I can make 6 of these sandwiches or 6 salads or...(insert recipe that I'll be posting tomorrow) ... or any mix of them. Fresh veggies all week without getting sick of them, without them sitting in the bottom of the refrigerator getting all soft and juicy. That's the way you do it.

Here is how to build the sandwich:

STEP 1: Cut your segment of french bread off of the loaf and then slice it in half. Drizzle salad dressing over the open face on each piece and let it soak in (it will do this as you build the sandwich).

STEP 2: Peel the hard boiled egg and slice it up. Place the slices on the sandwich followed by the tomato, cheese, cucumber, bell pepper and lettuce (in any order you like). Close up the sandwich and marvel at it's beauty.

STEP 3: If you'll be taking the sandwich with you for lunch, wrap it very tightly in plastic wrap. Having the sandwich wrapped up tight like it's in swaddling helps everything stick together and lets it all marinate in the dressing and vegetable juices. Then it's even better than right after you make it.

Step By Step Photos

Start by cutting off your segment of bread. I used about 1/6th of the loaf. Then, cut it in half horizontally.


Drizzle the insides of the bread with salad dressing. I used an Italian-like vinaigrette.


Slice a hard boiled egg and place it on the sandwich. FYI: bread knives don't make for a cleanly sliced egg :P


I like the tomato next to the egg because tomato and egg were just made for each other.


And then the cheese because tomato and cheese were made for each oth... wait... menage a trois!


Cucumber next, no reason.


Green pepper next because I was hoping the lettuce on top would hold the awkward bell pepper pieces in.


And lettuce last because I have this weird thing about lettuce being on top... wow, disregard.

Are you particular about the order of your sandwich ingredients? If so why? Can the cheese touch the mayo or does it have to be next to the bread? Peanut butter on both slices to seal out the jelly? Or is it all just OCD?

Stay tuned tomorrow for another (more creative) use for the salad vegetables!

grits 'n greens

If you've made a batch of Collard Greens and you just can't get enough, here's just one more way you can eat them. Plus, nothing makes you feel like a nutritional super star more than eating greens for breakfast (just ignore the butter and egg and all that).


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vegetable (not) fried rice

I'm calling this one Vegetable (not) Fried Rice because it's like fried rice but not (in case that wasn't obvious). I love fried rice but it is usually so insanely oily that I decided to lighten it up a bit. Since I reduced the oil to just a couple of tablespoons, the rice can't really put in a hot wok or skillet without it sticking like crazy. I learned this the hard way (see photos below). I've posted an alternative method for those of you who don't like scrubbing off layers of hard rice from your pans. If you have a non-stick wok, then you're good to go, "fry" away.

Items to buy, #1,427: Non-stick Wok.

Anyway, I love this recipe because it's packed with veggies, ultra versatile and totally satisfying. I chose to put carrots, peas, green onions and green bell peppers in this batch. I'm not super crazy about the bell pepper so I might leave it out next time. It didn't seem to match the other veggies but perhaps that's because I sliced it rather than diced it.

The rice is seasoned with the usual players: garlic, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil. If you want a more savory rice, I suggest leaving out the ginger; it added a faint sweetness and lightened up what is usually a pretty heavy palate of flavors. You can also experiment with dried chili flakes, yellow onion, mushrooms, cabbage, spinach, seaweed... or just leave it simple and delicious as described below.


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jalapeno hummus breakfast sandwich

This one is for all of you out there who enjoy crazy egg sandwich concoctions like me (or maybe you don't know you do until you try Chili Garlic Breakfast Quesadillas or Egg Florentine Quesadillas). Either way, you won't find this at Burger King and I have to say, it's their loss.

This really should be called the "Lauren Sandwich" but I like to give recipes names that indicate what's in them. So, I'll just refer to it as the "Lauren" in casual conversation. Lauren is my crazy canuck of a roommate who came up with the idea of combining jalapeno cilantro hummus with an egg sandwich. It's pure genius. The hummus is tangy, spicy and creamy all at the same time which adds so much excitement (yes, excitement) to the basic egg sandwich. What's better yet is that because the hummus is so creamy, there is no need to add cheese. It's just pure goodness.

The original Lauren Sandwich was made on a hearty, toasted bread but I'm an English Muffin fanatic so that's what I used. Also, spinach is completely optional. I just have a bag of it in my fridge that I'm trying to use up. I do wish I had some tomato laying around because tomato would be PERFECT with this sandwich.


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asparagus breakfast wraps

IT'S ASPARAGUS SEASON! I'm not even joking when I say that I wait ALL year long for asparagus season to come around. I love their flavor and texture but because they cost around $4/lb. most of the year, I only get to indulge when they're in season. This week, to my delight, I bought a bunch of asparagus for $1.50/lb.! YES!

My favorite way to eat them is just steamed/simmered with a touch of butter, salt, pepper and garlic. I prepared the asparagus for the breakfast wraps the same way. One bunch of asparagus should be plenty for six wraps, each with four asparagus inside. If your asparagus are super skinny, you can probably fit more in per wrap. Since I only eat one wrap per day (that's not to say I *couldn't* eat more...), I refrigerated the rest of the asparagus and then just gave a few of them a quick nuke before building my wrap the next day. Still delicious.

The wraps also include an egg, swiss cheese and sliced tomatoes. I cooked the egg over-easy so the yolk would act as a sauce. I thought swiss would make a nice match for the asparagus but some salty/sharp cheddar would also be delicious. There is wiggle room in this recipe... experiment and tell me what you come up with!


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southern-style potato salad

People take their potato salad very seriously here in the south, I learned that quickly. I was never a fan of potato salad in my youth but after living in south Louisiana for nine years, I now love it. And boy, was I craving some potato salad this week! I made a lighter fresher tasting version of potato salad for the blog last summer but today, I wanted the real stuff. Heavy, creamy, tangy, no holds barred southern style potato salad. I used light mayo so I wouldn't feel so guilty but feel free to use regular if you'd like (regular is usually much less expensive too). Many recipes for southern-style potato salad use celery salt, which I didn't have, so sprinkle some on if you've got it!


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