Weeknight Meal

Usually huevos rancheros are made for breakfast.  In fact I had them for breakfast when we were in Costa Rica!

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I am STILL trying to figure out exactly how to make those beans!

Last night we re-visited these flavors for dinner.  Super simple and quick, perfect for a weeknight meal.

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Huevos Ranchero – Serves 2

  • 4 tortillas
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup uncooked beans cooked with 1 jalapeño, 1/2 onion, and 1 clove garlic (or 1 cup cooked)
  • cilantro
  • scallions
  • avocado
  • salsa of choice

Jess, please forgive me for using split pitas, the store was out of tortillas!  I made the beans in the slow cooker with onion, garlic, and jalapeño while I was at work (you could totally used canned but I am trying to never use them again).  Once I got home from yoga, I  slapped the pita (tortilla) with some beans and cheese and threw it under the broiler.  I cooked our eggs to order, pulled out the beans, topped with egg, avocado, cilantro, scallions, and salsa.

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Delicious drippy farm yoke flavors the beans and cool avocado with the fresh herbs!IMG_1496

Amazing and easy any day of the week!

Have a great weekend!


Springfield Farm

Do you know where your food comes from?  Specifically your meat if you chew on animals?

Well after reading Eating Animals and confirming with many other resources I have decided that if I am going to eat any meat I want to to see the animals, confirm their living situation and know about where and how they are processed.  (I do not expect everyone to be able to do this in their lives.  We are lucky to have farms near to us in Maryland that allow us this luxury)

I know this seems like a tall order, but it was only 40 years ago that we didn’t have to worry about this issue because we didn’t have CAFO (centralized animal feed operations) where animals and workers are treated poorly and dangerous health concerns are created.

Nick and I traveled about 20min north to Springfield Farm.

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We pulled up to a small house and saw goats running free and chickens hanging around their coop.  The owner was shooting off his back deck and Lucky the duck was there to greet us.IMG_0701

I didn’t ask why her name was Lucky, but I am guessing it is because she will never have to give her life for a duck breast.  Maybe she is a layer?  Either way she was the most interesting duck I had ever seen with her green beak and cow colored feathers.

Inside the small shop, that is really one of the garage ports of the home, there are a bunch of freezers and refrigeration cases filled with meats, cheeses and milks.  There is also a huge table in the middle full of eggs of all sizes and colors. I used to think that frozen meat was less superior, but now I understand that that “freshness” idea was placed in my head by marketing and a frozen steak tastes pretty darn good when it is thawed out correctly.

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So what did Nick and I go home with?

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Smoked bacon, flank steak and a dozen large farm eggs. ($15 if you want to put a price on your health)

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I noticed that the meats were processed and packed at another location so when we got home I looked up Wagner Meats and found that they are a family owned and run Maryland processor.  I liked knowing that the farm stuck with a small processor in Maryland because why raise an animal with care only to send it off to a mass slaughter?

So what did we make?

We threw the steak in the freezer for a special dinner and cooked up a special brunch this morning.

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Local happy bacon, farm fresh local eggies and homemade cinnamon raisin bread.

Could you think of anything better?


Soft and Mushy

No, I am not talking about one of my mom’s favorite cheesy lines “Say something soft and mushy Henry”, I am talking about my food!

One thing I have found out is that blue cheese + sweet potato is amazing.

Another awesome combo that I would have never tried if I didn’t lose my teeth was scrambled eggs in soup.

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Scrambled eggs with chili powder, garlic powder, S&P and goat cheese.  Placed on top of the last of the tomato bisque soup.

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Delicious!  I would have never done this if I could chew solid foods!

Next I stepped up my game and went into the chew foods all steamed so there was no crunch and things that could POKE. (My antibiotic pack fell out today and I really freaked out thinking it was the blood clot!)

To much so lets move onto the food…

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One soft tortilla to wrap up some of the goodness.

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I started sautéing an onion then added garlic, red wine vinegar, mustard powder, S&P.  Then I chopped up some brussel sprouts  and kale extra fine and threw them in.  Once those were going I chopped up a sausage link from this new product I saw flying around the blogshere.IMG_0535

I am always looking for protein alternatives to tofu.  This was actually pretty good and the ingredients are decent.  It added a nice flavor to the meal.

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I also browns, which is a plus!

This was a little hard to chew and sort of hurt my jaw to grind the food up Sad smile  I guess I need to head back to the soups, banana bread, smoothies and pudding.

Speaking of pudding, why did I ever stop eating this stuff???  Nick brought me back chocolate vanilla swirl pudding cups when he went out on Sunday and I love them!  I eat them layer by layer.

jello

Source

No sugar free anyone!  Honestly it is 50 calories and for real sugar I will take it!  I know Jello brand might not be the best ingredient puddings but I am going to look into Whole Foods.  I think there is a local dairy that makes pudding…could be dangerous.

Did you enjoy pudding as a child?  I surely did, chocolate vanilla swirls all the way!


Random but Delicious

What have you been eating lately????

Back to posting a day of foods…well not really, just a few standouts from the past few days.

Lets start with breakfast

IMG_0234 I typically eat some form of oats in the morning, especially because it is getting so cold!

This is steel cup oaks with 1 small apple deiced, small amount of pumpkin butter, cinnamon, 1 scoop hemp protein, vanilla and a dollop of homemade almond butter.

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Lunch, it was pretty amazing!IMG_0238

Leftover tortillas, leftover homemade refried beans, avocado, salsa and a drippy egg.

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I love dippy eggs!

Ding!  Dinner time!

IMG_0246 I had some leftover meat from my Taco Bell experience so I made 6 meatballs out of about 1/4lb of beef.

In the balls:

  • 1/4 lb beef
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup oat bran – I did not have breadcrumbs
  • bunch of fresh parsley
  • S&P
  • Worcestershire sauce

On top of Seeduction bread from Whole Food, spread with tomato paste and grated parm.

IMG_0245 Worcestershire sauce is the key ingredient.

Between lunch and dinner I have been having a snack to fuel me through my workout.

I have been swimming a lot, but my head really starts to hurt after about 1000m.  What is that about???  I know it is my sinuses, but I don’t know why it gets so bad when I am swimming?

I get to see Nick and my Mom on Thursday!  Yay for 4 day work weeks!

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I can’t wait!


Special Delivery

Hello!  So with Nick gone I am able to experiment with more vegetarian meals, that I wouldn’t want to test out on him.  Tonight’s actually turned out pretty well (taste wise that is!)

IMG_0174 Chard, Millet and Egg Dinner

  • 1/2 head of chard
  • 1/4 cup millet, uncooked
  • 2 farm eggs
  • handful of cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp allspice (such an underrated spice!)
  • 1/2 tbs garlic powder
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • pinch salt
  • lots of pepper
  • 2 tbs green salsa (mine was a homemade last week, but jar works!)

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  1. cook millet with all spices included
  2. Steam chard when the millet is almost threw cooking
  3. Place cooked chard in large sauté pan
  4. Cover with layer of cooked millet
  5. Spread out tomatoes evenly
  6. crack two eggs and use the Poke and Spread method by Ashley and Kelsey
  7. Cover and cook until eggs are doneIMG_0179

I wanted this to come out like a nice round pie, but I think the millet need to go on the bottom with the binding eggs.  Oh well, still tasted good!

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At least my millet got a little crispy.  ( Do you like the natural light or soft light better?)

I enjoyed how simple and easy this was to make, and full of all things good.

Super awesome news…

My friend Jess (Hi Rugge!!!) is studying Marine Bio in Australia and she sent me a letter!

IMG_0178 There is even a recipe on the envelope!  I will save it for Spring ;)

Lastly, check out my “What Health Means To Me” post on HLB.  (I know there is a typo, but try to enjoy!)

http://healthylivingblogs.com/2010/09/what-health-means-to-me-chocolate-covered-lily-beans/

Check ya later!


Egg-celent Dinner!

I tend to not eat many eggs, but I always like having them in the house because they are such a good source of protein and cheap!

Bonus point – the farmers market has organic, vegetarian fed, free range eggs for $3.  Try getting that in your local store.

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Egg and Veggie Casserole for 1

  • 2 small eggs or 1 large egg
  • 1 egg white
  • splash of skim
  • tsp chili powder
  • S&P
  • 1 tbs oregano
  • 1/2 cooked sweet potato
  • 1 handful of spinach
  • 1/4 onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 cup Portobello mushroom
  • 1 oz gouda cheese

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  1. Microwave the sweet potato until al dente.
  2. sautee the onion in some EVOO until clear
  3. Chop sweet potato and add to pan
  4. chop mushroom and add to pan
  5. Add pressed garlic clove and spinach to the pan
  6. Mix first 6 ingredients in a separate bowl
  7. Pour the veggie mix into an oven safe dish
  8. Cover with egg mixture
  9. Top with Cheese
  10. Bake 375 for 30min
  11. Enjoy!

IMG_8224 This could have been better with the cheese sprinkled throughout the mix, but other than that I really liked it!


Creative Eggs

Hello!  Sorry it has been so long.  I have been super busy and no pictures have come of it.

I thought I would post about a lovely Meatless Monday.

I was inspired by Ashley’s kale eggs for my dinner.  I always wonder if it still counts and meatless if there are eggs?

Anywho, her mess looked much better, but at least mine also tasted good!

IMG_8150 I tore up some spinach and kale and sautéed that in a pan with EVOO, S&P.  While this was cooking I broke up 2 eggs in a bowl with some S&P, parsley, oregano, thyme and rosemary (All from my garden).Then I added some peppers to the greens and next, the eggs, slowly.

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Covered and cooking – I toasted a piece of Great Harvest 9 grain topped with some mushroom herb cheese.

Carrot fries were in the oven.IMG_8153 When the egg and kale “pancake” was done I topped my toast.

IMG_8154 Not as pretty and my whites didn’t seem to want to cook, but I got it done!

IMG_8155 Great meal with no meat included!


Meatless Monday Meal

Before the food I must say that I had the best experience at REI this afternoon.  The bike guy sat down with me and helped me changed my tire one on one and adjusted my detailer and brakes.  We spent 1.5 hours on Chip and I got three tubes, a mini pump, tire levers and a tool all for $89.  I was so thankful for his help, I felt bad not tipping him or something.

Anyway onto the food!

I had planned on making veggie stuffed crepes from Clean Eating, but when I read that the crepe batter needed to set for a hour, I switched to tortillas.

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I also needed to figure out how to get the protein back in the meal (crepes have lots of eggs)

So I ended up making a sort of frittata on a tortilla.

In the pan

  • 1 onion
  • 1/2 pint mushrooms
  • 1 roasted red pepper
  • 2 scallions
  • goat cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • splash skim
  • spinach
  • splash of white wine or rose (I found a way to use it mom!)
  1. sauté onion and mushrooms in pan
  2. add spinach until wilted and wine
  3. add roasted red pepper and scallion
  4. beat 2 eggs with skim
  5. pour eggs over flattened veggie mix
  6. sprinkle with goat cheese
  7. cover
  8. cook about 3 min
  9. cut in half and place on tortilla

IMG_8107 Along with our veggie and eggs I made a little side salad of garden lettuce, green beans, tomatoes and cucumbers.

IMG_8106 Good Meatless Monday, but it would have been better with crepes I think to make it lighter.  Maybe next time!  At least Nick enjoyed it too!


The Egg and The Monster

Good Morning!  No holiday to celebrate this morning except maybe that it is almost Friday?  It is also the last regular season kickball game before playoffs start and we are hoping to take home the silver Coors cup this year.

I had to start off with some super fuel for breakfast.

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I almost duplicated yesterdays breakfast but my monster was smaller with a side of banana bread bar.

002 Runny pollet eggs on toast.

003 Green Monster with…

  • spinach
  • mango
  • frozen raspberries
  • banana
  • oj
  • skim
  • flax
  • chia

004 Banana bread bar with a smear of pb.

This was a nice variety of textures and flavors from breakfast.

I do miss oats though!  I need some egg dishes!  Frittata Friday?

Time to pack up for the day.  I won’t be home until around 9pm!

Have a great day!


Ole!

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

I hope you have a day full of margaritas and guacamole!  I have a special meal planned for dinner and plan of having a little tequila.  Nothing like college though!

I didn’t really get into the spirit with breakfast, but I did have hot sauce!

Lets start with my eggs!

Pollet eggs are from hens that have just started laying, but they are not up to par with their older roost makes.

001 The white is the pollet and the brown is a large.  They don’t look much smaller to me!  They were 18ct for $1.50 vs. 12ct for $3.00.  They taste the same with the same orange yoke, cage free and grass fed, so give me a pollet any day.

I fried up two of them for a little breakfast sandwich on a flatout fold.

003 Topped with Franks and a little S&P.

I also made a Brown Monster.

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I didn’t measure but in the mix was…

  • spinach
  • frozen raspberries
  • chia seeds
  • flax
  • banana
  • slpash OJ – seriously made the smoothie
  • almond milk

All together.

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A nice little different breakfast!  I am excited about my eggs.  Egg salad anyone?  I have a ton of eggs now!

Have a great Wednesday!


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