Mini French Toast

This morning I was in the mood for a good breakfast. My husband requested eggs with some flare. So I made up some scrambled eggs with ham, jalepenos, and cheese for him. I noticed on my ounter a small loaf of sourdough bread that I had bought for a dip and it never got used. I got the ephipany to make french toast with it.

I did not do anything special; I beat some eggs and then dipped the bread in it. I do use extra virgin olive oil in my pan to crisp up the bread a little. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top and viola! French Toast, this was delicious! I will definitely be making this again.

Mini Baked Potato

I love potatoes in almost all forms. I have to admit I have a small detest for Shepards Pie, but that is another story. On the sad side, the rest of my family does not like many forms of potatoes unless it is in french fry form. I have learned to make amazing homemade fries, thought they are far from healthy. Oh well.
Tonight, I wanted baked potatoes. I found some cute mini potatoes and decided that I could make some mini versions for myself. There is a similar recipe on Pam's site. I made these for dinner tonight and my husband's exact words were "There are the BEST baked potatoes I have ever had!". I think we have a winner.
Here is what I did tonight:

Mini Baked Potatoes

10 mini yellow potatoes (you can use whatever color you like)
Salt & Cracked Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Toppings

Boil, Bake, or Microwave the potatoes. I used the microwave. Then pre-heat the oven to 400. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. I place a piece of foil under them because it makes me feel like it makes a difference, not sure if it really does. Cut the potatoes with an X on top. Squeeze the side to open up the tops a bit. Brush on the Olive Oil. Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper. *I really like fresh cracked pepper. You can find it just about anywhere. I think the taste is much better then seasoning pepper.*
Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 mins depending on your oven. When they are done top with whatever you like. I used FF Sour Cream, a small sprinkle of Colby Jack, and chives. Yum! I will definitely be making these again.

Baked Eggs

I found a cool egg recipe on Pam's Site. I tried it out the other morning and I am a big fan. I like to put all sorts of random things in my eggs.
This recipe is very easy to throw together. This is also great when you have random things in the fridge that need to be used up. You need an oven safe dish. I don't own Ramekins, yet, so I used a glass bowl.
I put in some sliced mushroom, diced ham, and chopped onion. Then break an egg over the top. If you like easy over eggs then don't break the yoke. I personally have to have my eggs cooked so I broke up the yolk a little. You can also do just the egg white. Sprinkle some cheese over the top, I used cheddar jack for mine and jabenero jack for my husbands, (optional) and place in the oven. Bake at 400 for 8-10 mins. If you want you cheese crispy turn on the broiler for 3-5 mins or until your cheese starts to crisp. I put some sliced avocado on top with a side of fresh Mango.

Before going in the oven.

Bon Appetite!

Granola Bars

My family loves Granola. My husband's mother has an amazing recipe for granola; however, it includes an ingredient local to their area and I don't live there. I have yet to find a good granola recipe that doesn't cost a fortune, and if I am honest I haven't looked that far.
My family also loves granola bars so I wanted to see if I could make some that were tasty. I have adapted this recipe from Katie's site. I have changes it up a little bit so I will include the recipe I did here.

Granola Bars

1/4 cup Plain, fat free yogurt
2 Tbsp. Agave Nectar (you can also use honey)
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
3 cups Old fashioned oats
1 cup Whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup Ground flax seed
1 cup Unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/3 cup Golden raisins (or regular, whatever you like)
1/2 cup Mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup Sliced Almonds **optional
*The original recipe calls for 1-1/2 tsp. Baking soda. I do not use Baking Soda in any of my cooking because it gives me really bad heartburn. You can put it in with the dry ingredients if you use it.*

Preheat oven to 325. In a large mixing bowl, beat yogurt, agave nectar, and sugar until creamy. Add applesauce, eggs, and vanilla and beat well.  In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, flax, salt, and cinnamon.  Add the dry ingredients to creamed mixture.  Stir in almonds (if using), raisins, and chocolate chips. Prepare a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Spread batter in pan and bake 20-25 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool, and cut into bars.

I doubled this recipe and use a Sheet Pan to cook them in. I always put parchment paper under my baking to help the bottoms not burn and for easier removal. I bet you could also use different dried fruits in this and it would be great.

Cooking Challenge

Alright, here it is, my first Cooking Challenge!!
I decided that I wanted to get some friends in on cooking with me. So each week I am going to post some sort of challenge. I may post a recipe and ask my readers to cook it then review it. I may post a general idea or course. Each week I will think of something new. My idea is to have others cook it "with me" and then we can review how it went, what we would change, how you tweaked it to your liking. I am always looking for new insight on how to cook.
So this week I am going to make it simple. Burgers! This can be any type of burger you like, Beef, Turkey, Vegan, etc. have fun with it. Make burgers some night this week and let me know how you make it just right!
I want to know: What is your favorite burger?

Yummy Food

Today was an excellent day to cook! For the past few days food in my house has been kind of boring and I wanted to make a change.
I am not much of a Breakfast person so a lot of time I need to get creative. This morning I used some left over Chorizo with my eggs. I did scrambled eggs with lean ham and chopped chorizo. I cooked up a tortilla, put 1 tsp of sour cream on it, sliced avocado, and topped it with the egg mixture. Yum!! I had 1 serving and it kept me full until early afternoon.

Tortilla with Sour Cream, Avocado, Egg Mixture (2 eggs, lean ham diced, chorizo chopped, colby jack cheese)

 Lunch was simple since I was still satisfied from breakfast. I made a quesadilla with a Cranberry Cheese. the cheese is smooth and crumby with a bitter taste. The cranberries in it make a nice combination.
 Dinner was beyond fabulous! I wanted something that was a bit of a challenge. I found a recipe for Parmesan Chicken that looked yummy. The only changes I made were fresh basil leaves, which I am addicted to, and I only used Extra Virgin Olive Oil in my pan. I paired this dish with roasted asparagus, mango salsa, and long grain wild rice. It was amazing! The chicken looked a little blackened when it came out of the pan, but tasted divine. I highly recommend this recipe.

Chicken pre-baking. I highly recommend the fresh Basil

Parmesan Chicken with Mango Salsa, Roasted Asparagus, Long Grain Wild Rice.

I have come up with a workout schedule I think I will like. Tues I will go for a run outside with my husband. I know it is freezing outside, but I have been dying to run outdoors. One day a week for now should be ok. Thurs I am going to start going to a Zumba class with a friend. I have a Zumba Wii game, and it is fun, but I think I will like a live class more. Fri I will workout with a friend at her house. She has a stationary bike and treadmill and we switch while we watch TV. This is what I am going to start out with, 3 days a week. I would like to add in some strength training, but that will have to wait until I settle with this first change.

What awesome recipe did you discover this week?

Happy New Year

I have done some fun cooking lately with company, but nothing I felt was picture worthy. I have eaten more Grilled Cheese than I would like to admit and even converted some friends to it. Holy yum!
For New Year's I never make a resolution. I figure if I am going to make a change in my life jan1st is not the greatest motivator for me. So, my husband and I have both come up with something that we want to change and better our health with. He has given up soda for the whole year! He is already a week in and resisted quite a few temptations. I have decided to give up eating out of any kind. No Fast Food, No restaurants! This is a HUGE deal for me since I love to eat out. However, it is not good for me and hopefully with motivate me to be more creative at home.
I was making my recipe list for this week and am excited for a couple recipes but still looking for a challenge.

I made a super yummy recipe this week with a new pasta I discovered called Gemelli. This stuff is fabulous! I am pretty picky about my pasta and this stuff is just perfect. The recipe itself is pretty easy and the homemade sauce was perfect. I don't think I'll ever buy Alfredo again after making this. You can find the recipe here. I love Pam's site and her pictures are beautiful. I would like to work on my presentation of my dishes, but with only my cell phone camera it is a bit hard. Until then, I will envy Pam's beautiful food.
I need to figure out a schedule to get my butt on the treadmill. Once I do that I will post it.