recipes

My Favorite Breakfast Tacos!!!!

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 14:35:46 +0100

One of my favorite breakfasts that looks as good as it tastes! The best thing about this recipe I've created is that you can go as basic or fancy as you'd like, even making it gluten-free or free of other things like dairy and meat using your preferred substitutes. I hope you like them as much as I do. Comment below!
MY FAVORITE BREAKFAST TACOS

SERVES: 1-2

TOTAL TIME: 10 MIN

Ingredients
2 Eggs

1 TBS butter

Splash of milk

Salt and Pepper, to taste

2-4 corn or flour street taco tortillas per assembled taco

Optional:

1-2 TBS shredded cheese, Creole seasoning, cooked bacon, infused olive oil (my favorite is Baklouti or any variety of green chili oil) or extra virgin olive oil, hot sauce, and 1-2 sprigs of cilantro

Directions

Prepare scrambled eggs by combining eggs, splash of milk, and Creole seasoning or salt into a small bowl, and whisk until frothy. Set aside.
Warm a small, nonstick frying pan over medium-low heat. Place tortillas in skillet and flip after 1 minute, cook an additional minute if needed to warm thoroughly. Immediately wrap with foil and set aside. Optional: sandwich shredded cheese between 2 warm tortillas, if desired.
In heated frying pan, add butter. When melted, pour in egg mixture. Wait 30 seconds before gently stirring no more than 3 times. Continue to let cook, then after 30 seconds gently stir again no more than 3 times, taking care to loosen the edges from sides of pan.
Crumble bacon and sprinkle it along with shredded cheese onto eggs. NOTE: If using any raw vegetables, sauté ahead of time for 3-4 minutes first before adding to eggs; let cook.
After 30 seconds, gently fold half of the egg mixture onto itself, so that the add-ins are covered; let cook.
Finish cooking eggs until they reach desired doneness, about 30 more seconds to a minute longer, stirring very loosely so as to break the eggs into no more than 4 segments for creamier, soft texture. Add pepper and/or seasonings to taste. Drizzle olive oil, and remove from heat.
Unwrap tortillas, layering them in doubles; add egg mixture onto on half side of a tortilla; garnish with hot sauce and cilantro; fold, and enjoy!

Stay Healthy with Turmeric

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 13:14:09 +0100

There are plenty of Pinterest pins on turmeric tea. And now, more than ever with the Coronavirus as a constant threat to public health, it's worth talking about. Particularly because of turmeric's vast healing benefits.

Why Turmeric is So Good for You!
Turmeric and ginger are in the same family, which is why they are so similar when sold side-by-side at the grocery store in their root form. But once you peel away the outer layer from each, you'll find that while ginger is a pale tinge of tan, with that zesty ginger aroma and taste, turmeric is bright orange, ranging from a mild peppery or mustard-like aroma and taste. That's why, when used in the right proportions, it complements signature dishes such as Indian and Caribbean curries as well as Spanish Paella.

Turmeric, like ginger, can be diced, grated, or powdered to use in dishes or in a simple tea made from letting a piece of turmeric or ginger (just a fingertip size would do) into boiling water to steep for 5-20 minutes, and then strain to drink warm or cool. If you don't have fresh turmeric, the powder can be used to achieve the same benefits, but with less potency. You can also use other ingredients for added flavor, like cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, anise, or cloves in the tea. Drinking turmeric and/or combination of such a tea after each meal helps prevent indigestion, soothes the gut, and aids with hormone fluctuations and weight loss. Recommendations are typically anywhere from 3-5 cups of tea per day, but as with anything, you could eventually over-do it with turmeric, and care should be taken to not forget about drinking just plain old water on a regular basis, too. Besides that, some people are more sensitive to turmeric, especially in raw form (as in a supplement) so for the most part, it is best to use it in moderation, and consume cooked.

Here are some further benefits of turmeric:

Improves liver health
Eases respiratory ailments
Heals skin
Improves thyroid function
Prevents blood clots
Lowers bad (LDL) cholesterol levels

Turmeric Teas and Beverages
Currently, my favorite choice of turmeric tea is the kind I buy at Trader Joe's. Each bag is individually sealed and just the right blend of flavor that quickly grew on me since first consuming that I've come to crave it with my breakfasts, or right before bed, no matter the season. Prior to that, I'd experimented with boiling the root to drink, but it wasn't always a convenient to do do with my hectic schedule - nor did I want everything it touched to turn orange! And believe when I tell you it WILL stain, same as saffron. That's why both spices have long been used as coloring pigments to textiles and foods. Fortunately, the remedy for removing orange to your countertop, utensils, or cups is to be quick about cleaning everything off immediately, in a bleach solution. Let sit or soak for 5-10 minutes, and repeat if necessary.

Another indulgence I enjoy is golden milk. As the name implies, the golden color indeed does come by mixing turmeric with milk. But not necessarily dairy! Because I've been maintaining a largely Ayurvedic lifestyle from the way I drink and eat, my body type or "dosha" is "vada" or "air," meaning my body tends to dry out both inside and out, and foods and drinks that are moisture rich are preferred, therefore dairy is something I can safely consume, but not in excess, or else it throws my body off balance. Other variations I enjoy are Trader Joe's Almond Cashew Macadamia Beverage, which imparts a nice flavor but lacks the body of dairy, or even any brand of cashew milk, which does impart a more dairy-like flavor as well as consistency, or coconut milk/creamer. Feel free to use whatever other dairy replacement fits your needs and tastes, as there is no wrong one to use.

Let me know by commenting below if you've got a favorite use for turmeric, whether dish or drink, or feel free to share your dairy substitute too :-)

Chocolate-Dipped Oranges

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 10:49:53 +0100

I was never a fan of orange flavored chocolates, and I normally draw the line at marmalade or perhaps baked goods with orange zest in them. But it seems that there is a huge calling for the stuff, as I experienced from my days of working briefly for Godiva Chocolatier. People from other countries outside of the U.S. often came in during that Christmas season I was there, asking for orange chocolates. Apparently there had been a Godiva favorite that had since been retired, much to customers' dismay. It wasn't anything I'd thought about until I recently had an orange I didn't feel like eating plain, and therefore I wanted to look at some Pinterest ideas on how to dress it up without doing anything fancy.

Now - there is something to be said for coming across a recipe when you have a taste for something specific. In my case, it was chocolate, and for some crazy reason, I thought, "You know what? Maybe I'll give this recipe a try." Yes, that's right, I decided I would take one for the team (or in this case, all of you, my readers) and see if doing something new and outside of my realm of taste buds would change my mind. That, and I was really wanting to eat something sweet that didn't negate my fitness progress. And so, with the ingredients staring me in the face, I set out to make chocolate-dipped orange slices (I can't even tell you what type of orange I had - it was orange in color, though *smile*). And since I had leftover chocolate and knew that my child wouldn't want to sample any but still wanted dessert of her own, I dipped crackers in chocolate, too. Oh and there were two orange slices which were unfortunate victims of accidental drowning, as you can see from the blobs in the above pic. But even they didn't go to waste!

What I didn't expect was that I would LOVE how the recipe turned out! I don't know if it was the sweetness of the orange, the contrast with the semi-sweet chocolate morsels, or the addition of Himalayan Pink Sea Salt that blew my mind, but whatever the combination or ingredient, I couldn't get enough. I honestly thought I'd just eat a few slices, if any, and save the rest for another time. But before long, I gave in and ate the entire orange. And boy, was it filling! I'm told it makes for a great mid-afternoon snack or light dessert that's healthy, and I can believe it. You can make more than just one orange's worth of slices at a time if you want, but keep in mind it should be consumed within a short time frame (no more than a couple of days).

So nom-nom, eat 'em up! Make this recipe and share your thoughts on whether or not you like them, too!

Sriracha Chicken

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 10:50:11 +0100

This recipe is brought to you by boredom and a tad bit of laziness on my part. And when I saw that Sriracha sauce was a key ingredient, this chicken (the sauce in particular) was a must-try! Lately, my daughter has been on a Sriracha kick, thanks to whatever blogger she follows who keeps recommending all kinds of fast food items and recipes to try using Sriracha sauce. Ironically, when I had finished making dinner, she wasn't in the mood for something spicy, yet I was. Go figure! I took a shortcut using a bag of frozen chicken fries (aka chicken fingers), making some plain, and a select few for myself were dipped in the sauce during the last few minutes of cooking in the oven. I liked the sauce so much that I think it'll be part of my condiment repertoire.

For the rest of our budget gourmet meal, I couldn't resist adding the oven potatoes I've raved about before, because they go with just about anything and I happened to have a bag in the freezer. Then I crumbled bacon on top, and called it a day. Overall, it was nice to have something cheap and easy to make on a busy weeknight so that I didn't even have to go to the store.

I'm sure I'll probably give the chicken recipe itself a try at a later time, since I know the sauce is so yummy and took only about 6 minutes to make. Thanks for reading, and free to let me know if you've given these a try by commenting below - now that I've finally gotten the comments section up and running!!!

Easy Crab Cakes

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 10:48:47 +0100

With last week's recipe being the crab dip, it made sense to find another recipe as a solution for leftover crab I still had on-hand. This recipe for Old Bay Crab Cakes was easy to follow for being my first attempt ever for making crab cakes. But thanks to all these recipes I've been making, I felt ready to give it a try, and I wasn't let down!

All it took were these ingredients:

Within minutes, everything was mixed and ready to broil! They held together well throughout cooking.

I did end up cooking them a few more minutes so they could get brown a little bit more than the above pic. When I finally did take them out of the oven, I decided on doing this bonus recipe for a homemade roumalade to drizzle on top. The result: every bit as tasty and filling as when ordering crab cakes from a restaurant!

My recommendations to you: don't overcook, and eat right away while still warm!

Joe's Crabshack Hot Crab Dip

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 10:50:57 +0100

Every year for the last 4 years, I've been following a method for plotting out my goals so that by year-end, I accomplish a whole lot more than "I should have done this" or "maybe I could have done this, if only..." In fact, it's made me so productive that not only do I spend more time cooking and less cleaning, but I was able to write a book, spend time with my family and friends, and learn some new hobbies and skills! One thing I hold to that I've yet to fully complete, though is my goal of making 1 new recipe a week each year. That's a total of 52 recipes. I've usually come close, but have never actually done all 52 before. But guess what? This year's going to change all of that!

I definitely have recipes I make and make again, as with my recipe I'm sharing with you today...however, since I've not posted it before, and it tastes fabulous in cold weather, I'm sharing it with you today anyway! Each week, I will share a new recipe with you - that way you all can hold me accountable, and you can count on my posting a recipe at some point in a given week. So without further ado, I give you the copycat recipe for Joe's Crabshack Hot Crab Dip that's absolutely delicious and one of our daughter's favorites! She had asked me to find a copycat recipe, and this one has earned her seal of approval in terms of taste and similarity. The dip takes just a handful of ingredients, and is so easy to throw together in under a half hour! NOTE: I've made it over Thanksgiving and tripled the servings, which did increase cooking time to about an hour, give or take. But the smaller portion as listed in the recipe itself finishes off in the oven for about 15-20 minutes and gets nice and bubbly and gooey, just the way you want it as the perfect appetizer while watching a game, or when hosting or attending a party!

Let me know if you make this dish by adding a comment below!

Blueberry Jam Muffins

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 10:53:59 +0100

I know I've mentioned before how much I love blueberries, and so it was an extra-special treat for me to receive a jar of blueberry jam as a Christmas gift last week from a colleague. As delicious it was to consider the possibilities on how to pair it with scones, toast, English muffins and the like, this recipe for Blueberry Jam Muffins was calling to me this morning. And the end result certainly didn't disappoint!

To start, I gathered my ingredients and decided to cut the recipe to one-third, which was even easier to do when I used this handy cheat sheet for measuring (which was a plus for my non-math-oriented brain). I knew that there was no way I had enough to do a full batch anyway, consider the size of my blueberry jam which was oh-so-cute!

From there, it was a matter of whisking the dry ingredients together in one bowl, followed by the wet ingredients in another bowl, before combining them into one to make the batter.

Once I folded in the blueberries, I was ready to put them in the muffin pan and bake. Notice how much of my jar I sacrificed and just how blue the batter became with only just a little bit of jam compared to the rest of the ingredients used!

Of course I put a little bit of water in the empty part of the muffin pan like my mom always taught me to do. Had my OCD tendencies kicked in, I might have evenly spaced out the placement of the muffins, but I was more bothered about GETTING THE BAKING DONE so I did it as is.

As you can see, the muffins turned out really well! Yum!

Make Oven Roasted Potatoes to Pair With Your Christmas Brunch

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 11:05:51 +0100

PHOTO CREDITS: What's Good at Trader Joe's?

I don't know about you, but I can eat potatoes with any meal. Whole, diced, sliced, whipped, you name it. They can be as fancy or as casual as you'd like, and in of themselves they can be an entire meal (baked potato bar, anyone?). Because of this, sometimes I like to make oven roasted potatoes because they are THAT GOOD with things like eggs, meats, and even cinnamon rolls and quick breads.

My favorite way to make them has been using this breakfast potato recipe. The only difference in the potatoes I've used so far is with Trader Joe's frozen bag of garlic potatoes. They are sliced and seasoned, but BLAND. I've found that by making them in this recipe, however, they come out TO DIE FOR! In terms of easiness, it's a no-brainer when you have the bag of TJ goodness to toss with the rest of the ingredients and then lay them out on the baking pan to cook. One more thing: line your pan with parchment paper to prevent the potatoes from sticking. That is a must when I make this, otherwise I end up having to sacrifice some of the potatoes, which I consider to be a tragedy.

With how great these taste and how little effort is needed to throw this together, it makes for a nice touch when eating it alongside whatever else you may be serving up for Christmas Day Breakfast/Brunch or perhaps at whatever other meal you would want them for. In any case, make it and you won't be sorry! Don't forget to leave me your comments to let me know what you thought of it after you've wowed your family and guests with this culinary treat!

Greek Pasta Salad

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 11:06:59 +0100

Sometimes I just love going to Trader Joe's for inspiration from their samples. Sometimes, they use some yummy standalone favorites, and other times they add a new dimension of flavor from some unlikely sources. This week's awesomeness is brought to you by flavors I never would have merged of my own accord. This one's a keeper, folks! I give you the Greek Pasta Salad!

Exactly what's in this burst of mouth-watering freshness? All you need are 1 pack of Trader Joe's Spinach Tortellini (fresh) and 1 pack of Trader Joe's Classic Greek Salad. Cook the pasta 2-3 minutes according to the directions on the package, and once drained and cooled, toss with the salad and you're good to go! What really makes the flavors pop is the red wine vinaigrette. Yum!

Healthy Breakfast Bowls

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 11:09:12 +0100

Every once in a while, a breakfast bowl sounds appealing - especially in the winter! I found this great link for some yummy ideas to try. So far, I've made the sausage one that is awesome with chicken andouille sausage from Trader Joe's. It gave the dish the flavor needed, since the use of herbs and other seasonings was minimal. Also, I preferred to use coconut oil over ghee, but that's only because I had it on-hand. I'm sure the ghee will also add a wonderful flavor, especially when combined with the sautéed onions and parsnips. Yum! I had enough from making this one dish to feed me for 3 breakfasts this week, which ended up being extremely helpful when I was home while under the weather.