Brunching at Home

Ever wake up craving something?

Well on one particular night I went to bed dreaming of the pancakes from Kane’s Diner in Flushing. I sent my roommate a text (who was in the next room) as well as my neighbor Patty a text asking if they would be interested in taking a trip the following morning to get some amazing pancakes.

They both said yes.

However, saying YES and making PLANS are two different things. I went to bed dreaming of those buttery fluffy pancakes and woke up. At 11am. Texted my neighbor who was still sleeping (we party too hard, i guess) and my roommate who was already making breakfast in the kitchen.

i smelled bacon. And when one smells bacon, one might send a text to sleeping neighbor saying “F*ck the pancakes! Theres bacon in my house!” (Dont worry- neighbor couldnt make it to the diner that morning anyway) So i joined my roommate in the kitchen and decided to make some pancakes.

I used a tried and true recipe, plus the addition of some brown sugar and cinnamon in the batter.

The result: Fluffy (and free) homemade pancakes. All in the comfort of my favorite pajamas (the ones with the hole in the waistband)

We also had a bottle of proseco in the fridge waiting for the perfect occassion. Felt like the perfect moment for mimosas.

Roomie made amazing potatoes with some cajun seasoning, crispy bacon, and sunnyside eggs.

(mind the clutter at my tiny table) We sat down to a delightful brunch in our Pjs and had some girl talk while our boys stayed sleeping in their respective beds… (smh MEN! more lazy than us ladies!)

My plate of the savory yummies…

Followed by a short stack of homemade pancakes. We rubbed our full bellies and got a little buzzed from our giant mimosas. We cleaned the table and kitchen. We yawned. Smiled. And then went to take post-brunch, alcohol induced naps.

The boys woke up later and had brunchy Lunches.

In this heat, i welcome midday naps! I seem to wear my sunglasses at night these days.

Bacon and Egg Salad over Asparagus

I did it again!

I cooked!

It was a great week where I made TWO things. Two Salads.

I half cooked. But- i have to say, that despite the fact that they are salad dinners, they were in fact hearty salads.  This beauty was inspired by Dorie Greenspan (again). I have permanently left her cookbook on my kitchen counter for inspiration. And how can you NOT get inspired when looking in the salad section of all sections and see things like BACON and EGGS?

Um, yes please?

You should know two things. One, this dish was incredibly difficult to photograph. I wanted it to be as picturesque as the lovely Ms. Greenspan’s… but no such luck. Two, my camera is on the fritz and is refusing to focus on anything. So, I’m camera shopping. If anyone wants to buy me an amazeballs camera, I will bake you a batch of brownies and hand deliver them…

I scored an amazing bunch of asparagus that i trimmed and washed and briefly cooked in a pan of salted water. They simmered in the shallow water for about 4 minutes or until they were crisp tender (maybe even a little more softer than that- but they still had some bite to them). When the asparagus was done, i transferred it to an ice bath to bring it back to its gorgeous bright green color. I set the asparagus aside and started to work on a gorgeous slab of thick cut bacon.

I attempted to trim this bacon but how HELLO! Do you SEE how amazing it looks? I just grabbed my kitchen shears, hacked thick pieces of bacon into a hot pan and let them crisp up.

  The bacon took several minutes the crisp up so while that was goin on, i soft boiled some eggs. Soft boiling eggs= crack tastic. It takes little to no time at all but when it comes to peeling the shells, make sure the egg is submerged in cold water before you carefully attempt to remove the shell from the tender flesh.

When the bacon was cooked, i transferred it to a paper towel to blot the excess oil.

To assemble my salad, i laid a layer of mixed spring greens with several sprigs of asparagus (minus a few i noshed on while cooking), sprinkled with bacon crumbles, and placed the soft boiled egg on top.

I dressed it with a light dijon vinaigrette.

This salad was definitely out of the ordinary but the elements together made for bite after delicious bite of wonderfulness.

I adore this dish and definitely see myself making it again in the future.

Express

So the consensus is that ya’ll enjoy yourself some burgers but i think more of you were annoyed about the cheese- lol. And that means you are all cheese lovers after my own cheese loving heart and that if we lived together you would never touch my cheese…But really Great ideas for the burgers! I’m glad you all shared and I’m making note to add some avocados to my burgers and maybe even some spicy mustard and mayo! Great Ideas!
Im getting a little tired of my yogurt oats in the morning (blasphemy!) and decided that since i had a few more minutes i decided to make some eggs. this would have cost $2.50 from the cart… i got it for fweee (thats free in baby talk). it was good. and really filling. Its nice to change up your routines- it gives you something to look forward to!

Too bad you couldnt see how i tore this baby up. It was awesome. And probably the best scrambled eggs i have made to date. (there is a wrong way to scramble and egg!)

Lunch was a little on the lighter side. I found a spray version of a ranch dressing (awful- dont ever buy it) and made the mistake of spraying my salad with it… I will take the full fat version of my beloved ranch dressing because a little goes a LONG way! and While i was [impulse] shopping at lunch time i picked up some rice cakes and made sort of like rice cake crotons crumbled on my ensalada… pretty good too.

When i got home to prepare my suppah, there was someone sleeping in my bed.

Lazy girl.

I was rather hungry and decided to make somewhat of an express dinner… (note to self: start prepping dinner the night before!)

pressed some tofu and set it to bake while i made an accompanying side dish

i wanted some comfort…

but i made it healthy[ish] with some broc! and no dirtying another pot! just throw that broc on op of your pasta. when its done, strain and toss back in the pot and mix the powdered cheese… and try not to wish it was velveeta.

i let it set for a min while the tofu was still baking.. but dammit that tofu is taking forever!!!

But at least it was hot, i poured some terriyaki sauce on top and satisfied my hunger.

And it didn’t stop there. as I was washing dishes i made a quick batch of cuppycakes for a friend. ANd yes I added pudding to the mix for a moist and yummy cupcake!

When these babies were cool i removed the centers

and filled them with fluffy white frosting.

then replaced the tops and covered in chocolate frosting. For more step by step instructions you can see the last post i made these cupcakes here. I was HOT and tired so at some point i abandoned my camera. :-) forgive me.

The end resulted in fluffy, yet moist, delicious cupcakes ever… and the birthday girl was greatful and those who were lucky enough to taste were impressed by the filling… for those that want to recreate i learned a new time saving trick! Remove the center of the cupcake with an apple corer!!! GENIUS!

For my TOFU eaters out there: Whats the Best way to Brown the tofu for that delicious crispy brown coating? (i really hope its not FRYING them! eeep!)I tried pan searing it but ended up losing the first layer of the tofu to the pan

And CUPCAKERS: Whats your Ultimate Cupcake? For me, its the capuccino cupcake from Crumbs.

No Alarm!

So i was going to attempt the whole “Move your Alarm Clock to another part of the room” thing… and i blew a fuse last night and when i restored the fuse… i forgot to reset my clock. But get this…i woke up EARLY! 6am. I went to take a nice shower and remembered as the freezing water hit my back (and shrieked) that the boiler is being repaired and I wont get a hot shower until later when i return home (shit). I should have sat down to a hot breakfast but when i opened my cereal cabinet, i got a whiff of chocolate and peppermint!
The delicious chocolate that Tiffany sent me! and I sprinkled it on my cornflakes. OH MAN. SOOOO GOOD! I love you Tiffany and you crack-licious chocolate.
I still havent been grocery shopping and plan on making a trip with the roomie… once we are home at the same time… so I had some leftover brown rice… and lots of eggs.

This made for a very interesting and Poor Lunch. thank goodness for hot sauce, salt and pepper.

and new popchips! Found this at Duane Reade and swiped a bag. Loved it so much I wrote a letter to popchips telling them i was in love and might name my first child Jalapeno PopChip Rodriguez. We can call him JP for short.

I was looking forward to dinner becuase I had a tray of stir fry veggies from TJs and a really good stir fry sauce… so at least dinner would be more than eggs.

MMM. Veggies.

And Tilapia! haven’t had tilapia in FOREVER!

I used a tbsp of stir fry suace and added some water and spices. I let it simmer to thicken up and it made a very nice brown sauce.

Piled it onto some WHITE rice and ate. It was the best stir fry ever… felt bad too becuase i didnt make enough to share.

-Whats the simplest most delish meal you have ever made?

-On your broke days what is your go to meal?

Nothing Special

Howdy.
Did you wake up looking like a goldfish today? If not, you’re lucky. Can I move to a land with ZERO pollen? can i? please? There is a tree right outside my bedroom window. and there was pollen dust all over the windowsill. My prescription meds aren’t strong enough this year so i doubled up on my doses… if you dont hear from me after today- send my mother over! LOL!
After my 2nd dose of anti-histamines- i am feeling much much better.
Anyone know any homeopathic remedies for allergies? someone mentioned accupunture or going to the Chiro… if it helps I will run there!
I had a great weekend. Went to Spa Castle with my friends and provided an indepth look into my day at the spa…complete with tits and ass. LOL. If you are still a reader after all that then you really love me…
speaking of love
Look who LOVES looking at herself. “Mommy, whos that pretty doggy?”
The other day, I left work early to be with my secret lovah. We only had an afternoon to hang out so of course I ran outta work like a bat outta hell! We ended up at the spanish place by my house called Tu Casa and stuffed our faces with shredded roast pork, arroz moro and platanos with lots and lots of green sauce… at some point I reached for the green sauce thinking it was my soda and nearly took a chug. Safe to say, i realized it before i regretted it. After our spanish feast we took a train ride Midtown while Mickey went to my friend Patti’s for a play date (doggy diva!). Right off the train we spotted something sweet. And i couldnt resist. You know my heart belongs to Crumbs… and Sugar Sweet Sunshine but I couldn’t IGNORE Magnolia Bakery when they had a full supply of red velvet cupcakes! The regular cupcakes they have do not make me happy…but the red velvet I ate was actually delicious and texturally wonderful! So Food Snob Likes Magnolias Red Velvet Cupcakes ONLY. See the crazed look in my eyes? thats the power of the red velvet.

The following day I woke up early and totally forgot to eat breakfast (shocking, i know) so midday was STARVING. I had an image of a spa omlette but my pan was being a retard and i couldnt execute it properly. I ended up with runny eggs, avocado, a mini bagel and two slices of ham…oh yea and coffee and sugar sweet pineapples.

yuuum! Luckily that big brunch at home filled me up till late in the evening when I also forgot to eat. Seriously, i might have been Ill. Like, how do you FORGET TO EAT? So, around 830 ish i ordered some take out.

Sushi never disappoints! never! Unless of course you hate sushi, but i think thats a personal problem.

The wonderful Patti, whom baby sat my Mickey girl was kind enough to go all the way to Corona Queens to bring me back a giant pressie…

Oh sweet Cheeses! This is a childhood favorite and as I sat on my bed eating my rainbow ice, i reminisced on the good ol days when i had no bills, no responsibilities and a LOT of fun!

sigh.

Anything exciting happen over the weekend?

EDIT:

Emily over at the Hungry Loft is having a giveaway to help raise money for a darling little boy that has just been diagnosed with Luekemia at the age of 2. It breaks my heart to know there is a little boy out there, cute as a button by the way, who is undergoing chemo and and various surgeries. For every dollar donated, Emily is going to issue an entry to win a gift basket along with some other goodies (crofters, shoe wallets, etc). All she is asking for is $1 via paypal. If you cant donate, please spread the word!

Recovering

I missed friday. I am a little behind on posts but i cant waste these pics!
and im about to redeem my mother.
The morning after my rib and potato disaster, i awoke and did Day one of Couch to 5K. in the rain. I came back wet from sweat and rain (and really proud of myself) to the smell of fried eggs.
My mother might not be the most amazing pancake chef… but she sure does know how to fry and egg. All the eggs for the exception of one that broke came out over medium… and poor dad always get stuck with the ugly one.

I had to be the odd ball and opt for a different kind of egg. I packed my grits with me for my mini vacay and was dying to have a soft boiled egg on top of my grits for a hearty after workout breakfast. (i love working out on an empty stomach…the next meal is like a reward)

I splurged and had a glass of orange juice with my grits. I almost hate orange juice but this was a fresh squeezed kind. REALLY pulpy and delicious.

Wish my eggs were a little softer. But it was still delicious. And while eating with everyone at the dining table i discovered that my late aunt used to LOVE grits and eggs. No one else in the fam (that i know of) like grits.. so thanks tia for the food love.

At lunch I had 4 cups of iceberg lettuce with shredded red cabbage and carrots with a Fat free ranch. YUM. (could have used some protein though)

got hungry and went for my new jar of wasabi peas.

I love these things. Its so hard for me to keep a jar of this size around. I have to pour a handful and put the jar away….id otherwise eat the whole thing.

Tracey made a wonderful dinner. Grilled Chicken Breasts, yellow rice and red beans. Not pictured is a spinach salad with italian style balsamic vinagrette. it was good! and I was within my budget for the day! woo hoo!

Must be a Full Moon or Something

I need to know why everything is falling apart?
When it rains, it pours?
A number of things when wrong and its not even 11am yet! I left my camera home. I had new things to share with you this morning but am grateful I had a recipe and some pics to share already uploaded. I left the camera because as I was topping off my coffee traveler with milk i knocked over a pitcher of juice that Henry left in the fridge half way off the shelf (just beggin to be knocked over really). As I was mopping I yelled (expletive deleted) and my lil Mickey was shaking in a corner because before my spillage, she had an accident in her crate… one of many in the past few days.
And lastly I was still slapping my bed and my clothing for dust because the building manager had brick and mortar work done right outside my window (without my knowledge) and I left my AC on so ALL THE DUST was SUCKED into my room and everything is covered in this dust that leaves skin feeling raped of all its moisture and is almost impossible to mop- i have mopped 3 times in the last 12 hrs and there is still a layer of crap on my floor!
So…
I’m having a really great day so far.

Lets hop on the happy blog bus…
Its no secret that Henry and I love to go to the diner for breakfast from time to time… But we are both trying to cut back. Financially and physically. It makes no sense to go to a diner so often and pay $20 for breakfast after a $60 shopping trip having just purchased enough food to make breakfast for a month!
So when Henry did his little stretch saying “village diner?” I said No. I’m making us Breakfast… and Im making a healthier breakfast.
Preheat your oven to 400*. Lets start with some eggs. Im still on my Hungry-Girl Veggie Scramble Kick and I have been dying for Henry to try it. I beat about 2 eggs and 4 eggs whites in a bowl with a tbsp of water to stretch it a bit. I nuked a Dr. Praegers Veggie burger (California style) to get it where I can crumble it. Poured the egg mixture into a hot skillet, scrambled egg style, seasoned it with salt and pepper.Crumble veggie burger into the eggs. and move it all around with your spatula to get everything evenly distributed.

add some cheese…mmm.

It should look like this… and then put it in the oven (pan and everything) for 10-15 minutes.

Using a potholder, grab your pan and give it a gentle shake. If it jiggles it ain’t done yet and let it cook for a few more minutes. It should be solid when it comes out with slightly browned edges.

Slice it up pizza style and serve it up! I had 2.5 slices and a half of a bagel with spray butter. What I love most about Frittata is that visually it looks like a lot and it makes 8 slices. So i felt like a pig eating almost three slices but it was very satisfying.

and Once again i fooled Henry. He was munching away and asked where i got the sausage from.

Tee Hee

“that’s not sausage”

His face was priceless- he looked a little scared but i told him it was a veggie burger and he was very impressed.

Inspired by Hungry-Girl

Howdy Folks, Happy Friday.
If you haven’t been influenced by Hungry-Girl and her incredibly amazing recipes, prepare yourself.
I was feeling bored with my normal “go to” foods and boredom can lead to wandering off the beaten path to an over-eaten path… We don’t want that.
Sometimes I like to take my cookbooks (all 25 of them) and scatter them onto the floor, i sit in the middle of them all armed with a highlighter, some post its and a notepad and I get busy planning or getting ideas. This week was a major success as I am going to share two recipes from the first Hungry Girl cookbook that have really impressed me… and hopefully you too!
The first thing that caught my eye was the veggie Scramble.
one Dr. Praegger’s Veggie Burger ( i used the Tex Mex flavor)
2 egg whites or 1 egg or 1/4 cup of egg substitute

Heat or defrost veggie burger and crumbled into a pan of egg whites. You can either make an omelet or a scramble. i chose scramble since i was in a hurry.

I topped it with lite mexican cheese…

and served it taco style on a whole wheat tortilla. This was amazing! Like a veggie huevos rancheros! I am keeping this EASY recipe in the vault (aka my brain) for later uses! this hearty mama jamma was about 200 calories!

take that!

Next up I decided to try hungrygirls Buffalo Chicken Salad… its an easy one too.

One chicken breast- cooked any way you please. I chose to grill it.

Next, slice it, dice it, and pour 2 tbsp of Franks red Hot and 1 tbsp of parm cheese on it and mix up.

Mix it up and heat for 45 sec in the micro… careful- this smells like some crazy good buffalo wings minus the grease…

Serve it on a bed of chopped romaine and carrots. I drizzled mine with low fat ranch.

this salad was amazingly satisfying and easy to make. I love salads but the regular ol‘ chicken salad can get boring. this is a great way to add variety to your foods without adding tons of fat and cals. yes, this one is going in the vault.

After behaving all day, i came home to this.

Fajitas.

By.

The.

Pound.

Oh me, oh my!

2 Fajitas and I called it a day… stay tuned for lots of mexican fare in the next posts.

Just a note on how much i love Hungry Girl. Her recipes are easy because they are meant for usually one to two people and consist of ingredients that you have in your cupboards already.

Do you have any healthy mock ups of your fave foods that you would like to share with the class???

Coughing my lungs out

*COUGH*
*COUGH*
*Sniffle*

Yes. That nasty freaking cough that everyone had found its way to my lungs! Its horrid! I have no other cold symptoms but the hacking my lungs out is torturous for my coworkers and roommate enough. I scared my dog in the middle of the night with my incessant hacking.
((((MEDICINE))))
Hopefully i will be on the mend by the end of the week!
I got a pressie in the mail the other day and I was soo excited.
I love Coffee! I have a cup everyday. I used to work at a coffee shop which is where my addiction comes from. POM sent me their new iced coffee samples and so far… im a LOVIN!

I tried the cafe au lait first which is pretty much like most of the bottled coffee beverages on the market except this one has antioxidants in it. I really enjoyed the level of sweetness in this and the amount of milk. It was a creamy and perfect addition to my morning breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast…

Loving the color contrast on this pic. It could be a painting! I took a block of frozen spinach- cooked it, squeezed all the water out of it and drooped it into a pan of 1 egg and 2 egg whites.

Its a DR. SEUSS SPECIAL minus the ham. green eggs anyone??

with PARM??? yum!

I’m a big fan of the Parmesan cheese. A Sprinkling of it can do wonders for eggs, steamed veggies, and pretty much anything else that is savory. It doesn’t pack on a lot of calories and adds tons of flavor.

In an eggy mood or something. Followed brekkie up with a deconstructed egg salad sammy. Haven;t had egg salad in a while and used a lil dijon mustard and mayo with salt and pepper to dress the shredded up egg bits. Served on Arnolds 12 Grain Toast.

With a side of salty Kale Chips dipped in Ketchup and hot sauce (Henry’s habits are rubbing off on me)

Started to feel the aches and pains that come with being sick and around dinner time just wanted the comfort of some hot noodly soup.

Got some shredded chicken with sauteed onions.

Noodles and veggies. Slurped my way to comfort.

Still sick though but nothing beats a bowl of soup.

Whats your “go to” method when you start to feel sick?

when i was little as soon as the tickle of the throat started mom had me on echinaccea, vitamin C and Golden seal (YUCK)

Now I just go to the store and get some theraflu.

NYC Eggland’s Best Recipe Contest – Philly Cheese Steak and Egg Frittata

Eggland’s Best is having Recipe Contest. And I’m Entering. I also want a free breakfast.

So using my leftover steak from the other night, i am going to make a frittata of a Classic sammie turned into a yummy treat! Plus, Steak and eggs make a nice couple.

Philly Cheese Steak and Eggs… with some Garlic Toast! Yum! this steak is perfect for a frittata because it literally falls apart when you touch it (in a good way).

Here’s what you will need:

5 eggs beaten

6 oz of leftover steak chopped up coarsely

1/2 an onion chopped

2 tbsp Fat free milk (add to beaten eggs)

salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp butter or some nonstick spray

3 slices of Provolone, swiss or Mozzarella.

(for toast- toast two slices of bread. take one cloves are garlic and rub it onto the toast, then add a little butter/margarine)

Heres what ya gotta do:

Preheat oven 400*. Beat 5 eggs and add milk to them to make it fluffy.

In a skillet (cast iron or stainless steel) saute onions in butter till they turn clear and start to caramelize. Add the coarsely chopped steak and heat through. Pour beaten eggs in and using your spatula move everyone around till the eggs start to solidify. Take then entire skillet and put it in the oven. Let it cook for 10 minutes or until top layer is golden brown. Remove from oven with pot holders and lay the cheese on top. Serve with some garlic-buttered toast.

Toast the Bread… I used my toaster because it toasts bread. im sure there are other methods. this one works best though.

I learned this trick from Rachael Ray. take a clove of garlic and rub it across a slice of toast. Now its all garlicky and delicious.

I sprayed it with I Cant Beleive its Not Butter. About 7 sprays each slice.

Here’s my dinner plate. It smelled soooo good! I could seriously go for some right now!

And here’s my big bite. I placed a piece of the frittata on the toast and ate it like an open faced sammie. Love love love! yum!