BLT basket

So, at this point you might realize that I enjoy making food that is not the norm.
The artist in me enjoys taking everyday ingredients and making it a little
different that the typical way or expected way. "the norm"

Making fun food inspires me to make MORE food and slightly giddy inside-
now, only if I could somehow incorporate that into working out, SIGH!

Even though  BLTs are typically known as a summer sandwich...
who doesn't want to eat bacon all year round right!?

So I love when something is double duty but when it comes to the muffin tin---
I think I could come up with 100 different things that the muffin tin
can be used for. Making mini bacon baskets is yet, another way to use the tin.

To make these, it's easiest to microwave the bacon in paper towels first
so that they aren't completely raw. Once they are about half way cooked-
the bacon strips are a little more pliable to form in your muffin tin to be
baked in the oven on 400 degrees. Basically when they are crisp... they are done!

Once they are out of the oven, let them cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin
and once they are not steaming hot anymore- add your chopped lettuce
(Romaine works best) and tomatoes any way or kind that
you want...small salad tomatoes, plum tomatoes, Israeli vine tomatoes.... whichever!

Surprise your family and friends with a BLT side salad!  

(Each basket is made of 5 bacon pieces.)

Substitutions when you're BAKING

      

I'm not much of a baker except when it comes to making a cake colorful especially
rainbow colors... especially when it is someone's birthday!

I am a self pronounced Princess of organization but when it comes to memorizing
something... all of a sudden black clouds and fog come upon my head and
it's hard to memorize things... I can remember detailed things from long ago tho...
I wonder what this condition is called... hmmm

either way- when it comes to cooking- especially baking,
I wonder what can be substituted for this or that.

I've done a little researching and now I want to share it with you all!

You can substitute.....

 
black beans for flour
Using a black bean puree helps cut the extra carbs and adds fiber

apple sauce for  sugar
For the sugar to apple sauce substitution: use a heaping but 1/2 of what the recipe
calls for ----- eg: if the recipe says 1 cup sugar: use a heaping 1/2 cup of apple sauce

    

mashed avocados for butter

This measurement stays the same but what you're making will be extremely healthier

  

evaporated milk for cream

The measurement for the cream to evaporated milk substitution is the same but cuts the fat

  

Greek yogurt for oil

For the oil to yogurt substitution: cut the oil amount in half ----- eg: 1 cup oil : use 1/2 cup yogurt 

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon & Shiitakes

I know brussel sprouts in America are known as the yucky vegetable.
When my mom and I first saw them waaaaay back in the day a million years ago---
we thought and said, oh how cute, baby cabbage.

I've come a long way since then and love cooking and eating brussel sprouts as a side dish.
They are just like cabbage being thicker than other veggies despite their little size.

I usually boil or steam them first.  Once they are softened a little,
I drizzle a little olive oil in the pan and add some sliced up bacon.

The bacon gets crispy and gives the sprouts a good flavor.
I threw some sliced shittake mushrooms in there and sauteed them all together.
You can eat this as a side dish with a steak, grilled chicken or fish.
You could also throw some shrimp or tofu in there and make it more of
a meal rather than a side dish as well.

Breakfast Burritos to go!

Breakfast is important but it's also the hardest time to think of food for me.
Often because I can't really eat something right after I woke up and I'm usually
running out the door let alone think of cooking something for breakfast.

Cereal, oatmeal, toast, bagels, eggs, pre-cooked bacon... these are all great--
but I decided to try making breakfast burritos ahead of time and then I simply wrapped
each one, froze them and then microwaved them each morning.

It was a nice and an easy breakfast to simply change it up.

Ingredients:
(it really depends on how many you are making)
I made 5 to start it off.
---5 soft flour totillas (often used for soft tacos)
---3 eggs scrambled (any way you like) 
(I usally use S & P, a little tried chives and a sprinkle of paprika)
---1 potato shredded 
---sausage or simply use ground pork
---shredded cheese 
---bell pepper (1/4 of pepper)

I started by cooking the eggs first with a little butter (or olive oil)
and then took the eggs out and set them aside in a bowl.
I then fried the shredded potatoes.
(a way for easier frying when  it comes to shredded potatoes is to rinse them to get
the extra starch out, then to use a clean kitchen towel or paper towel and dry them well.
Squeezing the extra water/starch off of them...
will help when you fry them and make them more crispier also.

Next, cook up sausage or you can use bacon or you can leave the meat out, cultivate it
and make it your own!  For this batch, I made sausage with a few slivers of diced
red and yellow bell peppers.

Tortilla wrap, sausage with peppers, topped with fried hash browns,
topped with scramble eggs and cheese!

Wrap them individually in clear wrap and then lay them flat in your freezer.

In the morning, after you've gotten yourself ready---- ready to be seen by other humans, 

open your freezer and grab an already made, home-made breakfast burrito.

Microwave it for about a minute and a half... and ta-da!  ready to go!

It beats the same ole bagel or toast every morning and is a great way to change it

up from time to time.

Kale Chips

Sometimes being a couch potato and eating potato chips might make sense
especially on a day that was really stressful and you just might not care.

But then- there are other days when you can take something super healthy and
make it similar to a not as healthy snack food simply by baking something.

I've  been seeing Kale chips on Pinterest, on other food blogs and after recently seeing
them at a grocery store for $6.99 for a little clear container of it...
I had to just try making it myself.

I bought one bunch of Kale from H-mart the local Korean/Asian supermarket.
All food stores will carry Kale.

I washed it and because the leafy vegetable is thicker and tougher than lettuce- If you give it a 

quick shake in the sink... not too much water gets absorbed into it's super healthy leaves.

Simply trim the really thick stems off with a paring knife or clean kitchen scissors.

Once you've trimmed all the stems, you can trim the leaf itself into maybe 3-4 pieces per large leaf.
Once all the leaves are cut into pieces (don't cut them too small- they shrink!)
--you want to rub olive oil all over them. (I always have those clear disposable gloves on hand)

Once they are super shiny from their olive oil polish, sprinkle some salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Bake it in the oven on 350 for about 20-30 minutes or basically until they are dry chips.
When you grab one with your tongs.... you want them to be stiff like chips.

That's pretty much it, kale is super healthy and baking them is a tasty way to enjoy them!

Eat them as a snack while watching tv, catching up on a good book or put them into
a ziplock bag and snack on them at work it you are able to!

Nacho Night condiments

Nacho night condiments.

There always seems to be smiles when Nachos are around.

I wanted to make nacho night a little more colorful, so what better way than

to use beautiful, natural colored bell peppers for little bowls.

I started by making a tomato salsa and some guacamole.

The guacamole consists of....

2 ripe (black-ish skin--- soft to the feel) avocados

red onion (diced very fine) maybe 5-6 rows of thin slivers

a sprinkle of paprika, salt, black pepper & red pepper powder-optional (about a teaspoon each)

Really healthy and it tastes really good too!  

The tomato salsa consists of... 

2 medium sized- ripe, diced tomatoes

a handful of chopped cilantro

diced red onion (not too much- about the same as the guacamole-5-6 rows of slivers)

the juice of one whole lime

Once I make the tomato salsa- I put it into a little strainer to get SOME of the liquid out.

Just a little of it.  In the meantime, I lay some corn tortilla chips in an oven safe dish-

(the flatter the better). I then add some already grated cheese (cheddar in the picture)

and then add another layer of chips and then top it with more cheese.

The ground beef is 50/50 meaning- if I have ground beef around, I fry a little and 

add some but often I don't.

If you want to add ground beef- a simple sprinkle of salt, black pepper and garlic powder

is all the it needs. Add the seasonings after you have fried the beef- giving it a good toss

or mix with a spoon/ladle so the beef is seasoned well!

(Already cooked ground beef in between layers of chips and shredded cheddar cheese)
It's all ready to go into the oven on about 300 degrees. It needs to stay in the oven
for about 15 minutes or.... until the cheese evenly melts.

I wanted to use 3 peppers- one for the guacamole, one for the salsa and one for sour cream.

After rinsing the peppers, cut the top of the pepper like this and take out the seeds.
You can then use a small paring knife to make little zigzag type cuts.
(The cuts are on an angle rather than straight cuts)

I did that to all of them and ta-da! ...... 3 little bowls for the Nacho condiments.
The only thing I would change is get slightly bigger peppers next time.
If you end up getting a pepper who doesn't want to sit flat... just give a small little cut
on the bottom of the pepper to basically make the bottom of the pepper stable.

The tomato salsa...

The guacamole in another...

And some sour cream in the last one.

Fried Apples

As the Fall is starting to peek around the corner...
2 things that I always associate with the Autumn season is anything apple or pumpkin.

The other day, a friend of mine asked me if I could share my recipe of fried apples.
She was on her-- end of the summer vacation...
and strangely, she was craving fried apples. Go figure!

This recipe is SO simple that I wouldn't even call it a recipe.
All you need an apple or 2, a slab if butter and cinnamon is optional!

Take your favorite kind of apple, red delicious, granny smith, gala, fuji, etc...
whatever kind you want!
Peel the skin and cut the apples into slices. Anyway you want- really.

Add about a tablespoon or 2 or 3 of butter into a frying pan and as the butter starts to melt,
add the slices of apples until they are cooked. (slightly softened) add a little sprinkle of cinnamon
and give the apples one last toss in your pan. Plate and eat plain. I guess you could add some
vanilla ice cream but just eating them plain is also JUST. AS. GOOD!

It can't get much easier than that! You can enjoy this snack in 15 minutes tops!