Late Thursday----- 15 minute Jambalaya

Most Thursdays... after working late...
it's something quick, and often whatever is left from the frig from the week.
Tonight I decided to throw the quickest veggie jambalaya together in 15
or so minutes.

The ingredients are simply...

a cup of rice (left over Chinese take out)
a can of diced tomatoes
1/2 a red bell pepper diced
1/2 a green bell pepper diced
1/2 of a medium onion diced
1/2 cup of stock (any kind- I used chicken broth)

I made it veggie because I'm slightly tired of meat especially chicken.
I sauteed the onions first, then 2-3 minutes later-
I added the peppers to the frying pan.
I tossed them together with olive oil
and added black pepper, garlic powder rather than fresh grated
simply because I was tired and it was a long day.
I also added a pinch of coriander, cumin, hot pepper powder and paprika.
I added 1/2 cup of stock (you can add water as well)

That was my simple veggie jambalaya tonight.
I almost always have cilantro on hand so I used a few cilantro leaves as a garnish
and chopped a green pepper that I grew in my container garden.

And that's what was for dinner tonight!

Pizza balls, bites or whatever you want to call them

You can make your own pizza dough or simply buy already made pizza dough
from the refrigerator section in the super market.

break the dough into how every many pieces of pizza bites you would like

 Add a sprinkle of salt, garlic powder and some oregano or Italian seasoning.

Add some cheese and pepperoni into the little balls and then roll them --
like the way you would with meatballs.

Place them in the oven on 400 degrees until they get golden brown.
It's best served with a marinara sauce.  You can also add your favorite toppings
like the way you would on normal pizza whether it's mushrooms, peppers, sausage etc...

Smores Chocolate Chip Cookie with Bacon

What do you get when you take some graham crackers, marshmallows,
Hershey chocolate,...............

 and then you layer those items....

 while adding chocolate chip cookie dough to the top and to the bottom...

while combining it all together into a HUGE cookie shape...

 (picture of 3 steps)

 You get a huge ooey, gooey chocolate chip Smores cookie.

When you add some bacon in the middle... it's really something!
You have the sweet with the salty bacon.... it's REALLY worth making!
I assure you, you will not be disappointed.

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.