Extra Protein Scrambled Eggs

1 egg

2 egg whites

portobello mushrooms

1 Tbsp cottage cheese

parsley or any herbs on hand

garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

I always have sauteed mushroom in the fridge. I buy a huge thing of sliced portobello mushrooms at Costco, saute them in the beginning of the week, and then add them to my cooking throughout the week as I go along. I love mushrooms! Plus it saves time. I saute them in olive oil, balsamic vinegar with some salt & coarse black pepper.

For the scrambled eggs I throw the mushrooms in a frying pan with some cooking spray, while I mix up the rest of the ingredients in a sm. bowl. Once the mushrooms had some time to heat up, I add the egg mixture. Allow to the eggs to set for a few min on med. heat, don't over cook because your eggs will be dry. But the cottage cheese actually melts and is yummy.

Cottage cheese is great to include in your balanced-diet because it a good protein source and low in fat, read more on why its good for you...http://benefitof.net/benefits-of-cottage-cheese/#

Corned Beef

SUPER EASY RECIPE:

                                                         beef brisket- your choice of size

2 Tbsp. pickling spice

coarse black pepper

Put brisket in crock-pot

In order to get that nice herb crust to form, sprinkle meat with spices & pepper first

Carefully fill crock-pot to the top with water, not pouring water directly on the meat but to the side.

Cover so brisket is completely submerged

COOK on LOW for 8-9hrs

THATS IT!!

I find that the brisket is not located where you think it would be in the grocery store. At least at the ones I shop at, it is not by the fresh meat, but where the packaged bacon & deli meat is?? Don't know why, but I get the Maple Lodge brand.

Raw Brownies with Coconut Ice Cream

Another inspiration from my Raw Movement :)

Brownies from Jennifer Cornbleet's Raw Food Made Easy

(recipe copied directly from her website)
Yield: 8 brownies, 4 servingsThese are truly one-bowl brownies--you'll never have to wait more than 5 minutes again when that chocolate craving strikes.1 1/2 cups raw walnuts, unsoaked
dash salt
8 pitted medjool dates, unsoaked
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa or carob powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons water
1/4 cup dried cherries
Place the walnuts in a food processor fitted with the S-blade and process until coarsely chopped. Remove 1/4 cup of the walnuts and set aside. Add the salt to the remaining walnuts and process until finely ground. Add the dates and process until the mixture begins to stick together. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and process until evenly distributed. Add the water, dried cherries, and reserved walnuts, and process briefly, just to mix.
Pack the mixture firmly into a square container. Stored in a sealed container, Brownies will keep for up to one week in the refrigerator or one month in the freezer.

*You need to like dark chocolate to like these brownies....but they are delicious because I LOVE dark chocolate!!

I made the coconut ice cream by putting a banana in the freezer,letting it thaw for a few min, and then throwing it into the food processor with unsweetened shredded coconut. Viola fat-free ice-cream in a zilch. Plus it adds some sweetness to the brownies, perfect combination!

Meatball Mania

Ok...so I am not a huge meatball kind of person, but William Sonoma had a cooking class all about it so I attended. I did learn a few things, and am glad I went. You can make meatballs 3 ways: fry, bake, or simmer directly in tomato sauce. But what I picked up for myself is that I can made a big batch of meatballs, have some for dinner now, and then freeze for later. I tried simmering the meatballs (they come out so tender), then after dinner lightly fried the rest just to get them brown and threw them in the freezer. On a busy day when I do not have time to cook, I will pop them in the oven at 375F for 10-12 min on each side and presto...dinner is on the table.

I am using a recipe my friend gave me at work and they are delicious

3 pieces Tuscany bread (crust removed) or any bread on hand
1 c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 onion, finely chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/8c. parsley
1 lb. ground beef or veal
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
                                                      1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Soak the bread in milk for a few minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Later squeeze the excess milk out from the bread and crumble. I use the same milk (and a little more if needed) and add the bread crumbs stir until you get a paste-like mixture.
2. Saute onion in olive oil until clear and tender, add garlic and parsley saute for a min or so.
3. Combine meat, salt, pepper, egg, Parmesan cheese, onion mixture, crumbled bread and breadcrumbs, mix gently until combined.
4. Rinse hands with water but do not dry them. Shape the meat into 2-inch balls, rolling them lightly between moistened palms (this helps the meat from sticking to your fingers).
5. In saucepan, heat up tomato sauce of your choice until lightly boiling, add desired amount of meatballs, decrease the heat to a simmer and cook about 20min.
6. In a frying pan, heat up some canola oil and brown meatballs, they do not have to be fully cooked....they will be going in the freezer and reheated later. If you do want them cooked, cook until brown on all sides about 15 min. I sandwich them between paper towels after to soak up the excess oil.

At William-Sonoma we also made Moroccan-styel meatballs with mint leaves, cumin and cinnamon...the taste combination was pretty interesting and good!
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/moroccan-style-meatballs.html?cm_src=RECIPESEARCH

SPRINGY Mini Quiches

I love, love, love this recipe.

It is so versatile, elegant, a great made-ahead dish and even freezes well...see what I mean?

Veggies mini quiches, without the crust, so easy to whip up a batch. Every time I make them I always change things up, use different veggies, different cheese, different herbs/spices...I think you get my flow.

Mini Spinach and Mushroom Quiche on the Food Network (<--link to recipe)

 Cannot wait for Spring and the warmer weather to finally arrive and STAY!! I was able to go for a run the otherday and had the biggest smile on my face bc it was +1C.....yeah I was excited about that!

Steel-Cut Oatmeal...please give this a try!

uncooked steel-cut oats

     If you are an oatmeal fan or not, you must consider this recipe.....

What is steel-cut oatmeal?? Well let me tell you, as per Wikipedia:

Steel-cut oats are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernels) which have been cut into only two or three pieces by steel rather than being rolled. They are golden in color and resemble small rice pieces.

    The taste is awesome, much nuttier and chewier than the bland mushy quick oats (no offense). They take a while to cook and like most people, you probably don't have 30min to spare to cook it. So I have come up with an easier way, start the night before. Sure you can put it into a slow cooker, but I just do it on the stove-top.

For 2-3 servings
1/2c. steel-cut oats
2c. water

1. First I toast the oats in the same saucepan that I will boil them in. I add a little coconut oil (or butter/margarine). Toasting them enhances their nutty flavor...plus makes your kitchen smell great! Just for a few min 3-4 until they become fragrant.
2. Add 2c. water to saucepan, it will boil quickly bc you already had the heat on for a while. Once boiling, turn down the heat let simmer for about 10min.
3. Turn off heat, put the lid on and go to sleep.

toasting oats

IN THE AM:

I transfer the oats to a tupperware container and take about 1/4c(-ish) back into the saucepan, add milk to cover and simmer another 5 min, until the milk has absorbed. Meanwhile, I am usually getting my lunch together for work, or making some tea/coffee. Don't feel like you do not have 5 min in the morning to get this done, go brush your teeth, get dressed, etc. It does not need your help to simmer!





                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Apple Cinnamon

Toppings are endless...



Pear & Almond Butter

Banana PB & J

Prepare to be Amazed Green Smoothie

I follow a raw food website/blog: learnrawfood.com by Jennifer Cornbleet
 and they were featuring this smoothie made with spinach. I eat a spinach salad almost every day and like to get another dose of all the jam-packed nutrients through a smoothie....why not if you are willing to experiement? There were no pictures, so I was picturing a green smoothie in my head, but was pleasantly surprised that it came out a lovely purple, because of the blueberries...duh! But here is the great part: you cannot even taste the spinach....if you did not see the pictures your tastebuds would be fooled as well!

Here is the recipe:

1/4c. water

1 sm. ripe banana

1c. frozen blueberries

1/2 orange, peeled & sectioned
1/2c. spinach leaves

Blend & Enjoy....its that simple!

Satisfying Beef Barley Stew

I recently went to Williams-Sonoma "Soup for Supper" cooking class, and instantly feel in love with the Beef Barley soup. These classes are great because they are FREE. They actually make the soup in front of you, giving you tips and best of all: give you a sample....just to wet your palette. They also made a Carrot Ginger soup and let us try their jarred Tuscan White Bean Soup they sell in the store....yum, that was my lunch.

What I love best about this soup: very tender beef, the mushrooms give it an earthly balance and barley...very healthy :) Pair along side with a grilled cheese sandwich....soup for supper!

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/beef-barley-soup.html  <--link to the recipe
**I did not use the butter in the recipe, I sauteed my onions & mushroom in olive oil

My adventures in Raw Almond Milk

I have been reading up on raw food, and wanted to try making Almond Milk, have tried different brands of commercial almond milk and was curious to see what the home-made version tasted like. It is a little bit of a process but super easy, here it goes:

1 cup raw almonds, soaked in water 8-12hrs
Drain almonds, in food processor add 2-3 cups filtered water and blend till creamy and uniform.

Using a cheese cloth strain the mixture over a large bowl or pitcher, allow to strain till milk runs clear.

So after my milk finished straining, I looked at the remains of almonds called "almond pulp" and had to find a recipe to actually make something out of it. Throwing it away seemed like such a waste! And behold, after doing a Google search there are many things you can use this almond pulp...in smoothies, in banana bread batter, but I decided to try to make granola out of it. So I spread the almond pulp over a baking sheet and toasted it in the oven on 350F for about 15 min to dry it out. Mixed in whatever I had handy in my pantry: rolled oats, cranberries, and sunflower seeds (next time I will put shredded coconut and dried pineapples), and lots of honey and cinnamon. I put it back into the oven for another 30-40min until golden and dried out. The result....a great nutty granola....who knew??

Spinach Souffle Success

I have a cookbook titled Omelette's, Frittatas and Souffles. I have successfully made the first two, and decided to conquer the latter. Bought some souffle ramekins and was on my way.

Recipe  servings size: 6-8

3/4c. shredded cheese: Gruyere, cheddar, mozzarella, whatever is on hand
1 small onion

1 bunch (1 lb.) fresh spinach, chopped
1 c. milk
3 Tbsp cornstarch with 3 Tbsp. water
fresh herbs of choice: parsley, dill, thyme
salt & pepper to taste
6 eggs, seperated
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar


Preheat oven to 375F, grease your ramekins with cooking spray and sprinkle ~1Tbsp cheese on bottom.
1. Saute onion in some olive oil until translucent and tender, add spinach until wilted ~1min.
2. Transfer onion mixture to food processor or blender and add egg YOLKS and pulse until just blended.
3. In saucepan scald milk, add cornstarch/water mixture using whisk continuously stir until it starts to thicken. Add onion mixture to milk, stir until uniform, take off heat.
4. In metal mixing bowl beat egg WHITES until foamy, add cream of tartar and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form
5. Fold 1/4 of egg whites into onion/spinach mixture, gently stir. Then  GENTLY fold this mixture into the rest the remaining egg whites.
7. Divide evenly amongst the ramekins, smoothing out the surfaces.
8. Bake 30-35min. until puffed and golden brown.

**I used this recipe with 4 eggs and divided the rest of the ingredients by 2/3 bc I have only 4 ramekins
**The beauty of this recipe is that you can subsitute the spinach for 1 1/2c. broccoli, 1 1/3c. mushrooms or 1 1/2c. asparagus, just made sure the veggies are chopped and follow the rest of the recipe! :)



Complete Brunch Menu:
-Spinach Souffle
-Home-made Corned Beef (beef brisket cooked in slow-cooker ~9hrs completely submerged in water with 2Tbsp of pickling spice and crackled black pepper...its that simple).
-Classic oven potatoes
-Rye bread with olive oil margarine

This should keep you full for hours!!