Breakfast Quesadillas--Tailgating at Noon!

 

We had another noon game this past Saturday, so I wanted to make the breakfast quesadillas again and this time, make more (they were a big hit last time!). I also made a lunch like variation with chicken (will post tomorrow) and we had mimosas and jelly filled doughnuts too. One of these seasons, I'd love to get a portable grill and do the cooking on sight...but for now, I can only do it at home and keep it warm for the hour drive down.

I woke up at 6am and got everything ready. Last time, I only used one pan...so this time I decided the best solution for speed and time was to use two pans. I did two egg ones and three chicken ones. I usually like to buy my veggies and chop them myself, but I didn't want to feel pressed for time, so I bought pre diced bell peppers; yellow, green and red. I did however chop the onions. :)

I think if I made them again this season...I would also add some time in the oven to really get them crisp. They are loved the way I make them now...but I just think that will put them over the top!

Breakfast Egg Quesadillas-

(serves 3-4 people easily!)

 

6 large eggs

butter

3 slices of bacon (can use more or less)

1/2 cup of bell peppers

1/4 cup of onions

4 tortillas (I used don pablo corn/flour)

~3-4oz of shredded cheese (I used four cheese)

 

 

 

 

I started by putting both pans on med heat and placed three slices of bacon in the smaller pan. While the bacon cooked, I chopped the onions and scooped out about a 1/2 cup of the pepper trinity and placed to the side. I then took the six eggs and cracked them and mixed them, flipping the bacon slices at this time. Took a coffee break ;)

 

 

 

After the bacon finished, I set the slices on a paper towel to soak up extra grease. I like using bacon grease for eggs, so I tossed the veggies into the pan and let them soften for a few minutes (about 5-6 minutes)...I then poured the eggs into the pan and mixed everything. I let them sit to start cooking and continued mixing to break them up and scramble them. I turned off the heat and allowed the pan to continue cooking the eggs while I chopped the bacon and added it to the pan. I did one final mix through and moved the pan off the heat.

 

 

After the eggs cooled slightly, I began assembling the quesadillas. I placed a few spoonfuls onto one tortilla and then added some cheese. I placed the other tortilla on top and pressed it down. I buttered the second pan and turned the heat up slightly. I put the quesadilla into the pan and pressed down again.

After several minutes (once I could see the cheese melting), I used a paper plate to flip the quesadilla and heat the other side (also for several minutes). I moved the finished quesadilla to a plate to cool and placed the next assembled one into the pan (with more butter!). I was only using the one pan at this time because in the other pan, I was cooking the veggies and chicken for the other quesadillas (come back tomorrow for that recipe!). Once I flipped the second one, I used a bread knife to cut into the first one (next time, I want to try a pizza cutter). I cut six pieces and placed them into a Tupperware dish. Repeated this process when the second one was done and had cooled (another coffee break!). They were scarfed down super quick! Definitely seems to be a favorite! :)

 

 

 

Easy Crafty Gift Idea---Make Your Own Tickets!

Times are hard! And on top of that, it can be hard to shop for a guy! I like to balance out my gifts for my fiance. I don't spend crazy amounts of money, but I like to make the gift more personal and crafty. For Valentines Day, I bought a little stuffed lion and wrote 101 Reasons why I love him. I printed the list and decorated it with confetti hearts and marker. The list took me about two weeks to complete...mostly because of work and going out. The reasons aren't just the standard ones, but silly things that only we would understand and that's what makes it such a simple yet meaningful gift. You could even take the list and make it into a poster, with photos of the two of you and maybe add some mementos (like movie tickets or a clip from a menu or an empty candy wrapper- depending on the two of you).

I also bought Heat tickets (we are both biiiiig Miami Heat fans) and they were playing Atlanta for a VERY reasonable price (shocked me, since Atlanta was a conference game and were definitely going to the playoffs. Now, the problem with buying tickets online is that 99% of the time, you don't get the physical ticket...you print a ticket offline. I didn't want to just give him that...and I also usually hold on to our tickets for events because I don't lose them. And I didn't just want to tell him about the tickets...so I decided to MAKE my OWN tickets!!!

These tickets can be made for any team, for any event...I made these as Heat tickets because we are fans of the Heat and it was a home game for them!

The steps are easy....

1. You take the cardboard (you can use whatever type of cardboard you have, an old shoe box, a box from a package, the cardboard piece they place in cookware boxes to separate pieces...) *The best thing is you don't need a lot!

2. Cut out two ticket size pieces, as close to the same length as possible, or you can use a ruler and mark the lines to cut. Keep in mind, that you will need them to be slightly wider than an actual ticket, in order to write on them (unless you have REALLY good small handwriting!)

3. Next you cut out white poster board pieces to place over the cardboard (I only covered the "top" piece)  -I cut a single strip from the poster board, and cut it in half. I then cut it down to the size of the cardboard. I glued the poster to the cardboard and allowed the glue to dry before writing on them.

4. Next, I googled Heat ticket images and using red and yellow markers, created the lines on the top.

5. From previous games, I had the programs which had the Heat emblems in the perfect size. If you do not have something similar to this, you could google the emblem and print it and cut it out. I glued the images to the tickets and let the glue dry.

6. Finally, I wrote down the information for the game, just like a ticket has. The Section/Row/Seat...the date, time and location and who was playing.

I left them on a flat surface and put them in the lions arms for him for Valentines Day, along with the list! He thought they were real tickets at first glance but once he realized I made them he laughed and told me he loved it!!

 

 

 

Gift giving does not have to be expensive or difficult. I love making gifts! Even though, for this gift...you might have to buy the actual tickets...you could realistically...spend almost nothing on tickets...if you pick a game that isn't pricey and shop around on the various sites. The gesture in this gift is the time and effort you put into making the tickets and the fact that whether or not you are also a big sports fan of said team...you thought to buy him a ticket and one for you to join him, or send him with a friend!

A Few of My Favorite Things

I haven't really been able to cook much or get to creative...work has been BRUTAL! My day off, I am so exhausted that I just...want to relax! I haven't even gone for the haircut I have been wanting to get for about a month now. Soon though...maybe even next week. This month is really exciting for me. My fiance and I are going to look at our FIRST possible wedding venue on Sunday. This makes it feel SO real. I'll post photos and tell you all about it after! :)

Since I have been a little lazy, I figured a good entry for today would be to talk about one of my new obsessions. A coworker of mine hosted a jewelry party about two weeks ago. Her sister is an independent seller and she hosted it. I was unable to attend, but had already fallen in love with the merchandise from the booklet. The company is called Origami Owl and they specialize in lockets with charms, dangles, plates and all in a LARGE variety!

I love it! I was hooked. My first purchase was a little pricey because the lockets range from small to large and a price of $12-30. But EVERY charm I picked was $5 and some of the ones I held off on (for now) are also $5. I did not purchase a chain because I have a plentiful amount of chains, so I used one of my own. I purchased a medium size locket and six charms to start with. I wanted to get ones that represent me, so I chose the palm tree, the wine glass, the cowboy boot, the cross, the heart with amor, and the football. There were so many more that I could have chosen and now that I've started...I even told my fiance that buying me a few charms or a dangle or even a small locket...would be a GREAT gift for ANY occasion. The six charms fit perfectly in the locket and I could easily add a few more.

One of my favorite things about this jewelry is that it's interchangeable. For now, my charms just represent me as a whole...but as I build my collection I would love to have the original "Me" set and then, a sports one, a date night one, a girls day, a beach/pool day, vacation mode...etc. Another AMAZING thing about this jewelry is that a 16 year old girl created this and made the dream of hers a reality. It's inspiring because she is so young and she is showing that you can make your dreams come true...which really pushes me to continue striving to be a published writer and not give up.

I definitely want to give my bridal party something unique that is similar but also fits to their individual personalities. I am actually considering making this part of their gift. A small locket with a few charms that fits who they are...which they can then start creating their own sets.

The above picture is my locket on a chain I already owned. The palm tree charm is slightly hidden, but as you can see...it definitely fits!

Reference-Origami Owl  (if you love jewelry and want something that represents you or to give as a personal gift...THIS IS IT!!!!)

It's October! New Month Means New Goals!

I cannot believe it is already October! It's crazy! Halloween in a few weeks, then Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve! Just...WOW!

I was reading back on my entry to start September- September Goals and realized that although I did not 100% achieve every goal, I feel good about the progress I did make and I am using October as a way to further achieve those goals and new ones! As I've mentioned in previous entries...I am engaged and slowly planning my wedding. October 13th we are FINALLY going to go see the place that I am absolutely CRAZY about. I hope he is also, but if he isn't...then we will move on and look elsewhere...because it is HIS day too. I am so excited because we have been engaged almost a year (New Years Eve 2012) and other than talk about it...nothing has been done. I really want to move forward with planning so that I can start posting entries of my ideas and DIY projects!

We are also looking to move out. I want to live with him before we get married because I want to know that we CAN live together. I mean, we have gone on vacations before...but it is just not the same. I also want to start budgeting with him and saving for a house...so living together will definitely change his habits. I gave my dad a list of criteria (he's got his real estate license) and he has been helping us. He found us three places and hopefully this month we can go see them, and maybe even move out. I had originally wanted to be moved out before the holidays (end of October)...but if we have to wait until after Thanksgiving so that we have our dream place...I can wait! :)

October Goals:

• Run 25 miles by the end of the month (I succeeded in 20...so now I have to push it!)
• Have a COMPLETE GUILT FREE me day (haircut, Mani/pedi, massage, shopping spree, junk food!)
• Get my mile to under 9 minutes! (maintained the 9.10 for Sept)
• Write three blogs a week! (wrote 7 in Sept, I can do 12!)
• Get another 5 pages done on my novel
• Start looking at apartments/town homes/houses
• Go to possible wedding locations
• Cook dinner for my family one night (healthy, yummy and creative!)

What are your October Goals? :)

 

 



Quick and Easy Breakfast Shake!

Yesterday I wanted a quick breakfast and was so tired of cereal or oatmeal and I had the idea to make a shake! The best thing about shakes is that you don't have to go out any buy certain things, if you regularly eat yogurt and fruit...you have all you REALLY need for a good and quick shake! I had bananas, strawberries and some vanilla yogurt (which to be honest...I don't like plain, so this was a perfect way to use it!). I decided to skip on the strawberries, only because I wanted to make this quick and I didn't feel at that moment like washing the strawberries and cutting them...so I stuck with the banana.

This recipe can be done with a variety of different ingredients, including blueberries, raspberries, peaches and even different flavors of yogurt and for an extra quick boost for after or before a workout, you could even add protein powder. I have protein powder on hand, but opted not to use it in this shake because the vanilla yogurt I was using had 2x the protein as regular greek yogurt.

Recipe for Vanilla-Banana Shake:

~One Medium Banana (ripped into smaller pieces- could also be cut)
~1/2 cup of whole milk (or whatever type of milk you prefer)
~1 5.3-6 oz cup of Greek Vanilla Yogurt (or any flavor)
~About 4-5 ice cubes

Place all above ingredients into a blender, cover and turn on to low speed and blend until all ingredients have been incorporated and there are no chunks (approx 2-3 mins using above ingredients). It could take less or longer depending on what fruit is used. Next time I think I want to throw in a scoop of peanut butter. I think it would make it a little thicker but the combination of vanilla, peanut butter and a banana sounds yummy!

For this recipe, I used Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt which I am OBSESSED with! They are 70-90 calories and 7-9 grams of sugar! And taste good!! I also like Yoplait's Greek yogurt for the same reasons, but buy between the two based off of what is on sale!

All the flavors are good too (well those that I've tried). I don't like coconut so I have not tried that one. I really like the blueberry and black cherry and the vanilla is just perfect for shakes or even a parfait!

Tired of Chipotle Everything? Sweet and Spicy Mayo!

Here is the awesome creation from the tailgate Saturday! :) I mean, the sandwich itself was pretty simple and based off the tastes of those eating it (for example...we ALL HATE bologna), but it has my yummy sweet and spicy mayo on it! My mom had originally wanted to just be boring and pick up some subs from Subway, but I told her lets just make our own sub, it's cheaper and more variety...plus I got to play with the mayo idea I had been wanting to do!

The sandwich itself is one loaf of Cuban bread, cut in half with pepper jack cheese, swiss cheese, roast beef, salami, turkey and ham. I also cut up tomato and onion slices and lettuce leaves. We had to travel about an hour for the game, so I packed the veggies separately and the mayo was kept in the container (and this also allowed for those eating to put as much or as little as they wanted). The sandwich was not soggy at all and didn't fall apart in travel! Score one for us! :) We got creative with transporting it too. I wanted to pre-cut the sandwich and we came up with placing it back in the plastic it had been wrapped in (this was a two person job...one to hold the sandwich and lift at times and the other to slide the plastic on) and then placing it into the paper bag it had been in and sealing it.

I really wanted to do something different for the mayo. I wanted to use our sriracha instead of anything chipotle. I'm thinking peach or apricot would taste just as yummy, but I went with strawberry preserves for the sweet balance. It was simple and quick and there isn't really much measuring (although I can estimate) because I added based off personal taste. So, the recipe is going to be a rough idea of amounts, but you can alter it to your own wants. My fiance and I like spicy, but my mom likes more sweet.

Sweet and Spicy Mayo-

2/3 cup of mayo (I used Publix brand)
About 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of Sriracha
About 1/3 cup of Strawberry Preserves (Smuckers Brand)

I started with the mayo (still in the jar and put in about a tbsp of sriracha and 2 tbsp of the preserves. Mixed it up and let everyone taste it...but it still had too much of a mayo taste. So I continued to add and mix until it came out sweet with enough of a kick to give you the sniffles! :)

If you try it out...what would you change? Did you make it more sweet or spicy? A different type of preserves? If so, which kind and how did it taste? I really think next time I want to try peach or apricot. I feel like it will have a good balance with the sriracha. :) I really am a big fan of sriracha. I like chipotle, but it is always fun to try new combinations! Enjoy!

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onion and Bacon Dip

Yummmmmmmmy! With football season in full swing, I have been enjoying taking ideas for tailgating food and making recipes my own. This past Saturday, Miami played Savannah State...a 7pm game, so it gave me the whole morning to get my stuff done (including a needed gym workout!). I had been wanting to have some sort of dip that would go good with kettle chips (I love the extra crunch) and veggies (we had an abundance of carrots and celery) and I decided onion dip would be perfect! My mom use to make it a lot when I was younger, and she always used the handy Lipton mix, but I wanted to make it from scratch. My dad has really taught me that those mixes can be easily done with spices and such.

This would be my first time ever making an onion dip without the mix so I googled it to see what I would need. The first recipe I came across was from Alton Brown of Food Network; Onion Dip and the easiness and reviews is why I picked this one. I did make a few changes that I really feel added to my own tastes and likes.

The ingredient list was basic and simple, plus I had everything on hand (except the white ground pepper which I just substituted based off my tastes).

The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of diced onion (I used sweet although the recipe does NOT specify), 1 1/2 cups of Sour Cream, 3/4 cups mayonnaise, 1/4 tsp of salt (for the onions), olive oil (to cook the onions, which I did not use), 1/4 tsp of garlic powder and white ground pepper and another 1/2 tsp of salt.

This was my first alteration. I LOVE bacon and I had some extra available. I took three slices of Publix center cut bacon and fried them in the frying pan. The perfect part of this is that while the bacon was cooking, I was able to chop the onions and get them ready!

I actually don't mind chopping onions. When I first started learning to cook with my dad, my jobs always involved chopping the veggies we would need and gathering all the ingredients and washing the dishes. One medium to large size sweet onion is plenty to get 1 1/2 cups. I like to dice them in sections. It makes it easier and allows me to take breaks to check on the bacon. :)

During this time, I had flipped the bacon and after about 10 minutes of cooking, turned off the burner and left the pan (I like crispy bacon!). Once I was done chopping the onions, I removed the bacon from the pan and placed the slices on a paper towel to drain. This is why I did not use olive oil, because I decided to use the bacon grease left in the pan to cook the onions. It worked great!

 I placed the onions in the pan, added 1/4 tsp of kosher salt, turned the stove top back on (medium-high heat) and began measuring out the sour cream and mayo. I mixed the onions periodically and waited for them to caramelize.

When the onions resemble a slightly brown color and have softened, they are ready! It takes about 20 minutes. I placed the pan on another burner that was cold, so that the onions could cool. At this point I took the bacon and chopped it up and added it to the onions and mixed it together. While the onions cooled with the bacon, I chopped up the carrots and celery.

 

I took the onion/bacon mixture after it had cooled (about 5 minutes) and mixed it with the sour cream and mayo that I already had placed in a Tupperware container (I find this to be the easiest way when I plan on taking the dip immediately for travel, in this case; a tailgate) and began folding in the mixture. I added the 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of garlic powder. As I said earlier, I didn't have white ground pepper and had originally planned to just use black ground pepper but saw we had chipotle Chile powder and decided that I wanted to add a spicy and smoky flavor to compliment the bacon. So, I added a 1/4 tsp of the chipotle Chile powder and mixed everything together. I stuck it in the fridge until we were ready to pack up and go, about an hour and a half. I tasted it before we left and OMG! The bacon and onion with the creaminess of the sour cream and mayo and then the slight kick and smokiness from the chipotle powder was a perfect combination!

 

My tailgating group felt the same! Everyone gave rave reviews and loved it! This is a recipe I will definitely be making again! Tomorrow I'll tell you about my sub sandwich creation and the sweet and spicy mayo I made! If you end up trying this dip, what changes did you make or did you follow the original recipe?

 

Also, for those who worry about calories and such, I created this as a recipe in MyFitnessPal and here is the breakdown-

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups diced sweet onion

1 1/2 cups regular Publix Sour Cream

3/4 cups Hellman's mayo

1/4 tsp and 1/2 tsp of David's Kosher Salt

1/4 tsp of McCormick's Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp of McCormick's Chipotle Chile Powder

3 slices of Publix Naturally Hickory Smoked Center Cut Bacon

 

I approximated that based off the ingredients, this recipe makes about 4 cups of dip. Although it seems small, I did a serving as a half cup (which if using chips and veggies to dip is actually a lot and makes you more mindful of not overeating)

 

Based off a 1/2 cup serving, this recipe contains-- 247 calories, 23.2g of fat, 40mg of Cholesterol, 473.8mg of Sodium, 5.6g of carbs, 2.1g of sugar and 2.4g of protein. For me this recipe is good because I watch my sugar content and my carbs. Even if I had two servings (which I don't think I would need based off how many carrot sticks you could easily eat with 1/2 cup of dip), it would be less than 5g of sugar! Granted, I'm not thrilled about the sodium, but that has to do with the bacon and salt.

 

Hope you enjoy!