One Skillet Breakfast: Baked eggs w/ avocado and spicy tomoates

HI-YA !


It's been a minute since I've been in the blogosphere.  My day-to-day life has been quite consuming lately, but I have been brainstorming, creating, and concocting recipes; as well as exploring some new foods. This week I decided to keep it simple and share a breakfast that I enjoy at least once a week.  If you want an easy, delicious and healthy breakfast then I suggest you try this one !

Fall inspired Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

Hi-Ya !

I am still on cloud nine since Autumn arrived.  I can't cook all my favorite Fall veggies or fruit fast enough.  One of my favorite Fall soups is Butternut Squash.  During this season Panera Bread has a butternut squash soup on their menu, which is absolutely delicious and I tend to always get a bowl whenever I visit. 

Since I am a frugal gal and like to save money whenever I can I do brown bag my lunch through the week. Sunday is my meal planning day, so this week I decided to make a pot of butternut squash soup with some small tweaks to make it my own.

Check out what's in this Fall Flavorful Soup !!!

 ~ Fall FAVORITES ~

Ingredients
Serves 4-6

• 2 cups of butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (shortcut: Trader's Joe bagged butternut squash)
• 1 cup cubed carrots
• 1/2 stalk of celery, diced
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons of European style butter (*it has a creamier texture and richer flavor)
• 1 medium Honeycrisp apple, peeled, cored and cubed
• 4 cups (32 oz) vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Melt butter in pan over medium heat.  Add the onions & celery and cook until it softens.  Add the apples, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potato, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, thyme, cinnamon, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduced heat to low-medium and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until veggies are fork tender.
2. Puree the soup (it may still be hot, so be careful) in batches in a blender, or use an immersion blender stick and puree right in the pot. I have used both methods, but this time around I will be giving my new Nutribullet RX a whirl to see if its lives up to its soup making abilities.
3. Once you have pureed the soup, return it to its original pot and stir in the heavy cream and simmer for about 5 minutes. 
4. Carefully taste test a spoon of the soup.  Add more of any of the seasonings per your taste. (I added a smidget of more cinnamon)
5. Spoon soup into your favorite bowl and garnish with a swirl of cream and chopped chives.
6. Enjoy !!

Foodie Tips & Notes:

• You can substitute the European style butter with regular butter, extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil
• Swap out the vegetable stock with chicken stock
• Eliminate the heavy cream in the soup or just add a swirl on top of your bowl
• In place of the Honeycrisp apples you may use Granny Smith apples, especially if you like a less sweeter soup
• If nutmeg is not a favorite spice then feel free to leave it out
• This soup may be refrigerated up to 4 days or freeze any remaining for up to 3 months
• You can pair this tasty soup with this simple salad    

A Simple Salad with Fascinating Greens !

Hi-Ya !!

Salads are a staple in the Summer months, but Oh how I love to enjoy a nice Fall salad. There are so many "Fall-type" ingredients that you can add to jazz up your salad and still reap the healthy benefits. You can choose from the wide world of squashes, pomegranate, pears, beets, and cranberries.
Create your FALL salad today !!

What's in my salad bowl you ask?!?!  Check it out....

• Yellow cherry tomatoes
• Red onions
• Mediterranean goat cheese
• English cucumber
• Pomegranate seeds
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and pomegranate vinegar
• Herb salad mix from Trader's Joe

** The Sharing of my taste buds experience** This was my first time getting this bag salad from Trader's Joe and I'm glad I did.  This bag of green goodness contains some basic greens, such as: romaine lettuce, red & green chard,and arugula.  It also includes some greens that (1)  I have not heard of and (2) I would have never thought of adding to a salad.  

The other greens/lettuces that are in this mix are: Oak Leaf lettuce, Lollo Rossa, Tango, Frisee (endive) radicchio, Mizuna, Parsley, Cilantro. and DILL.  Yes, Dill !!! The springs of dill in this salad mix made a HUGE taste difference. It wasn't overpowering, but just right.   I love cooking w/ dill, but you can bet your money dollar that I will be buying some fresh dill to keep handy for my salads.

If you shop at TJ's then I highly recommend you trying it out. The cost was only $2.49 a bag and its organic...can't beat that, right ?!?!?

Tee's White Bean Chicken Chili

Hi-Ya !

The first day of Autumn is rapidly approaching and now that I think about it's actually next week......Woo Hoo !  Can you tell that Fall is my favorite season !!

Well, let me run down a few of my favorite things I like to do and eat at this time of the season.

I'm not a full-fledged football fan, but I do love to experience a game or two that includes some Tailgating,

I love to take a walk in the crisp air and all I need is a nice comfy fleece hoodie.

I love that I can wear a pair of riding boots and a sweater with my favorite pair of jeans.

I love the foods that are available in abundance around the Fall season.
For instance.....Honeycrisp Apples and Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

I love making soups.  My favorite is butternut squash !

I love a good hearty bowl of Chili, which brings me to my blog this week :)

I make a couple variation of chill's, but this recipe I experimented with some new ingredients...more veggies, Go figure, huh ?!!?

Ingredients
Serves: 4 hearty bowls or 6 smaller bowls

• 1 lb of lean ground chicken
• 1 can (14.5 oz) of white beans, rinsed and drained (Navy, Cannellini or great Northern beans)
• 1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomatoes paste
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed and chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder (add more if you prefer... I did !)
• 1 tablespoon of cumin
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups of low-sodium vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup of zucchini, sliced and quartered
• 1/4 cup of yellow squash, sliced and quartered
• 3-4 whole white mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 cup of frozen sweet corn kernels
• Salt to season
• 1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro, chopped (garnish)
• Dollop of low fat sour cream or Greek yogurt (garnish)

Instructions

1. Add a drizzle of  EVOO to a dutch oven pot and brown the ground chicken. Remove and set aside.  To the same pot add EVOO and the onions and cook until it begins to soften. Add the jalapeno and garlic and cook an additional 1 minute or so. 
2. Add to the pot the cooked ground chicken, beans, stewed tomatoes, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, corn and the vegetable stock. You may need to add water to be sure that all of your ingredients are covered.  Season with chili powder, cumin and salt.
3. Stir well, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low-medium, and let simmer for about 30- minutes or until those veggies are tender.  
4. Ladle your chili in a bowl. Garnish it with the chopped cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.

*Side Note*

• This chili is kinda spicy, so watch out !!  You may substitute the jalapeno with a can of mild green chiles or omit the jalapeno all together. 
• If you want to add cheese, shredded Monterey Jack is a good choice !
• You may substitute ground turkey in place of the ground chicken or omit the meat and go vegan!!

My Two Cents: Healthy Bento Lunch Box

HI-Ya !

Bento Box:  is a box shaped compartmental container designed to hold Japanese side dishes. A traditional bento holds rice, fish or meat, with pickled or cooked vegetables.

 I love Sushi and although it's not the healthiest choice when choosing a meal, I do indulge (responsibly....lol)  in a sushi roll every now -n- then.  If  I'm feeling really frisky I'll get the Bento box, which is a plethora of tasty foods.  My favorite component are the tempura vegetables, which are light fried...... ohhh Weeee!!!

I take brown bag lunches (not literally...I have a cute insulated lunchbox) to work and sometimes I can get burned out on the same lunch items week in and week out.  I've come up with a smorgasbord of lunch meals or snacks to add to my very own bento lunch box.  My bento box are compartmental food storage containers I found at my neighborhood Walmart.

They have different shapes and sizes

Look at this.....I came across this Thermos and I immediately had a happy thought.....I could make me a green smoothie in the morning and and it would still be cold and frosty at lunch time.

Today's Bento Lunchbox includes

• Parsley & Quinoa Salad (see recipe here)
• Chicken Lollipops - I took a grilled chicken breast cut them in cubes and slid them on wooden toothpicks.... Voilà !  
• Fruit cup; fresh strawberries and blueberries
• Triscuit brown rice crackers (they come in different flavors....the sweet potato & roasted onion is my favorite

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More bento lunch ideas

• Whole Wheat wrap (meat or veggies), not eating bread ? ...lettuce wraps work too!
• Turkey meatballs
• Cooked veggies
• Coleslaw
• Brown rice or Quinoa
• Tuna or Chicken salad
• Veggie lollipop; cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, mozzarella, with a side of dressing.
• Fruit lollipop; apples, grapes, pear, strawberries, etc..
• Deviled eggs
• Granola
• Soup or Chili
• Turkey roll ups (deli turkey, mozzarella stick, leaf lettuce)
• Air-popped Popcorn
• Etc....................

On another note 

* I use silicon cupcake holders to keep food separate, which also gives me a little more room in my bento box.





The lunch choices are endless, so make your own healthy bento lunch box today !!

Parsley & Quinoa Salad

Hi-Ya !

From the green leafs in my smoothies, in my salads or as a side dish I consume a healthy amount of leafy greens.  For my salads I typically go with romaine, kale, red/green leaf or a spring mix, but I decided to go with a different green for this salad recipe.  PARSLEY !!

Why parsley ?  I love Mediterranean cuisine and there are 2 salads that I tend to order when I can find a good Middle-Eastern restaurant.... Tabbouleh Salad and Fattoush Salad.

They both have have fresh ingredients like, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions.  Tabbouleh star ingredient (in my opinion) is the bulgur wheat.  The star ingredient in the Fattoush salad (in my opinion) are the pita chips.  They both are dressed with fresh squeezed lemons....yum !

Let's get started......

There are lots of fresh ingredients in this salad, so there will be lots of chopping to do.

Chop- Chop !!

Flat Italian Parsley

(*I replaced Bulgur with Quinoa)

Ingredients for Parsley salad
Serving 1

• 1 bunch of fresh Italian Parsley, stems removed and chopped
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup diced English cucumbers
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1/2 cup of cooked Quinoa

Ingredients for lemony-garlicky vinaigrette

• 1-2 garlic cloves
• Juice of (1) lemon
• 1/8 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup of walnut oil 
• pinch of sea salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Cook Quinoa per directions on package. Set aside to cool.
2. Whisk the garlic, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and salt in small bowl. Slowly whisk in walnut oil. If you don't have walnut oil in your pantry you may use extra-virgin olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Combine all of your salad ingredients (quinoa, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, mint and parsley) into a large bowl.
4. Stream about 1/2 of the vinaigrette on the salad and toss to coat.  Add more if desired.

** You can enjoy this salad as a side dish or you easily make this salad your main dish by adding  cubed grilled chicken breast. On occasion I add feta to this salad.

LemonLicious Yogurt Bites

Hi-Ya !

Do You have 5 minutes to spare to make a SupaDeDooper snack ?

All you need is 2 ingredients and maybe a couple extras if you like.....no pressure !

Greek Yogurt is a staple in my kitchen and with all the fun flavors it makes it so much funnier to create new healthy snacks.


Grab these things to get started...................

Mix the yogurt with the jello ( I used half the box)

Stir until completely combined and place bowl in microwave about 2 minutes. Stir at 1 minute intervals.  You want to be sure the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake liners

Let it chill in refrigerator about an hour or until set.  

That's all there is to it !

I was feeling a little adventurous, so I added a squirt of whipped cream and a chocolate chip morsel.

Yes, chocolate.  I'm guilty ! 

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LemonLicious Yogurt Bites (Inspired by Jello)

Ingredients

Serves: 6 individual yogurt cups

• 1/2 package (3 oz) of JELL-O Lemon flavor gelatin
• 1 container (5.3 oz) vanilla bean non-fat Greek yogurt
• **Optional extras, whip cream and semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels

Instructions

1. Place the (6) cupcake liners in the muffin pan
2. Mix the yogurt and Jello in microwave safe bowl. Stir until combined.
3. Microwave for 1 minute, stir.  Microwave for 1 minute to 1 1/2 minutes until completely dissolved. 
4. Spoon each cupcake liner with the yogurt mix. About 2-3 tablespoons to start and if you have any yogurt mix left...fill accordingly.
5. Let it hang out in the fridge for about a hour or until set
6. When set; remove from liners and top with a smidget of whip cream and chocolate chip morsel.

On another note...

• You can mix and match YOUR favorite yogurt and JELL-O flavors
• You can use mini-cupcake pan and liners
• You can use the sugar-free JELL-O brand
• Store in a air-tight container, refrigerate for up to 3 days, if they last that long !!