What a girl wants...

When you have a craving...especially as a cook...it takes everything in you not to just whip out your garlic, onion, olive oil, saute pan and start cheffing it up. 

I started back to work and the field across from where I teach is covered in cacti, and attached to the top of these cacti were these GORGEOUS fuschia colored prickly pears. Eventually, I had to stop staring at them every morning and afternoon, and actually pick some. Well this feat seemed a bit more challenging than my taste buds were ready for. I walk over to these massive cacti and start picking the luscious fruits off the tops. I hear yelling and look over to some construction workers waving their hands as if in warning. A kind man finally walks over to me and says, be careful those have a lot of tiny needles in them. As the words were coming out of his mouth, I look at my needle covered fingers. After pulling out the ones that bothered me the most, this kind man gave me a trash bag, and some gloves to finish picking my lot. {I think I continued pulling the tiniest of needles out of my hands for about a month, until they were all gone.}

Once home, I started to look up recipes for what to do with these amazing fruits. I remember various Mexican restaurants offering prickly pear margaritas or martinis on their menu, and figured that's were I would start. I immediately called my friend and we decided to have dinner that night and reap the rewards of my sore hands. 

But again, more challenges arose. These prickly pears are not easy fruit. They are a ratio of 90% seeds to 10% fruit in each and every pear. For most people, this just would not work. But I already picked dozens of these fruits and wanted a reward. So I cut around the seeds and peeled until I had about a cup of gorgeous pink colored flesh. 

Prickly Pear Margarita

1 cup prickly pear flesh

2 parts margarita mix

1 part tequila

lime

salt

We blended these up and man were they delicious. All my sore, stained fingers relaxed as I sipped on my fabulous margarita. 

To pair with that we decided to have an appetizer. As most of you know, I am a big fan of working with what I've got. So I looked in my pantry, prior to my arrival at my friend's house, and found beans, cotija cheese, and chips. So I decided to whip up a bean dip to go with our Mexican themed dinner. 

Spicy Cotija Bean Dip

1 can of refried beans

1 can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup creamy dressing

1/4 onion, chopped finely

1 garlic clove, minced

1/3 cup cotija cheese 

I sauteed the onion until translucent, added the garlic and then added the tomatoes. Once this developed a wonderful perfume, I added in my refried beans (mine had jalapenos in them, choose the spiciness you prefer). This did not need to be on the heat for long, just enough to warm up the beans. To counter the spiciness, I added some creamy, feta cheese dressing (just happened to have it on hand), add whichever creamy dressing you prefer. This element would cool down the spicy beans, just a bit. Then I folded in half of the cotija cheese and topped the bean dip with the rest. I happened to have some muli-grain chips, which is what I served with the dip. 

Pizza a la carte
2 cornmeal crusts
sausage
mozzarella cheese
pesto
edamame
tomato slices
onion
asparagus

These pizzas are a blank canvas. They can really be anything you want them to be. The crusts are nice because they are crispier and have that crunchy bite to them that the cornmeal gives. For our main course, my friend had some delicious cornmeal crust pizzas. So we decided to use those and whip up some pizza a la carte. Meaning we added whatever we had on hand, on top. We made some pesto pizzas with mozzarella and we made some with sausage and veggies. Add whatever you like! Bake it at 350 for about 20 minutes or so.

Lamb Kebab Mediterranean Salad

lamb kebabs
romaine lettuce
kidney beans
garbanzo beans
tomatoes
beets
olives
creamy dressing


To round our our meal, we decided to also have a salad. First, we seared the lamb with olive oil, salt and pepper. Once the pieces had a crispy crust and enough time to be medium-rare, we took them off the stove and let them rest. Meanwhile, we cleaned our lettuce then in a large salad bowl combined all our ingredients. We mixed this with our creamy feta dressing and topped with the lamb kebabs and a bit of cotija cheese. What an amazing salad, full of flavor.

This menu is sure to please women and men alike. Make for a simple gathering or a fancy night in.

Enjoy!

xo Lo

Baby Shower for Morgan and her little dove Cora Elizabeth

One of my favorite things to do is plan a party and of course make food for that party. Every day there is a new reason to celebrate. This past Saturday was my wonderful friend, Morgan's baby shower for her baby girl on the way: Cora Elizabeth. I signed myself up right away to make a few savory and sweet items for the special day.

Morgan's friends did an incredible job, decorating, creating fun games and putting together some additional tasty treats. For Morgan's shower I wanted to take a large onion tart that I had made before and make tartlets. I wanted to do the same for a citrus cake I had made previously, make mini cupcakes. And what good is a baby shower without some onesie cookies...right? Here are my recipes below.

Caramelized Onion Tartlets with Manchego Cheese
3 pie crusts (premade or homemade)
2 medium/large yellow onions
3 pieces of cooked ham (or bacon or proscuitto)
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 stick butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup manchego cheese
1 cup half & half
1 egg
salt
pepper

First you want to take your pie crusts and use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to cut out some circles. Grease you mini (or regular) muffin tin. Then put the pie circles inside so they look like mini tart shells. Bake these at 425 for about 15 minutes.

Next, heat up your pan or skillet and drop in the butter and oil. While that heats up, peel and thinly slice your onions. Place them in the skillet to caramelize, this will take about 15 or so minutes. Keep your heat to medium low because you don't want them to get crispy. Keep stirring every few minutes. Then chop up your ham (or bacon) add that to your onion mixture. You want to chop up your fresh parsley very finely and add that to the onion mixture as well. Add a bit of salt and pepper and mix around. Remove from heat and once your pie shells are cooled spoon the mixture into your mini shells.

Grate your manchego (you can also use gruyere) cheese and place about a spoonful on top of each tart. Then beat your egg and add in the half and half, add about a spoonful of that onto each tart (this creates your custard for the tart). Bake these at 350 for about 20 minutes. They will be a bubbling golden brown.

Lemon-Chiffon Cupcakes with Citrus Buttercream Icing

Lemon-Chiffon Cupcakes with Citrus Buttercream Icing
Topped with Candied Grapefruit and Cranberries
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 large eggs separated
3/4 cup orange-banana juice
3 Tbsp orange, grapefruit & lemon zest
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350. Combine first four ingredients in your standing mixer, in the center add in egg yolks, oil and juice. Beat on a medium speed for 3-4 minutes until the mixture becomes smooth. Stir in zest. Remove from mixer into a large bowl. Clean mixing bowl and add in egg whites and cream of tartar, beat on high until you see stiff peaks (like whipped cream or meringue). Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Spoon into your greased mini cupcake tin and bake for about 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before adding the icing.

Citrus Buttercream Icing
1/2 cup soft butter
3 Tbsp orange, grapefruit & lemon zest
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp fresh Meyer lemon juice

Beat the butter with the zest on medium speed, when the mixture becomes creamy start slowly adding in your powdered sugar (about 1/3 cup at a time). Then add in your fresh lemon juice. You will begin to see the consistency turn into a frosting. Apply to each cupcake.

Candied Grapefruit and Cranberries
1 grapefruit
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
3 cups water

Add water to a medium sized pot, put heat on medium and add in sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Slice up grapefruit into small pieces (rind intact). Add in cranberries whole. Stir so the sugar water coats each piece of fruit. Let the water come to a gentle bubble. Occasionally stir the fruit around, keep in sugar water for about 30 minutes. This will remove the tartness from the berries and the sourness from the grapefruit rind. Use a piece of parchment paper or foil and spoon the fruit onto the paper to cool. After about 10 minutes check them, they should be sticky, like gummy candy. Place on top of your cupcakes for a unique, delicious topping.

Onesie Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies with  Orange Icing
1 cookie cutter (any shape)
3 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 package of cream cheese
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsps vanilla
1 egg

In your standing mixer add in butter and cream cheese. Cream until smooth. Meanwhile add, flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside. Add sugar into butter mixture, beat for about two minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. On low speed, gradually add in flour mixture. Dough will be soft and sticky.


Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. Preheat oven to 350 and grease cookie sheets. Once dough has chilled, roll out and use cookie cutter to cut out 1/4 inch thick cookies. Spread out about two inches apart and bake for about 12 minutes. Let cool before icing.

Orange Poured Fondant Icing (Naturally colored)
1 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp of orange extract
3-5 tsp light corn syrup
1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar
1 Tbsp beet juice

In your standing mixer, add in milk, corn syrup and 1/3 a cup of confectioner sugar at a time. If you need to use more add more, if you need to add more milk to keep the icing smooth add a bit more. Add orange extract and beet juice. The beet juice is a natural way to color your icing instead of using chemical-laden dye. And you can't even taste it! Plus the color was perfect. Use immediately. When you apply to cookie the icing will dry pretty quickly so decorate right away.


The baby shower was a huge success! Delicious food and wonderful company. It is a precious time watching all my friends transform from beautiful women to beautiful mothers.




These recipes would be perfect for any party. Your guests will feel incredibly special and your guest of honor will feel showered with love. Enjoy! xo Lo

“Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.”

Valentines Day is right around the corner...There are some great, easy ways to show your loved one how special they are. You can focus on a sweetheart breakfast, picnic lunch, romantic dinner or sexy little surprises throughout the day.

They always say the key to a man's heart is through his stomach...so my plan was to hone in on breakfast because it is my husband's favorite meal. I wanted to start his day off by showing him how much I love him by creating a fantastic, homemade breakfast in bed.

First I started by creating a potato hash.

Fingerling Potato Hash
6 fingerling potatoes
1/4 yellow onion
2 baby portabella mushrooms
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt

Heat your pan on medium heat with butter, add diced onions, potatoes and mushrooms. Continually stir and add salt. These will cook for about 30 minutes.

Homemade Tortillas
3 cups flour
1/3 cup corn oil

1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt

While your potato hash is cooking make some homemade tortillas...which are WAY better than store bought tortillas. Mix the flour and oil together with a fork til the mixture becomes nice and crumbly. Then add in the salt and warm water, spoonful at a time until the mix morphs into a dough. Knead the dough with your hands for three minutes to smooth it out. Then place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature. Once the 30 minutes are up, pinch off golf ball size pieces of the dough and roll out on a floured surface. Roll out the dough to a thin, 8 inch disc then place on a saute pan on medium heat and let cook for about 30 seconds then flip. The tortilla cooks fast and will develop little brown spots, to show it is done. This amount of dough should create 10-12 tortillas. After your tortillas are done heat up your black beans and start on cooking the eggs.

Sweetheart Breakfast Tacos
4 eggs
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
heart cookie cutter
1 cup black beans
1/2 cup shredded colby cheese
1/2 cup roasted salsa
potato hash
homemade tortillas

You can use the same pan that your potato hash is cooking in, push the hash to one side, grease the open side with butter, put your cookie cutter down and crack your egg into the cookie cutter. The egg will solidify inside the cookie cutter creating a heart shape. Cover your egg/hash with a lid until the egg is cooked to your liking. We prefer over-medium eggs, make sure the pan is on medium-low heat. The eggs should cook about 2-3 minutes per egg. When the eggs are done start to plate your breakfast tacos. Put your tortilla down first, then potato hash, black beans, shredded cheese, heart-eggs and salsa.

Serve this up and your honey will cover you with kisses...after they escape their food coma of course :)

Happy Valentines Day! xoxo Lo

Big fish in a little pond

With all the mix of chicken and beef sometimes it's nice to grub on some fresh seafood. One of my husband's favorites is fresh tuna steaks. Now you have to be cautious because tuna tend to be unusually high in mercury levels which in big doses can be toxic to our bodies. But if you shop for your seafood at a local market and they catch wild then you should be better off.

My favorite way to eat tuna steaks is rare, sashimi style with a wasabi-soy sauce drizzle but my husband likes his seared. So I decided to cook for my sweet husband that evening.

Tuna Steaks with Brussel Sprouts and Black Rice

1 tuna steak/person
1 package of brussel sprouts
1/2 yellow onion
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
1/2 cup black rice
olive oil
salt
pepper

This is a pretty simple meal, you want to save the tuna til last. If you want to flash marinate that is great or else keep cool in the fridge. I drizzled mine with olive oil to keep it moist and sprinkled salt and pepper on each side and set back in the fridge.

Next, I sliced up my onion and garlic and added that to a saute pan on medium heat. Once they were golden I added the brussel sprouts. I had chicken stock in a small sauce pan awaiting a boil, once the liquid starts to bubble drizzle in 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil and the black rice, stir occasionally.

When the brussel sprouts start to soften and sear turn the heat down to keep them toasty. Continue to stir the rice, adding more chicken stock if needed. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the rice for additional flavor. Black rice is extremely nutritious and adds a lil depth to your dish.

Once the rice is practically finished heat your saute pan or grill pan, drizzle with olive oil and place your tuna steaks on the pan. Depending on how "done" you prefer your tuna to be, you really should only cook each side for about a minute. Usually tuna is best served with a nice sear on the outside and rarity on the inside.

Plate your dish and serve. This meal is packed with protein, omega-3s, healthy carbohydrates and will give you a great kick start to your week or weekend.

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Acorn Squash Soup

Nothing is better than a hot bowl of comforting soup when the winds are chilly and the clouds unleash rain across the city.

I stumbled upon this recipe as I looked in my fridge and found an acorn squash, the only thing I had made before with this gorgeous ghourd was chutney but this time I wanted to make something good for the soul.

Acorn Squash Soup with Fresh Sage

1 acorn squash/2 people
1 yellow onion
1 leek
1 bunch of fresh sage
1 carton of chicken stock
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves
3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup milk (or heavy cream)
salt
pepper

I started as you would with any squash, you cut them in half de-seed them and place on a baking sheet. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is heating up, slice up some onions, garlic, bits of fresh sage and leeks place those inside of the hole of the squash and drizzle with olive oil. Place the squash in the oven for one hour to soften and bake.

While the squash is baking light your Dutch oven or soup pot on low heat, add olive oil and the rest of the onion, leeks, a few sage leaves and garlic. When they become golden (30 minutes) add chicken stock, salt and pepper. Once the squash is done, remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Once the squash are cooled pour the contents inside the squash into the pot. Strip off the squash skin, chop up into inch cubes and add to the pot. Raise the pot's temperature to medium heat and stir. After 15 minutes use your hand emulsion blender to blend the squash soup together. Be careful not to raise the blender above the soup, blend for 10 minutes until creamy and smooth. Then add your milk/heavy cream. Let the soup finish for five minutes then you are ready to serve.

Once you pour the incredible soup into your serving bowls, grate fresh parmesan cheese on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh sage leaves. This soup will knock your snuggie right off, it is down right delicious! Perfect for entertaining or as a quiet Sunday meal.

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Wowza White Chicken Chili

Now that the fall months are among us and colder weather has started to prance its way into the day...it is time for comforting, warm meals.

One of my family's absolute favorites is white chicken chili...for some reason I've never been a huge fan of regular ole joe red bean and beef chili. Maybe it's too filling, maybe it's too heavy but this particular type of chili is not only scrumptious but it is packed with healthy nutrients and not too heavy.

White Chicken Chili

4 chicken breasts (or thigh meat)
6 cans of Great Northern beans
1 package of chicken stock
3 celery stocks
2 medium yellow onions
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 bunch of cilantro
avocado
1/2 cup monterrey jack cheese

Grab your Dutch oven or stock pot and add 1 Tbsp of olive oil on medium heat, when the pot starts to sizzle add the chopped onion and chopped celery. Once the onion and celery turn golden add the chicken (cut into inch size pieces). After a few minutes add the beans and chicken stock. Stir and add the spices. After about 20 minutes taste and add more spices if necessary. Cook another 10 minutes then the magnificent chili is ready to serve!

Once you add the chili to the serving bowls, add sprigs of cilantro, chopped avocado and shredded Monterrey Jack cheese then take a bite and savor the explosion of fantastic flavors!

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Trick or Treat Casserole

My mom used to make this warm, comforting casserole dish with chicken, orzo, cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms and any other veggies we had at the time. I decided to recreate this delicious meal from my childhood. I already had beer brined chicken, the orzo and cream of mushroom soup, I just needed to put the rest together.

Since Halloween is right around the corner, I decided to make my casserole similar to the traditional outing every child makes on October 31st, decked in their best costume to boot. My casserole would be full of treats and would remind adults why they love Halloween and the Fall season so much.

Trick or Treat Casserole

2 chicken breasts (marinated in whatever you prefer)
1 package of orzo noodles
6 button mushrooms (rinsed)
1/2 head of cabbage
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
2 cups of chicken stock
1 small yellow onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

Heat your Dutch oven or large pot on medium heat, add olive oil and start chopping your onion. Add onion to the Dutch oven and start chopping your mushrooms. Add mushrooms and dry orzo to the pot. Let the orzo crisp up with the onions and mushrooms before adding any liquid. (You may need to add more olive oil, to prevent sticking to the bottom or getting too dry). Next add the chicken stock and stir around. Chop up half the cabbage and add that to the mixture. Pour in the cream of mushroom soup, salt and pepper. Then chop up the chicken into small pieces and add to pot. Place lid on the Dutch oven and cook for 10 minutes. Then finish the casserole in the oven at 375 covered for 15 minutes then lower heat to 350 and remove lid to let the top crisp up for 10 minutes before serving.

This meal will feel like your mouth is trick or treating, full of flavors, textures and nutrients this meal is Halloween approved!

Happy trick or treating! xo Lo

Pork 'n Pumpkin Chili

For those of you who are getting to know me...I LOVE the holidays. Any holiday...I will go above and beyond to celebrate, in a classy way of course! :) When Fall arrives, which is my favorite time of the year, I love to cook with seasonal produce (aka pumpkins), watch scary movies, sip on Pumpkin Ale and submerge myself into the season.

The other day they had sugar pumpkins at the market so I grabbed three and a massive piece of pork butt to make some fabulous, comfort food.

Here's the recipe:

3 medium sugar pumpkins (or as many as people you have plus one extra for in the chili)
1 package of 15 bean soup (15 different kinds of uncooked beans, discard seasoning package)
5 lbs pork butt
1 bunch of mustard greens
5 cups of chicken stock
1 yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
salt
pepper
nutmeg

First I put the oven on 425 degrees and baked the pumpkins (after de-seeding the inside) for about an hour. Meanwhile I started slicing up the pork butt into inch cubed pieces. I placed my Dutch oven on the stove on medium heat and drizzled some olive oil inside. I chopped up the onion and garlic and let that saute for a few minutes, until golden. Then I added the chicken stock and beans. After cutting up the entire pork butt, I placed that into the chicken stock and cover for 30 minutes.

Once the pumpkin is tender the skin should peel off easily, chop up one of the pumpkins into one inch cubed pieces and add to the chili. (The other pumpkins are for serving in.) Add nutmeg, cook for another hour on low heat while stirring occasionally. In the last 10 minutes add chopped, mustard greens.

While chili is cooking, make the pumpkin-nutmeg cream sauce with:

1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp pumpkin (from cooked pumpkin or canned pumpkin)
salt
pepper

Mix all ingredients up until smooth and refridgerate until serving. Once beans are tender and pork is cooked through then served the chili inside the sugar pumpkins and top with cream sauce.

If this recipe doesn't get you into the Halloween/Autumn mood, then I don't know what will...maybe put on Hocus Pocus while eating and sip on a Pumpkin Ale...that should do the trick!

xoxo Lo

Autumn-Inspired Butternut Squash Gnocchi

Hello! Hope you are all having a marvelous Monday! I made a delicious Autumn-inspired recipe last night and thought I would share it with you all J 

Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Fresh Sage

2 lbs of butternut squash (or pumpkin, or acorn squash or any potatoes)

2 cups flour

¼ cup yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

3 Tbsp olive oil

6 leaves of fresh sage (or any other fresh herb you like)

Salt/pepper

3 egg yolks

Place butternut squash in large pot or Dutch oven and fill with water, have heat on high to boil. Once water is boiling, keep on a rolling boil until the squash is tender. Meanwhile, heat sauté pan and chop up onion, garlic and three leaves of sage, very small. Drizzle 1 Tbsp of olive oil in sauté pan and cook onion, garlic & herb mixture til crispy.

When squash is tender, drain and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Once the butternut squash is cool, cut off ends, slice in half length-wise and de-seed/peel. Chop up into small pieces and place in a large bowl. Mash squash like you would with mashed potatoes. Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to keep smooth, add in egg yolks, flour, salt pepper and other three leaves of fresh herbs. Fold together with a spatula then you might want to start using your hands as the dough forms.

Once the dough is firm, roll out onto a floured surface and slice into long strips. Then slice the strips into little squares about one inch x one inch. Heat salted water again on the stove and drop gnocchi pillows into the boiling water. Once the gnocchi rise to the top (like dumplings) they are done (about 3-5 minutes) depending on the thickness of the gnocchi.

Once the gnocchi is done, drain and place on a paper towel to air dry (about 5 minutes). Then place them in your bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with crispy onion, garlic & sage and shave chunks of parmesan on top and ta da! So delicious! My husband approved too J

xoxo Lo

I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so

Take an edible tour into the Asian island of Japan with this delicious, nutrient-rich, flavor-popping meal. One Friday night my husband and I were craving Japanese but we didn't want sushi...what were our options? We found some sushi grade tuna that was encrusted with black peppercorns, we grabbed two tuna steaks and at home we had edamame and arborio rice to make risotto.

I kept the tuna steaks in the fridge to chill as I prepared the rest of the dinner items. Risotto would take the longest, I drizzle my dutch oven with olive oil then pour in a cup of arborio Italian-style rice, I toast the rice and then fill with half water (2 cups) and half chicken stock (2 cups). Cover the rice and let cook for five minutes, stir and add salt and pepper. Cook for another five minutes. Once the liquid starts to absorb in the rice you can add any ingredients you desire. I chose to add sliced mushrooms, onions and goat cheese. Cover once more and the goat cheese should melt into the rice adding a velvety, bold flavor.

Once the risotto is done, set on low heat to keep warm and add olive oil into a saute pan. Then add in the edamame with some salt and pepper. Allow the edamame to saute and become tender. Once the edamame is warmed throughout then plate the edamame with the risotto. Take the tuna steaks out of the fridge and plate. Create a soy, wasabi sauce by mixing a teaspoon of wasabi with each tablespoon of soy sauce. Dip your tuna into the Japanese sauce and enjoy!


Enjoy! xo Lo

Rockin' Ribeye & Fresh Veggies

My husband and I are definitely carnivorous people; after a long week we crave protein and iron. I purchased a beautiful ribeye from my local market and picked out some fresh veggies to pair it with. We had a big dinner the night before so we need something that wouldn't bog us down.

Ribeye is hard to mess up, you sprinkle with salt, pepper, drizzle with olive oil and throw it on the grill (or grill pan).

As for the veggies I sliced up some broccolini, onion, red pepper and garlic. Sprinkled them with salt, pepper and olive oil then sauteed them until nice and crisp.

This is an easy, healthy, five ingredient or less meal. Enjoy!

xo Lo

Cakes 'n Eggs

One ridiculously hot Sunday morning...I awoke with a grumbling stomach yearning for an all-around awesome breakfast! While my handsome husband, caught up on his zzzs, I started my into the kitchen.

After assessing my fridge and pantry I scrounged up: eggs, pancake batter (thanks to a friend's wedding favor), blueberries and veggies.

I decided to make fluffy scrambled eggs with a short stack of buttermilk-blueberry pancakes accompanied by Vermont Maple syrup.

For the eggs I started with chopping some onion and mushrooms, then I threw them in the saute pan with a touch of olive oil to get nice and golden. Next I beat up the eggs, added a touch of water and poured that into the saute pan, covering the veggies. I immediately added salt and pepper to the eggs, while stirring them often, to make sure they wouldn't stick to the pan. The heat should be on medium to make sure the eggs don't overcook.

Meanwhile, I was given pancake batter as a wedding favor gift, all I needed to add was water and an egg, once that was beaten up, I decided to add some blueberries. Then I made sure the skillet was hot, added olive oil and poured in the batter using a 1/3 measuring cup. Once the pancake bubbles on the side flip over for a few minutes.

Once the eggs are nice and fluffy, grate your favorite cheese on top, sprinkle with green onion and serve. Pile the stack of pancakes, drizzle with syrup. Ta da! Dive in to an all-around awesome breakfast for anyone!

Ahoy Matey! Come aboard for some Seafood Pasta!

Boy has it been crazy lately! My husband and I just started back to school as teachers and he as a football coach, so our lives are pretty hectic. Regardless of our schedules, we vow to slow down and eat healthy meals together. After I visited my brother up in Boston, I came back to an empty fridge with a lingering craving for seafood.

I decided to make a stop at our local market for some fresh squid and Cherry Stone clams. Once I got home I found some tomato sauce, onion, garlic, broccoli and whole wheat penne pasta. My menu had begun to form in my chef-tastic mind.

Seafood Pasta

1 lb squid (or shrimp/lobster/crab)
2 lbs cherry stone clams (or oysters or regular clams)
1 box whole wheat penne pasta
1 large 13 oz can of tomato sauce (plain)
1 small yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 head of broccoli
5 cups seafood stock
salt
pepper

First thing you want to do is put one cup of seafood stock and two cups of water into a pot to boil for the pasta. Next chop up your onion, crush your garlic and add that to a saute pan on medium high heat, with olive oil. Once the water is boiling, pour in the penne with a bit of olive oil. Stir it around so it won't stick. Stir your onion and garlic, once it's golden, add the tomato sauce- let simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, pull out your squid and begin to cut up the body into inch size pieces. If you have tentacles, leave them as is. Put the squid back into the fride to keep cool before cooking.

When the pasta is done, pour in a colander and set aside. Stir the tomato sauce occasionally, add in salt and pepper to taste. Grab your clams from the fridge, throw them in a sauce pan, add some seafood stock and cook at medium heat, covered. Once the twenty minutes are up, add the clams (they should've popped open), cover the sauce and clams for five minutes. Add in the squid for two minutes and serve over penne pasta. Top with a bit of crushed red pepper and basil if you feel a bit festive!

This dish will satisfy any seafood craving, take a bite, close your eyes and pretend you're sitting seaside with waves crashing on the sand.
Enjoy! xo Lo

Sassy Southwestern Beef Tacos

Lately, schedules in our house have taken a turn into c-r-a-z-y. My husband is a football coach and I am a teacher...our school year is about to start and two-a-days are in full throttle, for football season. Finding time to make healthy, fast meals out of leftovers, is crucial this time of year. The other night I had put some beef chuck into the fridge, from the freezer to thaw. I had leftover corn-on-the-cob, white corn tortillas, veggies and canned black beans.

I decided to marinate the chuck in a simple, zesty marinade, sear it on the grill pan, roast the corn and saute the veggies. The assembly would transform the ingredients to Southwestern beef tacos with a side of corn and black beans.

Zesty Marinade

2 Tbsp Worcestireshire
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chili pepper
1 tsp italian seasoning

Once your chuck is thawed, rub this marinade all over and let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Afterwards, add a bit of olive oil on the grill pan and place the chuck to grasp beautiful sear marks. Cook for 15-20 minutes (depending on how you prefer your beef to be cooked.)

Roasted Parmesan Corn

Take the corn on the cob, drizzle with olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms

Slice up 1/2 batch of mushrooms and 1/2 an onion. Heat a saute pan with olive oil, add veggies, salt and pepper then cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes.

Black Beans

Place the black beans in the sauce pan with a bit of salt and pepper and heat on low.

Assemble by frying up your tortillas in a touch of olive oil, slice your beef into strips, layer on your sauteed veggies, grate your cheddar or colby jack cheese. Ladle your beans into a side dish, top with a bit of grated cheese and green onion. Place corn on the plate and your mouth should be watering.

Enjoy! xo Lo

All-American Cuisine

I pride myself on being able to create leftovers into fabulous, healthy meals. Do you ever end up with a ton of extra bread, that you don't know what to do with? I have a savory, tasty recipe that will help use up that leftover bread!

Savory Bread Pudding

a loaf leftover bread (hamburger buns, bagels, etc)
1 cup milk
3 eggs (I didn't have eggs so I used this substitution: 1 egg= 2 Tbsp water + 2 Tbsp flour + 1/2  Tbsp butter + 1/2 tsp baking powder)
1/2 package of mushrooms
1/2 yellow onion
Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme)
salt
pepper

Cut your bread into cubes, place into a bowl. Add milk, eggs (or substitute) and seasoning on top of bread. Let bread soak up wet ingredients for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, saute onions and mushrooms with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. After bread has soaked up wet ingredients, pour mushroom mixture on top. Fold ingredients together. Spoon mixture into small bowls and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Ta da! Great usage of leftover bread!

Fresh Summer Salad

Mixed greens
1/2 cucumber
cherry tomatoes
strawberries

Rinse lettuce, slice cucumbers (keep the skin on for more nutrients), slice tomatoes in half, slice strawberries. Toss salad in a bowl.


Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette

1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp agave nectar (or honey)
1/2 lemon juiced
salt
pepper

Whisk olive oil, agave nectar, lemon juice and seasoning together until they meld together. Add more honey or lemon depending on taste.

Easy NY Strip Steak

The best way to cook a steak is with simple seasoning of salt and pepper, place on a grill or saute pan. Cook 5 minutes per side or however you like your steak cooked.

Sunday Funday Burgers and Mac n Cheese

What Sunday wouldn't be perfect without a juicy burger and creamy, cheesy mac n cheese? We are pretty healthy in our house but every so often we crave a big burger and some smack your lips macaroni and cheese. This can be easy to throw together from leftovers!


Bacon-Monterrey Jack Burger with Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms

1 lb of ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 cup monterrey jack cheese (shredded)
1/2 cup crisp, crumbled bacon
5 mushrooms sliced
1/4 onion sliced
salt
pepper
whole wheat buns (or bread)

Saute mushrooms and onions on medium-high heat with olive oil. Meanwhile, pound out your ground beef add bacon and cheese, then create patties about 1/4 lb (about an inch thick). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat up grill pan and grill burgers for 5 min per side or less depending on how you prefer your burgers to be cooked. Place buns or bread slices on the grill pan to toast, pile on your sauteed veggies and let the devouring begin!

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

1 box of rotini pasta (or elbow, penne)
2 cups of cheese (I used a combination of colby jack, queso fresco, habanero and cream cheese)
1 cup of milk
3 Tbsp butter
salt
pepper

Heat water on stove til boiling, sprinkle with olive oil and add pasta. Cook til al dente then add cheese, milk, butter, salt and pepper (preferably in a dutch oven or large sauce pan). Cover and let sit for 2 minutes to melt. Stir, cover and let sit for another 2 minutes over low heat. Assess and add more milk if it isn't creamy enough. Plate with your fantastic burger and indulge in your Sunday Funday meal!

Enjoy! xo Lo

Egg-tastic Omelet!

I am so used to making fried eggs that every now and then I try to think of other ways to fix my eggs. On this morning I had leftover pork chops from the night before, queso fresco and dill. Omelettes are super easy, first you want to heat up or cook the inside goodies.

I poured a lil olive oil into the saute pan and added the chopped up porkchops, onion and mushrooms. Once they were cooked, I set them aside on a plate. Next, make sure the saute pan is oiled then crack two eggs into a bowl and whisk them up, add a tidbit of water and continue to beat the eggs. When the pan is hot, pour the eggs into the pan. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper and let cook for a few minutes. Once the sides start to bubble, take a large utensil and flip the omelet over. Then load up your inner goodies (for me it was pork, queso fresco, onions and mushrooms) but you can put anything in a omelet. It's important to add cheese that way there is glue to keep everything together. Flip half the egg over so it looks similar to a taco, once cheese melts plate your delicious omelet and dig in!

xo Lo

Let's Thai this together!

I love Thai food! Some people may think that different culture's food is hard to make but it isn't. Don't know what to do with your leftover pasta, peanut butter, chicken and soy sauce? I've got the answer for you...a Thai feast.

Thai Chicken and Noodles with Peanut Sauce

1/2 box whole wheat spaghetti noodles (or whatever noodles you have)
6 cutlets of chicken (whatever chicken or turkey you have)
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
green onion (for garnish)
peanuts (for garnish)

First thing you need to do is put a pot of water on the stove for the noodles. In the meantime, chop up the yellow onion and garlic, put that into a saute pan with a bit of olive oil. Once the onion is golden, add in your chicken (chopped up). As chicken cooks, push it to the side and start with your peanut sauce. Add in a large spoonful of peanut butter into the pan, as it melts add in a tablespoon of soy sauce. Stir the peanut butter and soy sauce together until it melts then mix with the chicken. Add in the coconut milk to make it creamy. Add in the rest of the peanut butter and soy sauce. Cover and let the chicken mixture sit for 5 minutes on medium-low heat. When the water is boiling add in the spaghetti with a tad of olive oil. Check on chicken and taste sauce, add more coconut milk, peanut butter or soy sauce as needed. The peanut sauce should taste like a salty, peanuty, creamy flavor. Once noodles are done, drain in a colander. By this time chicken should be cooked. Put noodles in the bowl top with chicken and peanut sauce. Garnish with peanuts and freshly chopped green onion.

This dish had my husband doing the happy dance, he was definitely impressed and very happy! I hope your company feels the same. This dish is loaded with protein from the chicken, peanut butter and healthy carbs with the whole wheat pasta.

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Ay Mamacita! Chicken Enchiladas Suizas

Yesterday was my husband's mother's birthday, she passed away 10 years ago and would've been 57 years old. We decided we wanted to celebrate her birthday and memory by eating what she would've eaten. My husband tells me she loved hamburgers, Dr. Pepper and Mexican food...so he put me up to the challenge to make some homemade enchiladas.

After stopping by the grocery store for our necessities I got to work, if you have a dutch oven or large sauce pan grab it and follow the recipe below.

Ingredient List

3 cups water
2 cups chicken stock (always better than chicken broth)
2-3 lbs of roma tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers
1 yellow onion
3 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
1/3 cup of Mexican crema (or sour cream...but Mexican crema is miles better)
1/3 cup Queso Fresca (white Mexican crumbly cheese)
12 white, corn tortillas (try to get the "homemade" kind)
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup vegetable, canola or olive oil (for frying)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 can of black beans
salt & pepper

The first thing you want to do is put 3 cups of water, 2 cups of chicken stock, chicken breasts, bay leaves, 2 cloves of garlic (whole) , salt and pepper into your dutch oven or large sauce pan, turn it up on medium-high heat. Once the pot comes to a boil, turn down to medium to simmer and set your timer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, turn your broiler on high, place tomatoes and jalapenos on baking sheet with aluminum foil underneath- put tomatoes and jalapenos in broiler for 12 minutes.

Start dicing up 3/4 of your onion, turn chicken, tomatoes and jalapeno to make sure all side are being cooked. After 12 minutes put tomatoes into a blender, slice jalapeno in half, de-seed and peel off the skin. Pour remaining juices from the pan into the blender, take out garlic cloves from the chicken pot and put into blender. Place additional garlic clove into blender as well. Puree the tomato-jalapeno mixture until smooth.

Once chicken is done take out of pot and place on a plate to cool. Discard the bay leaves and pour the chicken liquid into a bowl for later use. Drizzle olive oil into the same dutch oven or sauce pan and saute the diced onions for about three minutes, or until they are golden- on medium heat. After the onions are golden, pour in the tomato-jalapeno puree. Change heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Add in 3 cups of chicken stock liquid and let the sauce cook down- about 20 minutes.

After the chicken has cooled, shred chicken and discard skin, bones and icky stuff. Add in Mexican crema and half of the queso fresca, let sit until sauce is ready.

Get oil ready for frying in a skillet or saute pan. When tomato-jalapeno sauce is ready pour 1 1/2 cups onto the bottom of a 13x9 deep, baking dish. Save extra chicken stock and tomato-jalapeno sauce for later use, think soups, rice, pasta or chicken!

Fry tortillas 20 seconds per side, immediately stuff about 2 Tbs of chicken mixture into each tortilla roll up, seam down. (This is easier as a two person job.) Once all tortillas are stuffed, sprinkle any extra chicken on top then pour another cup of the sauce on the enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining queso fresca and remaining sliced yellow onion.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until hot and cheese has melted throughout. While enchiladas are baking put can of black beans into a sauce pan with olive oil and heat up. To plate pour beans on the plate then pile enchiladas on top with additional queso fresca. If this doesn't make you want to drink a margarita, I don't know what will!

xo Lo

Breakfast for Champions

As I have mentioned before, breakfast is my all-time favorite meal of the day...and I loathe missing it. Eggs are definitely my favorite ingredient when making breakfast but this next recipe comes as a close second. Salmon Lox and Bagels, piled with lucious cream cheese, salty capers, crunchy red onion and juicy tomatoes. Plus I made a side of berry fruit salad to go with this decadent creation.

My husband and I absolutely love lox and bagels...recently we were staying at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas for our honeymoon and found ourselves ordering the Bellagio Cafe's salmon lox and bagels more than a few times for breakfast. As soon as we got back home my husband insisted that we buy everything to make our own salmon lox and bagels. This recipe showcases that:

Salmon Lox & Bagels

1 package of fresh smoked salmon
1 package of original cream cheese (none of that low-fat stuff...yuck!)
1/4 cup sliced red onion
2 Tbs capers
1/2 lemon
fresh bakery bagels (we used whole wheat but any kind is delicious)
tomatoes (we used cherry tomatoes)

Now for assembly, toast the bagels in a toaster, toaster oven, on a skillet or we toasted them on our grill pan. We lightly drizzled olive oil on each and placed face down with the press on top. Meanwhile start your fruit salad.


Berry Fruit Salad

You want to make sure you use fruits that won't perish easily. Stick to berries: cherries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries. I added kiwi to this batch and it only worked well the first few days then the kiwi started to get mushy. Rinse your fruit, pat down, add to bowl, add some lemon zest, a fresh squeeze of lemon juice and your refreshing fruit salad is ready!

Back to your Lox and Bagels

Slice up your red onion into thin strips, slice your tomatoes into thick slices, once your bagels are toasted remove from pan and let them cool. Once cooled, spread the cream cheese on top (I love cream cheese so I make a thick layer), top with capers (that way they don't roll off your bagel), then add the onion, tomato and place pieces of smoked salmon at the very top. Squeeze fresh lemon to bring out the fantastic flavor of smoked salmon, sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper. Then you are ready to serve!

This recipe may seem a bit odd to some of you but you must try this breakfast...with the combination of flavors it will be as if fireworks are going off in your mouth. Bon appetit!

xo Lo