We all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, yadda yadda yadda . . . but it can't be denied that after all those hours of restful slumber (who am I kidding . . . but still!), your body needs fuel to kick start the day. I work full-time, fly solo with our boys in the morning, and refuse to sacrifice my already few and precious hours of sleep for a significant chunk of time to whip of breakfast, but I definitely dig a hot, hearty, and healthy meal if I have to be up before the sun anyway. My solution has been to have a few "go-to" breakfasts that literally take me a few minutes to put together while making lunch for myself, packing a snack and getting the Bean's backpack ready, and trying desperately to get the IV started on my coffee.
I realize this might sound wacky, but it's all yum . . . promise.
1 slice whole wheat bread
1 egg
olive oil cooking spray
1 wedge Laughing Cow cheese (I prefer something with a little flavor on this one . . . Light Bleu Cheese and Light Queso Fresco Chipotle are my faves)
1 T homemade raspberry jam*
Toast the bread. Simple.
Spray a small skillet with olive oil cooking spray and heat.
Crack egg. (I did say this was easy, right?)
Wait for toast and egg. I cook the egg on one side until the white is opaque and the "goo" isn't so gooey, then turn off the burner and flip it.
Spread Laughing Cow on the toast, spread raspberry jam on top of that, and plop your egg right on top.
Enjoy!
* Side note: I refuse to buy jam packed with junk at the store. Check out that long list of strange ingredients. Jam should = fruit which should = delicious and remotely healthy, not packed with chemicals. Raspberry jam is insanely simple to make on your own with more or less equal parts white sugar (or less) and mashed raspberries. No pectin required and that lovely red color? All natural. No nasty Red 40 here. While I've done this before, I am also fortunate to have pretty much the world's best mother-in-law who makes jam with my boys in the summer like it is going out of style.
* Side-side note: I add a bowl of blueberries on the side. Yes, pretty much everyday. They are not only delicious, but insanely good for you. In the winter we buy frozen. In the summer we do fresh as well.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Southwest Chicken Wraps
Amazing! These were inspired by a recipe on Pinterest and, because I rarely follow the rules when it comes to recipes, I made it my own . . . changing it quite a bit really. They went over well with the hubs. The kids who are uber-picky when it comes to "mixed" foods selective in their diets, weren't the biggest fans, but they were good enough for us to say, "Tough bounce. We're making them again." Served with a side of corn and plain rice, they had enough to eat. This is something you can definitely add to as well, so be sure to comment if you have some good ideas!
approx. 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
garlic powder or 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 red pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
4-6 green onions, chopped
3 T. lime juice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups cooked brown rice
ground cumin
sea salt
2 c. shredded cheddar jack cheese
plain yogurt
burrito size tortillas
1. heat 2 T. evoo in a large skillet
2. in skillet, cook chicken breasts seasoned with garlic powder until almost cooked through
3. add chopped red pepper and green onions into the same skillet
4. when chicken has finished cooking, use 2 forks to shred into bite-sized pieces while still in the skillet
5. drizzle about lime juice over the top and allow chicken, peppers, and onions to simmer in the juice
6. in small bowl, combine rice and black beans; season with garlic powder, ground cumin, and salt to taste
7. heat another large skillet (or, if you're like me, dump the contents of the skillet into a large glass bowl, quickly wipe out the chicken skillet and reuse because you're too practical to have countless skillets that you don't regularly use and / or don't want to donate storage space to multiple, huge skillets) and spray with olive oil cooking spray
8. spread approximately 1-2 T. plain yogurt around a tortilla, leaving about a 1/2 inch from the edge
9. sprinkle with cheese and add rice and bean mixture, then chicken mixture
10. tuck sides in and carefully roll
11. place wraps in heated skillet seam side down (my skillet comfortably held 2-3)
12. heat through on low heat, allowing to brown; flip to brown and crisp the other side
13. enjoy!
PS - I will never be hired to layout cookbooks. I am okay with that.
approx. 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
garlic powder or 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 red pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
4-6 green onions, chopped
3 T. lime juice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups cooked brown rice
ground cumin
sea salt
2 c. shredded cheddar jack cheese
plain yogurt
burrito size tortillas
1. heat 2 T. evoo in a large skillet
2. in skillet, cook chicken breasts seasoned with garlic powder until almost cooked through
3. add chopped red pepper and green onions into the same skillet
4. when chicken has finished cooking, use 2 forks to shred into bite-sized pieces while still in the skillet
5. drizzle about lime juice over the top and allow chicken, peppers, and onions to simmer in the juice
6. in small bowl, combine rice and black beans; season with garlic powder, ground cumin, and salt to taste
7. heat another large skillet (or, if you're like me, dump the contents of the skillet into a large glass bowl, quickly wipe out the chicken skillet and reuse because you're too practical to have countless skillets that you don't regularly use and / or don't want to donate storage space to multiple, huge skillets) and spray with olive oil cooking spray
8. spread approximately 1-2 T. plain yogurt around a tortilla, leaving about a 1/2 inch from the edge
9. sprinkle with cheese and add rice and bean mixture, then chicken mixture
10. tuck sides in and carefully roll
11. place wraps in heated skillet seam side down (my skillet comfortably held 2-3)
12. heat through on low heat, allowing to brown; flip to brown and crisp the other side
13. enjoy!
So yesterday we took the boys to Brunswick Zone XL. Mr. B, four, spent all morning and early afternoon excitedly reminding me that "We haven't been bow-ing in in a wong time! This is going to be fuuuuun!" only to throw his hands up and quit after his first ball took approximately 437 minutes to reach the pins. No amount of cajoling or encouragement would convince him that it was okay and he should try again. He instead spent the whole time reminding us how hungry he was. Dude. Eat something. Anyway, the rest of us had a blast and happily bowled our hearts out. The Bean, six, took the whole thing very seriously and made it his goal to bowl better for himself than his brother. Competition is strong. For my part, I was crossing my fingers right up until the very end that I'd overtake hubby's score and swore the 10th frame was going to make it happen for me. It didn't and I didn't. (But I'm still clueless about where the Bean gets his competitive streak.)
After bowling we headed to the arcade and threw $20 on a card. I will say that the card lasted a relatively long time, but only because Mr. B and Daddy spent most of the time "pwaying the racing game" while the Bean and I played every other cheesy arcade game known to man. PURE JOY! Seriously. Total hoot! We even "won" an Angry Birds green pig when the game stole our money and the high school kid who worked there sweetly opened the machine and let the Bean pick out whatever he wanted. Worth $20 to see the look on his face when he got his hot little hands on that silly green pig?! You betcha'!
We followed up the craziness with dinner out and a family movie at home. Lots of cozy good times to be had by all. There is nothing like being surrounded by those souls who love you best and for whom you'd give anything in the world . .. just relaxing and living the good life. Sometimes you just gotta' slow it down.
After bowling we headed to the arcade and threw $20 on a card. I will say that the card lasted a relatively long time, but only because Mr. B and Daddy spent most of the time "pwaying the racing game" while the Bean and I played every other cheesy arcade game known to man. PURE JOY! Seriously. Total hoot! We even "won" an Angry Birds green pig when the game stole our money and the high school kid who worked there sweetly opened the machine and let the Bean pick out whatever he wanted. Worth $20 to see the look on his face when he got his hot little hands on that silly green pig?! You betcha'!
We followed up the craziness with dinner out and a family movie at home. Lots of cozy good times to be had by all. There is nothing like being surrounded by those souls who love you best and for whom you'd give anything in the world . .. just relaxing and living the good life. Sometimes you just gotta' slow it down.
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