Hey all! I can’t believe June is almost past us and summer is on! We already have had the weather hit near 108 F and it’s been a hot one. You’d think I would get used to this since I’ve lived here all my life. yea… no. Even waking up at 4am for a bike ride does not help escape the heat unfortunately. I guess I may have to revisit swimming again 🙂 One thing I love to cool down with is a refreshing smoothie, popsicle, or anything topped with frozen fruit. We need to make a Costco run and get one of those giant bags of frozen fruit because I think we’ve been going through at least 3 bags of raspberries, blueberries, and cherries every week! For me, I’m all about contrasting flavors as well, so I have to top it with some kind of crunch. (more…)
June 26, 2011
May 3, 2010
nice day for a ride!
Well, the weekend has come and gone and I can’t believe I’m sitting here and it’s already 9:00 pm PST on Monday, geezsh! I guess this amazement in time mostly stems from the fact that I spent pretty much all the afternoon on a exhausting and glorious 56 mile bike ride, yay! I was hoping to get in 60, but when I started riding around my neighborhood to get in some extra miles, eyeing my Garmin like a hawk for each precious mile, I figured, eh I better head on home. Plus my legs were a ready for some rest!
Just a quick, itsy bitsy weekend re-cap . . . (more…)
April 18, 2010
girls day out + flax-date waffles
It’s been such a lovely day today that I don’t want this weekend to end!! Well, don’t I say that every weekend? 🙂 The weather is certainly warming up here in good ol’ Vegas and it’s actually quite HOT! I hate to say it but we had to turn on the AC last night since it was 82F inside. I can’t sleep unless it’s at least 79F, because I’m like a radiating furnace once I go to bed.
Last night I couldn’t really decide what to have for dinner because when I went grocery shopping for the week on Saturday, I somehow forgot about Saturday night! (more…)
January 1, 2010
don’t want it to end
HAPPY NEW YEAR! mmm breakfast was lovely . . . After stumbling from our slumber after a late night at 10:30am(!!) Chris made us all some omelets. We still had some leftover spaghetti squash, roasted veggies and meatloaf from the other night, so he threw some of that in there along with some dried oregano which complements eggs very well.
It was a protein-packed breakfast, perfect after a late night and a few drinks 🙂 I also heard them talking on the Today Show this morning about having coconut water for hangovers . . . love that stuff! I actually didn’t have any kind of headache this morning thanks to sleep and lots of water in between drinks 🙂
I’m loving that spaghetti squash and have been thinking of different ways to use it. Here it’s pretty good in the omelet and on top as a garnish 🙂 Alongside I also had 1/2 a pear, 1/4 sliced naner, 1/2 a kiwi and a slice of whole wheat toast.
~~~~~
Now for a little recap of yesterday and New Year’s celebrations! Did you have a nice New Year’s? I can’t believe it’s already 2010, where did it go? I’m hoping 2010 will be a year of new beginnings and aspirations, but that will have to be a different post 🙂
I hope you’ve enjoyed my extra food postage lately because I certainly have! It’s been so much fun and I really enjoy it. I just wish I had this kind of time all the time.
New Year’s Eve morning breakfast included a bowl of TJ’s honey Greek yogurt mixed with pumpkin pie spice. I topped the yogurt with a variety of cereals, 1/2 a pear, frozen blueberries, and about 2 tsp of TJ’s organic peanut butter.
After doing a little window shopping with my mom, we came home for a late lunch. Utilizing the leftovers yet again (can you tell we always use leftovers in this household? lol) I made a meatloaf sammie with roasted veggies and spaghetti squash on the side.
I also decided to have a nice cup of Candy Cane Lane tea to warm up. I couldn’t seem to get warm yesterday since it was rainy and chilly outside. I really like this flavor! It’s nice and minty and warmed me right up!
I also had a TJ’s peppermint Joe Joe cookie. mmm these are awesome with little chunks of real candy cane in the middle.
They are a seasonal product, so get ‘em while they’re hot!
After getting ready for our night out, we headed to a local wine bar/lounge to celebrate the New Year Mardi Gras style. We usually go to a friend’s annual party, but she decided not to have one this year 🙁 The Wine Loft just recently opened and we saw an ad that they were going to have a New Year’s party with live entertainment, so we decided to give it a shot!
It was gorgeous inside and I would enjoy coming here with friends for a relaxing glass of wine and small plate. The menu looked really good.
It was a lot of fun! Tickets included a glass of house cab, red beans and rice, muffaletta sandwiches, various munchies and a glass of champagne at midnight.
The Grand Cru cab that was included was actually pretty nice. It was fruit forward and medium-bodied. While lacking in fullness and finish, I still enjoyed it. And it was only $6 a glass!
I munched on some veggies, about 5 cheese cubes and 5 or so crackers, all while chatting the night away.
I’m not a fan of green olives, and just picked them off the muffaletta. It was yummy! I didn’t have any red beans and rice since it was pretty spicy and kidney beans can sometimes be trouble for me lol Throughout the night I had 2 glasses of the cab. I made sure to have a glass of water during and after each glass of wine. This makes such a difference in the morning 🙂
We also ordered and shared some baked brie en croute mmm gooey cheese is glorious! I had a bit too much cheese!
Poor Chris wasn’t feeling too well, but he was a trooper and tried to have a good time with his water and sudafed.
With the countdown of the New Year, we toasted with some champagne and stayed around a little longer while the band played a few more songs. I had about 2 sips of champagne (I’m not a fan of the dry stuff) and a brownie they provided for dessert.
I had such a wonderfully relaxing time here and I’m not looking forward to leaving early tomorrow morning 🙁 It went too darn fast! I started thinking about it last night and I got all teary eyed. Heck, I’m thinking about it again right now and getting teary eyed! Being away from family is really really tough for me and I’m hoping the shock of getting back won’t be too overwhelming . . . next time we meet I’ll be back in Vegas and back to the grind . . . hope you all enjoyed your holidays! I sure had a nice time and am so thankful for it all.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wishing you all the best in 2010!
December 29, 2009
a simple breakfast
Most mornings there isn’t much time to prepare an elaborate breakfast and I’m sure most of you can surely relate. Because of this we tend to fall into a routine, having the same 2 or 3 breakfast staples that are easy to make and tweak according to our cravings for the day. I don’t think this is bad thing at all, especially if it’s healthy, filling and wholesome. Plus different components can be adjusted based on what’s at hand, like different fruits, cereals, etc. What breakfast should be is a priority every day, even with the limited time we have in the mornings. I don’t think I’ve ever not gone without breakfast, or at least try to grab something quick out the door. It gets the metabolism going, the brain functioning and prevents over eating throughout the day.
Breakfast is one of my favorites. Hello Morning!
Extending the wonderful breakfast for lunch I had yesterday at Toast, I wanted to utilize the leftover raspberry walnut pancakes somehow because they were so tasty. For something simple, I warmed up 1/2 the pancake, topped it with a fried egg, a sprinkling of 2% cheese and a small slice of salty bacon.
On the side I used 1/2 a pear as a bowl for some NF Greek yogurt with cinnamon. mmm . . . breakfast doesn’t have to be something elaborate every day.
Yep, something simple and to your liking will do just fine . . .
Other breakfast staples of mine during the busy week, that aren’t anything extraordinary but fit the bill include:
- bowl of whole grain cereals (I have to mix about 4 different kinds!), 1% milk or soymilk, topped with sliced banana and a small handful of nuts.
- peanut butter naan – toasted whole wheat naan, topped with pb and jam, a scoop of low fat cottage cheese, cereal and fruit. It’s like a cottage cheese open-faced sandwich.
- and if there’s time, I like to of course whip up a batch of good ol’ oats with hundreds of different topping/mix-in combos 🙂
Today we are going to spend time with my aunt and little cousin that are in town visiting! We’re going to be romping around with the animals . . . hehe
What’s your favorite simple and quick breakfast staple?
December 22, 2009
even more holiday parties
Sorry I’ve been MIA lately! I seemed to have killed yet another hard drive, so I have been without a computer for a little while. While the hard drive that I was using was an old one from Chris’ laptop, he let me borrow yet another laptop from his work. Hopefully I can keep this one functioning until mine comes back again. I anticipate that it will be back today, just in time before I leave to see my mom! I’m actually hoping that it will break one more time though, because if it does I’ll be able to get a new one yippee! I haven’t had the greatest luck with my new laptop, while I had my last one for 7 years with no troubles hmmm
Anyway, I wanted to re-cap on some more holiday parties! On Friday night we were going to have another couple come over for a fun pizza making party. Unfortunately, our one friend got stuck at work till late and they decided to cancel 🙁 But, Chris and I still had a bunch of fun making pizza and drinking a little vino together! It’s a super fun idea for a party though. You simply make the dough and toppings the night before, take the dough out about 4 hours before the party to come to room temperature and then let your guests assemble to their liking. This is also great if you have vegetarian guests because everything can be kept separate too.
Toppings included: chicken sausage, mushrooms, roasted squash, roasted bell peppers, olives and cheese!
I have to say that the Willow Springs cab is THE best I’ve had, and it goes really well with a 5 year aged Gouda that I picked up from Whole Foods for a treat, & at $15.99/lb I don’t get it very often. The cab is incredibly fruity and luscious with a nice balance of tannin and earth. Pretty much any fruity red goes well with gouda though. Chris’ parents got this cab for us from a wine club they belonged to, but I’m not sure if it can even be ordered anymore 🙁
We also had some little munchie things for appetizers, including whole grain crackers, roasted red pepper hummus and bell pepper strips. It was a lot of fun! I had a glass & a 1/2 of the wine and I also downed a coconut water afterwards, I find it helps with hydration and any tummy issues 🙂
The next morning I had prepped this breakfast casserole (adapted from CookingLight) and it was super easy to just plop in the oven. This is great for company 🙂 I use 1/2 the bread it calls for and add in lots more veggies.
The next party was the cookie exchange with the SwankyRD! It was so nice to see Kristen again and chat with everyone there. Oh my goodness, there were cookies and goodies everywhere!! I ended up filling up two plates full of them since Kristen said to take them away hehe I actually didn’t eat too much at the party surprisingly, but did have a glass of red wine, an appetizer sandwich, some veggies and about a bite from 6 cookies. They were all delicious!
I decided to make the gluten-free chocolate chip cookies from Tam, which turned out to be phenomenal in my opinion. I could hardly tell the difference between regular chocolate chip and to tell the truth I liked them better! Check out the recipe here. I also made chocolate baklava from Cooking Light and it was a huge hit too. Even though this recipe is a bit time consuming with all the phyllo layers, I would highly recommend it.
Aren’t they just precious? Yes, I talk to my food and love every aspect that goes into it. It’s just so neat 🙂
The baklava was to die for with every heavenly layer of phyllo, melted butter, nutella, pistachios, almonds, walnuts, cinnamon and honey. Yum!
After the party Kristen and I decided to check out Chef Guy Fieri’s Road Show at the House of Blues. It was a lot of fun to see him in person! I just wish he would have went on sooner because by 10 o’clock, I’m pooped. We left at 11:30 and it still wasn’t quite over. Afterwards, I wanted to grab something to eat and decided on a self-serve yogurt shop next door, I know not the best, but it was sure refreshing! We decided to check out the lounge/club in the Mandalay Bay called the Foundation Room. It was actually a lot of fun and the DJ was playing some great music. Even though there wasn’t much of a dance floor, we
were sure getting our groove on 🙂 I love to dance, especially hip hop, and could dance all night practically, but knew I better head back before my body started to rebel from lack of sleep. I didn’t get to bed until 2am! I haven’t done that in ages.
There sure was a nice view from the top!
I didn’t even have any drinks, but the next day I tried to get up early and my head was throbbing, so I went back to sleep till 11am! I haven’t done that in ages either, geezsh, I think I’m getting old 🙂 It was such a fun night though.
I can’t believe we are leaving to see my mom tomorrow!! I’m so excited to just get away for a little while. We don’t get back till the 2nd, but I still plan on blogging if my computer doesn’t break first.
I may be doing my first blogger meet-up too! I’ve been talking with Laural and Diana who both live in the same area as my mom, so that should be fun. I’m really looking forward to it. I just adore all of you guys and all you do.
In other news . . . I’m hoping to make a final decision on a thesis topic, dun dun dun. . . Here’s what I’m thinking so far, let me know what you think . . . Emily gave me the greatest idea to look at the use of probiotics in athletes and then I want to look at the rates of URTIs/sick days in athletes in a collegiate winter sport. Or I was wanting to look at the benefits of corporate wellness or do something with corporate wellness because I have an interest with this as a future career. I have to figure out how I would even do these studies along with research, research, research. Thanks for all your ideas and encouragement!
I have also finally purchased a new blog template for WordPress!!!! I’ve been wanting to do this and spruce up the blog for a long long time now. I’m a bit overwhelmed with how to use it and transfer everything over, but hopefully I can figure it out over the little break. I also contacted Zesty to see if he can help out, so stay tuned! Maybe I’ll have to do some kind of new blog giveaway? It will be a surprise!
Many thanks for all your support and wonderful comments. I love everything about this blogging community, and while we may get a few negative comments here and there, all the positive ones make all the difference in the world to me. I send you wonderful holiday wishes, yummy food and dishes, and happy new beginnings all year through 🙂
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
October 9, 2009
BEST pumpkin pancakes. period.
Happy Friday to everyone!! This week went by pretty fast and I actually got some good gym time in, yay! I think this weekend is going to be packed already, and there will be no room for dilly dallying like last weekend 🙂
Tonight for the Viva Bike Vegas Ride they are having a pasta party for all the riders and friends/family. Frankly I could make a butt-load of pasta myself for $10, but I want to go and support Chris and chat with the other riders. I’ve been having Chris eat predominately carbs towards the end of the week to maximize his stores and calories. I also told him to go easy on the pasta. Just stuffing your face the night before won’t help and will make you feel bloated and icky in the morning. He still needs to make sure to get a substantial meal in, especially since it will start early in the morning and will last at least 6 1/2 hours.
Saturday is the ride! Gosh, I think I’m more nervous than he is. I don’t want my guy to ‘hit the wall’ and end up like that video I recently posted. I think he’s going to do awesome, but I still worry like always 🙂 Consistency will be key and making sure to fuel up at every station.
This weekend I have to study for my research methods midterm on Monday . . . eek! I also have to paint, organize and decorate the guest room for my mom when she comes in less than two weeks. Wednesday I leave for the SCAN sports nutrition workshop at the Olympic Training Center. Lots to do!
One of the high carb meals we had this week was breakfast for dinner!! Who doesn’t like warm pancakes at any meal?! I decided to make my favorite WW pumpkin pancake recipe from Pinch My Salt. They come out golden, fluffy and full of spicy, pumpkin flavor. You can find it here.
Instead of whip cream, I like to use Greek yogurt.
I added one vanilla bean and it was out of this world, bursting with intense vanilla flavor.
I’ll save the rest of the beans for vanilla ice cream or pudding. Any ideas?
I put the rest of the pod in the sugar jar to give it some more vanilla flavor. Yum!
Along with it I made a little omelet, with roasted red peppers, grilled chicken and spinach, and of course real maple syrup. Yum!
This is really easy to prep before hand too. Just separate the wet and dry ingredients and then mix together when you want to make them and enjoy! I just couldn’t resist and had to have another one 😉
Buster likes to help with the dishes too.
It’s funny he has to be right in the middle of the kitchen and I have to be careful I don’t trip over him!
Each time I go to the farmer’s market I plan to get a new variety of mushrooms to try out. This week I decided on this . . .
Looks very strange! It’s a wild Oregon mushroom, but I can’t remember the exact name of it. Maybe one of you mushroom experts out there can help. It sure looks similar to a Maitake? I’m not sure exactly what to do with it, but I was thinking of some kind of mushroom Bolognese, we’ll see!
I hope you have a great weekend 🙂
August 31, 2009
eating healthy on a budget
{Just a little weekend recap} Once again the weekend just flew by and it was pretty packed! Saturday I went with a friend to get pampered with a pedicure and lunch. Then I went to a gardening class at my work (UNCE). It was really interesting, and I hope to eventually start a little raised bed in our backyard, if not for the fall, hopefully next spring. I’m just wondering when I would have the time to garden in addition to work, grad school and other life happenings. Do any of you garden?
Sunday we went for a nice bike ride to Boulder City. It was only 21 miles but I tried to push myself pretty hard to see if I could keep up with the faster pack. um, yeah. I started a little behind and just couldn’t keep up! At one point I almost gained some ground, but I was sucking air and figured I better take it easy since it was really hot outside. I just have to keep at it! I also got my first pair of bike shoes and clipless pedals. Yep, I guess they are called clipless, not clip-in, like I thought. I hope I can get out of them in time to stop or else I’ll be having a few crashes, oh dear. I’m still trying to figure out how I can take pictures while I’m riding. I can barely grab my water bottle without wobbling all over the place!
For my adv sports nutrition class we have a project looking at a sports supplement/group of supplements and seeing if research supports its claims. Anyone have a good idea for a supplement/ergogenic aid? There are just so many out there, I’m trying to decide. {end weekend recap}
I try to eat flexitarian most of the time, not only because it’s pretty darn healthy, but it’s also very budget-friendly. I usually only eat meat 4-5 times per week or less and try to incorporate meat alternatives like tofu or beans to provide some variety. I posted about this before here when I made yummy falafels, one of my favorite vegetarian meals.
Chris and I usually spend anywhere from $70-80/week for two people eating breakfast, lunch and dinner from home. Sometimes I have to control myself because grocery shopping for me is like a kid in a candy store! I swear I could spend hours in a place like Whole Foods just finding tons of things that I could buy and try, dangerous! Having a recipe plan beforehand helps to keep me on track. We eat out about 3-4x/month and try to keep this to a minimum. I mostly shop at Trader Joe’s and Walmart and mostly buy basics, that is things that are unprocessed, because it is usually almost always cheaper if you make it and chop it yourself. It may take a little bit longer, but in the long run it is worth it for health and saving money.
Recently I found a blog that is great for active vegetarians called No Meat Athlete. Recently he posted a recipe for corn-type pancakes for dinner. I thought this was a great idea so I decided to try my hand at it because, well one, it looked pretty easy and fast for a weeknight meal, and two, it was cheap! Yes please!
I made the batter for the pancakes and found it was a bit too runny for me. I wanted some more structure and puff to them, so I adapted a recipe from CookingLight and they turned out pretty darn good. They were just like pancakes and had a nice texture from the cornmeal. I topped them with the black bean mixture and added a can of fire roasted maters and an oh so glorious poached egg and mozzarella cheese. I just love egg yolk! I completely believe that whole eggs can be a part of a healthy diet, because while it is high in cholesterol, saturated fat can be more detrimental to our lipid profiles.
For the corny cakes:
- 1/2 cup WW flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned corn, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 2 large eggs
- Cumin, chili powder, garlic powder all purpose seasoning
Simply mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and the wet ingredients in a smaller bowl. Add the wet to the dry and mix. Cook them over medium heat in a large pan or griddle until golden.
For the black bean topping:
- 1 can black beans, drained
- 1 can fire roasted maters
- 1/2 cup canned corn
- cumin, oregano, chili powder
Mix ingredients in a pot and heat together.
For the poached egg:
Gently boil a pot of water with about 1 tbsp of white vinegar. Gently pour egg into the water and simmer until desired degree of doneness (about 4-5 minutes). I always have had a hard time making my poached eggs perfectly round, but it didn’t turn out too bad this time. Do you have any secrets to the perfect poached egg?
Mid-bite yolky goodness . . .
This was such a satisfying meal and very filling with the beans! These pancakes are also great for breakfast or as a pancake sandwich, yum!
What are your best tips for eating healthy on a budget? Any ergogenic aid ideas?
Have a great week!
May 27, 2009
hello kitchen my name is . . .kristen
After eating out too much, searching for any kind of coupons we could find, and scrambling to make random things to eat like peanut butter and jelly and cereal for dinner throughout the moving and transformation process, I missed cooking terribly! This past weekend, and starting now, I feel like I’ve gotten acquainted with my new kitchen . . . finally! And I think we are actually going to work well together.
My new kitchen isn’t gi-normous, but it is pretty efficient for an average kitchen. I have a good amount of counter space to work with which is near the gas stove (it doesn’t heat the whole house . .yay!) and garbage can, so I don’t have to move too far to get things. I am loving the pantry and new fridge space too! We actually have some shelves in the fridge that are still empty. Definitely beats the packed freezer, stacked just right so everything didn’t come tumbling down ha! When I look around at ‘our’ house, I get smiley to think that I actually have a house. It’s really weird to me actually and I’m still getting used to the idea.
I have to say that there are definitely many surprises to home ownership, and not a day goes by really when something new doesn’t come up that needs to be done, fixed, changed, bought . . . and bought again! I swear there is always something to buy and I’m wondering where the heck the stimulus money went? The other day the medicine cabinet fell out of the wall and shattered everywhere. Well, there goes another 100 bucks! We’ll have to slow down on our projects now, but everything feels settled and livable. The painting is all done except the guest room, laundry, molding and touch-up! Let the saving and frugal decorating begin! We still have to get a dining table and I also bought some drapes on sale. It’s coming together and it feels good to see a little, yes little, lull in the future 🙂
Chris and I went on our first bike ride from the new place the other day and there are tons of bike paths to choose from! We are so happy to have such easy access to them. Our other place was right off a busy street and shopping centers. While the shopping was very convenient, it wasn’t very pleasant on a bike to get to a decent path away from all the traffic. Yay for long bike rides!
I’ve been wanting to make Gina’s Granola recipe forever now because it looks like just the kind of granola I like . . . nice and crunchy, stuck together in chunks, almost like a bar. And let me tell you it was all that I thought it was going to be . . . perfect! I actually baked it in too small a pan, so I crumbled it on a cookie sheet and baked it some more. Then I made the mistake of going to the garage to organize and I forgot about it! It got a little toasty, but it was still oh so good. I had to restrain myself (and Chris) from devouring the entire batch. I think I will make a double batch next time so it will last us at least a week. Wow, thanks Gina! I’ve been looking for a granola recipe that is like Bear Naked that won’t break the bank and I’ve finally found it.
I also decided to make a quinoa-crusted friquisha. I call it friquisha because it’s a cross between a frittata and a quiche. The filling is very versatile and you can practically add anything you have on hand to make it your own. I like to roast a bunch of veggies and then I have some leftover for other meals during the week. Paired with a nice side salad, this is a refreshing twist on dinner that can also work well for brunch or breakfast on the go the next day.
Quinoa-Crusted Frittata
For the crust:
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 cup chicken broth or water
- 1/4 cup parmesan
- 1 egg
- salt, pepper, all-purpose seasoning
Preheat oven to 425. Boil the broth or water, add the quinoa, simmer and cover for about 12-15 minutes until tender. Let cool slightly, add parmesan, egg, cheese and seasoning and mix. Place into a 9-in pie plate (I use silicon) and bake at 425 for about 10-15 minutes until firm and golden.
For the filling:
- 1 cup egg substitute
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup non-fat half-n-half or milk or greek yogurt
- 2 apple chicken sausage links (or your fav), chopped and sautéed in pan until golden
- various roasted veggies (I used zucchini, sweet taters and mushrooms at 425 for about 30-40 minutes)
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar
- crumbled herbed goat cheese (I used TJ’s brand)
- salt, pepper, all purpose seasoning
Simply mix the egg sub, eggs, half-n-half, goat cheese and seasonings in a bowl. Put one layer of veggies, sausage and cheddar down over the crust, and alternate with the egg mixture. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce oven to 350 and bake for another 25 minutes depending on your pie size until golden and poofy. Enjoy with a nice side salad!
For dessert, I had some angel food cake and some strawberries. Although some vanilla ice cream would have been nice, I topped it with a dollop of TJ’s greek honey yogurt. Yum! I could only eat 1/2 of this and Chris took the rest.
There will be a surprise coming to us on Sunday, a new little visitor . . . stay tuned!
How do you cope with the stresses of work, school, life, moving or whatever it may be?
February 9, 2009
one recipe, so many possibilities
Pizza dough is the best when it comes to stretching your food dollar and its a lot of fun too! With just this one whole wheat pizza dough recipe, which I first featured here, when we made calzones, we made 5 pizzas this time around! Making your own pizza is great too because you can put pretty much any kind of topping you want on there and experiment with other ingredients or leftovers that you need to get rid of.
For 4 of the pizzas we used:
- pasta sauce from TJ’s
- sautéed in a pan until golden – 3 chicken sausage links, 2 small cartons of crimini mushrooms, 8 oz of chopped spinach (about half a bag), 2 shredded carrots, garlic powder, and italian seasoning.
- Couple of handfuls of mozzarella cheese and sprinkling of Parmesan
For the last pizza we used:
Leftover lentil daal from this recipe as the sauce
- Leftover falafel patties from this recipe
Shredded mozzarella and a sprinkling of garam masala
This last one may sound weird, but it tasted really good! Any variation of pizza is only limited by your imagination and the ingredients you have on hand. I did have some canned pumpkin in the fridge, but decided I might try that one next time.
Chris is brave when it comes to throwing the pizza dough in the air. I’m too scared I’m going to drop it!
Another great thing about pizza is that we had a little leftover from the filling, so I decided to put it into an omelet the next morning. If you don’t have an omelet pan like this one, it is really the best pan ever!! For those of us (uh . em . . me), who haven’t really mastered the art of big omelets with just a regular pan, this is the best invention. It was actually my step dad’s pan first and for the longest time when I would come home to visit I wanted to secretly steal it, but he would always say I was crazy! Then one visit he said it was all mine and I was so excited. All you do is . . .
- Whisk 3-4 eggs and season with your favorite spices
- Pour it evenly into each side of the pan sprayed with pam
- Top each side with your favorite omelet fillings and some cheese
- Let it get nice and set, flip the pan to close, then flip one more time
- Voila! you have a big fluffy omelet that comes out perfect every time! It is quite big, so Chris and I split it.
This was a hearty breakfast with the good quality protein and kept me feeling full till lunch time!
What are your favorite pizza toppings?
