Coffee Pancakes

I used to drag myself out of bed with the promise of a cup (or two) of coffee.  It worked every time.  Lately, though, I've been waking up voluntarily at 7:30am just to get a jump start on the day.  This is insane!  Am I becoming a morning person?  I don't even know me anymore.


When I came across this recipe for coffee pancakes on Pinterest, I knew it was something that I would need to make.  As you can see, I already have an excellent relationship with coffee.  Now that it seems I have some extra time in the mornings, I can even whip up some pancakes!

These pancakes were so easy to make and so tasty.  The coffee flavor definitely shines in these.  Of course, I did use instant espresso granules instead of the instant coffee granules which were recommended in the original recipe, but that's just me.  Go big or go home!  OK, you're probably already home if you're making these.  Oof.  Never mind.  Too much coffee.  Just make these!

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

You guyssss...

I have to tell you about the NYC Cat Cafe.  I just heard about it and it's going on right now!  Clearly I'm going because I love cats and coffee.  So why can't I have it all?  I can.  I'm going to sit in there all day and survive on coffee and pre-packaged snacks forever and ever.

OK, I can't do that.  I do need to step up my game in the dietary department, though.  I've been eating Tostitos tortilla chips, brie cheese, and almonds like it's my job.  So here's my attempt at pulling my life together.

We're finally getting some warmer weather in these Northeastern parts, so we must celebrate with asparagus.  And cheese.  You know this.  Tender, fresh asparagus is tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper and then roasted until it's perfect.  Top with freshly grated Parmesan and you've got yourself a wonderful side dish, or a questionable (but healthy!) lunch.  Your choice.

Easy Chilaquiles

I have decided that the only reason I eat those Tostitos Hint With Lime chips is as a vehicle for that tangy, salty stuff they cover them with.  I feel like an addict.  Of course, Tostitos knows this and only sells this wonderful stuff in huge bags meant to be shared with at least 8 people.  I usually finish it all by myself in 2 sittings.

During the course of one of these "events", a few things also took place around the same time.  I was really into making scrambled eggs (because I had purchased a dozen eggs so that I could bake with only one of them).  I had recently made my crockpot salsa verde chicken.  I also had a container of feta in the fridge just begging to be used up.

In a moment of (what I like to think of as) pure genius, I decided to throw these things together in an homage to a new favorite breakfast item: chilaquiles. I wasn't sure whether or not to post this recipe since it's not truly a recipe, but then I fell in love with this so much that I wanted to record it somewhere.  Not that I'm going to forget it anytime soon.

Crockpot Salsa Verde Chicken

Last week, my trip to Pittsburgh primarily revolved around Mad Mex margarita-drinking festivities.  Mad Mex was always a favorite place to visit when I was in college.  Unfortunately, I would sometimes (um...almost always?) end up a tad too inebriated as a result of drinking one to one-and-a-half Big Azz margaritas.  Those were the days.  The only thing I don't miss are the hangovers.

Of course, no visit to the 'burgh is complete without at least attempting to drink yet another Big Azz marg at Mad Mex.  Since it's a pretty small location and can become packed quickly, my friends and I had several discussions regarding the optimal time to go there.  (PS - We discovered the best time to visit, but I'm not divulging!)  And we drank margaritas.  Two each...

Now, in our "heyday", we would have been completely done for the day.  We would have stumbled home and passed out.  But.  We were not.  We had excellent appetizers and entrees and we drank our margaritas like the adults that we are and headed back to our hotel.  Like a boss!

OK, maybe we did fall asleep pretty early that night.  But it was a conscious decision on our part.  For sure.

In the spirit of eating even more quality Mexican food, I have an easy salsa verde chicken recipe for you.  Bust out those crockpots once again.  Let me assure you that this is a quick, easy, and tasty way to ensure you have some delicious protein on hand.  This time, I decided use the chicken in a burrito, but in a future blog post, I will be showing you another way that I decided to indulge in this mouth-watering chicken.

Stuffed Savory Prosciutto & Cheese French Toast

I totally got called out over this french toast last weekend.  There I was, finishing up my weekly group workout class and boasting about how I've been working towards eating healthier lately.  Then my friend sidles up and says "Hey, what about that stuffed french toast you posted to your Instagram account yesterday? And those chocolate donuts, and those cappuccino muffins, and that biscoff cheeseball?"

OK, I get it.  It appears that I may be a health-food fraud.  BUT!  It's not very interesting to post that apple or avocado that I'm snacking on to Instagram.  And no one wants to see me eat scrambled eggs for the third time in four days.  Decadent meals, though?  I got you covered!

This time, I had a solid excuse.  It's Secret Recipe Club time!  I was matched up with Cindy from Hun...What's For Dinner.  She's got a multitude of recipes that I fell in love with, especially the Grilled Mac and Cheese with Pulled Pork Sandwich.  However, I finally settled on making the Stuffed Savory Ham and Cheese French Toast.  I didn't have any ham on hand, but I did have prosciutto, so I figured that would do as a quick substitute.

This french toast was creamy, cheesy, and slightly salty/sweet.  It was so easy to make that I can't wait to recreate it for a brunch someday.  In fact, I may have promised two of my old coworkers that I would host a brunch for them pretty soon.  I may have been slightly tipsy when I promised this, but I guess a deal's a deal.

Crockpot Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers

Last weekend, I wore MC Hammer pants.  I will vouch (for myself) that I never thought I'd see the day that happened.  But my group workout class had a 90's theme!  Of course I had to buy the drop-crotch pants to match.  I would say "ugh" right about now because I'm over myself, but since wearing them this past weekend, I've developed a fondness for those pants.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to wear them in public.  As in, it won't be a part of a costume.  Thankfully they're black and not some fugly patterned mess.  So there's that silver lining, right?  Someone out there is understanding my thoughts.  I'm sure of it.


Here's something that easier to understand: the amazing-ness of making Mexican stuffed peppers in a crockpot.  I've made stuffed peppers once before but I refused to revisit it again because it was such a chore to make those at the time.  Fast forward to today, hand me a crockpot, and I'm back in business!


Lately, I've been obsessed with Mexican food.  This should not be a surprise, because cheese is my kryptonite.  I would like to make it known that I can eat Mexican food at any time.  If there is a Mexican food throwdown, I'm there.  Needless to say, you may be seeing a few Mexican-inspired recipes from me in the near future.  I have to say that these pepper turned out to be mighty tasty.  The combination of the meat, rice, vegetables, and sauce made this an excellent dinner option for me the other night.

And cheese. And sour cream.  They just get me.

Zucchini Feta Quiche

No, seriously though...can Spring just show up already?

Ever since I returned from the Caribbean last week (Can we talk about how amazing Grand Cayman is?), I've realized precisely how tired I am of heavy coats, layered sweaters, and winter boots.  I need these seasons to get a move on right now.

Can a quiche hurry things up?  Let's investigate.  I have zucchini and feta at the ready, along with some eggs and a pie crust.  Of course I have the cheese too.  Why are you even asking?

A quiche is my go-to food when I'm feeling lazy and still want something light, nutritious and tasty.  Sometimes I love to trash it up with many things, but sometime I keep it simple.  This time I chose simplicity.  I also chose to add a dose of freshly grated zucchinis to help old man winter realize it's time to peace out.  The warm weather is coming soon.  I can feel it!

Sausage and Mushroom Risotto

I should probably be embarrassed about this, but I'm not.  I must admit that I've had a box of arborio rice (aka risotto rice) staring at me from my pantry since I moved into my new apartment.  To put this into perspective, I moved in back in April 2013...

I'm probably in the minority when I say that I think risotto is one of the easiest things to make.  I feel as if I overlook it so often in my attempt to whip up other dishes or treats that I feel I haven't "done" yet.  Risotto is simple and delicious and cheesy and I-just-need-to-reach-for-that-darn-box!

When I opened the cupboard door for the umpteenth time and saw the risotto again, I finally decided that it was time for action.  Even though I have an endless list of risotto recipes bookmarked online and torn out of magazines, I had recently been assigned Heather's blog, Join Us, Pull Up A Chair, this month's Secret Recipe Club.  There are so many tasty recipes on this site that you really must do yourself a favor and check it out!  While I tried to give each recipe a fair shot at being "the one" for this month, I have to say that I definitely honed in on the Baked Sausage and Mushroom Risotto recipe.  Come on!  You know I feel some kind of way about sausage.  Once we add in the mushrooms, cheese, and risotto, this was a clear winner in my eyes.

Another disclaimer here: I didn't bake the risotto like the original recipe recommended.  I wanted to, but I ran out of time and just quickly finished it on the stovetop.  I did use all the ingredients though, so I'm about 100% sure the taste was spot on, which is a good thing because this risotto was insanely delicious!  All I can say is that you must give this is a shot if you even only halfway love this combination of ingredients.  Don't walk to your kitchen.  Run!

Bahamian Fire Engine

Over the past year or so, I've received several positive emails or comments from my relocated Bahamian people about the Bahamian recipes that I post here.  When you grow up on a small island with a culture that predominantly revolves around food, and then you end up moving elsewhere, sometimes you just crave the comfort of a home-cooked meal.  Depending on where you move and with whom, sometimes that's just not possible.  Another thing I've come to realize is that, dang, sometimes I want Bahamian food too, but I don't actually know how to make it.  That's when we turn to the internet.

So, I recently decided to profile a new series on the blog.  I'm planning on featuring Bahamian recipes once in a while so that:

1) I can actually document my family's recipes (Let's be honest.  We know most of these recipes have no written instructions anywhere!); and

2) My fellow Bahamians and I can have a reference to recreate these dishes in the future.

I've begun to request that my family provide me with some recipes that I can include on the blog and they are working overtime to put measurements to some of our favorite meals. In the meantime, I looked to the Bahamian calendar to help me create a fire engine breakfast dish.  First of all, yes, our national calendar contains recipes.  Second of all, you're probably wondering what fire engine is.  Fire engine is a very popular breakfast dish in the Bahamas.  It's composed of steamed corned beef and vegetables, then served over rice or grits.  It sounds strange but I swear it's delicious.

Caramelized Onion Beer Bread

Alright, one more beer-related recipe because 1) St. Patrick's Day is still on its way, and 2) I just can't help myself.  Can I ever post too many beer recipes?  Nope.

This time, I wanted to make something savory.  I also wanted a new way to incorporate my balsamic caramelized onions into another recipe.  While I love them slathered over meat or piled on top of toasted bread, I decided I wanted to try something new.  Why not put them into a bread instead of on top of it?  Also, add beer.  This is basically how my mind works.  I throw all the things together.

I found a recipe that was pretty close to what I was looking for, and I modified from there.  In the end, I must confess that in addition to easting this warm and slathered with butter, I may have spread a little honey and cinnamon on top of a slice to make it sweet.  No judgements, right?

Garlic Lime Salmon

I feel as if it's been forever since I've made a Secret Recipe Club post!  We took a break for the holidays and now we're back!

Since I've been blissfully working from home for the past few weeks (wait, can we ever be "blissfully working"? .... hmmmm), I've been trying to incorporate more seafood into my diet.  I rarely make seafood because I am not interested in eating frozen seafood.  While I have no objection to cooking salmon that was raw and was then frozen, it's completely another thing to eat salmon that has already been seared, roasted, baked, whatever, and then frozen.  Yuck.

So here we are, with me making salmon for dinner while actually living at home.

This month, I was excited to be assigned Angela's blog for the SRC, which is appropriately named Angela's Kitchen.  Angela's blog is chock full of recipes just waiting to be made.  She is also an expert on gluten- and dairy-free recipes.  From all the recipes I looked at, I decided to make a salmon dish (of course!) but I would also suggest popping over and having a look-see at Angela's site.  There's so much to learn and her information would be especially helpful to those of you living gluten- and dairy-free.

Avocado Salad with Bacon & Feta

Guys.  The day that I thought would never come, actually came last week.

I ate too much bacon.

Once you recover from the shock of that statement, let me tell you that it was my own fault.  I somehow thought that I could eat a package of super-thick bacon (yes, that's a thing now) and still feel good about myself an hour later.  Quite unfortunately, I have over-estimated my tolerance for that.

Thankfully, I had this salad the day before I ate too much bacon, so I can still give you an honest assessment of my thoughts on this.  And to be truthful, if there were no bacon on this salad, I would not have loved it as much.  There is no just nothing else that would complement the creamy avocado and tangy lemon dressing as well as a slice of crunchy bacon can.

The good news is that now I'm over my bacon overdose, so I'm back in action.  I will be having a few more of these easy and tasty salads in the near future and I will not be thinking twice about it.

Slow Cooker Chili

I've been trying to incorporate more soups and stews into my regular diet.  It hasn't been working.  I'm slightly disappointed that this is my first real chili of the season, but at least I finally got around to making it!

And....it's here just in time for the Superbowl!  This year, the big game is being held in my backyard.  Sorta.  The Broncos and Seahawks are coming to play at MetLife Stadium this weekend, which is about a 20 minute train ride from me.  This should be awesome.  It's not.  First of all, my team, the Steelers (the best team, really), isn't playing.  However, more importantly, I live right next to the train station which will take people from Hoboken to NYC and also from Hoboken to the stadium.  This town is going to be a drunken mess and I'm going to have a front row seat.  I won't want to leave my apartment for the rest of the week.

Now that I have this chili, I really won't have to.  I can kick back and relax at home with a comforting bowl of food.  I can invite friends over to partake in this, or I can try to escape the crowds and take my chili on the road to a friend's place.  I'm not sure yet what's going to end up happening this Sunday, but I can assure you that I will be taking cover and avoiding all the Superbowl madness outside.  I will be nice and toasty and filled with chili no matter where I am.

Sweet Potato & Onion Quiche

 
I've been working from home for a few weeks now and I'm trying to figure out a few things, such as 1) exactly how does one grocery shop for an entire week at a time?, 2) How does one plan out meals for oneself for more than 2-3 days in a row?, and 3) How does one organize the refrigerator so that I can use up all this fresh food I seem to be purchasing?

As you can see, I have questions.  I think this quiche is the answer.  OK, it's not really going to answer any of the questions I have above, but while I am (still) pondering these questions, I can make this quiche and eat it too.

I really felt the need to rekindle my love affair with the quiche.  Recently, my attention has been diverted by pumpkin-flavored things and unnecessarily sweet desserts, aka "the Holidays".  Clearly, I need to refocus.  Quiches are the perfect easy meal: breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  I also eat it quite often as a snack.  Love doesn't discriminate.

Roasted Carrots with Thyme

I will advise you that I do have more decadent desserts coming up in the next few posts.  I just can't help myself.  I love to bake after the holidays.  You know, that time when everyone is totally done with sweets and treats?  Yep, that's when I'm hitting my stride.  Whatever.  More for me!

But right now, I'm back on the healthy bandwagon once again.  I couldn't resist once I spotted purple and white carrots in the Union Square Greenmarket.  I was with my mom and nephew and the three of us were immediately intrigued.  Two minutes later, 2 lbs of carrots were purchased.  And I had no idea what I was going to do with them.

I soon decided to roast the vegetables with herbs and seasonings since roasting veggies is the easiest, yet tastiest thing ever.  It doesn't necessarily leave you with pretty-looking vegetables, but the taste will make up for that.  In the future, I would probably sprinkle a little sugar on top of the carrots as well since I like my carrots sort of sweet, but I loved the outcome based on the recipe below all the same!

Curried Chickpeas with Spinach

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a safe and festive entrance to 2014.

You all knew I was going to fall victim to the peer pressure, didn't you?  It's time to crank out the healthy recipes for all those folks heading to the gym.  January is the standard month for everyone to descend up any gym within sight.  I am just cringing thinking of signing up for my workouts for the next few weeks.

Oh well, since I'm sure all of the classes I want to take will be full, I'm going to focus on eating better.  Here I am bringing you more vegetables.  I can't seem to stop myself, so I'm just embracing this.

My love of hummus extends from my love of garbanzo beans, which is...interesting, considering that I hate most beans.  The only beans I care to eat are these and edamame.  Everything else can just back it up.  These beans happen to be curried, though.  That is a new phase I'm entering as well.  I love curry.  I think I get that from my momma.  Oh, and there's spinach and tomato sauce.

Wow, I'm sure you're excited to see what I'm going to bring you in 2014!  We're kicking it off with garbanzo beans and I'm talking about spinach and curry...  I'm pretty sure I'm losing followers as I type this.  Yup yup.  I promise I'm going to make it up to you with some decadent goodies soon, but for right now I've thrown together some curry, chickpeas, and spinach juuuuust for you.

By the way, this recipe is super quick, so you can get back to working on your fitness in no time!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Sometimes I just get the urge to make and eat a lot of vegetables.  I have to say that I'm pretty happy about these urges right about now.  Every other day, I seem to find myself eating three- to four-course meals, then inhaling a pile of desserts.  Just to make sure they're good, ya know.  I'm doing some self-appointed quality control testing.

While I love hanging out with the family and trying to figure out how food much I can actually fit into my stomach, it's time to give myself a reality check.  Christmas is over and I really need to reign things in.  It's probably a wise idea to kickstart this healthy eating with stuffed squash.  Only good things can come from roasting acorn squash, and then stuffing it with brown rice, cranberries, and pecans.

In all honesty, this is my first time making a dish using acorn squash and I'm pretty proud of how this turned out.  The recipe is so easy that it would be quite difficult for me to fail at making this.  Since I'm pretty much still nursing a food hangover (4 days later, oof), simplicity is the name of my game.

Spicy Tomato & Blue Cheese Soup

Happy Merry Christmas Eve!

I know we're all in the middle of eating Christmas cookies, drinking egg nog (spiked, of course!), and singing carols.  But, contrary to popular belief, we cannot live on these things alone.  Hence, I'm bringing you some soup.  Who's in on this with me?

In case you're still hesitating, let me tell you that sriracha and blue cheese are involved in this situation.  Get you some soup bowls and sit down.  Now dig in.

Jamaican Beef Patty Flatbread

I don't even know how this thing happened.

My work schedule was a bit wonky last week, and at the last minute I ended up working from home the entire week.  On or about Tuesday, I realized that I didn't have enough real food to sustain me much longer.  I had to go to the grocery store.  But, for various reasons (most of which had to do with something called "laziness"), I never made it.

And so began the process of existing on coffee, Babybel miniature cheese, and turkey wraps from the restaurant across the street.  Yeah.  Low points.

So I did what I do best: I raided my freezer.  In it, I found 1/2 lb of ground beef, two flatbreads, and frozen peas.  Things were not looking up...until I found a recipe that would let me use all of this good stuff.

OK, I tweaked a few things, but are you surprised about that?  You shouldn't be.

Growing up in the Bahamas, I have been eating Jamaican beef patties as a snack since I was a child.  They will always take me back to the time of carefree living and remind me of being back in Nassau.  I figured I should probably take a stab at my own version of this recipe.

Chicken Enchilada Cups

Let's recreate some summer goodness.  I can't ever get enough of Mexican-inspired cuisine and this is no exception.  While the weather has been slightly warmer in the past few days, it has still been much cooler than my preferred 60-70 degrees F.  Let's warm ourselves up.

I actually made these cups as appetizers for my housewarming party earlier this year.  However, in all the brouhaha, I never got shots of the final items.  In fact, I remember it being mid-party and wondering why my apartment was so warm (this place is always freezing!) and realizing my oven was preheating for these little things...which were chilling out in the kitchen and definitely not in the oven.

I can't even take these...in a good way.  They're tiny, which means that they're automatically cuter than cute.  Also, I'm certain I'm ingesting fewer calories than if I were to eat a huge wonton filled with this enchilada mix.  Obviously.