Breakfast Burrito with Skillet Bacon Jam

November 21, 2011 by

We make some mean breakfast burritos around my house.  And when we aren’t making breakfast burritos, we make breakfast sandwiches.  They usually consist of a whole grain English muffin, one egg, a piece of bacon, a slice of Vermont cheddar and a dab of hot sauce, sometimes some avocado.  This morning I changed things up a bit because I came across a new product that I’ve been dying to try.  Skillet Bacon Jam.  I wish I could stick a wick in it and light this little container, so the entire house would smell as good as what’s inside this jar.

bacon jam

 

To get this this container of awesomeness, the company says you take a “big bunch of really, really good bacon and render it down…add a bunch of spices, onions, etc. and let it simmer for about 6 hours, give it a quick puree, blast chill it…take a left turn, and end up in pure bacon heaven.”  If you like bacon, you will love this stuff!

It made a great addition to my breakfast tortilla.  Here’s the recipe.

  • One Tortilla Land tortilla (I could never find these on the East Coast, so my MIL would send them to me from Arizona)
  • 2 eggs
  • Cheese (whatever kind you like best)
  • 1/4 avocado
  • hot sauce
  • Spread a little bacon jam on your tortilla, add eggs,  cheese, avocado & hot sauce

If you’re not into breakfast burritos, and you are looking for a little inspiration, check out  Skillet Street Food’s website for some fun recipes using  bacon jam.  Let me know what you think of it! You can also email the company directly at eat@skilletstreetfood.com.

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Filed Under: Allison, Good Eats, Reviews & Giveaways Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Crock-pot White Bean Pumpkin Soup

November 14, 2011 by

It’s fall and nothing says it more so that some key ingredients that bring comfort into a meal.  The past few weeks I’ve been testing a lot of recipes with pumpkin as an ingredient… but most were desserts.  One night, I had 1 cup of pumpkin puree left over from a muffin recipe I had baked the day before.  On a whim, I decided to mix it into the white bean soup I was making.  The result, a delicious and comforting bowl of fall goodness.  This was so popular among my family that I packaged it the next day for lunch!

Ingredients: -makes 4-6 servings-

  • 1 Medium onion, chopped small
  • 1 TB Olive Oil
  • 2 Garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 Cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 15oz can white beans, drained and rinsed.
  • ¾ Cup diced carrots (4 medium carrots)
  • 4-6 Cups Vegetable stock (ok to sub. for chicken stock)
  • 1 tps oregano
  • ½ tps black pepper

Directions:

  1. Chop onions and garlic.
  2. Turn on crock-pot to a medium/low setting.
  3. Add all ingredients into crock-pot.  Stir to combine.
  4. Cook on medium/low 4hrs.
  5. You can leave it “chunky” as pictured, or puree to a smooth texture.

Enjoy!

Photo Courtesy of MOMables lunch menus.

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Lunch Indulgence: Grilled Pear & Brie Sandwich

November 2, 2011 by

There are a few indulgences that even a pregnant woman can’t resist.  Chocolate and Brie are my downfall.  Seriously, how can one resist the sweet deliciousness of French Brie?  I love it on toast, with crackers, in omelet, sandwiches… and the list goes on.

The other day, I was left to my own devices to prepare lunch when a business lunch meeting was cancelled (I usually pre-make my lunches ahead of time and have them ready).  It was a Friday and the fridge was empty of our lunch items and leftovers were scarce.  Good thing there was Brie!! The outcome as a sweet delicious grilled sandwich that will soon be placed in one of our MOMables menus (my kids loved this sandwich too).

Ingredients:

  • 2 Slices of bread
  • Sliced Brie
  • 1 pear, sliced thin
  • Butter/spray for grilling

Directions:

  1. Slice pear and Brie.
  2. Place sliced pear and brie on bread and close.
  3. Spread or spray butter on bread.
  4. Grill

Enjoy!

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Chili-Garlic Roasted Broccoli (You Will Love This!!)

October 28, 2011 by

roasted broccoliI do not like cooked broccoli.  Well, I used to not like it, that is, until my friend made me this.

O.M.G. I had to share this recipe with you.  Not sure where my fellow TV buddy, Maria Neider, came up with the recipe, but one thing is certain….I can’t get enough!   Here’s what you’ll need:

1/2 cup of Olive oil

10-12 cloves of finely chopped garlic

2 T chili powder

2 T  McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 large heads of broccoli cut into thin long spears

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425. Combine ingredients in large bowl and toss to coat. Spread on baking sheet. Roast broccoli until crisp and slightly brown. 17-20 minutes. HINT: Do NOT Salt and pepper or it will be WAY too salty.

 

Filed Under: Allison, Good Eats Tagged With: , , , ,

Roasted Fall Vegetables

October 26, 2011 by

During my last visit to the farmer’s market I loaded my tote bag with in-season vegetables.  While I’ve never been a huge fan of fall vegetables, I recently discovered that it’s not the vegetable variety I wasn’t fond of; it was the way it was being cooked! I got nearly 10 pounds of squash and zucchini for $9.  What was I going to do with all that, besides making some zucchini bread, of course.

I decided that I would simply roast my vegetables with minimal ingredients.  The outcome… what can I say? Delicious.

Ingredients:

  • Variety of fall zucchini and squash
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive Oil
  • Rosemary

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Wash and cut your vegetables.  The smaller you cut them the quicker they will cook, so try to cut them evenly.
  3. In a roasting dish add vegetables, salt, pepper, olive oil and rosemary (to taste).
  4. Mix well to evenly coat vegetables with seasoning
  5. Cook about 20-25 or until done.

Serve & Enjoy!

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Shrimp with Kiwi Lime Relish

October 19, 2011 by

It’s Fall and germs are lurking around us in abundance.  You’ve heard of vitamin C as an immunity booster, and many experts say the best way to get it is  directly from the source (our foods).  What better way to grab some extra C than with a kiwi? This recipe is not only super easy to make but also delicious!

Ingredients:

  • 2 jalapenos, finely chopped, seeds removed for less heat (1/4 cup)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
  • 4 kiwi fruits, peeled and diced (1 1/2 cups)
  • Coarse salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 20 large U.S.-farmed shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 pound)
  • 2 tablespoons safflower oil

    • Directions:

  1. Stir jalapeno and lime juice together. Add kiwi, 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste), and cilantro. Stir to combine.
  2. Season shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a large skillet over high until shimmering. Add shrimp in a single layer and cook without turning until underside is pink, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until opaque throughout, 2 minutes more. Remove from pan and serve immediately with kiwi-lime relish.

Photo Credit

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Falling in Love with Fall & a Recipe for Pumpkin Donut Holes

October 6, 2011 by

It’s fall in most parts of the country right now. Here in Arizona, fall makes me want to get out my, well, t-shirt and shorts. Yes, we pretty much don’t get to start the fall wardrobe wearing till just about Thanksgiving. It is like the opposite of growing up in Ohio. There, when it reaches 50 degrees in the spring, people start getting out their jean shorts and bikini tops. Here, when it gets down to a breezy 65, we break out the long sleeves and jeans (and then suffer miserably through most of the day!). In the meantime, I am trying to get my “fall” on in a variety of other ways. I start to get out the Halloween decorations, I light the pumpkin spice candles, I merit the pros and cons of wasting half my daily calorie consumption on a new “fall” drink at Starbucks. (Seriously, who are these demons of torture? Salted caramel latte, anyone? You had me at hello!) During the rest of my downtime, I peruse the J.Crew catalog and wonder how many days I can actually wear the sweaters in there over the winter and using some homemade mathematic ratio that is completely fair and balanced, I decide yes! I should have that cable-knit in Angora, please. I also drool over these boots in all colors and combinations.

One of the more productive things I have done, though, is to start baking anything and everything that includes pumpkin. Productive for my productivity and for little mouths around me, not for my thighs, exactly. However, recently I came across this recipe for Pumpkin Donut Holes and they are actually pretty healthy. These donuts are not fried and include plenty of real pumpkin. The whole family loved them and they are one of my few non-guilty fall pleasures. Take them to the kids’ fall parties at school, take them to a Halloween get together, take them to book club or the Rotary! (Does anyone go to Rotary anymore? What is Rotary?) Let’s get started; here’s what you need:

Pumpkin Donut Holes

1 Cup all purpose flour

3/4 Cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tso sakt

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 Cup canned pumpkin

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 Cup skim milk (or almond, rice, or soy milk)

Topping:

3 Tblsp butter, melted

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray each cup in a mini muffin tin with baking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice. In a larger bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add dry ingredients  and mix until just moist. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. Transfer to wax paper. Topping: melt butter in one bowl and combine sugar and pumpkin pie spice in another. Brush each donut with butter and roll in sugar mixture to coat. Place back on waxed paper to set and then store in an airtight container. Of note, if you are not serving donuts until the next day, wait till then to do the topping. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Beauty & Style 411, Good Eats, Lifestyle Tagged With: , , , , ,

Liven Up Your Halloween Bash With Spookamole!

September 30, 2011 by

My family adores avocados and we put them on everything.  They’re terrific in breakfast burritos with eggs, cheese & hot sauce, perfect in salads, and oh, so yummy in fish tacos! I’ve been known to make an enormous batch of guacamole and eat the whole thing myself. Avocados from Mexico can be found at your local grocery store year-round, but this is such a great time of year for them. Mexico is the only place in the world where avocado trees naturally bloom four times a year…and there are so many fun and creative ways to use them in recipes, like this spooky guacamole I made for a party.  It was a hit with both the kids and adults.

 

Here’s what you’ll need for the guacamole:

6 ripe avocados

1 tomato

Juice of one orange

Juice of one lime

Juice of one lemon

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

One small red onion

Directions: Mash avocados, chop onion, chop tomato, mix in orange, lemon & lime juice, add garlic & salt & pepper to taste.

Here’s what you’ll need for bat chips & creepy fingers & spider web :

Five long carrots

cream cheese

raisins

package of corn tortillas

sour cream

olive oil

fake spider

cauldron

bat cookie cutter

 

Directions & putting it all together: Make bat shaped chips with your cookie cutter.  Lightly cover with olive oil and salt and bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Put the guacamole in the cauldron.  Put a little bit of sour cream in a plastic bag and cut the corner, so the sour cream squirts out and you can draw your web.  Once you’ve done that, place your spider wherever you think it looks best.  Peel all five carrots, then cut a little piece off the tip to put your black “nail”.  Use a little cream cheese as the adhesive and then stick the raisin in place.  Finally, assemble the creepy carrot fingers in your guacamole!

 

guacamole

Smookamole

Now, here’s your chance to put on your creative cap and make some Spookamole for your next Halloween bash.  Avocados from Mexico is running a recipe contest and you have your shot at $1000! Here’s the link to enter.

Disclosure:  I wrote this review while participating in a Spookamole blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Avocados from Mexico and received avocado items to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Filed Under: Allison, Good Eats Tagged With: , , , ,

Turkey Mini Sandwiches: Quick & Easy Dinner!

June 16, 2011 by

I’ve been testing recipes with my kids for weeks.  As you can imagine, some of them are a bigger hit than others.  We haven’t eaten the same thing twice in a while; mostly due to me working on developing next year’s lunch menus for MOMables.  I have every kid’s lunch book and toddler friendly cookbook available; and yet, I sometimes find the best recipes from other bloggers or on the internet.

This next one is a winner.  I’ve made it twice in two weeks (with different ingredients) and rarely we have left overs.  Although they are called “mini sandwiches,” I like to think of them as Kid-licious triangles.  I usually make them for dinner.  You can also make a big batch, freeze the leftovers and thaw and microwave when ready to use!

Ingredients:

  • 2 Cups Bisquick Mix
  • 1/2 Cup dried cranberries (optional)
  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 2 TB yellow mustard
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 6oz package thinly sliced smoked turkey, chopped
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4oz bag)

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, cranberries, milk, mustard and egg until blended. Pour half of batter into baking dish
  2. Top with half of the turkey and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the cheese to within 1/4 inch of edges of baking dish. Top with remaining turkey. Pour remaining batter over turkey.
  3. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and set. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting. Cut into 9 squares; cut each square in half diagonally. Enjoy!

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Sweet & Savory Jambalaya

May 9, 2011 by

One of the highlights of my Mom 2.0 conference  in NOLA this year was winning a recipe contest sponsored by Zatarain’s.  For those not familiar with Zatarain’s, they make everything from frozen entrees, to spices, but are probably most well known for their boxed rice mixes (of which I’m a big fan).  When my husband was working in another state and I was juggling a baby, and working outside of the house FT, I loved this stuff because I could make a big batch and add lots of fresh veggies & protein, then eat it for a couple of days.  It’s filling, full of flavor, and the boxed mix gives me a nice base that I can be as creative as I want with, depending on how much time I have and what other ingredients I have on hand.  I knew a lot of people would be entering the contest, so I wanted to try something different.  I’ve been really into sweet & savory things lately, so I thought adding a little fruit to the dish would be a fun way to mix it up!  Here’s what you’ll need for this sweet & savory jambalaya that is sure to satisfy your taste buds.

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 Spanish onion, chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 14 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 package Zatarain’s Reduced Sodium Jambalaya Mix
  • 1 pound large shrimp, peeled & deveined
  • 1 package (12 ounces) Andouille sausage, cut into 1/4 inch clices (can use turkey sausage as a substitute)
  • 3 cups pineapple, cut into chunks (fresh is best, but I won’t judge)
  • 2 cups of craisins
  1. In large skillet, heat oil on medium heat. Add onion & peppers, cook and stir 5-7 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften.
  2. Stir in tomatoes, Jambalaya Mix & water.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover & simmer about 15 minutes.
  3. Stir in shrimp & sausage. Put the cover back on and cook for 8 more minutes.
  4. Finally, add pineapple & craisins. Cook for an additional 2 minutes with cover on.  Make sure shrimp is pinkish and rice and veggies are cooked, then remove from heat, let cool a little bit and serve.
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