Browsing Tag

onions

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 3/3/14

March 5, 2014

This week’s quote is in honor of my favorite vegan, my cousin Naomi. Enjoy!

“Calvin: Why are you crying mom?
Mom: I’m cutting up an onion.
Calvin: It must be hard to cook if you anthropomorphize your vegetables.”
–Bill Waterson, Calvin and Hobbes

 

 

POTATOES SCREAM WHEN YOU CUT THEM

VEGETABLES HAVE FEELINGS, TOO!

Recipes

Omelet “Muffins”

February 15, 2013

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this before on this blog, but I am not a morning person. When I’m going to bed at night, I always have these grand plans for my morning “I’m going to get up at 6 and jog! Then I’m going to make a healthy breakfast, and shower and take some time to do my hair and makeup and I’m going to look like a movie star!” Then my alarm goes off and I think “screw that, I’m going to sleep for another hour.” Then an hour and a half later, when I actually drag myself out of bed, I barely have time to throw my hair in a bun after I shower and grab a yogurt as I’m running out the door.

Basically the only time I do any running is when I'm running late.

Basically the only time I do any running is when I’m running late.

I’ve heard lots of people say that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” so I’ve really been putting in an effort to make a good breakfast recently. Scrambled eggs, turkey bacon or sausage, some kind of veggie or bean. Problem is, it usually takes me 30 – 45 minutes to cook and consume this healthy breakfast. So I’ve been trying to find ways to still have a good breakfast in the morning while keeping my cook/prep/eating time to about 5 minutes.  When I found this recipe, I was super pumped because not only does it take about 1 minute to prepare in the morning, it’s portable, so I can still eat it as I’m running out the door. It’s the best of both worlds! I usually make these on Sunday night and then I have enough to last throughout the week.

Ingredients:

  • 8 eggs
  • ½ cup cooked meat, cut or crumbled into small pieces (I used turkey sausage)
  • ½ cup red & yellow peppers (or veggies of your choice)
  • ½ cup diced onions
  • 1 15oz can black beans, drained (or beans of your choice)
  • 2 TBSP light ranch dressing (or mayo if you prefer)
  • Salt & pepper (about 1/8 tsp each)
  • Optional: ¼ cup shredded cheese, lightly drained salsa, garlic, etc
  • Tin Foil cupcake cups (optional, but this makes things easier)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease muffin tins (or foil cups) with butter, pam, or coconut oil.
  2. In a skillet, add sausage (or whatever meat you choose to use), onions, beans, and peppers and  saute until soft. Let cool.

    Although, you could totally eat this all on its own. Yummm

    Although, you could totally eat this all on its own. Yummm

  3. In a bowl, beat the eggs and ranch dressing until thoroughly mixed. Spoon the meat/veggies mixture into the eggs and stir gently to incorporate.

    Eggs just freak me out.

    Eggs just freak me out.

  4. Spoon or scoop the egg/meat mixture into the muffin cups. Make sure you have a good ratio of eggs to meat.
  5. Bake for 18–20 minutes until a knife inserted into the center of an muffin/ omelet comes out almost clean (they’ll continue to cook for a minute or two after removed from the oven).
  6. Remove the omelets from the muffin cups and serve, or cool completely and store for another day.
These are really yummy

These are really yummy

I think next time the only things I would do differently would be getting the tin foil cupcake cups, or just greasing the cupcake pan and making them without the wrapper at all. The eggs stick to the paper a little too much with the paper cups and you end up losing like half of your omelet muffin. I’d also spoon the meat mixture in first and then top it off with the eggs to make sure I got a good ratio with each muffin. Taste-wise though, I’d say they were perfect.

Recipes

Tina Chili

February 8, 2013

My mom makes the best chili. Well, she makes the best pretty much any food you can name, but her chili is especially good. I know lots of people love really spicy chili, but I’m not a person who believes that chili making should actually be a process of developing new and interesting ways to set people’s mouths on fire and ensure they don’t taste things right for at least a week. I like a little bit of kick, but let’s keep it to a reasonable level people. If I have to sign a waiver before I eat your food, IT’S TOO SPICY.

Turning into a fire breathing dragon is not my idea of fun.

Turning into a fire breathing dragon is not my idea of fun.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
  • 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
  • 4 Tablespoons Butter
  • 1 Large Onion, chopped
  • 4 teaspoons Garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
  • 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
  • Dash Cayenne Pepper
  • 2-3 Pounds Ground Beef
  • 2 Tablespoons Oil
  • 4 (16 ounce) Cans Black Beans
  • 2 (16 ounce) Cans Mexican-Style Stewed Tomatoes
  • 1 (8 ounce) Can Tomato Sauce
  • 1 (6 ounce) Can Tomato Paste
  • 1 Cup Water

There are two ways of making this chili. The first is the classic Tina method, which takes a lot more work, but is totally worth it. The second is the lazy Sydney method, which involves a crock pot and very little work on your part, but takes a lot more time (since it’s in the slow cooker).

The Tina Method:

Prep:

  1. Chop Peppers & Onions and mince Garlic (set aside)
  2. Open both cans of Mexican-Style Stewed Tomatoes. Put into Food Processor and Puree. (set aside)
  3. Open Can of Tomato Paste. Put into Food Processor. Add with one cup of water and Puree. (set aside)
  4. Brown Ground Beef in 2 Tablespoons Oil. Partially Drain. I add a little of the oil from the browned ground beef to my chili for flavor. (set aside)

Instructions:

  1. Melt 4 Tablespoons Butter in a large dutch oven (Pot).
  2. Add chopped Bell Peppers and Onions and sauté until tender – about 10 minutes.
  3. Add minced Garlic, Salt, Oregano, Chili Powder, Cumin, Crushed Red Pepper, and a Dash of Cayenne Pepper. Stir all together.
  4. Stir in Ground Beef.
  5. Add Black Beans, Stewed Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce and Tomato Paste.
  6. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 30-45 minutes. Stirring Occasionally.
  7. Serve with a good crusty bread ( like a bread bowl if you can find one), some cheddar cheese, or spaghetti noodles.

Notes from Tina:

  • The first time you make it, don’t substitute any thing. You can substitute and adjust the recipe after you’ve tried it this way at least once. Like substituting Cooked, Cubed Chicken for the Ground Beef or Salsa instead of the Stewed Tomatoes. You may even want to cut back on the Crushed Red Pepper or Cayenne
  • You may find that when it’s about done you may need to adjust your seasonings as per your taste like add more cumin and chili powder. You’ll have to play with it til you get it the way that suits you. Sometimes it’s just perfectly fine. Figure out what works for you.
  • If it isn’t thick enough for you mix a little water with flour and pour into the chili, stirring constantly til thick. (Rule: Never pour flour into a hot liquid as it will clump instead of mixing) FYI: Mesa Flour is generally used to thicken chili but white all purpose flour is fine also. And again, you may not need to thicken it. Depends on personal taste.
Bread, chili, cheese... what more could you possibly ask for??

Bread, chili, cheese… what more could you possibly ask for??

The Sydney Method:

Prep:

  1. Chop Peppers & Onions and mince Garlic (or buy the stuff that’s already done for you)
  2. Brown ground beef and partially drain.
  3. Open Can of Tomato Paste. Put into Food Processor. Add with one cup of water and puree

Instructions:

 

  1. Put all ingredients in crockpot. Stir together.
  2. Put crockpot on low and cook for ~8 hours.
  3. Enjoy with sour cream, good crusty bread, and/or shredded cheddar cheese (or on its own if you’re looking for a low carb dinner option)

Notes:

  • I usually do 2 cans of black beans and 2 cans of either kidney or pinto beans for a little variety. 
  • Once, I didn’t have tomato paste and used a can of refried beans instead. It worked great.
  • That same time, I also didn’t have a plain can of tomato sauce, so I used marinara sauce instead, and it was fine.
Basically I'm obsessed with chili.

Basically I’m obsessed with chili.