Tortilla Addict

I love meals that involve tortillas!  Wraps, fajitas, quesadillas, breakfast burritos, you name it.  I used to eat a ham and cheese quesadilla every day as my after-school snack.  I took it to the next step during college, tortillas were my one staple food - I would even eat PB&J on my tortillas.

Fortunately, I've grown past my tortilla addiction.  But sometimes, you just have to revert back to an old favorite, or give it a new twist.

This combination of flavors and textures is definitely worth repeating!  Can you believe I pulled off another vegetarian meal without any complaints?

Mushroom & Asparagus Wrap

In a skillet, sautee mushrooms, onions and garlic.

In another skillet, sautee asparagus, sliced tomatoes, garlic and sprinkle with veggie seasonings.

Prepare your tortillas with a layer of avocado and a handful of shredded cheese.

Next, simply pile on the asparagus and tomatoes, followed by the mushrooms and onions!

Wrap it up, or eat it like a taco, however you prefer!

Don't forget dessert! I had a serving of vanilla yogurt, topped with blueberries, blackberries, crumbled graham crackers, and peanuts!

Did you notice anything missing in my dessert?  That's right - chocolate.  No, I didn't go all day without my chocolate fix - I actually had an Attune bar for a snack earlier and it satisfied my daily craving!

These are probiotic bars.  Most everyone has heard of antibiotics, whose job is to kill bad bacteria.  A probiotic is basically the exact opposite of antibiotics - it is a dose of live microorganisms that are healthy for your digestive and immune systems.  Attune bars have a very reasonable amount of calories, 3-4g of fiber, and are obviously great sources of probiotics and calcium!  There's also only a few grams of sugar!

Of course, don't expect it to taste like a hunk of Dove chocolate (my favorite).  My personal opinion of the Attune bar is that it tastes healthy and chocolatey, too.  If you consider the health benefits, this is a great option to consider when you're craving a snack.

What's your favorite meal that involves a tortilla?

My favorite is probably fajitas!  Or, ya know I could just eat the tortilla all by itself!

Grillin' Out

If you're in the mood for grillin' out this weekend, I recommend you give this recipe a try!  We had these burgers over Memorial Day weekend, and they were definitely a hit!

Bleu Cheese Turkey Sliders

First, make sure that you have some mini-buns handy.  We prefer these King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls.  Beware, they're addictive!

For the meat, combine one pound of ground lean turkey with approximately 1/3 cup of bleu cheese, 1 tsp paprika, salt and pepper.  Divide the meat into eight sections and form each ball into a thick patty.

If you're like me and you have a grill-obsessed man in your life, then this part is easy - just sit back and relax while the guy grills the meat.

We have a nifty flexible grilling net that works perfectly for grilling sliders or vegetables.  Flipping has never been so easy,  I bet even a girl could do it!  Okay, I probably took that too far.  It's always best to act impressed by their grilling skills, ladies - make them feel special, and they'll continue making you good food.

So once again, while the guy was grilling on the patio, I was in the kitchen preparing the rest of the meal.

A few weeks ago, I made some delicious homemade pickles.  I sliced pickling cucumbers and added onion, white vinegar, sugar, sea salt, mustard seed, and pepper for flavor.  Then I closed up the container and stuck it in the freezer for a couple weeks until the pickles were just right!

Atop the Hawaiian rolls, I added the following condiments: mustard, avocado, tomatoes, and homemade pickles.

Insert a bleu cheese turkey burger, and now you have the world's tallest sliders!

I also made fries, or chips, whichever name you prefer.  I thinly sliced several baking potatoes, tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and ground flaxseed - then baked them at 425 until they were crispy.

 With a smidge of ketchup. these fries were quite tasty!

Oh, and did I mention that Austin also threw some corn on the cob on the grill?  What a guy...and what a meal!

What is your favorite grilled food?

My favorite is grilled asparagus!  Yum!

Amazing Asian Food

The dinner I made last night deserves a post all for itself.  So I'm giving it one.  This stir fry is hands-down the best Asian food I've ever made.

Sweet & Sour Chicken Stir Fry

Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into bitesize chunks.  Dip chicken in egg and then in mixture of salt, pepper and cornstarch.  Pan fry in oil until crispy and golden brown. Place in a single layer in a baking dish.

Mix together sauce ingredients: 3/4 cup sugar, 3 tbsp ketchup, 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp garlic powder.  Pour sauce over chicken and bake at 350 for 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, it's time to sautee the veggies.  I used mushrooms, snow peas, cabbage, onion, and garlic.

On the side, I prepared a package of chow mein noodles. To give the noodles a bit more flavor, I made a peanut sauce with 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp rice vinegar.

My nose was in heaven with all of these delicious foods cooking in my kitchen!

Dozer's nose must have picked up the scent too, as he was really begging for a taste.

I heaped the noodles, veggies and chicken on my plate until it was overflowing.  Then I sprinkled a few peanuts on top for an extra crunch, and dug in!  It was delicious!

If you like Asian food, I definitely recommend that you try this!

In other news, I am offering the opportunity for my fellow bloggers to submit a guest post to be published in the beginning of June.  If you're interested, e-mail me and let me know what topic you're interested in writing about.  This is a great chance for publicity for your blog!

What's your favorite Asian dish?

I can't choose just one!  My favorite chinese food as a kid was beef & broccoli.  Lately I've discovered a love for sushi, miso soup, and Vietnamese pho!

Pineapple Jelly

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I think about is food.  As a kid, I always ran into the kitchen and immediately started asking my mom, "What's for breakfast?"

I could never be the type of person who skips breakfast.  Lucky for me, it's recommended to eat breakfast every day anyway!

Fun-fact: breakfast was involved in the beginning of my love-story.  When Austin first asked me out, he said: "Do you like breakfast?  I'd like to take you to breakfast sometime."  Translation: we were meant to be together!

Here's a picture of us when we first started dating (two and a half years ago).

Since we both love breakfast, I always make exciting breakfasts on the weekends.  But, during the week, I'm usually in a rush - so I'm limited to the quick & easy: smoothies or cereal.

This week, I decided to try something new.  I set my alarm approximately 15 minutes earlier so I could get up and make breakfast before heading off to work.

Yesterday, I made banana pancakes.

They were miniature-sized.  I like everything to be tiny - it's more fun that way.

Sprinkled with pecans, a touch of butter and syrup, these were delicious.

Speaking of breakfast, several readers expressed interest in the Pineapple Jelly I mentioned in yesterday's post.

I found this jar of jelly at H-E-B, my favorite grocery store. Unfortunately for those of you who do not live in Texas, H-E-B is limited to the Austin, San Antonio, and Houston areas.  Don't be too sad, though, we don't have a Trader Joe's here.

For lunch, I had leftovers.  Turkey sausage, baby bok choy, black eyed peas, and broccoli-cheese pasta.

After work, Austin and I made a trip to H-E-B.

We both love grocery-shopping a little too much.  It's an actual event we look forward to during the week!

We try to fill our shopping cart up with healthy items, and we buy lots of fresh produce.

By the time we got home from the store, it was late and I didn't feel like cooking dinner.  I had already been snacking all afternoon, so I wasn't very hungry.

I made some edamame and ate it while I packed my lunch for today: a salad with carrots, spinach, romaine lettuce, croutons, tomato, boiled egg, chicken, edamame soy beans, and dried fruit with ranch dressing.

I'm going to be stuck working late today.  We have a company meeting that starts at 5:00 pm.  Who schedules meetings on Friday afternoon?!  The good news- there is a margarita machine involved!

Oh, I'm thinking about it. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?

What is your favorite flavor of jelly?

I enjoy "Mixed Berry" jellies the best - with blackberries, raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, etc.  Although, the pineapple flavor does taste great on toast!

Missing the Music

My iPod is dead.  I don't mean that it has a 'low battery'.  This is full-fledged nonresponsive behavior, despite my constant recharging and resetting efforts.

The last song I listened to on my iPod was by Disturbed from their album, Believe.

I am going to miss my music until I get a new iPod, who knows when that will be.

Since I was stuck in the silence, I decided to take a break and catch up on some reading.

As you can see, Dozer decided to join me on the patio, and he was quite curious about what I was reading. Soon he was in my lap reading Three Cups of Tea with me.

While reading, I sipped on this delicious rootbeer my parents gave Austin for his birthday.  It is micro brewed and made with cane sugar.

Noteworthy eats from the past day or two include grilled rosemary chicken with corn on the cob and baked sweet potatoes.

Grilled by this goofy guy.

And some delicious, ridiculously tall hamburgers on homemade buns with fries.

What is your favorite type of music?

I love all kinds of music!  It really depends on my mood and what I'm doing - I prefer to listening to Christian radio on my work commute.  When I'm with Austin or working out, I enjoy listening to hardcore rock and pop music.  And I love country music for dancing!

Boyfriend's Birthday

TGIF! Today is my boyfriend's 25th birthday! He requested that I make him breakfast pizza this morning.

My mom used to make this for my brother and I when we were kids. We would request it for a special event such as the day of a big test, Christmas, or a birthday. I thought I'd share this childhood favorite with you.

Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients:

• 7 Eggs
• 1/3 cup Milk
• 1 pkg crescent rolls
• 2 cups Hash Browns, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups Shredded Cheese
• 1 lb. Breakfast Sausage, fully cooked
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt & Pepper

First, I gathered all of the ingredients together. I set the oven to pre-heat at 350 degrees.

Then I spread out the crescent rolls on the bottom of a 9x13 dish. On top of the crust, I sprinkled fully-cooked breakfast turkey sausage.


Next, I sprinkled a layer of hash browns followed by a layer of shredded cheese.


In a separate bowl, I beat together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. I gradually poured this mixture on top as the last layer.
Into the oven to bake 35-40 minutes.

I removed the dish from the oven and sprinkled a layer of parmesan cheese on top.

The first bite immediately took me back to my childhood. Only instead of preparing to take a standardized test after this delicious breakfast, I'm headed to work today. I can't decide which is better - tests or work? I vote neither!


What were your favorite meals as a kid? Do you still enjoy them as an adult?
I always loved my mom's breakfast pizza, chicken parmesan, and white enchiladas; I still enjoy all of these meals!

Pizza Snob

Today at work, someone offered to take us out to lunch. They chose a little Italian place called Verona's Flying Pizza.  On my last trip, I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan, which was a disappoinment. So this time, I opted for a pizza, since that is supposedly their specialty. Unfortunately, the only toppings available were cheese and mushrooms (aside from a pile of greasy-meat, which always sounds repulsive to me for a pizza topping). Sadly, even their pizza was less than impressive. The mushrooms came straight from a can, and there was hardly any sauce. The crust? Plain ole white flour.

I was thankful for the free meal, but I would probably not choose to eat at this restaurant again.  I am a pizza snob; I don't typically crave it, but if I do, I want it to be loaded down with delicious toppings.


I realize that I may come off as a bit pretentious by saying this, but after my latest creation in the kitchen, I don't know if I can ever look at pizza the same. So let's talk about a pizza that leaves me truly satisfied. Beware, this could cause you to have greater expectations out of the pizza you consume in the future.

Pesto Pizza

Ingredients:
Whole wheat crust
3/4 c. Pesto sauce
1/2 c. Mushrooms
2 thinly-sliced Roma Tomatoes
1/4 c. Artichoke Hearts
2 sliced Green Onions
1/2 c. Mozerrella Cheese
2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
Prepare whole wheat crust as desired. Generously spread pesto sauce onto crust. Place a layer of sliced tomatoes on top of sauce. Follow with layers of sliced mushrooms and artichoke hearts. Sprinkle with mozzerella cheese. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped green onions and parmesan cheese.

If I could eat this everyday for a week, I'd be happy.

How do you like your pizza? Homemade or from a restaurant?

I prefer homemade pizza with a thin crust, a moderate amount of sauce, and lots of veggie toppings!