Working moms doing the best we can, one moment at a time
ingredient
To mix up the monotony of scrambled eggs (over-easy, oh how I miss thee), we seasoned the pan by first adding leftover seasoned ground turkey from Thursday night’s taco salad.
Scramble eggs as usual, and top with your choice of taco-friendly ingredients. In my case, that was avocado, tomatoes and goat milk yogurt.
There’s still time to enjoy the best of summer, without resorting to “it’s complicated.” With flavors at their peak, keeping things simple is the best way to go.
For starters, heirloom tomatoes are worth every penny. So splurge one last time! Simply season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Or slice and serve with fresh avocado (a winter crop in summer’s clothing) or goat milk yogurt and basil.
Peaches are best undressed. While I love a good cobbler or pie, the best way to enjoy them for dessert on warm summer nights is au naturel.
For a refreshing hors d’oeuvre that takes no time, slice a cucumber and top with smoked salmon. Party bonus: The colors will pop on a buffet table.
Mixed company? The options above will make it easy for all dietary persuasions to partake!
The highly compatible combination of smoked salmon, avocado, goat cheese and spinach are perfect for a healthy and filling lunch on the run.
In about 3 minutes, you can toss pre-washed spinach in a bowl, add lox right from its package (cut if desired once it’s in the bowl), scoop in half an avocado, then drop in a pat of goat cheese and finish with olive oil. Slap on a lid and go!
Ever have one of those mornings where protein is the only thing that will satisfy your hunger? Here’s a healthy way to tame the beast:
Warm a thin layer of pre-cooked (cold leftovers works great) quinoa with a bit of melted butter in a skillet (cast iron will prevent burning). Crack eggs over the top, season with salt, cover and reduce heat to low.
Once they’re close to set, remove from heat to finish cooking through, and serve immediately with avocado.
Inspired by Pinterest browsing and brunch menus, I decided to try making an egg, pulled pork and veggie hash for dinner. The result was a satisfying and protein-packed meal that would be suitable for any time of day.
First prepare a batch of pulled pork. If you want to keep it super simple, just simmer a pork tenderloin in broth or water for a couple of hours on low, until desired tenderness.
Then, sauté shredded pork with olive oil, garlic, frozen peas and spinach. Crack some eggs over the top; cover and cook on low until set.
For extra omegas, serve with fresh avocado.
Part two of this week’s pre-made meal makeover was pulled pork in the crockpot, served twice (and counting!) with quinoa and veggies. It started with my recipe for taco-ready crock pot pulled pork, which basically consists of a pork tenderloin, a large can of diced tomatoes, frozen corn and taco seasoning in the crock pot.
I served mine two ways with quinoa as a base: accompanied by spinach and tomatoes on the first night…
On the second night, I melted a slice of pepper jack cheese over quinoa in the microwave, then topped it with leftover pork and sliced avocado…
And there is still plenty of leftover pork!
Mashed avocado has become a popular topping for toast, so I was inspired to try it as a creamy coating for pasta – specifically garlic gnocchi, along with tomatoes, peas, and olive oil.
It’s quick too. Simply boil the water for the gnocchi, while dicing tomatoes, scooping out avocado halves prior to mashing and seasoning with salt, and prepping the peas (I used frozen). After cooking the gnocchi for a minute or less to tenderness, drain water from the pot, and stir in the avocado mash and a little olive oil with the pasta, followed by the other ingredients. Top with Parmesan.
The fun thing about working in an office is going out to lunch, especially when you work in a thriving foodie corner like San Francisco’s Mission district (see evidence). But working from home presents some lazy lunch temptations. Thinking about my upcoming beach vacation, I decided to trade grilled cheese for veggies…
1. Take a tortilla, spread goat cheese on it, add your veggies of choice and roll it up. I used mushrooms, avocado, tomatoes, spinach and greens. Optional: Cut into 1-inch slices so you can enjoy the pinwheels of colorful veggies and textures.
2. Good news: you can still be lazy about lunch, and eat healthy. This Butternut Squash Ravioli with Walnuts frozen meal from Safeway is low calorie and packed with colorful veggies. The sauce is really good too! If you’re like me and prefer not to microwave plastic, then you can remove the frozen block, put it on a plate and cover it with a bowl. Just decrease the microwave time slightly.
Fresh produce from @FarmFreshtoYou = healthy weekend kick-off. Tonight I went to work in the kitchen, chopping up all the seasonal veggies I could get my hands on for dinner. David and I both ate pretty decadently this week (hello, In-n-out) so we thought it was a good night to start fresh.
First, I shredded a head of cabbage, reserving two bowls’ worth for the base of a pseudo farmer’s market salad. Next, I chopped up tomatoes and walnuts, sliced two carrots, and diced an avocado. And a salad in the Jackson house isn’t complete without dried cranberries and Ranch. 😉
Meanwhile, I steamed fresh corn on the cob and roasted a combo of fingerlings and sweet potatoes on a makeshift foil “tray” in the oven. I only had two sweet potatoes, so I mashed them up with ricotta and brown sugar. The fingerlings were delicious with a bit of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.
No guilt this Friday night! And it probably cost less than $10 given it was half my delivery from Farm Fresh to You.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine