Breakfast Skillet (from "leftovers")

Since all three of us (me, Kim, & Jen) have eyes bigger than our stomachs, we ended up with plenty of grilled veggies and steak left over from the fajitas last night. Our original plan was to make Belgian waffles for breakfast this morning (I told you it was a marathon hangout!), but Kim and I were both craving a hearty breakfast, so we switched gears (sorry, Jen!). K had the brilliant idea of making "breakfast skillets" like what you can get at Denny's or IHOP - only WAY better since we use high quality food and cook with love (an ingredient I'm pretty sure neither Denny's nor IHOP has ever heard of before...).

So - I fried some potatoes & onions (with salt, pepper, basil, garlic powder, and cayenne), and we layered the potatoes with cheese, grilled steak & veggies, and two fried eggs. Top it off with a garnish of pico de gallo, and voilà! - a breakfast that would quite easily put Denny's and IHOP out of business! :) Take a look...

Complimented by a slice of organic 12-grain toast & a mango nectar spritzer.

Ladies, Fire Up Your Grills!!!!

Yep, that's right! The 2011 grilling season is officially OPEN! My BFFs came over last night for a marathon hangout and to make dinner for me to say thanks since I've watched their dog for them a couple of weekends recently. Let me tell you - after this dinner (and the subsequent breakfast this morning - I'll get to that in a minute) I'd happily watch their dog any time!

I can't lie, we got off to a rough start, as I'd run out of propane late in the 2010 grilling season, and I SWEAR I swapped out the tank, but alas - the tank was empty, so Jen and I went on an 8:00 pm run to Home Depot to get a fresh one. It. Was. Worth it! We made grilled steak and shrimp fajitas complete with grilled peppers & onions, fresh hand-made pico de gallo, fresh hand-made guacamole, and all the fixins. I'll let the pictures tell the story...

Kim prepped the best individual fixins plates EVER!

Homemade pico - with tomatoes, garlic, cilantro...YUM!

Jen created the BEST marinade for the steak & shrimp!

The meat looks kind of raw in this pic, but it and the veggies were PERFECT!

Belgian Waffles

Kim & Jen got a really cool Christmas gift - a Belgian waffle maker. So, we did what any Belgian waffle-loving person in his or her right mind would do - we made waffles!!! Jen found the best ever recipe here. It is a bit complex, but it was totally worth it! I always add vanilla, so I suggest doing so even though it's not on the recipe. Check it out!

See how fluffy they were?!?!

Waffles are part of a balanced breakfast! :)

Fruit smoothie

Sometimes I get totally sick of planning meals. Sometimes I crave fruit like nobody's business. Today, these two things happened simultaneously, and this amazing fruit smoothie was born! I pretty much chucked in anything that sounded good:

an apple
an orange
a banana (or maybe two???)
half a pineapple
about 3/4 cup GF steel cut oats (that's right - OATS!)

I was worried that it would be really liquid-y, but it was actually perfect. I think the bananas helped thicken it, and the oats gave it some depth and density. It filled almost 3 glasses, and I drank them all - YUM!!!

To be taken seriously, this fruit smoothie had to be served in a
Wonder Woman glass!

New Year's Cooking / Freezing Fest

M and I spent the first weekend of 2011 together celebrating and cooking dinners that we divided up to freeze and eat over the next few weeks. This was a pretty big production...choosing recipes, going to the grocery store, cooking, dividing, freezing...it took all day, but it was totally worth it! M even used pictures to document my freezer filling up as we cooked more and more.

M made something in the crock pot that was basically like the insides of a chicken pot pie without the crust. Served with warm biscuits - what's not to love about that?!

I was a chopping ninja for the sweet potato soup I made.

This picture isn't great...but the food was! This was coconut soup with Indonesian chicken (chicken rubbed with a bunch of amazing spices).

Ever the organizer, M kept us on track...

I had to start the sweet potato soup in a skillet, then I finished it in a pot.

My freezer the way I love to see it - nice and FULL!

First food of 2011

After gorging ourselves on giant burritos last night, you'd think we wouldn't be all that hungry the next day! My stomach must've stretched, because I was super hungry! For our first breakfast of the new year, I made an egg scramble with onions, ham, tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, and cheese! I don't think I'd ever tire of eating eggs...EVER! :)

I will never tire of eggs...! Nice to meet you, 2011!

New Year's Eve Cornucopia

M and C came over to celebrate New Year's Eve/Day and to have a cooking & freezing fest. Is there any better way than completely immersing oneself in food to ring in the new year? I don't think so! :)
We started our culinary adventures on New Year's Eve with some chicken burritos, chips & queso dip, a veggie tray, and pigs in a blanket! It was amazing! I made the burritos from a "recipe" (more like a technique) I learned from my friend CD in grad school. Roast some fresh garlic in a little bit of butter or oil, add some onions, add salsa and honey mustard and heat, then add cooked & shredded chicken, stir, and allow it to simmer for a few minutes. Delish! Put that chicken on a burrito with some sour cream, cheese, lettuce, and Spanish rice on the side and YUMMY! Good eatin'! :)

So good...and so good for us!