Breakfast Taco

Second breakfast post in a row! Breakfast seems to be the most challenging to cook for:

limited options, too many carbs, etc.

As much as I love oatmeal and sausage, it was time for a change,

and not just the selection of oatmeal toppings!

A breakfast taco might be the perfect way to spice up your morning routine!

It is filling, satisfying, and delicious.

Made the following substitutions from Trader Joe's:

Uncured Applewood Smoked Bacon

Tropical Mango Pineapple Salsa

Mediterranean Hummus

Reduced Carb Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

Difficulty Level: 1. frying the bacon (which I did ahead of time for the week) and frying the egg are the most labor-intensive part.

Yum Factor: 4.5 super yummy!

Cream Cheese Pancakes

How have I not posted this before? This goes out to all the lovers of pancakes.

Pancakes are great, except the whole high carb thing. These cream cheese pancakes are high in protein, low carb, and gluten free. Win!

Very few ingredients to create something that will not make you miss the real thing.

Apparently the serving size is 1 pancake, but I felt full after two pancakes and some sausage.

Adding fresh raspberries was a great addition as well.

Difficulty level: 1 portioning the batter and cook time takes practice

Yum Factor: 4

Ramen Noodle Salad/Slaw

Summer. Who wants to put in effort to cook, let alone cook at all?

Throw in your kitchen being helter skelter after a move and...

yeah cooking is challenging, if not impossible.

"Where's that pan again? Can I even get to the stove?"

Wanting to make meals easy and simple, in walks in the ramen noodle slaw.

They describe it as a salad, but it's more slaw-like.

This recipe has been haunting me, as I've enjoyed this at many a summer gathering,

wondering how to make it.

As always, being a loyal Trader Joe's shopper, I made the following swaps:

Toasted seeds for salted.

Vinegar for Red Wine or Rice Vinegar.

4 Tbsp Sugar for 3 Tbsp Cane Sugar

Regular slaw for Cruciferous Crunch.

What is Cruciferous Crunch you ask?

A most delicious collection of chopped kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and green & red cabbage!

Seriously better than any bagged slaw ever!

Difficulty Level: 1+  Breaking up the ramen is the most difficult part

Yum Factor: 4

Cucumber Caprese Salad

So after moving, the stove broke. What's a starving newlywed to do? Create this!

My guy doesn't like avocado or mozzarella,

so I ate copious amounts of it when first making this glorious twist on caprese.

I replaced the tomato with beets, as I am a tomato hater and we both like beets. Mmm!

It is a great summer dish, easy to put together, tasty, and no need to wait to consume!

Actually, the fresher this is the better.

After making it a second time, it is apparent that:

1. The measurements might be off in this recipe. Just eyeball it and use your best judgement.

2. Adding artichoke hearts makes is just as or even more delicious!

3. Adding radishes also provides a nice crunch.

The second time around, I omitted the avocado and mozzarella.

Didn't miss the avocado, but the cheese is necessary!

Difficulty Level: 0-1. Depends and how skilled you are cutting avocados (and the ripeness of it)!

Yum Factor: 4

Easiest BBQ Chicken Ever

Greetings!

After a brief hiatus,

hopefully I will be back to deliver you the best of Pinterest recipes,

and which ones to steer clear of!

Being married now (what a difference a year makes!)

will hopefully provide me more opportunities to test out recipes.

This recipe came about because my guy owns a crock pot.

It is advertised at the best and easiest ever...I would agree with the later.

Following the recipe with Trader Joe comparable ingredients for the most part,

the chicken was somewhat dry and not well seasoned.

My guy is convinced to improve upon it,

but I'm hoping to find a better recipe out there. What do you think?

Difficulty Level: 1. Dump in crockpot and wait 3-4 hours.
Yum Factor: 2. Sauce was decent.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Brownies

Behold the beautiful and bountiful brownies, courtesy (apparently) of Ray Romano!

So a date mentioned a couple times he loved brownies, thought I'd surprise him and make this.

Much to my dismay, he neither liked raspberries nor cream cheese!

(something must be seriously wrong with him…)

So I shared with my friends and family and they LOVED them!

My best friend thought I bought them from the store!

They do come out looking exactly like the picture! :)

Follow the recipe exactly, and you too will enjoy what you see!

(Ok, so the only difference is that I did not use seedless preserves,

but you couldn't even tell once the brownies were baked.)

Difficulty Level: 1+ It's a little more involved, but if I can do it, anyone can!

Yum Factor: 5 :)

Mug Cake

Mmm, late night sweet tooth kicks in.

Maybe it's too late to go out and buy a delicious dessert, but you know you NEED CHOCOLATE.

I have tried many a mug cake, usually they are dry and gross, more of a cookie consistency.

But this recipe is the pick of the litter, best I've encountered.

Was forced to make a few modifications:

1. used water instead of milk

2. used baking soda instead of baking powder

3. used peanut better instead of nutella

4. used canola oil instead of vegetable oil

Guess what? It doubled in size, was moist and delicious!

In hindsight, I should have used coconut oil instead, will try that next time!

Difficulty Level: 0-1

Yum Factor: 3