breakfast, recipes

South Beach Morning Scramble

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Eggs eggs egggggggggs! That’s the central part of our morning diets on this South Beach Thing. Here’s what I came up with this morning:

Serves 2
Ingredients:
3-4 eggs, lightly beaten with 1 Tbs water
2 Tbs olive oil
1/4 bell pepper, color of your choice, diced
1/4 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, smashed
4 crimini mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach
1/4 cup feta cheese
salt and pepper

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet. Meanwhile, place spinach in a bowl, add about 1 Tbs water, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 2 minutes. Drain out the water as best you can. When oil is hot, add the pepper, onion and mushroom and cook till onions are soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 more seconds. Remove garlic if you don’t like to chomp down on it while eating your eggs.  Turn the heat to med-low and add the eggs. Don’t stir for about 20 seconds, then mix it up. Add the spinach and mix it up again. When eggs have just become firm, turn off the heat, transfer to plates and top with feta. Don’t forget the Cholula!

Cooking, mexican

South Beach Taco Salad

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Stephen and I need to shape up and changing our diet is of the upmost importance. After devouring a half pound of mac and cheese in bed the other night, we decided to try phase 1 of the South Beach Diet for a week or so. This is how we trained ourselves to be healthy in the first place, but the holidays took their toll….

Here’s a recipe for taco salad that uses no rice or tortillas. Black beans are super good for you and ground pork isn’t super fatty.

Ingredients:
Baconated Black Beans
1 bell pepper, color of your choice, sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
1 pound ground meat (beef, turkey or pork)
romaine lettuce
sour cream
salsa (optional, since South Beach doesn’t recommend it)
shredded cheese (low fat preferred)
cilantro, chopped
1 lime
1 taco seasoning packet

Brown the meat and add the taco seasoning according to package. Meanwhile, slowly cook the pepper and onions in olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. When beans, meat and veggies are ready, combine on a plate and top with cheese, lettuce, sour cream, cilantro, and squeeze on some lime juice. Top with Cholula!

Cooking

Manyghetti and cheese

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My family makes most everything from scratch. That means as a kid we never had Kraft macaroni and cheese. My dad would make a big batch of “manyghetti” — that is, all the leftover pasta shapes in the cabinet with sharp cheddar cheese, garlic, parsley, and maybe some parmesan. I’d top my mac with Tabasco sauce to ward off any little siblings who might want a bite.

To this day, manyghetti remains my favorite comfort food, but I also like to make my own version.

Since Stephen and I are going to do the South Beach Diet until Mexico next month, I wanted to say a big “GOODBYE PASTA” and make something cheesy, peppery and gosh darn delicious.

Ingredients:
About 1 pound of whatever pasta you have lying around. In this case, bowties, little O’s and elbows
about 1/2 cup milk
about 2 Tbs butter
about 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar
1 clove of garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
about 1-2 Tbs Wondra flour
salt and pepper
dash of Tabasco sauce

Directions:
In a salted pot of water, boil the pasta in order of longest to shortest cooking time. While pasta cooks, place the milk, garlic and butter in a big serving bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Mix in the flour and microwave another 30 seconds. If sauce is too thick, stir in a little more milk. If too thin, stir in a little more flour and microwave another 30 seconds. Stir in the dijon, salt, pepper, Tabasco and half the cheese. Drain the pasta. Add pasta to the bowl and combine. Stir in the rest of the cheese.

Cooking, snacks

Sweet and tangy popcorn

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No photo, but I’m sure you can imagine what popcorn looks like. OK, here’s a stock Google photo:

I wanted to make some popcorn that was super tasty but not as unhealthy as smothering it in butter.

Pop some popcorn and drizzle it with:
Olive oil
Raspberry balsamic vinegar

Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.

breakfast, Cooking

Homemade Whole Wheat Pancakes

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Makes about 8 pancakes. Folding in beaten egg whites makes these pancakes nice and fluffy.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
some freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs, separated 
2 Tbs melted butter
2 cups milk (I used soy milk for my lactose intolerant friend and it turned out great)
Directions:
Combine all the dry ingredients. Beat the yolks in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, beat the whites with an electric mixer till stiff. Add the yolks, butter and milk to the dry ingredients and stir till combined (there will be lumps). Fold in the whites.
Heat up a large skillet and make some flapjacks, ya hear!
Knitting, Patterns

Reknit Chunky Mitts

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In case you don’t know me, I’m somewhat of a thrift store guru. For instance, yesterday I found $378 Frye boots at the SPCA Thrift Shop for $70 and I talked them down to $20. In addition to that brilliant find, I also found a 50 cent scarf that I thought would look better as mittens.

I made up this pattern, but I would only use it for irregularly shaped yarn like the kind I used because otherwise the top of the mitten might come out with gaps (it’s not mathematically sound). But it sure knits up fast!

Scarf being unraveled

Chunky Mitts
Ingredients:
1 thrift store scarf, about five feet long, unraveled and wound into a ball
four size 10 double points
scrap yarn
darning needle

Useful Abbreviations:
M1FB — make one stitch in the front and one in the back of the same stitch, thus increasing your work by one stitch.
M1 — Make one stitch between two stitches
K2tog — knit 2 stitches together

Cast on 24 stitches (8 on each needle)

K1, P1 for 10 rows
Next round: knit the first needle, M1FB into the last stitch of the first needle. On second needle, knit 4 stitches and M1FB into the next stitch. M1FB into the last stitch of the second needle. On third needle, knit 4 stitches and M1FB into the next stitch. Knit to end of needle — 28 stitches.
Knit 3 rounds
Round 15: M1, K1, M1, knit to end of round
Round 16 and all even rounds: Knit to end of round
Round 17: M1, K3, M1, knit to end of round
Round 19: M1, K5, M1, knit to end or round
Round 21: M1, K7, M1, knit to end of round
Knit 3 rounds
Next round: Transfer the first 9 stitches onto some scrap yarn. Cast on one stitch and knit to end of round.
Knit until work reaches the top knuckle of your middle finger
Next round: *K2tog, K3* repeat * till end of round, where you will K1 stitch on the third needle.
Next round: Knit
Next round: *K2tog, K2* repeat * till end of round, ending with K2tog.
Next round: Knit
Next round: *K2tog*, repeat till end of round.
Cut work leaving an 8-inch tail. Weave in all ends.

Thumb:
Transfer the 9 stitches onto two needles. With third needle, pick up 4 stitches. Knit around and K2tog two times evenly throughout the work so as not to leave gaps in the crotch of the thumb. You should have 11 stitches. Knit around till just the tip of your thumb barely peeks out.
Next round: K2tog all around, ending with a K1. Cut yarn leaving a tail and weave in ends.

Repeat with second mitten.

cocktails, Cooking

The DevinMint Patty

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In honor of my long time friend Devin whom I hadn’t seen in ages, I created a really girly cocktail and named it after him. Behold, the Devinmint Patty:

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
chocolate syrup
1/2 shotglass of vodka
1/2 shotglass of kaluha
dash of peppermint schnapps
Ice

Directions:
Pour the milk and syrup into a shaker and stir with a spoon. Add the other ingredients and shake vigorously. Pour into a glass and serve with a straw. Grown up chocolate milk!

Cooking

Mini Meat Pies

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Fun and easy to make. And they’re mini!

Ingredients:
1 store bought refrigerated pie crust
1/2 onion, peeled and grated
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
dash of allspice (optional)
dash of cinnamon (optional)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs

Directions:
Remove 1 of the pie crusts from the box and leave out to warm up. Save the other crust for another time. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all the ingredients but the dough, but reserve about a tablespoon of the egg. Grease a muffin tin with butter. Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter (or a mug with that diameter), cut out six rounds from the dough. Reroll the scraps. Using a slightly smaller biscuit cutter (around 2.5 in.), create 6 more rounds. Punch a hole in the middle of the smaller rounds using a straw. Place the bigger rounds in the muffin tin and shape them to the tin. Add about 1/4 cup of the filling to each pie. Take out the bottom crust after forming it to the tin, add the filling and then place the small crust on top and pinch the edges together all around. Place back into the tin. Use any excess dough and filling to create extra pies. Brush the tops of the pies with the remaining egg and bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let cool about 10 minutes before eating. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Cooking

Cheesy Cornbread Food of Some Type

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I am running low on groceries and I was hungry for something salty, sweet, spicy and tangy. I scoured the cabinets and here’s what I came up with.

Ingredients:
1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 5 oz. can of evaporated milk
2 eggs
About 1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tbs. melted butter
1 tsp.  Tabasco sauce
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 green pepper, diced
shredded cheddar and pepper jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375. In a mixing bowl, combine the Jiffy mix, eggs, milk, sour cream and butter till well incorporated (there will be lumps). Add the Tabasco, green onions and pepper. Grease a casserole dish or muffin tin and add the batter. Top with cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until sides of cornbread are brown.
Now if only I had ingredients to make chili. If I had a fresh jalapeño and some frozen corn, I would have added those to this recipe.

Knitting, Patterns

Chunky Ascot Pattern

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As you may have gathered, I’m all about knitted ascots. I’m also extremely lazy and I have a hard time concentrating on a project I can’t finish in a few hours. I wanted to make an ascot on bigger needles. It would take less time and would probably have a different look (less grandma-ish).

I used inexpensive Lion’s Brand chunky tweed and it only took me a couple of hours.

Ingredients:
1 ball of chunky yarn
3 size 10 double point needles
darning needle
decorative button (optional)

Abbreviations:
M1FB — make 1 stitch in the front and 1 stitch in the back of the same stitch, thus increasing the piece by 1 stitch

Directions:
Cast on 2 stitches. M1FB of the first stitch, K the next stitch.
Continue to M1FB of the first stitch of every row till you have 16 stitches.
K 12 rows in garter stitch. I slip the first stitch of every row to keep the rows neat and even.
Next row: *Knit the first stitch, transfer the second stitch to the third double point needle.* Repeat * to end of row. You should have 8 stitches on each needle.
Starting with the needle that still has yarn attached to it, K1, P1 for 9 rows. Cut yarn, leaving a 6-inch tail.
With the other needle holding 8 stitches, leave a 6-inch tail and K1, P1 for 9 rows, but don’t cut the yarn when done.
Next row: *Knit the first stitch from both the front and back needles together, then knit one from the front and one from the back.* Repeat * till there is 1 stitch on each needle. Knit these two stitches together. You should now have 12 stitches on one needle.
Knit in garter stitch till the work is long enough to go around your neck and touch the loop you just created.
Next row: *K1, K2tog* Repeat * to end of row. You should now have 8 stitches again.
K1, P1 for 9 rows.
Next row: M1FB in each stitch. You should now have 16 stitches.
Knit in garter stitch for 12 rows.
Next row: Knit the first 2 stitches together, K to end of row
Repeat the last row till there are 2 stitches remaining.
Bind off. Weave in tails. Sew on decorative button to one side of the loop if you desire.

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