Help! I'm Addicted to Guacamole!

I love Mexican food. I really love guacamole. Okay, I really just love any use of avocados. Although, guac and avocados pair best with bad Mexican food there are some easier alternatives:

• Guacamole on a breakfast omelet. You can leave out the cheese and potatoes to save carbs/calories. You can add, egg whites, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, spinach, mushroom, jalapenos or just about any vegetable your little heart desires.
• Guacamole in a salad. You don't even need a dressing! It is so good with eggs, peppers, and tomatoes.
• Guacamole in pesto! Make your pesto normally and just add guacamole or avocado to it. Serve over spaghetti squash instead of noodles if you want to cut back.
• Guacamole on pizza! I like to make 'salad' pizzas. Let's face it, we all want pizza some time. Why not try to make it a little healthier? Try topping your cheese pizza with salad items next time. It is delicious.

Don't be afraid to try something weird. You might just find a new recipe!

Soul Food

Being from the South, I LOVE soul food. Lucky for us pescatarians near the Gulf of Mexico, soul food loves us back! As much as I love bagels and lox, I think the rest of the U.S. needs to try shrimp and grits or catfish and grits!

Recently, my boyfriend and I went to The Breakfast Klub in Houston, Texas. This place is known for it's amazing southern comfort food and their ridiculously long lines. We waited for an hour and half the other Sunday and it was SO worth it.

I could not believe that I found a place that made catfish (or Katfish as they call it) and grits as good as my moms! Their coffee was on point too. Here's some photos of the Katfish and Grits that I had:

This weekend, shake up your typical breakfast and try a southern classic instead!

P.S. I got a new camera for my birthday so hopefully I'll up the quality of my food pictures. However, a cell phone is just so convenient sometimes!

Breakfast for Lunch

I LOVE to have breakfast for lunch. Actually, I love to have breakfast any time. My latest obsession is fried eggs, over easy. Plus, I've been on a low calorie diet and I find breakfast to be a filling, yet a cheap and low-calorie meal. Yesterday, I made this yummy 400 calorie number:

 

It is basically sautéed spinach, tomato and onion, topped with cheese, salsa, avocado and a fried egg. YUMMY!

 

Here's what materials you will need:

• Chopping Knife
• Cutting Board
• Small Skillet
• Non-stick Spray
• Spatula 

Here's the ingredients:

• 1 cup of Spinach
• 1/2 Small Yellow Onion
• 1 Tomato
• 1 Slice of Colby Jack Cheese
• 2 Tlbsp of Salsa (I prefer Mrs. Renfros)
• 1/2 an Avocado
• 1 Egg

All in all this meal takes less than 7 minutes. So let's get started: 

• Chop your yellow onion into small squares
• Once the onion is chopped, spray the small skillet with non-stick spray, heat to medium-low and add onions
• While they are cooking, wash your cup of spinach and then add it to the onions
• While they are both cooking, dice your tomato into small squares and then add it to the skillet
• Once everything is cooked, plate and set aside
• Wipe the pan clean, then spray it again with non-stick spray and turn the heat to high
• Crack your egg in the skillet, but be careful not to bust the yolk. Use your spatula to poke around the yolk (not the actual yolk), so that the other liquids evenly distribute and thoroughly cook.
• After the egg is white and "solid" looking, flip it and reduce the heat to low. Cook like this for roughly 90 more second and then serve.
• While your back side of the egg is cooking, add the slice of cheese to your plated spinach, onion and tomatoes. Microwave for 15-30 seconds to reheat the meal and melt the cheese.
• Top this mixture with your 2 tablespoons of salsa and 1/2 avocado. I spoon both straight on to the plate.
• By now, your fried egg should be perfectly cooked. Add it to the top of your masterpiece and enjoy!

To make this meal even more low calorie just cut out the cheese and avocado. If one egg will not fill you up, try removing the cheese and adding an additional egg and more spinach.

What's your favorite way to eat fried eggs, over easy? I love to put them on breakfast tacos or crab cakes!

Making a Brunch of Mistakes

If I'm going to eat bad, I usually like to do it early in the morning. Think breakfast tacos, migas, mimosas, etc. This weekend, my family got together to celebrate my deceased aunt's birthday. I told the family I wanted to make everyone brunch. It turned out amazing! Here's what we had:

First, I preheated the oven to 350. I sliced two whole tomatoes and put them in the oven to roast. Next, I halfed all of the English muffins and placed them in the oven too. Keep an eye on the bread so that it does not burn.

While those cooked, I made the home made crab cakes (with fresh crab meat from Louisiana!). All I did was mix the following:

• 1 lb of Crab (Claw Meat)
• 1 bunch of chives/green onions
• 1/2 White Onion
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper
• 2 Eggs
• A few dabs Tobasco Sauce
• 2 dabs Worcestshire Sauce
• Tony's
• Black Pepper

I mixed it all together then formed patties and rolled them in Italian bread crumbs. I heated a skillet to medium high with canola oil layering it. Then I cooked the patties on medium-low till they were golden brown (approx. 4-6 minutes on each side).

After the patties were all down in the skillet, I removed the English muffins and began plating. I put two halves, face up on each plate. I diced 1.5 avocados and added avocado slices to all 6 plates on the smaller half of the English muffin.

I then took the tomatoes out of the oven and added them to the other half of the English muffin (the larger half).

While my crab cakes were finishing up, I started frying eggs. (If your crab cakes are already done, just turn the skillet off so that they stay warm, but don't over cook.)

I sprayed pam on another, large skillet and heated it to medium high. I cooked three eggs at once. Once they turned white, I turned off the skillet and flipped them to let them finish cooking. Be careful not to bust the yolk.

Plate the crab cake on top of the tomatoes and then add your fried egg. It's best served with a knife, fork and mimosa! I served these three and quickly fried up three more eggs for the remaining plates. This recipe made enough for six and had two crab cakes left over that did not last long!

Everyone loved it and I hope that you do too!:)