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!

VegOut! Challenge

For this challenge, I have 30 days to eat 30 different vegetables, but I don't think it will take me that long! Today is day 5 of the VegOut! Challenge and I've already had 12 different vegetables. Here's what I've had so far:

I started on Saturday, March 1st with a  healthy breakfast. One fried egg over easy topped with salsa and served with avocado (Veggie #1) and grilled Tomatoes (Veggie #2) and White Onions (Veggie #3).

I went to Mardi Gras the rest of the weekend so didn't worry about the VegOut! Challenge. On Monday, I was back at it:

For lunch on March 3, I made Okra Stew served over rice. In it I pan cooked Okra (Veggie #4), Chives (Veggie #5), Celery (Veggie #6), Green Bell Peppers (Veggie #7), Garlic (Veggie # 8), Eggplant (Veggie #9) and a few other vegetables that I've already counted like White Onion and canned Tomatoes.

For a snack that afternoon, I had more vegetables!

I love eating vegetables with either ranch, peanut butter or hummus. On Monday, I added Cucumbers (Veggie #10) to my veggie log.

For dinner on Tuesday, March 4, I made one of our favorite meals:

This is wasabi and soy marinated tuna steaks, cooked with tomatoes and onions and topped with avocado. For sides, we had wasabi and soy mashed Russet Potatoes (Veggie #11) and fish sauce Brussels Sprouts (Veggie #12).

All in all, this VegOut! Challenge has been fairly easy. It has challenged me to be more creative and more complex. I'm a very simple cook, meaning I can make a meal with anything I find in my kitchen. This has caused me to add more ingredients to normal meals and grocery shop more frequently.

So far, I've been sticking with the veggies that I know and love. But, I can't wait to add a few new vegetables that I don't cook or eat very often like: Bean Sprouts, Cabbage, Edamame, Daikon, Mustard Greens, Kale, Turnips and more!

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!:)