Ahmygawd Breakfast Sandwich

Yesterday morning, I was the picture of perfection and actually woke up at the time I had intended and did NOT sleep through my alarm for a solid hour.   Let’s hope I can keep this up all week!

I rolled out of bed, and headed straight to the gym for a 30 minute round-and-round on the hamster wheel…  elliptical.  Then, straight from the gym (in all my sweaty glory) to the grocery store to buy all my foods for the week.  Silly me forgot to pack a Luna bar or nourishment of any variety for my grocery conquest.

Bad news bears.

Needless to say, I was FAMISHED by the time I got home, and I was unfortunately facing a dilemma.  Issue #1:  I wanted eggs.  Hot and dippy with ooey gooey smooth-as-butter yolk.  Issue #2:  I was also craving sausage…. as in Mary’s special eggs.  I wanted yolk, but I wanted sausage.  And I’m not talking sausage on the side.  I’m talking sausage all up in my yolk.

It was at this precise moment that I concocted my PERFECT breakfast sandwich.  The best of both of my worlds.

The Ahmygawd Breakfast Sandwich.

First, I sautéed half of a Honeysuckle Hot Turkey Sausage link (casing removed) in a pan:

DSCF5080

Hello sausage!  Ima eat you.

DSCF5081

THEN I cracked an egg right on top of this mound of sausage:

DSCF5083

The egg white dribbled down around the sausage and formed a glue to hold the whole shebang together.  Once the underside was cooked, I flipped her over:

DSCF5084

Whattttttt?????  Insane.

DSCF5085

And once that side was cooked (though not TOO cooked –we’re going for oozy yolk here) I slid the egg/sausage combo onto a toasted whole wheat English muffin:

DSCF5087

World = Rocked.

DSCF5088

Ah.my.gawd.

DSCF5093

Stats on the life changer:  255 calories, 24g carbs, 10g fat, 20g protein, 3g fiber

What you’ll need:

  • 1 link turkey or chicken sausage, casing removed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 English muffin
  • 5 minutes to eat your face off

Continue Reading

Eggcellent.

My kitchen is no stranger to eggs.

DSCF4048 

Shortly after starting this blog, it dawned on me that I really do eat an excessive amount of eggs.  So I started thinking about possible substitutions I could make.  Something healthy, clean, and full of protein.  Something filling and delicious that gave me energy without spiking my temperamental blood sugar.

I searched high and low and ended up right where I started.

Eggcellent. 

DSCF4049 

One of the MANY things I LOVE about eggs is that I can make them in a big batch.  Typically, I cook up a 5 serving egg scramble Sunday night and that serves as my breakfast #1 for the workweek.  Each serving of my scrambled eggs consists of 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites, which I season up with S&P, Red Pepper Flakes, and some Franks Red Hot. 

I was feeling lazy Sunday night, so I ended up pushing back the egg-makin til Monday night this week.  After work I headed to the grocery store to get the goods.  I typically have some roasted broccoli alongside my eggs, but made a last-minute produce aisle decision to use up some of the frozen veggies in the freezer instead.

Low and behold I didn’t have any frozen veggies (dangit).  You know, I actually think this was co-worker karma come back to haunt me.  Recently, I discovered that roasted broccoli heated up in the community microwave makes the ENTIRE floor smell like butt.  Apparently, I was oblivious to this smell for the last 9 months… Whoops!  I guess it’s just pay back for those afternoon snackers who always burn their popcorn in the microwave leaving us with a 3pm funk.  YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! 😉 

Luckily, I had 1 lonely large potato on hand (leftover from my Zuppa Tosacana).  Eggs and potatoes. Can’t go wrong with that!

DSCF4051 

I tossed the potato into a bowl and seasoned it up with a drizzle of EVOO, some S&P, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper:

DSCF4052 

Then I popped them into a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes to get their roast on.  Once everything was done cooking, i evenly divided the goods up into four containers:

DSCF4058 

Tuesday through Friday B#1:

DSCF4062

Now repeat 52 times and you have B#1 for the whole year… hahahah 🙂

QUESTION OF THE DAY:  What are your go-to workday breakfasts?

 

Continue Reading

N’awlins – part deaux

Day deaux in New Orleans started off as any vacation day should: A HUGE breakfast of course.

We woke up bright and early Err… we headed to breakfast at 11:30…. whatev.  Our destination was the Old Coffee Pot Restaurant in the French Quarter. 

DSCF3738

To our surprise, Guy Fieri had just been to the restaurant last month! How cool! DSCF3739 

The best part of the restaurant (in my opinion) was the AWESOME courtyard, which had a really intricate mural painted on all the walls.

DSCF3741

Gentleman admiring the view:

DSCF3740

The service was incredibly slow :-/ but I just had to keep reminding myself to take it easy.   I’m used to a much faster pace of life than they have down here, that’s for sure.  We were able to get some mimosas pretty quickly, so that helped to turn my frown upside down 🙁 –> 🙂

DSCF3742 

For breakfast we decided on splitting the Creole eggs and potatoes:

DSCF3743 

And some creole pancakes with mashed bananas:

DSCF3744

Jarrod REALLY liked both of the dishes:

 DSCF3745

I wasn’t real excited about them though.  The banana pancakes were super tasty, just too sweet for my breakfast tooth.  And I was really caught off guard by the creole sauce.  I expected something spicy, but it turned out to taste more like spaghetti sauce!  We decided I was thinking of cajun sauce.  Hopefully I can score some cajun food in my belly this weekend 🙂

After breakfast, we walked around the French quarter:

DSCF3736 

 DSCF3750

We spotted Cafe Du Monde, which was one on my MUST-VISIT places… but since we were still full from breakfast, we didn’t stop.

 DSCF3751 DSCF3753

Then we walked along the Mississippi River 

DSCF3761

Until we reached the Aquarium!  Neither of us have ever been to an Aquarium before, so we were pretty pumped to check it out!

I soon realized it’s incredibly difficult to capture good pictures of an fish in an aquarium!

DSCF3765 DSCF3771

Jarrod checking out the fishies:

DSCF3775 DSCF3776 DSCF3785

This one makes me laugh every time I look at it 😀 

DSCF3792

DSCF3789

There were two really AWESOME parts of the aquarium.  First, was getting to touch sting rays:

DSCF3790 

Isn’t that out of this world??

DSCF3791 

In Jarrod’s words, the sting rays were “creepishly smooth.”  I didn’t believe him til i mustered up the courage to touch one as well.  After several missed attempts, I was able to brush my hand across one of the stingray’s backs.  I immediately flung my arm from the water, squealed like a child, and ran over to Jarrod with my hand stuck out it front of me and a look of fright on my face.  Hahaha.. I’m fairly certain I scared all the children waiting in line for their turns.  What can you expect though, those things really are freakishly smooth!

The second BEST part of the aquarium was one of the final rooms on the tour that had a floor to ceiling GIGANTIC aquarium with HUGE fish, sharks, and turtles: DSCF3804

I could have sat in here for HOURS!  So relaxing.

After the aquarium, we did some more site seeing and then stopped at the Crescent City Brewhouse for a drink:

DSCF3811

Even though neither of us are beer drinkers, we both thought the fermentation tanks were pretty cool!

DSCF3810 

Next stop:  Johnny Po-Boys for lunch!

DSCF3813

DSCF3814 

We split the chicken po-boy and the shrimp po-boy:

DSCF3815 

Then headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep!  First stop on the dinner path was Pat O’briens Courtyard:

DSCF3817

This picture really doesn’t do the courtyard any justice (darn night time pictures).  Just trust me that it was AMAZING.

 DSCF3818

DSCF3819

For dinner we split the sampler, which consisted of Jambalaya, Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, and Red beans and rice:

DSCF3821 

This was hands-down our best meal to date in New Orleans.  My favorite was the jambalaya, and Jarrod’s favorite was the gumbo.  Don’t worry, we wolfed down the red beans and rice too 😀

Pat O'Brien's Courtyard Restaurant on Urbanspoon

After dinner, we made a much anticipated return to Cafe Du Monde!

DSCF3822 

I have been waiting to try these Beignets (French doughnuts) for MONTHS.

DSCF3824

That is an extreme amount of powdered sugar! Ready to dive in!

DSCF3826 

These beignets were so hot and friggin delicious. Heaven in my mouth I kid you not.  We may have to make another stop at Cafe Du Monde this weekend 🙂

Cafe Du Monde on Urbanspoon

After hitting up a few local establishments, we headed to the Casino to get our gamble on.  I was feeling lucky, so I popped $5 into a 2 cent slot machine.  About 5 minutes later, I decided to pull my money out:

DSCF3829

Don’t worry, I lost the remaining 40 cents on a penny slot a few minutes later.

Jarrod nearly lost his $10, but luckily he hit the jackpot on his last spin and was able to get his total up to $9.94!

Given that I didn’t pay for any of my drinks, and that I got to keep the 94 cents because Jarrod hates having change in his pockets, I’d say I came out the TRUE winner this evening 🙂 

Continue Reading

Hallelujah it’s Friday!

With September here already (where the heck did August go, by the way?), I’ve already got my head in “fall mode”.  My favorite time of the year is BY FAR the last quarter – October, November, and December.  I love the weather, the excessive parties and family activities, and I also love how things just seem to slow down from the fast pace of summer.  Speaking of fast-paced summers, it saddens me that I haven’t been doing much cooking lately.  The good news is I’ll have plenty of time to cook… in two more weeks!

Breakfast #1

Ever since last weekend’s awesome breakfast fit for vacation, I’ve been craving the spinach and tomato breakfast burrito.  (Let’s be honest, I’ve been craving the potatoes and pancakes too) …  So last night instead of doing my usual batch-scrambled eggs, I made a double serving of the spinach and tomato scrambled eggs.

First up, I chopped up:

  • 2 tbsp red onion (I used white onion last time, but didn’t have any on hand)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup chiffonade spinach
  • 1/2 a roma tomato, diced

 DSCF3187        

I sprayed a skillet down with some cooking spray, and once it was hot I tossed in the garlic and onions. 

DSCF3191

While these guys were cooking I whisked together the following in a bowl:

  • 2 whole eggs
  • 6 egg whites
  • Splash of water

 Once the onions were soft, I poured the egg mixture on top and seasoned everything up with S&P and red pepper flakes.  I let the eggs start to cook up, and when they were about 1/2 way done I added the tomato and spinach:

DSCF3196

Look how delicious:

DSCF3197 

While the eggs were getting their groove on, I also roasted up some broccoli that was seasoned with black pepper and garlic salt:

DSCF3184

Is it just me, or does that broccoli look really happy to be here?

2 happy campers:

DSCF3202

One of which I brought to work with me today to introduce to my friend Heinz:

DSCF3205

 

Stats on B#1:  205 calories, 15g carbs, 5g fat, 23g protein, 2g fiber

B#2 = OO 😀

OVERNIGHT OATSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!  What a great way to end the workweek!

DSCF3227

Doesn’t that just bring a smile to your face???  😀

DSCF3228

YUM.

Stats on B#2:  233 calories, 44g carbs, 5g fat, 6g protein, 7g fiber

Lunch

What better way to end the Bruegger’s Bagels giveaway, then to have Bruegger’s for lunch, of course!

DSCF3231

Today I went with the Spinach & Lentil soup, and a half sandwich with turkey and lots and lots of veggies.  I can’t believe this is the HALF sandwich.  It was HUGE!

The Bruegger’s Giveaway ends tonight at midnight (eastern time), so get your posts in!

Continue Reading

A sandwich BUILT for Hummus

It’s Thursday, and I am one happy lady.  Thank you to those of you who commented on yesterday’s tell me something happy post.  Each one of your comments resulted in a big smile on my face, and I thank you again and again for sharing your happy thoughts with me!

Breakfast #1

Today I planned on eating the last of the scrambled eggs I cooked up on Sunday, but I was in the mood for something a little different.  Something with a little kick.  And when I’m in such a mood, I turn to my friend Frank.  Frank’s Red Hot that is 🙂

Come to think of it, I can’t leave out my good friends George and Mama Lupe either!  Frank, George, and Mama Lupe all contributed to my yummy breakfast wrap.

Leftover scrambled eggs + several shakes of Franks atop a Mama Lupe low carb tortilla:

DSCF2913

Then I wrapped it up burrito-style and grilled on the George for about 5 minutes, until the eggs were hot and the tortilla was crispy. 

DSCF2921

I also heated up the broccoli in the microwave… Unfortunately my microwave doesn’t have a human name…  Frank, George, Mama Lupe, and Emerson (I guess Emerson could be  a last name).

DSCF2925

I swear the George Foreman grill is one of the most amazing kitchen gadgets on earth–or at least the most amazing one in my kitchen!

Stats on B#1:  208 Calories, 15 g carbs, 8g fat, 24g protein, 6g fiber

 

Breakfast #2

Overnight oaty goodness:

DSCF2927

It’s getting cold in the mornings now…  I have a feeling pretty soon I’ll be saying farewell to cold oats and heading back to the warmth the traditional hot oats.  *Sigh*

DSCF3031

Stats on B#2:  233 calories, 44g carbs, 5g fat, 6g protein, 7g fiber

Lunch

Ive blabbed my Trader Joe’s sob story on this blog many a time.. Sooooo far to drive (~1 hr away) to the nearest TJ’s… So sad.  Luckily, my mom picked me up some Trader Joe’s Hummus on her last trip to TJ’s!  WOOOOOOT!

The hummus was not an afterthought for today’s sandwich, not a mere condiment to go on the bun.  No.  Today’s sandwich was BUILT specifically for Trader Joe’s Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus.

This sandwich consisted of a Pepperidge Farm 7 grain deli flat & a four ounce grilled chicken breast:

DSCF3033

That I topped off with sliced tomato, onion, and the STAR of the show:  Trader Joe’s Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus

DSCF3039

Then I added some fresh spinach and some sprouts.  Excessive veggies?  Perhaps.

DSCF3042

Check out the height on this sucker:

DSCF3044

I also had some leftover roasted cauliflower on the side.  Cauliflower might looking boring, but trust me. It was fab.

DSCF3049

Layers of FLAVOR.

 DSCF3051

Stats on Lunch:  364 calories, 35g carbs, 5g fat, 46g protein, 11g fiber

QUESTION:  What did YOU have for lunch today?  I’m always looking for ways to shake up my lunch routine!

Continue Reading