A is for Apple Butter!

Fall is officially here in New York, which means that ir's apple season! Apples, in my opinion, are one of nature's super fruits. They're sweet, tart, crisp and soft. Plus, you can make a multitude of deliciousness from them: applesauce, apple cider (both hard and 'soft'), apple slaw, apples and pork, apple pie and one of my favorites...

APPLE BUTTER

Ingredients:

• 15 apples (or however many your crockpot will hold – mine caps off at 15)
• 1/4 cup honey (remember, the darker, the higher in nutrition)
• 3 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Method

• Peel and core apples and cut up into chunks. Place them in your slow cooker.
• Distribute the rest of the ingredients onto the tops of the apples in the slow cooker. Don’t worry about mixing it all up yet. As the apples heat up and soften, you can begin mixing and mashing everything.
• Set the slow cooker on low for 8 hours.
• At about 6 hours, mash the apples, inside the pot.
• Once they are finished, at 8 hours, throw everything in the food processor and process for a couple minutes until it is smooth.
• Let cool in jars and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

I got this recipe from here: http://morethanpaleo.com/paleo-apple-butter/. The only thing I did to change the recipe was to add the ground ginger, as I love the flavor it adds to the apples. This makes a lot too, so be prepared to share (or keep it all and put some in the freezer for later use).  The butter is creamy, sweet and little spicy from the ginger.... I can't wait to try this on top of some pancakes or ice cream!

The original creator of this recipe said that you'll have to resist eating it by the spoonful; however, I like to think, "A spoonful of apple butter a day keeps the doctor away!" SO SPOON IT UP!

Buffalo Chicken with a Twist

I took a couple of days off after running the half marathon to recoup and to use up some of my vacation time. After running a few 'errands' ( ie- me shopping for random house items/cookbooks), I decided to make myself a tasty salad. Enter my version of a buffalo chicken salad with a little twist:

Sweet & Spicy Buffalo Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• meat from leftover chicken wings, shredded
• mixed salad greens
• shredded carrots
• half an orange, cut up
• Dressing: paleo mayo, Frank's buffalo wing sauce (I use a 1: 1 1/2 ratio mayo to hot sauce) 

Method:

• Put the salad greens in a bowl. 
• Top with carrots, chicken and orange pieces
• Mix up the dressing ingredients. 
• Pour dressing over salad.
• Enjoy!

I am a HUGE fan of buffalo chicken anything, be it wings, salad, sandwiches, etc... I also have a bit of a sweet tooth. So... the combo of the juicy, sweet orange and the spicy kick of the chicken is the ultimate flavor sensation for my taste buds! Quick, easy and soo good!

Butter Me Up!

It's the eve of the big race day (I'm running the MVP half marathon bright and early), and I needed to get out some of my nervous energy. I know I'm ready for the run itself, but I can never get over the whole butterflies in the stomach thing beforehand.... Anyways, I was spending some of said energy cleaning the kitchen and noticed that, alas, we had no more cashew butter or almond butter! This, my friends, is a shame. Henceforth, I hurried up the cleaning and hied myself to the process of making up a couple of batches o' buttery goodness!

I know that many people out there are perfectly content with buying those jars from the store. I am NOT one of them! Why should I spend $7-8 on some junk that's been sitting on a shelf for who know's how long? No, no... I urge you all to pamper yourselves and take the extra few minutes to make it yourselves.

Homemade Nut Butter

(On the left is Cashew Butter and on the right is Cinnamon Almond Butter)

Ingredients:

• 15 oz Roasted Nuts (use whatever kind you'd like: peanuts, almonds, cashews, etc)
• A few tablespoons Oil (I use melted coconut oil, but peanut or sunflower oil both work well too)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Sweetener of choice (I love using raw honey or maple syrup, but agave works too)
• Cinnamon (optional, but I love the taste of it in the almond butter)

Method:

• Place nuts, salt and honey in the bowl of a food processer. Process for 1 minute. 
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
• Place the lid back on and continue to process while slowly drizzling in the oil and process until the mixture is smooth, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
• Put in a container to save for later or eat giant spoonfuls right then and there.

See folks? It's not that hard! Sure there's a little cleanup involved, but the flavor of this stuff is SOO much better than anything you'd get from the store. Not to mention that there's TONS of possibilities for flavor combos. Like: maple walnut butter, maple almond, cinnamon cashew, chocolate almond (add some cocoa powder), chocolate hazelnut, macadamia almond cashew bonanza! I could go on forever... So come on now and butter me up with some homemade nut butter!

Slow Cooker Heaven!

We changed up our slow cooker routine this week and busted it out on Tuesday, instead of Wednesday. After having some not so good tasting pulled pork over the weekend, I made it my mission to hunt down the perfect recipe (preferably one that comes close to Dinosaur BBQ's). I finally found what I was looking for here: http://thedomesticman.com/2011/04/22/pulled-pork/

Pulled Pork

(photo from the Domestic Man's website)

Ingredients:

• 5 lb pork butt or shoulder
• 1 tbsp sea salt (original recipe calls for only 1 tsp, sorry man, but I'm not afraid of salt!)
• 2 tsp cumin (our addition)*
• 1 tsp onion powder (our addition)*
• 1 tsp garlic powder (our addition)*
• 1 tbsp chili powder (our addition)*
• 2 tsp chipotle powder (our addition)*
• pepper, to taste (our addition)*
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• Frank's Red Hot Sauce, to taste (our addition)*
• 1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce (we used Patti Labelle's Smoked Agave BBQ sauce)

Method:

• Place the pork butt in a crock pot, and pour the seasonings, hot sauce and liquid smoke on top. Cook on low for 10 hours, flipping halfway through.
• Drain out half the liquid** (you can reserve both the juice and the fat for other recipes) and remove any bones or skin. Pull the pork apart with two forks. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Add the BBQ sauce and mix it together, returning it to the crock pot on low for another hour. If you want it a little spicier, add a couple drops of hot sauce or tabasco when you add the BBQ sauce.
• The pork should be slightly damp and falling apart. If it dries out, add back some of the liquid you poured out. This dish also freezes well, so you can easily store it in batches.
• Serve on buns, with mashed potatoes or with whatever you'd like. We used roasted sweet potatoes and some of my homemade coleslaw.

*Note:  I trusted Justin to make this recipe. The amounts of these seasonings (Our Additions) are estimates... I tried asking him; however, he doesn't remember how much of each he used and exactly what (which, I'll admit, is a little annoying to me)... so I'm totally guessing!  They are approximately what I'd use. 

**Second Note: From the amount of liquid we saved after pouring out half , I don't think we even need the BBQ sauce (but this is soo good with it too!) This would taste just as fantastic without and could potentially be altered with various seasonings to suit any tastes. My next task is to make this sans sauce and amped spices. We also dumped the skin/fat back in (I heart pork fat!)

This recipe, as is, turned out to be absolute HEAVEN! The pork was melt in your mouth tender and fatty... and... oh God I must have more!  Eat your heart out Dinosaur BBQ, I can beat you at your own game!

For anyone who's scared of trying some homemade pulled pork, FEAR NOT! This recipe is easy peasy and delicious.

Second Weapon in the Arsenal

It's time to introduce the next major weapon in my culinary arsenal!

 The Dutch Oven

Soon after beginning our cooking adventures, Justin and I decided that we needed some new, better quality pots and pans. Justin did a fair amount of research on what would give us the best bang for our buck. Sure, we could go with some expensive All-Clad cookware (to which I still find myself ogling in the William Sonoma window at the mall)... but instead, the idea of the dutch oven seemed more suited to our current needs.

There are two major players in the dutch oven community: Le Creuset and Lodge. Le Creuset is generally seen as the best you can buy. They're expensive. Worth it... but expensive (especially for our meager budget)! Lodge also consistently ranks well on the cooking sites and is a fair amount cheaper. From the research that Justin did, it's basically a comparison of 100% to 94% satisfaction between the two brands. We chose Lodge.

Soon after the choice was made, Justin added the 4 qt enameled cast iron dutch oven to his Christmas wish list. When he picked up the heavy wrapped box from under the tree that year, his eyes lit up. He unwrapped it hastily and sat staring for a minute, in awe. We had no choice but to bring this baby home, wash it and immediately make some tasty dish in it. 

I've used that pot soo much since we've had it, that we wound up getting the 6 qt Lodge dutch oven to match. We still have both and they are my FAVORITE cooking vessels! HANDS DOWN! The cast iron provides a large, even cooking surface. The enamel makes it non-stick (I've had the bigger one in the oven making an Italian Sunday sauce that ended up coating the top/sides with a thick, black grunge that washed off beautifully clean).  Plus, the things are heavy and virtually indestructible. They'll last you a lifetime! The only caveat to a dutch oven is that you supposedly can't use it on glass top stoves (not a problem for us).

In sum, the next tool I'd recommend that any home cook add to their shed, is the dutch oven. Be it Lodge or Le Creuset, buy a dutch oven to make your day!

Soup for the Soul

This past weekend, I decided it was high time to bust out my latest kitchen gadget: my pressure cooker. Granted, by latest, I mean that Justin bought it for my birthday back in July (sorry man, but the thing scared me a little)... Anyways, with it being September and the weather cooling off, it seemed appropriate to use the cooker to make some warming bone broth.

After doing my usual scouring of the vast web universe for the perfect recipe, I finally settled on one from Nom Nom Paleo (which is fast becoming one of my fave recipe sites. Come on now... She has 'NOM NOM' in the name... It has to be good!): http://nomnompaleo.com/post/16004110328/quick-pressure-cooker-bone-broth

Quick Pressure Cooker Bone Broth

Ingredients:

• 2 medium leeks, cleaned and cut in half crosswise (I buy the pre-trimmed ones from Trader Joes’s)
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into three pieces
• 2.5 pounds of assorted bones (I use a mixture of chicken and pork bones from the freezer or cross shanks and oxtails)
• 8 cups of water (enough to cover the bones but not more than 2/3rd the capacity of the pressure cooker)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of Red Boat fish sauce

Method:

• Dump the veggies in the pressure cooker (make sure it’s at least 6-quarts), toss in your bones (frozen is fine), cover with water (make sure you don’t fill more than 2/3rds capacity!), add the vinegar and fish sauce.
• Lock on the lid and turn the dial to high pressure. Place the pot on a burner set on high heat. Once the indicator pops up showing that the contents of the pot have reached high pressure, immediately decrease the temperature to the lowest possible setting to maintain high pressure (low is normally adequate).
• Set the timer for 30 minutes (I let it go for 50 minutes if I’m cooking meaty shanks or oxtails).
• When the timer dings, turn off the burner and remove the pot from the heat. Let the pressure release naturally (10-15 minutes).
• Remove the lid, skim of the scum (if you desire), and strain the broth.
• I don’t parboil the bones to decrease the scum because I’m lazy. Plus, there really isn’t that much left after you strain it.
• Faster and more flavorful than other methods. Really.

I didn't do much to alter the recipe. I didn't have any leeks or carrots (oops!), so I ended up using a rather large yellow onion and a few large cloves of garlic, smashed. I bought 2 lbs of grass fed beef shanks from the public market (Impressively, I actually had the forethought to place my meat order ahead of time, making the process soo much easier!)

After tossing everything in the pressure cooker, I realized that I had to use up all my nervous energy and proceeded to clean the entire downstairs of our place. The timer went off, I ran to the kitchen to take the pot off the heat and pretty much sat there, biting my nails while the steam released. I anxiously unlocked the lid and opened it up... The smell was AMAZING! 

I strained the broth and took the two large bones out and hungrily scooped out the best part of this whole process: the marrow! I LOVE THIS STUFF! It's fatty and rich! (I knew Justin was coming home momentarily, but he was not about to get these tasty morsels...) After my little marrow sidetrack, I tasted my broth: It's more rich and flavorful than any bouillon I had tasted before! This is going to become a staple in my kitchen from now on!

For those out there with a pressure cooker, this recipe is a MUST for the fall or whenever you need some lovin' for your bones! 

Offaly Good Italian

I know this post is really close to my last, but I can't help it! I've created a tasty meal using one of my new favorite meats: beef liver.

Don't be scared my friends.... please don't run away screaming... Liver may seem like one of the last things on Earth you'd ever want to eat; but let me assure you, that when it's cooked right, it can taste amazing (AND it's good for you)!

Offaly Good Italian

Ingredients:

• coconut oil
• 1 lb grassfed beef liver, cubed
• 1 lb grassfed ground lamb (you could also use ground beef)
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 8oz pkg sliced mushrooms
• 6 oz fresh baby spinach
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 jar Wegman's Diavolo sauce (you could use any sauce you prefer)
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• salt & pepper, to taste
• red pepper flakes, to taste
• lemon juice or a good quality balsamic vinegar (for drizzling)

Method:

• Heat coconut oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. 
• Add the mushrooms, bell pepper and onions. Saute until softened (a few minutes).
• Add the ground lamb and cook until the lamb is browned. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or so.
• Add the sauce, tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
• Add the liver; stir well. Then stir in the baby spinach until it has wilted. Let the entire mixture cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the liver is just cooked through (and I mean just! Overcook it and it gets tough).
• Serve over pasta, rice, mashed potatoes or a lovely parsnip/carrot puree (which is what we served it over and was made from here: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/4105061950/carrot-parsnip-puree). Drizzle with a little lemon juice or good quality balsamic vinegar.

This dish is absolutely divine! The liver is tender and adds just a touch of mineral-y goodness that compliments the flavor of the lamb and the spiciness of the sauce. The lemon juice (or balsamic) adds a little bit of brightness. It's complex, slightly 'off' and will warm your insides on a rainy September evening.

Don't be shy and eat your liver (or at least give it a try)! 

Some Slow Cooker Lovin'

For the past few weeks, Wednesdays have become mine and Justin's slow cooker adventure days. I work from 8:30 to 5 pm and stay at work to kill a little time before heading to my 6-7:30 pm training session at the MedVed store/Nazareth college track. Justin works from home, usually from whenever he rolls out of bed (9-ish?) til whenever dinner is ready (7ish).  It ends up being a very long day for the two of us... with me coming home tired and absolutely famished and him being off in his web coding world, too dazed to think. Food is a MUST and we have no time (or will) to make it... so slow cooker it is!

To help out this process, I'll usually pick up all my groceries for the planned slow cooker meal on Tuesday and prep all of the veggies/spices/meats later that evening. Justin will take a little time around his "lunch" break (usually consisting of a 10 minute span to grab a quick bite) to throw everything into the pot and set it to low. By the time we're both done with the days events, the food is ready.

This past Wednesday, consisted of a combination and adaptation of two recently scouted recipes (http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/01/09/a-meal-in-minutes/ and http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/08/25/slow-cooked-pollo-con-salsa-roja/) into the:

Uber Mexi-Slow Cooker Chicken

(I'm working on getting a photo for this)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 7 celery stalks, diced
• 2 cups baby carrots
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 14.5 oz can of organic diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 15.5 oz jar of salsa (I used Wegman's organic hot)
• 2 tbsp cumin powder
• 3/4 tbsp chipotle powder
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (you can either omit this or use to your taste, we like spicy)
• 1/2 - 3/4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• Juice from 1 lemon
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 bunch of cilantro chopped
• 2 avocados, diced (or quacamole)
• lime juice

Method:

• In the bottom of your slow cooker, layer the carrots, celery, and onions and top with the minced garlic.
• On top of the veggies layer your chicken, squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken.
• Add the diced tomatoes, salsa, all of the spices, and mix well.
• Cook all day on low (6-8 hours).
• Taste, adjust seasonings if need be.
• Serve topped with the diced avocado and cilantro. 

We served the stoup (YES, stoup! A combo of soup and stew...) over some pre-roasted and shredded spaghetti squash. This turned out to be scrumptious! (Granted, Justin forgot to put the carrots in...) The chicken thighs are melt-in-your mouth tender. The broth is rich and throat warming... and it's even better as leftovers the next evening (as I type this while slurping)! A perfect recipe for for a cold day!

Success!

I've accomplished something today that I've been scared to do/try for quite some time now. I made... MAYO!

Now, this may not seem like anything extraordinary to you folks out there, but it is to me. I've been meaning to try making it for a long, long time (mostly at Justin's urgings). The whole idea of creating this basic emulsion was more terrifying to me than making a cheesecake. More fear inducing than replicating my Mom's pumpkin pie, through the traditional method of cooking down a pumpkin and making a perfectly flaky pie crust from scratch (which, let's face it, is HARD)!

Despite all of this, I decided that today was the day to conquer the recipe from my nightmare... and I succeeded!

(Cue the heavenly choir music!)

I used a recipe that I recently found on the Everyday Paleo website: http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/06/20/homemade-paleo-mayo-cooking-demo/. The nice thing about this particular post is that it includes a video!

Ingredients:
2 eggs

2 cups light tasting olive oil or walnut oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Method:

In a blender, add the eggs, vinegar, and mustard and blend together well – leave the blender running and slowly slowly slowly drop by drop or very slow drizzle add the oil. BE PATIENT!! Do not dump all the oil in quickly and give up!! When the mixture begins to emulsify or thicken, only then can you be a bit faster about pouring in the olive oil but still take your time. Turn the blender off once all the olive oil is in and the mayonnaise is thickened to your desired consistency. Add the salt and cayenne pepper and mix well or blend again for another few seconds.

I ended up cutting this recipe in half, and it still came out great!

I think one of the keys to making the mayo stay together is having the egg be at room temperature before you start. After scouring websites for hints before giving this a whirl, it was the one thing that people consistently said was necessary. The other key is PATIENCE!! I'll admit that I was scared when I didn't see my mayo coming together at first... but then I started to hear the mixture getting thicker and realized that I was on the right track. Slow and steady with the olive oil and you'll win the mayo race!

Now that I've conquered mayo, a whole slew of new sauces can be made: Russian dressing, ranch, chipotle dip... oh the possibilities!

Fast Mexican Awesomeness!

Today marked the start of my new hours of work, complicated by getting up early for a run, an appointment with my chiropractor, heavy rain that made all driver's on the road act stupidly, a quick (and very soaked) trip into the library to pick up The Paleo Solution (by Robb Wolf), and a Wegman's shopping trip. All of this, before 6 pm... I was stressed. I was hungry.... and I had yet to cook...

Grumbling, I  began to throw together the evening meal in hopes to assuage my famished state and my not so fun stress levels. I apparently do really well under these conditions, 'cuz I ended up creating something that can only be described as AWESOME! 

Quick Mexican Chicken & Shrimp 

(I apologize for the lack of photo. Justin and I were way too hungry to pause for this step!)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground organic chicken
• 1 lb frozen peeled/cleaned shrimp, thawed
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 8 oz pkg sliced mushrooms
• 1 15.5 oz jar organic hot salsa (you could use mild, if you'd like)
• ~ 1 1/2 tsp mexican seasoning (the blend I use is from Niblack Foods http://niblackfoods.com/wp-content/w3tc/pgcache/_index.html.gzip)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper
• salt/pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• Fresh squeezed lime juice
• cilantro
• avocado/guacamole

Directions:

• Preheat a pan over medium-high heat. 
• Melt coconut oil in pan.
• Add onion, peppers and mushrooms. Saute until softened, ~3 minutes.
• Add ground chicken and cook until chicken is chicken is browned. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.
• Add salsa/seasonings and stir to combine. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are nice and pink (~5 minutes). Taste and adjust seasonings if need be.
• Serve over cauliflower rice (if Paleo), regular rice or (as in our case) roasted sweet potatoes/beets. Garnish with lime juice, cilantro and possible avocado/guacamole.
• Enjoy!

This was quick and oh so tasty! I would highly recommend serving this over the roasted sweet potatoes/beets, for the beets add a wonderful earthiness to the dish. 

Sweet, spicy, earthy and savory... everything you need for the perfect bite!

One of my 'Go-To' Soups

Before my recent change to the Paleo (if not Paleo adapted) diet, I generally ate mostly vegetarian/vegan and occasionally had some meat (I would only really eat meat when going out to a nice restaurant or using a little store bought grilled chicken or tuna in my salads for lunch). Throughout my cooking adventures, I found several go-to veggie/vegan friendly recipes that were consistently good and became part of my regular culinary repertoire. These also turned out to be the ones that I'd serve Justin's parents (who are both vegan/vegetarian) and to those who were somewhat averse to veganism... and was able to convince said folks that this style of food can be tasty, 'cuz they're are that scrumptious!

The following soup is one of those cold weather, chowder-esque, comfort giving goodies that has yet to ever fail me. (PLEASE don't be put off by the fact that this is vegan!! It doesn't taste it and can be adapted to be meat friendly!):

Butternut Stew with Tofu, Corn and Pine Nuts

(Compliments of Vegetarian Times http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/butternut-stew-with-tofu-corn-and-pine-nuts/)

Ingredients:
4 cups frozen Silver Queen or other sweet corn kernels, thawed
4 cups peeled and diced butternut squash
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. white pepper
4 cups water
2 Tbs. chicken-flavored broth powder (you could use real chicken bouillon here)
4 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. firm tofu, diced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup pine nuts
2 scallions, minced, for garnish

**ground chipotle pepper, to taste (my yummy addition)

Directions:
1. Place corn in blender or food processor, and purée until coarse. Transfer corn to heavy saucepan, and add squash, garlic, salt, pepper, water and broth powder. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook until squash is tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat large skillet over medium heat, and add oil. Toss diced tofu in flour, and sauté until browned on all sides. Add pine nuts, and sauté 1 minute more. When squash is tender, add tofu and pine nuts, stir and continue cooking 5 minutes. Remove from heat, garnish with scallions and serve.

This recipe is FANTASTIC as is; however, here are the changes I've made to it in the past:

• I rarely made this with the pine nuts. Pine nuts are expensive and I am cheap. 
• I rarely fried the tofu before adding it to the soup. Personally, I didn't always care for it. If anything, I'd freeze the tofu first and then thaw it the night before, thereby creating a more grainy, meat-like texture.
• I added some ground chipotle powder, to taste. The smoky, spiciness offsets the sweet flavors of the corn and butternut squash and gives this soup some nice depth of flavor.
• For those who are put off by tofu, have soy allergies or just plain are scared of vegan: Feel free to sub tempeh or grilled chicken as the sources of protein. Both would work well.

This recipe is quick, adaptable to anyone's tastes and is truly one of my favorites! Enjoy!

  

Breakfast for the Wearied

This morning proved to be a bit of a challenge, motivation wise. I just could not get myself into the mood enough to complete my scheduled 20 minute warmup run and 40 minute run at my marathon goal pace. I barely managed to do the warm-up and 5 minutes of the goal pace section before getting frustrated and saying, "I'm soo over this!" (I can't help but think this is due to the fact that I'm getting a little burnt out from my training. The race is on the 23rd of September and in terms of my readiness, the hay is in the barn. I've been running 12+ miles for the past 3 Saturdays and am in much better shape... to the point that I should be able to beat my last 1/2 marathon time by at least 10 minutes...) So, in an effort to recenter myself, I stopped my run and did some Vinyasa yoga.  There's nothing like going through the sun salutations to bring some peace to the troubled soul.

Needless to say, I was quite hungry after the mornings inner turmoil and workout. I knew that eggs were the answer to such, but what to make? An omelet or a fried egg? Both sounded really good to me... I went back and forth, back and forth... 'twas then I proclaimed, "I'll have both!"

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 100 calorie packet of "Wholly Guacamole"
• some leftover Wegman's harvest veggies
• salt, pepper and Mesquite seasoning (to taste)
• hot sauce (not pictured... I'm a hot sauce fiend! I literally put in on everything I eat... except for dessert...)
• cooking spray

Method:

Take 2 of the eggs and crack them into a bowl. Use a fork to beat the eggs until they are a pale yellow color. Season with salt, pepper and mesquite seasoning.

Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. At this point, feel free to nuke the harvest veggies in the microwave for a minute ( I hate cold veggies and am too lazy saute them in the pan).

Once, the pan is warm, spray with cooking spray. Pour the in the eggs, making sure to spread them around (you can use a spatula to help). When the eggs are firm on the bottom, dump in the harvest veggies in a line down the center. Let everything cook for a few moments, until the eggs are no longer liquidy on top. 

Now comes the tricky part... Use a spatula to loosen up the bottom of the eggs and gently fold over two of the sides, like folding a piece of paper. Slide the omelet off of the pan and onto a plate.

Place the pan back on the burner and re-spray with cooking spray, if need be. Crack the remaining egg into it, trying to be sure not to break the yolk (I hate an broken yolk in a fried egg!) You could also crack the egg into a bowl first and then pour it into the pan. Let the egg chill there until the white is set and the edges are curling up.** I like my eggs a little on the runny side, so this usually only takes a couple minutes. Feel free to cook until yours until the desired runniness is reached.

While your egg is cooking, spread the guacamole onto your prepped omelet. Slide your fried egg out onto said omelet, when finished, and season with salt, pepper and optional hot sauce. Enjoy!

**Note: I like to put a little water into the pan and then cover it to get the yolk cooked slightly on top**

May I say that this is one of the perfect ways to start the rest of the day! You get the oh so tasty runny- yolk goodness from the fried egg, the awesomeness that is an omelet and that smooth, delicious avocado in the guacamole... IT'S HEAVEN ON A PLATE!