Brie and spinach omelet

Well, I was super excited about this breakfast and it looked really great, but it was kind of a flop. I think I have been over stimulated with foods and just couldn't handle it today. The mushy textures and the rich flavors, just talking about it is making my stomach turn a little. That doesn't mean I wasn't on to something with the combination, but I just couldn't do it today. 

I started with onion and garlic...too much for that matter.. two eggs with a splash of milk and scrambled, brie cheese, and spinach. I sauteed the garlic and onions and wilted the spinach in them. attempted to make the omelet but switched to scrambled eggs, and then plated the eggs. Once plated, I added the brie then the onion spinach mix. Salt and pepper was added while cooking. I was only able to eat about half of it before I had enough.

What do you to cure the sick of food stomach?

Happy eating,

Smashley

Critic IV

Yesterday was a marathon of studying. I went to my friend/classmate's house in Hendersen KY. To take a little break from studying we went to a little Mexican restaurant call Los Toribios for lunch. Mexican food is one of my favs, and I am spoiled having a Mexican boyfriend because I get authentic delish food all the time.

There are a few key things I look for to determine how authentic a place would be. I look at the staff...the Spanish to English speaking ratio, the high the Spanish generally the better, if they have any of the following: horchata, nopale salad, lengua, or pozole on weekends, and if they have the cheap candy at the front door. This place was perfect. The salsa wasn't the best, but I have had much worse (La Hacienda in Evansville BLECH! but their margaritas are great). The staff was great, the meal was even better. I had ordered a michelada and a chimichanga made with carnitas. I could not drink the michelada, mainly becuase I was unaware that it was made with clamato juice. Can't say I was a fan of the clam aspect. The Chimichanga came with guacamole, pico, and sour cream onto and a healthy serving of arroz. It was GREAT!!! The carnitas was mouth watering. SOOO GOOD!!!  By now I have eaten off of it twice, and still have a 3rd portion left..not that I am complaining. So, in conclusion I give Los Toribios 4.5 out of 5 churros ;)

Up coming menu- Tomorrow morning I am thinking about making a spinach and brie omelet.  Any thoughts?

What is your favorite food culture?

Happy eating,
Smashley

Avocado pita pizza

This has potential to become my new favorite pizza. It is seriously good, not only that, but the aftertaste is even better! OMG! I got the recipe off of punchfork.com but the actual recipe is from here.  I guess I am a little biased because I LOVE pita pizzas. I have had movie nights in the past with the focus on pita pizzas. My norm is a pesto pizza often with some squash/zucchini. This is a whole new ball park. new sauce, new feel, new toppings. The only thing this pizza was missing was a Corona with lime ans salt. That would have been pure heaven.

I made the sauce about an hour and a half ahead of time to let it all meld together. It was a good idea too. When i first finished the sauce, it was a little more olive oil-y and then after the time it was much more flavorful. Instead of 1 TBSP of green onion, I just used an entire stalk. I should have used ore jalapeno, but I countered that by later adding red pepper flakes. But lets not get ahead of ourselves.  I was once taught that the more brown stripe thingies that are on the jalapeno the spicier it is...but this one wasn't that great. I would recommend a home grown..I think they tend to pack more of a punch. 

I used a honey wheat pita and mozzarella. I added the red pepper flakes to pack the punch that the jalapeno didn't and baked the pizza till the edges of the cheese were just turning brown. Once again my avocado was wonderfully ripe. I sliced it and added some salt and pepper once onto the pizza. 

A few changes I would make in the future- more lime and cilantro, bake on the actual rack and not the foil [or potentially on a grill??? I think so ;) ], a little less EVOO, and maybe some extra cilantro and jalapeno on the pizza after removed from the oven.

So, what is your favorite pizza? Homemade or from somewhere else?

Happy eating,

Smashley

Straberries and chocolate

When I went home for Easter, my mom had the Philadelphia chocolate indulgence cream cheese spread. She was putting some on mini chocolate rice cakes and a chunk of strawberry on top. It was HEAVEN!! Well I was at wal*mart getting some groceries and I saw the spread and splurged. I got fresh strawberries and the spread. YUM! 

What is your weakness splurges when you are at the grocery store?

Happy eating,

Smashley :)

Updates.

Tell me what you think- I think I am going to start adding a question to the end of my blog to make this a more interactive experience for us all. Whether it be for suggestions on what to make or what is your favorite soup. I am a food whore and want to hear about you and your food preferences.

Also, I am going to try to plan ahead what I am going to make. This way I am a little more obligated to make what I have planned and so any readers will know what I am might be making in the next week or so.

Finally, after next week I am will be done with my tests for spring and I should have more time to cook, crochet, and post on here. I feel like I have been letting down the blogging world..not that I have many followers, but still.

This week for now I have planned to make an avocado pita pizza with cilantro sauce I found from punchfork.com. I will list the actual site when I make and post the meal.

So...since I am starting the questions...What do you think of the new plans?

Happy eating,

Smashley

Chicken noodle soup

Nothing makes me feel better than chicken noodle soup. My tummy wasn't feeling great and there was a girl in my class who had been sick for a few weeks, so I thought some chicken noodle soup would make everybody feel better. Since leaving for PT school, I have been working on perfecting my soup essentially from scratch....aka everything but the noddles. I don't use a recipe, I just add what I have and what I think will make it taste good. I started this one with 3 carrots, 3 ribs of celery, half of a med/large onion, and 3 cloves of garlic. Sauteed them for a few in EVOO with some celery salt, pepper, and a little more garlic powder. Then i added about 6 cups of water and my chicken. 3 whole breasts and 2 chunks of chicken that were mostly bone and gristle for flavor. I boiled this for about an hour and a half. Along the way I removed the oil that accumulated at the top. After the chicken was all cooked, I removed it all, cut up the breasts and returned them. I then added the noodles to the broth with the chicken and veggies. Cooked them all till the noodles were tender and then consumed. Of course I tweaked the salt content though out the way, adding more celery salt and a few dashes of soy sauce.

Snack time

On a whim I decided to make chicken noodle soup for dinner. I had a headache earlier that made my tummy upset, so what makes you feel better when your tummy is unhappy??? Chicken Noodle Soup!!!! It takes a while to make the broth, so in the mean time I am munching on a tasty snack. I have some Reggae Red wine in my brand new wine glass ;), Triscuit rosemary and olive oil crackers, Presidente brie with a drizzle of honey. Normally I add a few snips of fresh rosemary, but mine didn't survive the fall...so I did without. Still good though.

BLT and Carmel Apple Pie

So I had a ton of left over bacon from breakfast yesterday, and didn't know what to make. Then I was like "HELLO???? BLT!!!" except for me BLT is bacon, lettuce, and toast...I am not a huge fan of tomatoes unfortunately. But the maple bacon from yesterday was still so good, and of course I topped it with my beloved Franks. 

To finish my not to healthy lunch, caramel apple pie from Wal*Mart. They have surprisingly really great pies that are fairly cheap. It is so good. I highly recommend them! Yes, I know, its not that pretty, but it is good. It has a gooey strussle on top, its pretty much melts when you heat it. SO GOOD!

Best breakfast sandwich ever!

So my cousin, her husband, and my boyfriend came down to visit me this weekend. I had originally planned a tasty German breakfast of pretzel rolls, cold cuts, cheeses, and jelly..not all at once though lol. Then I was checking out punchfork.com and found an amazing breakfast sandwich. It was an egg sandwich with maple bacon, softened brie cheese, and sauteed spinach on an English muffin. It was divine, gooey, and so delish. Here is the link to the sandwich - http://www.framedcooks.com/2011/02/egg-sandwich-with-spinach-brie-and.html

More tilapia

I sure have been such a slacker lately. School has been CRAZY and I had company this weekend...which will come into play in the next post.



Well, I still had a filet left of my tilapia. I wanted something healthier than the gooey cheese filled quesadilla I had the day before (see entry before this). So I made a yummy salad filled with healthy goodies. I cut up some radishes and baby carrots, tore up the tilapia, and added the BEST avocado ever. It was perfectly ripe and o so creamy. YUM! I made a dressing out of fat free ranch, sriracha, lime juice, and some honey. It was really good. :)

Tilapia quesadilla

The other day I made 4 tilapia fillets in the oven. Half was made with butter, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. The other I made with EVOO, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, savory seasoning, salt, and pepper. Well, today I wanted it a little different. I chose to put it in a quesadilla. I added taco seasoned cheese, of course my Frank's, and on the outside some salt and garlic powder. turned out quite tasty if i do say so myself.

Dinner with the fam.

I made dinner for my family tonight. I made Cajun steak sandwiches with a molasses, ketchup, and mayo sauce and my mom's bruchetta. I also made Buffalo potato wedges with some ranch on top, and a side salad. I got the wing recipe from http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/appetizer-starter-recipes/Buffalo-Potato-Wedges-with-Warm-Blue-Cheese-Dip and the sandwich recipe from a magazine my mom cut out.

Grilled Cheese

So..its been a while. School has been crazy, I haven't even been keeping up on my blanket. So this was the other day. Seasoned oven fries with Franks RedHot and ketchup, grilled cheese, and carrots with radishes. I needed a comfort fix.