Doggie Bags & Breakfast for Dinner

It's almost the end of the week!! Which means my trip is sosososoclose. 

So I'm not sure about y'all but I love the occasional breakfast for dinner. Because sometimes after a long day, I don't feel much like cooking, and breakfast food has a sort of comfort to it. Last night, I hovered over the kitchen sink wolfing down a sweet potato for dinner. #pathetic. However my appetite was a little skimpy since I had just come from a yoga class where the girl next to me dislocated her shoulder (poor thing). I'm a tad squeamish so this was rather off-putting. 

A few weeks ago, I had a near empty fridge, some delicious whole grain bread, an avocado and some eggs. And while I know this is such a simple combo, it was just what I needed. Perfect dinner, not too much, not too little. I toasted my bread, scrambled my eggs with Celtic Sea Salt and a dash of fresh cracked pepper and sliced an avocado. I had a little bit of leftover green salsa, and voila....dinner was served. 

So if you're stumped on dinner, low on provisions or just not in the mood to put together a feast; look no further than some ole' fashioned eggs n' bacon. 

Sidenote: 

Doggie bags. Or rather, dogs in bags. 

Meet Sushi, my living and breathing stuffed animal. 

I'm a firm believer that if you have a well behaved dog and you're a good dog parent, you should be allowed to take said dog with you to human establishments. Sushi (my dog pictured above) is a great companion. She never complains, always is happy to see you and knows her table manners. I honestly can't say I've ever heard her bark in public. So, she's a perfect candidate. 

She's also recently become a huge fan of the "puppy latte" at Starbucks. I know. I've created a monster. 

Have a great weekend y'all, stay cool, stay fun and come on back later on for more #nomz, recipes and adventures. 

Mid-Week Feasting

Bonjour! I'm finally working at a normal pace, so I can blog happily! Have you noticed our new look? It's still a work in progress, but we're working hard over here at TheSizzle!

As you know, I love food. Lately, as this half marathon and several beach trips are approaching, I have taken to eating all of my meals at home, cooking super healthy thangs, but NEVER sacrificing flavor, quality ingredients, and the occasional nibble of dark chocolate. My new favorite treat is the flax seed dark chocolate bars from SweetRiot. I know flax seeds and dark chocolate sound gross, but trust me it's quite tasty. 

SOURCE

Last night, me and some good friends had a small gathering and ate a delicious meal. My friend's boyfriend is a new hot up and coming Chef in Houston (stay tuned for an interview!) and he prepared most of the meal. I obviously brought some of my black beans because I accidentally made enough to feed an army (they were very well reviewed, thank you very much!) The menu consisted of:

-Roast chicken, stuffed with fresh herbs from their backyard garden & potatoes

-Oven roasted cauliflower

-Asparagus salad with Shallot vinaigrette & Walnuts (I ate the whole bowl almost)

-Black beans

You can email me at thesizzlehouston@gmail.com for recipes, as I don't want this to be a terribly long-winded post!

Our delightful spread. Healthy, delicious and so so filling.

blanched asparagus salad with shallot vinaigrette, walnuts & shaved parmesan

roast chicken with herbs

ready to demolish.

Needless to say, I went home totally stuffed and content that I had eaten my fill, and run 5 miles prior. 

I can't wait to share my exciting news with y'all! I'll give you some hints: It involves vacationing. Somewhere awesome. 

Have a lovely humpday amigos!

Weekend Happenings & Black Beans

Hi friends! Sorry I didn't post yesterday, things have been extra CRAY around these here waters. 

I hope y'all had lovely weekends and enjoyed your Cinco de Mayos. In honor of the holiday and my efforts to only eat at home and get beach ready, I made black beans. They are delightful. Recipe below:

SOURCE

I forgot to take a pic, since they were so delicious I was just anxious to eat them! Keep in mind, you need to soak the beans overnight, so plan accordingly. 

MAD'S BLACK BEAN RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 bag of dry black beans

- 1 Onion, roughly chopped

-5-6 cloves of fresh garlic, roughly chopped

- 2-3 cubes of chicken or beef or veggie (lots of options!) bouillon, you can always use regular salt, but I think this adds more flava

THIS IS HOW WE DOOOO IT:

- Rinse your beans in a collander, then add them to a big bowl, add 2 TB baking soda, and cover them with water. Give them a little whiz so the baking soda mixes well

-The next day, re-rinse the beans, and add them to a pot with water (just enough water to cover) Bring it to just under a boil, and let it simmer for about 25 minnies. 

-Once you can see that the beans are softening, add your garlic and onion, stir and re-cover. 

-About 20 minutes later, add your seasonings of choice (chicken bouillon in my case) and stir. 

-Let them simmer about 15 more minutes, or until they have reached your desired consistency. 

-NOM ON THEM. 

-I always top mine with a little cilantro and creme fraiche. You can sub Greek yogurt/sour cream and add queso fresco or any other cheese of preference. I went cheese-less in an effort to not cancel out the 45 minutes of Tracy Anderson turture I had endured pre-bean feast. 

AND NOW:

This weekend was very relaxing. I spent the majority of it by the pool, and the rest was just breezy as can be. MainSqueeze is on a business trip, so I've been partner-in-crime-less (but there's an exciting twist coming up soon!)

Sunday morning I met up with Foodie Photo Blog for brunch at Dish Society. 

Pardon the phone shadow. Standard breakfast and Nutella French toast lurking in the back

She ordered a tasty juice concoction, I went for my standard vanilla bean latte, and we sat outside in the glorious weather. I ordered a standard breakfast, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast with a delightfully light homemade strawberry compote. We decided we HAD to try the Nutella french toast, and it was #worthit. She ordered the breakfast tacos, and they got a thumbs up. 

Breakfast tacos

Overall, I give it a B+. Standard, good breakfast, but nothing to write long letters home about. But I'd go back.  The B+ is also because I ordered my eggs scrambled with cheese and they were just plain, no seasoning or cheese! However, I'm willing to let it slide this once.

STORY TIME:

So for those who know me, you'll know that I'm a freak when it comes to spelling things correctly. Especially on printed items. So you can imagine the OCD craze that I went into when I saw this at a local sushi restaurant who shall remain nameless as the sushi and service were both highly unremarkable. But it made me laugh.

I spy......TWO GLARING SPELLING MISTAKES (and one extra for my Spanish speakers out there)

I mean..... PROOFREAD. Sigh. Rant over. I hope you found it funny though!

Happy 6 of May, happy almost hump day, happy day in general? I'll be back tomorrow with more fun thangs. 

Meyer Lemon Red Snapper

Buenos Dias amigos! Hopefully this weather hasn't forced you into hibernation. It almost got the best of me this morning, especially since I've stored away the majority of my winter clothing. 

Is it just me, or did Easter sneak up on us? I can't even understand how it's already here. However, if it means summer is around the corner, then SIGN.ME.UP. 

In the springy spirit of things, I'm going to share with you a delightful light and fresh springtime recipe. 

A couple weeks ago, Central Meerkat was running a special on freshly caught Redfish. I took advantage of this and headed home on my merry way with the following ingredients for 

MEYER LEMON RED SNAPPER & WILTED SPINACH:

Thangs you need:

- Non-stick pan for pan searing your fish

-2 Meyer lemons

-Salt & Pepper to taste

-Olive Oil

-Any herb you'd like to add on, I usually would go with some Dill here, but I couldn't find fresh Dill so I went naked and herbless

-2 bags of baby Spinach

-Coconut oil for cooking your spinach (I'm really into coconut oil for cooking nowadays. I totally get that some people hate the taste, but I think it pairs really nicely with certain ingredients)

HOW TO DO IT:

-Rinse off your fish filets, pat dry, and season well with salt, pepper, herbs. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top and get ready to drop it in the pan. 

-On medium heat, put your fish in the pan, I usually go 2 minutes on each side, during the final minute or so, I add the juice of 1 Meyer lemon to finish it off. Put your fish aside and let it rest. 

-In another pan, heat to medium, add about a tablespoon of coconut oil, and then add your spinach greens. Sprinkle with salt and the juice of the 2nd Meyer Lemon and let the spinach wilt, don't overcook it or it'll be a soggy mess. 

-Aaaaaand you're done. HOW.EASY.WAS.THAT.

The finished product. #nomcity

And there you have it, a quick and easy, healthy springtime recipe to put some spring in your step. 

Later this week/tomorrow you get to hear about how I totally fan-girled at the St. Paul & The Broken Bones concert, Easter happenings and weekend adventures. Until then, stay warm and keep your chin up; warm weather is near! (hopefully. don't quote me.)

Chicken Wing Wednesday

I have to admit something to y'all. I can be a scaredy cat. Fine. I AM a scaredy cat.

I know, it's embarrassing. So, one of my fears is chicken. I will hug and squeeze and pet live chickens, but when it comes to raw chicken meat.... not so much. 

I seldom cook chicken for the sole reason that I don't like touching it, and I always overcook it to a tough and nasty consistency. Notwithstanding, I like a challenge so I have recently been conquering my distaste for cooking poultry by roasting a whole chicken. Some of you might be asking yourself, "why doesn't she try searing up a chicken breast first instead of going for the whole enchilada?" Because I like to go big y'all. (Remind me to tell you the story about when I had to hook a live worm for the first time. No, it wasn't 1996...it was like 3 months ago.)

A few weeks ago I roasted a chicken and quite honestly, I surprised myself. It was literally finger lickin' good. So here's how it goes down:

BOW CHICKA WOW WOW CHICKEN:

- 1 whole chicken (I go all granola here and get the free-range, hormone free, raised in a chicken mansion with daily relaxing aromatherapeutic massages)

-1 bunch of your choice of herb, (the legal kind...or not, whatever I'm not here to judge). I like to use Sage or Rosemary. 

- 1 preheated oven to 450

-6-7 roughly chopped cloves of garlic (another anti-vampire recipe...you're welcome again)

-Veggies of your liking. I recommend carrots, beets, potatoes, corn, turnips, anything roastable. (yep,that's a word...to me!)

-Salt. I always cook with "Celtic Sea Salt". Sounds majestic, no? Well, I believe it has more flava and it's also apparently better for you. Buy it here. 

-Lemons. I go wild here. 2-3 lemons, washed, sliced, and ready to rock. I also set aside one whole lemon to squeeze over the bird. A lemony bird bath.

GET 'ER DONE:

-Stick your hand down into the nasty chicken cavity and pull out all the crazy things they stuff in there. Gag a little maybe. Wash the chicken WITH WATER, not soap you sillies. THEN wash your hands furiously with scalding hot water and soap #fordays.

-Rub salt all over that bird. Cut some small holes in the skin, shove garlic down there and whatever herbs you're using. Crack some pepper on there as well. (repeat obsessive hand wash)

-Place  3-4 lemon slices and remaining garlic in the cavity. Place your lemons wedges all over the bird. (hand wash)

-Now, if you want to be naughty (it IS "why not Wednesday" so go ahead) put a few little slices of butter on top of the skin. (hand wash)

-Place your veggies all around the birdie. Squeeze the lemon over errrrrthang. And sprinkle your veggies with some salt as well. (hand wash)

-I like to add a dash of veggie or chicken broth to the bottom of the pan to avoid sticking. This is up to you, different strokes, different folks. 

Finish it off with a final hand wash (your hands may or may not be raw by now) and then proceed to obsessively clean and sanitize all surfaces for fear of salmonella and bird flu.

SO IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS:

Beets & Corn (and probably Salmonella since it's raw)

When your oven is at 450, pop in the bird, and let it roast at 450 for 20 minutes. After the 20 min, lower the temp to 375 and go for about 1.5 hrs. Your meat thermometer should say the meat is 165 degrees. When you think it's done, pop it out and let her rest. She's tired and hot. If you think your veggies need to go longer (usually not the case) then transfer them to a sheet and roast for however longer you may need. 

VOILA. Chicken mastered. 

#nomcity

The grocery had the weeniest corn, so I'm not happy with what happened here. Also, I'd like to point out that I did not cook a mutant chicken, the neck is just resting next to a leg. I realize how that sounds, but there's nothing I can really say/do to make you feel better right now other than to say....