** Recipe Catch Up Post **

Happy Saturday, Kids!

We are on week into the new year, which for me kicks off my official post-holiday mind and body reset.  It's safe to say that I was a good time this holiday season in terms of cooking AND eating all sorts of delicious, most of which was out of my usual eating repetiore.  I kicked off 2012 feeling like an overstuffed thanksgiving turkey.  The damage from this year's overindulgences:  3 lbs gained.  (Yeah, I know - 3 pounds isn't all the relevant and some would argue I needed it, but tis by no means the point so please bear with me!).  However, unlike many others I make it point not to vow diet and fitness resolutions, particularly come January 1 as I always take vacation the first week of January.  Vacation for me signifies a break from the usual day to day routine and I make it a point to kick back and relax carefree and flying by the seat of my pants.  The week has gone quick.... TOO QUICK... and yet I find myself extra eager to re-focus my mind, reset my body, and ultimately go back to my usual food and fitness routine for two reason: 

1.  I'm a dietary creature of habit who prefers not to go through her days feeling like an overstuffed bird.

2. FITBIT ULTRA WIRLESS TRACKER

For those not familiar with fitbit or fitbit ultra, simply click the picture above and it will take you directly to the site, but the jist of this nifty device is that it tracks steps and calories burned, monitors sleep, and helps you stay motivated!  In my opinion this is a health and wellness MUST and I am really not just saying that (because I'll make a small commission if you buy one after clicking either the picture above or the one in the side bar to the right).  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my fitbit (maybe a little too much) and I even gifted Darin with one this holiday season (and even he is lovin' it!!)

So today was DAY 1 and I kicked off my morning with a fruit smoothie, using a new protein powder.  I made a batch of cabbage vegetable soup in my 2 quart crockpot, which I enjoyed for dinner along with some quinoa and a mock fried plantain.  Snack included my beloved protein popcorn.    According to my fitbit ultra, I took 4322 steps, climbd 14 flights of stairs, traveled 1.8 miles, burned 1684 calories, and my activite score was 665.  Woot woot!  Not bad for a Saturday :-)

Moving on -     

I found the recipe (by the Tasty Cheapskate) for the amazingness pictured above through the Secret Recipe Club's Cookie Party and all I can say is that it did not dissapoint.  The macaroon's were easier to make than I anticiapted and thus far have received rave reviews from all we have tried them.  There is no doubt that I will definately be making them again in the very near future :-)

And on that note, time to dash off.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

These were a happy accident as I had no intention on making corn tortilla cups the other morning nor did I plan to eat egg whites.  I woke up at the ass crack of dawn so that I could hit the gym before work.  I headed to Sky (Athletic Club) for my usual morning cardio with a tropical (Mango! Pineapple! Banana!) fruit smoothie on the brain.  45 minutes of heart pumpin' cardio and a 5 minute drive home later, I stood in my kitchen, fridge door open wanting nothing to do with a fruit smoothie and everything to do with my dear old friend "Fiesta Whites".  As I plucked the necessary ingredients from the shelves, I opened my seemingly designated drawer only to descover that I was out of cheese shreds (drats!) but in with gluten free corn tortillas (score!).  15 minutes later, the Fiesta Breakfast Cup was born!  

Enjoy!

Fiesta Breakfast Cups
Serves 1

2 corn tortillas

1/2 cup egg whites
Dash Garlic Powder
Pinch Mrs Dash Onion & Herb

4 Tbs Salsa
1 heaping Tbs of Nutritional Yeast, optional
Cilantro, garnish

Preheat oven to 350F.  Take cupcake (or muffin pan) and flip it upside down.  Set aside. 

To make cups:
Lightly wet tortillas (I always buy the smallest sized ones) and place between two plates (bottom plate right side up, top plate flipped upside down like a cover) and microwave 1 - 2 minutes.   Remove from microwave and lightly spray with cooking spray.   Place tortillas in between the cups on the upside down muffin pan so that it forms the shape of a bowl.  (This works best when you place the tortill in the middle of four cups, arranging as needed but dont stress it too much as it somehow always comes out great even when it looks wonky on the pan).  Bake at 350F for approximately 9 minutes, or until tortilla start to turn golden brown. 

Meanwhile, season and cook egg whites on stove burner as you normally would.  Once cooked, remove from the pan and chop so that it fits into the cups.  Then, in a small mug, mix together the salsa and the nutritional yeast.  Microwave until hot.   

To assemble:
Place tortilla cups on a plate.  Add chopped egg whites, then top with salsa mixture.  (If I had cheese shreds I would have tossed the shreds with the egg whites and then topped with salsa).  Garnish with cilantro.  Serve hot. 

Special Note to the Ladies:
I don't know why, but in my experience, men are impressed by these tortilla cups.  When asked how you made them, simply reply "magic", then smile and wink.  :-)  

Your welcome  xo

My assigned blog for this month was Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks.  The milisecond I got the assignment I clicked the link to see what deliciousness awaiting me and once again it was nothing short of amazing!  My sweet tooth was running amuk that day, so instead of starting at the first recipe link and working my way to the end, I headed straight for the desserts section.  I was approximately 3 pages in when the words CAKE BATTER BITES popped out at me.  I'm not even kidding when I say my heart fluttered and I all but wept when I read the words: "They taste just like Funfetti cake batter covered in chocolate."  Cake batter anything is my heart and it was a dark day for me when my non-dairy, wheat and gluten limiting lifestyle ended my 31 year love affair with the batter.  Come to think of it, I all but wept then too.  Hell, it's been years and I still find myself cycling through the stages of grief when I come into close proximity with cake batter deliciousness!  While I love my milk, butter (and cheese) free life, I can't deny my desire to swim in a vat of Ralph's (Ices) "Cake Shake". ;-b

After I reviewed the recipe, typed a message to Darin declaring Heather Lynne a genius and jotted down the ingredients list and instructions.  Fully prepared to (single handedly) put down an entire batch in one sitting, I made sure to log in extra daily cardio throughout the week.  Drunk with anticipation of my soon to be rekindled cake batter romance, I happily set to work in the kitchen.  I followed the recipe as written in terms of amounts but I made the standard vegan swaps (earth balance vegan buttery spread instead of butter, unsweetened coconut milk instead of cow's milk) and also used gluten free flour in place of regular all purpose flour.   That said, I'm not entirely sure why things went awry but it's safe to say the original recipe did not approve of my substitutions.  My dough was impossibly sticky despite trying every trick for working with gluten free dough in the book (it's notoriously sticky), which made it almost impossible to shape.  Almost....  I eventually wrangled into cute little balls.  I then chilled said balls in the freezer for about 25 - 30 minutes, using that time to make a chocolate ganache as tastebud pleasing vegan white chocolate is seemingly non-existent in my neck of the woods.  In regards to the ganache, I always go with Isa Chandra Moskowitz's recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World because it's knock your socks off delicious yet quick and easy to make.  This tiime was no exception but my cake batter bites did not approve of being dipped and began to flatten out into a disc shape at an alarming pace.  To say I was devestated would be a serious understatement and I couldnt bring myself to take a picture.  Hopefully that putting them back in the freezer would magically fix this culinary disaster, I stuffed them all into a container, placed it on my freezer shelf and went to my room to grieve.  Several days later, I opened the container.  They were nonetheless hideous but I ate one anyways.  In two words:  freakin delicious! As I proceeded to eat half the batch, I vowed to try again over the upcoming weekend.  Attempt #2 - as you can see from the above picture - was a success :-) 

Cake Balls Take 2
Adapted from

2 cups Glutino Old Fashioned Cake and Cookie Mix
2 Tbs melted coconut oil
4 - 5 Tbs unsweetened coconut milk
2 Tbs coconut nectar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 packet sprinkles (purchased at Wild by Nature - I dont recall the brand)

 1 recipe Chocolate Ganache from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Extra Sprinkles for garnish

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  Combine above ingredients in a medium bowl until a dough is formed.  If dough is sticky, place it in fridge for 5 minutes or so as this will make it easier to work with.  Otherwise proceed with shaping your dough into quarter sized balls.  Place the balls onto the parchment lined sheet and freeze for 20 minutes.  

While the dough is chilling, make ganache (or melt chocolate of choice) in a double broiler and allow to cool slightly.  Remove dough balls from the freezer, and either dip in the chocolate ganache, covering each ball completely. (You can also just spoon chocolate over the balls and top with sprinkles if you dont mind the bottoms not being covered)  Top with sprinkles and set tray back in the fridge to harden before devouring - YUM!!  As Heather Lynne said in her original post:  These are addictive!!
   

Shortly after my initial epic fail at making cake batter bites, I phoned Darin to vent my woes and we ended up making dinner plans for later in the week.  I had yet to sample one of my balls and thus stated I needed to cook something that I could post on reveal date.  I directed Darin to the website and he enventually decided on Buffalo Chicken Tenders.  I ended up using real chicken for him, Quorn Chik'n for mine - used Earth Balance instead of butter and Better Batter Gluten Free Flour - but followed Heather Lynne's instructions exactly as writen.  I was a little nervous about cooking the chicken in that I didnt have a thermometer on hand and always worry that I'm going to accidentially posion someone via undercooked meat.  (Highly plausible considering its been 15 years since I ate any kind of meat and overall  have limited experience preparing it!)  Darin however had a total faith and laughed when I asked where he kept his meat therometer.  In hindsight I am not entire sure I've ever eaten Buffalo Chicken but my lack of experience in the field had no impact on the outcome of the recipe.   Darin raved about his and I'm now officially obsessed with Buffalo Chik'n!  (No seriously - after eating it that once, I have since made two Buffalo Chik'n centered meals and it's only been a week and a half - pics foor your viewing pleasure below!)

On a final note, I want to thank Heather Lynne for her delicious recipes and awesome blog!  Positive vibes to all for a fantastic week ahead :-)

(details for both coming soon!)

I lied. 

It's not chicken (It's mock chicken!).  And it's not vegan (It's vegetarian!) 

(And yes that's yellow squash not zucchini, but that's only because the picture is of the leftovers I took for lunch.  I forgot to snap a photo before dinner and didn't have another zucchini). 

I apologize for trying to deceive you.  I shouldn't have (but yeah, it might happen again).  The only reason I did it was because slow cooker chicken cacciatore sounded so much better than slow cooker mock chicken....or not chicken....and if I wrote chik'n it would have been a dead give away and possibly deterred people from giving the recipe a chance. 

I'm sorry.

Do you forgive me?

I promise this dish is delicious (and naturally gluten free!).  And I promise that I am not lying about that - If it sucked I wouldnt have bothered posting!

Try it.

And tell me what you think :-)

1 1/2 cups quorn chik chunks
1 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onions, chopped
1 can petite tomatoes, low sodium drained
1 Tbs tomato paste
4 oz. water
3 oz. red wine
2 Tbs fresh ground italian seasoning
1 green pepper, chopped

1 zucchini or yellow squash, spiralized (keep raw or blanche)

Wash and prep veggies as instructed above.

Add all ingredients (EXCEPT the zucchini or yellow squash) to slow cooker (I used a 2qt) and stir to combine.  Cook on low for 4 - 5 hours (or on high for 2 - 4).

Wash and spiralize the zucchini or squash.  Keep raw (as I did) or blanch.  Serve in place of traditional pasta.

Monday Funday?!
Yeah, not likely.  But today isnt any other Monday.  Today is special.

Special?!
Yup Yup!!

In fact, today is best monday ever special because I can finally share the great news:

I WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB

*does little dance*

I applied a few months ago but hadn't heard back.  After two weeks or so I assumed I didn't make the cut. (It happens).  Then I got the email while shopping at Trader Joes.

*does another little dance*

Yeah, yeah I know - it's kinda silly but whatever.  My acceptance into the club will forever be an epic moment in Delicious Existence history :-b 

Don't hate, participate!

Ok, if you havent clicked any of the above links your likely wondering what the secret recipe club is and you can read all about it by clicking here.  However, the jist of this group is simple:  each month, if you choose to participate, you are  “assigned” another participating members food blog to make a recipe from. You can choose any recipe posted on that food bloggers site but it’s a secret, so don’t tell them you are making something from their blog!

So, who's blog was my first assignment?!

*drum roll*

 Penny Pinching Provisions

I immediately googled the site to view the deliciousness and let me say, there's a lot of great recipes on the site!  I seriously wanted to make EVERYTHING but alas, I'm to choose just one.  Torn between several, I somehow managed to narrow it down to the Jerk Chicken Foccica and the BBQ Chicken Pizza.  For the next 4 days, I went back and forth between the two.  I mean, there was no way I wasn't making the beer batter pizza dough.  But anyone who knows me (or reads this blog) knows how fond I am of Jerk anything (heh).  Two more days passed and finally, it hit me:   Carribean Jerk Pizza!

Excited, I began to devise my recipe, which consists of the following:

1.  Make Beer Batter Pizza Dough
2.  Make Jerk Chik'n/Chicken
3.  Make Caribbean Sauce
4.  Make Pizza

This may seem lengthy but it's not, I promise!  Everything that needs to be accomplished before the actual pizza  is put together can be done while the dough is rising.

That said, let's hop to it!

BEER BATTER PIZZA DOUGH
Adapted from Penny Pinching Provisions

The original recipe states that it makes 2 large or 4 medium pizza's. That's a lot of dough.  I planned on making two 7" pizza's (one with chik'n and one with chicken) so I decided to half the recipe.  This turned out to be a mistake because this was by far THE BEST DOUGH EVER and I ended up making a second batch immediately after (details on that coming soon).

1 cup warm water
1 Tbs coconut nectar
1 Tbs yeast
3.5 - 4 cup bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs olive oil
6oz beer, room temp (I used New Castle)

Bread machine ~
Load bread machine pan as per manufacturer's instructions.   Select the "dough" cycle.

By hand ~
Mix the yeast with the water and honey in a small mixing bowl. Rest until foamy.

Mix 2 cups of the flour with the salt in a large bowl. Pour yeast mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Add the olive oil and beer. Stir to combine.

Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until the dough isn’t sticky. Once you’ve reached 4 cups of flour, turn the dough out of the bowl onto the table top and knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic, sprinkling with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Once the dough is soft, smooth and elastic.

Place in a deep, greased bowl and let rise 45-60 minutes, or until double in size.  Once risen, it's ready for use!


JERK SEASONING
From Penny Pinching Provisions

1 Tbs onion powder
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs salt
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs thyme
3/4 tsp all spice
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp red pepper, ground

Combine above ingredients.  Use to make chik'n, chicken, and caribbean sauce.

JERK CHICKEN & CHIK'N:

With Meat ~
I followed the recipe at Penny Pinching Provision for cooking the chicken, using a small pack of chicken cutlets, which I chopped up after cooking.

Meatless ~
1 cup Quorn Chik'n Chunks*
Jerk seasoning, to taste
Cayenne pepper, optional, to taste

Note: Quorn Chik'n chunks are not vegan as they contain egg whites.
Preheat oven to 400F

In a bowl, thoroughly mix the Jerk seasoning and Cayenne pepper.  Divide into separate portions if cooking both meat eaters and non-meat eaters, then set aside.

Coat chik'n with olive oil (or lightly spray with non-stick olive oil spray) and toss with jerk/cayenne mix.  Spread on baking sheet and bake until hot and golden (about 30 min).


CARIBBEAN SAUCE:
From

1/2 Tbs cold water
1/2 tsp All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce* see note
3/4 tsp jerk seasoning

Add water to a mixing bowl.  Slowly sprinkle flour into water while whisking at the same time. Break up any clumps.  Add sweet chili sauce and jerk seasoning to flour mixture. Mix thoroughly.  Add sauce to a non-stick saute pan and cook over high heat for approximately 5 to 6 minutes, stir continuously.  When sauce is thickened transfer to a container and cool to room temperature.

Note: To make your own Sweet Chili Sauce, combine:  1/2 cup tomato sauce, 1/8 cup brown sugar, 1 Tbs vinegar, and 1/8 tsp all spice.  Store in fridge until ready to use.

THE PIZZA:
1 recipe beer batter pizza dough
1 recipe jerk chik'n (or chicken)
1 recipe caribbean sauce

1/3 cup daiya mozzarella
1/2 red peppers, chopped
1/2 yellow pepper, chopped
1/8 cup red onions, chopped
1/8 cup facon (or bacon)

Sprinkling of additional mozzarella
1/4 - 1/2 Tbs chopped green scallions

Preheat oven to 425F.  Have all the topping ingredients assembled before rolling out the crust. If you are using a pizza stone make sure it is also heating in the oven.

Sprinkle a flat surface with flour and gently roll out the dough and place the prepared crust on a pizza paddle sprinkled with cornmeal or a perforated pizza pan.  Bake 5-7 minutes.

Remove from oven and using a spoon, spread caribbean sauce to within an inch of the outer edge of pizza dough. Then layer the following in order listed:  mozzarella, peppers,  onions, facon (or bacon), and finally jerk Chik'n (or chicken).  Sprinkle additional mozzarella over the entire pizza, if desired.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the edges have browned. Garnish with scallions after cooking.

Another Recipe Catch Up Post
Banter No Included

Versatile Flatbread
Adapted From: Gluten Free Cooking School

1 1/2 cups Better Batter Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1 Tbs coconut nectar
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. water
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 Tbs olive oil
2 flax eggs

Herbs, Spices, finely diced toppings, to taste, optional

Mix all dry ingredients in medium size bowl.   Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Generously spray two 8 in. square baking pans and dust with cornmeal.  Spread half of batter evenly into each pan. Use the back of a wet spoon if the dough is sticky. Bake at 350F for approximately 20 minutes, or until bread pulls away from the sides of the pans.   Cut into 4 slices each.

Egg White Breakfast Sandwhich 

Adapted from: Clean Eating Chelsey

2 small crown broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup chopped figs (about 7-8 small figs)
1/4 cup red onion, diced
4 1/2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp bone suckin' mustard
1 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
salt and pepper to taste
barbeque sauce, for drizzle

Chop broccoli into bite sized pieces. Add the chopped figs and onion and toss lightly.  In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard and spices.  Pour over broccoli, fig and onion mix and toss to coat. Place the salad in the fridge for min of 2 hours to let the dressing develop flavor. (I let mine marinate overnight).  When ready to eat with your favorite barbecue sauce (and raw eggplant bacon - recipe will be posted soon!!)

   What the Smurf?!

I'm a die hard Smurf fan - always have been & always will be - so there was zero doubt that I would be seeing the movie.  (And for those who know me personally, let it go on the record that I did NOT stay up all night watching my original episodes dvd set prior to seeing the movie.... Jerks!) Throwing the horrid reviews the Smurfs received to the wind, I made plans to see a 7pm showing - with dinner and drinks to be enjoyed beforehand.   

In a word:  SMURFTASTIC

With extra skip in my step and a smile ear to ear I made my way to the city, briefly stopping at work to check on a few things.  Unfortunately said things took a little longer than planned and I feared for the groceries wilting, the pretzel bread sweating, and giant homemade peanut butter cups melting in the car with each passing milisecond.  Luckily everything held up (even the cups as I had stored them in the freezer overnight) and I made it to my destination without incident. 

Knowing that today would be one of guttony & wild abandonment, I kept it light this morning by starting my day with a large juice and packing a small banana mango smoothie for the road.

3 stalks celery
2 green apples
6 medium/large carrots
1/2-inch piece ginger
  Juice from 1/2 lemon

Squeeze lemon into jar with ice.  Run remaining ingredients through juicer.  Stir & Enjoy!!

Aside from business related activities, today's menu included: a trip to the farmer's market and the making of homemade (gluten free & vegan) cheez-it crackers & a summer vegetable biscuit pie (which would be enjoyed for the dinner portion of my evening plans). 

The city was piping hot, but the market didnt dissapoint (nor did I in my flowy summer scarf dress).  The intoxicating aroma of fresh basil and tomatoes on the fine filled the air as I sashayed through the seemingly endless fruit & vegetable stands.  I wanted everything but managed to select only what was needed for the evening.

Summer Vegetable Biscuit Pie
Adapted from Gourmet

1 recipe's worth biscuit dough (I used a gluten free one)

2 Tbs Nayonnaise
2 Tbs lemon juice fresh squeezed
2  large locally grown tomatoes
2 cup corn, fresh or thawed frozen
1/2 large locally grown green zucchini
2 Tbs finely chopped green onion
2 Tbs finely chopped basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
a pinch or two of kosher salt
1/4 cup Daiya Cheddar Cheese Shreds, optional

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Mix up your biscuit dough and divide the dough in half. Roll out one ball of dough into a circular shape and line it into a pie plate. Set aside.

Combine nayonnaise and lemon juice, adding a few twists of fresh ground pepper.  Set that aside.

Prep your veggies:  Wash, de-seed, and slice the tomatoes; wash and slice the zucchini; and wash and de-cobb your corn.

Take your pie plate and arrange half of the tomato slices on the bottom of the pie.  Top tomatoes with 1 Tbs of the chopped basil.  Then layer on half of the corn, followed by 1 Tbs of the chives and then half of the zucchini slices.  Drizzle half of the nayonnaise lemon mixture and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and fresh ground salt.  Then repeat each layer as stated. Top last layer with cheese, if using.

Take remaining dough ball, roll it out, and top your pie.  Seal the edges with a fork and cut a few vents (for the  steam to escape).   Optional: Brush the top crust with egg whites.

Place your pie in the oven and bake at 400F for approximately  30 minutes (or until the inside is bubbly and the top golden perfection!)

Both the cheez-it's and the biscuit pie were a huge success and if you you find yourself in need of an impressive recipe both fit the bill.  That said, it should be noted that both recipes sound easier to make than they actually were.  The cheez it recipe was a bit time consuming, mainly due to  transfering the squares (the thinner they are the harder this will be and the thinner they are the easier they will burn so be sure to keep an eye on them to avoid charring).  However, all it took was one little square to erase said factor from my memory.  It's been a LONG TIME since I indulged in cheez it crackers and although I had high hopes for the recipe I didnt anticipate them being so freakin delicious!!!  We seriously devoured them in a matter of minutes and I regretted not doubling the recipe.  Hell, I would even go as far as to say that my gluten free vegan were BETTER than the original (and this is coming from the girl who kept a box of cheez-its, preferrably tobassco, under the passenger seat of her car at all times).  In regards to the biscuit pie, my dough was super tacky and it took a vast amount of extra better batter before I was able to wrangle the crust part into the pie pan.  Several hundred ehhhhh's and FML's later, I some how managed to get the top on as well but same the cheez-it's one bit was all it took for the thorn in my side assembly to be wiped from my memory and I will definately be making more of these in the future.  Mmmmmmmm, mmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmm!

At 6:15pm we made out way to the theater for the 7pm of showing of Smurfs 3D and although we arrived alot earlier than anticipated, it definately felt good to be up and moving.  I was beyond stuffed from dinner and it was make moves or fall into a food coma on the couch.  The AMC Loews Kips Bay 15 is a roomy multiplex with comfier than usual seats, friendly staff, and clean restrooms.  An added bonus is that it's right across the street from local watering hole Whiskey River!!

As for the actually movie, I am happy to report that it did NOT suck as the reviews had indicated.  I thoroughly enjoyed it as did my partner in crime for the evening (as evident from him roaring with laughter the entire movie).  If you were not a Smurf's fan back in the day (there are a few references from the originial animated series) and you are over the age of 11, you might not love it.  However, Neil Patrick Harris plays a lead role in the film and he can save just about any movie so my vote is go see it.  :-)

"Guilty Smurf"
Artist - Alex Pardee
2011 © The Maxwell Colette Gallery

Oh the tangled web some weave ...

Lying and cheating go together like peas and carrots.  Once uncovered, the guilty party may: deny everything, justify his/her behavior, refuse to even address it as if it never happened, flip the situation back on the scorned individual, even going as far as to blame them!!  The older one gets the more ridiculous engaging in this type of behavior becomes  (in my opinion at least) but to each his own.  Funny thing about it is that just when I thought I had seen/heard it all, I got to literally see/hear it in all over a span of 15 minutes..... Yep.  No need for words as it truly speaks for itself.

My past weekend didn't go as I intended but it was nonetheless good.  I was able to get a lot accomplished work wise as well as some much needed down time. I even managed to let my hair down via hitting the town one night.   Oooooh la la!

Friday post work, I got a dough going in my bread machine and then set to work on a homemade shred cheese (my first).  Said cheese also didn't go as intended but in the spirit of zen living's "letting go" principles, I moved forward with my plans of making a breakfast pizza... for dinner.....

My first run in with breakfast pizza transpired when I was vegetarian and I recall feeling slightly miffed that it was "meat infested". As my fellow diners revealed in it's deliciousness I (unsuccessfully) convinced myself my yogurt parfait was leaps and bounds better than any breakfast pizza. Clearly I had caught a case of a "lying to myself"... Fortunately it was short lived.  It's true what they say in that the truth hurts but I'd much rather face reality than waste time and energy via believing my own lies.  There's a lot to be said for owning up to one's behavior and ultimately taking responsibility for your actions...

But back to the recipe!  I've essentially made my breakfast pizza the same way since Day 1: crust, veggies, egg white, cheese.  Sure the veggies have varied and when I'm feeling wild and crazy I've added Tofurkey Sausage or Garden Vegetable Tempeh but up until today, the harsh reality is that I'm painfully predictable when it comes to breakfast pizza.

Whew!  Felt good to finally admit that.


Anywho, I hope everyone's week is off to a fantastic start!  I put in an application for transfer at work today (for a higher position at a different site) and am eager to hear back.  Lately I've been feeling as though it's time for a change - something sooner than waiting until I'm finally liscensed - and this may very well be it.  My fingers are crossed but I won't be devastated if I don't get it nor am I looking outside of the agency.  I saw an opportunity and decided to take it.

Seizing an opportunity is good... assuming it doesn't involve lying and cheating of course....

Breakfast Pizza

1 dough
6 Egg whites (or 3 whole eggs)
Veggies of Choice: I used spinach, tomatoes, zucchini, and green pepper, red onion.
Seasoning of choice: I used fresh basil, garlic,  sea salt, and fresh ground pepper.
Cheese of Choice:  I made my own, compliments of this recipe

Note:
My cheese did not get firm enough to shred and was more of a firm spread.


Pre-heat oven to 375F and oil pan of choice (I used a 12" round pizza pan).  Wrangle your dough onto the pan being mindful to indent the dough towards the edge (This results in a raised crust, which will prevent the egg from flying off the side after you pour it).  Bake crust about 10 minutes.

While crust is baking, wash and chop your vegetables.  Also set out your eggs (if using whole beat them in a small bowl, if using just whites separate and set aside).

Remove crust from oven and arrange vegetables on it as you see fit.  In the past, I always topped my pizza with cheese but since I was working with a firm spreadable cheese and not shreds, I decided to make that my first layer.  I then topped the cheese layer with raw baby spinach & fresh basil.  Return crust to oven and bake until leafy vegetables (if using) wilt.  While I waited I mixed my veggies with the whites (as if I was going to make an omlette), which I then seasoned with garlic, sea salt, and pepper).

Again remove the pan from oven and carefully pour egg on top of pizza.  If using a circular pizza pan, you might want to put it on a large baking sheet to prevent spillage.  Return to oven and bake until egg is fully cooked.  For a more golden crust, set oven to broil for 2 - 3 minutes just watch it closely to avoid burning it.