BLT Egg Scramble

July 3, 2015July 3, 2015Leave a comment

I love eggs.

They are one of the most versatile ingredients to cook. And they keep me fuller for a longer period of time. Unlike pancakes, which make me miserable and hungry again in like an hour.

And I use to make omelettes all the time. But I’d get impatient and try to flip it too soon, so I’d call my mess-up omelettes egg scrambles.

But after many messed-up omelettes, I decided egg scrambles were easier and just as much delicious. Plus you can put whatever you want into the scrambled eggs, mix it up and call it breakfast.

Behold the beauty of the BLT Egg Scramble.

What you need:

2 eggs
A splash of half and half
A few slices of bacon
Cherry tomatoes
Fresh basil
Cheddar cheese
Avocado
Salt and pepper

Crisp up the bacon. I went extra crispy because I wanted to give the eggs a little texture. While the bacon is cooking, half your cherry tomatoes, chop up your basil and scramble your eggs with a little half and half, salt and pepper.

Put a little butter in a pan, and throw the tomato halves in there to let them soften a tad. Don’t let them get mushy though. Pour the eggs into the pan with the tomatoes, and cook slowly. Crumble the bacon and stir into the eggs.

Once the eggs are almost to the point of done, toss in the chopped basil and cheddar cheese. Let things get melty.

Transfer to bowl or plate. Top with a little extra cheddar and avocado.

And then all your breakfast dreams will come true when you take the first bite.

All-American Summer Supper

July 1, 2015July 1, 2015Leave a comment

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say summer supper?

Burgers.

Corn on the cob.

And beer.

That’s what comes to my mind.

With Fourth of July just around the corner, I decided to make something I feel is truly a staple around the American table. But I did put a healthy twist on it.

I know what you’re thinking. Where’s the bun, right? There’s just one of me, and I don’t let Annie have anything other than dog food. So the pack of eight hamburger buns would just go to waste.

Plus, I’ve found I feel better when I eat less bread-like products. That’s just my personal preference.

But this burger is not boring. It’s a homemade ranch burger. I mixed dried dill, dried parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, a smidgen of thyme, salt and pepper into the meat before I cooked it. I won’t make a burger without it ever again.

I used red leaf lettuce as a bun and topped my burger with cheese, tomato and avocado. The sides of cucumber sticks and fried corn were the perfect addition.

I’m not sure fried corn is actually a thing. But it’s one of my things.

A guy at my office was passing out sweet corn the other day. So I cut it off the cob and fried it in some Kerrygold butter with salt and pepper. And by fried, I mean sauteed until corn is done, and the butter has created this melty, delicious sauce.

I could eat this corn by the bucket. So delicious and simple. The key is the good Kerrygold butter. And corn grown in someone’s backyard.

I hope your Fourth of July weekend is filled with lots of All-American things. I plan to be on some body of water soaking up the sun and enjoying some awesome fireworks show that night.

And beer.

There will be beer somewhere in there.

Bacon for Breakfast

June 27, 2015June 27, 2015Leave a comment

I love bacon. I rarely eat it, but I love it.

It get so crunchy when you cook it. Or at least, my bacon get crunchy when I cook it. I don’t like floppy bacon. Crunchy bacon, FTW.

The other night my mom told me she was going to make BLTs for supper, and I thought that sounded delicious. So I went to the store and bought some bacon.

And buying that bacon was one of the best decisions I made all week.

It’s been Bacon Fest at my house all week. BLTs. B4D, also known as breakfast for dinner. Bacon, turkey wraps. Bacon by itself. Because we all know bacon can stand alone beautifully and deliciously.

But it’s very rare that I will make bacon for breakfast at breakfast time. I’m a complicated woman, but it’s really simple. I wake up. Make coffee. And once all brain cells are properly caffeinated, I want a quick and easy breakfast.

And bacon breakfasts take more time than I want to give it. But today was not the case.

I went for a run and came home to a lazy Saturday morning. No plans other than going to the pool to soak up some sun and enjoy this perfect weather we are having today.

I thought hmmmm breakfast…what shall I have?

Bacon and eggs.

The true Southern girl that I am fried up some bacon and then fried the eggs in the leftover bacon grease. Like. A. Boss.

I did say this blog was about healthy, delicious food. But I’m a real person. I sometimes fry my eggs in bacon grease like my Momma taught me. So I thought I’d break the ice and show you I eat food that your doctor, nutritionist or granola-eating, health-nut friend would frown upon.

For breakfast this morning:

Two fried eggs
A couple slices of bacon
Organic baby tomatoes for the Bernice Garden Farmers Market
Organic, locally grown blackberries

It’s all about balance. And giving into your bacon cravings every now and then.

It All Started With a Hashtag

June 25, 2015June 26, 2015Leave a comment

#whenigrowupiwanttobeachef

I love to cook. I love to post pictures of stuff I cook. And I thought the hashtag would be a clever way to share my creations. And it’s sort of become a thing. My thing.

So I’d post these pictures. #whenigrowupiwanttobeachef

People would like them. Make comments about me coming to their house to cook for them. And I’d laugh and move on. Until today.

Something awesome happened. Someone I know cooked something delicious, got online, posted a picture of it and used #whenigrowupiwanttobeachef.

I’ve blogged before. Years of my life are logged at another space on the Internet, but after a while it just didn’t feel right to write there anymore. So I stopped writing there.

Then I stopped writing, which at one point I loved. Said I’d write for my livelihood.

That’s not the case. Writing does not pay my bills.

But the nagging need to express myself has never gone away.

So I cooked. And took pictures of what I cooked.

And now here I am writing about it. Old habits die hard.

The first post is always awkward. Don’t worry. It will get better.

But here’s what I expect this space to be:

A place where I share food — pictures and recipes
A place where I talk about running
A place where I complain about exercise other than running
A place where I post excessive pictures of Annie Mae, my Boston Terrier
A place where I encourage others to live a healthier lifestyle
A place where I make awesome new friends
A place to use #whenigrowupiwanttobeachef

So if you don’t like food, running, squishy faced dogs or being friendly, [insert grimacing face emoji here].