BREAKFAST AVOCADO TOAST

BREAKFAST AVOCADO TOAST

Ingredients:

1 piece of toast (recommend Ezekiel/sprouted/whole grain/whole protein)
1/4 avocado
Few drops of lemon juice
Smoked paprika
Fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Spread avocado on toast, sprinkle with lemon, pepper, and paprika.

Notes:

*Add a sliced hard boiled egg for additional protein.

BREAKFAST PIZZA

BREAKFAST PIZZA

Ingredients:

1 piece toast (recommend Ezekiel or other whole grain/sprouted/whole protein bread)
1 tomato, sliced
2-3 Tbsp. non-fat ricotta cheese
Few fresh basil leaves
Olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1.  Spread with ricotta.

2.  Sprinkle with pepper and olive oil.

3.  Layer on one sliced tomato and a few torn basil leaves. Voila!

SQUASHADILLA



This surprisingly hearty recipe may require a leap of faith on the combination of ingredients for you (like it did for me), but please trust me!  The end result is worth it.

Ingredients:
(Makes 1 lunch entree sized portion)

1/4 butternut squash
1/2 jalapeño, sliced lengthwise and diced
Sprinkle black pepper
Sprinkle chili powder
1 tsp. minced garlic
Sprinkle dried oregano
1/4 white onion, sliced
1 Tbsp. canola oil
Salt
Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon
1 egg
Milk for scrambling egg
1/2 avocado, sliced
Handful Trader Joe's shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Olive Oil tortilla

Directions:

1.  Cook butternut squash according to the instructions that will no doubt be included on a sticker on the thing.  (Usually slice lengthwise and bake cut-side down in a baking dish with 1/4 inch of water at 350 for 45 minutes.)  Scoop out the flesh and set aside the extra for future recipes.

2.  Scamble the egg with milk in a large-ish pan.  Set aside.

3.  Using the same pan (because seriously, who needs more dishes to do??), heat oil over medium heat.  Add sliced onion, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.  Cook, stirring frequently, until onions start to brown/blacken.  Set aside.

4.  In a small food processor (y'all know how I love me some Cuisinart handheld blender with food processor attachment), combine squash, jalapeno, black pepper, chili powder, garlic and oregano.  Blend until well mixed but not yet smooth.  Mix in the egg and the onions.

5.  Over medium heat, warm the tortilla in the pan.  Sprinkle one half of the tortilla with half the cheese.  With a spatula, scoop onto the cheese the squash mixture.  Sprinkle with the other half of the cheese and lay in the avocado slices.  Fold over the tortilla and press down with a spatula to squish the ingredients together and get the cheese to melt well.  After a minute or two, flip it and press down on the other side.

6.  Slice and serve with Valentina or Tapatio.

Notes:

*This amount of jalapeno will make it pretty darned spicy.  For less spice, remove the seeds from the jalapeno or use just the tip.

*Leave out the jalapeno and onion to make it kid-friendly.

EGGS FLORENTINE, COSTCO STYLE

EGGS FLORENTINE, COSTCO STYLE




Please don't sit there and pretend like you don't absolutely love the Spinach-Artichoke-Parmesan Dip from Costco...you know you do...you know when you have some in the fridge, you are on a constant search for some sort of "edible spoon" so you can justify eating some...or maybe you just eat it with a spoon...hey, I'm not judging. Here's a more respectable (and yummy!) way to eat it...

Ingredients:
(Makes 2 servings)

2 slices wheat sourdough bread
2 tomatoes, thickly sliced (see notes below)
Several tablespoons spinach-artichoke-parmesan dip
2 eggs

Directions:

1. Lightly toast the bread.
2. Meanwhile, stir the eggs around in a small pan over low-medium heat until well-cooked but still soft; once cooked, try not to break them up any more than necessary.
3. Spread 1/2 - 1 Tbsp. dip on each piece of toast.
4. Cover each piece of toast with tomato slices.
5. Split egg between toast slices.
6. Spread additional tablespoon dip over each slice.
7. Put in toaster oven directly on rack for 5 more minutes, or until dip is just starting to melt.

Notes:

*I looooove the Campari tomatoes from Costco! So sweet and yummy. I won't use anything else.

*If you're feeling extra ambitious, add a few leaves of spinach on top of the tomato slices.