Appropriate methods of cooking for a 95 degree day

I've never been one to mind the heat. I mean, if it's less than 70 degrees out, chances are I'm wearing a sweatshirt and socks. And not just any socks, but my Heat Holders!

They are super cool, obviously.

But when it turned legit hot last week, even I had to succumb to the central A/C.

Bad time to learn that said central A/C was busted.

How hot was it? So hot that my eggs were sweating.

On the menu was Mexican hash, so in spite of the crazy heat, I stood over the stove and cooked it up. Worth it. Even if I made like those eggs in the process.

Mexican Hash makes 8 servings
-1 package spicy turkey sausage, casings removed
-4 Tablespoons olive oil
-2 bell peppers, sliced thinly
-1 big yellow onion, sliced thinly
-1 package frozen shredded potatoes
-2 cups fresh spinach
-8 eggs
-1 cup cilantro, chopped
-Salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute sausage until fully cooked. Set aside. In the same large pan you just used, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and saute peppers and onions until browned and softened. Add to the cooked sausage.
2. Pour frozen potatoes into that same large pan plus remaining oil. Cook until browned (about 15 minutes), stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile in a smaller pan, cook up each egg. I chose to fry mine since it just looks prettier on the finished meal. You could definitely skip the egg altogether though, depending on your preference. Also, when I fry an egg, I just add a weensy bit of oil to my nonstick pan and gently swirl around until the whites are solid.
4. Once potatoes are cooked, stir in sausage and veggie mix. Stir in spinach until wilted. Add salt and pepper if you'd like.
5. Dish out into 6 bowls or plates. Top with an egg and a few pinches of cilantro.

Gorgeous.

 Just make sure your air conditioning works first.


Per serving: 462 calories

Beef-uly

At the beginning of summer, I had a stupid dietitian resolution: "this is going to be the summer of burgers! Healthy creative burgers!" 

And I have...um...not delivered. Except for this one. So maybe what I lack in quantity, I've now made up for with quality.  

Just read through, and you'll be rewarded some cute baby pics at the end, mmk? Because this baby is so cute you're going to want to EAT HIM UP, and then you'll stop yourself and be like "ok well maybe I'll just make this burger instead."

Bruschetta Burgers

-4 lean beef patties

-4 whole wheat buns

-2 tablespoons pesto

-1 large beefsteak tomato

-4 slices fresh mozzarella

-1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1. Heat up your grill. While you're waiting, go slice up that tomato into 4 cross sections. Layer tomato on top of the mozzarella and drizzle with the vinegar.

2. Once burgers are about fully cooked, place the buns on the grates to lightly toast. Before serving, spread pesto generously.

3. That's it. 

You could also swap out the regular bun for a toasted sandwich thin. 

Ok and as promised, baaaaaaaaby!

Cute.

Cuter.

BLAAAAH I WANT TO EAT UP THE CUTENESS!

Now go make these burgers. 

Reunioning/If you like pina coladas

We just wrapped up the annual family reunion on my husband's side. Like any good family reunion, there was plenty of floating, bean bagging, jet skiing, paddleboarding, and eating.

Too bad this is the only picture I took the entire weekend:

Totally switching gears, because I am slacking in the post area, here's a recipe I'm going to just put out there. I think you can handle it. A few months ago I had read a recipe for coconut whipped cream which pretty much just involved coconut milk. Umm I can do that, said me. And you can do it too, says me. That lent itself to "what goes well with coconut?" Pineapple. And rum. And cake. 

Yep. Not very dietitiany, nor is it very everyday. 

Someone else should be posting this kind of stuff, yes?

Too bad, says me.

Pina Colada Parfaits (makes 8 parfaits)

-1 box angel food cake mix (or already prepared cake)

-1 medium can crushed pineapple

-1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix + milk

-1/2 teaspoon rum extract

-1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

-2 cans regular (not light) coconut milk

Ok. So you're going to need 5 seconds of prep work the day before in that you have to put the canned coconut milk in the fridge overnight. Chill those for at least 12 hours (so that the fatty coconut milk solidifies). Put your mixing bowl and beaters in the fridge as well. You could also bake the angel food cake the day prior. And you can make the pudding too. Have I lost you yet? Read on. I'll start making sense.

For the coconut whipped cream:

-Open the chilled cans and drain off the liquid coconut water. Place the solid hunk of coconut cream into your chilled bowl and beat on high speed until it starts to fluff up. It's not going to be as fluffy as regular whipping cream. 

Put back in the fridge. 

To make your pudding, just follow the instructions on the package and stir in the rum extract. Put that in the fridge until set. 

In the meantime you can start toasting your coconut flakes. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Constantly stir the flakes until they start turning ever so slightly golden brown. Immediately remove from heat and let cool.

Drain the pineapple juice from the can- we want the pineapple pieces, not the juice.

Tear the cake into inch-ish chunks. 

Now we can assemble. 

Are you still with me? 

I chose to make a few of these in individual glasses. Start with a few bits of cake on the bottom, followed by a blob of rum pudding, blob of pineapple, blob of coconut cream, and a few toasted flakes, then repeat for a second layer. 

Beautiful. 

These actually taste better when they've been sitting in the fridge for a few hours, so feel free to make this whole thing a day in advance. 

Are you still with me?

All these steps are totally worth it, says future you. 

 

As American as...Norwegian cartoons and Rice Krispie Treats

It's kind of a girl thing to "bring treats!" to an event, and I am no exception. Our 4th plans involved hanging out with my husband's family at their lake home. It was a busy work week and I figured I'd just use food coloring to patriotize basic krispy bars.

When I mentioned this to my mom, she said "Oh! Like from Pinterest?"

Uhhh, NO.  Like from my brain.  Apparently everything in the world has been done.

Anyway, I always like it when I get to use food coloring. Nevermind that red #40 causes you to birth cyclops babies or something like that.  No, I think I like it because the adorable little droppers remind me of David the Gnome.

 Don't act like you never thought of that yourself.

In every wish and dream and haaaaaappy home...you will find the kingdom of the gnoooooome!

 Let's use two bags of 'shmallows just to be extra festive.

 Oh, and let's wear the shirt that I spent $6 on that will get nothing more than this one use.

 Red (ok pink), white, and blue!

 Or if you would rather celebrate the Dutch flag...

 ...or the French flag.

Did some all-American fishing too

And some all-American selfies.

I hope everyone else had a festive & relaxing 4th weekend!

Weekend Recap

I am happy to say that this past Sunday we did some stuff!

We went some places!

We tried some things!

It's not so much the baby that makes it hard to accomplish the above, but it's all the accessories in case he-wants-a-bottle-and-he-wants-it-now, or in case Mount Poopsplosion should erupt.

He looks unsure about his jorts. I reassured him that they're cool for dudes in the <2 crowd. Grown up dudes? Not so much.

I might have spent time assembling a "Farmer's Market Outfit!"

First stop of the day was the Linden Hills farmer's market in Minneapolis. I got a pork tamale while my husband got spicy potstickers.

I followed that up with a salted caramel "Shimmy pop" which was a-mazing.

Then because Sunday calories don't count, we split a chocolate French toast thing from Rye & Honey bakery's stand.

Good thing a 20 minute walk around Lake Harriet burns 1500 calories.

"Yeah! Jorts ARE cool!"

I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't want to encounter this bad baby in a back alley at 2 a.m.

We came across a chicken wing cook off & classic car show at a strip mall not far from our house, so we decided to check it out.

After a day with all...the...eating, it made sense to keep dinner light. I threw together a vaguely Mexican-type dinner and my husband said it was one of the top ten things I've ever made. Go figure. I should be lazy about dinners all the time.

Mexican Couscous  makes four servings
-1 box of plain couscous (could sub quinoa if you want), prepared according to packet
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-2-3 ears of corn, cooked (about 1 1/2 cups worth), or you could sub frozen corn
-1 cup-ish chopped sweet peppers
-1 container pico de gallo (yeah, this really is a lazy recipe)
-1 avocado, sliced
-1/8 teaspoon chili powder
-Pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients.

Eat. Enjoy. Go to bed early to recover from all the stuff/places/things.