Photo: Bagel and Blueberries

Cranberry bagel with chunky peanut butter and blueberries on the side

Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

I found very thorough and complete directions on how to make oatmeal smoothies on The Yummy Life which I have found to be great breakfasts on-the-go.  I love recipes that have a lot of room for variations with different options and this is one of them.   

This particular one has coconut water and banana.  I love that I don't need to add extra sweeteners and it still comes out sweet.

I first start by scooping 2 tablespoons of oats into my little blender, 

as well as 1 tablespoon of flaxseeds.

I grind it all up until everything becomes a fine powder.

Next comes the coconut water and I make sure to shake it all up with the lid closed.

I take a whole banana and peel it.  It's actually easier to peel the end opposite of the stem.

The banana gets chopped,

and in the kids go, into the pool.

Blend the ingredients and pour into a cup.

The oats thicken the smoothie after a few hours.  I make them the night before and store in the fridge so by morning the consistency is where I want it to be.

Here are more options to tweak your smoothie recipe:

• fruits: frozen or fresh berries, mangos, peaches
• liquid: milk, soy milk, almond milk, hemp milk, tea
• other: yogurt, honey, chia seeds
• for a thicker smoothie: grind up another tablespoon or two of oats

My Go-to Work Lunch

The idea here is to pack salads using veggies and protein you have on hand, and to layer the ingredients so that everything stays fresh until it's time to eat.  Salads packed in glass jars are a great idea (salad shakers in jars) but I don't have any so I just use the containers I already own.

First I poured in a couple of tablespoons of dressing into a container.  Pictured is balsamic vinaigrette from Trader Joe's.

Then I threw in 11 grape tomatoes cut in half.  Yes, exactly 11.

These mushrooms are a leftover topping from pizza last night.  

I diced up a leftover avocado and squeezed a little lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.

Next I nuked some frozen sweet corn and tossed them in with diced red bell pepper.

Then there's the chicken.  Again, a leftover topping from making pizza.

I chopped cilantro and sprinkled it on top.

Then goes in the crumbled feta.  I.  Love.  Cheese!

Fresh spinach.  By placing your greens on the very top and the dressing on the very bottom you can avoid a nasty wilted mess.  One of my pet peeves is sad, limp greens in an otherwise delicious salad.

And that's it! Click on the lid and put in your fridge to take to work in the morning.

I love these salads because they're a good way to eat your veggies and get rid of some leftovers. Ingredients I frequently use are:

• Greens: finely chopped kale, spinach, chopped romaine, herbs like cilantro or basil
• Other vegetables/fruit: tomatoes, avocado, bell pepper, thinly sliced red onion, corn, carrots, broccoli, thinly sliced radishes, cucumber, green beans
• Protein: chicken breast, chickpeas, black beans, white beans
• Cheese: feta, goat cheese
• Dressing: balsamic vinaigrette, Dijon vinaigrette
• Other: sprinkles of brown rice, couscous, quinoa, toasted and chopped walnuts/almonds, dried currants/cherries/cranberries

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

The recipe for the cauliflower crust is from Love and Lemons (Love and Lemons cauliflower pizza crust recipe).  This version of the crust dough caught my eye because it calls for almond flour, which I happened to have some of in the fridge.  I noticed that three eggs gave too much moisture to the dough, so I would begin with two, to play it safe.  Making sure your cauliflower is pretty dry before prepping can help too.

After baking the crusts for about 20 minutes (I made them personal pan sized so they took less time to bake), I topped them with:

• jarred marinara from Trader Joe's
• low fat shredded mozzarella
• sauteed mushrooms
• shredded chicken
• diced and sauteed bell pepper, spiked with red pepper flakes
• minced garlic

Any combinations of toppings would be delish on these.  I was honestly surprised at how tasty and satisfying a cauliflower pizza crust could taste.  And this is coming from someone who has proclaimed hating cauliflower for the better part of her life! 

I would love to try different variations of the crust...

Here are a couple I've had in mind:

• Spark People: this version uses cheese in the dough
• Undressed Skeleton: this one has spinach mixed in!

Bulgogi Sandwich

CST testing might not be fun for students but it's even worse for teachers who can't do anything else besides walk around and monitor the students.  As I was proctoring for the science portion of the CST this morning my mind began to wander and I started thinking about making this bulgogi sandwich.  Well I'm glad I did because it was pretty tasty.  Yohan came over after work with the groceries and here's how it went down...  

First, we made a marinade for the bulgogi.  Some soy sauce, sesame seed oil, brown sugar, garlic, and pepper went into a bowl.

Yohan bought about a pound of this thinly sliced chuck from the Korean butcher.

Finally, a recipe that is true to the name of my blog!

We let the marinade and the meat get acquainted for about ten minutes...

then cooked it over medium heat on a pan.  Like the action shot I got of Yohan's chopstick skills?

While Yohan was busy with the bulgogi I sliced a tomato...

and half of an avocado.

We made a gochujang (Korean chili paste) mayo spread for a little kick...

and fried up a couple of eggs.  I cook mine over low heat with a lid on top to help them cook evenly.

Slices of medium cheddar was toasted onto Kaiser rolls...

then we spread the gochujang mayo and put it all together.

First the lettuce(blurry picture),

the bulgogi,

crispy thick cut bacon (ohhh yeah),

slices of creamy avocado,

tomato,

the fried egg (although I should have left the yolk runny),

and voila!

Makes 2 sandwiches

bulgogi
about 1 pound of thin sliced beef like chuck or rib eye
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
*using 1 tablespoon of brown sugar didn't make the meat as sweet as it usually is so if you like bulgogi on the sweeter side, add a bit more 
pepper

1.  Mix all ingredients except meat in a bowl.
2.  Add in the beef and let sit for 10-15 minutes.  The meat is so thin that it doesn't need to sit for too long.
3.  Cook over medium-high heat in a pan.  
4.  Remove the beef and discard juices in the pan.

the sandwich
bulgogi
2 slices of crispy bacon
kaiser rolls
2 slices of cheddar
2 eggs
tomato slices
1/2 avocado, sliced
lettuce
gochujang mayo (mixing just a tiny bit of gochujang with mayo is plenty unless you can handle a lot of heat)

 1. Toast the bread with cheese. 
2. Spread the mayo on one slice of bread.
3. Fry up the eggs.
4. Assemble the rest of the ingredients and eat!

Photo: Mushroom Cream Fettuccine with Baby Scallops

I don't remember exactly how I made this pasta dish but I do remember the mushroomy creamy goodness I tasted in my mouth.  I reconstituted dried mushrooms from Trader Joe's and mixed the mushroom broth in about half cup of heavy cream.  While it was simmering I boiled a half pound of fettuccine and pan fried the baby scallops.  Then I tossed everything together, seasoned it, and that was it! I hope I'm not missing something but you can't blame me if you try to make it and it goes wrong since this isn't a "real" recipe :)       

It's the Simple Things: Greek Inspired Udon Noodle Salad

This was a light lunch I threw together using left over ingredients from my fridge.  Sometimes I like putting together meals that I don't have to go out and shop ingredients for and to my surprise, they don't turn out half bad.  Most of the carbs from this meal are hidden under the veggies in the udon noodles, not the couscous.  I could have done without the couscous but oh well.  At least it makes the picture prettier and, I saved it from being tossed out in the trash with the other unwanted food scraps that were saved for some reason.  Anyways, tossing the noodles with the vinaigrette or dressing prior to topping the other ingredients is probably a good idea.  I poured my dressing over the top of everything already assembled and I remember thinking the noodles were a little dry while I was eating.  Don't make the same mistake I made!      

lettuce

mint leaves
tomato wedges
cucumber
crumbled feta
Israeli couscous
udon noodles
a light vinaigrette/dressing of your choice (I used a Romano Basil dressing from a bottle)
fresh cracked pepper, of course


1.  Assemble, and eat, eat, eat!