Waking up hungry and NaNoWriMo

It is almost NaNoWriMo time!!!!

What is NaNoWriMo? It is a crazy event people commit to every November. Everyone that enters tries to write 50,000 words by the end of the month. 

50,000 words = about 200 written pages.

Yes, it is a pretty insane endeavor - but it is also really fun. 

I have been doing it each November for the last 3 years. If you have the time and inclination I encourage you to try it.

But back to the important thing - my breakfast:

Breakfast coleslaw with hard boiled eggs, jasmine tea and half of an orange.

Some mornings I am not that hungry but this morning I woke up ravenous. I don't know about the rest of you but when I get that hungry I know I need a big volume meal.

My easiest big volume breakfast I make is coleslaw with chopped up hard boiled eggs. 

All I need to do is measure out 2 cups of pre-made bagged coleslaw, toss it with some yogurt, mayo, vinegar and sugar. I almost always have some hard boiled eggs sitting in the fridge so I just chop up one whole egg and a couple of egg whites.

Easy protein slaw

Serves 1

Ingredients:

2 cups of pre-made coleslaw mix
1 whole egg and 2 eggwhites, chopped
1/3 cup of chopped apple
1/2 tsp of rice vinegar
1 tsp of Greek yogurt
2 tsp of Vegenaise
1/8 tsp of sugar
1/8 tsp of dijon mustard

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy. This slaw is also wonderful made the night before and eaten in the morning because the flavors get a chance to really meld together. 

Pork chops with apples and onions take 2

Pork chops take two. 

And sorry for the delay in posting - I attempted to do my yoga tape without the AC on and BOOM - got a migraine. 

Which is my own fault since I know one of the triggers for migraines (for me, at least) is getting over heated. Oh, yes, hubris you win again...

I went with a thick cut boneless pork chop for this attempt.

It was cooked 7 min on each side (on med- high heat)  but I ended up needing to cook it a bit more, so 8 - 9 per side (my boneless pork chops were about 1 1/2" thick). Take the pork chop out of the pan and let it rest.

Then I turned the pan down to low and added in the onions and apples. Slice them thick or it won't work. 


I cooked the onions and apples for about 9 minutes, turning them every 3 minutes or so.


I sliced a yukon gold potato into wedges and put it into the pan on medium heat. I turned the wedges as soon as they became brown on each side. 


The marinade adds a nice color to the pork chop and adds a nice bit of twang without taking away from the great mild taste of the pork.

Here is the recipe:


Pan Grilled pork chops with apples, onions and potatoes


Serves 1


Ingredients:

One 1 1/2" boneless pork chop
1 Tbsp. of olive oil
1 Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. of Mirin
ground black pepper to taste
a pinch of salt
1 yellow onion sliced thick
1 pink lady apple sliced thick
1 yukon gold potato, cut into wedges

Instructions:

Rinse the pork chop and dry with paper towels. Add 3/4 of a Tbsp. of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, mirin and salt and pepper into a resealable plastic bag and add in the pork chop. Roll the pork chop around until it is well coated in the marinade. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 1 - 2 hours would be best.

When you are ready to cook, take out the marinated pork chop (leaving it in the bag) and let it come up to room temperature. Put a cast iron skillet or grill pan on med- high heat, add in 1/4 Tbsp. of olive oil and place the pork chop in the pan for 8 -9 minutes (adjust for your pans heat). Flip the pork chop and let cook another 8 - 9 minutes. 

Pull the pork chop off the heat and set it aside to rest. Put the sliced onions and apple into the pan over low heat. Cook for about 9 minutes, turning them every 3 minutes or so. When they are nicely browned on each side, remove from the pan and set aside.


Turn the heat to medium and place the wedges of yukon gold potatoes into the pan. Let them cook for 10 - 12 minutes, turning them as they become brown. 


Plate everything and enjoy!





 

At first I was like...Then I was like...

This morning:

At first I was like...I want apple and plum quinoa!

This is what I had on hand:

What is missing in that picture? The plum!! Then it turned into cinnamon and apple quinoa.

The apples were already chopped and simmering away in 1 cup of water with 1/4 cup of brown sugar when I realized what I really wanted -

And then I was like...I want onion and apple quinoa!

I pulled the apples off the stove when I had this epiphany.

I drained them and set them aside while I chopped up the onion.

Cook 1/2 cup of quinoa according the the package directions (basically it is a 2:1 ratio - 1cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water).

I love how pretty quinoa looks - cooked or uncooked.

The onions went into a pan coated with olive oil spray. I cooked them on low heat for 15 min - but you probably want to cook them for 20 so they are really soft.

Then add in the chopped apples and at this point I added a pinch of sage. Cook for another 5 - 10 minutes depending on how soft you want the apples.


Plate the dish starting with the quinoa.

Then ladle on the onions and apples.

This turned out incredible! I left the apples a tiny bit crunchy and the burst of sweetness with the savory (but slightly sweet) taste of the onions and the tiny bit of sage? Delicious :-)

A dollop of greek yogurt or sour cream would be great on top.

Oh, and the drink.

Strong coffee with soy milk.

I am going to prep my laptop for blogging while I am away this weekend. 

Wish me luck in doing a wipe and reinstall of Windows 7 - Yikes!

Chicken salad with coconut and apples

I have been craving a chicken salad sandwich lately.

This morning I was thinking about it and realized all of the recipes I could think of were too high in fat and/or had dairy which does not fit into my current eating plan.

Since I didn't feel like cereal or other traditional breakfast fare I made the chicken salad sandwich for breakfast.

I started by simmering cubed pieces of chicken breast in a bath of lite coconut milk, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, powdered garlic and some chopped fresh cilantro.


No amounts provided because this is a recipe in progress and this is just the first attempt.


I let the chicken simmer until it was cooked through and then I chopped it into small pieces.

And 1/2 of an apple.

All mixed together.

Then I toasted up a couple of the sandwich thins and piled the chicken mixture on top. 


I was going to eat this like a regular sandwich but I ended up with more filling than expected so it became two open faced sandwiches.

There was still some braising/stewing liquid in the saute pan so I whisked it smooth and spooned it over the filling.

I wish the sauce had turned out a lighter color - more like a traditional chicken salad sauce but it still tasted great.


And I also had a non-traditional breakfast drink - I made hot tea and then later added some lemonade.

I am off to (hopefully) have a very non-traditional day!

My version of dessert

I was itching for something to munch on - after all how can you watch "When Vacations Attack" without sustenance?

But as the header on my blog explains - I really don't enjoy sweet things. So, this was my pick for dessert.

Lettuce wraps with apples and blue cheese.

Very yummy.

Slow and easy

There was a short break in the rain so I decided to take the dogs out for a 2 mile walk.

Don't believe me? Well, here is the proof!

After my porcine rich breakfast - I needed a palate cleansing lunch.

A refreshing mix of applesauce on one side - greek yogurt on the other and a generous portion of luscious blueberries for a burst of sweetness and apple pieces for crunch. 


The dogs had a few blueberries too :-)


I found a use for the leeks I bought at the farm stand on Friday - check back later to see what it is!