Loaded Breakfast Sweet Potato

I honestly don't have a great back story for this (sorry). I was thinking I wanted to make a stuffed sweet potato for breakfast, but I wanted to use cottage cheese instead of yogurt. This got me thinking on more of a savory route, and before I knew it I had loaded potatoes on the brain. Swap out sour cream for cottage cheese, add in some extra greens, and I was salivating just thinking about it. 

This thing literally came together in like 10 minutes. I took the easy way out and microwaved the sweet potato. Feel free to bake it (I generally prefer to avoid the microwave), but the time crunch was real. Easy AND delicious - does it get much better?

Here's What You'll Need:

-2 small sweet potatoes
-5.3 oz classic Good Culture cottage cheese pack
-1 cup baby arugula
-1 clove garlic, minced
-2 pieces of uncured, all natural turkey bacon
-1/2 tbsp olive oil or ghee
-Hot sauce to taste

Serves 2

Instructions:

1) Poke the sweet potatoes with a fork all over to create little holes. Cook them in the microwave for 3-5 minutes, flip over, and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.
2) In the meantime, heat up the olive oil/ghee on the stove top. Once hot, add in the garlic and cook for about a minute.
3) Add in the arugula and cook for about 2-3 minutes until it is cooked down. Remove from heat.
4) Cook the turkey bacon on the stove top according to directions until crispy, and chop into small pieces.
5) Remove the sweet potatoes from the microwave and cut each in half.
6) In the middle of the halves, add half the cottage cheese pack to each potato.
7) Top the cottage cheese with half of the arugula and bacon pieces.
8) Top each with desired hot sauce, serve, and enjoy!

This combo is just the perfect balance of salty and sweet with that little kick of heat (if you choose to add hot sauce). This one will definitely be on repeat over here. Let me know what you think in the comments below!
 

Salmon, Onion, Arugula, and Caper Frittata

I very recently used my first cast iron skillet. I know, I know what the hell took me so long? All I have to say is I don't know, and can't we just pretend this didn't happen and you don't know this about me? I'll bring you some yummy cast iron recipes if we can just keep this on the down low... Okay cool.

But seriously, this has been a total life changer. I won this skillet in one of my favorite lady's, Savoring the Flavoring, giveaway. So I pretty much owe her my first born child. All I want to do is cook frittatas and skillet cookies and basically anything that requires being cooked on the stove top and then in the oven. Which brings me to this salmon, onion, arugula, and caper frittata.

Here's What You'll Need:

-6 eggs (ideally pasture raised, organic)
-1/4 cup the milk of your choosing (I went with unsweetened almond milk)
-3 oz cooked salmon (I used grilled salmon from the night before, smoked or baked are also good options)
-3/4 cup arugula
-1/4 chopped onion
-1/4 cup capers
-2 tbsp Fourth and Heart California Garlic Ghee, separated

Serves 4

Instructions:

1) Whisk together the six eggs and milk in a bowl.
2) Heat up 1 tbsp ghee in your cast iron skillet over medium heat and coat the entire pan (so the frittata won't stick).
3) Toss in the onions and cook down for 2-3 minutes mixing regularly to cook evenly and distribute the onion.
4) Add in the second tablespoon of ghee and let it melt.
5) Chop up the cooked salmon and evenly distribute it around the skillet.
6) Toss in the arugula, evenly distributing.
7) Evenly pour in the egg mixture, tilting the skillet to spread it all over.
8) Evenly add in the capers.
9) Cover with a lid and cook for about 3-5 until the sides of the frittata start to cook and stick.
10) Remove the lid, and throw the skillet into the oven on broil and cook until the frittata is fully cooked and a golden brown color on the top (about 5 minutes).
11) Remove from the oven, cut into 4 even pieces, and enjoy!

I topped mine with some sriracha because I like it spicy, but this combo is perfect on its own. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Gluten Free Avocado, Strawberry, and Arugula Waffles

Waffle Wednesday, we meet again, and I couldn't be happier. Seriously, this is like my favorite food day of the week. It makes me want to open a brunch place specializing in waffles. The waffle maker has officially become my favorite kitchen appliance to play around with. So what do we have this week? Gluten free avocado, strawberry, and arugula waffles, and you will not be disappointed.

The idea stemmed from a couple of places. I see all sorts of fun and creative things on Instagram, and recently I've been seeing a lot of avocado toast topped with strawberries. So that got me thinking. It's really not that weird when you think about it. A delicious summer salad could be topped with both of these. That's where the arugula came in. It's like a summer salad in waffle form. And who isn't wishing for summer in this unseasonable 40 degree April weather?

Don't have quinoa flour? No problem! Swap it out for the flour of your choosing. Whole wheat is a good option of you aren't gluten free, or really feel free to use whatever suits your fancy!

Here's What You'll Need:

-3/4 cup quinoa flour (or the flour of your choosing)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 egg
-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1/4 cup water (you can use all almond milk or all water if you prefer)
-1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-Pinch of sea salt (optional)
-1/4 cup baby arugula
-1/2 avocado
-4 strawberries, chopped

Instructions:

1) Heat up your waffle maker.
2) Mash the avocado half in a bowl using a fork.
3) Add in the flour, egg, baking powder, almond milk, water, salt, and coconut oil and thoroughly mix together.
4) Fold in the strawberry chunks and arugula.
5) Pour half of the mixture into your waffle maker and cook according to your makers' instructions.
6) Repeat with the second half of the mixture. 
7) Serve each waffle and top with desired toppings.

I topped mine with an additional strawberry and Bushwick Kitchen's Bees Knees Spicy Honey, and I would HIGHLY recommend this. The honey is the perfect flavor addition to the avocado, strawberry, and arugula. Plus is has that nice little kick.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Smoked Salmon, Arugula, Red Onion, & Caper Frittata

So this recipe came as a bit of a no brainer. I'm a pretty big bagel fan, and if you haven't already caught on,  some combination of cream cheese, red onion, and capers is my go to. I either generally switch out smoked salmon or tomatoes depending on how I'm feeling and what I have. I also know that smoked salmon and eggs are DELICIOUS together. So why not make a bagel-inspired frittata/omelet. 

I decided to go with smoked salmon, capers, and red onion plus throw in some baby arugula to add in some seasonal greens and give it another flavor profile. The results were just perfect. I topped it all off with some black pepper, and voila! DO NOT ADD SALT. Smoked salmon and capers are both nice and salty, so no need for that extra salt, trust me. I served mine with some avocado toast, and it was the perfect way to get this week in gear.

Here's what you'll need:

-2 eggs
-1 egg white
-1 oz smoked salmon, cut into small pieces
-1-2 tbsp red onion, sliced
-1 tsp capers
-1/4 cup baby arugula
-black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1) Heat up a small frying pan over medium to medium high heat and coat with cooking spray or oil of choice (I use coconut oil spray).
2) Whip together the eggs and egg white in a bowl.
3) Pour the egg mixture into the pan so that it coats the whole pan.
4) Add in the smoked salmon, red onion, arugula, and capers spreading each throughout the entire pan.
5) Cover the pan and let cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the eggs are cooked through.
6) Remove from heat and plate or fold in half and plate to serve as an omelet. 
7) Top with black pepper, and enjoy!

Let me know what ya think! I love this combination of the fluffy eggs and salty salmon and capers. Plus a little bitterness from the arugula and a bit of sweet from the red onion. It's definitely a winner in my book, and I'd love to hear your take in the comments below.

Savory Arugula Shiitake Oats with Parmesan and Thyme

So I will admit it, I have been slacking on recipes recently. It's not that I haven't been playing around with new things, but the holidays were just hectic! I know, excuses excuses. BUT it is one of my New Years resolutions to get back to my normal recipe posting schedule because I have A LOT of exciting ideas coming your way.

I'm a huge savory breakfast person (if you couldn't already tell). I'd probably be very happy eating just eggs and veggies every single day. But I do like to switch it up. I think it's important to vary what you eat 1) so you don't get bored and 2) so you get different kinds of nutrients. So one of the ways I've been trying to vary my usual egg and veggies dish is oatmeal. And honestly, I just wasn't feeling something sweet. So I decided to try to make a savory oatmeal, and it was AMAZING.

Here's what you'll need:

-1 cup of rolled oats
-2 cups of your milk of choice (I use unsweetened almond milk, and that's what the nutrition info accounts for)
-2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
-1/2 cup shitake mushrooms
-1 cup baby arugula
-2 cloves garlic
-1/4 cup red onion, chopped
-1 tsp olive oil (or your choice of oil)
-3 sprigs of thyme
-Sea salt and black pepper to taste
-2 eggs (optional but included in nutrition info)

Instructions:

1) Mix together the almond milk and oats in a pot, and heat on the stove top over high heat.
2) In the meantime, heat up the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add in the garlic and onion and let cook for about a minute alone.
3) Add in the arugula and mushrooms and let cook down (about 3-5 minutes).  Remove from heat.
4) Once the oats are boiling, reduce the heat to low, and begin stirring regularly.
5) After about 3 minutes, as the oats are becoming a bit less watery, add in the garlic, onion, arugula, and mushroom mixture as well as the thyme, salt, and pepper. 
6) Stir regularly until the oatmeal becomes close to the consistency you want (about another 3-5 minutes). Add in the parmesan cheese, and continue stirring for an additional minute.
7) Once the oatmeal reaches your desired consistency and the cheese has melted, remove it from the heat and split between two bowls.
8) (Optional) In a skillet, soft fry two eggs, and top each bowl with one.
9) Enjoy!

I can't wait to recreate this dish! Next time I think I'm going to try gruyere cheese. I'm dreaming about it already. Let me know what you think in the comments below!