Breakfast for 2, Spicy Baked Eggs

I love having eggs on the weekend, for some reason its just so comforting and it really signals “weekend” in my head.  Growing up my dad and I would go out to breakfast every Sunday.  It was our time to talk, catch up on what was going on in each others lives and enjoy a yummy meal.  During the span of our breakfast outings, I went through many eating phases.  First there was the Spam/Eggs and Rice combo (Hawaii’s breakfast of champions), then there was the Belgium waffle obsession, the love affair with eggs benedict and then a return to eggs with omelets/scrambles. 

I love eggs and am definitely one of those people who love eating breakfast for dinner.  I would easily eat this dish anytime of the day.  Who says eggs are just for breakfast?!  I realized these eggs aren’t really baked, but I decided to just go with the name.  LOL, I’m pretty sure you could pop this in the oven and it would turn out great too.  The yummy tomato goes so nicely with the kale and when that delicious yolk explodes, this dish becomes luxurious. 

Spicy Tomato Baked Eggs

1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
olive oil
1 bunch of kale, cut in 1 inch strips
2 eggs
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp. red chili flakes (less if you don’t like spice)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar

1. Heat up olive oil in a skillet and add in the onion, garlic and kale.  Cook until kale wilts slightly. 

2.  Add in can of diced tomatoes, season with chili pepper flakes, salt, and sugar.  Heat until tomato sauce starts to bubble slightly.  *I add the sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes slightly, if you don’t mind it you can skip.*

3.  In the pan make a hole in the tomato sauce, making room for where you want to put the eggs.  Crack the eggs and place into the holes you made.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese over entire mixture and cover with lid and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how much you want to set your yolks. 

Looking at these pictures I totally want to make this again!  So yummy and so comforting, I might add in some mushrooms to give it an earthy meaty goodness next time.  This would be amazing with some cornbread or whole grain toast too! 

Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken

I’ve had my eye on this recipe for a long time but I just never got around to using it!  In an effort to clean my cupboards I’ve been trying to use up what I already own and only buy fresh veggies or herbs to add on to it.  This recipe was perfect for that since I had some corn, beans, and a wide variety of different tomatoes all ready to go.  Bonus- this recipe was low fat too! 

If you haven’t been over to Gina’s Skinny Recipes you are missing on some tasty low fat dishes.  In fact if the word skinny wasn’t in her title, you would never know by her pictures of the name of her dishes that she was counting calories/points.  

Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken
adapted from Gina’s Skinny Recipes

1.5 lbs. chicken breast
15 oz. can black beans
7 oz. can green chilies
11 oz. can corn
14.4 oz. can roasted tomatoes with green chilies
14.4 oz. fat free chicken broth
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 stalks green onion, chopped
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt

1.  In crockpot combine beans, chilies, roasted tomatoes, chicken broth, cilantro, green onion, cumin, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder and salt.  *Save corn for later unless you are using frozen corn in which case you can put it in now.*

2.  Season the chicken breast and lay on top of the mixture.

3.  Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hour.  Half an hour before serving shred the chicken and add the canned corn.  Return the chicken to the crockpot and stir mixture well. 

Serve over Lime Cilantro Rice and garnish with green onions, cilantro.  Top with non fat sour cream (or Greek yogurt) , fresh tomatoes, avocado and low fat cheese.  You know a dish is great when you can transform the leftovers into other things as well.  I had some tortilla’s in the fridge and wrapped this mixture up with some of my cilantro rice and added some cheese and it was delish!   

East Coast Tour: Pt 3 Washington DC

The last stop on my East Coast trip with my mom!  From Boston we hopped on a plane to Washington DC and on a shuttle to our hotel in Crystal City.  My friend ML and her husband had relocated a couple of years ago to the Virginia area and they were nice enough to come pick me up so we could go hang out!

We headed out to National Harbor, a new area full of shopping, dining and entertainment options.  We started out by having diner at Cadillac Ranch, then had some yummy blended margaritas at Rosa Mexicano.  While walking around we saw a Peep store (yes the little marshmallow chicks and rabbits).  Look at the crazy exhibit they had there.

Then we ended the night by going to Bobby McKeys, a super fun dueling piano bar!  Thanks ML and hubby for coming all the way to see me! 

On Day 1 in DC we headed out to Georgetown to do some shopping!  After a nice brunch my mom and hit the shops and had fun looking at the Dean and Deluca.  They don’t allow you to take pics in there, but I love all the stuff that they have there.  We did stumble upon the famous Georgetown Cupcakes, home of the TLC show DC Cupcakes.  After a short wait in line, and being told we just missed Nancy Pelosi, we got into the store and mom and I each had a cupcake.  I got the Carrot Cake (I never see carrot cake without walnuts in it- so I sorta had to get it) and my mom got one of the seasonal flavors, strawberry! 

 

I’m never one to refuse a cupcake, but I didn’t understand what the hype was all about.  I just thought that these cupcakes were good, but not spectacular.  It seems like most people who rave about this place get the chocolate ganache cupcake, so maybe that’s where I went wrong?  DC locals- any thoughts? 

The next day we did a trolley tour, I had wanted to visit Eastern Market and a place featured on Diners Drive Ins and Dives.  However it was waaaaaay to humid and the walk plus the “hill” was a little too much all combined.  We settled for some Potbelly sandwiches instead. 

One of the most interesting things I visited in DC was the Newseum!  This was one of the best museums that I have ever visited.  Unlike the Smithsonian and other national museums in DC, this one is not free since it is privately owned.  Online and at most hotels you can find coupons for admissions though.  When I visited they had Pulitzer Prize award pictures, and exhibits on FBI/Mafia, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and dogs of the Presidents. 

 

They also had a piece of the Berlin wall, and covers of many newspapers covering 9/11.  There are tons of interactive elements and so much to see.  If you visit definitely allow yourself 2-3 hours to really enjoy the museum.

At the end of the day I convinced my mom to end our day at Capital City Brewery, a local DC brewery.  The bartenders there were super nice and let my mom and I try a couple “tastes” before I decided on getting a Belgium Gold Brew.  Luckily when we went it was Happy Hour, unlucky for me my mom did not get a 3 dollar beer but a 9 dollar mojito.  LOL, oh well!   Oooh and did I mention that when you go to Capital City Brew you get some hot soft pretzels with a yummy mustard dipping sauce.  The perfect snack with your afternoon brew. 

After that it was time to go head home back to LA.  We hopped on a train back to NYC and then it was on to our flight back to LAX.  Good times with the mom, next post will be back to some yummy recipes!  Hope you guys enjoyed seeing the sights and eats of my vacation with my mom. 

East Coast Tour: Pt 2 Boston

After a great time in NYC, my mom and I were off to Boston.  We headed to Penn Station and took a train up.  When we arrived we were greeted by crazy thunder and lightening!  Turns out there were actually tornados on the more western side of Massachusetts!  We were staying in Beacon Hill and had a quick dinner at a Japanese restaurant near our hotel and got to bed early since the next day we would be doing the Freedom Trail! 

For those of you who have never been to Boston, the Freedom trail is a 2.5 mile trail that weaves through Boston and takes you to many historic sites such as Paul Revere’s home, the site of the first school, where the Boston Massacre occurred and many more.  It’s a fun tourist activity, we even saw Sarah Palin at Paul Revere’s house, minutes before she made her on air media gaff.  (I guess someone wasn’t paying attention during the tour?)      

When in Boston, there are of course Pubs- even along the Freedom Trail!  The Pub on the right, The Bell In Hand Tavern is actually the FIRST Tavern in the US!  Using that as a selling point, I convinced mom to go in for an afternoon drink with me. 

Also along the Freedom Trail is Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall.   Faneuil Hall was originally a place where farmers, fishermen and merchants all came to trade.  Today with the inclusion of Quincy Market and North/South Market it’s a hub for shopping, dining and drinking!  My mom and I stopped for lunch here and had a “Clam Chowda Match Off”.  I went with the chowder from Boston Chowda and mom went with Fisherman’s Net.  Boston Chowda won hands down, the amount of clams, the fresh seafood flavor and the seasonings made it the clear winner!  From there we took a Duck Tour of Boston, which was so much fun and a nice way to see everything without walking everywhere! 

                     

I had asked several people what to do and where to eat in Boston.  Everyone had the same answers: Legal Seafood, Lobster Rolls and Mike’s Pastry for Cannoli’s.  DONE!

Clam Chowder and a Lobster Roll at Legal Seafood!  Both were amazing!  The lobster was so sweet and on that nice buttery bun, with the squeeze of lemon adding a bit of brightness.  My first lobster roll, but definitely not my last! 

Up in the Italian district we stopped by at Mike’s Pastry.  They have tons of different types of Cannoli’s at Mike’s Pastry!  And check out that Lobstertail!  I so wanted one, but I had my eye set on the Boston Cream Puff. 

A chocolate chip cannoli for my mom and a Boston Pie Cream Puff for me!  I am not a super fan of the Cannoli, and this cream puff lured me instead.  Mom was nice enough to let me have a bite, and they ARE super good.  I can see why they are famous! 

The one place I had on my list was Flour Bakery, by Joanne Chang.  You may have seen or heard about this cookbook, it was on the Amazon top 10 list forever!  My mom and headed out to Cambridge to check it out and have an amazing lunch! 

We split a Caprese salad and the Chicken Jicama Avocado Sandwich.  Such simple items but both extremely well executed.  Can I talk about that bread for a minute?  How could it be so dense and chewy but fluffy at the same time.  That bread was perfection and I wanted to buy a loaf just to carry with me. 

You didn’t think that I could visit a bakery without getting some sweets too right?  After all their slogan is “make life sweeter eat dessert first!”  You may have seen Joanne go up against Bobby Flay for title of Best Sticky Bun in America.  Just by looking at that pic, can you tell who won?  Do I need to even tell you that the bun was crazy delish?  I had also wanted to try her homemade oreo, pop tart and lemon ginger scone.  Unfortunately they only had the scone the day we went…. I’ll have to save the other two for another time I guess!

Wait one more stop before we leave Boston! 

Yup the Sam Adams Brewery.  I highly recommend this if you are in Boston, it’s a fun little tour and explanation of the brewing process.  And the best part?  You get to taste 3 beers in their beer garden and get a cute little tasting cup as well!  Bye Boston- now on to the last stop, Washington DC!  Let’s follow the “Make Way for Ducklings” to the DC area!

East Coast Tour: Part 1 NYC

Hello!  I just got back from a two week long trip to the East Coast with my mom.  First stop on our trip- New York City!  I love to visit New York and this trip was no different.  We were able to stay at the W in heart of Time Square and as luck would have it my friend A’s mom was also visiting the same time we were!  The night we got in we had a “Mommy Dinner” at Elsewhere and then A and I had drinks at the bar in the W. 

Day 1 was a visit to Rockefeller Plaza, Radio City and Afternoon Tea at the Plaza!  Not going to bore you too much with what we bought, where we went and how far we walked (one day we did 22,500 steps- roughly 7 miles!!!)- cause I know most of you are interested in the eats!!  

Afternoon Tea at the Plaza!  Classic Tea above and New York Tea below.  I need to re-create that truffled quail egg salad sandwich!  Also why are things so yummy when they are mini?   

The Plaza if you ever get a chance to visit, is one of my favorite places in New York.  Something about it just says old time elegance, I had done tea there years ago and I had always wanted to come back and take my mom.  Mission accomplished! 

We couldn’t leave New York without visiting one of my new Burger Favorites- Shake Shack!  A had even given me a gift card for my birthday!  This time I got to try their custard too! 

On day 2, we had decided to visit the 9/11 memorial, Century 21 and Chelsea Market! 

Look at all the crazy delicious stuff at Chelsea Market!  There was so much stuff I wanted to eat or bring back back home. 

These great NYC cookies were from Eleni’s, they had the most amazing cookies.  (Even a Hello Kitty!)

Mmm and the awesome chocolate chip cookie from Jacques Torres.  And one of my favorite stores- Filling Station!  Just flavored salts, oils and balsamic vinegars!  If this were our last stop, I would have bought so much!!!  (Blueberry vinegar and Honey Ginger Vinegar I am so sad I left you behind)

A trip to NY with mom is not complete without a Broadway show!   We went to see Mary Poppins, which my mom and I both absolutely loved.  This movie was one of my childhood favorites, my cousin and I used to watch it almost every single time I went over to her house.  The musical was great, it was like taking a journey back to your childhood.  I think I watched the entire show with a huge smile on my face. I am now re-obsessed with the movie and can’t wait to watch it again (and again).  

Mom and I also made it down to Central Park and the SoHo area for some more shopping.  But you know I couldn’t leave New York without making a quick stop at Momofuku Milk Bar for some cookies as well!  Mom didn’t love NYC that much, the hustle and bustle might be too big of a jump from island life in Hawaii.  Her favorite was our next stop, Boston!!