Lazy Sunday Brunch

     There's nothing better than a lazy Sunday. Sleeping in. Slowly getting around to cooking up a late breakfast. Then before you have a chance to change out of your pj's to start your day, you make the executive decision to go and crawl back into bed. It's not very often that these kind of days come around, so when they do you gotta take hold and try to make it last for as long as humanly possible. 

     Of course, not getting out of your pj's can cause some issues - such as venturing out to the grocery store to get supplies. Since getting out of my pajamas is clearly not an option, I'm going to do the best with what I have in my fridge. Luckily, we had tacos a couple nights ago which means we have all of the necessary ingredients to make Huevos Rancheros!!

Lazy Sunday Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients: 
2 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 corn tortillas
1/2 cup rice, cooked

3 pieces of thick cut bacon, cooked and diced

1 half of an avocado, diced
1 tbsp cilantro, stems removed
1 tbsp salsa
Mexican cheese, shredded
Hot sauce, to taste ~~~ CLH

Directions:
Heat olive oil in skillet. Fry the eggs sunny-side up. Season with salt and pepper. 
Wrap corn tortillas in damp paper towel, then place inside large ziplock bag. Keep bag unzipped and microwave for 30 seconds to steam. 
Arrange tortillas in a triangle like shape, overlapping in the middle. Top with cooked rice, diced bacon, sunny-side up eggs eggs, avocado, cilantro, salsa and cheese. Dabble with hot sauce. 

Tomatopalooza

     I have never gotten the flu shot. In fact, I make fun of people who do (like my boyfriend) and honestly I never get sick - but this year it got me. 

     I've been on my death bed for the past week with the flu, unable to eat, drink and especially entertain. My boyfriend's parents were visiting us in Chicago and even though I didn't get to spend very much time with them, I'm definitely enjoying the pounds of tomatoes they brought us from their garden back home. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a big thing to us city folk, so tonight it's Tomatopalooza in our household. 

Fresh Salsa

Ingredients:
3 lbs tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 jalapeno peppers, diced*
1 medium white onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper, to taste

* CLH: Reduce if you want it less spicy

Directions: Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until chopped. 
TFD: I prefer chunky salsa, so I blend for just a few seconds. 
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Caprese Skewers

Ingredients:
15 grape or cherry tomatoes
15 fresh mozzarella balls
15 fresh basil leaves
3 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Balsamic glaze
5 wooden skewers

Directions:
Using the wooden skewer - spear tomato, mozzarella, and basil. Repeat until you reach the end of the skewer. Place on a serving dish and pour olive oil over skewers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with balsamic glaze. Serve. 
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Roasted Tomato Basil Soup w/ Grilled Gruyere Croutons

Ingredients:
2.5 lbs roasted tomatoes
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes ~~~ CLH
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper, to taste
Grilled gruyere croutons, recipe follows
Grated parmesan cheese
Extra basil leaves, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread tomatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbsp. olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes. 
Heat the rest of the olive oil in a large pot. Add onions until softened. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes and cook a couple minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add basil, can of tomatoes, chicken broth and roasted tomatoes out of the oven. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 hours over low heat. 
Transfer ingredients from pot into a blender. Blend until smooth, leaving a few tomato chunks. 
Top with grilled gruyere croutons, parmesan cheese and basil leaves. 
Serve warm. 


Grilled Gruyere Croutons

Ingredients:
1 loaf fresh italian bread
Gruyere cheese, sliced
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Directions: 
Heat pan on stove over medium heat. 
Cut bread into four 1/2 inch thick slices. Spread melted better on one side of each slice. Layer gruyere on the side that is unbuttered, then top with another slice of bread, buttered side up. 
Place sandwiches on warmed pan and grill until browned. Flip and grill until the opposite side is browned and cheese is melted.
Remove from pan and cool. 
Cut into 1 inch cubes. 

Same Ole, Same Ole

     Hallelujah! It is the weekend. And a long weekend at that. Not only am I excited to have 3 full days away from the office, but I am excited to do absolutely NOTHING. 
     
     At first I was feeling a little strange about not skipping town for the holiday weekend, but then I took a look back at my daily planner (yes, I still use an old school planner - where I write my schedule out with a pencil) and I realized for the past eight weekends straight I have either been traveling or entertaining house guests. Eight... weekends... two... months... zero... "me"... time...

     Now, what to do with all of this extra time? Well, I gave my boyfriend access to my Pinterest account and told him to choose any breakfast recipe his little heart desires. You know what he did with that? Took 30 minutes scrolling through pictures, then asked me to make him the same ole breakfast burrito I used to make him when we actually had the time to cook our own eggs. I guess some things never change. 

Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 tbsp. milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup cooked rice
1/4 cup bacon, diced*
1 tbsp. Mexican cheese, shredded
1 tbsp. salsa
2 tsp. hot sauce ~~~ CLH
1 large flour tortilla

*TFD: Use turkey bacon if you want to feel a bit less guilty. I slipped it in and my boyfriend didn't have a clue ;)

Directions:
Whisk eggs, milk, 1 tsp. hot sauce and salt and pepper together in a bowl.
Cook eggs at medium-low in greased skillet, until scrambled through. 
Wrap scrambled eggs, 1/3 cup cooked rice, bacon, cheese, salsa and remaining hot sauce inside of tortilla. Warm burrito in greased pan until cheese is melted and grill marks appear. 
Serve with extra rice on the side. 

Margarita Monday

     My little brother and my Dad came out for their first visit to ChiTown last Thursday through Sunday. We did a lot of eating out. I mean, a lot - deep dish Chicago style pizza (twice), Chicago style hot dogs (Yes "dogs". Plural. Because one wasn't enough), Chicago steakhouse (with all the fixings) and the list goes on. I must have put on a good 10 pounds.

     So, you are probably thinking I’d come to you with a wholesome, healthy recipe for tonight’s dinner, but it just so happens to be Margarita Monday...and my girlfriends are coming over to help me celebrate.

TFM: You can’t serve alcohol without food - everyone will get sick!

     Well Mom, you should be proud because we're pairing our Marg's with Mexican apps tonight. And I'm sure no one there will be feeling sick tomorrow...

Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients:

15 – 20 jalapenos

8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened

1 lb thick cut bacon, diced

1 shallot, diced

1 cup of Mexican blend cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Fry bacon in skillet until done, then set on paper towel to cool. Drain all of the bacon fat, except 1 tbsp.

Add diced shallot to pan and sauté until tender.

Combine cream cheese, bacon, shallot and shredded Mexican cheese in a bowl and put aside.

Cut jalapeños lengthwise and remove seeds. (CLH: Also remove membrane if you don’t want your poppers hot.)

Fill jalapeños with cream cheese mixture and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes

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Pepper Jack Fondue

Ingredients:

1 lb. pepper jack cheese, shredded

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1 bottle of Corona beer

¼ garlic clove, minced

Pinch of cayenne pepper ~~~ CLH

1/3 cup Jose Cuervo Silver tequila

Directions:

Toss pepper jack cheese with cornstarch in a bowl.

Combine beer, garlic and cayenne pepper in saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to bubble.

Reduce the heat to low and gradually stir in the shredded cheese.

Stir in tequila and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.

Transfer to fondue pot and regular heat so dip remains warm.