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It may be hard to believe, but I've been thinking about making Spam, Potato & Pepper Hash With A Fried Egg for several days.
It all started after I saw my friend Jazmin post a photo of SPAM at a Minnesota State Fair. I've not had SPAM in ages and decided to buy it. The timing was somewhat perfect as I just had a dental surgery and needed to eat something soft. Oy.
I also had a leftover baked potato, which I think is the perfect potato to use for a hash because it's already cooked! Undercooked potatoes are one of my biggest pet peeves.
The photo above is my breakfast from yesterday because I had a day off and love to have a big ass breakfast on such an occasion.
Spam, Potato & Pepper Hash With A Fried Egg
olive oil
onion, diced
green pepper, diced
SPAM, diced
baked potato, diced
salt & pepper
fried egg
ketchup
Start by sauteing onion and pepper in a skillet heated with olive oil.
Once the vegetables are tender, add SPAM and potatoes and season with salt (just a bit!) and black pepper. Continue sauteing until SPAM and potatoes are crispy.
Serve with a fried egg on top: I prefer mine to have a soft yolk.
Ketchup is optional. Feel free to use hot sauce or sriracha.
Do YOU love SPAM?
Have no time or desire to cook but don't want to get take out or eat cereal for dinner? Picnic Dinner to the rescue!!
Earlier this week I quickly stopped at my grocery store to pick up the following ingredients to make a picnic dinner:
chips
salsa
hummus
soft cheese
grapes
tangerines
olives
salami
You can add sliced vegetables, something sweet and decadent, a glass of wine, or any other things you wish. This also makes for a great actual picnic!
Smashed Potatoes: have you heard of them? By this point I thought everyone knew about these crispy on the outside and tender on the inside potatoes that are great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Turns out I was wrong.
When a few friends came over for dinner earlier this week, I decided to make smashed potatoes as a side, and they LOVED them. "I'll have two" turned into "These are amazing: I want more!"
Smashed Potatoes
mini red skinned potatoes
water
salt
olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
1. Cover the red skinned potatoes in a small saucepan with cold water, season with salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat slightly down and simmer until a knife can easily go through a potato.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F.
3. Once the potatoes are tender, drain and dry them, and then use a cup or a glass to gently smash each of the potatoes without fully destroying them. This is rather therapeutic.
4. Oil a large cookie sheet and place the smashed potatoes in a single layer. Brush with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15-25 minutes or until the edges are crispy.
Serving suggestion: poached salmon and arugula salad with strawberries.
Summer on a plate:
1) Slice heirloom tomatoes
2) Spread mayonnaise on wasa crackers or toast
3) Top with tomatoes
4) Season with salt (I used truffle salt) and freshly ground black pepper
Enjoy
TGIF! Above is a gorgeous, if I say so myself, flower arrangement I made in a class I assisted taught by Sarah of Urban Petals.
In the first class (out of 3), I learned how to arrange flowers in my hand instead of in a vase. You start with one stem and then add more stems one by one with the stems somewhat wrapped or twirled around one another: it's harder to explain in words than to actually do.
At the end, you use a rubber band to hold all the flowers together: it's basically a bridal bouquet, but luckily you don't have to be a bride to enjoy this.
The beauty of this technique is that you can easily trim the ends of the flowers and change the water (do this at least every other day) without having to redo the entire arrangement.
Once some of the flowers wilt (irises were the first to go), it's easy to remove them and slightly re-fluff the rest of the bouquet.
Can't wait to see what I learn in the next two Tuesdays!
Imagine coming home to a care package containing natural casing franks, specialty mustard, and a few other varieties of sausages.
That's exactly what happened to me last night thanks to my friends at Hofmann's! They sent me a few of their products to try, and I made a quick dinner with their natural casing franks. Originally from Germany, Hofmann's has operated in Syracuse, New York since 1879: they clearly know what they are doing.
Don't have a grill? No worries: I used my panini maker! I loved how the casing burst and got crispy in the cooking process. The franks are already cooked, so you just need to heat them through.
Add boiled corn, horseradish mustard and sliced watermelon, and you have dinner on the table in under 10 minutes.
Disclosure: I received the samples free of charge and am not compensated for this post.
TGIF!!!! It's hot as hell in DC area. It will feel like 110 degrees this weekend...are you ready? I'm planning to avoid being outside as much as possible, eat cold food, and watch the latest season of Queer Eye!
In the meantime, I wanted to share with you Fancy Fruit Salad I made earlier this week when two of my friends came over for dinner.
What makes it fancy? There are no apples or bananas ;) If you love those fruit in your salad, be my guest!
Fancy Fruit Salad
figs, quartered
cherries, pitted and halved
strawberries, chopped
nectarines, pits removed, chopped
That's it! Mix the fruit together and serve. Depending on how ripe the fruit is, you may want to add a bit of sugar or honey, but mine were sweet as it.
Stay cool friends!
It's over 90 degrees in DC area and supposed to get even warmer. I'm not even talking about the humidity factor!
I'm changing my Facebook status to "in relationship with AC."
Get it!? ;)
Over the weekend I used some of the produce I received as a gift from Seasonal Roots to make a salad to go along with leftover steak I made the night before without turning on the stove or the oven. The heat came from jalapenos!
Nectarine, Tomato & Blueberry Salad with Steak
Ingredients
nectarines, pit removed, flesh diced
tomatoes, whichever variety you like, chopped into bite size pieces
blueberries
jalapeno, minced
red onion, finely diced
basil, chopped
olive oil
salt
steak, sliced
Directions
Mix all the salad ingredients in a bowl. Serve with sliced steak.
The combination of sweet nectarines and blueberries is not only great in a cake, but is lovely in this salad. The jalapeno and red onion add the heat.
I have a big announcement: this blog will now become a Meatless Monday blog!
KIDDING! :) It does appear that I've been mostly posting Meatless Monday recipes, so why not continue?
This past Saturday, my friend Sylvie gave me a bunch of home grown tomatoes and basil and took me to Costco where I bought fresh mozzarella balls which I then turned into this beautiful salad!
Tomato, Mozzarella & Cherries Salad
tomatoes of all shapes and colors, sliced or quartered as needed
fresh mozzarella ball, sliced
cherries, pitted and halved
fresh basil, torn
olive oil
salt
rose
fresh mint
Place tomatoes, mozzarella, and cherries onto a plate in a pleasing manner.
Top with fresh basil and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt.
Pour rose into a glass and add a few mint leaves.
Have a great day!
If you are in need of a side for your 4th of July get together, or need a fresh idea for using a head of cauliflower you have sitting in the fridge, I highly recommend Cauliflower Salad Adapted from skinnytaste.
I, for one, love cauliflower, and eat it often. I also, however, love potatoes. This salad is good as is, but I'll never give up my love of potatoes!
Here's how I ended up making this recipe:
A few weeks ago, my mom sent me a link to Gina's, aka skinnytaste Low Carb Potato Salad. She said that even my dad liked it! Then, my twin Anna made the salad and said it was delicious.
Not wanting to be left out, I decided to make a batch of Gina's salad, but with a few changes:
1) I used only 4 eggs instead of 6
2) I used whole grain mustard instead of yellow mustard
3) I used cilantro instead of dill
4) I used cucumber instead of celery
5) I used bourbon smoked paprika instead of regular paprika
Helpful tips:
Make sure you cool the cauliflower completely before adding it to the other ingredients. I was impatient and added warm cauliflower to the mayonnaise and it watered down the salad.
The salad gets better as it sits in the refrigerator over night.
