The Five Minute Breakfast

Leftovers Made Up 2/3 of this Breakfast

It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day yet, it is also the meal that many Americans tend to skip. When we do stop to have breakfast, then we typically opt for cold cereal - which can be problematic.  I suppose that pouring a splash of milk over your corn flakes or sugar coated choco smacks is better than nothing...but, we can do better and with just a few more minutes of time.

This morning was the start of a work-from-home day for me. As such, I wanted to pause before settling in and enjoy a nice hot meal. Typically, this is eggs (scrambled, poached, sunny-side up) and bacon or sausage (turkey or pork). There was a kink in my plan - plenty of fresh eggs but not a single strip of bacon or sausage. I did have a leftover hamburger and fresh fruit salad from the Fourth of July cookout. A five minute breakfast was born...

Throwing the already cooked hamburger into a small skillet, let's start warming that up now (typically a couple of minutes each side). Next spoon out some of the fresh fruit salad (I'll create a post on that another day) or other fresh fruit (orange for example) onto your plate.  While the hamburger is warming, cook your egg(s).  This morning, I opted for sunny side up but, to each their own.  I won't tell you how to cook an egg but, I will encourage you to be sure to season it with a dash of pepper. Once your egg is cooked to the level you want, it goes on the plate with the hamburger...

There you go, a five minute hot breakfast - I'm off to the store now to get some more turkey bacon for Saturday (as I am now out of hamburgers).

Breaded Tilapia with Green Veggies and Seasoned Polenta

I've written about Tilapia before - and I will say it again, this is a blank canvas of a fish. If you are one of those that doesn't like fish, then I would suggest that you take a piece of tilapia and prepare it the same way you like your chicken - you might be surprised with the results.

We are still pan frying (3 minutes on each side in EVOO) so let's focus on the breading.  I like to use plain packaged bread crumbs. Pour into a small shallow pan (just enough to cover the bottom). Since bread crumbs are pretty tasteless - I strongly recommend that you add seasoning. At the very least salt and pepper but, you can use just about anything. I mixed in a dash of salt, a bit red pepper, and garlic (not too much) to the bread crumbs. Lightly coat the fish fillets in oil and dredge through your seasoned bread crumbs.

Polenta is a relatively discovery for me and, I feel, another blank canvas. I am sure that there are about a million ways to fix this but, I simply slice it up from the tube it comes in and place into a medium hot pan of oil. Season with pepper and cook until slightly golden brown.  I might try grilling it next time.

Veggies are the simple fresh & easy cheat - simply zap in the microwave for 3 minutes. They package it with a herb butter mix so I only wind up adding a pinch of salt after I plate it.

Grilled Seasoned Chicken with Mixed Veggies and Brown Rice

From fridge to plate in 15 minutes...

Maybe like me, the hardest night to cook at home is Monday night. Let's face it, the last thing most of us really want to do after slogging through a, "case of the Mondays (there is your Office Space reference for the evening) is cook dinner. Dinner does not need to be complicated and cooking dinner should not have to take forever. 

Tonight's dinner was fresh and sure, it involved a couple of "cheats" - courtesy of fresh & easy (if you have one near you, I suggest checking them out).  Here's what you will need...

Grilled Seasoned Chicken with Mixed Veggies and Brown Rice

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Poultry seasoning
• Mixed veggies (the cheat, I used one of the "ready to cook" vegetable sides) 
• Brown rice (the cheat, a package of zap in the bag brown rice)

Preheat grill - since I use propane, I do not count the time it takes to do this as part of the 15 minutes it takes to fix this dinner (seriously, it took me longer to type this sentence than it did to turn on the gas and press the ignite button). While your choice of fire is coming up to temperature, lightly coat the chicken with EVOO. Then sprinkle the poultry seasoning on each side.  Place chicken on grill, turning frequently until cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. By the way, if you do not have a digital thermometer, why not.  Go and get one you cheap...

Since I shop at fresh & easy, I opted to use a couple of their store brand "cheats" to create the sides. For my friends outside of their market service areas, I am sure that you can find something similar in a store near you. Just stay away from the frozen section - stick with stuff that you can find in the produce section and that has ingredients listed on the label that you can actually pronounce.  If you want to avoid the "cheats" then factor in time to slice and steam the veggies and cook the brown rice.

I am not going to get into the whole brown versus white rice debate, what I will say is that, once you get used to the mild, nutty flavor, I think you will pick it over white rice just about any day. Other than the taste, the only difference is that the husk of the rice is the only thing that is removed during the milling, With the bran intact, brown rice retains more fiber, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc than white rice. If you need more vitamin E in your diet then you should note that brown rice is the only grain that contains this antioxidant.

There it is, a fifteen minute, fresh, Monday night dinner...

Simple, Refreshing Lunch

Where I live (Phoenix area) temperatures are now hitting the 100+ degree mark on a regular basis. As a result, I don't typically go for a "hot" lunch (trust me, the last thing you want is more heat when you live on the surface of the sun).

If I have learned nothing from this new job, I have learned that you cannot count on having bandwidth to get out of the office for lunch. In the summer, I often get stuck with sandwiches or salads - which can get a bit boring after a while.

They don't have to be though and my lunch the other day is an example of thinking outside of the (lunch) box.  This was as simple as a sandwich, not as complicated as a full-on salad, and very satisfying.

Watermelon and Feta Salad

• Cube watermelon
• Cube firm feta (crumbles will not work)

You can stop there or opt to add some fresh mint or drizzle some balsamic into it.  There you go, that simple (perfect way to jump-start this blog after months away with work and travel life happening). 

Adobo Seasoned Chicken Breast with Tender Stem Broccoli

Not Your Local KFC

Ok, it has been a while since I posted - been a bit busy lately.  Tonight was the perfect night to change that.

What I wanted was a three piece white meet KFC chicken dinner with all the comfort food sides that come along with it (crappy mac & cheese, what is supposed to pass for biscuits, and overly processed slaw).  Instead, I stuck to my "no drive-thru crap food" pledge and drove past KFC to home.

Chicken is a blank canvas. Tonight I made up a quick little dry rub of adobo seasoning and sweet paprika. Place it on a grill and cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, turning so as not to overly char the flesh.

I have fallen in love with sauteing veggies in brown garlic butter. Tonight star in the pan was tender stem broccoli. I will confess to cheating - I used two Dorot garlic cubes - throw  them in so they dissolve down while the butter melts. Put your veggies in right after turning the chicken the first time.

15 minutes - fridge to plate and way better for you than three piece faux food...

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia with Couscous Cheese Stuffed Peppers

The great thing about Tilapia is that it is a blank canvas for food...blackening, seasoning, crusting. This tilapia was super easy - fresh fish, pre-packed filets. Simply pan fry in three tablespoons of oil (of course I used EVOO), three minutes on each side. Remember to have the oil hot, otherwise the crusting will stick to the pan and pull off the filet when you flip it.

The peppers were also super easy. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the tops, remove the ribbing and seeds...you might want to trim a bit off the bottom to help them stand upright. For the couscous, bring 1-1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon of butter, some basil (3 dorot cubes), and some garlic (another 3 dorot cubes) to a boil. Stir in one cup of couscous, remove from heat, cover and let sit for five minutes. Now pull out a baking pan add water to cover the bottom 1/2 inch. Spoon the couscous into the peppers, sprinkle shredded cheese on the top, and place upright in the pan. The pan now goes on the center rack of the preheated oven for 10 minutes.

In total, just 15 minutes from cutting board to plate. Enioy...

Breakfast Made Easy

Cooking Time:  6 minutes
Clean-Up:  cutting board, knife, skillets and tongs

Were you to break into my home and check the pantry, you would discover that I don't have any cold breakfast cereal. It isn't that I am opposed to those - I love a heaping bowl of Frosted Flakes as much as the next guy - I just prefer something warm in me to start the day (especially this time of year).

On weekends, breakfast typically is eggs, a pork protein, and a side of fruit. It is light, quick, and a great way to get the day jump started. On days that I am feeling particularly lazy, I use Egg Beaters instead of regular eggs.  While they contain Xantham and gaur gum - they contain no egg yolks so they are a bit healthier for you. Also, because of their smoother consistency, I like them a lot better than real eggs for scrambled eggs and omelettes. Spritz a bit of olive oil in a medium hot skillet, and you are off to the races.

Now for the meat. Sure, you could do your standard thick cut slab bacon but, that would be boring. For this morning, I opted for an uncured back bacon (think a slightly goofier shaped Canadian bacon). This comes from the loin in the middle of the back of the pig and is a lean, meaty cut of bacon with a ham-like texture. I'm sure that I found this because fresh and easy is owned by Tesco - which happens to be headquartered in the United Kingdom. It is a much healthier choice and will not shrink down nearly as much as the bacon you are likely used to using (I have never once had to do the whole drain bacon fat into the old coffee can trick). I'm not saying that I don't love side or slab bacon (oh how I do) but, this is an offering that doesn't seem nearly as processed as the little circular Canadian style bacon we usually find in the United States.

The fruit garnish is even simpler - take a piece of fruit from the fridge (in this case an orange) and cut into pieces.  Now you have started your day right and let Tony the Tiger sleep in.