3 Ingredient Breakfast Skillet (Whole 30)

I am so excited! Last week I finally got a new computer. I have been blogging from my phone and the computers at the library for over two years while I have saved for a computer. Blogging is so much easier to do from a computer at home in my favorite chair whenever I have time then to find time to go to the library after work while sitting on very uncomfortable chairs. It also lets me work on a project or two I have wanted to do but can’t do from my phone, like rebuild my recipe index here on the blog. I have been working so hard on my projects, I have barely spent anytime in the kitchen.When I do get in the kitchen I am keeping things really simple. Lately my meals follow the random protien, some kind of Primal Palate seasoning and some kind of random vegetable or vegetables template. This has led me to some yummy, quick and easy meals.This recipe doesn’t use Primal Palate seasonings (but it could) but it is yummy, quick and easy so I can get out of the kitchen and back to my computer projects.

3 Ingredient Breakfast Skillet

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted From Lexi’s Clean Kitchen

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 cup salsa

3 eggs

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add ground meat and cook, stirring occasionally until no pink remains, about 8 minutes.

Add in salsa and mix to combine, let cook together until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Crack in 6 eggs and cover skillet until the eggs are cooked through to your desired consistency, about 5-8 minutes.

Baked Eggs With Avocado (Whole 30)

The original recipe for Baked Eggs in Avocado Boats called for enlarging the pit holes in the avocado and gently dropping  an egg in the enlarged hole then not spilling the egg out of the avocado as you are transferring it to the oven.  I don’t have that much coordination on my best days.  I loved the ideas so much though, I decided to get all chefy and deconstruct the egg boats into something a little more in line with my coordination level and the Whole 30 so I omitted the cheese and hot sauce.

This recipe is good as it is but you could really mix it up.  You could add bacon or any left over meat you have around.  You could spice it up with taco season or any mix of herbs or spices you like.  Add a simple vegetable and you have a Whole 30 compliant breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Baked Eggs and Avocado

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted From The Toss Your Salad Cookbook

1 medium avocado

2 eggs

1 roma tomato

2 tsp chopped onion

1 -2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 4 x 4 inch oven safe pan with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.  In a small bowl,  scrape out the avocado into a bowl and mash it well.  Crack eggs over the mashed avocado. Top the eggs with tomato, onion and garlic.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to your liking.

Whole30 Day 23 — Pineapple Salsa

Have you ever tried a recipe that everyone is raving about and when you try it you think, nope, not going to try that one again? That has been almost every recipe I have tried the last couple of days. It is frustrating.  The worst was some chicken burgers I tried.  The picture was so pretty and I wanted like them so much. The burgers were quick and easy but they were sooooooo bland.  I had to save them because I made them for lunch at work and I didn’t have time to make anything else.

Since there was pineapple in the chicken, I decided to make a pineapple salsa.  I know it sounds strange but the sweet of the pineapple and mint goes really well with the savory flavor of garlic and cumin.  This recipes makes a lot but it really goes with everything.  It’s good on chicken, fish, mixed with rice, not whole30 but I have done it before and I am sure it would be good on things I haven’t even thought of yet.  The salsa lasts a long time so you can experiment.

Pineapple Salsa

• Difficulty: Easy
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1  20 oz can crushed pineapple

2 cloves garlic — minced

2 tablespoons fresh mint — minced

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

cayenne pepper — to taste

Mix all ingredients together and keep in covered bowl in the fridge. Keeps for several weeks.

 

Salsa Verde

Ever since I was a young kid, I have loved horror movies.  My mom has always wondered where my love of horror movies comes from as no one in my family likes, much less loves, horror movies.  I blame my cousin, Del.  When we were young, in an age long before VHS tapes or DVDs’, Del had an 8mm reel to reel movie projector with three movies, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein and The Creature From the Black Lagoon.  Whenever our families would get together, Me, my brothers, Del and his sisters would crowd into the upstairs bathroom to watch these movies projected on the blank bathroom wall.  This is where the love began.

I was a teenager during the 1980’s monster movie revival.  Monsters like Freddy Krueger, from A Nightmare On Elm Street,  Jason from Friday the 13th, and Micheal Meyer’s from Halloween filled my nights with fright.  When I was about 15 or so, we got a VHS player.  I gravitated towards the row up on row of horror movies our local movie rental store. It was at this little store I discovered the movies of John Carpenter like The Thing, Prince of Darkness, and In the Mouth of Madness. Also during my teens I started reading horror novels and short stories. My favorite horror authors are HP Lovecraft and Stephen King. Stephen King’s The Stand is still one of the most terrifying books I have ever read.  It is so sad that Stephen King’s movies seldom get done the justice they deserve.

These days, I don’t see many horror movies in the theater.  I am almost always disappointed that they aren’t scary, just gross.  Don’t get me wrong, Saw was an awesome horror movie.  The sequels just turned into a series of torture porn and grotesque pranks. I don’t mind a little splatter in my horror movies but it’s boring when that is all there is .  Most “horror” movies today are just splatter movies under another name.  I like movies like the Conjuring,  Hammer Horrors The Residient, and the ones you see above.

I just love being scared by movies.  I read a theory once said that people love to watch horror movies because in a world where we have no control over the scary things that go on, we have control over the scares in the movie.  When the movie gets to be too much we can leave or get up and turn it off.  The fear you feel while watching a horror movie is a safe fear, it isn’t real.  I don’t know about that.  I just love a good horror movie.  What are your favorite horror movies?

The only thing scary about this salsa is its color.  It isn’t the most appetizing green color but man does it taste good.  I usually use this salsa to make enchiladas but you could use as a salsa for chips.

• Difficulty: Medium
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5 to 6 Tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
1 poblano pepper, roasted, skinned and seeds removed
1 jalapeno pepper, roasted, skinned and seeds removed
1 ½ TBS neutral oil
1 large onion, diced
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp oregano
½ cup water
salt and pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 TBS lime juice
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the tomatillos, poblano and jalapeno on a roasting pan and roast until the skins are lightly browned and blistered, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. When the tomatillos are cool chop them finely, along with the chilies, saving their juices. Meanwhile, put the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatillos, chilies, oregano, water and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a low simmer. Cook until the mixture thickens slightly, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice, taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate for up to two days.

Jenny’s Black Bean Soup

It is a sad day here at A Solitary Feast, I finally had to drag out my winter jacket. Up until now I have been making due with a sweater and light weight jacket but with the temperature hovering at 39 degrees, that isn’t going to cut it any more. On the bright side, I can now eat soup without anyone looking at me funny. Yep, I am one of those people. I eat soup all year around, no matter how hot it is outside.

• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients
2 cans (4 cups) black beans
½ lb ground beef or other ground meat
6 TBS salsa
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
chicken stock
1 lime

In a large saucepan brown the meat; drain. Combine 1 can beans and salsa, puree. Combine the black beans and salsa mixture with the meat. Add the chicken stock until the desired consistency is reached. Add the zest of the whole lime and juice of half the lime, the remaining beans and cumin. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 60 minutes.

Adapted from a recipe my sister in law, Jenny, gave me.