STFD!

Tonight's dinner is brought to you by the letters STFD - Shut The Front Door!  It was so good.  I haven't blogged for a bit due to a high protein diet I've been on but thought I'd blog about my new eating regime.  High proteins, low carbs, still delicious!  (and vegetarian - NOT vegan)

Black beans make a great starting point for a Southwest style patty.  Or mash.  See below.  Mix it up.  Cook it up.  Eat it up.  Try it again.  Make it your own.

1 can black beans, minced down
1 diced white onion
2 anaheim peppers (I would add jalepeno's but didn't have them - go as spicy as you want.  Anaheims aren't that spicy, at least to me)
Salt/pepper to taste
3 egg whites (voila!  protein!)
Shredded cheese - I used Monterey Jack but cheddar would work as well
Crushed tortilla chips

Mix all that together and cook in just a bit of olive oil.  Serve with your favorite SW-inspired foods - tortillas, avocado, cheese, rice or ???

I ate mine soft taco style with flour tortillas (the last of my allowed carbs for the week), more cheese thrown on top and an avocado, the fruit of the Gods.  The pictures may not give them the proper justice.  So freaking good!!

Shrimp Salad

It's been awhile since I posted but I have been cooking.  This recipe is one of my FAVORITE salad recipes and it's easy to make modifications to for special needs - low carbs, low spice, etc.

1 pound raw deveined shrimp
Cherry tomatoes
Jalepeno pepper
Yellow pepper
Anaheim pepper
Cooked pasta (screwball pasta works great)
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Avocado
Salt/pepper
Cilantro

Boil water, cook shrimp until pink (pretty quick, so pay attention).  Combine halved tomatoes, diced peppers, pasta and chopped cilantro.  Add the shrimp.  Mix olive oil/lemon juice/salt/pepper for a quick dressing, pour over shrimp mixture and combine.  Dice avocado RIGHT before serving and toss into salad.  Enjoy!

note: less (or more) spice, adjust jalepeno; carb free just leave out pasta, which I did in the pictures.

Parmesan Chicken

I am on a roll with successful recipe ideas.  Quick - someone get me a cooking show!

I wanted to prepare my chicken with less of a Tex-Mex flair and more Italian.  To my Italian friends and Italian food lovers, I am not Italian.  So this is my spin on a classic.
Shred some parmesan cheese and combine with panko.  I get it - panko is NOT Italian but it adds a nice crust.  I added pepper, garlic powder and dried oregano.  No salt because the parm was bringing the salt factor.  I did a quick egg dip of a chicken cutlet, dredged in the panko and tossed in a pre-heated pan of olive oil and garlic.  I like cooking with cutlets because they cook faster than a full breast and I am impatient.
I served mine with some sauteed onion and more grated parm on top.

Now I just need to figure out dessert...

Now that's a spicy burger!

I crave spicy foods.  And by spicy, I mean a temperature on the tongue that would make the bulldog cry.  Poor boy.  I had the brilliant idea tonight of taking my burger up a notch with - wait for it - a jalepeno.  I KNOW!  Absolutely crazy.  Not to be outdone, my friend garlic went in as well.  Five cloves worth.
I diced the garlic and jalepeno before adding to the ground beef - grass fed, raised antibiotic free of course - and though I included the jalepeno seeds, the burger could have been hotter.
I also did the unthinkable - I cooked the burger in a tiny tablespoon of butter.  Nice richness added to the burger that way.  Easy little trick.  Beef + butter = TASTY!  At the end, I cut some grape tomato's in half and tossed them in the remaining butter and beef juices to sautee down and tossed some pepperjack cheese on top - just in case the burger wasn't spicy enough.
Serve with avocado on the side and have a drink ready if you're like the bulldog!

Pachonga Chicken

Two things you need to make a delicious chicken--panko bread crumbs and cumin.  Pachonga Chicken is tossed the panko, cumin, some salt and some pepper.  Then fried up in butter--don't freak out.  You don't (or shouldn't) eat it everyday.  And it's nothing an extra mile on your run won't cure.  =)  I cook my chicken with some sliced onions and an anaheim pepper, both of which are tossed in cumin.  And cooked in butter.  The mix of flavors really lets the chicken goodness out.  It's amazing how simple seasoning with simple butter can turn a chicken breast into a comeback meal.  Repeatedly. Come. Back.  I serve with some fresh avocado, maybe some tortillas, maybe some melted butter on the side.  It's all about your flair and adding what you like to eat.

Enjoy the grub!