Breakfast: I got my walk in super super early, like barely light out early. Oh that was hard. Brrrr. I knew if I didn't just get out there and do it I'd probably not be able to later. Rain clouds were looming.
I came home and made a batch of Ricotta Pancakes. I had just enough ricotta left from making my Zucchini Roll-ups (aka Pasta-less Manicotti) for dinner the other night to whip up a batch of these breakfast favs. No matter how gloomy the day is, if it starts with pancakes, it's got to be a good day.
Shelly's Lemon Ricotta Pancakes1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Lemon Pudding Mix, dry
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Vanilla)
Whiz all ingredients in mini food processor. I use whole milk ricotta, if you use part skim, drain first. Spray pan with non-stick spray. Cook on low till golden, flip, pat flat, cook till done. Serve each pancake with a drizzle of warm Sugar Free Maple Syrup, SF Jam or SF Orange Marmalade or this morning I nuked about 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries plus 1 Tablespoon of Sugar Free Torani Syrup for 1 minute. Makes 4 small pancakes or 8 silver dollar size.
These can be frozen between slices of wax paper or kept in the fridge a day or 2 and reheated (nuke 25 seconds) for breakfast during the week. Surprising good cold too. Leftovers usually get some SF jam, almond or peanut butter smeared on them, wrapped in foil and they become a great breakfast-on-the-go.
More pancakes
Lunch: Rainy and cold (well cold by Southern California standards) day here. Total soup weather.
Shelly's Black Bean Soup2 15-ounce cans Black Beans, drained
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 large Onion, chopped
2 Green Onions, chopped
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ground Cumin
3 cups Chicken Broth/Stock
1/2 cup Salsa (used storebought Picante this time)
Salt and freshly ground Pepper
3 ounces Cotija Cheese, crumbled (I only had Feta on hand)
Saute onions in butter and oil and cook until golden about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and stir to coat the onions. Let cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly so the cumin will not burn. Add the beans, stock and salsa. Bring to a boil, partially cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer gently, about 1/2 hour. For a thicker consistency, remove the cover and boil some of the liquid away. Whiz up with an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender. Garnish with crumbled cheese and cilantro.
I prefer to use a spicy salsa but I had a jar of mild picante open so that's what I used this time round. I tossed a couple of tablespoons of chopped cilantro in too. It was still good but I ended up hitting my bowl with a dash of hot sauce I missed the heat from the salsa. It was a nice body warming meal before heading out in the cold.
More Soups
I ran errands all afternoon. Stressful. I was so glad to get home. Southern California drivers are not accustomed to rainy roads. This is my politically correct way of saying they drive like $&!#. I saw so many near misses and from my local twitter stream it appears as if a few across town didn't miss. In an effort to get home as quickly as I could I skipped the last stop on my to-do list, the supermarket.
Dinner: No supermarket stop, meant no chicken for dinner, the plan was Chicken Marsala. I whipped up a frittata instead, sort of breakfast for dinner which I love.
Shelly's Spinach and Mushroom Frittata1 cup-ish of Mushrooms, chopped (I used a few Crimini and 1 Portabello)
2 cups Fresh Spinach
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
a few twists of Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Parmesan plus a sprinkle before serving
1 slice Provolone, chopped
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
In an oven safe saute pan saute mushrooms till golden. Add spinach and cover till spinach has gone limp. Add beaten egg and distribute mushroom and spinach evenly. Cook on medium heat. When eggs are almost set on bottom but still wet on top sprinkle with cheeses and seasoning. Place pan in oven and broil till the top is set and just golden. Sprinkle with a little more Parmesan. Enough for 2 or 3 people for sure.
Snacks: Oodles of coffee and a snack sized baggie of my CLICK Protein Granola while running errands.
I spent the evening curled up under the electric blanket watching mindless television while simultaneously playing Angry Birds. What can I say? I'm a multi-tasker ;)More days in my pouch