Good Morning Pancakes

Any morning that starts with pancakes is a good one...

Shelly's Ricottage Pancakes with Super Special Syrup

1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese (I used whole milk ricotta)
1/4 cup Cottage Cheese (I used pre-mixed Pineapple Cottage Cheese)
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix (I use this)
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Lemon Pudding Mix, dry
1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Coconut, toasted

Whiz all ingredients in mini food processor. FYI for those who don't dig coconut the toasted coconut in the recipe is is not detected, it's merely for texture, almond flour could be subbed.

Spray pan with non-stick spray. Cook on low till golden, flip, pat flat, cook till done. Nuke Shelly's Super Special Syrup for 25 seconds so it drizzles well. Serve each pancake with a drizzle of warm syrup. 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 (lazy mornings).

Shelly's Super Special Syrup

2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Maple Syrup mixed with 1 teaspoon Sugar Free Torani syrup. Any flavor Torani (or any other brand) syrup will work. I used SF Raspberry today. Mmmm tastes like a jelly donut. The variety pack would be a fun way to experiment.

A few other Eggface Good Mornings

Shelly's Strawberry Banana Breakfast Parfait
Shelly's Bites
Shelly's Caramel Apple Oatmeal
Shelly's Cherry Nut Mini Protein Muffins
Shelly's Heart Shaped Baked Egg Cups
Shelly's Banana Walnut Oatmeal
Shelly's Breakfast Tostada
Shelly's Black Cherry Greek Yogurt
Shelly's Chocolate Protein Waffles
Shelly's Conshohocken Scramble
Shelly's Crepes
Shelly's Café Biscotti Protein Shake
Shelly's Apple Raisin Protein Souffle

Summertime and the living is easy

What lunatic came up with that?! This week the living has been far from easy. 100+ temps. Humid. It was sweaty and draining. I tried to get some projects done but ugggh. I seriously wonder how I did it pre weight loss surgery with 150+ extra pounds on me. I didn't really cook much this weekend. I miss it. I've been drinking Iced Tea Lattes, eating Fluff Stuff and Protein Ice Cream and only turning the oven on quickly in the late evening.

Saturday I hit the Farmer's Market as usual. Small haul... just onions, garlic, nectarines, corn, a variety of summer squashes, strawberries and cherries. I ran into a lovely blog reader at the market. As my Mum and I were leaving I heard "Are you Eggface?" I said, "Yes" I thought afterward if someone heard that initial exchange they would be wondering what in the world an "Eggface" was. Too funny. Anyway... Shannyn, it was great meeting you!

I spent most of the rest of Saturday getting even sweatier cleaning the garage. I'm in a purging mode. I've been taking a cabinet and section at a time and going through them wondering why in the world I have some of the things I have. Finally went through the box of wires and manuals for electrical items that are long gone. I'm determined to get organized. What has been helping me is this new thing I've been doing... in the corner of the garage I keep a large cardboard box and when I find something in the house or garage that needs to be donated I put it in the box. I used to say things like "Oh yeah that needs to be donated next time I go" and then it wouldn't move on from there. Now I take the item and it goes in the donate box. When the box is full I take it right away to the local thrift and place another empty box in the corner. It really helps.

Sunday I had a migraine. I ran some errands in the morning but by afternoon I was curled up in ball on the couch. Blah. Probably the heat. I felt a bit better by the evening and managed to make a few items for a "tidbit party" that we enjoyed outside under the electric stars. I even broke out my new cheese board. A birthday gift to myself. Good news I hear we are gonna have a reprieve and will be out of the triple digits for awhile. Hooray! I can cook again.

Shelly's Roasted Garlic Cheese Stuffed Mini Peppers

14 Mini Sweet Peppers
1 head Roasted Garlic
1 Yellow Onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
1 Egg, beaten
3/4 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped
2 Tablespoons Parmesan, grated

Roast a head of garlic. This is how I do it. Set aside to cool. Wash, half & de-seed mini peppers. Place in a lightly oiled (Pam works great) Pyrex casserole dish. Sprinkle with kosher salt and bake for 10 minutes at 350. Carefully empty any water that has accumulated in the peppers and set aside.

Saute onion till golden. Add seasonings and cook 1 minute. Let cool. Combine all remaining ingredients (expect Parmesan) with cooled onions and the contents of the roasted garlic head. Spoon mixture into a Quart Ziploc baggie. Seal and snip off bag end to form a piping bag.

Pipe cheese mixture into par-cooked mini peppers. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350 for an additional 20 minutes or until lightly golden.

These can be made in advance and reheated in the oven or toaster oven right before serving. Leftovers are great for breakfast the next morning with an egg.

The other items pictured at our tidbit party were marinated mushrooms, kalamata and Sicilian olives, Greek beans and a little salad I made by combining roasted red peppers (jarred) with just picked cherry tomatoes from the garden, fresh mozzarella, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Dear Mother Nature,
I'm done with summer. Bring on the Snuggies.
Kthxbye.

Things making me happy

We've had 100+ temps and humidity, complete with afternoon thunderstorms which is really rare for this area. It feels like the sticky Long Island summers of my childhood. I do have to say summer is 150% better post weight loss surgery but this week I dare say even the barely there Olsen Twins would be feeling the heat. I've been taking pleasure in a few favorite things and trying to stay cool.

A few things that made this week more bearable...

* Iced Tea Lattes - Homemade Iced Tea Lattes have been a highlight of my day.

Here's how I do them...

Fill a glass (16 oz.) halfway with ice.
I use my Keurig to brew (on the iced tea setting) some tea. Sometimes I use a storebought K cup but mostly I use that a My K-cup doohickey filled with my favorite loose leaf (1 rounded teaspoon) My favorites are Blueberry Rooibos and Masala Chai.
Top off with milk (I use Vanilla Soy), a squirt of Sugar Free Torani Syrup and optional SF Whipped Cream.

Speaking of Sugar Free Torani Syrup... check out this cool variety pack of flavors. Would be a nice starter set for a new post-op.

* Lush Breath of Fresh Air Toner - OMG I love this stuff. I store it in the fridge... late afternoon when the high temps have me feeling (and looking) like I've been run over by a pack of wild boars. I grab this out of the ice box, spritz my face and neck and ahhhh all is right with the world again.

* BBC's Emma miniseries - I am a period romance freak and Jane Austen is a favorite. I popped this in again this week and it transported me to my happy place. It's my favorite version.

* My Fluff Stuff - If you haven't made this stuff yet. Make it. Remember that Jello 1-2-3 layered dessert from the 80's this is like a healthier version of that. Any Sugar Free Jello, any flavor SF Torani Syrup, any Fruit, and a little Greek Yogurt combination and YUM!

Some of my favs so far...

SF Orange Jello, SF Vanilla Torani, Pineapple (like a Creamsicle)
SF Black Cherry Jello, SF Black Cherry Torani, fresh Cherries (my ultimate favorite)
SF Lemon Jello, SF Vanilla Torani, Strawberries (Strawberry Lemonade)

and this one I made this morning SF Strawberry Jello, SF Strawberry Torani and fresh Cherries

Shelly's Fluff Stuff

1 cup Boiling Water
1 box (4-serving size - the small one) Sugar Free Strawberry Jello Mix
3 1/2 oz. (half a small container) Fage Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Strawberry)
1 1/2 cups Cherries, (fresh or frozen)

Pour boiling water slowly over jello mix. Stir till dissolved. Set aside. Mix yogurt & syrup together till well combined. Add to Jello mixture. Beat with an electric mixer till well combined. I use this gadget.

Place in fridge for 1 hour. Remove from fridge and beat again for 5 minutes till fluffy. Fold in fruit. Put back in fridge and allow to set fully (about 2 hours)

You can use any fruit (fresh, frozen defrosted or canned drained), any Jello flavor, any Torani Syrup flavor.

* Surfing the net.

For the Fashionistas Polyvore.
For the Foodies: Slashfood
For Support: Twitter and the WLS Twibe
For Music: Blip.fm

Well that's about it. The things making me happy this week despite the gnarly heat.

"People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy." ~Anton Chekhov

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

Summer has finally arrived in Southern California. It hit 96 degrees here yesterday. Ughhh. I thankfully had a lot of indoor work to do so I only really felt it when I went outside to pick tomatoes and basil. I waited till late to BBQ. I only turned the oven on briefly and scored a few days of meals out of those 30 minutes so it was a win. All I wanted was easy and refreshing.

Breakfast: One of my super easy favorites Shelly's Strawberry Banana Breakfast Parfait

Lunch: My "Bites" (aka crustless quiches) are another one of my favorite post weight loss surgery foods. They are the perfect size. Great for breakfast-on-the-go, lunch or dinner with a salad, or weight loss surgery friendly party appetizers that both non-ops and post-ops will love. They are kid-friendly. Whippersnappers love them. I think because they are small like them.

Shelly's Turkey & Brie Bites

1 Yellow Onion, diced fine
2-3 White Mushrooms, diced fine
1/4 lb (about 4 slices) Turkey Cold Cut, chopped
1 oz. Brie Cheese, cubed
5 eggs
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Saute onions, mushrooms, and turkey till golden. Set aside to cool. Mix all ingredients (including cooled mixture) together.

Spoon into lightly greased (Pam non-stick spray works great for this) mini muffin tins.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Let them cool a few moments they pull away and pop right out. Makes 24.

Other Eggface Bites

Dinner: The tomatoes are picking up the pace. I love homegrown tomatoes. I think it may just be my favorite thing about summer. I picked a bunch, a few leaves of fresh basil (also doing very well this year), added fresh mozzarella, salt, pepper, oregano and a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette to make this Caprese Salad to go with BBQ'd Lemon Pepper Chicken Skewers. I also made a Greek Yogurt Dip for the chicken (not pictured)

Snacks: Oodles of coffee (mostly iced) and a super refreshing Orange Pineapple version of my Fluff Stuff. It tasted like a creamsicle (those 50/50 bars) soooo good. I ate it while I watched "Deadliest Catch" I love that show. Sad one last night. Captain Phil RIP.

Shelly's Fluff Stuff

1 cup Boiling Water
1 box (4-serving size - the small one) Sugar Free Orange Jello Mix
3 1/2 oz. (half a small container) plain Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Vanilla)
1 1/2 cups Pineapple, chunks (fresh, frozen or I use Dole Gold Pineapple Chunks in natural juice, drained)

Pour boiling water slowly over jello mix. Stir till dissolved. Set aside. Mix yogurt & syrup together till well combined. Add to Jello mixture. Beat with an electric mixer till well combined. I use this gadget.

Place in fridge for 1 hour. Remove from fridge and beat again for 5 minutes till fluffy. Fold in fruit. Put back in fridge and allow to set fully (about 2 hours)

I served a scoop with a squirt SF Whipped Cream. You can use any fruit (fresh, frozen defrosted or canned drained), any Jello flavor, any Torani Syrup flavor.

It's supposed to be even hotter today. Triple digits. Drink your water and stay cool everyone!