The best scrambled eggs

I have never been a huge fan of eggs.  Some kinds make me want to vomit (deviled eggs, I am looking at you!), others I can tolerate slightly, but the only kind I actually enjoy eating are scrambled eggs.  I can also do omelettes, which are a form of scrambled eggs.   

Eggs are a great source of protein for our mostly vegetarian family, and they are pretty inexpensive, too, so we have been doing quite a lot of them lately.  

A few weeks ago, I blew myself away by making some truly delicious scrambled eggs.  I was super impressed with how they turned out.  The mix of flavors was majorly delicious.  Subtly sweet, with a punch of salty from the cheese.  I could go on about these all day, but will spare you.  Just go make them! 

White Cheddar, Oregano Eggs:

serves 1

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 Tbs butter

1/8- 1/4 onion, diced

1/8 cup finely shredded white cheddar cheese

1/4 tsp dried oregano 

sprinkle of garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

In a small frying pan, melt the butter.  Add the onions and cook for about 10-12 minutes over medium heat, until soft and translucent.  Add the eggs. Add the garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper.  Cook until the eggs are done (I like mine a little drier, but cook them however you like).  Top with cheddar cheese.  

Enjoy!

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Ricotta Pancakes

This past weekend was my church's General Conference.  Basically, it is a semiannual meeting with speakers, singing, and inspiring messages.  It is one of the highlights of my spring.  

Typically I try to do something to make it special, so a fun breakfast seemed appropriate.  I had made these ricotta pancakes before, remembered them being really great.  They definitely didn't disappoint. They were a delicious start to a terrific day.  

They would also be a great Easter breakfast, because they are pretty fast, and quite simple to make (although you do have to whip the egg whites).  

Ricotta Pancakes: 

Yields 15-20 pancakes

from Food and Wine

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 large eggs, separated

1 3/4 cups plus 2 Tbs milk

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs ricotta cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbs pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  

In a stand mixer, take the egg whites, and whip them until soft peaks form.  

In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks, the milk, the ricotta, the sugar and the vanilla.  

Add the flour mixture and stir until smooth.  Add the egg whites and mix until no streaks are left.  

Heat a griddle until piping hot.  Pour 1/4 cup or so onto the griddle.  Once bubbles form on the top, flip and let cook for another 15- 30 seconds, then remove.  Eat while hot.  

Top with fresh fruit and yogurt or whipped cream, or butter and maple syrup (my personal favorite).  

Freeze any leftovers for up to 2 weeks.  

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Peanut Butter White Chocolate Muffins + Growing Orchids

Currently, there is an orchid sitting on the window sill next to our kitchen table.  No buds on it yet, although this time last year, I counted eight or ten beautiful purple flowers.

Yesterday, I finally noticed that there weren't any buds.  I worried for a moment, although the rest of the plant looks healthy, that maybe it had finally decided to die.   You see, I am kind of a plant nurse.

In a past life, before I had Fox, I worked at a dental office, and we ran through a series of plants that were either killed by inexperienced gardeners, or died from lack of sunlight, and when they were on their way out, I often took them home (I probably brought six or seven plants home over the course of a year).

I love having plants in my home, but they are kind of expensive to buy, so I decided to give these secondhand plants another shot at life, and babied them along.  But one by one, bad things happened to them; one (a gorgeous purple hydrangea) got infested with bugs, a few withered and died, and one or two I gave up on and tossed.

This orchid was the last plant I brought home, and it sat on my window sill for about nine months, almost forgotten.  I would water it when I remembered, usually every week or so, and expected it to fade and die like the others.

Then, one day, I saw a bud appear!  I was completely surprised and thrilled.  I got one flower out of it that time.  The next time it bloomed, I got three.  The next, fourteen.  Each flower was a gift, and I was thrilled every time a new one would appear

We took this plant to Utah last summer, and the long, hot car ride was a little traumatizing for it, I think.  All the petals fell off, and it hasn't bloomed since.

Yesterday, when I caught myself looking at it, I remembered what my gardener mother-in-law said about orchids, "When you want them to bloom, put them in the sunshine."

Now it sits on the windowsill, waiting for the sunshine to help it bloom.  Then my thoughts turned to me.  How often do I fill my life so full of other things that I forget to put myself in the sunshine?  To remember to find the happy in every day, or to appreciate the little things, to find joy in the things I do every day, and to remember that I have been giving so much.

My mom often says that you have to make your own sunshine, and I think I am finally starting to understand.  That doesn't mean the laundry suddenly gets really fun, or that I will ever love doing dishes, but maybe I can take a breather and enjoy the morning on the balcony with Fox.  Be present at the park.  Get down and play trains on the floor, and enjoy the wonder, the smiles and the new words of my little boy.  Take a break from social media and really listen to my husband.

Not every moment is sunshine, but there are sunshine moments to be had every day, so look for them, and you will see them.  I am starting to see them, too.

Peanut Butter White Chocolate Muffins: 
slightly adapted from the Blendtec Cookbook
Serves 12

1 cup milk
2 large eggs
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs baking powder
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 - 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

In a large glass (or microwave safe bowl), melt the peanut butter slightly, until it is runny.  Add the sugar, then the eggs, then the milk and beat until combined.  Then add the flour, salt, baking powder and flour all at once, and mix until just combined.  Add white chocolate and mix briefly/gently until evenly distributed.

Grease a muffin tin, and scoop the batter into the tins.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are beginning to brown, and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes, and turn out onto a wire cooling rack.  Best if eaten immediately.

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Sugar-Free Date Granola Bars

A month or two ago, a friend of ours commented to Adam that she reads my blog regularly, but would like more healthy snack and breakfast posts. 

It thought about this for days, and couldn't think of any healthy snacks at all.  Then, fortuitously, we started our no-sugar challenge, and suddenly, I had to come up with a lot of no-sugar snacks.  

I have been wanting to try dates out for a long time, but was a little afraid of cooking with them.  These granola bars were a terrific snack, portable, and great for old and young alike (Fox loved them!).  

They honestly didn't even need a sweetener, because the dates were so sweet on their own (maybe that was the no-sugar talking... I am not sure).  

Also, feel free to sub in or out different nuts or seeds, I just used all the varieties I had on hand, because I love granola bars to be full of nuts and seeds.  

I would love to hear if there is anything you would like more of here.  I will listen, and do my best to create more of what you like reading/watching/looking at best  Let me know if you have suggestions, whether that be recipe, lifestyle, fashion or video.  

Have a great Wednesday!  

Sugar-Free Date Granola Bars: 

1 cup pitted deglet dates
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup peanut butter, melted in the microwave (feel free to use another nut butter, or seed butter, but they probably won't be quite as flavorful)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups oats
1/4 cup almonds, chopped
2 Tbs pumpkin seeds
1 Tbs raw millet
1 Tbs flax seeds
1 Tbs sesame seeds

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Prepare an 8"x8" pan by greasing it well.

In a mini food processor or blender, combine the dates and water, and blend until they somewhat smooth (you will probalby still have a few chunks, but they should be very small chunks).  Put the date paste in a medium bowl and combine it with the melted peanut butter and vanilla.

In a large bowl, combine oats, chopped almonds, pumpkin seeds, millet, flax and sesame seeds and stir to combine.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until they are all combined.

Pour the granola bar batter into the prepared pan, and press it down firmly with a rubber spatula.  Bake for 15 minutes, then remove and cut into bars, but leave them in the pan.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then remove the bars from the pan.

You can refrigerate or freeze these bars.  They are a perfect breakfast or snack.  Enjoy!

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Beet and Berry Smoothie

A few weeks ago, Adam was out of town, and I had all these vegetables that needed to be used up.  Cooking vegetables for a toddler is always a gamble, so I ended up throwing them into a smoothie.

It was delicious, creamy, and bright pink and, unsurprisingly, the toddler fell in love.  So much so that he has been asking for a smoothie every other day since then (although his pronunciation is "smoomie," which makes my mama heart melt).  I keep throwing veggies in it, and he keeps drinking it.  It is a win-win!

A few notes about the ingredients:

-Use really sweet fruits.  The vegetables are not sweet enough to make this a legit sweet smoothie, so sweet fruit is essential.  I often like to throw in a clementine or three into the smoothie instead of an orange, because they tend to be sweeter.

- Zucchini makes the smoothie creamy without adding sugar (I learned this thanks to an insta-friend). You could add a banana instead, or an avocado with good results, I imagine.

- Cut the vegetables into pieces no longer than an inch in length, and blend for a long time.  I typically blend them in my blendtec for 60-80 seconds to ensure a creamy texture and no chunks.

- Adding a raw beet to the mix makes the shake SUPER pink.  I love that, because it makes it much more appetizing to eat.  I have recently recovered from a super dislike of all things smoothie (as of two or so years), so I am still a little wary of green smoothies.  Adding a beet means I can add spinach or other greens, all while enjoying a nice, pink smoothie.

Beet and Berry Smoothie

serves 3-4

2-3 small carrots, tops and bottoms chopped off, cut into 1" pieces

2 oranges (or 3 clementines), peeled and seeded

1 small beet, peeled, tops and bottoms chopped off and quartered

2" long piece of zucchini, tops and bottoms chopped off

1 cup or two large handfuls of fresh spinach leaves

2 cups frozen mixed berries

2-3 cups whole milk (or nut milk, if you like)

Put carrots, oranges, beets, berries, and the zucchini in the bottom of the blender, top with spinach leaves, then pour milk over the whole thing. Blend for 60-80 seconds. Works best in a really powerful blender (I have a Blendtec).

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