Peanut Butter addict

I'll be the first to admit that I am addicted to peanut butter. The addiction is real and I am happy to be alive to share my story. ;) In all seriousness, everyone who knows me knows that I am a peanut butter lover. In college, I used to go to the cafeteria with my friends and swear I would only have peanut butter once that day. Never happened. Over the years I have created many unique recipes involving this delicious treat, but this recipe I did not make up. What recipe do you ask? This one: 

Peanut Butter Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tbsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1 egg

1 cup plus 2 tbsp milk, plus extra if needed to thin

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, melted

2 tbsp oil

4 tbsp butter

Directions

Preheat a griddle. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Slow mix in egg, milk, peanut butter and oil until combined. Add a little extra milk if batter feels too thick. Let mixture sit 5 minutes. Melt 1 tbsp butter on griddle and move around to coat entire griddle. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake on griddle to form 5-inch pancakes. The batter spreads as it cooks. Fill griddle without crowding pancakes. Flip when air pockets start to pop on the top and a quick peak on the underside reveals a golden pancake. Repeat with remaining butter and batter. 

I got this recipe off food networks website. Yes, I have it bookmarked. What did you expect? I am a food lover. Anyways, I was in the mood for something sweet tonight, and when i discovered I had all these ingredients already in my kitchen I had no choice but to make them :)

dare you to try them! You will fall in love. Oh, and I always like to add a little something extra to any recipe I use, so to I topped my PB pancakes with apple. You could also do banana and even a little bacon (dare devils only). Finally, instead of using syrup, I took a few tablespoons of fresh strawberry preserves (diluted with water--ad as much or as little as you want. depends on how thick you like it) and heated it up on low in a small pot on my stove. After a few minutes, it is ready to be poured over the fantastic peanut butter pancakes you just made! Now it is time to chow! bon appetit!

Let me know of different toppings you added to yours or how your syrup turned o*click on photos to make them appear larger 

*photos shot and edited by the wonderful photographer, Maggie Fortson 

O is for Omelette

Woah, a post two days in a row? I am surprised too.

If you are like me, you LOVE breakfast! If you are even more like me you never know what to make! So today I thought, "What will fill me up, give me energy, and provide me with the nutrients my body needs?" Okay, I didnt really say this to myself, though I did decide an omelette would be a perfect way to start my morning. It is so simple and allows you to get creative in the kitchen.

Let's face it, we all don't get enough vegetables, so here is a perfect opportunity to pack them into one meal.

To start, I cracked two eggs onto a hot pan (on low) and scrambled them a bit. While that was cooking, I quickly chopped up my favorite veggies and tossed them in with my eggs. To finish it off I topped it with a little Feta cheese [You can choose whatever cheese you fancy though :) ] and laid it on a bed of greens.

Did you see how easy that was?! Now you just need a glass of orange juice and you have a nutrient packed breakfast waiting for you at the table!

*I apologize for the quality of this photo. it was taken with my cell phone, which i must say has been dropped more that 20982309572935792378 times.

Your Order's Up!

Tonight I had this random taste for a mexican inspired dish. Considering that it is November and freezing outside, I was a little surprised about this sudden desire for this cuisine. 
There are so many things I love about Mexican food. For one thing, the dishes can be extremely inexpensive to make. Who doesn't love that? Another reason why I love it is because there are so many creative dishes and unique flavors to play around with, as well as classics. 
Tonight I decided to make a classic bean and rice dish with a side of organic corn chips (I got mine from Target). Here's how I went about doing this:
To start I got out a small pot to cook my rice. I used brown rice because it is a healthier option, but white rice is great as well. I filled my pot with 1.5 cups of water and 1 cup of brown rice. I put the burner on as high as it could go to bring it to a boil quickly. Once it began boiling, I put the burner on low, added a lid to my pot, and let is simmer for 20 minutes. 
While my rice was cooking, I cut up some vegetables to saute with my beans and rice later on. This is where it gets fun because you can use whatever vegetables you enjoy! I did a mixture of green peppers, red tomatoes, green onions, and mushrooms. 
Once I was done prepping my vegetables my rice was done, so I let it sit with the burner off, keeping the lid on, for 10 more minutes. I took a small pan and added 2 tbsp's of olive oil. Then, I mixed in my vegetables and  black beans. To add a little more flavor I incorporated a little bit of Oregano and garlic. I let that sit on low for about 10 minutes. Once my rice was done, I added it to the pan to mix with the vegetables and beans. 

Now the fun part; plating the food. I am all about presentation and have great respect for people who can make food look beautiful. I do not know if I have that skill or not but I try. For this dish, I simply placed a small handful of mixed greens at the center of the plate, added 2 tbsp's of sour cream on the lefthand side, a stack organic corn chips around the greens, and placed the rice and beans mixture on top of the greens. To finish it off I topped it with a little cilantro and lemon/lime. 

This recipe is easy to make, healthy, and satisfying without putting a hole in your wallet! Try it out and let me know how you enjoy it! 

*You can click on the images to make them larger
*Photography was done by Maggie fortson