Oh, the (Brunch) Possibilities

This Mother's Day, to avoid the crowds and add that extra bit of homemade love for the hubs' mom, we'll be hosting brunch at our house with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.  Last night, we discussed what should be on the menu, and while we haven't made any final decisions as of yet, there are all kinds of fantastic brunchy possibilities.

I am loving the idea of bite-sized anything for some reason, like these Egg, Bacon and Toast cups from Kayotic Kitchen:

And these mini quiches from the Kitchn.

Or the cutest little darned pancakes I've ever seen.

So cute I could just eat them up, literally

I do love a basket of breakfast breads at brunch, too, and we could make it even more special by adding a trio of flavored butters, like this strawberry butter from Half Baked

It's nice to have some fresh fruit at the table as well, to help offset all of that buttery, eggy, bacony goodness, and I think this spin on the fruit salad is a cool way to mix it up

Who doesn't love food on a stick?

Or we could even add some veggies to the mix, like these Zucchini Rounds from Health Magazine

But this also counts as a vegetable, right??

Old Bay = mandatory

I think yes.  Cheers to all the moms out there!

Derby de Mayo

On Saturday there were decisions to be made.  Like how to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and Derby Day all at once.  You know, important stuff.

So what was my solution?

Eat guacamole while watching the race of course.

 And I also might have sung "Cinco de Mayo" to the tune of La Cucaracha while making said guac.  I was feeling festive, okay.

Anyhuways, there are more guacomole recipes out there than hairs on my head (and that's a lot, trust), and everyone seems to have their fav, but this one is mine:

Cinco de Guaco 

modified from Food Network

Ingredients:

3 Ripe Haas Avocados

2 limes, juiced

1/2 tsp Cumin (or more to taste)

1/2 tsp Sea Salt (or more to taste)

1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

dash of Texas Pete

1 slice of a large Red Onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

Directions:

Slice and scoop out avocado meat from rind, save one pit for later.  Combine lime juice with avocados, and mix.  Add cumin, sea salt, cayenne and Texas Pete and mash together, leaving some chunks of avocado intact.  Add onion, garlic, tomatoes and mix together.  Place reserved pit in middle of guac (some say this keeps it from turning brown).

And the most difficult step of this recipe:  Set aside at room temperature for one hour before serving.  (This may or may not have happened on Saturday or 75% of the other times I have made this.)

Why must you taunt me with your deliciousness??

Personally, I could eat this stuff with a day-old rice cake and still finish it in one sitting, but these are my preferred method of guacamole delivery:

Hopefully available at a super market near you.

Not your typical chip, but oh so good.  

I'll Have Another indeed.

Getting my link on:

Newlyweds Blog

My Kind of Burgers and Fries

I was on the phone with my mom a couple weeks ago, and she told me she was making Salmon Burgers for dinner. Now the hubs and I have tried Whole Foods salmon burgers once and were pretty disappointed, so I turned my nose up a bit in response, but B said she actually made these herself instead. When she explained the recipe and I heard how easy AND healthy it sounded, I said I must have it.

Here's what she emailed me and I finally gave it a try last night:

B's Salmon Burgers

1st email:

15 1/2 oz. can of salmon = drain liquid, discard any skin and bones.

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1 TBSP fresh chopped parsley

1 TBSP fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste (I usually eliminate this)

Mix all ingredients together and form into 4 patties. Saute in a small amount of canola oil (I usually just use SPAM) until done.

2nd email:

Please note I use PAM not SPAM

Man, I love her.

Having never tried canned salmon before, I was a little scurred at the note telling me to discard the skin and bones that the can might contain.

I opened my can with much trepidation.

But gave a sigh of relief.

See that's no so bad

Well, there were some skin and bones, but nothing I couldn't handle.

And instead of using PAM, or SPAM, or Green Eggs and Ham, I just used the Misto and sprayed the pan with Olive Oil.

I added some baked sweet potato fries (peel, cut up, and toss in olive oil and spices and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes) and a small salad and it was a quick, easy, healthy, delish dinner for me and the hubs.

Now that is the kind of burger and fries I won't feel guilty about eating on the regular.

Getting my link on:

Grateful Belly, Newlyweds Blog, Foodie Friday