Creamy and Dreamy

I tend to go through stages with my eating; one week I’ll want sushi all the time, another week it might be pasta, or french fries, or even salads. They usually stick around for a few days, and once I finally have it, the craving goes away. The past few weeks, however, have left me wanting avocados and peanut butter (with chocolate, of course) almost non-stop. Don’t worry, not together. I have visions of creamy guacamole, or avocado sliced atop a sandwich, and following it up with some type of chunky peanut butter dessert. It’s totally weird, and I’m okay with it – I think about food 90% of my day anyway.

So, when YumSugar linked to one of Oh She Glows‘ recipes that had avocado as a main ingredient, I just knew I had to try my hand at it! I don’t know why I haven’t thought of using avocado in a regular pasta dish to help make a creamy sauce, but seeing the recipe was just what I needed to try and create my own. I’ve actually made two different versions, equally delicious.

Avocado Pasta with Cannelini and Tomatoes inspired by Oh She Glows
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado, pitted
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 cup cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 lb your favorite pasta (I used whole wheat spagetti)
1 Tbsp lemon

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions (since different types of pasta require different cooking times)
2. In a food processor, add avocado, basil, garlic, and lemon juice. Pulse until creamy
3. Combined cooked pasta, beans, and avocado mixture, and add tomatoes.

Avocado Pasta with Tomatoes and Caramelized Onions inspired by Oh She Glows
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp oil
1 ripe avocado, pitted
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup onion, sliced
1/2 cup Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 lb your favorite pasta (I used whole wheat spagetti)
1 Tbsp lemon
2 Tbsp herbed Feta (I used Athenos brand)

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions (since different types of pasta require different cooking times)
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet on medium high heat, then add onion, sautéing until caramelized, about 10 minutes.
3. In a food processor, add avocado, basil, garlic, and lemon juice. Pulse until creamy
4. Combined cooked pasta, caramelized onions, and avocado mixture, and add tomatoes. Top with crumbled feta.

Breakfast for dinner: Huevos Rancheros

I finally got around to making the huevos rancheros I had planned for last week, on Monday. It was yet another edition of breakfast for dinner. We still had a bunch of corn tortillas left from when I made fish tacos, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try and finally use them up. For whatever reason, ShopRite doesn’t sell ripe, or almost ripe avocados (at least at the one near me). So, if you want a ripe avocado you need to buy it at least 2 weeks in advance. Unfortunately this meant no avocado on our huevos rancheros, but at least I’ll be able to use them in two weeks… So frustrating!

This is a quick and easy dinner, but can definitely be made any time of the day. I don’t really know much about “traditional” huevos rancheros, so I kind of just did my own thing, based on the flavors I tend to enjoy most in burritos, tacos, etc. I really like the idea of being able to customize the meal depending on what you’ve got in your pantry, and how you feel that day. These would be great for brunch, with a whole bunch of toppings laid out like a finxin’s bar so everyone can pick and choose. I should have a brunch party soon!

Huevos Rancheros
– Makes 4 –

Ingredients:
4 small corn tortillas
4 eggs
1/2 cup shredded blended cheese
1/4 cup chunky salsa
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 chipotle in adobo, diced
1 serrano chile, sliced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Meanwhile, preheat oil in skillet. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add green pepper, serrano, and chipotle chile, cooking for an additional 5-10 minutes. Set aside.
3. Once oven is heated, place tortillas directly on the highest oven rack; warm for 3 minutes.
4. Using the same greased skillet, cook each egg over-easy, leaving on either side just until it begins to crisp.
5. Remove tortillas from oven, and spread salsa evenly between four tortillas. As each egg is cooked, add to each tortilla, top with onion and pepper mixture, and finish off with a sprinkle of cheese.
6. Once all tortillas have been topped, put back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Poor Man’s Makeshift Guacamole

As you know, I’m in the process of planning a wedding. And in case you’ve been living under a rock, you’re well aware that they are money suckers. So, my fiancé and I have been trying to save as much money as possible before our wedding next September. What does this mean? This means trying to be as cheap as humanly possible without making ourselves miserable.

One of our biggest expenses each month is food. So, we’ve been trying to cut back on the more extravagant and expensive ingredients required for some dishes, and sticking to the easier stuff. That’s why I’ve been making things like these $2 Chinese Noodles (which were amazing!).

Yesterday we acquired a avacado from one of our co-workers. He wasn’t going to eat it, so he figured we could somehow make use of it over the weekend. Well, it was gone by about 10:30am Saturday morning. I wasn’t really sure what I could do with the avocado, since we didn’t have much at home to work with. So, this is where I got creative.

Typically to make guacamole you need some diced veggies. Since I didn’t have any, I cheated and grabbed some hot salsa. I mixed this into the mashed up guacamole, added some green chilies I had left over from the other night, and added a few squirts of lime juice. The result? A really good make-shift guacamole! Both my fiancé and I were seriously impressed. We paired it with some Triscuts and enjoyed that along with our uber classy Friday night meal of Elio’s pizza and mozzarella sticks. Don’t worry, we had a salad too!

There was quite a bit left-over this morning, so we had it as our pre-run snack. I can’t say it necessarily helped, but it didn’t hurt! Nothing like some good for you fat to kick start your day!

If you’re ever stuck with an avocado and unsure what to do with it, I say anything goes. Whatever you’ve got can probably work. And it’s a pretty decent and good for you snack! A nice way to be a healthy cheapo!

Poor Man’s Makeshift Guacamole

Ingredients:
1/2 a ripe avocado
3 tbsp chunky salsa
1 tbsp lime juice
1 green chili

Directions:
1. Remove avocado skin, and in a medium bowl smash with a fork
2. Chop and dice green chile
3. Add salsa and lime juice, mix together
4. ENJOY!