The Easiest "Cuban" Breakfast Hash

Every now and then you need to clean out your fridge, but you're also hungry and don't want to see those odd-man items go to waste! Sound familiar? If you're like me, you can get a little carried away in the grocery store despite your best intentions. Anyways -- a "hungry cleanout" happened to me recently, and this "Cuban" breakfast hash was the result, which was actually packed with yummy and healthy flavor. Sometimes you can throw ingredients together and the result is incredibly tasty, in an unexpected way!

Servings: 1

What You'll Need:

• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup canned black beans
• I used the "Cuban style black beans" from Trader Joe's
• 2 tbsp salsa
• 2 thin-cut turkey slices, ripped into bite-size pieces
• Cooking Spray & Small frying pan

The Step-by-Step:

1. Apply cooking spray to frying pan and let heat for about 3 minutes on "medium."
2. Season egg whites with salt & pepper.
3. Cook egg whites in pan, using a spoon or spatula (whatever you have) to stir.
4. Stir in the turkey pieces and the black beans and let cook until the egg whites are firm (about 3 more minutes.)
5. Serve with salsa as the topping, and if you have fresh red bell pepper, slice that baby up! I also made use of that last whole wheat tortilla and light cheese wedge.

here's to spending less and eating better.

xoxo n

"Flash Fish" w/ Red Pepper Salsa

As a Southerner, and as a Jamaican, one of the best things ever to exist is fried fish. It brings comfort to the soul. What most people don't know, is that you can "fry" without "frying" -- does that make sense? In this recipe, I take a basic white fish (which is CHEAP) and coat it in cornmeal, then lightly saute it with a tablespoon of olive oil, which gives it that crisp "fried" flavor and texture without the vat of grease. 

A great topping to the fish (even though it tastes amazing on its own) is a red pepper salsa, which I made in 5 minutes by chopping a red pepper into strips and tossing it with avocado, black beans, and corn. Healthy, fresh, flavorful, and tastes like you're at a restaurant.Yup, best thing to ever exist.

Servings: 2

What You'll Need: 

• 2 filets white fish
• Examples: Whole Foods has frozen packages (2 filets each) of Tilapia ($2.99) and Cape Capensis ($3.99)
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Frying pan
• 1 red pepper
• 1/4 cup corn (canned is fine)
• 1/4 cup black beans (canned is fine)
• If you do not have corn or black beans, salsa is fine!
• 1/4 an avocado, cut into small chunks

The Step-by-Step:

1. If your fish is frozen, take the package and thaw it in a bowl of cold water for an hour.
2. Place the egg white in a small bowl, and the cornmeal in another small bowl.
3. Wash your hands!
4. Take fish out of package and pat it dry with a paper towel (this will ensure it "fries" properly.)
5. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
6. Put the frying pan on the stove and add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Let heat.
7. Dip one fish filet in the egg white, then try to shake off any excess (so its not dripping.)
8. Dip the fish filet into the cornmeal, and use your fingers to make sure it is coated all around.
9. Drop fish filet onto pan. After 2 minutes, flip over with a spatula. After another 2 minutes, remove from pan and place on a plate. Keep warm.
10. Repeat with the other fish filet, making sure to add another tbsp of oil to the pan.

Good on its own, with rice, or over salad! Get creative!!

To make the salsa, simply remove the core/seeds of the pepper, then cut the pepper into small strips. Put in a small bowl, then add corn, black beans, and avocado chunks. Toss lightly with your hands. The salsa tastes great fresh, but feel free to bag it and let refrigerate -- it tastes even better the next day!

xoxo n

3-step Salsa Verde

I must admit I've been on a little Mexican kick lately with my cooking -- does anything else better represent late summer to a Texan?? With the tomatillos I received in my produce delivery this month, I decided to try my hand at preparing salsa verde -- or "green salsa," which is typically milder than the red salsa we all know from restaurant tables -- you know, jammed in between the chips and the margaritas.

Tomatillos have a lighter taste, and even have notes of citrus -- which compliments the lime juice in this recipe beautifully. This salsa verde can be put on eggs, tacos, even grilled chicken if you want to mix things up with a nice flavor. What's even better in my opinion, tomatillos only have 11 calories each, and the salsa can be set aside and frozen for months (if you or I get a fresh summer tomato craving in the middle of January, for example -- I have a feeling it will be me.)

Servings: makes about 2.5 cups

What you'll need:

• about 10 tomatillos
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1-2 jalapenos (depending on how spicy you like it!)
• 1 lime
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
• Salt & Pepper
• Cooking Spray/Oven/Blender

The Step-by-Step (Peel, Roast, Blend)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray flat oven pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Peel the papery peel off the tomatillos. After rinsing them with water (the peels tend to leave behind a little stickiness,) set the tomatillos on the pan.
3. Peel garlic cloves and place on pan next to the tomatillos. Rinse the jalapeno(s) and place on pan as well. Roast for 25 minutes.
4. After the 25 minutes is up, place the tomatillos and garlic in a blender. Set aside. Take the jalapeno(s) and slice open to remove the seeds (leave the seeds if you're a daredevil -- thats where the heat of the pepper is stored!) Place the jalapeno(s) in the blender, and blend.
5. Twist off the top half of the cilantro and place in blender, along with the onion. Squeeze 1/2 a lime into the blender, adding a pinch of salt & pepper, and blend again. Taste. If you feel, squeeze in the other half of the lime and blend again.
6. OPTIONAL: the more you blend, the more liquid-y the salsa will be. If you want your salsa to be more chunky -- blend the first 1/2 of all the ingredients together for 10 seconds, then add the other 1/2 of each ingredient together and blend for just 2 seconds. The first 1/2 will give the salsa the flavor foundation it needs, and the second 1/2 will give you the chunks you're craving!

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Since you blend it hot to get the "roasted" flavors to come together, I would suggest making this the night before throwing a party -- so it can refrigerate before serving. Not only is this salsa super easy, but it makes you look super amazing/cool for not pouring it out of a grocery-store bottle! (I garnished it with a fresh cilantro leaf for even more coolness points.) Even more so, you're taking full advantage of all the health benefits that come along with fresh summer produce and herbs! Nothing in this salsa is artificial, and you can definitely taste that with every chip. Have a great late summer!

xoxo n