Burger with Quinoa and Asparagus

With my time in Chicago coming quickly to an end, and spring just around the corner (weather wise, at least), it was time to clean out the freezer and add some color to my plate. When I buy meat, whether it be beef, turkey, chicken or pork, I usually buy more than I'll eat so I can freeze it and have some at my fingertips for a quick meal.

Open Faced Avocado Tomato Bagel

The Bagel has some of the most delicious New York Style bagels I have ever had. It was my last week at work, before making my big move home, so I decided to treat myself and bought 3 bagels! They don't last long so I had use the quickly and cleverly.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes (Low Calorie)

Happy 24th Birthday to Me! Here's a low calorie Carrot Cake Cupcake I made using a recipe from Cooking Light. I switched out the sugar for No Calorie Splenda. Can't even taste the difference! I added Lite Cool Whip with a shake or two of cinnamon for icing instead of using creme cheese. You could also use light creme cheese if you wish! To all my readers, Enjoy!

Mashed Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

Mashed Cauliflower is a great substitute for mashed potatoes. It has a similar flavor, if you can believe that, and texture! Fewer calories, by about half! The only difference is that the cauliflower has more liquid than a potato, but they're still fairly good. I've read a few recipes that steam the cauliflower then smash them with a bit of milk, but I wanted to give it a bit more flavor so I roasted the cauliflower with garlic and olive oil, then mashed them in a MagicBullet with some low fat butter milk and a dash of salt.

1/2 head of cauliflower, or about 2 cups
dash of EVOO (olive oil)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/8 cup buttermilk
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 400˙. Mix the cauliflower with olive oil and garlic, put into a casserole dish and roast for about 30 minutes, turning them once or twice so they brown evenly. Then using a food processor or MagicBullet, mash the potatoes with a pinch of salt and about 1/8 c of low fat buttermilk or 1% milk. If you want them smoother, add more milk until it's at the consistency you'd like. Serve immediately! Happy Cooking, and Enjoy!

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Easter Sunday Brunch

Easter Sunday was always a time when the family would get together, dress in our 'Sunday Best', attend church and come home for a delicious home-cooked brunch. Filled with potatoes, veggies, and of course an Easter ham, we gathered around the table for a hour of stories, laughs and sometimes a few tears. This year, being in Chicago, I was unable to be with family, so my surrogate family welcomed me with open arms to join them from Sunday Easter brunch.

Others' family traditions are always fun to learn about and experience, and this one, although different from my own, resembled much of how my family comes together to celebrate this holiday. It was the next best thing to being home. Here is a sampling of the food we had.

 

Fresh Fruit Salad, 

I helped chop up the apples and cantaloupe, my friend added the grapes, blackberries and mango!

May The Tasting Be Ever In Your Flavor

Thank you to all my readers! I have reached 2,000 views on my blog. If you haven't already, click on the links to the left to follow my page on Facebook, like my posts AND follow my blog! Thanks again to everyone for letting me share my love of food! Happy Eating, and may the tasting be ever in your flavor! (Shout out to all those The Hunger Games fans.)

Photo from Google Images

*©ApronStringstoDiamondRings All Rights Reserved 

Poached Egg Salad with Avocado, Cucumber Sauce

I saw a picture of an Avocado Eggs Benedict this morning on Pinterest, and since I'm not the biggest fan of Hollandaise sauce, I decided to create my own Avocado, Cucumber Sauce to have with a poached egg salad. It's very simple and can be used with an assortment of dishes. Can't make poached eggs, try it on scrambled!

©ApronStringstoDiamondRings