Egg Toast & Sautee
Top a piece of toast with eggs cooked as desired. Remove stems of leafy greens; flash sauté in one pour hot water. Season options: salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, habanero salt
Goulash & Kale Ceaser-ish
Brown ground beef/bison/turkey with onion and garlic base. Add chopped tomatoes (optional add carrots, green peppers). Add 2-count pour of stock and let simmer while starting/finishing pasta. Remove stems of kale; chop, toss in shredded parm, one-count pour of EVOO, dash of pepper.
Mexi Breaky
Prepare eggs as desired. Chop a tomato, couple stalks of cilantro. Add cooked quinoa. Top with one quarter of sliced avocado.
Deli Sandwich With Crunch
Spread a slice of avocado on bread. Top one side with Bibb or mixed green, slice of tomato, choice of deli meat (pastrami in picture). On the other slice of bread sprinkle Trader Joes ‘Everything But The Bagel’ spice - or a mix of crunchy seeds (sesame, pumpernickel, flax, chia, etc).
Artichoke Ham Salad
Roughly chop couple greens, tomato, and deli meat; add chopped artichoke (canned or fresh) and cooked rice. Flavor with oil and vinegar, salt and pepper.
Meat & Roasted Veggies
Prepare any loin, roast, or steak as desired. Toss broccoli, onion, and sweet potatoes (optional add garlic cloves and any additional veggie) in EVOO, salt, and pepper. Roast in oven at 350 degrees F, tossing every 15 minutes for up to one hour.
Sausage Pasta
Cook sausages and prepare pasta. In a medium saucepan sauté one quarter onion and a couple of garlic cloves in three-count EVOO; when onion turn translucent mash in two roughly chopped tomatoes. Stir the tomato sauce in to pasta then plate. Top with sliced sausage and top with fresh cut parsley and shaved parmesan.
Tuna Avocado Bowl
Open one tin tuna fillet in oil; pour over rice (wild rice in picture). Chop one vine ripe tomato over top; Add half of a sliced avocado. Salt and pepper to taste.
Savory Eggs
Prepare bacon. Use bacon grease to brown and sauté Brussel sprouts. Prepare eggs, as desired. Plate eggs, sprouts, and bacon then season with salt and pepper. Slop up juices with a slice of toast!
Open Face Tuna Radish Sandwich
Top a slice of toasted bread with tuna fillets, a sliced tomato, sliced radish, and micro-greens. Drizzle EVVO over top; salt and pepper to liking.
Tuna Filet Salad
Top a plate with greens, parley leaves, and sliced cucumbers. Add tuna fillets in oil (use the oil). Shave a carrot over top then spoon cooked quinoa to finish. Drizzle vinegar over top. Salt and pepper to taste.
Meatballs & Pasta
These are a mix of veal and pork, onion, garlic, fresh herbs, and two eggs. No bread crumbs. Cooked in a cast iron then topped on pasta with leaves from a whole bunch of parsley and diced tomatoes.
Sandwich & Raw Veggies
A half sandwich of cold cut meats and lettuce with one condiment slathered on (optional) toasted bread (mayo here). Side with raw veggies (carrot, sweet peas, and cauliflower here) that may be easily pre-prepped.
Nachos!
Any dish may be created to align with an end goal. Enter: nachos! Hand pick (rather than scoop) the number of tortilla chips to suit the hand-sized portion. Cover with seasoned beef then sprinkle with freshly grated, aged cheese. Bake for 10-minutes at 400 degrees F. Top with an assortment of colorful veggies…including fermented vegetables. Enjoy!
Sweet Breakfast
Top a toasted (or oven baked) sweet potato with nuts, seeds, and warm spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, gram masala, etc. Timing on this meal is based on toaster.
Tuna Pasta Salad
Tuna fillets in oil from the tin topped on pre-cooked noodles, kale, chopped onions, and lentils. Drizzle some EVOO, vinegar, and season to taste (perhaps, an edible flower!)
Power Oats
Cooked steel cut oats in a mixture of protein power, cacao nibs, and yogurt. Topped with blueberries.
No Bun Sausage
Herbed sausage packs flavor. Pan-cooked then set on a bed of pasta. Sautéed Brussel sprouts, garlic scapes, and red potatoes. Topped with fresh thyme then drizzled with EVOO.
Uncommon Nicoise Salad
Flank steak on a bed of greens (parsley, too). Hard boiled egg and avocado. Colorful veggies to accompany, plus a side of rice to achieve adding a carb-dense grain. Blue cheese and nicoise olives puts this in the nicoise salad family!
Frittata
Coat an oven-safe pan with sliced, baked potatoes (or fry them first then layer them in the pan). On a burner over medium-high add onions, garlic…any other vegetable that benefits from a bit of stir frying. When veggies are ready, add whisked eggs (I add a three-count pour of milk while beating eggs; if desired, remove a few yolks to reduce fat). Top with the remaining ingredients (shown here tomatoes, spinach, black olives, herbs). Let the edges of the eggs firm up then place in oven to finish, until 165 F degrees - eggs are firm and cooked through.
There are vast recipes for frittata and I opt for the ones that use sliced potatoes as the foundation to get that carb-dense portion that completes a meal (or why not sub with a grain!). Go with meat or meat-free, experiment with a variety of colorful veggies, and nix or mix cheese in to the fold. Spice it up or let the flavors of the ingredients showcase your work…breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
Beef Tater Scape
Cook your preferred red meat then side with mushroom scape (filed in the ‘Select’ post and a buttered baked potato. Swap horseradish or meat juices for sour cream.
Pork & Rice & Roasted Veggies
Pan-cooked pork loin prepped 4 hours ahead of time by marinating in three-count pour of white vinegar, salt, and pepper. Oven roasted veggies. Rice with chopped fennel.
Chicken Green Salad
Chicken and potato may be baked ahead of time. One baked chicken breast on a bed of greens tossed with green beans then topped with onion; baked potato on the side. Dill for the potato and salad dressed in vinegar and oil. Bite by bite the potato is forked with a slice of chicken, plus a few veggies.
Vegg Out Bowl
Hard boiled eggs cut into pasta (then warmed in microwave); add in sliced mushrooms, tomatoes, and torn basil. Nutritional yeast mixed in the fold. Eggs and pasta are pre-made. Time saver!
Egg Cup
This one is microwaved. Spoon grain in the bottom of a microwave-safe bowl then pour raw eggs over grains. Heat until eggs are cooked. Top with diced veggies, salsa, or pico de Gallo.
Chicken Wrap
Look at the slather of mayonnaise on this wrap! Torn baked chicken on a bed of cabbage and herbs and (hidden in the picture) a few tomatoes. This bed of deliciousness is wrapped up in a corn tortilla that was heated on the burner by flipping until just right (or toast in a toaster). Two, please!
BLT
Bacon may be pre-made. This lovely hand-held can meet the full hand-sized portions. A wide-mouth bite!
Egg Veg Salad
There are several variations to an egg salad. It’s a matter of adding colorful veggies to a mashed hard boiled egg. Then toss-in a grain. Pictured here: 3 hard-boiled eggs, white rice, spinach, cherry tomatoes, dash of vinegar and EVOO.
Sandwich & Beets
Load up a slice of bread with layers of meat topped with greens and a slice of tomato. Slather dijon mustard on the topper slice then squeeze it all in to a tight finger-grip. Side of beets to add a pep of energy and color.
Rueben Alternative
A traditional sandwich may be simply modified by swapping bread for a high-starch carbohydrate. Cauliflower is one main-stream carbohydrate alternative these days. This take swaps bread with acorn squash, which also fulfills taste to nix the secret sauce (aka thousand island). Drizzle with your choice of oil or shredded Swiss. Top with micro greens or sauerkraut.
Sweater Salad
The temp of this salad, plus variety of textures and colors feel like putting on a sweater on a cold fall day. Acorn squash, bacon, chicken, spinach, and wrist-wag of shredded, aged cheddar cheese (that melts so easily as it lays on this warm bed of tastiness). Add spices, as preferred.
Method: Bake squash; when done, cut desired portion and return to oven at 200 F degrees with all ingredients on top. Heat through to desired temp.
PB & Grain
Millet, steel cut oats, buckwheat, quinoa…hey, any grain can do with this high-protein breakfast. Add a dalop of yogurt, peanut butter, and choice fruit. Cacoa nibs added her for both crunch and amino acids; lignans, nuts, or what ever else may be folded in, too! Stir and savor each tasty bite.
Asian Orange & Greens
Grapefruit, hard-boiled eggs and edamame (once frozen) tossed in toasted sesame oil stir-fried greens and rice. So simple, especially when ingredients are pre-made - packed with flavor and textures.
Big Rapids Paella
My husband named this dish because it resembles a paella in that the rice was added in dry to all the ingredients, soaking up all the flavors then cooked through after adding vegetable broth.
This has venison, yet any ground meat will do. Base fat started by cooking bacon in a oven-safe pan; set the bacon aside and poured out all but a handful of the residual bacon fat. Added diced onion, garlic, fresh and dried rosemary and thyme then sautéed until translucent. Mix in ground meat, plus a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes. Cook through until the tomatoes are soft, bursting when bruised with a wooden spatula. Then add the dry rice (I used bomba - the rice used for paella). Stir so the rice gets to know the flavors in the pan then add enough stock to cover the ingredients. Put a lid on the pan until the rice cooks through. Then crumble the bacon set aside to top on the dish, plus a few shavings of Parmesan cheese. Place in oven set at 400 F degrees for 10 minutes to crisp. Then serve!
Cauliflower Steaks
Bring a larger sized cauliflower home from the produce section, cut in ~1 inch slices then broil on low. Top with a tomato or creamy sauce (I used nutritional yeast). Then sautéed veggies (i.e. mushrooms, peppers, asparagus, onions, etc).
Open Face Italian Sandwich
Toasted bread layered with Italian sausage, tomato sauce, and hearty leafy greens - kale, spinach, mustard greens, etc. Garnish with an herb if you so desire and/or grated cheese.
Open Face Egg Sandwich
Hard boiled eggs on hand makes this a 5-minute meal. Cut open eggs over toasted bread then garnish with microgreens or a green of choice. Side of veggies then voila! A simple meal.
Salmon Quinoa MIcrogreens Bowl
Pre-prep salmon and quinoa to reduce time to 5-minutes. Pictured is broiled salmon on top of a quinoa medley mix with green onions and parsley. Add a veggie of choice (radish here), plus top with an herb or microgreens.
Nib Berry Oat
Cacoa nibs add crunch and additional nutrients to gewey or dry grains. Add 5-minutes to prep grains on the stovetop. Otherwise, microwave. Pair with berries of choice.
Grandma's Steak and Greens
A name for the familiar smothering of sautéed onions and mushrooms with tomato sauce on red meat - vacio in this picture. Pan fry a steak then top with your sautéed mixture, a side of sautéed greens and - with the theme of simplicity, a slice of toast (to sop up those juices!).
Lamb Shank. Mashed Potatoes & Caprece
Pork or lamb - a shank is a simple way to round out one serving of meat. Side of mashed potatoes. And a caprece salad. The timeliness of this dish is generally waiting for the shank to slow-cook.
Boiled Chicken & Rice Medley
Cover one whole chicken with water, a couple pinches of peppercorns, kosher salt, and herbs then bring to a boil; simmer for 45-mintues. Debone and set aside enough meat to plate. Top on a bed of rice finished with peas, green onions, and sliced carrots (we like the pickled, jarred slice carrots). Major leftovers!
Homemade Pizza
Cup 4 Cup offers an outstanding pizza mix for pizza pies. Alternatively, buy a pre-made pizza pie in the freezer section. Top with whatever you choose! A simple, more health pizza option.
French Toast & Breakfast Salad
A simple way to reduce the size of French toast is to slice bread in to “sticks”. Toss chopped celery, apple, and grapes in a bowl with a spoonful of veganaise (or mayo) for a creamy, crunchy salad on the side.
Broiled Salmon & Creamy Noodle Salad
Set salmon on foil then place under the broiler on low for 15-20 minutes, until just cooked through. A meat thermometer is useful! Boil pasta then when ala dente toss in with halved cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper, and a creamy sauce (simmer milk with a favorite cheese until the two meld together).
Savory Squash & Salmon
Squash may be cooked ahead of time - sliced or cooked whole. Salmon may be cooked preferred way - broiler, pan fry, or baked. Pan fry bacon; then sautéed onion in the bacon grease (remove a good portion of the grease…otherwise onions will be super greasy). Toss squash, onion, and bacon together then top with salmon. Garnish with a big handful of parsley, or your favorite herb.
Pork Pho What
Ramen noodles can simplify adding pasta to a dish. For the ‘Pho What’ make a vegetable soup with stock (veggies here are leek and peppers). Sautee your favorite sausage, chop, then toss in to your Pho What. Spoon over desire portion of ramen noodles.
Baked Chicken & Cole Slaw, Cornbread
Much of this may be pre-prepped (significantly reduces time!). Cornbread may be store bought, although simple to make from a dry mix. Cole slaw: half a head of cabbage, a couple of carrots, all tossed in a couple scoops of mayonnaise, 2-pour of apple cider vinegar and one scoop of dijon mustard. Bake your chicken then make your plate. Garnish, as desired (parsley here).
Steak, Salad, & Rice
This salad is heavy on the avocado and tomatoes with lime drizzled over it. Rice is sassed up with cilantro then topped with cut flat steak. A quick, yet flavorful meal (salad and rice may be pre-prepped).
Tamales, Salsa, & Eggs
Tamales can really change up the status quo for any meal. Buy them at a Mexican grocer (our butcher carries them). Pre-prep salsa (diced tomatoes, onions, peppers for heat, cilantro tossed in lime juice and a few pinches of salt). Prepare eggs as you like them.
Eggs & Microgreen Salad with Toast
A myicrogreen salad can be as simple as microgreens, tomatoes, EVOO and balsamic vinegar. Keep it simple. Lots of flavors with eggs and toast added in (I like to top each bite of toast with the salad and egg).
Filet, Spuds and Spears
This can be made with any meat type! Potatoes can also be made ahead of time, too. Steam the broccoli. Top the potatoes with a slice of butter. (Steaks may be finished in butter, too!)