Avocado Fries

A few lazy Saturday's ago we decided it would be a great idea to grab some fresh avocados and make this recipe. The result was incredible and I highly recommend these as a not-so-healthy snack or in our case, full meal. This following recipe has convinced me that I want to grow avocados some day.

Ingredients:

2 eggs beaten

3 avocados

1 and 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup Flour

Parmesan Cheese

Cooking oil (canola or vegetable)

Salt

Recipe:

Cut avocados in slices that resemble the shape of french fries.

Dip in flour, egg, panko crumbs and sprinkle with salt.

Fry avocado slices in oil on both sides until they are golden brown.

Sprinkle with parmesan and additional salt if you must.

Note:

If you are not planning to eat immediately or fry things very slowly, keep finished fries in preheated oven.

Inspiration:

http://www.circle-b-kitchen.com/

Breakfast

Finally its my turn to bring breakfast to work. After 8 long weeks of donuts, breakfast sandwiches and the occasional bagel I'm ready to cook. After much deliberation I decided to cook a large breakfast style casserole.

I found a recipe on epicurious.com, "Cowboy Christmas Breakfast". The recipe seemed pretty straight forward so I thought it would be a great first attempt at a casserole dish. Based on my own intuition and some of the reviews of the recipe, I modified the receipe a bit:

Cook time: 50 minutes
Prep time: 20 minutes
Oven temp: 375 degrees

Ingredients:
1 lb sauteed turkey sausage
6 slices texas toast
22 eggs
1 cup whole milk
Black pepper
1 bunch chopped scallions
1 cup sharp cheddar

Preparation:
Preheat oven and place rack in center position
Grease bottom of 13 x 9 dish
Cover bottom of dish in texas toast
Pour off fat from cooked sausage and spread over texas toast

Whisk together eggs, milk, scallions and 1/2 cup cheese in large bowl and pour over sausage/toast. Use a spatula to push down bread and assist with absorbing the eggs.
Cover with remainder of cheese (1/2 cup)

Bake covered with buttered foil for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for ~20 more minutes until eggs are puffy. If an inserted toothpick comes out clean, it is done.

Enjoy.













The casserole was a big hit with my co-workers and I think everyone genuinely enjoyed my creation. I like making breakfast for work because its cheaper than buying and gives me an opportunity to practice cooking. Although this recipe was not the healthiest, it was hearty and delicious. Next time around I'll be trying to cook something healthy, which isn't always an easy thing to do.

What are some healthy recipes for large groups of people?

Breakfast Woes

Where I work, members of my "team" switch off bringing breakfast every week. On occasion someone will bring in something homemade or out of the norm, but generally these weekly breakfasts consist of either Dunkin Donuts or fast food. I like donuts, I really do, but to eat them every week is not only unhealthy, its boring me out of my mind. The first opportunity I had to make breakfast I did a pretty decent job. I made a spinach and egg casserole and to my delight it was a big hit amongst my co-workers. Why would I spend my own time and money to create something so delicious? Good question.

1. Selfish as it is sounds, I wanted to eat something both tasty and cost-effective for breakfast
2. I thought it would encourage others to follow suit and bring home-cooked breakfast also.
3. I like to cook and thoroughly enjoyed watching people eat something that I didn't buy at a gas station.

This week its my turn to bring breakfast. Part of me would like to take the easy way out and bring bagels and cream cheese and not waste my time. However, I think the satisfaction of cooking and serving a moderately healthy dish improves team morale and togetherness. Instead of eating donuts on napkins, I want to provide a nutritious and filling meal that will spur conversation of life beyond Dunkin.

Now I just need a recipe.

Purpose

Food is a subject, necessity, idea, topic that every person deals with on some level many times per day. Today, people have to find ways to nourish themselves without spending a great deal of time or resources to do so. This can be achieved by cooking food for yourself at home and grocery shopping on a regular basis. However, many individuals do not posses the capabilities to cook on their own and must instead rely mainly on processed foods, pre-packaged dinners and fast food restaurants.

This blog will explore some easy and healthy alternatives to the mass array of food that is available to the vast majority of the public. The secondary focus will be to examine the many components of our food system and how they came to be increasingly industrial and unhealthy as they are today.

I hope to learn a great deal about new recipes, new foods, and new ideas to eat cheaply and healthy. Each of you are invited to begin to think critically about how the food system has an effect on the health of the human body and the sustainability of the planet and its finite resources.