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I’m All Shook Up!

Posted on March 22, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

It’s no secret…

I can come up with some seriously questionable food combos.

But the other day, I decided to take a step aside…

And let the KING rule!

♫ My hands are shaky and my knees are weak ♫

The Elvis Burger - Patty

♫ I can’t seem to stand on my own two feet ♫

♫ Who do you thank when you have such luck? ♫

♫ I’m in lovvvvvvvve ♫

♫ I’m all shook up! ♫

Mm-mm-mmmmm, ohhhh, yeah, yeah!

The Elvis Burger - Bite

♫ I said, I’m in LOVVVVVVE… ♫

♫ And all milked up! ♫

The Elvis Burger

By: Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: fry grill entrée sandwich bananas bacon peanut butter #strangebutgood

Ingredients (Serves 1)

3 ounces lean ground beef
1/8 cup raw, chopped onions*
1 strip fully cooked bacon cut in half (I used Trader Joe’s nitrate-free)
1/2 banana, sliced lengthwise
1 whole wheat hamburger bun
1/2-1 tablespoon honey sweetened chunky peanut butter (or regular pb + 1/2 tsp of honey)

* Or caramelize them for an even BETTER treat! 😀

Instructions

1. Set two skillets over medium heat and allow to warm.
2. Combine beef and onions, form into a patty with your hands.
3. Place in one of the hot skillets and cook 4-5 minutes per side or to desired doneness.
4. To the other skillet, spray with non-stick spray, and add banana halves.
5. Cook 3-4 minutes per side.
6. Spread bottom half of hamburger bun with peanut butter.
7. Add burger patty and top with bacon, caramelized banana, and other half of bun.

Mm-mm-mmmmm, ohhhh, yeah, yeah!

And just in case you don’t think I’m strange for loving this, what if I told you I had it for BREAKFAST?…twice?! 😯

Be sure to head on over to Sprint 2 the Table and see how everyone else is ~~stranging~~ shaking things up this week! 🙂

Are you up for trying the peanut butter, banana, and bacon combo?
If so, how about mixing up your next breakfast with some pancakes or waffles! 😉

Have you ever eaten dinner for breakfast?

Posted in Entree, Strange But Good | Tagged bacon, banana, burger, peanut butter | 68 Comments

The Apple of My Eye

Posted on March 21, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!

Happy second day of SPRING! Hopefully, you are all seeing some fantastic weather FULL of all the extras from Bambi! As for me? Well, I guess I jinxed myself going on and on about how MARVELOUS it was this past weekend, because since then, we’ve had a torrential downpour, a tornado warning, and today, they’re calling for snow.

So, who wants to move to Tennessee? 😯

But enough about crappy weather…I want to say a ~~big~~ HUGE thank you to each and every one of you who left a comment on Monday’s post wishing me well on my recovery. I want you guys to know that your good vibes are indeed working!

After seeing the physical therapist on Tuesday, I was given a list of exercises and stretches to work on at home. I spent most of that night and a good part of yesterday morning completing all of my assigned “homework” and GUESS WHAT!

At my SECOND appointment, I showed IMMENSE improvement!

I can almost straighten my leg all the way, I can almost bend it to 90 degrees, and I can ALMOST dance a jig! 😉

So, to show my gratitude for all the well wishes, good vibes, and heart-felt prayers, please, do me the honor of accepting this freshly baked pie…

GRANOLA!!

It’s only been what…two weeks since I first teased you with it?!

Well, I polished off the last of my batch yesterday morning…which is actually a testament to its shelf life…see, I was just looking out for you guys! 😉

With Greek yogurt, apple sauce, and of course, cinnamon!

But all excuses aside, I figured it was about time I stopped ~~galavanting around grocery stores on motorized wheelchairs~~ dawdling and finished editing the pictures for this post!

Ohhh, purrrrrrrdy! 😀

When I first saw Meghan’s recipe for Apple Pie Granola, I KNEW I had to make it. I mean, what’s not to love? Crunchy walnuts? warm spices? sweet cranberries? all enveloped in the flavor of a fresh crisp apple!

So I gathered all of my ingredients…

Walnuts?…check!

Spices?…check!

Cranberries?…check!

Fresh crisp apple?…mother &%&$&!!!

Of course at this point, I already had my ~~mouth~~ mind set on crunchy apple pie goodness so what did I do? I Googled the hell out of some granola recipes of course!

In the end, this is what I came up with…and I have to say, for my very FIRST granola recipe, I’m pretty darn proud of myself! 😀

Apple Pie Granola

by Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast snack dairy-free vegan vegetarian oats fall winter

Ingredients (Makes 14 servings)

3 cups rolled oats
2 teaspoons apple pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cardamom (optional but HIGHLY recommended)
1 cup apple juice
2 Tablespoons blackstrap molasses (or regular molasses, though blackstrap is FULL of nutrients!)
1 teaspoon maple extract
1/2 teaspoon butter extract (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine oats, spices, and nuts in a large bowl and stir well.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together apple juice, molasses, and extract(s).
4. Pour liquid mixture over oat mixture and stir well.
5. Spread evenly onto a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes (stirring halfway through) or until oats are crisp and golden.
6. Allow to cool before stirring in cranberries.
7. Serve over creamy Greek yogurt for a light breakfast or snack.

Nutrition facts per 1/3 cup serving:

Yes, that would be ONE THIRD cup serving…none of that measly ONE FOURTH cup bull&%$!

Seriously, granola companies? Why must you tease us?!

It’s light, it’s crunchy, it’s warm, and FILLED with ~~everything but bull&%$~~ flavor!

Apple Pie Granola 2

Actually, it reminds me of some of my favorite pancakes! 😀

Have you ever made homemade granola?

What are your favorite granola add-ins?

Posted in Breakfast, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged apples, cinnamon, granola, Greek yogurt, walnuts | 53 Comments

WIATIFTBA: A Vegan Meat Sandwich

Posted on March 20, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hiya kids!

Welcome to the post for the short-term memory-challenged…

The ADHD-stricken…

And of course, the regular Wednesday celebrator!

Otherwise known as…

WIAW GOES GREEN

What I Ate That I Forgot to Blog About!

Big thanks to Jenn and her weekly blog party for giving me a reason to scour my photo library and RE-discover these gems! And since these pics just happen to be full of GREEN, coinciding with our latest WIAW theme, perhaps you’ll forgive the fact that they’re almost a MONTH OLD?!

Oops? 😕

This particular weekend of deliciousness started with the man-friend and me satisfying a HUGE craving…

A doughy, cheesy, get-in-my-face pizza kind of craving!

We were both eager to try out Old Chicago’s new Tavern Thin Crust pizza and since I just happened to get a coupon in the mail that week, we figured it must’ve been a sign! 😉

I ordered an individual-size topped with my pizza must-haves:
Mushrooms, red onions, green peppers and black olives.

And the man-friend went with a large topped with manly must-haves:
MEAT!

And no, you didn’t read that wrong…nor are your eyes messing with you. Notice the pies are the same size? Well, the kitchen goofed and ended up making us TWO LARGES…buuuuuut we were only charged for the sizes we ordered.

See, I told you it was a sign! 😉

The next day, I met up with my favorite purple-haired, chicken-loving gal at a new-to-me restaurant in Nashville…one of our ONLY vegan options, The Wild Cow!

We started out with a plate of spinach and (heavy on the) artichoke dip along with some perfectly seasoned crostini.

Then it was time to bring it on down to Veganvilllllllllle….

Buffalo tempeh salad for Allie and a seitan Philly with a side of garlicky kale for me!

I tried a bite of Allie’s tempeh and while it was a bit spicy for me, I thought it had a good flavor. My sandwich was absolutely amazing…filled with “meaty” seitan, peppers and onions, stuffed inside a perfectly toasted whole wheat bun…and the “cheese”? YUM!

After we’d finished basking in the glory of our veggie-filled lunch, we decided to head next door for some dessert at Jenni’s…

Because you know, the best way to end a VEGAN lunch is with ICE CREAM! 😉

After sampling HALF the store (I kid you NOT!), I ended up going with a scoop of the goat cheese with red cherries and the pistachio honey!

There were SO many incredible flavors to choose from: toasted coconut, wild berry lavender (that tasted like friggin’ Fruity Pebbles!), Bangkok peanut butter (with a nice spicy kick), and they even had an absinthe flavor that was soooo interesting!

I will DEFINITELY be going back!

On my way home that night, I took a small detour and headed over to have dinner with the parentals. My sister, Tori, was at work that night so it was just the three of us!

Mama’s homemade beef and vegetable stew with a side of Heather’s #strangebutgood crackers! And a little un-pictured dip (or three) into the sweet pickle jar for a little appetizer! 😉

Later that night, back at Casa de Broccoli, was when I first discovered February’s Indulgence…

PB annnnnnnnnnd J!

~~Because you can never have too much ice cream~~

~~Because I needed an excuse to eat cereal~~

Because I wanted it!

What is the last craving you satisfied?

Did you catch Justin Timberlake latest hosting of SNL?
I may be behind the times but I watched it on Hulu last night and laughed until I almost cried!