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Warning: Food Was Harmed in the Making of this WIAW

Posted on February 29, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

Happy Wednesday everybody…we’re only that much closer to the weekend!

And you know what time it is!

Be sure to head on over to Peas & Crayons and show some love to our hostess Jenn for another fabulous WIAW!

I feel this post should come with some kind of warning…or maybe I need to come with some sort of warning!

Caution: Highly accident-prone, wear protective gear and keep alert while entering subject’s presence

For example, doesn’t this breakfast look delicious?

Puffed millet, black cherry Chobani, Dulce de Leche Cheerios, banana, and topped with Emerald’s cinnamon sugar nut mix

And this picture was taken about 5 minutes before it went crashing to the floor!

LUCKILY, I only lost the top 1/3 and was able to salvage the rest, but of course it only happened because I was running late to work.

I also had a cup of un-pictured black coffee that I took to go (obviously due to lateness) that was so gracious to start leaking mid-drive and resulted in nice little brown spots down the front of my scrub top…

It’s all about the contrasting colors, I hear it’s all the rage in the fashion world in the UK!
UK readers will remain silent if they know what’s good for them. 😉

A couple hours later, I had one of my favorite bars for a midmorning snack:

I swear it taste JUST like those Oreos covered in white chocolate!

We were really busy at the hospital on Monday and didn’t get to eat lunch until an hour later than usual…which definitely had me grateful that I had that bar on hand.

Mixed greens, sprouts, portobello mushrooms and carrots topped with this dressing

and…

Leftover Seafood Gumbo!

On my way home from work I munched on an apple.

And then I made use of the amazing weather we were having and was off for an impromtu run!

First bit of cardio I’ve done in a week and a half thanks to the LiveFit Trainer and I could DEFINITELY tell a difference…not my best time, but at least it was more enjoyable than this one!

After I got in and got cleaned up, I heated up some of the leftover pizza from this weekend:

I have to say I was a bit sad to see these last two slices go

Let’s take a look at that glorious pie one more time:

I raise my colorful pizza flag in honor of the last WIAW post for Veggie Month! 😉

After a relaxing night of movie watching (this one in particular) and fingernail painting, there was a bit of a massacre…

A chocolate massacre to be more precise.

3 piece of Godiva chocolate were brutally murdered between the hours of 8 and 9pm…along with a glass of unsweetened almond milk.

Please pause for a moment of silence in memory of our fallen comrades…

But man, were they DELICIOUS!! 😉

Any accident-prone, lateness-induced, food-flying instances in your life lately?

What’s the best thing you ate today?

Posted in Breakfast, Entree, Snacks, What I Ate Wednesday | Tagged chocolate, coffee, Greek yogurt, pizza | 19 Comments

BB’s Homemade Seafood Gumbo

Posted on February 28, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!

So, yesterday I alluded to some delicious homemade gumbo finding itself into my weekend…but not just ANY gumbo…

BB’s Homemade Seafood Gumbo…topped with a lobster tail!

After a great weekend of traveling, visiting family, and site seeing, we stopped by the store on the way back to Casa de Broccoli and picked up all the necessities for whipping up a big bowl of comfort.

While BB got to work slicing, dicing, peeling, and stirring, I sat perched on the countertop asking questions and taking notes.

Yep, that’s right!

JUST for you! 🙂

I couldn’t keep this pot of deliciousness to myself now could I?

No, seriously…there’s enough to feed a football team! Who’s up for a belated Mardi Gras party??

Feel free to scale down the recipe as needed…or you could definitely make the entire batch, portion it out, and pop it in the freezer…BAM, gumbo any time your heart desires!

BB’s Homemade Seafood Gumbo

by Heather Powers

Prep Time: 20-30 minutes

Cook Time: 1-1.5 hours

Keywords: entree soup/stew seafood

Ingredients (Serves 8-10)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup olive oil
32oz chicken broth
1/2lb dark meat chicken (we used boneless thigh meat)
1lb raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1lb white flaky fish
3 8oz cans oysters
2 cups diced celery
1 cup sliced carrots
2 cups sliced okra
1 32oz can sliced stewed tomatoes
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt-free seasoning (we used TJ’s 21 Salute)
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

In a thick bottomed pot or dutch oven, combine the flour and oil and allow to cook over medium heat for 20-30 minutes depending on preference (the longer it cooks, the stronger the flavor). This is your “roux”.

In a separate (large) pot combine chicken, fish, oysters, celery, carrots, tomatoes and spices and allow to cook over medium heat for approximately 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Once the roux is to your desired doneness, stir in chicken broth and allow to simmer over medium heat for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to your other pot.

Add shrimp and okra and allow to cook over medium heat until the shrimp turn pink.

Serve as is with cornbread or biscuits or stir in some cooked rice.

The best thing about this recipe is that you can switch up just about any of the ingredients and have a completely different dish each time you make it! You can also spice it up any way you like…we chose not to add spice until it was served due to our different taste preferences.

Quote from BB*

“I think there are 3 stages to gumbo…the first bowl filled with different flavors and textures from the soft oysters, to the firm shrimp, to the crunchy okra…the second day after all the flavors meld and it gets a little softer…and then there’s the third day when it’s just plain comfort food!”

*paraphrased of course 😉

To tell you the truth, before meeting BB, I had never ever had gumbo and now? I can’t believe I went so long without it! Definitely one of my top comfort food dishes!

Have you ever had gumbo?

What is your favorite Mardi Gras themed dish?

This year the hospital had a little celebration and made a pretty rocking king cake…but of course as per usual, that happened to be the ONLY thing that was edible!

Posted in Entree, Recipe | Tagged Broccoli Babe, gumbo, Mardi Gras, recipe, seafood | 5 Comments

A Well Balanced Weekend

Posted on February 27, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

Hello loves!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend filled with delicious food, good company, and of course a healthy dose of R&R…because those are the things good weekends are made of!

Although it went by faster than the time it takes a nut-butter addict to put away a jar of gourmet peanut butter*

*No, I’m not sitting around fantasizing about jars of creamy, buttery, stick to the roof of your mouth spreads…pshht! What gave you that idea?

I’d have to say this past weekend was pretty great!

Delicious Food:

I know what you’re thinking…and I told you guys I’d be thinking up new ways to use avocado during my nut butter-free Lent! I’m serious guys…nothing’s off limits…

Wonder how it would taste on ice cream?

BB and I went to Kentucky this weekend to visit some of his family and one of the things I love most about traveling with him is trying some of the restaurants that he likes.

Those fajita nachos were by far the best nachos I’ve ever eaten…and that steak?

Oh laaaaaaawd!

Tender…juicy…melt in your mouth deliciousness!

Good Company:

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys, BB joined a band…

The Hairy Sprouts

I’ll be sure to let you know when they go on tour…maybe they can hook up with The Black Eyed Peas and The Red Hot Chili Peppers for one ~~nutritionally balanced~~ totally rocking concert! 😉

Rest & Relaxation:

On our way back from Kentucky, the weather was nice so we decided to take the scenic route…

We happened to find a great little spot with a large pond.

Perfect for fishin’…

And picture takin’ 🙂

You guys have no idea how good it felt to be behind my camera again…it feels like it’s been MONTHS since I’ve taken a REAL picture!

Of course there was also a bit of dish cleaning, laundry doing, and errand running, but it’s not so bad when you mix it up with movie watching, outdoor exploring, and gumbo making (more on THAT tomorrow!)

Did you balance out your weekend?

Tell me two things you treated yourself to over the last two days….one food and one activity.