[RECIPE] Turkey Bacon Egg Muffins

Don’t get emotionally attached to the word ‘muffins’ in this recipe, as there are no carbs in these “muffins”. Bummer, right? Carbs just make everything taste better, duh-doy! But, in an effort to not be so carb-dependent, I’m trying to lay low and decrease my consumption. I’m not completely shying away from carbs, simply because if I don’t have any, I turn into Hulk to the nth degree.

Anyways! This recipe is so easy. As in, I have not one cooking bone in my body, and yet I managed to make these with no problem. I do have to thank my husband for helping out with the eggs. I have this weird gag reflex whenever I see an egg being cracked.

What you’ll need:

• Turkey bacon (because it’s healthier, IMO)
• Eggs
• Spinach (I used baby kale because that’s all I had)
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Salt & Pepper

First you line the cupcake/muffin pan with turkey bacon, then place a few leaves of greens of your choosing and a cherry tomato.

Next, crack an egg on top and sprinkle pepper to your liking. *Easy on the salt, as the bacon will add some sodium, as well.

I made 12 muffins, so I set the oven to 325 degrees and let them bake for 25-30 minutes. Check on them after 20 minutes just so you don’t end up burning them, because y’know, everyone’s ovens are different-ish.

And voila! You have turkey bacon egg muffins. I had three of them, and was so full and satisfied. These are great for anytime! I would like to thank an interwebuddy, Priscilla of Cook Eat Move, for sharing this recipe via Instagram. It will definitely become a staple in our household.

I’m baaaack!

Geesh, it’s been awhile since I’ve logged onto this bliggity blog.

In failed attempts (or as I like to call them, ‘learning opportunities’), I blogged on other blogs and sites. But I got to thinking what I truly enjoy writing about and it boiled down to one thing: food.

Now, I’m no foodie, but I appreciate food as many foodies do. So, in a way, I guess you could say I’m an amateur foodie. I love discovering and tasting new foods. I want to write about each and every glorious item I stuff into my mouth. But I also want to express the importance of eating locally, with moderation, and consideration as to WHERE our food comes from.

Tacos y Gatos is mainly about L-O-V-E. And appreciation. And sharing said love and appreciation for others to learn from. Whether it’s food, family, community, or life… in the end, I write it all from mi corazón.

One of my favorite office meals: chicken salad with mixed greens and sprouts, dressed in lime juice and accompanied with hot tea. Yum!

WELCOME BACK, ME!

Locos for Local

IT ARRIVED! Our first Greenling Local box (with a few extra goodies).

Image Courtesy of my Husband, who was home at the time of delivery. I was bummed to be at work and not there, hehe.

We ran out of food to eat on Sunday night, so Monday morning I placed our first Greenling order. Our delivery wasn’t going to arrive until Thursday (today), so we purchased some groceries from Whole Foods to last us until Delivery Day. I’m very excited about participating in this because it will help us eat healthier, and best of all, be more local! Not to mention, we completely avoid temptations such as cake, processed food-like substances, and crowds, haha.

Here’s the unveiling…. (a lot of ‘oooh’s and ‘aaaah’s ensued)

I love how awesomely packed everything came. The cold items had their own special bags to keep them cold. That’s smart thinkin’ right there

Local milk, eggs, chicken, broccoli, radishes, microgreens, mizuna, turnips, daikon radish, and baby lettuce. Can you say, YUM?!

The goodies! Besides ordering a Local Box, we also added eggs, milk, chicken, and a few healthy snacks for Kiddo (not shown here). The convenience of ordering what we need, without temptation of buying anything we don’t need, has been our favorite part. We have a few recipes queued to use with our newfound veggies, so I’ll definitely share those soon!

The cats were very curious as to what we had going on. Kiddo was in awe of the colors and finding out what each item was. He even tried his very first turnip. He loved it so much, he wanted an entire turnip for dinner, much to our surprise!

Inside with our groceries, we also received a super-cool bumper sticker (it’s already stuck on my car, haha), a welcome letter with super useful information annnnd a list of what each veggie was. On the back of that same list were four recipes! We also were able to find more recipes on Greenling’s blog. I’m a fan of how they really want you to get the most out of your local food items. Huge thumbs up for that!

Also, we had ordered some chicken breasts, but they were out of stock. They called my husband to see if we’d like to replace it with another item. Even though they’ll have to drop it off later today, the fact that they went that extra mile to make sure we have everything we ordered is really something. Their customer service is great!

There are some items that Greenling doesn’t offer that I will need to go out to the farmer’s market this weekend to source (e.g. bread). But I don’t mind one bit, as long as it’ll keep me away from those dreadful, crowded chain stores, I’m one happy clam Becoming locavores takes some work, but I’m glad we made this significant step in our journey.

Here’s to happy, healthy eats!

P.S. I shared my thoughts on sourcing locally on Farm-City, State‘s blog! Go check it out HERE.

Oh-so-Sweet Berry Farm

Kiddo is finally home! We arrived in Dallas Wednesday, and as soon as my Mom opened the door, Kiddo ran right into my arms. He missed us so, as we missed him. It’s so good to have him back home. I’m a Happy Mommy.

Husband took three days off at work, so we had plenty of time to do whatever we pleased. I decided it was the perfect time to go and finally visit Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls, TX., just an hour drive west from Austin. This little farm is a great way to spend time as a family picking strawberries, blackberries and potatoes. Next month, they’ll have tomatoes! We had a lot of fun and Kiddo learned a lot about how much of our food arrives from farm to table. He noticed what hard work picking the fruit was, and came out with a new appreciation for his food. And his passion for gardening was encouraged by this visit. How he cares for his squash, lettuce and strawberries. 

Austin Food and Wine Festival

Austin, TX. has most definitely become the Foodie Capital of Texas. From famous top chefs visiting and living here (such as Anthony Bourdain, and Top Chef: Texas winner Paul Qui), to Austin finally holding it’s first Food and Wine festival… when you’re in Austin, you have a plethora of choices when it comes to food, all given the thumbs up by these greats. I’m amazed by the high-quality, top notch cuisine served here compared to my old hometown, Dallas. And just so you know, the food here was Reason #3 we decided to call Austin home!

I had the most amazing honor of attending this year’s food festival, brought to us by Food and Wine Magazine. No one honestly knew what to expect, but needless to say, our expectations were definitely met above and beyond.  I had the most amazing samplings from Stubb’s BBQ, Tiny Pies, H-E-B, and Sullivan’s Steakhouse, to name a few. Stella Artois handed out beer in their signature chalice. Chefs like Masaharu Morimoto, Andrew Zimmern, Tony Mantuano and Marcus Samuelsson were signing books. There were demos galore! Gail Simmons had a demo that I unfortunately missed out on The bar was full of all the beer, wine, tea and water you could consume. East Side King, mmmpanada and The Peached Tortilla even made an appearance. As you can see, this festival was truly fantastic!

I really have to be honest here, there were a few things that bothered me. I’m not a fan of large crowds. The older I get, the more I realize I’m quite the introvert. So, I wasn’t feeling the crowd too much. But I tried my best to tune them out and just enjoy whatever was placed in front of me, even if people were so rudely shoving me around. Obviously out-of-towners. *sigh* Secondly, there was some gnarly high winds and the grounds they chose to hold this festival was mainly dirt. Talk about a dust bowl. I left early simply because I got dirt in my eyes, ears and it stuck all over my body. I understand they couldn’t control the high winds. But perhaps some advanced planning would have helped? Maybe having the festival at Zilker Park next year would be ideal, too. It’s grassy there. And the whole reserving four-five rows out of eight for the VIP badge holders at the cooking demos did not make sense. People that were waiting an hour or more were lucky to even get a seat in the tent. Only for three rows to fill up with VIP badge holders, leaving two rows for last-minute Weekender badge holders to take and not having to wait. I believe VIP badge holders already have so many perks, the whole priority seating at the demos is one they should consider leaving out next year.

There were pros and there were cons to the whole event. But seeing as how it was their first year having this festival, I understand the whole “learning through living” process. I do hope Food and Wine learned from this year and make next year’s festival even better!

If you would like to see more images, feel free to check ‘em out on my flickr: ATX Food and Wine Festival.

Did you attend the Austin Food and Wine Festival? What did you like/dislike the most?

My Adventure with Austin Eats Food Tours

Thanks to Yelp Austin, I won a giveaway for a FREE bicycle food tour around East Austin. To say I was ecstatic is an understatement. I was over the moon! I couldn’t wait to hop on a bike (mind you, the last time I rode on a bicycle, I was 15 years old) and eat my way thru East Austin.

The Yelp Austin Food Tour Gang (with a few members missing)

If you’re not familiar with Austin Eats Food Tours, it all started from a couple’s experience in a food tour they had taken in another city. They couldn’t believe Austin didn’t already offer one, so they took it upon themselves to start one up. Before they knew it, they were the hot tamale. I mean, why wouldn’t they be? Even for native Austinites, it would be silly to not use an afternoon to explore the amazing eateries in your town. Our tour guide (and founder of Austin Eats Food Tours), Andy, was awesome. This guy knows his food!

Tacos! & Gatos!

This beauty here is an order of my favorite Tacos al Pastor in Austin from my favorite Mexican bakery, Chuy’s Panaderia. Incredibly delicious! A definite MUST TRY if and when you visit good ol’ ATX.

Oh and of course, no taco post is complete without some gatitos

My Fit (and Fast!) Foods

The first time I heard/saw My Fit Foods, was at my local HEB grocery store. I quickly glanced at their meals and thought, “Great, another tasteless health food.” and walked away unimpressed. Because, to be honest, I’ve tried those meal plans where food is delivered to your home (thanks, Mom!). Tasteless and gross pretty much sums up my thoughts on that. Not to mention the membership and shipping costs. Last time I checked, my last name wasn’t ‘Rockefeller’.

Tacos (but no Gatos)

Well, maybe I can add a cute gato before I share my recent taco adventure?

*insert squee here*

Much better, right? How can kittens not cheer anyone up?

Food Truckin’

East 6th Street Trailer Park & Eatery

This past week has been quite the adventure in food truckin’. Our family has promised ourselves to ditch chains and fast food, and stick to local and yummy food trucks and restaurants (although, the occasional trip to Carl’s Jr. may be inevitable). We want to support local businesses, after all. So, during our first week of the new year, we visited two food trailers inside East 6th Street Trailer Park & Eatery and a long-time favorite a few miles away…