July 14, 2023

Sheila Garcia

American, Breakfast, Casseroles, Great for Summer, Fly In July

SUMMER BLUBES

July 14, 2023

Sheila Garcia

American, Breakfast, Casseroles, Great for Summer, Fly In July

Y'all. Texas is HOT. Especially in the summer. But it's not hot enough to give me what's referred to as "the summer blues". Oh, no! Not when fruits like blueberries are in peak season!

I go all Bubba Gump when it comes to those Summer Blubes...I use them for infused water, as a sauce for a light fish dinner, as a topping for salads for lunch...and as a main ingredient in this amazing brekkie recipe!

As the low-carb girl in The Fam, I make my own glycemic-friendly carbohydrate-controlled pannycakes, but you can use whatever your favorite stackable flapjack may be!

Good for breakfast, lunch, OR dinner, this recipe is a game-changer when it comes to beating the heat during the Summer season!

BLUEBERRY PANCAKE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

20 (ish) pancakes (see notes)

8 eggs

2 cups almond milk

1/2 tbs ground nutmeg

1 tbs vanilla

1/2 cup maple syrup (see notes)

2 cups fresh blueberries

Fold each pancake in half and place fold-side-down in a lightly-greased casserole dish (I use my glass 9x13), stacking them next to each other in rows, allowing them to overlap each other if necessary until the entire dish is filled with the pancakes and they can stand up on their own.

Whisk together the eggs, almond milk, nutmeg, vanilla, and half the maple syrup in a medium-sized bowl, saving the other half for later.

Carefully pour the egg mixture over the pancakes. Cover with cling wrap or foil and place in the fridge for a minimum of thirty minutes, and a maximum of overnight, or about eight hours (see notes). Remove from the fridge and pour half the blueberries over the eggs and pancakes, making sure they get into the nooks and crannies! Place in a 375-degree preheated oven and cook until the egg mixture is set and the middle doesn't jiggle!

Allow a few minutes to cool, then drizzle the remaining syrup and blueberries over the top before serving. Then chase the blubes away with every bite!

NOTES: The recipe calls for about twenty pancakes when I make it, but you can certainly make a few extra to ensure the dish gets filled. Save any extra for the chef! Not only can you use any pancake you like in this recipe like high-protein, buttermilk, or even banana, you can even use waffles instead! Or all of the above! If you are using low-carb pancakes or waffles, forego the fridge and bake immediately, as they tend to disintegrate in the egg mixture if they sit too long. I use carb-friendly syrup, but feel free to go crazy and use blueberry syrup to kick it up a notch!

August 18, 2016

Sheila Garcia

American, Breakfast, Casseroles, Leftovers, Week Three, August Adventures

DINNER FOR BREAKFAST

August 18, 2016

Sheila Garcia

American, Breakfast, Casseroles, Leftovers, Week Three, August Adventures

I just don't like to waste food! I cannot even begin to tell you how it pains me to do so. So when there are just three or four sauteed yellow peppers (for my obsessive-color-compulsivité for August, of course!) left over from dinner, I pack them in a snack baggie and save them. Or when there are a few spoons-full left from the yellow squash casserole, I don't throw it away. I have no idea at the time what I may do with it, but I know I have to do SOMETHING. I am using those specific examples because that is exactly what I had in the fridge this morning and knew I needed to use it so it didn't go bad. I also saw a jalapeno pepper on its last leg and felt sorry for it so I took out the leftovers and the pepper. I created one of the very best frittatas I've ever had in my LIFE. The recipe will give the measurements of the leftovers, in case it sounds so good, you just want to create it from scratch, but remember: you can use practically ANYTHING in a frittata! This is also SHEtox Week-Three friendly and low-carb! So go wild and take your dinner left-overs and make yourself some breakfast!!

DINNER FOR BREAKFAST FRITTATA

Extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

1 jalapeno, sliced thin *de-seeded if you don't like heat*

4-5 slices sauteed yellow bell pepper and onion, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup yellow squash gratin (sliced yellow squash, now diced, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, ro-tel tomatoes, mozzarella cheese)

4 eggs

1 tbs milk

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-sized oven-safe frying pan, sprinkle enough evoo to barely cover the bottom and heat for one minute over medium heat. Add jalapeno slices and cook leave in oil, making sure they are not stacked, for about two minutes until almost crisp. Add (left over) yellow bell pepper and onion, and (left over) yellow squash casserole. Stir and let warm through (see notes) for about a minute. Meanwhile, put eggs and milk in a small bowl and whisk like crazy. Add seasonings and whisk again. Pour over mixture in pan and with a wooden spoon or delicate spatula and gently scrape bottom of pan through egg mixture, and then gently scrape egg edges down toward the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and place in oven. Bake for about ten minutes, or until cooked through and to desired consistency.

NOTES: If you are not using leftovers and are starting from scratch, place the yellow bell pepper and onion, as well as the diced yellow squash a some tomato in the pan with the jalapeno. Directly before adding the egg mixture, sprinkle the mozzarella over the top of the veggie mixture in the pan. But a frittata is the perfect avenue for any of your dinner leftovers!!

November 20, 2015

Sheila Garcia

Casseroles, Fall Eats, Italian, Just Dinner, Leftovers, Meatless Monday

EGGPLANT PARMA-PARADISE

November 20, 2015

Sheila Garcia

Casseroles, Fall Eats, Italian, Just Dinner, Leftovers, Meatless Monday

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used.

Look, I know some of you have an eggplant Parmesan recipe you swear by; whether it's your own or your mama's or your noni's or a coveted recipe passed down for generations. But I'm here to tell you that this recipe is THE ONE -the holy grail of eggplant Parmesan - the GOLDEN TICKET TO EGGPLANT PARMESAN PARADISE. For real, People. FOR REAL. This was fresh, organic eggplant picked on our Annual Fall Family Day. And it will be forever the annual eggplant Parmesan recipe from here on out!!

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

3-small-to-medium-sized eggplant

grated Parmesan cheese

1 pinch sea salt

1 pinch pepper

1 tsp sea salt

2 tsp pepper

2 tsp cumin

4 eggs

splash of water

canola oil

shredded pizza cheese or mozzarella

1-48 oz can diced tomatoes, drained and split in two

1 can rotel, drained

Italian seasoning

1 bunch thyme

6 cloves roasted garlic, chopped fine

1 onion, chopped fine

Wash and dry your eggplant, and cut it into slices about 1-inch thick. In a bowl, take your eggs and whisk them like crazy. Add a splash of water, a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of pepper and whisk again. In another bowl, pour about two cups of grated Parmesan, and add your sea salt, pepper, and cumin and mix with a fork. In a heavy pan (I use my cast-iron, of course!), pour about an inch of canola oil and heat on medium. The oil is ready when you can put a tiny sprinkle of water in it and it sizzles. Take a slice of eggplant, dip it in the egg-mix and then the Parmesan mix. Put it in the hot oil and let cook about a minute-and-a-half on each side (until crust is hard). Do not put more than four slices at a time so that they don't steam but get good and crunchy. Place each one on a drying or cooling rack and continue to cook until all slices are done.

In the same pan the eggplant was cooked in and on medium heat, place the thyme, roasted garlic, and onion and saute for about three minutes (see notes). Remove from heat, take out the thyme sprig and discard, and set aside the onion and garlic. In a prepared baking dish, layer your cooked slices of eggplant, breaking apart a few to fit and cover the entire bottom of the dish. Your next layer is the first half of the drained diced tomatoes. Cover the tomato layer with your cheese and sprinkle Italian seasoning generously over the cheese. Next, layer half the onion and garlic mix over the Italian seasoning and cheese. Repeat layers, starting with eggplant and ending with the second half of the onion and garlic mixture, but in place of the tomatoes, layer the rotel. Repeat for the last (third) layer, using eggplant, second-half of the diced tomatoes, and a heavy layer of cheese with a sprinkle of the Italian seasoning. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let rest for five minutes. Eat it up - I will feel your love from afar!!

NOTES: I had some leftover roasted garlic from the meal the night before. You can either roast it yourself, buy it already roasted, or simply use regular garlic. I use organic ingredients whenever possible for clean eating, and in this case, I believe it helped the eggplant flavor! This is FANTASTIC for Meatless Monday AND it is low-carb, though it is so rich it sure doesn't taste like it! Wanna see it happen fast-and-on-video on Life As She Does It's YouTube channel? Click HERE

August 3, 2015

Sheila Garcia

Breakfast, Casseroles, Mexican

Flaco Taco!

August 3, 2015

Sheila Garcia

Breakfast, Casseroles, Mexican

SO! Flaco Taco Breakfast Casserole. In Spanish, that means Skinny (Taco Breakfast Casserole). I made it for the Worship Team one Sunday morning, and it got pretty rave reviews, and that's a tough (or should I say spoiled?) crowd! ESPECIALLY if the word 'skinny' is in it, hidden as it may may (try to) be behind a Spanish word-blanket.

FLACO TACO BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

1 small pkg ground turkey

1 pkg your fave taco seasoning

extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

1/2 small onion, diced

cooking spray

1 dozen eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 tomato, diced

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped coarsely

4 tortillas, chopped into about 1/2-inch pieces (I used organic low-carb to help the "skinny"!)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 tbs cumin powder

1 tbs paprika

sea salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 400. In heavy pot (I use muh cast iron Dutch oven, of course), sprinkle enough evoo to cover the bottom and heat on medium. Once heated, place ground turkey and onion in, and cook through. Add your favorite taco seasoning with a splash of water and mix well (see notes). Turn off heat. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray (see notes). Into the pan, add your eggs, milk, tomato, cilantro, tortillas, cheddar cheese, cumin powder, paprika, and sea salt and pepper to taste. Mix WELL by scrambling it all together with a fork until liquid is smooth and other ingredients are distributed evenly. Bake in your preheated oven for 25 minutes.

NOTES: Try to find the taco seasoning with no MSG or chemicals. If you can't locate organic or (real) all-natural, you can mix a tablespoon each of cumin, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder, and then a teaspoon of sea salt and black pepper. I try to use organic ingredients whenever possible for clean-eating, and my cooking spray is included. I buy the organic evoo local store brand. It's fairly-priced, too! If you want - and I think you do - you can garnish with some sour cream and hot sauce. WOO!

July 7, 2015

Sheila Garcia

Casseroles

Parma-chameleon

July 7, 2015

Sheila Garcia

Casseroles

One of my love languages is cooking good food for people. Well, when my friend, Carly, and I had some work to do for Life As She Does It, I decided to repay all her sincere efforts to help me by doing just that. (That, and the fact that she and her husband, Jon, truly - I mean TRULY - want to save the world; and to do so, you need NOURISHMENT!)This casserole is loaded with chicken, the ever-so-trendy kale (which is the new orange, which is apparently the new black) and TONS of Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Since I am the low-carb girl, I kept it just that way, but in the interest of Carly NOT having an aversion to carbs, I made thyme-fried potatoes to serve under the casserole. This was rich and ridiculously delicious so it gave the impression that it was really difficult and took forever to make (hence, the name), but hang tight: you will not BELIEVE how easy and quick it was!

CHEESY CHICKEN AND KALE CASSEROLE

2 pkgs chicken breasts, cut into about 1-inch cubes

extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

sea salt

pepper

1 tbs paprika

1 tbs cumin

1 tbs garlic powder

1 tsp nutmeg

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pkg frozen kale, thawed

1/2 onion, diced fine

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. While the oven is heating, heat enough evoo in a pan to cover the bottom on medium heat. Add chicken, sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and add other spices, stirring every so often until the chicken is cooked through, about three-to-four-minutes. Pour chicken into a prepared baking dish.

Pop one piece in your mouth, because you just can't help it. Mix your sour cream, mayonnaise, and Parmesan cheese in a bowl and cover the chicken. Rinse out your bowl (Yes. I am saving you from unnecesary dirty dishes later. You're welcome) squeeze any excess liquid out of the kale with your hand (Over the sink, silly!) and put in the bowl you just rinsed. Add the diced onion and stir. Since your hands already have kale all over them, use your hands to spread the kale over the chicken and sour cream-mayo-Parm mixture.

Now. (Wash your hands) Cover that sucker with the mozzarella cheese that has been screaming this entire time to join the party. Bake for twenty-to-twenty-five minutes, until that cheese has turned a beautiful brown on top. Serve over thyme fried potatoes; recipe below.

THYME-FRIED POTATOES

high-heat oil (I use canola)

potatoes, washed and sliced

1 bunch thyme

sea salt

pepper

Bundle thyme with twine or string and place in the middle of your pot (I used the pot from my chicken for the flavor) Pour oil into a heavy pot (I use my cast-iron Dutch oven, of course) up to about an inch. heat on medium-high heat. Oil is ready when the thyme starts to sizzle.

Gently place potatoes in, in a circle. Don't over-crowd your pot! Flip them after about a minute-and-a-half, and using a metal slotted spoon, take them out and place on paper towel to drain off excess oil. Sprinkle immediately with sea salt and black pepper.

Sprinkle with a little thyme and serve under the casserole or on their own. Trust me - these are NEVER left over!