Broiled Grapefruit

I saw a pin for broiled grapefruit on Pinterest and I thought it looked & sounded interesting. So, I decided to try it. I would have preferred to use ruby red, but the grocery had only the regular boring grapefruit. So, I took my boring grapefruit home and then went in search of the recipe. That's when I saw that the recipes called for a tablespoon each of butter and white or brown sugar. Um, no!

I used a tablespoon of Brummel & Brown instead and 2 packets of Truvia. In hindsight I felt like a teaspoon of B&B would have been fine. It was too "buttery." But whatever. And you know...it wasn't my thing. I like my grapefruit cold and fresh...

But anyway. I cut out my grapefruit sections, mixed in the Truvia, and returned it to the grapefruit shell, now devoid of pulp,  and broke up a tablespoon of B&B over the top. I broiled it for about 8 minutes. It was actually pretty decent, and I did enjoy the juice.

   

Smart Enough for a B-

Look, he's no rocket scientist, but he makes life pretty simple. He lays down right next to me and gives me bug eyes until I state a few choices he might be interested...the correct answer gets a "woof." Lol. Happy Thursday!

Roasted Pepper Salad

I made a delish salad with leftovers tonight. 

3 cups chopped romaine

1 cup chopped bell peppers

3 oz leftover shredded rotisserie chicken

1 oz shredded white cheddar

1.5 oz cup of Naturally Fresh Lite Ranch

paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder to taste

toss bell peppers and chicken with olive oil and seasonings and put under the broiler about 7-8 minutes until the peppers begin to blacken. Toss with lettuce, cheese, dressing, and extra seasoning if desired. yum.

The Green Oatmeal Smoothie

I got the idea to make a green oatmeal smoothie after seeing some oatmeal smoothies on Pinterest. They all used berries as the fruit, which I didn't hate the thought of, but I rarely accept an idea as is. :) I decided to make a yummy oatmeal smoothie...so I devoted some time to it this morning.

Try #1: I used 2 oz. of avocado (1/2 of a regular Hass), 2 oz of banana (1 small), 1 cup ice, 1/2 cup steel-cut oats (that's all I keep in my house--smoothie recipes called for quick oats), 1 cup of fresh baby spinach, 1 cup vanilla coconut milk, 1 tbsp honey, and a generous dash of ground cinnamon. The overall taste wasn't bad, but the texture I could not handle. The steel cut oats did not blend up well. It tasted WICKED nutty and gritty. I tried to enjoy it but it wasn't happening. So I threw it down the sink and drove across the street to pick up quick oats.

Try #2: I used the same ingredients except a light 1/2 cup of quick "1 min" oats. I let it blend and blend and blend. I did not want that gritty taste. The result, I found delicious! I can't taste the avocado or spinach at all. The oats blended perfectly. Basically it tastes like banana-cinnamon oatmeal. It's very yummy! I wouldn't drink it on a day that I'm not working out because it's definitely higher calorie/carb/etc. than I allow myself for breakfast. :) But, quite good. I think next time I will make a smaller batch next time. This was waaaay to much, I didn't even end up able to finish one 16-oz glass and I still had a cup or so left besides the leftover in my glass!

I'm still thinking of making one with raspberries...bananas are high in carbs and sugar. I probably wouldn't put avocado in that one. That may happen next week :)

Official Green Oatmeal Smoothie Recipe (2-3 servings)
1 cup ice
1/2 Hass Avocado, chilled
1 small banana, ripe, chilled
1/2 cup quick oats
1 cup vanilla coconut milk
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1 tbsp honey
dash (or two) ground cinnamon

Blend 2-3 minutes and enjoy!

Parmesan Asparagus

I love, love asparagus. Enough that I hereby dedicate this entire post to asparagus. :)

When I cook asparagus, I cut off a generous 2-3 inches at the bottom. Only the prime portion makes it to my plate! If I am making asparagus for myself, I spray it with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray, sprinkle on a tad of salt, pepper, and garlic, and broil on high for 3-4 minutes.

But not tonight. No. Tonight's asparagus will be shared with the husband, which means it will be delightfully prepared. Mmmm.. First I brush the asparagus with extra light-tasting olive oil. Next I sprinkle on Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper. Then, I sprinkle on real grated parmesan cheese. This delicacy goes under the broiler about 4 minutes, until the cheese turns golden, and then it is ready to eat. For proportions--I use about 25-30 stalks of asparagus, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 2 tbsp parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper I just sprinkle on. Yum-O.

Silly Sunday

I thought of the most lame, boring, but (to me) funny thing today.

I realized that if I say "C'mere," my dog won't come to me.

He will only come to me if I say "Come."

Hahaha.

Perfect Cocoa

I was craving hot cocoa tonight...perhaps because I keep my house at 62 degrees all the time, so it constantly feels like winter inside. :)

I stirred and heated it "low and slow" and made homemade whipped cream for the top. I dusted it with cinnamon and added a few sugar pearls for decoration. Do I take this much hassle with everything? Yes, mostly. After all you kinda-sorta eat with your eyes, right??