A Note on Breakfasts

I don't like eating breakfast. Yes, as a general concept I love the thought of a freshly baked muffin or egg sandwich on a quiet morning, but who has those during the week? Breakfast more often than not is just something that I know I have to do, and need to get it done quickly. I'm not a cereal eater, somewhere along the way from kid to adult, its appeal just went away. I do sometimes get an odd hankering for a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch or raisin bran for a snack in the evening. Now add to this aversion, the fact that if I'm counting calories, the muffin, the cinnamon roll, oh the poor doughut, they are out the window as breakfast options. If I'm going to have any chance of staying on track throughout the day I've found that protein is the way to go. Once I have the taste of sweetened goodness, it"s kind of over, especially if I'm at the starting line. So here are some breakfast go to's that I keep coming back to.

Boiled Eggs
2 oz lunchmeat (any kind), cheese, and blueberries
Mini Bagel with light cream cheese or laughing cow cheese, red pepper jelly, & smoked turkey
Protein smoothies 

Cashews (just be mindful of the serving size)

Banana and  Cheese Stick

Apple and 1 Tbsp Peanut Butter 

Half an Avacado, mashed and spread on Toast 

Dr. Pepper Smoked Cod

Something amazing has happened!  Someone GAVE us a smoker.  Oh my goodness, there are going to be lots of smoker recipes coming your way.  I'll have to give part credit to my husband as I post them because so far this has been a collaboration between us.  We are rocking the smoker.  

You are getting first, what we do best, fish, and it is amazing. Don't be discouraged from trying this dish grilled.  Even without the smoke, the marinade for the fish still shines.  

What I have learned about smoking so far is that it is not an exact science.  If you are new to smoking like I am, make sure that you start simple and get yourself a good digital meat thermometer.  I'm guessing everyone's smokers are a little different, and it is very important to go by temperature of your meat, and not necessarily the cooking times that you may see in a recipe.   

Marinade:

1 Cup Dr. Pepper (fully loaded, no diet)

2  tsp. Salt 

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

Freshly Ground Black Pepper 

1 to 2 lb Cod Fillets

Disposable Aluminum cookie or baking sheets

Meat Thermometer (mine is digital)

Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a plastic bowl or bag and then add the fish.  The fish only needs to marinade for about 30-45 minutes.  

Get your smoker going, you are looking for a temperature somewhere in the area of 200 to 225 degrees.  Spray your disposable pans with cooking spray.  

Remove your fish from the marinade and place them on the prepared disposable pan.  

Place the pan full of fish on the grate inside your smoker, and close the lid.  Your smoker's temperature may spike since you had the lid open, so just keep and eye on it and get ready to close your vents a little if you need to bring the temp down. 

After about 30 minutes on the smoker, you want to check the fish and see if they are done.  You are looking for an internal temperature of 145 degrees, so when you get there, it's time to take them off.  

Smoked fish is awesome served hot or cold, so if you got 'em, smoke 'em.  

Shrimp Cocktail Dip

We are now entering the post Christmas season, however, there are still family gatherings, office parties, and lest we forget, the Super Bowl is coming, too.  This recipe is easy to assemble, and you can add the ingredients to your list of things that you keep on hand, just in case you need to throw something together on the fly.  

This dish is appealing on many different levels, it can be made the day before, it travels really well, and of course, who doesn’t love Shrimp Cocktail?  

1 8oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature, you need it soft so that you can spread it out.

1 jar Cocktail Sauce, your choice

1 bag extra small, cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, and with tails off

1 Cup Sharp Cheddar, Shredded

½ Cup Green Onions, sliced (You'll notice these are missing from the picture below
Crackers or Fritos for serving 

• In a 9"x11" cake pan, spread the cream cheese out over the entire bottom of the pan.
• Pour the cocktail sauce over the cream cheese and spread it over the cream cheese.
• Now, depending on what you choose to eat this with, you may want to consider quickly chopping up your shrimp.  Sometimes if they are a little on the larger size, it makes for awkward eating, and dicing them up just helps keep more of them on the cracker or chip. Whatever you decide to do, go ahead and spread the shrimp over the cocktail sauce.
• Sprinkle the cheese and green onions over the shrimp and you are ready to serve.

**If you are making this well before when you are going to serve it, you want to make sure you take it out of the fridge at LEAST 30 minutes beforehand, The cream cheese has to have some time to soften before eating, or it won't cooperate when you try to scoop it up with the chip or cracker.**