hungry monster


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An Open Letter to Hummus (and a Recipe)

Hummus is on my mind lately, everyone.  I just thought you should know that.  It is so awesome, and it has been making daily appearances in my life.  I need a few moments to express my feelings for this super awesome food.  So bear with me as I get a little sentimental.

Oh, hummus.  I have nothing but love for you.

Shall I count the ways?

I shall.

1.       You are super versatile and can go on almost everything, from veggies to sandwiches or even used as a salad dressing.

2.       You are full of protein and make my tummy happy.

3.       There are so many flavor combinations to incorporate into you.

4.       You are made from a legume called either chickpeas or garbanzo beans, which are both on my top ten list of fun words to say out loud.

5.       Oh, I could go on forever, hummus.  But I’m hungry.  So I’m just gonna get to it.

Here’s a twofer recipe that starts with my secret to making perfect hummus: rosemary-infused olive oil:

Chunky Rosemary-Infused Hummus

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in Recipe / Veggie 4 comments
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Smackaroons: Coconut Crème Kiss Filled Macaroons

Hi!  It’s Renee again from Attack of the Hungry Monster. Also, it’s macaroon time. But these macaroons have a secret. While not obvious to the untrained eye (my eye is trained in chocolate, in case you are wondering), it is most definitely a coconut crème Hershey’s kiss!

I decided to call these smackaroons because they are kisses (*smack*) stuffed inside coconut macaroon cookies.  I really need to trademark that.

Here’s how they came about: I am a bargain shopper through and through.  No discounted item goes unnoticed by me.  I hit that Target clearance weekly like I’m storing a bunker…full of discount clothing and old Easter candy.

So, after Easter when I came across these bad boys, I knew where they’d end up.

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in Desserts / Featured / Recipe 4 comments
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Sweet Potato, Butterscotch, Bacon and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

Editor’s Note: Please welcome Renee from Attack of the Hungry Monster to the ES family. Renee is a self-taught home chef who loves coming up with new recipes — and she dreamed up the dish listed above and pictured below, so…yeah, she’s an ES-er.

I am so excited about being here I can hardly contain myself!  Endless Simmer is one of my favorite blogs.  I mean, come on, chocolate peanut butter bacon strips?  There’s no turning back now, people.

But let’s talk about my latest food fixation. The humble sweet potato.

Oh, it doesn’t look like much, but any fitness blog or magazine will tell you it is a nutritional powerhouse (which is like the coolest word ever invented). Nutrition aside, this baby is tasty.  It’s sweet and savory at the same time and that is my jam.

I’m also eating a lot of butterscotch chips these days. How good are those? So that led me to the obvious idea of combining the goodness of salty bacon with the richness of goat cheese, plus the sweetness of butterscotch and sweet potatoes (I’m kind of into weird food combinations…can  you tell?).

The butterscotch brings out the sugary side of the spuds, and the bacon and goat cheese play up the savory notes (think sweet potato pie with bacon and goat cheese). Basically, this quesadilla will blow your mind and tickle all corners of your taste buds.  Wait, do taste buds have corners?  I’m pretty sure they are round, so maybe not.  Metaphorical corners, then.

Sweet Potato, Butterscotch, Bacon & Goat Cheese Quesadilla

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in Bacon / Cheese / Endless Bacon / Pig 3 comments
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