Quinoa breakfast bowls & life this week

I'm sitting inside, at our kitchen table right now, drinking a mug of hot coffee, wearing long sleeves, and pretending it's not 99(!) degrees out right now. The heat really isn't so bad, but it's kind of fun to be in denial about it occasionally.

With the heat, I've been craving lighter, fresh foods that aren't too complex to prepare, and lately I've gotten into a "scramble some eggs and add what we have in the fridge" kick. Below is a combination of sautéed green pepper, halved grape tomatoes, eggs, mozz, and salt and pepper, topped with corn tortilla chips. (You can see in the photo, I've been revisiting some nursing school notes as I continue my job search. It's actually kind of refreshing to be in "study-mode").

I tried another version of this for breakfast/lunch and posted a (blurry iPhone) photo of it to Instagram. Right now, our super early mornings make for lunchtime appetites by 10 a.m., so it's hard to differentiate between the meals, you know? This is not really a "recipe," it's more like a few guidelines, but this version (below) turned out especially yummy, so I thought I'd share it. Of course, it would be good to mix/match any other veggies you have on hand: peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc.

Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cooked white quinoa (I make a batch in advance and keep it in the fridge for quick meals like this)
• 8-10 grape tomatoes, washed and cut lengthwise
• a handful of spinach
• 1-2 slices of meunster cheese, torn
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 an avocado, sliced into wedges

Warm the pre-cooked quinoa (or make a fresh batch) on the stovetop. Once quinoa is cooked/warmed, put a little olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, crack eggs into the skillet. Add tomatoes (halved), and salt and pepper. Scramble contents of skillet.  Add the spinach and cheese. Continue to scramble until spinach is wilted, cheese is somewhat melted, and eggs are desired doneness.* Spoon about a cup of the quinoa into a bowl, and layer the egg mixture on top.  Add the avocado wedges and enjoy!

*I prefer to leave more definition between the yolks/whites in my scrambled eggs. I remove mine from the heat when the whites are set, but the yolks are still golden yellow.

**Nicholas prefers his with a little hot sauce on top.

^^pardon the blurry photo, but I was too hungry to take a second photo (oops!)

In other (kitchen) news, I've made these crackers a few times now, and they're so awesome. They're naturally gluten-free, since they're made from cashews, almonds, salt, water, and an egg. I topped our's with chia seeds and pepitas (per the recipe). And we don't miss the grain at all! They're so simple to make. Plus, the first batch I made had an (accidental) Minnesota-shaped cracker. It was the cutest.

A few other photos from our recent explorations:

We went hiking with friends in Texas Hill Country this past weekend. It was beautiful. (And I adore my hiking buddy)^^

View from a run down by the river.^^

A fun outdoor concert series, Blues on the Green. So fun! ^^

And lastly, a super relaxing afternoon: a little knitting & a little red wine (on our new table!) We'll spare you the details, but we're very happy to have a table after a few mishaps. ^^

Hope you're enjoying the last lovely bits of summer :)