I had my usual weekend rice noodle ramen for breakfast, and that was perfect for my New Year's Day hangover (yea, I had a tad too much vegan champagne last night). But I was still craving something greasy and cheesy. So I made some Chili Cheese Fries for lunch:
Now, I make chili cheese fries all the time since I keep leftover chili frozen in individual portions. But I typically go the healthier route and bake my homemade fries in the oven. But this morning, that just wouldn't do, so I broke out the canola oil and a big ole pot (I was too lazy to dirty up the deep fryer) and fried these up right. Then I topped my greasy hand-cut fries with some leftover chili that my mama made for Halloween (it was in the freezer) and a mixture of Daiya mozzarella and Follow Your Heart. I had a little bit of both that needed usin'.
This really hit the spot! Especially since I'm embarking on the 30-day Thrive Forward cleanse on January 3rd. I need to soak up all the naughty food I can before I force myself to give up sugar, deep-fried food, processed food, gluten, coffee, and booze on the cleanse. It's not too late to join me. Click on the link above to sign up for Brenden Brazier's free cleanse program.
For dinner, I had to go the traditional New Year's Day food route. In the South, we simply MUST eat black-eyed peas and cabbage (or kale or collards) on New Year's Day. The black-eyed peas represent luck and prosperity in the New Year and the greens equal good fortune. I don't think I've ever let a New Year's Day go by without these foods, and I wouldn't dare take the bad luck risk.
For the past couple of years, I've made fancy cabbage rolls stuffed with black-eyed peas and rice. But this year, I got a little lazy and threw together this Hoppin John Bowl:
There's brown rice on the bottom, and that's topped with the Caramelized Cabbages and Onions from Cookin' Crunk. The peas are from a can (lazy is clearly the theme of this post), but I seasoned them with homemade pepper paste (thai chili, cayenne, and jalapeno), minced garlic, oregano, and onion powder. Then I topped the whole bowl with sriracha.
I hope you ate your black-eyed peas and cabbage today! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Your cheesy, chili covered fries literally made me drool (even without the hangover!)
ReplyDeleteOh, I had no idea you bought a house, congrats! And those cheesy chili fries sound like the perfect hangover cure...for us it was burritos all day, ha ha. :) And I've already started cutting habits - coffee and alcohol are gone, and same with smoking (which I've been doing socially, a little too frequently, for shame I know).
ReplyDeleteThe black-eyed pea thing just isn't done around here, so I forgot! One year I'll do it up! Happy 2013!
I love chili cheese fries--those look insanely delish. Good luck on your Thrive.
ReplyDeleteI've read that it's really convenient to be a vegetarian from financial point of view, as well. Vegetables are much cheaper than meat! Here's further info:
ReplyDeleteEfficient eating