A Love Letter to Wawa & Spring

Spring has Sprung!

Hello my long lost friends! It has been way too long since I posted and I wanted to apologize for that! My original idea for todays post was to recap about Spring Break and all the great places to eat in Clearwater Beach, FL. Unfortunately the places that I enjoyed, I forgot to take pics & the places I did take pics..... food wasn't too great it just looked really pretty.

Fortunately, there was one great picture I took from spring break of a delicious meal that could not compare to anything. In fact, my love affair for this food started when I was just a little girl. No one gets me like this place does and for that, they will always have my heart. For those of you reading from the mid-atlantic area, you might of guessed who this love note is for. 

Dear Wawa,

There is nothing I could ever compare you to. Your bright and shining red sign welcomes me every time I pull into your lot. 

When I walk through your doors, I feel at home. I'm not gonna lie, you sometimes overwhelm me and make me nervous, but thats just because I like you soooo much and want to make sure I order the perfect Hoagie.

You never disappoint me, Wawa. Whether I do a quick sweep through or take my time ordering at your screens, your options are endless. I mean, come on, what other convenience store has a Hoagie Festival? 

But Wawa, I just want to remind you that I will never abandon you. I know these past four years have been tough considering you haven't made it to the south (Florida doesn't count, they're east coast). But I just want to reassure you, come May, I'll be back home making trips far too often and gaining so much weight just so we can make up for lost time.  

Between your fresh coffee, amazing fresh food selections, and hoagies, you will always be my go to quick meal stop.

Wawa, don't listen to the haters... You're not just a Gas Station, you are so much more than that. In fact, you are my whole world.

Sincerely, 

Girl that grew up a mile from Wawa University 

If that doesn't give you goosebumps then you are honestly missing out. I know I'm a romantic and Wawa just gives me the feels. But on to a new recipe! So when I think of Spring, I think of fresh food and veggies and fish. Don't ask me why, its just how it is. So this week, I did a spin on Salmon & Zucchini. I found these recipes on Pinterest & the outcome was outstanding :) 

Cilantro Honey Lime Garlic Salmon with Parmesan Lemon Zucchini

First and foremost, take a deep breath. I know it seems like a crazy combination but trust me, your taste buds will thank you later... 

Cilantro Honey Lime Garlic

Ingredients: 

-1 filet of Salmon

-1 tablespoon of chopped Cilantro

-1 1/2 minced garlic cloves

-1 tablespoon honey

-1/2 tablespoon lime juice

-1/2 tablespoon olive oil

-Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

-First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees

-Make sure your salmon is dry and then brush it with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

-Place salmon on piece of foil and fold up edges tightly around to make sure the juice will stay in tight

-In a bowl, mix together the honey, lime juice, cilantro, and garlic. Cover the piece of salmon with the mixture

-Bake for 15-20 mins. I did 17 minutes and it came out perfectly.

-Scrape the fish from the foil and it will leave some of the skin behind, ENJOY

Parmesan Lemon Zucchini

Ingredients:

-1 small zucchini 

-1 tablespoon of butter

-1 garlic clove, minced

-lemon juice

-parmesan cheese

-basil

-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

-First, melt the butter in pan and throw the garlic in the pan as well.

-Next, put zucchini in pan with salt and pepper and keep turning so it doesn't burn

-Every so often, sprinkle parmesan cheese and lemon juice over top

-Add some basil too for extra flavors

-Cook until golden or until your liking

-When finished, sprinkle some extra parmesan cheese over top and ENJOY

As you can see, I served mine with some brown rice. All the different flavors really mix well together. This recipe is a prime example of using a variety of flavors that end up working really well together. It may take some experimenting, but before you know it, you will be a flavor master. 

I hope you all enjoyed this post, especially my ode to Wawa. Make sure you keep checking in for new recipes! And, as always, I'll never turn down a suggestion.

Everyone, Be Safe & Enjoy Spring!

XOXO, 

Caroline

Meet The Brunchfest Club!

The title of this post is me attempting to be funny and spin off the breakfast club but as you can tell, fail. Anyway...... This is the second post this week so you're welcome and since I'm feeling awesome, I am sharing three easy recipes that go hand in hand with a delicious Brunch. When most people think of brunch its mostly breakfast foods (don't worry I am doing a Breakfast recipe) but I am also taking my own spin on a Classic Chicken Salad attempt that can also be a great asset to your yummy brunch spread. 

Onion & Pepper Omelette with a twist

I have always loved making omelettes mostly because it brings me back to when I was working at a bagel place and had the reigns of the grill to myself and got to experiment with so many different things. You can literally do whatever you want to make your omelette, YOURS. For example, my amazing dad (Gmac, for those of you who don't have the honor of knowing him), loves anything in his omelette... and I mean anything. BUT- the omelette itself, has to be brown and basically almost burnt because the man hates eggs. No one ever questions Gmac on his decision but just know, you can still find a way to enjoy your omelette even if you don't like eggs. Me on the other hand, I like to keep my omelette classic. I came up with my own twist and honestly haven't made one differently since. 

Ingredients:

- 2 Eggs

- 1/4 cup of chopped green pepper

- 1/4 cup of chopped onion

- 1 tablespoon of feta

- 1 teaspoon of pesto

- Litte bit of minced garlic

- Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: 

- FIRST and foremost, you must sauté your onions and peppers together with the garlic. Drizzle some olive over them as well and make sure you cook them through. I am telling you, it makes such a significant difference in your food when you sauté them before adding them to the omelette.

-In a bowl, whisk your two eggs with a splash of water. Add a little bit of salt and pepper to taste.

-Over medium heat, pour your egg mixture in and just let it sit. As the center cooks lightly push around the edges to make sure all the liquid is being cooked. Before you flip, you want to ensure that you have a pretty solid round egg so it doesn't fall apart. 

-Once you flip, cover half of the omelette with the pesto and feta and then the onion and pepper sauté mix.

-After letting that sit for a minute or two, its time to fold....Carefully

-Let it sit for another minute or two so the insides of the omelette melt together. 

-Once finished, top with parsley and parmesan cheese if desired. 

As you can see, I had a side of homemade breakfast potatoes. They are so easy to make and can be a great compliment to your omelette. 

Ingredients:

- 5 small red potatoes

- olive oil

- minced garlic

- salt and pepper

- oregano

- basil

- onion powder

- garlic powder

Directions:

-You will need to clean your potatoes and cut off all the ugly grossness from it before you do anything. 

-Cut into bite size pieces or whatever you desire

-In a microwave safe bowl, microwave for 5 mins. After the 5 mins, take out and mix around. Then, microwave for another 5 mins. 

-In a non-stick pan, put the potatoes in with olive oil, garlic and sprinkle generously with each of the seasonings. You can add more of a particular one, it all depends on your taste buds. 

-Cook on medium heat and until the potatoes are golden and crispy. 

ENJOY!

Now, some brunch goers prefer the lunch side of things. So lucky for you weirdos, I have a great Chicken Salad Recipe that can help you get your lunch fix. 

Avocado Chicken Salad

I am a new comer when it comes to chicken salad because I HATE mayo. I literally despise it so if you don't like me, just force feed me mayo and you can enjoy my misery (or tuna fish #EW). I was browsing on Pinterest (of course) and found a recipe that used Avocado instead of Mayo so I decided to take my own spin on it. 

Ingredients:

- 1 chicken breast (seasoned how you like), COOKED

- 1 green apple, chopped into small pieces

- 1 ripe avocado

- 1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes

- 1 tablespoon of parsley

- 1/4 cup of onion, chopped (I used a sweet onion, but a red onion could work as well)

- 2 teaspoon of lime juice

- salt and pepper to taste

- 2 pieces of wheat toast

Directions:

-Make sure your chicken is finely chopped into small pieces and combine everything into a bowl (except the bread, obviously)

-Use a fork to really break up the avocado otherwise, it will look weird. 

-After generously mixing it together, serve on some wheat toast. I added an extra side of apple because obviously I'm super healthy.....

As you can see, the recipe is SUPER easy and it tastes even better! Brunch can be whatever you make it so don't be afraid to try new things. Thanks to Hayley Burns for suggesting to me to do a breakfast post! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and let me know if you try these awesome recipes and how it goes!!

XOXO, 

Caroline