So in this edition of “What am I going to do with these leftover tortillas?” we are making tortilla chips from scratch! You can do this with whatever tortillas you have lying around, corn or wheat or flour or whatever. It’s easy, makes crispy chips that aren’t fried, and you get to have NACHOS. So, a win-win-win.

Start with some tortillas – I had flour ones, from when we’re going to make chicken quesadillas. Which is also a delicious dish. You should make it – or come over, and I’ll show you how!

Cut your tortilla into slices – don’t be like me, try to make ’em even-ish. I don’t know what happen here, guys.

Spray them on both sides with olive oil spray (or whatever spray you use) and salt ’em, too.  Stick them in the oven for about 15-18 minutes, flipping once. I put my oven at 375, but do whatever you feel in your heart – just make sure to check them.

Serve with whatever you have – I wanted to add a protein, so I had red kidney beans, avocado, and obviously used them to make nachos, too. Fun fact: the residual heat from your oven AFTER you toast your chips (and have turned off the oven) will be enough to melt the cheese, all while saving the universe. Pat yourself on the back.

What is your favorite nacho topping? Mine is olives, not pictured, because those closest to me don’t like olives. They don’t know what they’re missing.

I’m starting a new job this week, and because that involves my getting up pretty early to make it to work, I decided it’d be nice if I had a fast breakfast I could make one day for the whole week. I love farro porridge (or oatmeal!) but it’s not as good the second day, so I opted for baked eggs. Much like hard boiled eggs, but without the messy shell to slow you down!

Start with a muffin tin…spray with nonstick spray (I used the spray olive oil!)

Crack an egg into each of the holes!

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until the eggs are no longer jiggly set.

These will literally pop right out of the pan – eat with a handful of spinach, half and avocado, and a slice of toast!

Save the other ones for breakfasts or lunches – just heat them ’em and you’ve got meals covered for a week!

What are other foods you’ve made with your muffin tins?

Happy Earth Day, everyone! We hope you’re doing something today to honor the Earth and give back to the planet that we all call home. We at GMS are dedicated to honoring “Earth Hour” today from 12-1 (turning off all power and electricity for one hour) and hope you find an hour of your waking-life to do that today, too. We thought it’d be fun to include some (food-related) ways you can change your habits to be more friendly to Earth, too.

1) Be a smart cook – Cooking from scratch is healthier AND more energy efficient than take out or frozen meals. For a bonus, turn your oven off 10 minutes before something should be done, and don’t pre-heat unless you’re baking.

2) Go organic – Organic food is usually better for you and the environment. Start slow – change over to organic milk first. Organic milk might be slightly more expensive, but it has up to two-thirds more omega-3s than it’s non-organic counterpart.

3) Go meatless (more often) – We love meat as much as you (probably) do, but the fact is it is more eco-friendly to eat veggie based foods – think less land, water, AND energy. If you don’t want to become a vegetarian, try to eat meatless dinners once or twice more a week – your wallet (and Mother Earth!) will thank you.

4) Buy locally – We’ve talked about this one before, but thinking locally and seasonally can go a long way. Think about the fruits and veggies you eat, and how many miles they’ve traveled. I use this website for my area, but you can Google your region to see what’s in season where you are. Try this with wines, too – New York, Virginia, and California all have great wine regions that are closer than Spain, Italy, or France.

5) Trade your nonstick for natural – Nonstick surfaces that are overheated release fumes that are toxic. If you can’t part with nonstick, use cast iron – it’s natural nonstick, contains no toxins, and even puts some iron into your food! Plus, the cast iron will last you forever, so you’re saving money on replacing your goods too!

What are your eco-friendly tips to help save the Earth?

This Sweet & Caffeinated post is especially fun for multiple reasons. First off, it features the beautiful face of our vegetarian/London contributor, Rebecca! Secondly, it’s all about Old Town Coffee Tea & Spice in Alexandria, VA, the beloved shop and former workplace of both Corelyn and Rebecca while they were in high school. I’ve heard quite a bit about “the coffee shop” over the years and was so excited to stop by for a visit while in town last weekend!

This place has so much character! I pictured a regular sit-down cafe, but what I found was an adorable shop filled with products and knick-knacks galore, including this vintage (and still functioning) coffee grinder.

Any tea drinkers out there? There are so many choices!

Tons of coffee options too!

I wanted a cookie, of course…

…and the wonderful owner, Frank, asked how adventurous I was. When I responded, “very,” he gave me these delicious Polenta Pennies from Lark Fine Foods. They were delicious, especially when paired with coffee! (In case you’re wondering why I had such a dainty cup, it’s because I was already five full cups in at this point in the day. No judgement here).

Do you see some familiar faces? I spy Rebecca & Corelyn’s high school photos next to each other!

It was truly a treat taking a trip down memory lane with Rebecca and seeing some of her history. It was even more wonderful to spend some time with my dear friend before she went back across the pond!

OH and guess what else?! This weekend is Rebecca’s birthday! Happy birthday Rebecca, all the way from Los Angeles to London! We love you so much!

Did you ever work in a coffee shop when you were a teenager? Tell me about it!

Jeff and I love carne asada, and love chicken quesadillas. He prefers flour, whereas I prefer corn, tortillas. But, inevitably, we always end up with extra shells and they die a slow death in the fridge until we remember them and they’re green.

So this week I decided enough was enough, and set out to make use of the shells. Enter homemade taco bowls. I love taco salads at restaurants, but the shells are delicious because they’re deep fried…and that’s not exactly calorie-friendly, making that salad worse for you than say, a cheeseburger. But making your OWN taco bowls for taco salad? It’s just the calories of the shell, plus a smidge of oil – and that’s something I can get behind.

You start with some tortillas. And some glass jars. Put your oven on 400, and you’re already on your way.

Microwave your tortillas for 15 seconds so that they’re a bit warm and pliable. Pliable, what a great word…let’s bring that one back, ok?

Right, so, now that you’ve got some pliable tortillas, spray them on both sides with sprayable oil – I use olive oil – and then put them on the jar bottoms, molding them into the general shape of a taco bowl, as shown above. Put them in the oven for ten minutes, and this is what you’ll have.

These have hardened right up! Let them cool for about five minutes and then you should be able to lift them (or slightly twist them) right off.

Now comes the good stuff, chickadees.

Gather all your goodies to put on your salad – I used pinto beans, avocado, olives, mozzarella cheese, and some salsa. You can use whatever you’ve got lying around that sounds good on a salad. Oh, and don’t forget the lettuce, obviously. I used red leaf because it’s what was in my salad spinner that I had forgotten was in the fridge. Luckily, it was still good – whew!

This, by the way, is a super-fast, vegetarian friendly lunch. Wahoo! If you want to spice it up, add chicken or ground beef for dinner, or use smaller tortillas and then bring them to lunch in a container separate from your veggies and you’ve got portable taco salad.

What are your favorite salad toppings?