Hello all! Matt and I are settling into married life here in Virginia and as we have been busy unpacking, putting away, organizing, and cleaning, cooking has been the LAST thing on my mind. Allow me to introduce you to.... the Cuisinart Griddler. It is a 3 in 1 open grill, panini press, and flat griddle. This wonderful wedding gift has provided us dinner every night this week. This week proves you can make the SAME THING everyday and still have a decent range of variety.
Dinner night 1: Turkey and cheese panini sandwiches with Italian Wedding Soup (from the can)
Dinner night 2: Grilled barbeque chicken sandwiches- chicken first grilled on the open grill, then the whole sandwich grilled on the panini press. With chips and salsa.
Dinner night 3: Turkey, Ham and cheese panini sandwiches with mayo-salsa sause, salad and pretzels with mustard dip.
While every night's menu consisted of "sandwiches" each night was different and fun. That's not to say I'm not looking forward to dinner at Ashley's tonight for a little change of pace, but the Griddler has given me hope that you don't have to have hundreds of individual recipes, but can diversify the same idea and have a variety of good food to eat!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Creamy Pesto Shrimp
I am finally back into the swing of things after taking a week off from cooking. Last weekend I was sick and only ate toast. Then it was John's birthday and we went out for dinner with family and friends almost every night of the week, it was fabulous. Last night I tried a new recipe called Creamy Pesto Shrimp. Jamie, I thought you might like this one, since you said you have never cooked with shrimp before. It is really simple and turned out really well.
The directions below serve 8.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound linguine pasta
1/2 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pesto
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguine pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
While pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in cream, and season with pepper. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir Parmesan cheese into cream sauce, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Blend in the pesto, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until thickened.
Stir in the shrimp, and cook until they turn pink, about 5 minutes. Serve over the hot linguine.
Andrea's notes:
I made whole wheat ziti instead of linguini. Also, I was worried about burning the butter and ended up adding the rest of the ingredients all at one time instead of in the two steps that is says above. It still turned out really well, although I don't know how it would have tasted if I actually followed the directions. I got a little container of pesto sauce in the refrigerated section of Giant Eagle. Since this recipe didn't use even half of it, I am trying a chicken pesto recipe tonight to use more of it and will hopefully have good results to post tomorrow.
Shrimp notes:
You can buy a bag of pre-cooked shrimp in the freezer section (you can get them tails on or off). They can be pretty pricey, so look for them on sale. I like to have a bag in the freezer and use them for quick meals when I forget to defrost chicken for dinner. Be careful to not overcook! Once they are heated through, they are cooked. You can also go to the "fish" counter and get fresh shrimp which are not pre-cooked and then you can just get enough for your meal. If you get fresh, you should not freeze them and should use them in 2 days. These are the ones that will turn pink when you cook them and then you will know they are done.
The directions below serve 8.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound linguine pasta
1/2 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pesto
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguine pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
While pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in cream, and season with pepper. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir Parmesan cheese into cream sauce, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Blend in the pesto, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until thickened.
Stir in the shrimp, and cook until they turn pink, about 5 minutes. Serve over the hot linguine.
Andrea's notes:
I made whole wheat ziti instead of linguini. Also, I was worried about burning the butter and ended up adding the rest of the ingredients all at one time instead of in the two steps that is says above. It still turned out really well, although I don't know how it would have tasted if I actually followed the directions. I got a little container of pesto sauce in the refrigerated section of Giant Eagle. Since this recipe didn't use even half of it, I am trying a chicken pesto recipe tonight to use more of it and will hopefully have good results to post tomorrow.
Shrimp notes:
You can buy a bag of pre-cooked shrimp in the freezer section (you can get them tails on or off). They can be pretty pricey, so look for them on sale. I like to have a bag in the freezer and use them for quick meals when I forget to defrost chicken for dinner. Be careful to not overcook! Once they are heated through, they are cooked. You can also go to the "fish" counter and get fresh shrimp which are not pre-cooked and then you can just get enough for your meal. If you get fresh, you should not freeze them and should use them in 2 days. These are the ones that will turn pink when you cook them and then you will know they are done.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A Must Have
Ok Domestic ladies, Kari and I stumbled on a MUST HAVE for the Christmas list this year. The Domestic Diva APRON. Oh yes, it's amazing and so cute. Bed, Bath, and Beyond: $20. Love it!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Virginia Grocery Shopping Adventure
Prologue: Setting the Stage
Anyone domestically challenged like myself understands the importance of finding the right grocery store. When you walk into a grocery store with a shopping list of ingredients you aren't quite sure what it looks like or what it even is, you need a place that you can be confident is going to a) HAVE the ingredients you are looking for and b) have people that work there who can help you find it if the need arises. Thus beings this Virginia Grocery Shopping Adventure.
Chapter 1: Heaven's Grocery Store
On Tuesday Matt traveled for work with someone else so I had his car all day to do my grocery shopping for the week. As soon as we got here on Monday our week filled up with dinner plans. The only night we had to make dinner at home was Wednesday, so I decided on a recipe and went to a new grocery store: Wegman's.
Wegman's in incredibly overwhelmingly huge. It has lower level parking and enough people to make it look like a mall on Saturday afternoon. The entire left side of the store is set up like a cafe/outdoor market. I stood on the edge of this area with my shopping cart just starring to see if it was ok to push my cart in there. It has a huge organic section, big home section, the longest isles I have ever seen and very friendly staff who helped point me to the deli, the flour, and to the handy store map which is a picture of the layout of the whole store with labels of isles and sections, and on the back is lists of what products are in each isle. Grocery Store Bliss. I signed up for my Wegman's card and left feeling successful in my grocery shopping endeavors.
Chapter 2: The Phone Call
On my way home from my very successful shopping trip, Matt called to say his friend Leon, who we were planning to meet for dinner that night, isn't coming to town afterall and we have another free night to cook together. What fun! I got my first load of groceries home and then starting flipping through my cookbooks to find another simple recipe that for that. I wrote down about 6 ingredients that I needed and left again for the store. Since Wegman's is about 15 minutes away, I decided for just 6 ingredients I would go to a different store--Shoppers--which is literally within walking distance of Matt's apartment.
Chapter 3: The Grocery Store from Hell
I walked into Shoppers, a grocery store I have been to a few times before, and breathed a sigh of relief for the comforting small size of the store and the very few people milling around. So I begin my search for my 6 ingredients. I am quickly reminded of how incredibly confusing the layout of this store is. The isles are not labeled well, and there is no one in sight to ask for help. I eventually give up on my search for ingredients and begin looking soley for an employee to get some directions from. After finding none, I got a cashier.
"I am looking for roasted chopped green chiles"
Clearly I spoke to quickly and in a thick accent the worker asks me to repeat myself.
"I am looking for roasted chopped green chiles... in a can, I think. Maybe a jar" I say as I hold out my shopping list and point to this item I had written down. She asks another cashier my question in another language and after she asks another cashier I am told, "Isle 17"
So I go to isle 17. I still see no roasted green chiles. I look at my phone and I have been there an hour. One hour for 6 ingredients. I start to get frustrated and anxious and am literally starting to fight tears when one of the disgruntled cashiers comes up behind me and says in a snotty tone "don't you see it? they are right over there"
Annoyed and frustrated I simple state "No. Where are they?"
She points and says they are on the other side of this isle. I walk around and start looking. I have no idea what roasted green chiles will look like and the disgruntled cashier treats me like I am a blind fool. "What are you doing? They are right here."
Well thank you for finally pointing it out to me.
I take my basket of 6 ingredients to another cashier and go home and I vowed to never step foot in Shoppers again.
Chapter 4: A Walk and Waffles
This morning Matt left at 6am for a breakfast meeting an hour away from home. I woke up and decided the sunny sky was inviting me to take a walk and the waffle iron we unpacked last night was begging me to try it out. The missing ingredients to make waffles? Eggs and Vegetable Oil. Easy enough. I set out on my walk and put $20 in my pocket. My walk brought me out to yet another grocery store-- Giant. The only time I was in this store was to buy fingernail polish to put on my toes on our way to a wedding a couple months ago, but it is a little bigger than Shoppers and I thought "perfect, Shoppers has been avoided."
I start looking for the few things I needed. Along with the eggs and oil I decided to get some mini chocolate chips. I find the oil. I go for the chocolate chips. Surprisingly they are out. I move on to the eggs. Of eggs there were plenty, but none of the half dozen cartons I have gotten before. I suddenly remember where I had gotten the half dozen carton of eggs before. Shoppers. I put my oil back, breathe a sigh of determination and I head back up the road to Shoppers because heck all I need is one egg. Why buy 12 if I can buy 6?
Chapter 5: Redeemed
I walk into Shoppers and head directly to where I had discovered the baking products to be the other day. Oil and chocolate chips. Check. I go for the eggs. I pick up my half dozen carton and head to the check out. All along the way I notice several friendly employees helping other shoppers and the cashier I went up to couldn't have been friendlier-- asked me about my Grove City College sweatshirt and if Pittsburgh is where I am from. So Shoppers luckily redeemed itself. It may be poorly organized, stocked, staffed, and labeled, but for the short little trips for basic little things, I think it can be a good back up grocery store now that I am learning the layout and to not ask where the roasted green chiles are. If I come to that again, I'll just make the drive back to Wegman's.
The End. :)
Anyone domestically challenged like myself understands the importance of finding the right grocery store. When you walk into a grocery store with a shopping list of ingredients you aren't quite sure what it looks like or what it even is, you need a place that you can be confident is going to a) HAVE the ingredients you are looking for and b) have people that work there who can help you find it if the need arises. Thus beings this Virginia Grocery Shopping Adventure.
Chapter 1: Heaven's Grocery Store
On Tuesday Matt traveled for work with someone else so I had his car all day to do my grocery shopping for the week. As soon as we got here on Monday our week filled up with dinner plans. The only night we had to make dinner at home was Wednesday, so I decided on a recipe and went to a new grocery store: Wegman's.
Wegman's in incredibly overwhelmingly huge. It has lower level parking and enough people to make it look like a mall on Saturday afternoon. The entire left side of the store is set up like a cafe/outdoor market. I stood on the edge of this area with my shopping cart just starring to see if it was ok to push my cart in there. It has a huge organic section, big home section, the longest isles I have ever seen and very friendly staff who helped point me to the deli, the flour, and to the handy store map which is a picture of the layout of the whole store with labels of isles and sections, and on the back is lists of what products are in each isle. Grocery Store Bliss. I signed up for my Wegman's card and left feeling successful in my grocery shopping endeavors.
Chapter 2: The Phone Call
On my way home from my very successful shopping trip, Matt called to say his friend Leon, who we were planning to meet for dinner that night, isn't coming to town afterall and we have another free night to cook together. What fun! I got my first load of groceries home and then starting flipping through my cookbooks to find another simple recipe that for that. I wrote down about 6 ingredients that I needed and left again for the store. Since Wegman's is about 15 minutes away, I decided for just 6 ingredients I would go to a different store--Shoppers--which is literally within walking distance of Matt's apartment.
Chapter 3: The Grocery Store from Hell
I walked into Shoppers, a grocery store I have been to a few times before, and breathed a sigh of relief for the comforting small size of the store and the very few people milling around. So I begin my search for my 6 ingredients. I am quickly reminded of how incredibly confusing the layout of this store is. The isles are not labeled well, and there is no one in sight to ask for help. I eventually give up on my search for ingredients and begin looking soley for an employee to get some directions from. After finding none, I got a cashier.
"I am looking for roasted chopped green chiles"
Clearly I spoke to quickly and in a thick accent the worker asks me to repeat myself.
"I am looking for roasted chopped green chiles... in a can, I think. Maybe a jar" I say as I hold out my shopping list and point to this item I had written down. She asks another cashier my question in another language and after she asks another cashier I am told, "Isle 17"
So I go to isle 17. I still see no roasted green chiles. I look at my phone and I have been there an hour. One hour for 6 ingredients. I start to get frustrated and anxious and am literally starting to fight tears when one of the disgruntled cashiers comes up behind me and says in a snotty tone "don't you see it? they are right over there"
Annoyed and frustrated I simple state "No. Where are they?"
She points and says they are on the other side of this isle. I walk around and start looking. I have no idea what roasted green chiles will look like and the disgruntled cashier treats me like I am a blind fool. "What are you doing? They are right here."
Well thank you for finally pointing it out to me.
I take my basket of 6 ingredients to another cashier and go home and I vowed to never step foot in Shoppers again.
Chapter 4: A Walk and Waffles
This morning Matt left at 6am for a breakfast meeting an hour away from home. I woke up and decided the sunny sky was inviting me to take a walk and the waffle iron we unpacked last night was begging me to try it out. The missing ingredients to make waffles? Eggs and Vegetable Oil. Easy enough. I set out on my walk and put $20 in my pocket. My walk brought me out to yet another grocery store-- Giant. The only time I was in this store was to buy fingernail polish to put on my toes on our way to a wedding a couple months ago, but it is a little bigger than Shoppers and I thought "perfect, Shoppers has been avoided."
I start looking for the few things I needed. Along with the eggs and oil I decided to get some mini chocolate chips. I find the oil. I go for the chocolate chips. Surprisingly they are out. I move on to the eggs. Of eggs there were plenty, but none of the half dozen cartons I have gotten before. I suddenly remember where I had gotten the half dozen carton of eggs before. Shoppers. I put my oil back, breathe a sigh of determination and I head back up the road to Shoppers because heck all I need is one egg. Why buy 12 if I can buy 6?
Chapter 5: Redeemed
I walk into Shoppers and head directly to where I had discovered the baking products to be the other day. Oil and chocolate chips. Check. I go for the eggs. I pick up my half dozen carton and head to the check out. All along the way I notice several friendly employees helping other shoppers and the cashier I went up to couldn't have been friendlier-- asked me about my Grove City College sweatshirt and if Pittsburgh is where I am from. So Shoppers luckily redeemed itself. It may be poorly organized, stocked, staffed, and labeled, but for the short little trips for basic little things, I think it can be a good back up grocery store now that I am learning the layout and to not ask where the roasted green chiles are. If I come to that again, I'll just make the drive back to Wegman's.
The End. :)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Some Simple Things
I have been wanting to write about somethings for quite awhile now, but time is just moving faster as we move into fall! The first is a tidbit of information regarding laundry. If you have never left clothes in the washer for an extended period of time, don't try it! I am now re-washing a couple loads because they smell very musty-yuck!
The next is an easy pepperoni roll recipe that is simple and yummy!
Crescent Pepperoni Rolls
Ingredients:
crescent rolls
pepperoni
mozzarella cheese
Separate the crescent rolls and layout 4 pieces of pepperoni per crescent. Lay a little bit of mozzarella cheese on top of the pepperoni and roll. Bake according to crescent roll directions. So good and so easy! If you have a jar of pizza sauce, you can use that as a dipping sauce.
While I was in Daytona Beach for my cousin's wedding we went to an Italian restaurant one night for dinner and they had cute quotes all over the walls. My favorite was, "Approach life, love, and cooking with reckless abandon." I thought that should be our little motto when trying to attempt things in the kitchen- just go for it!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Cooking for 14 people, in 5 easy steps :)
So last weekend I embarked on a true cooking/domestic adventure. Let me begin with how it all started...
At the house where I live, the four girls each take one week each month to cook for everyone. Each person usually cooks about 2 times a week and we eat off leftovers or make our own food the other nights. Well, last week was my first official cooking week. I made the Swiss chicken casserole on Tuesday for 6 people (housemates and a couple guests). That meal was a success, with no fires or food poisoning :), so I thought hey, I'll invite some new friends/coworkers over for dinner on Saturday.
To make a long story short, pretty much everyone I invited was able to come, and a few brought spouses or significant others or friends. The grand total ended up being 14 people! I woke up Saturday morning and thought, "What have I gotten myself into?!" As I was feeling slightly panicked at the prospect of cooking for 14 people, I checked my email and had a note from my dad. Dad has become quite the chef over the past year and had some good advice. Here is what I learned and then some :)...
1. When you get the grand total count for guests and it's higher than you expected, don't panic! The more people, the merrier.
2. Delegate! I "assigned" some of the guests to bring chips and salsa (I'll post the main dish recipe at the end :) and drinks. I also bought salad ingredients but had other people chop the vegetables and put the salad together when they got to the house.
3. Read each recipe at least twice to make sure you don't forget that one "key" ingredient and realize you need it as you're cooking! I was able to make a quick store run Saturday morning to pick up some last-minute ingredients.
4. Give yourself plenty of time, but realize that the food probably will not be ready as soon as you originally plan. I thought I'd be done by 7, but it turned out closer to 7:30.
5. Have fun! Remember that the real reason you're cooking is so people can get together. Even if things don't go quite as you envisioned, as long as people are talking, laughing, and enjoying themselves, that is what is the best part!
Ok, so after all that, here is what you really want...the recipe! :)
Mexican Lasagna
At the house where I live, the four girls each take one week each month to cook for everyone. Each person usually cooks about 2 times a week and we eat off leftovers or make our own food the other nights. Well, last week was my first official cooking week. I made the Swiss chicken casserole on Tuesday for 6 people (housemates and a couple guests). That meal was a success, with no fires or food poisoning :), so I thought hey, I'll invite some new friends/coworkers over for dinner on Saturday.
To make a long story short, pretty much everyone I invited was able to come, and a few brought spouses or significant others or friends. The grand total ended up being 14 people! I woke up Saturday morning and thought, "What have I gotten myself into?!" As I was feeling slightly panicked at the prospect of cooking for 14 people, I checked my email and had a note from my dad. Dad has become quite the chef over the past year and had some good advice. Here is what I learned and then some :)...
1. When you get the grand total count for guests and it's higher than you expected, don't panic! The more people, the merrier.
2. Delegate! I "assigned" some of the guests to bring chips and salsa (I'll post the main dish recipe at the end :) and drinks. I also bought salad ingredients but had other people chop the vegetables and put the salad together when they got to the house.
3. Read each recipe at least twice to make sure you don't forget that one "key" ingredient and realize you need it as you're cooking! I was able to make a quick store run Saturday morning to pick up some last-minute ingredients.
4. Give yourself plenty of time, but realize that the food probably will not be ready as soon as you originally plan. I thought I'd be done by 7, but it turned out closer to 7:30.
5. Have fun! Remember that the real reason you're cooking is so people can get together. Even if things don't go quite as you envisioned, as long as people are talking, laughing, and enjoying themselves, that is what is the best part!
Ok, so after all that, here is what you really want...the recipe! :)
Mexican Lasagna
1 lb. ground beef
1 (16-oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15-oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup picante sauce
1 T (tablespoon) chili powder
1 1/2 t (teaspoon) ground cumin
1 (24-oz.) container low-fat, small-curd cottage cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t garlic salt
12 (5-in.) flour or corn tortillas (I prefer flour)
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese
Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Stir in corn and next 4 ingredients (tomato sauce, picante sauce, chili powder and cumin). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Stir together cottage cheese and next 4 ingredients (eggs, Parm cheese, oregano and garlic salt).
Arrange 6 tortillas on bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the sides of a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Spoon half of meat mixture over tortillas; top with cottage cheese mixture. Arrange remaining 6 tortillas over cheese mixture; top with remaining meat mixture.
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Serves: 8-10 (I doubled the recipe for the big dinner :)
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Domestic Challenge
Hey girls! I feel like life has been busy recently, but I know there are lots of good stories out there for our beloved blog... aka Ashley cooking for 14 people! We have to hear the story there :)
I just finished eating dinner... good ol Stouffer's frozen vegetable lasagna. For as long as I can remember I have LOVED this veggie lasagna and was thinking it might be fun to try to actually MAKE it sometime. So I went to work looking online for a recipe and found about a zillion different ways to make it.
Do either of you have any cookbooks that recommend a recipe? And one preferrably without tomatos and ricotta? All my cookbooks are down at Matt's. There's no time frame on this, my curiousity just became sparked by all the varieties of recipes for it.
Take care!
I just finished eating dinner... good ol Stouffer's frozen vegetable lasagna. For as long as I can remember I have LOVED this veggie lasagna and was thinking it might be fun to try to actually MAKE it sometime. So I went to work looking online for a recipe and found about a zillion different ways to make it.
Do either of you have any cookbooks that recommend a recipe? And one preferrably without tomatos and ricotta? All my cookbooks are down at Matt's. There's no time frame on this, my curiousity just became sparked by all the varieties of recipes for it.
Take care!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Ingredient Substitutions
When life hands you lemons, make lemonade! O wait, we want to avoid buying the lemons in the first place! Well I googled Jamie's question below, which has made me skip recipes all together, and found a great website. http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqsubs.shtml
My two favorite are for lemon zest and fresh herbs:
Herbs, Fresh
Amount: 1 tablespoon, finely cut
Substitute:- 1 teaspoon dried leaf herbs- 1/2 teaspoon ground dried herbs
Lemon Zest (fresh grated lemon peel)
Amount: 1 teaspoon
Substitute: 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
Hope this helps in your recipe substitutions!
Andrea
My two favorite are for lemon zest and fresh herbs:
Herbs, Fresh
Amount: 1 tablespoon, finely cut
Substitute:- 1 teaspoon dried leaf herbs- 1/2 teaspoon ground dried herbs
Lemon Zest (fresh grated lemon peel)
Amount: 1 teaspoon
Substitute: 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
Hope this helps in your recipe substitutions!
Andrea
If Life Hands You a Lemon...
Hey girls! Remember our conversation about substituting dried herbs/seasonsings for the fresh ones the recipes call for? Well is there anything like that to do about lemon zest? I was looking at a Chicken and Asparagus Risotto recipe that was sounding delicious until I got to the "1 tbsp lemon zest." I've never cooked anything needing it before, and was just wondering if there is any way to short-cut this ingredient? Is there such a thing as dried lemon zest? Does a splash of lemon juice work the same? Is there any alternative to buying a whole lemon to trying to shave off some of the peel?
Thanks much!
Thanks much!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Canoeing as Newlyweds
This weekend we went up to Cook Forest to visit my parents and John and I went canoeing (Ashley, is that spelled anywhere near right?) Well, that was definately an adventure in communication! It was a four mile canoe ride and the first mile or so went something like this -
"Go right!' 'I am going right, you're the one going left!' 'I told you to go left to miss that rock!' 'Well I can't hear you.' 'Well then tell me you can't hear me.' 'If I can't hear you and don't know that you're talking how am I supposed to tell you to speak up?' 'Why are you stopping us? Why are you out of the canoe? Don't tip us! What are you doing?! Ok, you back in now?' 'Don't hit my dad's kayak! Dad watch out!' 'I'm getting out to help your dad flip his kayak back over.' 'Don't flip me getting back in!' Which way do you want to go to miss that rock ahead?' 'What rock?' 'The one we are heading for!' 'Go left!' 'Why are we going all the way over here?' You said to go left to miss that rock' 'Yeah, that rock way back there!"
Well you get the idea. I am happy to report that we did very well in the last two miles and our communication greatly improved! We didn't lose any oars and we didn't flip! I just thought you guys would get a little chuckle out of that story and I am sure we are all learning how important communication is in any domestic situation, especially canoing!
Love,
Andrea
"Go right!' 'I am going right, you're the one going left!' 'I told you to go left to miss that rock!' 'Well I can't hear you.' 'Well then tell me you can't hear me.' 'If I can't hear you and don't know that you're talking how am I supposed to tell you to speak up?' 'Why are you stopping us? Why are you out of the canoe? Don't tip us! What are you doing?! Ok, you back in now?' 'Don't hit my dad's kayak! Dad watch out!' 'I'm getting out to help your dad flip his kayak back over.' 'Don't flip me getting back in!' Which way do you want to go to miss that rock ahead?' 'What rock?' 'The one we are heading for!' 'Go left!' 'Why are we going all the way over here?' You said to go left to miss that rock' 'Yeah, that rock way back there!"
Well you get the idea. I am happy to report that we did very well in the last two miles and our communication greatly improved! We didn't lose any oars and we didn't flip! I just thought you guys would get a little chuckle out of that story and I am sure we are all learning how important communication is in any domestic situation, especially canoing!
Love,
Andrea
We are fabulous bloggers!
These have been some good posts! I finally read the money article and I really liked how they broke things down by time periods (if you want to buy something in this amount of time, put it here). Also, that pasta carbonara recipe looks great! Any ideas if there is another type of pasta you can use other than spaghetti? John doesn't eat spaghetti (surprise, surprise). It sounds so good I really want to make it! Ashley, I made your Chicken and Cheese recipe that you posted as well, it turned out really good! I kind of adapted and used what I had in the house, but it was awesome that I had a bunch of random stuff and your recipe used it all. Jamie, I also have been using your trick of not defrosting the chicken all the way. It makes it quicker and easier to cut. You guys are awesome and I love how easy it is to keep track of stuff on here! Well, I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you guys getting on board with this, I really enjoy it! And can't wait to see what else we come up with!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Simple yummy pasta
My friend Carrie recently asked if I knew a good and simple pasta recipe. This is very good and very easy, courtesy of "Cook Illustrated's: The Best 30-minute recipes" (which I always factor at least 45 minutes for :) )
Skillet Pasta Carbonara
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 garlic cloves, minced
salt and ground black pepper
3/4 cup dry white wine**
3 cups water
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
12 ounces thin spaghetti (or speghettini), broken in half.
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
2/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1. Render Bacon: Cook bacon in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until fat has rendered, about 4 minutes. Transfer bacon to small bowl with slotted spoon, set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablesppon bacon fat.
2. Saute Aromatics: Add garlic and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir wine into skillet and simmer until almost dry, about 2 minutes.
3. Simmer Spaghetti: Stir water, broth, and spaghetti into skillet. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring often, until spaghetti is tender and liquid has thickened, 15 to 18 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk cream, eggs, and cheese together in small bowl.
4. Add egg mixture: Off heat, pour egg mixtgure over pasta and toss to combine. Add bacon and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Jamie's Notes:
- I added a little xtra bacon
- Make sure you like whatever wine you use. The flavor is very strong! I have used Sauvignon Blanc and it was good, but I want to try Chardonnay next time.
- Serve with green salad.
** Cooking Wines
Dry White Wines
Savignon Blanc
Chardonnay
Chenin Blanc
Riesling
Dry Red Wines
Zinfandel
Carbernet Sauvignon
Bordeaux
Pinot Noir
Grignolino
Cotes-da-Rhone
Skillet Pasta Carbonara
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 garlic cloves, minced
salt and ground black pepper
3/4 cup dry white wine**
3 cups water
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
12 ounces thin spaghetti (or speghettini), broken in half.
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
2/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1. Render Bacon: Cook bacon in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until fat has rendered, about 4 minutes. Transfer bacon to small bowl with slotted spoon, set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablesppon bacon fat.
2. Saute Aromatics: Add garlic and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir wine into skillet and simmer until almost dry, about 2 minutes.
3. Simmer Spaghetti: Stir water, broth, and spaghetti into skillet. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring often, until spaghetti is tender and liquid has thickened, 15 to 18 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk cream, eggs, and cheese together in small bowl.
4. Add egg mixture: Off heat, pour egg mixtgure over pasta and toss to combine. Add bacon and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Jamie's Notes:
- I added a little xtra bacon
- Make sure you like whatever wine you use. The flavor is very strong! I have used Sauvignon Blanc and it was good, but I want to try Chardonnay next time.
- Serve with green salad.
** Cooking Wines
Dry White Wines
Savignon Blanc
Chardonnay
Chenin Blanc
Riesling
Dry Red Wines
Zinfandel
Carbernet Sauvignon
Bordeaux
Pinot Noir
Grignolino
Cotes-da-Rhone
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Money Matters
Among the multiple domestic issues of the modern 20-something woman, there is one issue that cannot go neglected, cannot go with too many mistakes, and cannot be more confusing to figure out....MONEY. We are on our own, single or married, and somehow we need to manage our finaces. What kind of accounts should we use? How much should we keep in each? How do we budget, what do we budget? How do we plan for the future? How far into the future do we plan for?
Suddenly we are in a world where Mom and Dad are a more distant fallback. We have gone from being concerened with mall money and money to go out to eat with friends, to managing cell phones and college tuition... and now... total financial indepedence. "Fun money" has taken a backseat to car maintence, our own car insurance, saving for a car and/or a downpayment on a house, not to mention money for rent, ulilities (you are suddenly a pro at turning out lights in every room), extra gas money for roadtrips (the infamous Mesko trip to Niagra Falls!), etc. All these things are now in the forefront of our minds and calculators. The triumphant paycheck is suddenly spread thinner than ever before and somehow we need to figure out how to make it all work.
Andrea has a fun suggestion I'm sure she'll post soon, but I thought I would link you to a helpful article my Dad found for me. It's kind of geared toward government employees (found this is a work newsletter) but it is very applicable, clear and simple, and gives some guidance for the first steps of how to start managing your money like the grown ups that (I suppose) we are.
:)
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?sid=1457466&nid=22
Suddenly we are in a world where Mom and Dad are a more distant fallback. We have gone from being concerened with mall money and money to go out to eat with friends, to managing cell phones and college tuition... and now... total financial indepedence. "Fun money" has taken a backseat to car maintence, our own car insurance, saving for a car and/or a downpayment on a house, not to mention money for rent, ulilities (you are suddenly a pro at turning out lights in every room), extra gas money for roadtrips (the infamous Mesko trip to Niagra Falls!), etc. All these things are now in the forefront of our minds and calculators. The triumphant paycheck is suddenly spread thinner than ever before and somehow we need to figure out how to make it all work.
Andrea has a fun suggestion I'm sure she'll post soon, but I thought I would link you to a helpful article my Dad found for me. It's kind of geared toward government employees (found this is a work newsletter) but it is very applicable, clear and simple, and gives some guidance for the first steps of how to start managing your money like the grown ups that (I suppose) we are.
:)
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?sid=1457466&nid=22
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Domestic Disaster
Yes green beans and almonds go very yummily together. The only thing different I have done is used olive oil instead of butter. And I would recommend Walmart for a cheap vegetable steamer. No use risking personal safety trying to use two pots/pans that don't exactly go together. I'm not so brave!
So here is a funny story for you. I was in Virginia the past few days visiting Matt. Ashley had the unfortunate opportunity to see his apartment yesterday afternoon as it was in a state of domestic disaster. About a month's worth of laundry was piled all over the floor in the hallway, boxes were strewn about, the vacuum was sitting out in the middle of the room with heaps of pillows on the furniture, papers and lots of random things covering the table, and just about everything from under the bathroom sink sitting on top of the counter, all waiting for a good scrub down. After Ashley left Matt and I looked around and then at each other and went to work. I finished cleaning the bathroom and Matt finished the laundry. Piles were organized and put away, garbage was taken out and the whole place was vacuumed, disinfected, and clorox wiped. The place was looking and smelling clean and fresh. Home sweet home.
Then we started cooking. Important lesson learned: Just because the recipe looks easy on TV doesn't mean it is that easy in real life. Case study: Lasgana Rollups. Part two of this domestic disaster. I saw this recipe on Everyday Italian with good ol Giada. I printed out the recipe months ago in Wichita and sluffed off the "difficulty level: intermediate" because hey, it looked pretty simple on TV. Matt and I started cooking at 7pm. The cook time said 50 minutes. Well, one fight, one 2nd degree burn, 4 burnt pieces of garlic bread, and 2 hours later, Matt and I sat down, quite exhausted, to eat a delicious meal. Yes, it was quite good (except for the burnt bread), but definitely not worth the experience it was to make them. So preceed with caution when a recipe is rated at "intermediate." It may be more than you want to get yourself into!
The sequel to this domestic disaster is that we somehow managed to use almost every cooking utensil in the kitchen to make this meal, leaving the small kitchen the disaster you can imagine that it was. And this after all our cleaning from before!! After relaxing for a while and watching the Olympics, we tackled the kitchen, started the dishwasher, and lit some candles. The place looked and smelled fresh and clean again, and thus assured the happy ending to this domestic disaster story.
The End! :)
So here is a funny story for you. I was in Virginia the past few days visiting Matt. Ashley had the unfortunate opportunity to see his apartment yesterday afternoon as it was in a state of domestic disaster. About a month's worth of laundry was piled all over the floor in the hallway, boxes were strewn about, the vacuum was sitting out in the middle of the room with heaps of pillows on the furniture, papers and lots of random things covering the table, and just about everything from under the bathroom sink sitting on top of the counter, all waiting for a good scrub down. After Ashley left Matt and I looked around and then at each other and went to work. I finished cleaning the bathroom and Matt finished the laundry. Piles were organized and put away, garbage was taken out and the whole place was vacuumed, disinfected, and clorox wiped. The place was looking and smelling clean and fresh. Home sweet home.
Then we started cooking. Important lesson learned: Just because the recipe looks easy on TV doesn't mean it is that easy in real life. Case study: Lasgana Rollups. Part two of this domestic disaster. I saw this recipe on Everyday Italian with good ol Giada. I printed out the recipe months ago in Wichita and sluffed off the "difficulty level: intermediate" because hey, it looked pretty simple on TV. Matt and I started cooking at 7pm. The cook time said 50 minutes. Well, one fight, one 2nd degree burn, 4 burnt pieces of garlic bread, and 2 hours later, Matt and I sat down, quite exhausted, to eat a delicious meal. Yes, it was quite good (except for the burnt bread), but definitely not worth the experience it was to make them. So preceed with caution when a recipe is rated at "intermediate." It may be more than you want to get yourself into!
The sequel to this domestic disaster is that we somehow managed to use almost every cooking utensil in the kitchen to make this meal, leaving the small kitchen the disaster you can imagine that it was. And this after all our cleaning from before!! After relaxing for a while and watching the Olympics, we tackled the kitchen, started the dishwasher, and lit some candles. The place looked and smelled fresh and clean again, and thus assured the happy ending to this domestic disaster story.
The End! :)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Green beans...
One thing I've done before is to steam the green beans and then toss them with some butter and crushed almonds. You can also sprinkle a little lemon juice on for added flavor. To steam the beans, the best thing is to have a double boiler (I think that's what it's called). I had a pot set that had one pot with holes in the bottom and one that did not. You put the green beans (or any other vegetables) in the pot with holes, then put some water in the regular pot and boil it on the stove under the other one. This steams the veggies without totally boiling them. If you don't have a 'special' pot, you can probably heat water in a wide pot or skillet and put the beans in a smaller pot to sit in the water. This will probably have a similar effect. Hope this helps a little! :)
What to do with Green Beans?
Alright, any ideas? I got some fresh green beans last week with no game plan in mind. I haven't even checked on them to see if they are still good, but in the slight chance that they are, what should I do with them? I have never really eaten them, so a way to "cover up" the taste lol would be preferred. Any suggestions welcome!
Hope your cooking adventures are going well!
Andrea
Hope your cooking adventures are going well!
Andrea
Monday, August 11, 2008
Spicing up stir fry
How funny! I just made stir fry last night! Ashley, you beat me to my suggestion of pineapple. But I was adventerous and made mine in a wok. It turned out really well, even John approved. The basic sauce recipe I found online was:
Basic Stir Fry Sauce
1/2 Cup of water
3 Tablespoons of soy sauce
2 Teaspoons of cornstarch
Mix that up and pour that over any veggies, meats, and fruits and it gives it a nice flavor. John conferred with his mom after dinner and she said she adds white pepper to hers. That would definately spice it up. The other things that I put in mine other than the pineapple were: chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, red peppers, broccoli, water chesnuts, and baby corn. Good topic Jamie!
Basic Stir Fry Sauce
1/2 Cup of water
3 Tablespoons of soy sauce
2 Teaspoons of cornstarch
Mix that up and pour that over any veggies, meats, and fruits and it gives it a nice flavor. John conferred with his mom after dinner and she said she adds white pepper to hers. That would definately spice it up. The other things that I put in mine other than the pineapple were: chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, red peppers, broccoli, water chesnuts, and baby corn. Good topic Jamie!
spicing it up...
One thing I tried before was to put in some sweet & sour sauce while the chicken and veggies are still in the pan. You can get bottles of this in the store and it already has the spices in it, so it's really flavorful! Another thing, to add kind of a summer-y flavor, is to add some cut pineapple and lime juice! I have a recipe for a lime-pineapple salsa that could also be used as a marinade...I'll try to find it and post shortly!
let's spice it up
The more I think about that last little throw-together recipe, I think to myself "come on Jame, spice it up a little, you can do better than that."
So perhaps we ladies can put our brains together and figure out some ways to enhance the traditional stirfry.
Like this perhaps....
add peanut sauce, thai noodles, and honey-roasted peanuts
or
cook pasta, toss the pasta, chicken and veggies in Italian dressing
or....
Any other ideas??
So perhaps we ladies can put our brains together and figure out some ways to enhance the traditional stirfry.
Like this perhaps....
add peanut sauce, thai noodles, and honey-roasted peanuts
or
cook pasta, toss the pasta, chicken and veggies in Italian dressing
or....
Any other ideas??
Quick Meal Idea
haha that's great, Andrea! Good to know about the Thyme!!
The other night Matt called and didn't know what to eat for dinner. He was contemplating picking something up, but I excited suggested he try to cook something! Not too enthused by the idea, he said he would think about it as I ran an errand with my mom. I went to the storage unit with my mom and contemplated something he could make that would be simple and minimal work. When I called him back 30 minutes later after returning home, I gave him this suggestion for dinner:
slightly thaw the frozen chicken in the freezer and cut it into strips (it's easier to cut with it still slightly frozen!) Saute it on the stove with a little olive oil until cooked through.
Matt loves cooked veggies so I suggested he go to the store and pick up some veggies to then add to the pan after removing the chicken, and saute with a little butter and garlic. Mix the chicken back in, season with a little salt and pepper, and you have a homemade stirfry that takes very little time or effort!
I thought it was a great idea. He briefly entertained the thought (to humor me, I'm sure), but ended up going to Chipotle. Oh well. But at least I thought this would be a perfect "Quick Meal" suggestion for us girls as we are trying to survive the early stages of the Domestic Chapter!
The other night Matt called and didn't know what to eat for dinner. He was contemplating picking something up, but I excited suggested he try to cook something! Not too enthused by the idea, he said he would think about it as I ran an errand with my mom. I went to the storage unit with my mom and contemplated something he could make that would be simple and minimal work. When I called him back 30 minutes later after returning home, I gave him this suggestion for dinner:
slightly thaw the frozen chicken in the freezer and cut it into strips (it's easier to cut with it still slightly frozen!) Saute it on the stove with a little olive oil until cooked through.
Matt loves cooked veggies so I suggested he go to the store and pick up some veggies to then add to the pan after removing the chicken, and saute with a little butter and garlic. Mix the chicken back in, season with a little salt and pepper, and you have a homemade stirfry that takes very little time or effort!
I thought it was a great idea. He briefly entertained the thought (to humor me, I'm sure), but ended up going to Chipotle. Oh well. But at least I thought this would be a perfect "Quick Meal" suggestion for us girls as we are trying to survive the early stages of the Domestic Chapter!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Thyme
Today I spent about an hour looking through cookbooks to come up with a recipe to utilize the few items we actually have in the house to make a dinner. To no avail, I finally decided I would just toss some spices together and marinate some chicken and do the same with some potatoes and add a salad. Easy enough. After reading dozens of recipes, a few spices came to stand out- garlic, rosemary, basil and thyme. So I figured, if they are all good, might as well put them all together. And so I did with some salt and pepper. It smelled delicous and I thought, "yep, this is gonna be a good one to tell the girls about." I fried up the potatoes in some butter on the stove and cooked the chicken in the oven. Then John said, "I think you overseasoned something, my nose hurts." Hmm, well no turning back now. I sneaked a taste of the potatoes and they seemed like they were a winner. Then the chicken was done and after a taste my first comment was, "the chicken is kinda funky". With a lot of ketchup it was bearable, but definately not a winner. The potatoes turned out very well, but after a closer sniff of the chicken I discovered the major culprit was thyme. I just told John what I was writing about and he said, "Why did you use thyme? You only use thyme when you are breading stuff or if it's only necessary." Well, thanks for that info after the fact. And when is necessary? Oh well. Hope this provided a little chuckle for your day. So consider this a warning when experimenting with spices- maybe a little research or following a recipe isn't such a bad idea.
Love,
Andrea
Love,
Andrea
Saturday, August 2, 2008
The Cheese Stands Alone, part 1
I love cheese. In fact, one of the few Spanish phrases I know and remember is "me gusta queso." So it is no surprise that most of my favorite recipes involve cheese. However, I had two near-disasters (ok, maybe not quite disasters, but close :) when I forgot to include this vital ingredient in two dishes.
The first is a recipe I sent to two friends who had just gotten married. I didn't realize I had left out one of the main ingredients until several months later, and fervently hoped they hadn't actually tried to make this. I called at least one of them and told her of the mistake, and she laughed and fixed the recipe. I re-read my copy very carefully to make sure I didn't mess it up again!
I'll post the recipe for the first dish here, and the second will follow shortly!
Swiss Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
(Cook chicken in microwave, cut into strips for quicker cooking– no need to add water. Cover with wax paper and microwave about 3-4 minutes, or until the strips are no longer pink. Once the chicken is cooked, you can cut it into small cubes.)
- 2-3 cups cut celery (depending on preference, you can add more or less)
- 2 cups seasoned croutons
- 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (don't forget! :)
- 1 cup Miracle Whip + 1 cup milk (mix together)
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 10 grinds ground pepper (if you have a pepper grinder--if not, use about a teaspoon of ground pepper)
- ¼ cup walnuts (optional)
Mix together all ingredients except for nuts in a 9 x 13 greased pan. Top with nuts and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Enjoy!
*A few tips:
--Allow enough time to cut, microwave and cube the chicken. This took me longer than I'd thought at first.
--Sometimes it's easier to mix the ingredients all together in a large bowl and then transfer the mixture to the pan for baking.
The first is a recipe I sent to two friends who had just gotten married. I didn't realize I had left out one of the main ingredients until several months later, and fervently hoped they hadn't actually tried to make this. I called at least one of them and told her of the mistake, and she laughed and fixed the recipe. I re-read my copy very carefully to make sure I didn't mess it up again!
I'll post the recipe for the first dish here, and the second will follow shortly!
Swiss Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
(Cook chicken in microwave, cut into strips for quicker cooking– no need to add water. Cover with wax paper and microwave about 3-4 minutes, or until the strips are no longer pink. Once the chicken is cooked, you can cut it into small cubes.)
- 2-3 cups cut celery (depending on preference, you can add more or less)
- 2 cups seasoned croutons
- 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (don't forget! :)
- 1 cup Miracle Whip + 1 cup milk (mix together)
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 10 grinds ground pepper (if you have a pepper grinder--if not, use about a teaspoon of ground pepper)
- ¼ cup walnuts (optional)
Mix together all ingredients except for nuts in a 9 x 13 greased pan. Top with nuts and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Enjoy!
*A few tips:
--Allow enough time to cut, microwave and cube the chicken. This took me longer than I'd thought at first.
--Sometimes it's easier to mix the ingredients all together in a large bowl and then transfer the mixture to the pan for baking.
Friday, August 1, 2008
The Road to Chef-dom
This can serve as a double recommendation of the book "How to Boil Water" by the Food Network. This book is always within arms reach whenever I set out on a new cooking adventure. Lots of pictures and step-by-step instructions of how to do the "simple" tasks of chopping an onion, or the afore mentioned preparing a zucchini or squash, are priceless.
Below is a simple and delicious recipe guarenteed to make you appear like a cook extradionairre.
Upon one of my visits to Virginia to see my fiance Matt, we decided to make dinner together. The recipe we decided to take on was a recommendation from a friend who has done tedious research for her own husband's picky palate and it turned out decliously. Don't let the somewhat lengthy ingredient list intimidate you. If I can do it, you can do it!
Chicken Parm Meatall Subs
1.5 lb groud chicken
1 tbsp grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
1 egg
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmegan works too)
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
Handful of chopped parsley leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil, for liberal drizzling, 3tbsp, and 3 turns of the pan
2 large cloves of garlic, cracked from skin and split
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 (28-0z) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock (which I determined is the same thing as chicken broth... please inform me otherwise if necessary)
salt and pepper
8 to 10 leaves fresh basil, torn and shredded
4 (6-8 inch) crusty sub rolls
1.5 cups shredded provolone
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Place chicken in a bowl and season with grill seasoning. Add egg, half of the grated cheese, braed crumbs, parsley, and a serious drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil to the bowl. Mix the meat (with hands!) and form 12 large meatballs. Squish teh balls to flatten them a bit like mini oval meatloaves.
(Be carely not to form the balls wider than your bread. The flattened balls will stay put on your sub, no roll-aways!)
Bake the meatballs 15 minutes until golden and firm. Switch the broiler on.
While the meatballs bake, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and garlic and cook 5 minutes then remove the cloves. Add crushed red pepper flakes then tomatoes and stir in the chicken broth. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and simmer 10 minutes, adjusting seasoning and stir in the basil. Reserve some extra sauce for dipping on dinner table.
Remove the meat from oven and loosen with a thin spatula. Turn meatballs in sauce.
Cut sub rolls making the bottom a little deeper than the top. Hollow out a little braed and lightly toast the sub rolls under broiler. Fill the bottoms of the braed with flattened balls and sauce. COmbine the provolone and remaining Parmigiano. Cover teh subs with cheese and return to broiler to melt the cheese until golden.
As far as my creativity allows, this recipe can be done in 2 ways, either as the full Meatball Subs, or you can simply make the meatballs, still topping with provolone and remaining Parmigiano, and add a side or two.
Side Suggestions:
Cooked Carrots (boil carrots until just softened, then melt some brown sugar with a little bit of butter on the stove and saute carrots until completely soften and flavored!)
Any frozen veggie
Rice
bread (if not making full subs)
As I said, this recipe guarentees chef-dom status. The night I made this in Virginia (the meatballs solo with cooked carrots and rice), one of Matt's coworkers was in town and happened to stop by just as we were eating dinner. Being the polite hostess that I was, I handed him a plate and offered him some dinner. Word has it that all of Matt's coworkers now think Matt is marrying "an awesome cook" due to the reputation of these meatballs! Little do they know the mishaps and distress that occur when I am in the kitchen! But if you can pull this recipe off with as much ease as I was able to, you, too, can have the reputations of an "awesome cook" to those who just don't know any better. :) Enjoy!
Below is a simple and delicious recipe guarenteed to make you appear like a cook extradionairre.
Upon one of my visits to Virginia to see my fiance Matt, we decided to make dinner together. The recipe we decided to take on was a recommendation from a friend who has done tedious research for her own husband's picky palate and it turned out decliously. Don't let the somewhat lengthy ingredient list intimidate you. If I can do it, you can do it!
Chicken Parm Meatall Subs
1.5 lb groud chicken
1 tbsp grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
1 egg
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmegan works too)
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
Handful of chopped parsley leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil, for liberal drizzling, 3tbsp, and 3 turns of the pan
2 large cloves of garlic, cracked from skin and split
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 (28-0z) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock (which I determined is the same thing as chicken broth... please inform me otherwise if necessary)
salt and pepper
8 to 10 leaves fresh basil, torn and shredded
4 (6-8 inch) crusty sub rolls
1.5 cups shredded provolone
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Place chicken in a bowl and season with grill seasoning. Add egg, half of the grated cheese, braed crumbs, parsley, and a serious drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil to the bowl. Mix the meat (with hands!) and form 12 large meatballs. Squish teh balls to flatten them a bit like mini oval meatloaves.
(Be carely not to form the balls wider than your bread. The flattened balls will stay put on your sub, no roll-aways!)
Bake the meatballs 15 minutes until golden and firm. Switch the broiler on.
While the meatballs bake, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and garlic and cook 5 minutes then remove the cloves. Add crushed red pepper flakes then tomatoes and stir in the chicken broth. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and simmer 10 minutes, adjusting seasoning and stir in the basil. Reserve some extra sauce for dipping on dinner table.
Remove the meat from oven and loosen with a thin spatula. Turn meatballs in sauce.
Cut sub rolls making the bottom a little deeper than the top. Hollow out a little braed and lightly toast the sub rolls under broiler. Fill the bottoms of the braed with flattened balls and sauce. COmbine the provolone and remaining Parmigiano. Cover teh subs with cheese and return to broiler to melt the cheese until golden.
As far as my creativity allows, this recipe can be done in 2 ways, either as the full Meatball Subs, or you can simply make the meatballs, still topping with provolone and remaining Parmigiano, and add a side or two.
Side Suggestions:
Cooked Carrots (boil carrots until just softened, then melt some brown sugar with a little bit of butter on the stove and saute carrots until completely soften and flavored!)
Any frozen veggie
Rice
bread (if not making full subs)
As I said, this recipe guarentees chef-dom status. The night I made this in Virginia (the meatballs solo with cooked carrots and rice), one of Matt's coworkers was in town and happened to stop by just as we were eating dinner. Being the polite hostess that I was, I handed him a plate and offered him some dinner. Word has it that all of Matt's coworkers now think Matt is marrying "an awesome cook" due to the reputation of these meatballs! Little do they know the mishaps and distress that occur when I am in the kitchen! But if you can pull this recipe off with as much ease as I was able to, you, too, can have the reputations of an "awesome cook" to those who just don't know any better. :) Enjoy!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Zucchini and Squash (well actually zucchini squash and squash)
This story makes me chuckle because at our ice cream date mentioned below, we were talking about what to do if you can't find the exact ingredients listed in a recipe. Jamie gave the example of if it calls for zucchini and all the supermarket has is zucchini squash, is it the same thing? We didn't know the answer, but decided that it was close enough. It also made me hungry for the only dish in which I have enjoyed zucchini and squash- a fresh, delicious pasta primavera dish from a restaurant in Tulsa, OK called Nibbles.
I was at the store picking up a few quick things and decided to to give making a zucchini and squash dish a go at home the next night. Of course, they only had zucchini squash, but since we had previously determined that that was the same thing as zucchini, it didn't deter me. I picked out a baby sized one of each the zuccini squash and squash and left deciding how I was going to prepare them for a later time.
I came home from work the next day and was really craving the Nibbles dish and figured now was as good a time as any to give these unknown vegetables a try. I figured I would sautee them in some butter and just throw some spices in and see how it went (kinda went with the theory of sautee-ing mushrooms). The only problem was- I had no idea how to prepare zucchini or squash. Do you peel them? I think I got a vegetable peeler in one of my wedding shower gifts, but haven't used it yet. I think you peel cucumbers. A zucchini is kinda like a cucumber, right?
I turned to a book that I knew would be helpful in situations like these- How to Boil Water by the Food Network. I found the vegetable section and for both zucchini and squash it just said to slice in half lengthwise and slice. So that's what I did. I kept the slices thin, I figred this would speed up the process. The recipe I threw together:
Sauteed Zucchini and Squash
-About 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat.
-Add sliced zucchini and squash
-Add a couple shakes of minced garlic (dried)
-Add a couple basil leaves (fresh- I do have a basil plant bought to impress my gourmet brother)
-Add salt and fresh ground pepper
Scoot those around in the skillet for a couple of minutes until some of them looked a little brown and others a little transparent.
Man o man was it good! And very easy! I was quite proud of myself for throwing that together and was very impressed with the results. I figured it could probably be made into a great pasta dish when I try it next time or just leave it as is and use as a delicious side dish. I hope you enjoyed my zucchini and squash story. Until next time! With Love,
I was at the store picking up a few quick things and decided to to give making a zucchini and squash dish a go at home the next night. Of course, they only had zucchini squash, but since we had previously determined that that was the same thing as zucchini, it didn't deter me. I picked out a baby sized one of each the zuccini squash and squash and left deciding how I was going to prepare them for a later time.
I came home from work the next day and was really craving the Nibbles dish and figured now was as good a time as any to give these unknown vegetables a try. I figured I would sautee them in some butter and just throw some spices in and see how it went (kinda went with the theory of sautee-ing mushrooms). The only problem was- I had no idea how to prepare zucchini or squash. Do you peel them? I think I got a vegetable peeler in one of my wedding shower gifts, but haven't used it yet. I think you peel cucumbers. A zucchini is kinda like a cucumber, right?
I turned to a book that I knew would be helpful in situations like these- How to Boil Water by the Food Network. I found the vegetable section and for both zucchini and squash it just said to slice in half lengthwise and slice. So that's what I did. I kept the slices thin, I figred this would speed up the process. The recipe I threw together:
Sauteed Zucchini and Squash
-About 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat.
-Add sliced zucchini and squash
-Add a couple shakes of minced garlic (dried)
-Add a couple basil leaves (fresh- I do have a basil plant bought to impress my gourmet brother)
-Add salt and fresh ground pepper
Scoot those around in the skillet for a couple of minutes until some of them looked a little brown and others a little transparent.
Man o man was it good! And very easy! I was quite proud of myself for throwing that together and was very impressed with the results. I figured it could probably be made into a great pasta dish when I try it next time or just leave it as is and use as a delicious side dish. I hope you enjoyed my zucchini and squash story. Until next time! With Love,
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Hello!
This blog is for my two best girl friends (Jamie and Ashley) and of course for myself (blogging is the in thing, isn't it?). We are all embarking into a new phase of life- The Domestic Chapter. As twenty-somethings, we have made it through the elementary and high school chapters together, laughed, cried and supported each other through the college chapter and now are entering into yet another unknown chapter -being domestic. I myself just got married a few short months ago, and as for my other two girl friends, Jamie is getting married and moving to a new city before the year's end and Ashley is moving to a new city, to start a new job as we speak.
So last night as we got together for one of our ice cream dates (our favorite get together!) we discussed moving, cooking, and men. We also promised to email recipes between ourselves that are successful. We wanted to help each other out because having someone else that actually uses (gasp) dried spices giving you two thumbs up is much different that having chefs and foodies recommending recipes. Who knows, maybe we are foodies in the making.
So I figured posting recipes, tips, tricks, and humorous domestic stories would be beneficial for us and hopefully for you as well. Please enjoy and feel free to share your own domestic stories with us! Jamie, Ashley and myself will be running this blog and posting so watch out for updates from us all!
So last night as we got together for one of our ice cream dates (our favorite get together!) we discussed moving, cooking, and men. We also promised to email recipes between ourselves that are successful. We wanted to help each other out because having someone else that actually uses (gasp) dried spices giving you two thumbs up is much different that having chefs and foodies recommending recipes. Who knows, maybe we are foodies in the making.
So I figured posting recipes, tips, tricks, and humorous domestic stories would be beneficial for us and hopefully for you as well. Please enjoy and feel free to share your own domestic stories with us! Jamie, Ashley and myself will be running this blog and posting so watch out for updates from us all!
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