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.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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
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