More deliciousness...

The week before Thanksgiving, Greg left earlier than I did for our holiday break to go on a trip with his parents and I was left to fend for myself in terms of dinner plans. I had to come up with simple, quick meals that would still be delicious but not be as time consuming. Cooking for one is actually harder for me since I'm so used to cooking elaborate concoctions for 2. These are the delicious but quick dishes for one that I came up with.

November 21, 2009

Bean Tacos with Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil

Garlic

Onion

Skinless boneless chicken breast, cubed

Chopped eggplant

Fresh chopped tomato

Fresh cilantro leaves

1 fresh lime

1/4 can Goya black beans

1/4 can refried pinto beans

Salt

Black pepper

Chili powder

Paprika

Cholula and El Yucateco hot sauces (optional)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Low fat sour cream

1 Old El Paso Stand n' Stuff taco shell

My first night flying solo I decided to quickly heat up some beans to put in a hard taco shell and then to simply spice and cook onion, eggplant and chicken with cilantro and other mexican flavors. This was a fairly fast and simple dinner to make.

The beans were a mixture of 1/4 can Goya black beans and 1/4 can refried pinto beans. I find that this mixture makes refried beans more creamy and not thick and goopy the way they come straight out of the can. I probably also added a little chili powder and a drop or two of the deathly but delicious El Yucateco green habanero hot sauce which is so good but beware!! Once the beans were hot, they were ready to go. I dished it out into my taco shell, topped it with fresh chopped tomato, some shredded cheddar cheese, and of course plenty of sour cream.

Since the beans were so easy, I had to cook this part of the dish first. The most tedious part of the meal in this case was de-frosting the chicken since I didn't have any fresh. While it de-frosted I started out my pan with olive oil, garlic and onion. Shortly after I put that in, I added in my small pieces of eggplant and mixed. If the eggplant still looks dry and keeps it's white color even after you have mixed it in with the rest of the ingredients then you might want to add more olive oil. Having enough olive oil for the eggplant to suck up is going to make it softer and juicier!! After those ingredients cooked for a minute or two I added in my chunks of chicken and my diced fresh cilantro. At this point I added my spices: plenty of chili powder and salt, a little paprika, some black pepper and Cholula hot sauce (the best hot sauce in the world) and finally half of a fresh lime squeezed into the mix.

I let all these ingredients simmer until the chicken was cooked through (which shouldn't take too long on medium heat) and then served on the side of my taco piping hot and topped with some more sour cream.

November 22, 2009

After my eggplant and chicken tacos I was left craving more vegetables and decided to make a really light and fresh pasta sauce from olive oil, vegetables, spices and not much else.

Since I don't remember exactly what my recipe or ingredients were I won't go into great detail but to make a similar sauce is extremely simple. Start a pan with garlic and olive oil and onion if you like. As usual, once those ingredients have been simmering and are becoming golden add in pretty much any vegetables you like eating. I used fresh chopped zucchini, pieces of eggplant, chopped onion, Trader Joe's Melange a Trois frozen pepper mix and chopped fresh tomato. Spice any way you see fit (salt, garlic powder, basil leaves, red chili pepper flakes etc.). Serve piping hot with any variety of pasta and definitely top with grated parmesan cheese!

Moving to December...and I'll start a new post!

M

Even More...

Continuing the updates we now move into November...

November 12, 2009

Middle Eastern Stew & Hummus Pitzas

Greg and I became very keen on a easy way to make homemade hummus after our friend Erin told me she simply crushed up chickpeas one day to make a hummus-esque snack. After she told me this, we ran home, crushed up chickpeas with garlic, olive oil and some salt and pepper and voile, we had delicious homemade hummus. Couldn't be simpler. From this, we came up with an idea inspired somewhat by the "pitzas" served at one of our fav restaurants in in NYC, Moustache. Paired with it, we made a middle eastern inspired stew with mixed vegetables. In this entry I will supply the recipe for our pitzas but will forego the stew which I don't remember clearly enough. These pitzas can be made just like a typical pizza with any type of topping you like. At Moustache you can indulge in pitzas topped with ingredients such as roasted red peppers, ground lamb, sundried tomatoes, leeks, scallions and more. See the link to their website above to see all their indulgent options.

Ingredients:

- Tortillas or wraps, any size and type

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Garlic

- Fresh tomato, diced

- Fresh bagged arugula, chopped

- Can of chickpeas

- Sour cream

- Shredded mozzarella cheese

- Ajvar red pepper spread

- Paprika

- Salt

- Black pepper

The first step to making any pizza is the base, your crust. To simplify life (and for the sake of the non-existent budget we're always on) we repurposed mexican tortillas meant for burritos, wraps or tacos and baked them to become our version of a pita-like crust. Even better than pita, these baked pieces of tortilla are thin and crunchy instead of being thick (and most likely higher in calories).

Turn on your oven to 375 degrees and let preheat. Take the number of tortilla's which seems appropriate for your serving size and cut into individually sized triangle shaped pieces. Lay these slices out on a baking sheet which has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. When your oven is preheated, put the cooking tray in and let cook until pieces are golden brown (10 - 15 minutes maybe?).

While the tortillas are baking, you can make your hummus and cut your vegetables. The first step will be to pour your can of chickpeas into a large bowl of some kind. Then, using the back side of a fork slowly crush the chickpeas. This takes some elbow grease but when they're finished they should be an even consistency that is smooth but will still have chunks in it. That's okay. Add about a tablespoon of sour cream and the spices to taste. Now begin to mix and also crush again with the fork until the mixture is as smooth as you want it. Taste and put to the side.

By now your tortilla slices should be ready. Take them out of the oven and apply an even layer of hummus to each. Then spread an even layer of the ajvar red pepper spread on top of the hummus layer. On top of that, sprinkle some of the shredded cheese. At this point, you can leave the the pitzas to the side while you dice your fresh tomato and cut your fresh arugula into little strips. Once that's finished dress each pitza with a layer of arugula and then a layer of diced tomato. Pop these in the oven and you're all ready to go!

M

More...

To continue the updates...

October 24, 2009

Original Sweet Potato Fries and Grilled Cheese

So although you already know the recipe for our delicious sweet potato fries, I had to post them again as they're always such a treat!! This particular occasion we made them because Caitlin came to visit for the weekend and we had to have her try them. We all made it a team effort to skin and dice the yams and by the end we had more sweet potato fries than we knew what to do with. As an added flair, we added some shredded cheese on top of the fries. YUM!

In addition to the fries, Greg concocted some hands-on grilled cheese slices for us to eat. These are fun shareable, warm snacks. We certainly enjoyed them!

Thanks to Caitlin for being a trooper and cutting like a pro and creating a whole new shape of yam fry. Come visit us again soon please! I'm thinking this month or next :)

October 27, 2009

Homemade Mac & Cheese topped with Bread Crumbs

Mac and Cheese is another delicious dish we all crave at one point or another but feel guilty indulging in. However, just like I discuss in my post on nachos, it is a dish which can easily be made at home and made just for your taste preferences (and calorie count!) instead of paying a high price for it at a restaurant. By changing a few of the ingredients usually included in mac and cheese, it can become a dish that you can enjoy with far less guilt. By using low-fat or part skim cheese and using milk (even 1% or 2% works!) instead of heavy cream or half-and-half, you already cut a significant amount of calories. Obviously, when having mac and cheese you know you're not digging into a healthy meal per se but adding vegetables can never hurt. In this specific case, I added fresh chopped tomatoes but any number of veggies could be added to mac and cheese. Some ideas could be tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus, peppers, onion, broccoli, peas, and cauliflower. As I keep repeating, since it has been so long since we made these recipes my descriptions and ingredient lists are going to be somewhat less extensive and I will try to replicate the recipe as closely as I can.

Ingredients:

- Pasta, any type you prefer

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Garlic

- Spanish onion, diced

- Fresh tomato, diced

- Flour, a small amount

- Milk (probably 2%)

- Low fat sour cream

- Juice from jarred capers

- Shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

- Shredded Italian Cheese Mix (such as this one from Sargento)

- Basil leaves

- Crushed red pepper flakes

- Garlic Powder

- Salt, to taste

- Black pepper

Now, this is a loose re-interpretation of the above meal. I have made this recipe again more recently and always just wing it depending on the ingredient's I've got on hand. If I have ricotta cheese, I add some of that. If I have some heavy cream, I might add some. For a creamier, richer mac and cheese, you definitely want to use half-and-half or heavy cream as opposed to milk but it can definitely be done without (a little flour is the magic trick!).

Start your pan off with olive oil, garlic, and onion. Let those ingredients heat up until the oil is beginning to bubble, the garlic is browning and the onion is becoming translucent. While that's happening, put your pot of water on to boil. When the olive oil, garlic, and onion mixture is ready, mix in the milk. Put about as much milk as you think you want sauce. This is going to be the main base of your sauce. If you are using half-and-half or heavy cream, do not use the same method. In that case, use some olive oil, some butter, a little heavy cream/half-and-half, a little water, and some sour cream or ricotta cheese if you have it.

Continuing to the next step, add your basil leaves, garlic powder (not too much), crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Add these all to taste. Turn the sauce down to a medium heat at this point and let the mixture simmer. Mix in about a tablespoon or two of sour cream. At this point, your sauce is probably not thick enough or cheesy enough yet. Don't worry! Start remedying this by turning the heat down to a medium-low heat and sprinkling a thin layer of your shredded cheese on to the top of your sauce mixture. You can sprinkle in some of each kind of cheese you plan to use, if using more than one type as we did here. Let the cheese melt a little and then slowly mix into the sauce so that it does not simply melt onto your pan and also does not turn into solid globs of semi-melted cheese (a problem we've often had when trying to make queso). Continue to do this until you've added a reasonable amount of cheese (not too much, not too little). At that point, your sauce will start to resemble your final product. Now add two large pinches of the flour to the sauce and slowly mix in. You will see your sauce

thicken immediately! Flour is a great thickening agent in sauces but use sparingly because it can become gloopy and nasty tasting if too much is added. If your water is boiling now or was before, the pasta should be in the water. Taste your sauce and make any alterations you need or want to (add more salt or spices, more cheese, more sour cream, a little more flour etc.) Cover the sauce letting it simmer on a low heat until the pasta is ready. When the pasta finishes, strain and put back into pot. Turn the heat off on the burner your sauce was cooking on and pour your sauce on top of the pasta and mix thoroughly until all the pasta is covered in sauce. If you are adding vegetables, add the fresh chopped vegetables now and mix well. The dish could be eaten just like this, as is, but we chose to bake it in the oven with bread crumbs and more shredded cheese on top. 15 minutes later, a warm, cheesy, crunchy heap of goodness was all ready for us to devour!

M

Finally returning!!

Well, well, well....

After a long hiatus Greg and I feel ready to....at least try to...catch up on our food blog. In the last 2 months or so many delicious dinners have been cooked and new recipes discovered. The cooking always continues in our kitchen regardless of whether they end up here or not. However, time does not always allow for the lengthy posts we so enjoy and last term was definitely a busy one for both of us. With the rush to the finish line being right before the holidays and then going home for Thanks, Christmas, New Years etc., we somehow managed to find no time for the food blog, however unfortunate that may be.

In any case, I am, we both are, really excited to be back and of course have amassed photos and recipes to share with you. Because, for some of them, so much time has passed, the recipes may be foggy or some may have no pictures BUT we will try to catch you up on some of the more important ones. Because there are so many things to share, my ingredient lists and recipe descriptions will not be as lengthy or in depth as usual. There's just too much to cover in too little time!! Let's get started!

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So we begin on the eve of our anniversary: Greg and I got somewhat carried away, followed our eyes instead of our stomachs, and made the largest (most ridiculously delicious) mexican dinner ever...in our history at least. We decided that we really wanted to aim for an all out feast and boy did we get one. With a huge platter of homemade Nachos con Verduras to "start" and for the main course, a quesadilla/burrito hybrid filled with all kinds of deliciousness, it took all our best efforts not to finish every last bite.

October 18, 2009

Nachos con Verduras y Burritos

Making nachos at home is really quite a simple task - as well as relatively cheap compared to the $7-$12 bucks they're going to cost you out at a restaurant. In most cases, when you order nachos at a restaurant they're never quite right. There's either not enough cheese, too few chips, too many beans, too spicy, too mild etc., but since nachos can be made to fit just about anyone's food preferences, they're that much more delicious when they're made by you and personalized for your tastes!

Because they can be topped with absolutely anything you like, it can be a chance to experiment. In our situation, we try to incorporate veggies in our meals every night no matter what we're eating, so although this is probably not the healthiest dinner, we gave it some health value by throwing a mixture of veggies (including fresh leaf spinach which was our experimental ingredient) on top in addition to a mixture of black & refried beans, a little ground beef for extra flavor, cheese (of course!) and at the end garnished it with sour cream and our homemade guacamole (another simple thing to make fabulously at home).

The nacho recipe is fairly straightforward so I'll just give a brief overview.

Ingredients:

- Tortilla chips, any brand or variety you like

- Cheese, usually shredded, in any type (or variety of types) you prefer

- Any other toppings you desire

As I said, very simple. Take a baking sheet and cover with a layer of tin foil to catch any cheese or toppings that might fall off the pile. The tin foil is really helpful because these spill-overs can be really obnoxious to scrape off the baking sheet once they've been burnt onto the surface for over 15 minutes. Turn the oven on to the desired temp and let it pre-heat. Next, put down a layer of chips. Another thing I've learned over time is that the more time and care you put into making your layers, the better the nachos will be. Although this sounds kind of silly, if you just throw down a layer of chips completely randomly you will have some chips with no toppings at all and some with too many (which end up getting soggy). Obviously chips are not perfectly symmetrical and they don't always lie flat but take the time to try and arrange them in such a way that they create the most flat, even layer you can achieve. Next put a layer of any toppings you wish. In this case, we put a layer of beans and veggies and saved all our beef for the top. Next, create your second layer. Again, try to be patient and neat. Apply your last layer of toppings, cheese included, and stick in the over. I don't remember the exact cooking time or oven temp. for these nachos but usually between 325 and 375 degrees is fine (depending on how impatient you are) and I would guess about 15 minutes should be plenty. Keep an eye on them and again, always moderate to your preferences.

As I mentioned before, guacamole is another treat that is always so overpriced at restaurants and at grocery stores yet so cheap to make. The most expensive part of this recipe is going to be the avocados, but once in a while they are so worth it. In terms of health value, avocados are great for you but only in moderation. Similar to nuts, they contain healthy fats but they are high in calories so keep your guac munching to a minimum. The following recipe is for a small serving so obviously increase ingredient amounts if you are feeding more than 2 people.

Ingredients:

- 2 Hass avocados, you'll know they're ripe when they're soft and squishy (not too squishy!)

- 1 fresh lime

- Fresh tomato, chopped small

- Fresh onion, chopped small

- Salt

Finding an avocado that is the perfect ripe-ness is always tricky. If your avocado is a little more firm, that's okay it's just going to take more elbow grease to crush it up. Now, I prefer my guacamole chunky and not too smooth so I crush my avocado and mix my ingredients in a bowl by hand however if you prefer a less chunkier guacamole, you may want to consider using a blender or a food processer if you have one available.

Start by cutting your avocado in half. Be mindful of the pit in the middle! It's best to cut around the avocado instead of trying to plunge your knife right through the whole damn thing. Once you have the two halves with the pit removed, I use a fun trick to gut my avocado halves. With the inside of the avocado facing you, run a sharp knife gently through the avocado vertically and horizontally, scoring it so that you have small squares. Don't push the knife through the skin on the other side. This will make it much easier to gut and much easier to crush by hand the way I do it.

(image courtesy of Google Images ©)

Once that's done, simply scoop your squares out with a spoon into a bowl. If the avocado is nice and ripe this should be easy. Once that's done, start crushing the avocado with the back side of the spoon until it's the consistency you want. Squeeze 1 or 2 small pieces of lime into the bowl and add salt to taste. Next chop a small amount of fresh tomato and onion and throw that into the bowl as well. If you don't like chunks, you don't have to include the onion or tomato. If you are blending the guac, blend the onion in to give the guac more flavor and add the tomato chunks after. Taste and as long as it's satisfactory to you, serve with chips, on burritos, or as we did here, on homemade nachos!!

(The burrito/quesadilla creation we made that night I will not describe in this entry because, to be honest, I don't remember what went into them but basically, fill a soft tortilla with whatever you like, cook in the oven and enjoy!)

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MORE TO COME LATER as it's my lunch break.

I'm currently enjoying spruced up Trader Joes vegetarian chili with tons of Trader's shredded lite mexican cheese and Cholula. Why does Cholula make everything taste so much better?!

M

Dessert Party!

Last Friday was Erin's dessert party which was a deliciously, naughty evening given how many calories I probably consumed in sweets, sweets, sweets. There was absolutely everything and anything one could want: red velvet cupcakes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, simple chocolate pie (alla Ali!), plain fudge and fudge with almonds (hooray Erin!), lemon bars, homemade reese's cups, M&M cookies, peanut butter pie, and many others - including mine which I think came out fantastically. It was not something that maybe EVERYBODY could appreciate and certainly not your typical dessert but that's what I was going for! I knew there would be plenty of chocolatey, gooey, rich things to munch on so I decided to go with something a little lighter; something to clear the palate and eat in between chocolate-y pieces of fudge for a refreshing, cold bite. One girl Reba thought my dessert was the best thing since sliced bread and she made my night when she told me this repeatedly. Overall, I would say the party was a success. Oh, and we can't forget the mass amounts of wine that also were consumed... It couldn't get any better :)

Greek Yogurt Cups

Now just from the name I know you're thinking, "Wow, that sounds boring!" but it's all about garnish in this dessert. My thick greek yogurt was topped with orange zest, red and golden raspberries, and then a generous helping of ooey, gooey honey - and homemade honey at that, made by Greg's aunt and her husband on their bee farm!!!

This was such a simple recipe to make because there is no cooking at all. It's just a matter of a few simple steps to preparation. I dished out a serving of yogurt into plastic party cups (the most elegant ones I could manage to find at the supermarket) and then zested my orange on top of each serving. I brought them to this party at this stage of preparation so my delicious raspberries didn't get mushy or sad looking and the honey didn't just sink in and disappear (since part of the fun of this dessert is also partially how pretty it looks when it's just

assembled).

Having never had greek yogurt before in the past, I can say that Fage alone tastes a bit strange at first - a little like whipped cream cheese? - but once the orange zest sits on top it really sinks in and gives the whole cup of yogurt a very slight, pretty citrus flavor. Combined with that the fresh raspberries and the sweet, sweet honey, the yogurt becomes the perfect base. The dessert is light, sweet, and creamy without being overwhelming. After a lemon bar, a piece of fudge, 1/2 a piece of peanut butter pie, and a few measly bites of a homemade reese's cup I already thought I might ralph from the sweet overload! I could sit and eat salty treats all night long but since I don't eat sweets often this spread was quite overwhelming - in a good way! I just wanted to keep eating but had to, had to stop myself.

Again, overall simply fantastic and STILL eating leftover yogurt cups, cookies, fudge and cupcakes. Oy! Caitlin needs to get down here and help me get these dangerous treats out of my fridge..... And yes, Bee is finally getting her ass over to Philly to spend some quality time with me, Greg, and the kitties and I cannot wait! We plan to go out Saturday night, sip margaritas, and eat deliciously bad-for-you food at Mad Mex. It should be great! We love and miss you Caitlin!!

M

Pranziamo!!

The title of this post means "Let's eat!" and I thought this was fitting (as it generally always is) because this past Saturday afternoon, by the time I got back from doing tons of grocery shopping and staring at nothing but food, food, food, my stomach was grumbling for a little something tasty. I knew exactly what I wanted to make! Just like all of last weekend, Saturday was a dreary rainy day - cold and wet. I wanted something warm, hearty, and filling BUT at the same time I didn't want to eat something unhealthy considering the night before had been spent at Erin's dessert party where I indulged in many delicious things which I probably shouldn't have. Anyway, so I thought of the word "hearty" and pictured a stew of sorts and with my new pantry full of foods, put together a filling, vegetable filled italian concoction.

October 17, 2009

Stufato con Spinaci, Formaagio e Ceci

(Stew with Spinach, Cheese, and Chickpeas)

Ingredients:

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Garlic

- White onion

- Diced fresh tomato

- Green hot pepper

- Canned whole peeled tomatoes

- 1 can chickpeas

- 1/2 can T.J.'s white meat chicken, shredded

- Capers

- Sabor a Jamon

- Salt

- Basil leaves

- Onion powder

- Sprinkle cinnamon

- Fresh leaf spinach

- Shredded mozzarella

I started out simmering my garlic, onion, freshed dice tomato, and hot pepper together in olive oil in my large frying pan. I find that this is usually a good base for most any dish you plan to sautee.

After this had been simmering for about 10 minutes, I tossed in the chickpeas and the chicken and let it all cook together and let the chickpeas get a little soft. Next I put in some of the canned peeled tomatoes and juice. The tomato serves as the base of this meal so adjust the amount of tomato you want to how much you plan to eat. At this point, I added all my seasoning: plenty of salt, a little "pig", basil leaves, onion powder, capers & caper juice, and lastly a sprinkle of cinnamon to give a hint of sweetness. I didn't know if it would really make any difference but Greg immediately noticed it, and liked it!

I think adding a level of sweetness to typically "salty" recipes is something I've really only just started to play around with. As Greg and I cook more and more, we expand our spice library which always helps in trying new things! This past summer we made a few new additions to this list of spices: cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and curry powder - all of which we now use on a regular basis! It's always exciting when you use a new spice for the first time. At that point the spice changes from just being an exotic name you see on ingredient lists to being a specific flavor that you can recognize. When trying to replicate dishes from our favorite restaurants we'll alter the spices a little each time we make it and then eventually find a combination that works the best - which is always exciting!

Anyway, at this point I have left my stew to simmer for 10-15 minutes letting it get piping hot. It was served immediately, topped with a fairly thick bed of fresh leaf spinach and then topped with a nice big pile o' cheese! The fun part about this dish is that when you get it, you can mix the cheese and spinach in yourself (or choose to not mix it in) and then the spinach slowly cooks and wilts down and the cheese becomes a fantastic gooey mess on top. Greg chose to mix his in completely whereas I picked away at my cheesy, spinach-y top layer. Either way, we both agreed this was a great solution to a quick, healthy, filling winter lunch. Yippee, another success!!

M

An Italian Weekend with Kathi

This past Columbus Day weekend my mom came to visit, even though she couldn't stay until Monday. When she arrived Friday night, it was already almost 10 and Greg and I were starved. I whipped together a quick pasta sauce that turned out fantastically. Since we were all so hungry I made something rich: a creamy spinach sauce that was made in the blender. Saturday night we ate out but before heading to dinner we came home for an aperitif and some pre-dinner crostini - simple and delicious!

Pre-Dinner Crostini

Saturday night my mom and I had plans to go out to dinner, but before we went out we went back to my apartment and changed into warmer clothes, had some wine, and a little appetizer. We had almost no food left and desperately needed to go shopping so I had no idea what I was going to make for us but with half a ciabatta roll, some vegetables, and a few other simple ingredients I was able to throw together some delicious crostini in under 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Salt

- Basil leaves

- 1/2 a ciabatta roll

- Fresh chopped tomato

- Sliced zucchini

- Fresh mozzarella, chopped

- Shredded parmigiano & romano cheese

Before doing anything, I turned my oven on and put it at 350F. Then I began my crostini: first I cut the roll into small rounds and topped with a drizzle of olive oil on each. Next I put chopped tomato, a sprinkling of the shredded cheese, and a thinly cut zucchini slice on each. On top of that each crostini got a nice slice of fresh mozzarella. It would have been delicious with fresh basil but unfortunately I had none so I put some dried basil leaves on top. As a last touch, I used a dollop of the leftover spinach sauce from the night before (pictures and recipe coming below!) At this point I put the 6 crostini on the baking sheet, sprinkled them generously with salt, and then stuck them in the oven for 10 minutes or so. Before I knew it, they were ready. It was a perfect warm counterpart to our chilled white wine.

Creamy Spinach Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato

Ingredients:

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Garlic, chopped

- Fresh tomato

- Spanish onion

- Frozen chopped spinach

- Tomato puree, minimally used

- Light cream

- Sour cream

- Salt

- Crushed red pepper

- Goya Sabor a Jamon

- Black pepper

- Shredded parmigiano & romano cheese

- Fresh mozzarella, chopped

I started the dish by simmering olive oil, garlic, onion, and fresh chopped tomato in a frying pan. I let everything get very soft, the onion transparent, and then I knew it was ready once I could smell the garlic and onion clearly from my post at the blender, at which point I turned the heat down even more.

While that was simmering, I was preparing my concoction and throwing all the ingredients into the blender. The ingredients that went in were: olive oil, chopped garlic cloves (3 cloves), the frozen spinach (the amount really depends on how many people you are cooking for, for three people I used one whole block of Bird's Eye chopped spinach), a little pour of tomato sauce, a few pinches of the shredded parmigiano & romano, light cream (maybe 1/4 cup) , sour cream (3-4 tbsp's), a lot of crushed red pepper, 1/4 packet of "pig", and salt.

I blended everything together and then added as necessary. I had accidentally poured in about 1/2 or 3/4 of the packet of "pig" and the taste was overwhelming - it tasted disgusting. In order to fix this I added more light cream, warm water, and more olive oil. I ended up adding more salt and more crushed red pepper once I transferred the sauce to a frying pan. Once it was in the pan, I mixed it with the olive oil/garlic/onion/tomato mixture. This also improved the flavor after my mistake. I let it really heat up and then sprinkled more crushed red pepper, olive oil, and chopped tomato on top. The crushed red pepper gave the sauce dimension and flavor but really did not make it spicy since the sauce was so creamy. It was a nice touch.

As soon as the water had boiled, we threw in the pasta and anxiously waited for it to be ready. When it was almost al dente we put the chopped fresh mozzarella on top of the sauce, covered it, let it melt and then served it piping hot and cheesy!

M

Yam Fries Galore

Today for lunch, Greg and I went back to our old staple and gave it a fun cheesy twist. We made yam fries but unlike the many other times we've made them, we topped them with fresh chopped tomato, chopped white onion, and a hearty layer of shredded mexican cheese. Also, this time we cut the yam fries a little thicker so they took about 30 minutes to cook on 400F. When we made yam fries last we were lazy and made no dipping sauces but this time around we were feeling creative. We made 4 different sauces and they all came out SO well!

Mexican Ketchup

Probably our easiest sauce. All it takes is some chopped onion in the bottom of the bowl, a layer of light mayo, and topped with ketchup. This sauce, as I mentioned in a previous post, was ganked from Pommes Frites. If you ever go there, this sauce comes free so don't forget to ask for it!

Creamy Tikka Masala Sauce

If you don't like indian food, this one might not be for you. Using our Patak's Tikka Masala Paste, sour cream, and a squirt of Siracha, I made this indian inspired sauce which was both creamy and spicy at the same time. Don't use too much Siracha, the flavor can be overwhelming.

Sour Cream & Salsa

Enough said. Sour cream. Salsa. Mix.

Creamy Parmigiano Garlic Mayo

This sauce was the crowning glory of all the sauces. It was a first time concoction and it seriously worked out.

Ingredients:

- 1 tbsp light mayo

- 1 1/2 tbsp sour cream

- 1 large garlic clove, pressed into mixture

- 3/4 tbsp olive oil

- Basil Leaves

- Onion Powder

- Black Pepper

- Shredded parmigiano & romano cheese (ours was Stella brand)

I started by putting the light mayo, sour cream, and olive oil into the bowl. I had to whisk it vigorously with a fork in order to get the olive oil to mix with the creamy texture of the other two ingredients. After that was evenly mixed, Greg used our garlic press to press an extra large garlic clove into the mixture. I shook in some basil leaves, onion powder, and black pepper and whisked it again. Lastly, I put in about 3 pinches of the shredded cheeses. This made it so that sauce was a bit chunky. Everything mixed together but the cheese really gave it texture. Mmmm....

M

Let's Have Indian!

Tandoori Chicken & Chickpea-Mushroom Vindaloo with Garlic Naan

Ingredients:

- 1 lb cubed chicken breast

- 1 can chickpeas

- Patak's Vindaloo Paste

- Patak's Tikka Masala Paste

- White long grain rice

- 3 Garlic cloves

- Spanish onion

- Sliced hot green pepper

- Sliced white mushrooms

- 1 fresh beefsteak tomato

- Light cream

- Sour cream

- Extra-virgin olive oi

- Margarinel

- Curry

- Ground cinnamon

- Cumin

- Salt

- Crushed red pepper

- Black pepper

- 1 piece garlic naan

Indian is something we cook often but we haven't made it since we started posting our meals here. This is a hybrid meal that we make variations of often and always enjoy thoroughly. Usually we air on the Saag (spinach) side of life when making Indian so this meal being a departure was extremely exciting and, as hoped, turned out fantastically.

We started out by chopping the chicken into cubes and making a sauce to bake it in. The sauce consisted of sour cream, warm water, 2 tbsp of Patak's Tikka Masala and a pinch of salt. The chicken was spread out on a foiled baking sheet and covered with the chopped tomato, onion, hot pepper and then drizzled with the sauce so that it covered the whole pile and seeped down while the chicken baked in our (not clay but good enough) oven. While the chicken was in the oven the Chickpea-Mushroom dish was begun by sauteing chopped onion and garlic for a minute or two in an oiled pan. Next we added the mushrooms and chickpeas. After the mushroom-chickpea mixture cooked briefly the sauce - Patak's Vindaloo Paste, warm water, sour cream, light cream, and a touch of crushed red pepper - was added to the vegetables. It was all stirred together to get the flavors to commingle and extra sour cream was added little by little to ensure a creamy coating within the pan. While the two main dishes were cooking we had the rice going on the back burner and once it was soft the seasoning went in: 2 tbsp margarine, curry, cumin and a sprinkling of cinnamon for added flavor and to give more definition to the rice. Miyu and Tula anxiously awaited the end result and watched attentively as the Naan went into toaster oven right before plating.

Now that the kitchen was filled with the smells of our meal and the naan was warm with a slight crunch we plated the main dishes, doled out the rice and sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labor. The flavors were robust even though the seasonings were spare. The taste came from the Patak's pastes and the raw ingredients themselves introducing a new take on Indian, a departure from our normal mushroom saag and jaipur vegetables. It was satisfying, filling and left us patting ourselves on the back. We have added a delicious new Indian dish to our repertoire and cured another day's hunger for damn good eats.

G

Getting even more resourceful with less in the pantry...

The days this week have been flying by and it seems there has been a ton going on. We still have not made it to the grocery store and/or Trader Joe's like we planned so we've been at the bottom of the barrel - using rice and pasta often with simple combinations of veggies. We made a pasta and veggie bake on Monday and then a mexican style veggie and rice bake on Tuesday. Last night we made a fantastic vodka sauce and had it with extra large rigatoni style pasta called Elicoidale. It came out really well! Even though we had barely any canned tomatoes left we bulked it up with diced onion and a whole fresh tomato that was chopped and thrown in.

At the end of last weekend we had a good day of being resourceful with what little we had. We started with lunch - canned soup - that we bulked up with extra veggies and miscellaneous ingredients. We threw in leftover cauliflower florets and slices of mushroom. After we left that to cook and the cauliflower had softened a little we added our own spices: salt, of course, black pepper, and a little chili powder. We also added a little tomato juice and a little cream to thicken it up even more. It was a delicious lunch and surprisingly filling! We served it with our one and only remaining slice of bread, toasted and buttered.

At dinner we decided that we wanted mexican but had one tortilla left and no taco shells SO instead we made a Benny's Burrito's rip off - taco salad bowls! The fun part of our meal was that Greg made homemade chips out of the remaining tortilla and then invested in a jar of salsa to go with it. He simply cut the tortillas into little triangles and squares, sprayed them with cooking spray, showered them with salt, and then tossed them in the oven. They were cripsy, salty and delicious.

For our burrito bowls we made pulled chicken. That morning we cooked the chicken very simply: in olive oil, chili powder, salt, and crushed red pepper.

When we were ready to make dinner we took the pre-cooked chicken out of the fridge, pulled it, and threw it back into a pan, heating it and mixing it with other various veggies. We added fresh tomato, onion, zucchini, and finally the LAST of our cauliflower florets. We also cut some of the veggies to serve fresh on the beautiful serving platter my mom bought for us. After the chicken/veggie mixture had been cooking on a medium heat, had been spiced, and all the ingredients were getting soft, that part was ready. In the meantime, we had rice cooking in boiling water. Once our rice was done, we were ready to dish everything out. To top our burrito bowls (and to dip our homemade "chips" in) we had salsa (our big investment), sour cream, and a homemade, lighter version of queso. To make the queso we used about 1/2 or 1/4 packet of that velveeta type cheese that comes with some mac n' cheese. We used the leftover from that, added just a little tomato juice, some fresh chopped tomato, and then some of our light sour cream in order to lighten it up. When everything was ready, we happily dug in!

M