Nov

28

2011

Happy (late) Thanksgiving and Smoothies!

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Category : cooking, diy, fun, recipes

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I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! Ours was small. My mom and sister were in Tennessee visiting family and Genevieve was in Michigan with her dad, so it was just me, my boyfriend and his mom. So it was different from most years, but a nice break from the usual routine. I was really happy that I got turkey and ham bones to make stock out of! The freezer is stocked for awhile now. I skipped Black Friday shopping. I don’t do well with crowds and long lines, and I prefer to use discount sites and coupon codes and do most of my holiday shopping online.

About a month ago Genevieve noticed the blender and asked me what it was for. I told her it was for making smoothies, because I couldn’t think of anything else right then even though I have never made them before. Since then she’s asked a few times if we can make them, and yesterday we finally did.

After consulting foodgawker and becoming hopelessly overwhelmed by all the smoothie recipes, and then wondering why I can’t manage to make such a simple drink I texted my friend Alaina, who loves cooking as much as I do. She broke it down in simple terms: fruit and a bit of liquid or ice, throw in blender, blend. So easy!

I used canned fruit, because none of the fresh at the grocery store looked delicious at all. I can of peaches, half a can of pineapple and a bit of orange juice. They were delicious, and now I have dreams of making a variety of fruit smoothies to go with breakfast each morning…

Genevieve making smoothies

in the blender

make smoothies today!

Oct

18

2011

Chicken Pot Pie

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There’s been a big change in me & Ve’s life: we moved in with my boyfriend! It’s been just over a month now, and we are all settled in at Brian’s house (our house!). It’s been an adventure, all of us adjusting, and it’s been really great.

All of us have been a bit sick the past few days. Me and Brian have colds, and Ve has yet another ear infection. It also finally cooled down, today was a perfectly crisp fall day in Chicago. Because of all that I was in the mood for some rich comfort food.

I used this Martha Stewart recipe and it was perfect. Fairly easy and all the flavors were just right. I used a mix of olive oil and butter (I tend to burn just butter), I left out the potatoes and peas, because we don’t have any, and added a few cloves of garlic. I also only had the little puff pastry shells, so I baked those separately and spooned the pot pie over them, so it was actually more like a stew, and would have been just as good with biscuits instead of puff pastry. I strongly recommend making your own chicken stock. It’s easy to do, far more flavorful than store-bought, and I feel good about using all of the animal.

Brian liked it so much he asked me to make a similar gravy next time we have mashed potatoes (I’m sure this is because the home made stock is so much tastier), but unfortunately Ve didn’t eat any. She’s recently decided to become a picky eater and it’s driving me crazy. I made her baby food, and as soon as she was on solids made sure that she ate a variety of foods, plenty of fruits and veggies and food from different cultures. I thought it was a fool-proof plan to raise a good eater and I was wrong. Most days she’ll announce that she now doesn’t like some new item that she’s always eaten without a problem. Yesterday it was bananas and today it was chicken. I never force her to eat anything, but the rule is that if she doesn’t eat dinner then she doesn’t get a snack later, and she always breaks down and ends up eating (although I’m sure that later she will ask for some cake and try to convince me that that is a proper meal!).

delicious!

Jul

16

2011

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ground Beef and Spinach

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For as long as I can remember I’ve hated macaroni and cheese. The powder packet, the color of it, the way it smells all disgust me. My mom used to make it when I was a kid and I’d refuse to eat it. She would occasionally buy the white cheddar variety, and I could manage a few bites of it. I know I’m in the minority here because everyone seems to love the stuff, but I just don’t get it. My daughter even loves it, especially Easy Mac, and I do keep some on hand for quick meals for her.

ewww! ditch the box!!!

About a year ago I decided to learn how to make my own. I’ll eat any kind of pasta, I like cheese, so I wanted to be able to enjoy macaroni and cheese. My first time making it everything was perfect, I finally understood the appeal! Unfortunately, I lost that recipe and subsequent attempts were only so-so, until today.

I viewed several recipes and combined parts of them to come up with this one. It’s rich and creamy without being too much, it was perfect for me. If you’ve never made roux before don’t be intimidated, it requires attention but is not difficult and is necessary to achieve creaminess and evenly distribute the flavor. I’m really happy I used some chicken stock instead of all milk this time, I think that’s what kept this from being too thick. This recipe is very versatile, you can leave out the meat or use bacon or chicken, switch the spinach to broccoli and use whatever kind of cheeses you like. It probably took me close to an hour to prepare, so this is not a dish for a quick work-night meal.

i forgot to take photos until it was on my plate, ready to be eaten!

1 package rotini (I tried tri-color veggie ones and will use them again)
ground beef (as much as you like, use 1/4 lb for just a bit of meat and go up from there)
salt & pepper
garlic powder
oregano
frozen chopped spinach (defrosted and with the water squeezed out, use fresh if you’d like)
3 Tablespoon butter (I prefer unsalted)
1 shallot, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups whole milk
8 oz package of fresh mozzarella
1 cup cheddar
1/4 cup parmesan
1 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 375

Boil water for the rotini, cook till al dente, drain

Brown the ground beef, I added salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano (a pinch or so of each) for additional flavor

To make the roux:

Melt the butter in a large skillet, add the flour, cook and whisk
Add the shallot and garlic, cook for a few minutes until softened
Add the chicken stock and milk, whisking often
Turn up the heat, let boil or almost boil until it thickens
Add the mozzarella and cheddar and keep whisking until they melt

Mix the beef, spinach, rotini and sauce together, pour into a casserole dish (I’m lazy and did this in the casserole dish), top with the parmesan and breadcrumbs

Bake for 15-20 minutes

Nov

15

2010

Homemade Bread Crumbs

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Category : cooking, diy

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Making your own bread crumbs is so easy! You can season them as you like, or leave them plain and they taste far better than store-bought. Plus, they are free, since you already paid for the bread.

Preheat oven to 350

Crumble bread ends (either store-bought or homemade) into a bowl

Toss the crumbs in about a tablespoon of olive oil, add a bit of salt, pepper and fresh or dried herbs if you’d like (I used a bit of dried parsley in this batch)

Place the crumb mixture on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 5 minutes, toss the crumbs and bake for another 5 minutes or until browned

Remove from oven and let cool

That’s it! These should be okay stored in an air-tight container, but I always freeze mine because I want to ensure that they don’t go bad.

about to go in the oven

finished!

Oct

25

2010

Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Parsley Brown Butter

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This months issue of Everyday Food featured an article on homemade gnocchi. I’ve wanted to try my hand at it for some time, and after reading the article I immediately decided that I needed to make it, soon! I wanted to use some butternut squash, it’s so sweet and versatile and I thought it would be delicious with some bacon and dried rosemary. I spent a whole Sunday morning making a double batch (half to freeze of course!). I really enjoyed making these and they turned out fantastic! The gnocchi was light and airy, all the flavors melded perfectly.

1 large roasted squash (how to roast is here
6 slices bacon
1-2 Tablespoons dried rosemary
Salt & pepper to taste
Flour

Fry bacon
Put the squash, bacon, rosemary and salt & pepper in a food processor and pulse until creamy and smooth
Add in enough flour until the dough is not wet and sticky, probably a few cups, mix by hand until combined
Powder your counter with flour, divide dough into 8 sections
Roll each section into a 1/2″ thick rope, and cut into 1/2″ pieces
Dip a fork in flour and press into 1 side of each piece
Repeat until you are out of dough
Boil a large pot of water and boil the gnocchi about 2 minutes, they are ready when they float to the top

For the Sauce:

1/2 stick butter
2 Tablespoons fresh or dried parsley

Put butter in a pan and add parley, cook until browned
Pour on top of the fresh gnocchi and enjoy!

in the food processor

the dough

press it with a fork

boil it

finished!

Just looking at this picture makes me want to make it again!

Oct

10

2010

Chocolate Chip and Nutella Cookies

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Make these cookies immediately. They are soooo good! I can’t even imagine a more perfect cookie, just the right amount of richness, all the flavors work amazingly…I like them so much that I ate so many yesterday I couldn’t eat lunch.

The only changes I made to the recipe were: I used salted butter and omitted the salt, because I didn’t have unsalted on hand, and I used 1 teaspoon almond extract and 1 teaspoon vanilla, because I accidentally grabbed the almond out of the cabinet!

Ve's cooking

my little helper

about to go in the oven

i already want to make these again!

Aug

16

2010

Coconut Shrimp

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A few months ago my cousin Lynn made coconut shrimp and raved about how delicious it was, so of course I wanted to try it too. I’m a seafood lover, but have never made shrimp before so I decided that today would finally be the day. It was quicker and easier than I expected, and it was good! Ve had seconds and said, “The food is nummy, Mama”. Okay, she says that about almost every meal I cook but it never gets old!

This is the shrimp recipe, and I served it with another variation of rice and quinoa.

Rice and Quinoa

1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup quinoa
1 3/4 cup chicken stock
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Put all of the above in a rice cooker for 25 minutes, then add
salt, to taste
1 Tbl peanut oil
2 Tbl green onion, chopped
1 Tbl fresh or dried lemon balm
2 Tbl crushed coconut cashews

the food is nummy

coconut shrimp

Aug

10

2010

Pumpkin Cupcakes

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I am looking forward to fall. Everyday I look in my closet and dream about sweaters and boots. I want to go outside and feel a cool breeze on my skin. Instead every day I go outside to air so thick that it’s hard to move, and I’m tired of it. This summer is starting to drag.

I feel bad even saying that, I love the sun and I love the heat. This year there has just been an overabundance of it. I’m probably going to regret it, in January when I can no longer remember how glorious it is to walk around bare-limbed, but I’m ready for fall.

In anticipation of cooler weather, this week a made a yummy chili/jambalaya hybrid dish (I intended to post the recipe but kept throwing stuff in there and lost track!), and pumpkin cupcakes. I feel that pumpkin is totally underrated. It smells and tastes great, and fresh pumpkin really isn’t hard to prepare, and is easily freezable.

These cupcakes are good! They are a bit mushy (they really do resemble the texture of pie), but the proportions are perfect. Just enough pumpkin, just enough sweetness. Ve ate 2 and really wanted another, but I couldn’t let her (or myself) eat that many in one day!

raw batter should be a food group

a perfect cupcake

ve's tiny fingers going for another

Jul

29

2010

Smores Ice Cream

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I’ve had my eye on this ice cream recipe for awhile. I held off on making it because I wanted to make the marshmallows and graham crackers myself (yes, I’ve done both before and although both are time-consuming they are worth it at times, or at least once to try it out). In the end, I decided to use store-bought because I just didn’t feel like going to the trouble.

This is the quickest ice cream I’ve ever made. Since there is no custard to make, and only 3 ingredients go in the ice cream maker it was a breeze to prepare. I used half and half instead of whole milk, semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of the candy bar, and I’m not sure how many graham crackers. I gave a pack of them to Ve to crumble up, and since she only knows how to count to 2 and then we ate some it was probably around 5?

The ice cream is so good! The marshmallows gave it a creamy richness, and the graham crackers and chocolate added to the flavor, making it perfect. I’m really happy, because I hate camping and can’t build a fire on my apartment balcony, but now I can still enjoy smores! This is definitely going to be made again. Maybe as soon as we finish this batch.

marshmallows melting in cream and half and half

ve prepping the graham crackers

ice cream!

Jul

28

2010

Steak, rice and quinoa with rosemary and chives

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I haven’t been cooking much lately. I’m so disappointed in myself. We still don’t eat convenience foods much at home, but I order out often. Usually it’s good, but it’s just not the same as a home-cooked meal, and it’s way too expensive for all the time. Not preparing most of my own meals also makes me feel off. I love cooking, it’s so soothing to put together whole ingredients and turn them into something delicious, and I’m good at it. Chopping vegetables is relaxing to me. I also love knowing what’s in the food I eat and feed my daughter. No hidden salts or high-fructose corn syrup if I make our meals myself. One of the reasons I’ve slacked in the kitchen is I’m working a lot. Since I usually work at home I never get off and get to go home. The other is that I have a 2 year old that wants to “help” with everything, or at least be held by me as soon as I start doing something that doesn’t directly involve her. It’s not easy to cook, say, sauce, when the little wants to be one the one stirring it! Still, that’s no excuse for the way we’ve been eating.

This is the only thing I cooked in the last week (besides bacon, eggs and sandwiches). The flavors were amazing and I’ll definitely make this meal again. We don’t eat steak very often, but I think it’s an excellent choice at times.

1 ribeye
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon fresh chives
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup quinoa (I buy mine in the bulk section at Whole Foods)
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 bunch carrots, cut into sticks
1 onion, sliced

Preheat oven to 350
Put steak in a bowl, cover with olive oil, add 1/3 of the fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste, set aside
Put rice, quinoa and chicken stock in your rice cooker and start, it takes about 25 minutes (If you don’t have a rice cooker the stove top will work just fine, rice is just one of the things that I can not seem to get right!)
Lay the carrots and onions on a pie pan or baking sheet, coat with oil to cover, add the remaining herbs, salt and pepper to taste, mix, roast 15-20 minutes
Cook the steak to desired doneness either on the stovetop or grill

brown rice and quinoa

roasted carrots and onions

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