Hello, lovelies!
I know, I know - I've been terrible about updating. Things have been quite hectic in my personal life and my schedule's been rather nuts. However, I've been cooking up a storm!
Last night I tried out this recipe, the link to which I discovered on Pinterest (if you aren't on there, stop what you're doing right now and sign the fuck up, dudes. Seriously. It's awesome!).
Here is the link directly to the recipe in question. I'll summarize it here for you:
Ingredients:
4-5 lbs. fresh broccoli
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 lemon
Freshly grated parmesan
Toasted pine nuts (optional)
Fresh basil, julienned (optional)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
Olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Cut broccoli into relatively large florets - be sure it's *dry*!
3. Toss the broccoli with garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper and place on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven when the broccoli is relatively crispy, but still tender. There should be some the tiniest bit of browning here and there.
5. After removing the broccoli from the oven, place in a bowl and zest the lemon over it, then squeeze the juice of the lemon into it.
6. Add a touch more olive oil, parmesan, and the basil and pine nuts if you'll be using those.
7. Give it a few stirs to combine the additional ingredients and enjoy!
NOTES: For this recipe, I didn't use the pine nuts or the basil (just like in the link posted) and it was AMAZING. However, I will probably try adding the basil and pine nuts next go round to see how we like it. GDB and I were both pretty big fans - this is *definitely* something I'll be cooking pretty often now. It's delicious!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Pollo a la Gato
I've been experimenting with new ways to use roasted tomatoes (thanks to the fabulous yield of tomatoes from family and friends, since my garden didn't quite take off due to the timing of our recent move). I came up with this idea since I wanted to incorporate some of the chicken from the freezer along with the tomatoes and some cilantro I picked up at the farmer's market earlier this week. So, here goes!
First, you roast the tomatoes:
Preheat your oven to 200F for cherry tomatoes, 350F for medium and large tomatoes.
Cut the tomatoes in half, removing any bad spots and the tops. For this recipe, I used local yellow tomatoes (they have a little more of a tart flavor), but you can use any tomato for this.
Place the tomatoes on the skin-side on a nonstick baking sheet or pizza pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt. Add some fresh garlic (peeled and sliced) on top of the tomatoes to allow the flavor to bake in. You can also sprinkle on some seasonings like oregano, cayenne pepper powder, etc. depending on your tastes.
For medium/large tomatoes, cook for about 30 minutes (longer for super-large varieties - you want them nice and roasted through).
After roasting, you will put the tomatoes into a blender or food chopper and chop until you're happy with the consistency. It can be as chunky or smooth as you like.
Place your chicken in your crock pot and pour on the tomatoes.
Add a few sprigs of fresh cilantro, the juice of 2-3 limes, and some sliced green onions. Salt to taste.
Stew in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 2-4 hours.
Serve over rice. Accompany with margaritas.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Kale chips
Okay, I know it sounds gross, I do. I was skeptical at first (as was the Bearded Wonder). But seriously, these things are AMAZING! They're also good for you AND toddler-approved!
Ingredients:
Kale, torn into small bits (ditch the stems)
Kosher salt
Olive oil
Additionally seasoning (see notes)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Place the kale on a nonstick cookie sheet.
Drizzle with about 1 tbsp. olive oil.
Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt.
Bake for 5-10 minutes, depending on your oven.
Remove from oven and pig out.
Notes:
Regarding baking times, try to keep a close eye on your first few batches to get a feel for how long it takes in your oven. You want them nice and crispy, but not super brown and burnt. You also don't want them too squishy (they need to cook a little longer when this happens).
Kale chips tend to be super crunchy and wind up in tiny bits. Some people enjoy this over popcorn or salad.
For seasoning, you can experiment (as always!). Some tried and true ideas:
Try sprinkling a little bit of brown sugar over the kale after removing from the oven.
Before baking, add sesame seeds.
Of course, try Tony's.
You can also try sauces - a friend of mine likes Tabasco, I've had luck with worchestershire sauce.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Kale, torn into small bits (ditch the stems)
Kosher salt
Olive oil
Additionally seasoning (see notes)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Place the kale on a nonstick cookie sheet.
Drizzle with about 1 tbsp. olive oil.
Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt.
Bake for 5-10 minutes, depending on your oven.
Remove from oven and pig out.
Notes:
Regarding baking times, try to keep a close eye on your first few batches to get a feel for how long it takes in your oven. You want them nice and crispy, but not super brown and burnt. You also don't want them too squishy (they need to cook a little longer when this happens).
Kale chips tend to be super crunchy and wind up in tiny bits. Some people enjoy this over popcorn or salad.
For seasoning, you can experiment (as always!). Some tried and true ideas:
Try sprinkling a little bit of brown sugar over the kale after removing from the oven.
Before baking, add sesame seeds.
Of course, try Tony's.
You can also try sauces - a friend of mine likes Tabasco, I've had luck with worchestershire sauce.
Enjoy!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Apple dumplings!
Do I suck at updating or what? Stupid real life, getting in the way of my blogging! As it turns out, two year olds don't give a shit if you want to sit at your computer quietly for fifteen minutes. Who knew?
This is a recipe that initially started with my mother-in-law. I loved the recipe, but it used a LOT of sugar and my husband (who isn't too big on super-sweet food) would never help me eat it, so I'd invariably wind up eating basically the whole thing over a couple of days by myself with only a little bit of help from Kiddo. So, I decided to experiment. The results were AWESOME. So here is the recipe I now use!
Ingredients:
About 4 medium apples (choose your favorite type)
2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls
2 sticks of butter
1/2 can of Diet 7Up
1/3 cup honey
Zest from two lemons
1. Grease your pan(s)/casserole dish and preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Slice the apples. You want medium-sized chunks.
3. Wrap the apple chunks in the individual crescent rolls and place in the pan.
4. Melt the butter and stir the honey, zest, and 7 Up into the melted butter. Pour mixture over the dumplings.
5. Cook until dumplings are a nice golden brown (about 30 minutes). Allow to cool and enjoy!
These dumplings are excellent to bring to potlucks, or serve with breakfast. They're also great hangover food. (HI MOM!)
This is a recipe that initially started with my mother-in-law. I loved the recipe, but it used a LOT of sugar and my husband (who isn't too big on super-sweet food) would never help me eat it, so I'd invariably wind up eating basically the whole thing over a couple of days by myself with only a little bit of help from Kiddo. So, I decided to experiment. The results were AWESOME. So here is the recipe I now use!
Ingredients:
About 4 medium apples (choose your favorite type)
2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls
2 sticks of butter
1/2 can of Diet 7Up
1/3 cup honey
Zest from two lemons
1. Grease your pan(s)/casserole dish and preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Slice the apples. You want medium-sized chunks.
3. Wrap the apple chunks in the individual crescent rolls and place in the pan.
4. Melt the butter and stir the honey, zest, and 7 Up into the melted butter. Pour mixture over the dumplings.
5. Cook until dumplings are a nice golden brown (about 30 minutes). Allow to cool and enjoy!
These dumplings are excellent to bring to potlucks, or serve with breakfast. They're also great hangover food. (HI MOM!)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Crepes... and then some
Today, I experimented with this recipe: ZoomYummy: Crepes with cream cheese filling
I was very excited, knowing that I had two bricks of cream cheese in the fridge just waiting to go into our bellies Cream cheese is a MAJOR favorite of mine. I am convinced it should be a food group. Anyway, I start putting the ingredients on the counter... and realize we don't have enough milk. I don't keep canned milk or anything along those lines in the pantry. As I opened the freezer to make sure we still had some frozen fruit I could use, I spotted a viable alternative to the milk: frozen breastmilk.
Now, before you gag, let's keep in mind: these are to be eaten by me (who makes the milk, after all) and my daughter (who still drinks the milk), so really, nothing squig-worthy there. I'd never serve anything with breastmilk in it without warning people. While I don't find anything weird about it (after all, cow's milk does come from cows, so why should human milk be gross for any reason?), I can respect that others may. So, that said, we went to work.
I also didn't have powdered sugar for the cream cheese filling, so I substituted with plain white sugar.
The results were FABULOUS. I couldn't tell a difference regarding the milk, and my only possible complaint is that the filling was a touch too sweet, but really, I should have reduced the amount of sugar since it was regular. Otherwise, it was very, very awesome. I covered it in the fruit (which had thawed) and Kiddo and I inhaled it. Definitely a nice mid-afternoon treat for us. :-)
I was very excited, knowing that I had two bricks of cream cheese in the fridge just waiting to go into our bellies Cream cheese is a MAJOR favorite of mine. I am convinced it should be a food group. Anyway, I start putting the ingredients on the counter... and realize we don't have enough milk. I don't keep canned milk or anything along those lines in the pantry. As I opened the freezer to make sure we still had some frozen fruit I could use, I spotted a viable alternative to the milk: frozen breastmilk.
Now, before you gag, let's keep in mind: these are to be eaten by me (who makes the milk, after all) and my daughter (who still drinks the milk), so really, nothing squig-worthy there. I'd never serve anything with breastmilk in it without warning people. While I don't find anything weird about it (after all, cow's milk does come from cows, so why should human milk be gross for any reason?), I can respect that others may. So, that said, we went to work.
I also didn't have powdered sugar for the cream cheese filling, so I substituted with plain white sugar.
The results were FABULOUS. I couldn't tell a difference regarding the milk, and my only possible complaint is that the filling was a touch too sweet, but really, I should have reduced the amount of sugar since it was regular. Otherwise, it was very, very awesome. I covered it in the fruit (which had thawed) and Kiddo and I inhaled it. Definitely a nice mid-afternoon treat for us. :-)
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Cat's boozy spaghetti sauce
I felt the urge to play with my usual spaghetti sauce today. It's not that I don't like it, but sometimes it's nice to change things up. So here's what I concocted with ingredients from my pantry, freezer, and fridge. Oh, and it tasted AMAZEBALLS ;-)
INGREDIENTS:
1-2 lbs. ground beef (depending on how meaty you like your sauce)
Dry white wine
Minced garlic
Bunch of green onions, chopped
0.5-1 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
Stewed tomatoes (about 2 tomatoes, or 1 can)
1 jar of Newman's Sockarooni sauce
Whole peppercorns
Crushed red pepper
Oregano
Salt, to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Brown the beef. Do not drain.
2. Add the veggies and seasonings minus the salt. Add about 1 cup of wine (add more for a richer wine flavor) Simmer for 10-15 minutes (until veggies are cooked over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the sauce. Also add more wine if you don't want a super-thick sauce. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
4. Serve over pasta. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
1-2 lbs. ground beef (depending on how meaty you like your sauce)
Dry white wine
Minced garlic
Bunch of green onions, chopped
0.5-1 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
Stewed tomatoes (about 2 tomatoes, or 1 can)
1 jar of Newman's Sockarooni sauce
Whole peppercorns
Crushed red pepper
Oregano
Salt, to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Brown the beef. Do not drain.
2. Add the veggies and seasonings minus the salt. Add about 1 cup of wine (add more for a richer wine flavor) Simmer for 10-15 minutes (until veggies are cooked over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the sauce. Also add more wine if you don't want a super-thick sauce. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
4. Serve over pasta. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Steamed shrimp with veggies (and, uh, fungus)
This is another quick fix that people seem to love :)
Ingredients:
Peeled shrimp (I use about 2-3 lbs. for the three of us and we always have plenty for leftovers)
Potatoes, sliced
Mushrooms, sliced or whole
2-3 bell peppers in strips
Old Bay seasoning
Directions:
In a steaming device of your choice, throw in the ingredients and apply Old Bay liberally. Add water to the bottom of said steaming mechanism (duh) and cook until shrimp is pink and veggies are cooked, stirring occasionally.
Notes:
You can add pretty much any veggies you like to this recipe, this is just what we prefer. You can also take away whatever you like - initially this started with just shrimp and potatoes. Some good veggies to add: corn on the cob, spicy peppers, squash, zucchini, etc.
Ingredients:
Peeled shrimp (I use about 2-3 lbs. for the three of us and we always have plenty for leftovers)
Potatoes, sliced
Mushrooms, sliced or whole
2-3 bell peppers in strips
Old Bay seasoning
Directions:
In a steaming device of your choice, throw in the ingredients and apply Old Bay liberally. Add water to the bottom of said steaming mechanism (duh) and cook until shrimp is pink and veggies are cooked, stirring occasionally.
Notes:
You can add pretty much any veggies you like to this recipe, this is just what we prefer. You can also take away whatever you like - initially this started with just shrimp and potatoes. Some good veggies to add: corn on the cob, spicy peppers, squash, zucchini, etc.
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