A Quick Meal

If you are looking for a quick and easy meal, pizza and salad is perfect.  Wednesdays are mine and my roommate Julia's busy day.  We don't really have time to cook a serious meal so we make a pizza and salad.  Wegman's brand pizza is our favorite.  They have a variety of choices such as margherita, roasted vegetable, and four cheese.  Our favorite is the margherita.  Salad makes a nice side.  We usually add black olives, mozzarella, sprouts, and cucumbers.  Oil and balsamic vinegar is our dressing of choice.  This is a perfect meal for anyone who has a busy day.  Enjoy!

Margherita pizza & salad

Thanksgiving

The meal that is probably the most anticipated all year is Thanksgiving.  It is a day of family, traditions, and great food.  It's funny how so many people celebrate the exact same holiday, but celebrate it in so many different ways.  My family and I always watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the morning.  We watch football all day long and wait for that turkey to be done.  Served on my dinner table is turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, cranberry sauce, and biscuits.  Dessert is also very important in my family.  My grandma makes all of our pies from scratch.  They include apple, pumpkin, and chocolate pudding pie.  My favorite part of Thanksgiving is leftovers.  Gobble gobble.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Cal Tort

If you are looking for a quick meal and you love Mexican food, then California Tortilla is the place for you.  They offer an array of items that can be turned into a meal.  A meal consists of an entree, chips and queso, and a fountain beverage.  The chips and queso really make the meal.  The tacos are to die for, especially with California Tortilla's original chipotle sauce.  The burritos are also excellent.  The Franchise offers a "Burrito Elito" rewards card, which offers one point for every dollar spent.  For every fifty points you acquire, you receive $5 to spend at California Tortilla.  For the month of November they are offering a free taco to all Burrito Elito members.  Click here to view their website for more information and for store locations.

Tex-Mex Pork

"Salsa simmers to create a surprisingly complex and zesty sauce in this quick entree."  One of the simplest pork recipes that Julia and I have discovered over the last few years is Tex-Mex Pork.  It is easy enough that I can even make it and it is so delicious.  It comes from the December 2010 issue of Cooking Light.

Ingredients: 1lb pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1 1/2 cups refrigerated salsa

2 cups hot cooked long-grain rice

1/4 cup light sour cream

Directions: Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat it with cooking spray.  Add pork to pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Saute for eight minutes or until lightly brown.  Add salsa and 1/4 cup water to pan; bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer five minutes or until slightly thickened.  Serve pork mixture over rice; top with sour cream.  Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Pork

Chicken Piccata

If you are are looking for a new chicken recipe, I have a perfect one just for you.  Chicken Piccata has been one of my family's favorite meals for years now.  It's a meal that takes only a few ingredients and about half an hour cook time.

Ingredients: 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cutlets
2T vegetable oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1t minced garlic
1/2 cup chicken broth
2T fresh lemon juice
2T capers, drained
2T unsalted butter
Fresh lemon slices (optional)
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions: Season cutlets with salt and pepper, the dust with flour.  Coat a saute pan with nonstick spray, add vegetable oil, and heat over medium-high.  Saute cutlets for 2-3 minutes on both sides; transfer them to warm plate.  Deglaze pan with white wine and add minced garlic.  Cook until garlic is slightly brown and liquid is nearly evaporated.  Add broth, lemon juice, and capers.  Return chicken to pan and cook for 1 minute on each side.  Transfer chicken to plate.  Finish sauce with butter and lemons.  Once butter melts, pour sauce over cutlets.  Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

*Tip: Serve with fettuccine noodles and pour the extra sauce on them!

Chicken Piccata with fettuccine noodles

It's Getting Chilly

When the weather starts to get chilly, one of my favorite meals that my dad makes is Beef Stroganoff.  Since he is at home in Pennsylvania and I am down at school in Virginia, he obviously can't make it for me.  However, I shared the recipe with Julia and she made it for the two of us.  The recipe that my dad follows is Paula Dean's.  It can be found here.  It is a perfect meal to make when it is cold outside and you need some good comfort food.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Paula Dean's Beef Stroganoff

Breakfast

I would have to say that breakfast is probably my favorite meal of the day.  This morning Julia made a frittata.  It is a simple and delicious meal to make in the morning.  Cut up peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Saute them in a little bit of olive oil.  Scramble some eggs and pour them in the pan with the vegetables.  Reduce the heat and slowly move it around.  Add cheese on top.  Bake in the oven for 10 minutes on 350 degrees.  Add toast on the side.  Enjoy!

frittata & wheat toast

A Change in Chefs

This evening, for a change, I cooked.  My roommate Julia and I always eat together and she always does the cooking.  She has two tests tomorrow though, so I offered to cook.  I made a nice and easy meal.  Breaded pork, mashed potatoes, and frozen vegetables.  All you have to do is combine flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper together on a plate.  Scramble eggs in a bowl and put bread crumbs in another bowl.  Flatten out the pork into thin pieces and toss them in the flour combination.  Then dip them in the eggs and cover them in breadcrumbs.  Once you have done that to all of the pieces, place them in a pan of hot oil and cook until light brown on both sides.  While they are cooking, heat up the mashed potatoes.  I recommend getting Wegman's brand and adding butter, sour cream, and milk.  Steam your vegetables and you're all done!

Pork, mashed potatoes & veggies

Roomie Dinner

My roommates and I decided that today was a perfect day to do a nice sit down dinner together.  On the menu, chicken quesadillas.  Football was on the TV all day and Julia was busy in the kitchen.  To make chicken quesadillas, you first salt & pepper two large chicken breasts and then boil them.  Once cooked through, shred the two pieces of chicken.  While the chicken is boiling, saute peppers, onions, and tomatoes in olive oil and minced garlic.  Combine shredded chicken with the vegetables and add taco seasoning.  In another pan, lay a tortilla, a layer of taco cheese, the chicken & peppers, another layer of taco cheese, and then top with another tortilla.  Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Britt, Julia, Steph & I 

Chicken Quesadillas

A Perfect Day

Today was a perfect day to spend quality time with my grandma.  She is one of the most important people in my life and she knows her way around the kitchen.  I have a homemade recipe book filled with pictures, memories, and recipes from her.  It was made with so much love and I will cherish it forever.  My roommates are always begging me to bring back grandma's chocolate chip cookies for our cookie jar.  So today grandma and I made some.  

Toll House Cookies

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

3/4 cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1t Salt

1 cup Butter

2 1/2 cups Flour

1t Vanilla

Add 1t Baking Soda to 1t Hot Water

Cream butter and add sugars gradually; beat well.  Add eggs and beat.  Add vanilla and mix.  Add baking soda; sift flour and salt.  Add to creamed mixture and mix.  Add a large bag of chocolate chips.  Drop by spoonful onto lightly greased cookie sheets.  Bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes.

All Mixed Together.

Ready for the Oven.

Ready to Eat!

Pork Rub

I am always looking for simple and delicious meals to make.  Wait... let me rephrase that.  I am always looking for simple and delicious meals for other people to make for me!  Whether you are cooking for a family or just one, this easy pork meal will leave you satisfied.  Combine these dry ingredients in a bowl to make a rub; paprika, salt, cumin, brown sugar, chili powder, pepper, and garlic powder.  Cover the pork completely in it.  Bake in the oven on 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.  For a simple side, I highly recommend Wegmans brand red skin mashed potatoes.  Also, peppers and onions cooked in olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Simply delicious!

pork, mashed potatoes, and peppers & onions

Perfect for a Rainy Day

When it's raining outside, which it has been a lot lately, there is nothing better than a slow cooked meal.  On today's menu... sausage sandwiches.  They are really easy to make and taste delicious.  Not to mention, they make your house smell great.  First you need to grill the sausage links.  They do not have to be cooked all the way through though because they will finish cooking in the crock pot.  Then cut up some peppers and onions.  Add those, the sausage links, and a can of tomatoes to the crock pot.  Throw in some red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.  Slow cook all day on low.  Enjoy!

Sausage sandwich with peppers & onions.

*Recipe courtesy of my sister, Sarah.

Healthy Eating

All this talk about food makes me think about what I am eating compared to what I should be eating.  My roommate, Julia, and I were discussing our eating habits and decided that they aren't bad, but could be a lot better.  Julia began some research and came across a website that I wanted to share with all of you.  It is www.choosemyplate.gov.  On the homepage, it shows you what should be on your plate everyday.  You can click on the different sections and it gives you all kinds of tips, including recipes.  The website also explains to you, in depth, the eight different food groups.  It is good to know what you are eating and which category it falls into.  I hope you all find this website as helpful as I have! 

A Taste of Chicago

So I have to be honest... I am not a good cook, nor do I enjoy cooking.  I just simply love to eat.  There are a few things that I can make really well, but for the most part I kind of stink at it.  Fortunately for me, I am surrounded by people who love to cook and are extremely good at it.  I grew up with my dad, Harry, cooking different and delicious meals every night.  Both of my older sisters, Elizabeth and Sarah, are good cooks.  I can't even begin to explain how good of a cook my grandmother is.  The woman spends more hours in her kitchen than anywhere else!  My roommate, Julia, also has a knack for cooking.  Tonight, she is making us Chicago hotdogs; a recipe we got from my dad.  It is a regular hotdog in a bun, but topped with mustard, tomatoes, onions, pickles, relish, and a pinch of celery salt.  They are to die for and so simple to make (even I can do it).

*TIP: Add potato chips as a side!*

Chicago hotdogs with chips

NFL Kickoff Weekend

Today is game day.  The Philadelphia Eagles, my favorite team, are playing the St. Louis Rams.  The third quarter just began and my stomach is rumbling.  Food is a staple item during a football game, especially in my family.  Sunday's take on a whole new meaning when football season begins.  It is suddenly a day for family, friends and food.  My roommate, Julia, and I began a tradition of going over to my sister's house every Sunday for what we call, "family dinner."  It becomes even more important when football begins.  Today, we will be having homemade Buffalo Chicken Stromboli.  My brother-in-law, Chantz, first made this for us last year.  Since then, it has become a family dinner favorite.  The combination of spicy buffalo chicken, orange peppers and mushrooms baked in between homemade bread is to die for.  What are some other game day favorites?  Wings, chips & dip, pizza, veggie trays, hot dogs and hamburgers are just a few that come to mind.  And of course beer!  Below are the recipes for the dough and then the stromboli itself.  Happy football and happy eating!


Pizza Dough
5c bread flour
2c semolina flour
1T fine sea salt
2- 1/4 oz packets of active dry yeast
1T raw sugar
4T olive oil 
2 1/2c luke warm water


Directions: Sift flour & salt together; Mix yeast, sugar, olive oil & water, let bloom.  Bring flour & yeast together until smooth, knead.  Place dough in flour-dusted bowl, flour top, let rise until doubled in size.  Remove onto flour-dusted surface, knead to remove air; divide into 4 portions.


Buffalo Sauce
4T butter
8T hot sauce
1t minced garlic
2 dashes of worcestershire sauce


Directions: Melt butter; add garlic, hot sauce, and worcestershire sauce.  Heat through.


Stromboli
1- 8oz package of pizza blend cheese
1 red bell pepper
4oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms
1 rotisserie chicken (picked apart)
olive oil


Directions: Saute mushrooms and chopped bell pepper in olive oil; mix with chicken and hot sauce in a bowl.  Stretch pizza dough into a circle; lay down a layer of cheese.  Place chicken mixture and add another layer of cheese; fold dough over and crimp ends.  Brush top of stromboli lightly with olive oil; poke holes in top for ventilation.  Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes.  Yields two stromboli's.


Recipe courtesy of my brother-in-law, Chantz Beck.


*TIP FROM THE CHEF: The recipe for the dough yields four pizzas.  Freeze other two for later use.