About Me Section

I'm not sure how to make it different from our family blog, cause I put all that info on our family blog and now it shows up on here! I dunno, but I apologize!

Update

For those few followers who have been waiting on a new post, I apologize. As some of you know I'm pregnant. And that means the sight of food makes me hurl. Haha. So I will not be cooking, or eating anything blog worthy for the next few months. My diet lately consists of popsicles, crackers, and cheeseburgers. Well balanced, I know. So hopefully after these next few months I'll be back to cooking!

My Girl, Paula: Fast and Furious Thai Chicken Pizza

Most of your probably already have heard me mention the fact that I just love Paula Deen! I joined a blog called My Girl, Paula, which is where members make Paula's recipes and they are posted on the site after being posted on the members own blog. So, here is my first recipe! Although, I did make Paula's pork chop with cranberry mustard sauce for Christmas dinner, I wasn't a member of this site yet. This was really yummy! Paula's original recipe can be found here, but since I made this spur of the moment I tweaked it a little and used a different type of sauce and also made mine mini!

Recipe:
6 rhodes frozen dinner rolls
1/4 cup bbq sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
1/4 cup scallions
1 carrot, grated
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
chopped peanuts and cilantro for garnish if your heart so desires

Proof the rolls according to package directions on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. After they have risen, flatten them into circles about 4 inches in diameter. Mix bbq sauce, peanut butter and soy sauce in a small bowl. For the chicken, you can boil a chicken breast, used canned chicken, or a rotisserie, whichever may be more convenient for you. Evenly spread sauce onto dough. Top with chicken, carrots, scallions and cheese. Bake in the oven at 400 for about 10 minutes. or until cheese is melted.

Sushi Sunday

This was sooo much fun and soooo good! I LOVE sushi! We decided we would make up some rolls to eat while watching the game and decided every Sunday would be sushi Sunday, with different rolls each Sunday. Since this was our first go round, we stuck with pretty common ingredients. Plus, there were some newbie sushi eaters and we didn't want to scare them away! Going along with the "budget" aspect of this blog... It is thought that sushi is expensive, which it is if you get it at a restaurant. Prices vary from 7-17 dollars a roll. We made 10 rolls and all of the ingredients cost us around 23 bucks. And we didn't even use half of the avocado or cucumber or crab. So, this is a great way to eat sushi on a budget, make it yourself! I wish I would have taken a picture of the spicy mayo since its so yummy and my favorite sauce! I'll put up the recipe though. I'll try me best with listing ingredients and such, since we didn't really measure stuff out. Here goes...

Recipe:
short grain white rice (we cooked ours in the rice cooker on sushi setting)
sushi seasoning packet (I totally forgot to grab the name of it before I threw it out, but this can
be found in Asian markets. Or look for sushi vinegar.)
nori seaweed sheets (packages usually come with 10 sheets, which would make 10 rolls)
small package imitation crab stick, pulled into thin pieces
small package cooked baby shrimp
cucumber, cut into thin sticks
Avocado, thinly sliced
flying fish roe, also known as tobiko

Cook rice, whichever way you please. Put rice in baking dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle seasoning mix onto rice until it tastes as sweet as you wish. Let the rice cool. Spread a thin layer of rice over the nori. Place ingredients in thin lines horizontally on top of rice. You won't need a lot of each ingredient for each roll (maybe 3 pieces of cucumber, 3 pieces avocado, 7 baby shrimp..) Start at bottom of nori and roll the sheet tightly upward. Place the roll seem down. Use a very sharp knife to cut the roll into one inch sections. Repeat until you've made as many rolls as you'd like.

Spicy Mayo:
1 cup mayo
4 Tbsp sriracha (the chili sauce with the rooster on the label)

Mix mayo and sriracha together. Add more sriracha to taste, or lessen it if you don't like it too spicy.


Now I realize this wasn't SUPER helpful in teaching you to make sushi. I guess I am just more accustomed to it since I've worked in a sushi restaurant and I'm a little more familiar with seeing it made and how much goes into each roll. Here is a good website that shows step by step how to roll the sushi, since my instructions are not that beneficial. They use a bamboo mat to roll their sushi, but I've never used one so it can be done without! Also, you can leave out or add ANY ingredient you want when making sushi. We made 10 different rolls, and in some we put other things and in some we left out other things, its all up to you! One last thing, if the whole rolling idea wont work for you, hand rolls are a great way to enjoy sushi without it looking fancy. This website shows you how to make them, super easy! Wow, now that that is all said, I'll be adding more posts on other roll combinations we come up with...stay tuned!

Texas Pinwheels

Corny name, right? Oh well. I figured, I live in Texas, they have that Tex-Mex flavor to them and they are pinwheels...so why not Texas pinwheels? These are super easy to make and great to leave out as finger food for game day! Or any day for that matter :)

Recipe:
1 package flour tortillas
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 chopped tomato
2 chopped green onions
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken (I boiled mine, but you could use canned)
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper

Combine all of the ingredients (minus the tortillas) in a large mixing bowl. Spread a spoonful or two of mixture over tortillas. Roll up burrito style and place on tray or baking dish. Chill in refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Cut tortilla rolls into one inch sections. Place on tray and serve!

Peaunut Butter Cookies

I don't remember ever making peanut butter cookies and maybe they are suppose to be this easy, but I'm shocked at how easy these things were! Oh, and don't mind my baking pan, it has gotten a lot of love over the years. Anyway, it was super gloomy and rainy here today and so I decided some cookies might brighten my day...and widen my butt, although I really wasn't so stoked about the latter. Oh well! I came across this recipe at kraft and thought it seemed fairly simple enough to fix my cookie craving! These are now my go to cookies when I need something last minute to bring to someones house or just want a cookie fix. Seriously, in less than 20 minutes these things were mixed, flattened, baked and ready to eat!

Recipe:
1 egg
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (I left these out, I don't care for nuts)

Mix egg until foamy. Add in rest of ingredients and mix well. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Take a fork and flatten each ball of dough making a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

Meatless Monday - Open Faced Tofu Burger With Baked French Fries

This was my first attempt at a tofu burger. I had some left over and really just didn't know what to do with it. I figured just treat it like ground beef...right? Also, I apologize for the slice of bread, I realized we were out of buns after I started making this. Oh well! This was pretty tasty, not one of my favorites though. Cameron really liked it, which was SUPER surprising. I was afraid to even tell him what it was before he ate it in fear he would just not eat dinner! This was also my first attempt at baked fries. Next time I'll probably just lightly fry them in a skillet with some olive oil to make them a little crunchier. The mushrooms and onions on top really did a lot for the burger! Perhaps someone has a tried and true GOOD tofu burger recipe. Send it my way if you do :)

Recipe:

**I made this for two, feel free to double or triple for more!**

Open Faced Tofu Burger
1/2 package firm tofu mashed up
1 egg
1/2 cup cracker crumbs
1/2 zucchini shredded
1/2 carrot shredded
1 Tbsp lite soy sauce
1 Tbsp minced garlic
salt
pepper

2 slices of bread (or hamburger bun!)
2 slices swiss cheese
mayo
mustard
1/4 onion
1/2 cup mushrooms

Mix the first list of ingredients in a large bowl. Make into two patties and cook in skillet for about 7 minutes on each side. Melt cheese on top of burgers for last 2 minutes. In a separate skillet or sauce pan, cook onions and mushrooms until tender and juices have rendered. When everything is done, assemble on bread with mayo and mustard. Feel free to add your other favorite "burger" toppings.

Baked French Fries

2 peeled Idaho potatoes
salt
pepper
cumin
garlic powder
cayenne pepper
ground mustard
olive oil

Cut potatoes into sticks. Mix seasoning in a bowl. You can use what you like according to your tastes. I like my fries with lots of flavor! Coat potato sticks with olive oil and lay on baking sheet. Sprinkle on seasoning. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Now I realize this probably isn't one of the meals, but who says the foods I blog about have to be AMAZING? That would be ideal, I realize that. But perhaps this will inspire someone to make something similar or completely different and that could end up tasting GREAT. In the end, it's a learning experience!

Garlic Garlic Seasoning

I know this isn't anything I cooked, but I just have to share. This seasoning is SO good. Over the holidays I tasted some cracker dip made with this seasoning and just fell in love. I had never heard of Tastefully Simple until just a few weeks ago. Since then I have tried quite a few different things and nothing leaves a bad taste in your mouth! This seasoning can be used to make dip, garlic bread or for just everyday cooking. If you'd like to know more information, feel free to contact my friend and sales consultant, Erica Alderman-Macht at erika@tastefullytx.com.

Other Products I love From Tastefully Simple:
Spinach and Artichoke Warm Dip Mix
Sweet Pepper and Jalapeno Jam
Bountiful Beer Bread Mix

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

I don't even know what I was looking for when this recipe popped up for baked cheese sticks on Allrecipes.com. I didn't even know baked cheese sticks were doable! Cameron LOOOOVES mozz cheese sticks. I didn't have what the recipe called for so I came up with the following recipe. I made these for Cameron and he LOVED them, as did I. I can already tell I'm going to be making these often. We both agreed they weren't as crunchy as fried ones, but they had way more flavor! And the cheese was the perfect consistency! These would be good snacks for watchin the game or with a nice juicy burger!

Recipe:
8 mozzarella sticks (string cheese)
1/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp garlic powder
salt
pepper
2 eggs
2 Tbsp water
1 packet parmesan flavored shake and bake (this has so many good flavors in it already!)

Place flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. In a seperate bowl, beat the eggs and water. In the third bowl place the shake and bake. First coat the cheese stick in flour, then egg, then shake and bake. Place in a shallow baking dish. Repeat until all the cheese sticks are done. Let them sit for at least 30 minutes. This allows the coating to harden so cheese does not leak out when baked. Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.

Homemade Veggie Manicotti

So this goes against my not taking much time rule, cause this does take quite awhile!! I came across this recipe for homemade manicotti noodles and thought I would give it a whirl. They turned out really good, and they are SO easy. Time consuming, but easy! I ended up with wayyyyy more noodles than I thought, so I will be making more of this soon, mixing up the fillings. This time I chose to go with a veggie and cheese filling.



Recipe:

Noodles:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp salt

Mix ingredients in a large bowl. Heat skillet over medium high heat. Spray with cooking spray and spoon 1/8 of a cup of mixture into middle of skillet. Tilt skillet in a circle so batter spreads out and forms a thin circle. Cook for 2 minutes on one side, flip and cook another 1 minute. Remove from pan and place on plate. Repeat process until all batter is used up. The noodles can be stacked on top of one another, they will not stick. Makes about 24 noodles.

Filling:
1 15 oz container ricotta cheese
1 package frozen spinach
2 grated zucchinis
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 chopped onion
3 Tbsp garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil

Cook spinach according to package directions. Squeeze excess water out. Place in large boil. Add cheese to spinach. Heat skillet with olive oil over medium high heat. Place remaining ingredients into skillet and cook until tender. When done, add to bowl with spinach and cheese. Mix everything together.

Sauce:
1 jar pasta sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 onion
2 Tbsp minced garlic

Cook onions and garlic in skillet over medium high heat. Add pasta sauce and water. Stir together.

Now for the Assembly!!! Coat the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cover the bottom with sauce. Take noodles and place 2-3 spoonfuls of mixture into center. Roll up like a burrito and place seem side down in baking dish. When done, top manicotti with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and top with mozzarella cheese. Cover with tin foil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Sweet Shrimp

I could seriously eat this EVERYDAY for the rest of my life, it's just that good!!! And since Texas lost to Alabama last night (sad, sad day), I needed some good food to console myself and thought this to be the PERFECT choice! If you've ever had walnut shrimp with the creamy sauce, this is basically that minus the walnuts. You're probably thinking I am crazy since most peoples favorite part is the walnuts but I'm just not a fan. The sauce on the other hand I just LOVE. This recipe is so simple and doesn't take long at all!

Recipe:
1 lb peeled raw shrimp (I used 26/30 count)
1 cup vegetable oil (Or enough to coat the bottom of the skillet)
2/3 cup cornstarch
salt
pepper
1/4 cup miracle whip (usually this is made with mayo, but I prefer the tang in the whip!)
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup uncooked white rice

Begin cooking rice to package directions. Put shrimp, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a bag. Shake to coat. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. While that is heating, begin to heat miracle whip, sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice in saucepan. When the oil is heated, put shrimp in skillet one at a time so they are separate. Fry for a minute or two then flip over to fry other side. This should only take a few minutes until shrimp are pink and crispy. Remove shrimp from skillet and place on paper towel to remove excess grease. Add shrimp to saucepan to coat with sauce. Serve with hot white rice.

Some do equal parts sweetened condensed milk and miracle whip (or mayo), but I prefer mine a little sweeter. This would have been SO good with some broccoli...I swear this sauce goes good with everything! But like I stated in a previous post, the grocery store didn't have any and I just couldn't wait to make this! This will keep me tide over till I make the hour and twenty minute drive to Din Ho again.

Lite Caesar Salad with Sauteed Shrimp

This is SUCH a good way to dress up a simple caesar salad. Yes, I was lazy and used bagged salad. But, the shrimp were so good and way better than the ever so common grilled chicken that's added to caesar salads. And might I add it took about 5 minutes total to make this. You can't beat that! Garlic bread sticks would pair good with this too, I just didn't have any on hand.

Recipe:
1 bag lite caesar salad mix
1/2 pound raw shrimp (I used 26/30 count)
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika
parmesan cheese

Mix greens, dressing and croutons together in a bowl. Heat oil in skillet with minced garlic. Add lemon juice and shrimp. Saute for a few minutes until they are just opaque. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. When shrimp are done, add to salad. Top with parmesan cheese to tasta.

Meatless Monday - Tofu Veggie Stir Fry

After last week's Meatless Monday, I actually found the website dedicated to this "movement." You can read all about it at their website here. According to their website, going meatless not only has health benefits but environmentalist benefits too! These include, reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease, maintaining a healthy weight, minimizing water usage, and reducing your carbon footprint.

Surprisingly, I couldn't decide on which meatless meal I should make. At first, the thought of having a meatless meal seemed almost impossible, atleast in my household. I then decided on a stir-fry. Since this is the first meal I've actually cooked in 2010, I figured why not make it a healthy one. Lots of veggies, some tofu for protein and of course white rice. I would have added broccoli, but there was none at the store, so here's my almost complete stir fry!

Recipe:
1 zucchini, sliced thinly then quartered
1 cup baby carrots sliced thinly (regular carrots would work too, I just like baby ones!)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 block of tofu cut into small cubes
1/2 onion, diced
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
4 Tbsp stir fry sauce (you could use more, I just don't like mine too saucy)
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 Tbsp oil

Start rice and cook according to package directions. While rice is cooking, heat wok or skillet over medium high heat. While pan is heating, prepare the vegetables and tofu. Add oil to pan along with onions and cook for a minute. Then add garlic and carrots and cook for another few minutes. Next add mushrooms, zucchini and tofu and cook until vegetables are tender which should only take a minute. Add soy and stir fry sauce. Make sure all vegetables and tofu are coated with sauce. When rice is done, serve over white rice.

Some make thing stir fry dishes are intimidating, but they really aren't! They take only minutes to cook after preparing the vegetables and protein. It's super important to preheat the pan and keep it hot while cooking.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Balls

These were the perfect treat for our New Year's Eve get together! Keeping with the hors d'oeuvres and appetizer theme, these were placed along side the meatballs, cheese and crackers and so on for people to just pick up and pop in their mouth as they were walking by. I had the hardest time coming up with a individual dessert recipe until I stumbled upon these tasty little bites. I then put my own little spin on it and created pineapple upside down cake balls! They were so yummy, almost better than regular pineapple upside down cake! These do take some time, but it is definitely worth it!

Recipe:
1 box pineapple supreme cake mix
1 can of sprite (to use in place of eggs, oil and water)
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1 can pineapple chunks
1 jar maraschino cherries
toothpicks

Melt the butter and brown sugar together and spread on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Mix cake batter and sprite together and pour on top of butter/brown sugar mixture. Bake cake according to time on box. Let it cool for a few hours or overnight if possible. When cooled, crumble cake into bowl. Mix in pineapple juice from can until cake is moist. Roll cake mixture into 1-2 inch balls and place on wax paper. Cut pineapple chunks and maraschino cherries into smaller pieces. Place one piece of pineapple and one piece of cherry on top of cake ball and secure with a toothpick. This makes between 36-48 cake balls depending on size of ball.

These can be done in SO many cake combos! This will be my new go to dessert treat for parties or BBQs.

Din Ho Chinese BBQ

There couldn't have been a better way to ring in the new year than having a family style Chinese meal! I of course did not cook this meal, rather the fine cooks at Din Ho Chinese BBQ in Austin, Texas took care of that part for us! About 15 of us, 3 kids included all went there on New Years Day. For most of our group it wasn't their first experience at Din Ho, but for Cameron and I it was. and OH MY GOD, this place was AMAZING! (For those of you back home in Fairbanks, it kind of reminded me of Pagoda). The service was outstanding and super fast. It couldn't have been 5 minutes after we placed our order that food started pouring out of the kitchen. Some of the dishes we had included: Walnut Shrimp (my personal favorite), Shrimp with Lobster Sauce, Sesame Chicken, Hot and Sour Soup, Beef with Broccoli, Kung Pao Chicken and a ton more. None of the dishes were disappointing!



If you're ever in the Austin area I highly recommend coming to Din Ho!! I know I will be back there soon!