Welcome Home

Yes, this post is weeks late. But this meal deserved a post, and I couldn't deprive it just because of my own majorly behindness. This beautiful plate is the dinner that the boy made the day I came back from a long weekend away with my family that he didn't come to. It was probably one of the best dinners ever. And I'm not just saying that. Just look at it, its gorgeous! Under all those mango and pepper pieces is salmon and those potatoes have celery chipped to tiny bits mixed in. I would NEVER have thought of such a thing, but I must say they were by far the best mashed potatoes I have ever tasted. And I like mashed potatoes. And have tasted many kinds. But these were so good and not like any I have ever had before. And then on the other side is beans and carrots, and to be honest I don't entirely remember how they were made, but I think with a little syrup or something. I remember they were good too, because everything was just delicious.

Nothing is better than fresh vegetables in every aspect of the meal. And the colors just make it look so good, and good for you. I don't usually think to use things like red peppers with mango, yet it worked perfectly. He is so smart and intuitive in his cooking it amazes me. 

Oh this was waiting for me too. Oh I never told you how much he's the best before? Well now you know. Adorable flowers handpicked from outside.

Did I Ever Post This?

I found this picture of some pasta I made when I went home for a weekend a while ago. I don't think I ever posted it! Me and my friend from home made this, mostly just because it took soo long that she was coming over to hang out and I still wasn't done so I made her help :) This is the second time I made pasta from scratch, but the other time I made smaller square pieces, this time I wanted long and skinny. Easier said than done! I didn't have a pasta maker or anything so I had to roll out each piece and slice them! Luckily my friend is a perfectionist and very detail-oriented, because neither of those are really something you could call me and both are necessary for making this! We had to slice them all and then let them sit to dry a little and sprinkle with flour so it won't all stick together and then finally cook it. My dad made the sauce. It was something he found in a Bon Appetit or a cookbook or something I think. Anyways, it took forever but was delicious. I want to try pasta from scratch again sometime. I think it will be easier the third time!

Stuffed Shells

I have had shells stuffed with ricotta cheese and sauce multiple times before.  My mother makes them at home sometimes. But I have never made them with anything else inside. Honestly, while being jumbo shells, they are still pretty small, and after being cooked they are also pretty delicate. Stuffing them with anything else seemed like it might be more trouble then it was worth. (Plus I love them with ricotta!) But while at the store once the boyfriend picked out a box of shells and said he wanted to make stuffed shells with meat. Obviously I was not going to discourage this. I love when he gets excited to cook something. I don't think he ever did it before, and I'm not really sure where he got the idea or if he just thought of it on the spot or what, but we went to get ground meat right away.

I must admit two things. #1, yes this is really his meal, I really didn't make it at all, though I did help. The credit is all his. And #2, we ended up eating the meat in a different dinner before we ever had time to make this dish... That's why this took so long to actually get made, we had to wait til we went back to the store and got more!

They were delicious though. I helped cook the pasta, taking them out before they were all the way done so they wouldn't be too soft. I also seasoned the meat because I am the expert on that :) and he absolutely loves my burgers so he wanted me to make the meat for these to be just like them. Then he put it in a pan to cook it a little (because it would take forever for it to cook all the way through in the oven when it was already stuffed in the shells) and added some crushed tomatoes to make it a little saucier and stuffed every single shell with it. Grated tons of cheese on top, and put more of the crushed tomatoes on top as sauce. And then more cheese!

Baked it all in the oven at probably around 350/400 until the cheese was all melted and meat was warm and cooked all the way through. Then of course they have to cool for a while because they are steamy hot and will burn your mouth!

Chickpea Salad

I just need to begin by saying this was the absolute best salad/beans/almost anything I have ever made.

I happened to actually have a bunch of vegetables from the last time at the grocery store and wanted to do something different with them. I had no lettuce but wanted a salad-like kind of dish. I was IMing my friend while we were both at work (as usual... shh!) and discussing random exciting things such as what I could make for dinner and she mentioned that she had made a vegetable salad with some kind of beans once. I had chickpeas in the pantry and had been waiting to make something great with them. They are my favorite bean to have cold and have such flavor and texture that they can totally be the substantial ingredient in a salad to make it a meal. 

I chopped tomatoes, onions, avocado, and cheddar cheese into small bits. Add salt and pepper and I think I put a little oil and red wine vinegar and then a tiny drop of caesar dressing except there was not really any left in the bottle. But honestly, even just the vegetables themselves are all so flavorful and juicy that when they got mixed together I realized it didn't really need much dressing and I stopped putting stuff on it. But the little bit that I had put on probably did add to it. 

It was so delicious and actually filling, because of the beans, that the boyfriend (who had told me beforehand that he didn't like chickpeas) gobbled it up so quickly that he had no room leftover for the pasta I had also made to go with it. Luckily the pasta was still good when he was ready for his second dinner a few hours later. (oh, boys.)

Mac and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese with cheddar, gouda, and parmesan. need I say more? Obviously the best thing you have ever had. This is probably one of the first things that I remember making all by myself for my family. Like as a real recipe that I looked up and then went out and bought ingredients for and everything. And that everyone loved and praised and talked about for a week. In fact that's probably why I kept on cookin! Ha no I don't really remember, but I just remember the first time I made it and it was so good. Now, as with most of the things I make you may have noticed, I don't really use a recipe anymore and it's still just as good. You can use whatever cheese you want basically, and I used light cream in trying to be slightly less unhealthy that this usually would be with heavy cream. 

So you start with a little cream in a saucepan. If I had to say, probably about 2 cups? I'm bad with estimation. A little less than half of a small container of cream I think I use. And then put a little flour in with it, just a few sprinkles, you can always add more. Keep stirring it in until it thickens. Then add in the cheeses, shredded just because that helps them melt in better. A little salt and pepper and italian seasonings never hurt either. Keep adding cheese little at a time until it gets thick, how thick is really up to you and how cheesy you like it. Real mac and cheese is pretty thick so each bite is pretty well coated with cheese sauce, but you can easily make it a little lighter by making it thinner.

Oh sometimes I put in a few sprinkles of breadcrumbs too, to thicken it up a little more without adding more cheese. It also adds a little more flavor, since I have the pre-seasoned Italian herb breadcrumbs. The starch in the crumbs must basically do the same thing as flour because it works almost just as well. I think I learned that by happy accident once when I had no flour and was trying to thicken a sauce at the boyfriends apartment. Speaking of whom, the smoked gouda, which he absolutely loves plain, and I put in here for the hearty smoky taste it adds, was too much for him. Be careful if you put gouda in yours because it is very rich, you only need a little. (Although I love a lot!)

Rice and Beans

We have decided to eat beans and rice. First off, they are very good for you. Also, they are very cheap.  A can of beans is about a dollar and a bag of rice lasts for weeks. Not to mention tasty. Me, being from an Italian/Jewish family, I grew up eating mostly meat and pastas and sometimes fish. Never had beans, unless it was the rare occasion that we had tacos for dinner, which I can remember happening probably less than 5 times in my life. My boyfriend, on the other hand, while never cooking them for me until now, always has a few bags of dried beans and a sack of rice on hand that his mother sends him periodically. Over time the stash has built up, because as I said he never cooks them. But they are one of his families staples, and they have them a lot at home. Apparently it is a very common meal in his part of Africa. And I can see why.

Part of me feels a little cheated that I was never exposed to beans and rice sooner. All this time that I could have been enjoying this simple, delicious, cheap dinner and I had no idea! From now on I have decided it is one of my go-to meals for the week, and I want to eat it often. I started out with a very simple dish, although I hope to find more interesting and different takes on rice and beans. I must admit, boyfriend did have to help me make this, since I was pretty ignorant on the ways of rice and beans. We got some spices for them that he knew of although I was always tempted to throw in garlic powder and italian seasonings and call it a day (someday I will tell you about how Italian I can make couscous be...), I wanted it to be a little more traditional for my first time :) 

We also got the first corn of the summer and some sweet potatoes to go with, as you can see in the pic. 

Steak with Garlic Herb Butter

This was from kind of a while ago now... I'm getting a little behind in posting. But this was the most delicious steak I have ever made. I went to Shaws and got 4 huge steaks for about $8 cuz some of the boys friends were coming for dinner. 

College boy athletes can eat quite a lot, let me tell you. (See above!)

So anyways, I got these huge steaks and seasoned them up. Coked them in pans on the stove and put large dollops of garlic herb butter (butter mixed with pressed garlic and basil and some italian seasoning) on top. Yum. Probably not the exact healthiest thing possible but it tasted mighty good. Also the boy helped me make some delicious buttermilk mashed potatoes because for some reason we had some buttermilk left over from something. Sooo good. 

Crispy Tofu and Rice

As most children, I hated tofu when I was little. I did not like it and I would put up a fit when my mom made it and tried to get me to eat it. But over the years I have grown to like it certain ways, when it's cooked well and with other good things. The texture still sometimes weirds me out, which is why I like it best tasty, thin and crispy, so the tofu-ness is as unnoticeable as possible. I know, I know, why bother even eating tofu if I am trying to make it as untofulike possible, but it is nice to just have something different once in a while, and honestly it is a lot cheaper than a package of meat for dinner...

So as usual, I looked up a lot of different recipes for making crispy tofu and then kind of made it up myself. I first patted it dry as you are supposed to do with tofu apparently, and then sliced it into thin squares and coated it in seasoned corn flour. I fried it in sesame oil. Oh and also tried to get some real sesame seeds to stick to them too. Fried em up in the pan until the outsides where dark and crispy and then mixed the rice into the same pan, adding a little more oil and soy sauce and more seeds to make it sort of asian fried riceish.

All in all, I was pretty proud of it. The boyfriend had a few pieces and then couldn't do any more, but considering his former sentiment on tofu (insisted he would never even taste tofu because he hated it for no reason that could be explained) I was still pretty happy with it. He admitted that it tasted good, but some of his old tofu grudge was still there apparently and he just couldn't have more than a few pieces. Luckily I made a lot of rice.

Crispy Honey Mustard Chicken

So there is this honey mustard that they have at the dining hall sometimes, only with certain things like chicken fingers, but I am basically obsessed with it. The regular kind is not nearly as good. The kind they have out with the salad for example, is ok but not the same. I don't know why they have this one special kind once in a while only for chicken fingers, but it is the best thing in the world. I sometimes had people swipe me into the dining hall (since I didn't have a meal plan because I live off campus and cook) just in case they will have this honey mustard that day. It definitely makes my day when they do. So anyways, you can imagine my excitement when I saw the grown up version of my chicken fingers with honey mustard, and the overly long amount of time I spent in the grocery store picking out the mustard hoping it would be similar to the one I love (which is always already poured into a dish that you scoop it out of and never in a bottle allowing me to just see what it actually is..) 

It ended up really almost perfect. The mustard was so close to the one and with everything else on this chicken just really did the job perfectly. It didn't take long to make either. I used chicken thighs because they were a lot cheaper than breasts, and they were fine. I just cooked the chickens with a little seasoning until they were basically cooked on the outside, then smeared the mustard which was mixed with butter all over them, covering with bread crumbs. Then put them in the oven to cook all the way through and when they are, smother with sauce which is cream and chicken broth that have been cooked down in the pan with more mustard added. Yum.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I love hamburgers as much as the next girl (and you will probably see them on here sooner or later, especially with the summer coming on full force) but I also have been trying to incorporate more veggies into my meals and be healthier because it is so easy to just have a bowl of pasta or a piece of chicken every night without any sides when I get home late and am always in a rush. Not to mention fresh produce is often pretty expensive.. But I'm trying, especially for the summer when the vegetables look so good and fresh and I can't resist buying some. 

Enter the stuffed pepper. Basically hamburger in a big, bright pepper instead of a bun. My grandma showed me how to make these once and it's really so simple and yet so different. My mom also makes them sometimes so it almost feels like some kind of family recipe, even though the grandma who makes them is my dads mother.. I think she is the one who taught my mom them too though. 

Anywayss. I decided to try it, for the reasons I already mentioned: the peppers looked to good in the store, burgers sounded so yummy and summery, and to make veggies a main part of the meal. I also though this would be a good way to get the boyfriend to eat some vegetables because he loves hamburgers but is not so keen on vegetables usually. 

I got four peppers and the larger package of ground beef, I think it was about 2 pounds. I figured I could just turn the leftover into a regular burger if there was leftovers which is exactly what happened. I personally like red and orange peppers the best, but got a green one too just because they looked so nice all together. All you do is slice off the top of the pepper and take out the seeds and stuff the meat inside. The meat is mixed with an egg, a little bit of breadcrumbs (both of which make it stick together and add flavor), crushed garlic along with some garlic powder, salt, pepper, and any other random seasonings, I think I used a few sprinkles of italian seasoning. Mix it all up real good but not too much and pack it into the peppers. Squeeze in as much as possible because it sort of settles in as it cooks and the juices come out. I put it in a pan with some aluminum foil on top so the tops wouldn't burn and then took the foil off at the end so they could get browned. They take a while to cook because of the amount of meat and how much its packed in there. Just keep checking until it is cooked in the middle. Serve with the little tops perched on top like hats.

Pasta Puttanesca with Shrimp

I decided to spice things up a little the other night and make a more exciting pasta. This was created with lots of crushed red pepper, as well as tomatoes, capers, chopped kalamata olives, and some baby shrimp I had in the freezer. At the last minute I also added in some slices of spicy sausage of my roommates that she wanted me to use up for her. It added just the right amount of extra spice. Not a very saucy sauce, but it had so much flavor that it worked well. 

Summer Pizza

 I have been wanting to make pizza for a really long time. I love homemade pizza, with fresh toppings. But I never feel like I have the time to prepare the dough and allow it to rise, and quite frankly never feel like it will come out right in my little apartment kitchen that has a way of drying everything out before you even notice it’s happening. So ever since I saw the yummy looking pre-made dough in plastic bags at Trader Joes a few weeks ago I have been dreaming about getting one and trying it. I have only used pre-made dough a few times, but it just seems unimaginably easy and too good to pass up the opportunity for semi-homemade pizza. So last sunday (where has the time gone?!) I finally got a bag of the kind with herbs mixed in, and a ball of mozzarella, along with some sausages and a container of small tomatoes (of course the first time I was going to buy tomatoes so far this summer there weren’t any) and rushed home to get started.

  Spreading out the pizza dough is surprisingly difficult without a rolling pin (add that to the ever-growing list of kitchen supplies I still need to get). I could not get it flat or even with my hands and resorted to using an empty wine bottle covered in flour.. who knew how handy my roommates lack of cleaning up could be? At first I was afraid the dough would be too wet and sticky to get out of the bag but it actually wasn’t difficult. Ended up with a more square than round pizza but that really makes no difference. Coated it with a thin layer of sauce, followed by crushed garlic and slices of the tomatoes, sausages and cheese. Ended up also throwing on some shredded cheddar I found in the fridge along with some grated parmesan. You can never have too much cheese. Sprinkled with oregano and spices and viola. 

 The bag said to cook 6-8 minutes, and I don’t know if maybe my oven wasn’t all the way preheated or something, but it actually took much longer. Still not very long, but definitely more towards 15-20 minutes before it was really cooked through. Although this again could have been partly due to the make-shift rolling pin situation, through the crust didn’t end up seeming too thick at all. 

All in all it came out pretty delicious. I finally got my pizza, and the fresh toppings just made it feel so summery and delicious. And not I know that bagged dough is really not bad and makes a quick and easy pizza I’m sure to make again.

mmm..

Salmon with Lime and Peppers Glaze

My boyfriend made salmon the other night and it was so good I had to post it on here. First of all, it just looked so beautiful and summery, from the red and yellow peppers that he chopped up for the glaze. They were chopped so small that they were truly just part of the glaze, they didn’t stand out at all as peppers. The lime gave it such a delicious tangy taste mixed with the sweetness of the peppers that just made the fish so yummy. I’m not entirely sure exactly what else he did with it but it was really good and looked great. He always makes the best salmon.. sometime I will have him make his almond-encrusted salmon again and photograph and post it.