Sunday February 3, 2013

In honor of Superbowl Sunday, I made two of my favorite foods to have while tailgating-salsa and spinach artichoke dip. I'll start with the salsa recipe first-Time: 15 minutes. Ingredients used: 3 Roma tomatoes chopped, 1/2 red onion chopped, 2 jalapenos chopped (without the seeds), 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, a little less than 1 tablespoon of cilantro (stems removed), and a few sprinkles of oregano. Directions: Put the tomatoes in a mixing bowl (without the seeds), and add the onions, jalapenos, cilantro, lemon juice and oregano together and mix really well. That's it! Seriously, how easy is it to make salsa? Serve with Doritos or Tostitos chips. 

Spinach artichoke dip-Time: about 25 minutes. Ingredients used: artichoke hearts from 1 artichoke (I used an actual artichoke, but a can of artichoke hearts works just as well), 1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese, a 16 ounce package of frozen spinach (thawed), 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 an onion chopped, 3 garlic cloves chopped, a few sprinkles of ground pepper and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Directions: put artichoke hearts in a mixer bowl and pulse until they're chopped. Remove from mixer bowl. Put the cottage cheese in the same mixer bowl (without the artichoke hearts) and process until smooth. Now heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add in the onion and garlic and saute. Now add in the spinach, chopped artichokes and pepper. Cook until warm. Next, turn heat on low and add in the cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese and stir until all the cheese melts. When done, put spinach artichoke dip into a serving dish and enjoy! Tip: I ate my spinach artichoke dip with crackers, but my boyfriend had a pretty good idea. He suggested taking a round loaf of bread and cutting a big hole in the middle and adding in the spinach artichoke dip in and eating it that way. Sounds tasty to me!

For dinner I went the more traditional route and made Chicken Parmesan. Time: 15 minutes. Ingredients used: a little less than 1/2 package of spaghetti, 1 chicken breast, 1 slice of Parmesan cheese, and marinara sauce. Directions: Heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a pot, bring water to a boil and add spaghetti. When your oven reaches the correct temperature, put the slice of cheese onto of your chicken and bake for about 10 minutes. Put spaghetti on a plate, pour some marinara sauce on and top with the chicken. 

Happy Cooking!

Saturday February 2, 2013

For dinner I made a mixed greens salad with lemon basil tilapia. I was in the mood for fish (I'm from FL) but I didn't want to do the regular fish and rice. Time: 15 minutes. Ingredients used: mixed greens, 1/2 a Roma tomato cut up, 1 tilapia filet, 1/2 cup of lemon juice, and slightly more than 1 teaspoon of basil. Directions: Make your mixed greens salad first and add the cut up Roma tomato. Pour a 1/2 cup of lemon juice in a skillet and the 1/2 teaspoon of basil. Add your tilapia filet and cook on medium heat. Cooking the tilapia in the lemon juice will give it more flavor. When your tilapia is done cooking, plate it with your mixed greens salad and enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

Friday February 1, 2013

Since I'm surrounded by authentic Mexican food, I normally don't ever feel like eating it, but I wanted to do something with chicken that wasn't just chicken and pasta, or chicken and rice. Not that there's anything at all wrong with those meals, because I love them. I happened to have a few sort tortilla shells in the fridge, so I came up with my own little twist on a Mexican burrito and Italian chicken Parmesan-I call this meal a Parmesan chicken burrito. Time: about 10 minutes. Ingredients used: 1 chicken breast, 2 soft tortilla shells (for 2 Parmesan chicken burritos, but can do more depending on how hungry you are and how many people you're feeding), a little more than 1/2 cup of marinara sauce, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan flakes. Directions: Cut chicken breast into strips. Place in a skillet and cook on medium heat. For this last step, you can do in one of two ways-either lay your tortilla shell out and spread some marinara sauce on, and when your chicken is done cooking you can place it on the sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan flakes, or you can wait until your chicken is done cooking and put it on the tortilla first, then cover it with marinara sauce, and the Parmesan flakes. This meal is quick and easy to make. 

Happy Cooking!

Wednesday January 30, 2013

I felt like going a little healthier than usual for dinner, so I decided to make a chicken salad with cucumbers and onions and a balsamic vinegar and oil dressing. Time: 10 minutes or longer, depending on what you decide to put in your chicken salad. Ingredients used: romaine lettuce, mixed greens and spinach leaves, 1/2 of one chicken breast, 3 slices of cucumber, 1 slice of cut onion, and a light balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. Directions: In a skillet, cook chicken on medium heat. In a bowl, add romaine lettuce, mixed greens and spinach together and mix. Add in cucumber slices and the cut up onion. When the chicken is done cooking, cut into pieces and add to salad. Lightly pour the balsamic vinegar and olive oil over the salad and you're done! 

Happy Cooking!

Tuesday January 29, 2013

I decided that I wanted a "manly" meal for dinner so I made one of my all time favorite comfort foods-Sloppy Joe! This might be one of the easiest meals to make. Time: about 10 minutes. Ingredients used: 1/2 cup of chopped onions, a little more than 1/3 of a pound of beef, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, and 1 can of Manwhich Sloppy Joe sauce. Directions: saute onions in a large skillet and add in beef. While beef is browning, add in the Worcestershire sauce and stir. Once the beef is done cooking, add the Manwhich sauce and simply follow the directions on the can. That's all there is to it. Not a lot of steps, but a manly meal that will no doubt fill you up and have you wanting seconds! 

Tip: I put my sloppy joe on top of a piece of pita bread. The bread helps soak up the sauce. If you want to go the more healthy route and let go of the carbs, don't use bread, but I think the pita bread made it a little more comforty. Also, you can add about 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce in with the Worcestershire sauce for an extra kick and a little more flavor.
Happy Cooking!

Monday January 28, 2013

For last night's dinner I made balsamic lemon chicken and cheesy potatoes (potatoes au gratin). This meal has a lot of steps involved, but the end result is worth it. Time: about 45 minutes total. Ingredients used: 1 piece of boneless chicken, (I used a breast, cut in two), 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1 lemon cut in half, 1/8 cup of oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons of ground pepper, 1-2 sprinkles of red pepper, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 tablespoons butter, and 1 package of potatoes au gratin. Directions: First, prick the chicken all over so the sauce you make can soak from the inside and outside. Cut the lemon in half. In a large bowl add the balsamic vinegar, the juice from 1/2 of the cut lemon, the salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper together, mix and add the chicken. Set aside. Now, heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium heat for about 2 minutes and melt the butter in . In a medium size bowl, mix the sugar with the juice of the other 1/2 of the cut lemon. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook, while flipping both sides. (At this point, I began to make my potatoes au gratin). When the chicken is done cooking, place the chicken in the bowl with the lemon and sugar mixture. Your potatoes au gratin should be pretty close to done by now. When you're ready to serve, simply take the chicken out of the lemon and sugar mixture, and plate. Pour some of the sauce you made in the beginning over the chicken. Add your potatoes au gratin and you're done! I really enjoyed this meal. I thought the chicken was so good!! It was juicy and full of flavor. 

Happy Cooking!

Saturday January 26, 2013

I made last night's dinner with one of my sweet friends in mind, Ms. Amanda Wintenburg. She has recently moved to the BIG APPLE and posted on http://www.facebook.com/happycookingwithkim that she likes shrimp, scallops and pasta. No wonder we get along so well! After reading this, I came up with an awesome idea for a meal that I knew she and I and all of my other readers would enjoy. 

This meal just might blow your mind. Seriously. This recipe is for Quinoa with scallops and sweet peas. It's one of the more difficult recipes I've yet to make and it takes the most time, but the end result is so worth it! Qunioa is a whole grain (or seed), has more flavor than rice, is gluten free, cholesterol free, and provides all the amino acids your body needs which makes it a complete protein! Plus, it's just really good. 

(This recipe makes 2 serving sizes). Total time: 45 minutes. Ingredients used: 12 ounces of scallops, 4 teaspoons of soy sauce, 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil, one 16 ounce package of quinoa, 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic, 3 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 package of frozen sweet peas. Directions: Mix scallops with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce in a bowl and set aside. In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and quinoa over medium heat. Cook and stir for about 6-8 minutes. Now mix in the garlic and add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Keep on medium heat until the water is absorbed (took me about 15 minutes). When this is done, take off heat and mix in the sweet peas. In a separate pan, add in the last 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and the last 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and mix together. Then add the quino and sweet peas and stir. Take your scallops out of the "marinade" and heat in a skillet on medium until they turn a golden color (mine took about 4 minutes to change color). When your scallops are done cooking, stir them into the quinoa and serve. 

Your quinoa should look something like this while it's cooking

Quinoa with scallops and sweet peas!

I will not be making dinner tonight (Sunday January 27, 2013) because I'm going to the Rod Stewart concert at Caesar's Palace...!? Until next time, Happy Cooking!