November 2012
1 post
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September 2012
2 posts
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May 2012
6 posts
Another Hiatus
Well, I finally did it. I finally found a job that I am actually well-qualified for and it’s located in one of my favorite cities: Boston. Yayy! My taste testers were not pleased that I hve abandoned my cooking enterprise, but I am sure their waist lines will appreciate the break.
Unfortunately for my blog, I won’t be able to devote as many hours to trying new recipes. Therefore, I am...
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Chicken Noodle Soup
Even though it’s May, the weather has been ridiculous lately. I understand the importance of rain for the environment, but three days in a row is a little much, especially when the preK kids are stuck inside. These past few nights have been chilly as well, so soup was the perfect option for dinner. This recipe is actually my mother’s chicken noodle soup and uses the stove instead of...
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Mexican Chocolate Cakes
I sincerely apologize for my lacking of postings since returning from China. I have been working in preK everyday and applying to jobs, which often leaves me too tired to cook. Sad day. Instead, I have been revisiting past favorites such as baked macaroni and cheese, beef and Guinness pie, and vegetable soup with Tortellini.
I attended a friend’s party on Cinco de Mayo, which provided the...
April 2012
20 posts
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Barbecue Roast Beef Sandwiches
I made this perfect weeknight meal the other night. The recipe, from the Betty Crocker cookbook, was easy to follow and only took about 20 minutes to throw together. I was a little wary about the barbecue sauce, so I tasted it before combining the sauce with the roast beef. Even one of my taste testers tried it out and said she could really taste the barbecue sauce, to which I responded “ha!...
Hiatus
I am off to China tomorrow for a weeklong trip to see my niece. Consequently, I will not be posting any more recipes for a while. However, I fully plan on documenting the odd foods that I will most likely be eating while in Shanghai and Nantong. On past trips to China, I have tried cow’s tongue; jellyfish; lotus flowers; all manner of fowl including sparrow, duck, goose and pigeon (yuk!);...
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Fettuccine with Chicken and Vegetables
It has been incredibly busy in my household as we gear up for another trip around the world. This time we are going to see my brother’s firstborn in Shanghai. Woo! However, this means a lot of shopping and trying to cram all of Babies “R” Us into four suitcases. To add to the mayhem, I had another brief stint in preK, so for dinner last night, I was looking for something quick...
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Boulangère Potatoes
Last night, I cooked one of my favorite slow cooker dishes, Chicken with Wine Sauce. One of my cookie monster’s employees makes his own red wine, so I made sure that I put it to good use. The last time I made chicken with wine sauce, I paired it with the most unbelievably delicious and insanely unhealthy mashed potatoes. This time, I wanted to make a slightly healthier potato dish, so I...
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Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Mmm nothing says Easter like homemade carrot cake. The bunnies were going absolutely crazy when I made this, but they were upset that most of the carrots were going into the cake and not into their bellies. They must have a strong sense of smell because they were clawing at my legs and sitting on my feet while I was grating the carrots.
This is my mother’s carrot cake recipes. She has been...
Picadillo
Picadillo is essentially a ground beef hash that is easy to throw together and can be served alone or as taco filling. I based this recipe off of one in the Pillsbury Doughboy Slow Cooker cookbook. Because of the slow cooking process, the ground beef absorbs the chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon’s flavors. As a result, the ground beef tasted sweet with a slight spicy kick. If you want your...
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Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Bacon
To continue my love affair with potatoes, I made this amazing dish last night to accompany a Honey-Dijon pork roast. It was dynamite, according to one taste tester. Another taste tester thought “dynamite” was too strong of a word but agreed it was delicious. Regardless, I should always make sweet potatoes with bacon. I’ve made sweet potatoes in the slow cooker previously, but...
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Yogurt in the Slow Cooker!
I am always looking for ways to save money in my kitchen. Using the slow cooker saves money since it draws less electricity. However, at the rate that I bake things, my energy usage has probably evened out. One item that is a ridiculous expense is store bought yogurt. Not only does it waste plastic, but those 89 cent single servings quickly add up. While a yogurt maker would easily simplify my...
March 2012
24 posts
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Potato and Sausage Casserole
Have I mentioned how much I love potatoes? Well, if I haven’t, I will reiterate that I love potatoes of all shapes and forms. Baked potatoes, potato skins, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, hash browns, mashed potatoes, French fries, potato pancakes, mashed potatoes, pirogies. Did I mention mashed potatoes? Delicious. So you can imagine my excitement when my lovely friend, Nora, gave me a...
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Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins
I love chocolate and I like oatmeal but I thought this combination was just so-so. Using a recipe from Hershey’s Recipe Collection, I tried these Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins yesterday to middling success. The main reason why I tried these was because I needed to use up some buttermilk. Overall, the muffins were light and airy. The oatmeal added a nice texture. Since some of my taste testers do...
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Rosemary Chicken and Vegetables with Orzo
I feel like recently I have been cooking variations of pasta and vegetables quite frequently, but so long as the meal is delicious, healthy, and colorful, I don’t really mind. This low-fat dish comes from the Betty Crocker cookbook, which I have come to appreciate more and more for its varied recipes. This rosemary chicken and orzo dish was definitely easy to make; I think it took me about...
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Mexican Salad
My sister requested that I make a Mexican Salad, similar to a seven layer dip but without the mayonnaise, for dinner. I like to think that this is a healthier version of the fiesta taco casserole that I made about a month ago. I based this meal off of a recipe for a Layered Taco Salad that I found on Epicurious. The one part of the recipe that I did not change was the dressing, which I thought was...
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Beef and Guinness Pie
To continue my Irish celebration, I made Beef and Guinness Pie last night, adapting a recipe from Gourmet Today. If you can’t tell from my pictures, my taste testers LOVED this hearty meal. Since I only used one bottle of Guinness, one of my taste testers suggested I can make five more pies, but like most stews not made in the slow cooker, this dinner is extremely time consuming, so I will...
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Irish Soda Bread
Irish Soda Bread, the poor man’s bread, is easy to make and requires few ingredients. Traditionally, Irish soda bread is only comprised of flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and salt, but as you can probably tell, this does not taste very good. Nowadays, bakers add sugar, raisins, currants and/or caraway seeds to improve the flavor. I opted for the most basic recipe that I could find and...
Corned Beef and Vegetables
I love being Irish. I may not have the red hair and blue eyes but I like to think I have a cheery Irish disposition. If not, I at least enjoy a good Irish brew. Two years ago, I spent a week in Dublin; when I went through customs in the airport, the agent took one glance at my passport and welcomed me home :)
Since St. Patrick’s Day was yesterday, I just had to make a traditional Irish...
Vegetable Stir Fry
After my week of birthday gluttony, I was looking for something light and healthy for dinner last night. Once again, this Friday called for another vegetarian meal and I wanted something other than pasta. Stir fry was the best choice, as it is super quick to make and involves any vegetables that you may have on hand. I didn’t follow any particular recipe, but instead just went with what I...
Crepes
To finish off my time in Katherine’s kitchen, I made crepes this morning. I absolutely love crepes; I believe I ate them most mornings when I was in Paris. For anyone who has not eaten a crepe before, they are basically thin pancakes served with different fillings. My favorite filling is Nutella with strawberries or bananas. Delicious.
Crepes are not easy to make, however. I followed a...
Spiced Apple Pie Soup
The warm weather has officially arrived, I think. Yesterday was a balmy 70F. Sadly, that means no more soup weather, so this may be my last soup post for a while. Because of the warm weather, I was not really in the mood to eat soup last night, but I already had the ingredients so I went through with it. This recipe is adapted from 50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker. I think it was fairly good...
Jambalaya with Red Beans and Rice
Last night, I made this delicious meal, adapted from the Pillsbury Doughboy Slow Cooker cookbook. I had never actually had jambalaya before, but I think what I made was awesome. My taste tester, Bianca, certainly agreed.
Because I detest all forms of seafood, I did not include shrimp. You certainly can toss in some with the chicken and I am sure it would taste great; I simply ignored that step....
Fettuccine with Arugula Puree and Tomato Sauce
Oh the beauty of the food processor. It makes life so much easier. Last night, I made this pasta dish from Gourmet Today. The arugula puree is essentially pesto but has a bitter taste from the arugula - if you don’t like the bitterness, you may want to use less arugula. This meal only took 40 minutes to put together and it was fairly easy but you have to have a food processor in order to...
Moroccan Chicken with Couscous
Well, I am bound to have some dud recipes. I am glad that I made this just for myself, as my taste testers would certainly not have enjoyed it. I found this recipe in February’s Dash issue - the recipe looks really interesting, but I did not care for the end result. I thought the chicken was tender but too dry and lacking in flavor. I didn’t like the combination of butternut squash,...
Roasted Vegetable Panzanella
Since I am away from home for a week, I have the opportunity to venture into new culinary territory without having to appease my taste testers. To make up for some of my birthday week gluttony, I made this delightful Tomato-Bread Salad from Gourmet Today. Traditionally, this salad is made with a day-old baguette; I guess the staleness helps make the toasted bread crispier? I am not really sure...
Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake
Birthday birthday birthday! Yesterday, March 5, was my birthday! My family thought I was crazy, but instead of requesting the usual marble cake from a cake mix and my mother’s homemade chocolate fudge frosting, I wanted to make my own cake. More specifically, I wanted to make the BrownEyedBaker’s Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake, because, honestly, it looks glorious. And it was glorious.
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Chicken Paella
I love paella. The first time I had it was in Barcelona almost two years ago. What could be better than sitting in a courtyard overlooking Las Ramblas with a steaming plate of chicken, rice, and vegetables and a pitcher of sangria? Not much. I miss those adventurous days…
To recreate some of that Spanish magic, I made a chicken paella from the Betty Crocker cookbook last night. I know that...
Muppet Cupcakes
It is birthday month in my family. To kick off the birthday weekend, my sister and I made these Muppet cupcakes for Katherine. They were almost too amazing to eat! I decorated Fozzie Bear and Animal. Caitlin was angry that I gave her the lame ones to decorate, but I think she did a lovely job with Kermit and Rowlf. I used a yellow cake mix and made a vanilla buttercream frosting. To get the brown...
Penne with Vegetables in Tomato-Basil Sauce
Now that Lent has arrived, I have to start using more vegetarian recipes, which is probably a good thing. I made this penne with vegetables from the Betty Crocker cookbook on Friday. It only took about 20 to 30 minutes to throw together, so it is great for a quick weekday meal. I liked the combination of tomatoes and zucchini and the extra crunch from the carrots. Because I used a whole box of...
