I am currently sitting at the bar that I host trivia at, and my dear friend Jaime asked to borrow my laptop so she could read my latest post. I sadly had to let her know that I didn't have one for today (til now). Thursday night is a no-cook night. Everyone at the bar puts in a big order to T.C. Lando's (drool) and orders subs, pizzas, burritos, salads, etc. I meant to take a picture of my steak & cheese, but was so hungry that I inhaled it the second it got here. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it was delish! Just to be specific, I got a Western steak and cheese (steak, cheese, peppers, onions, ham AND teriyaki sauce). I am now happily full and ready to quiz the locals on random facts and useless knowledge. Until tomorrow.....
Which chess piece can only move diagonally?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Mini Pizza Pot Pies
The tea party today went well, with lots of leftover goodies, which is good and bad. As excited as I am that I have a chocolate raspberry tarte in my fridge, I'm way more excited for my pizza pot pies. It's quite a big event for a couple of reasons. I am using my leftover ricotta and using my new ramekins....it's definitely a two birds situation. On to the photos!
The tops didn't turn out pretty as I hoped, but they were delicious!
Mini Pizza Pot Pies
From Tastespotting.com
Ingredients
Pizza dough
1 1/2 cup marinara
2 chicken breasts
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 gloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped black olives
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/2 small onion, chopped
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Chop chicken and saute until just cooked through.
3. Add the chicken and the rest of the ingredient in a large bowl. Mix well.
4. Portion mixture into 4 ramekins and top with a little more cheese.
5. Cut dough into 4 pieces and stretch over the tops of each dish. Cute vents for steam.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and inside is bubbly.
I was going to make grilled nectarines for dessert, but I'm too full at the moment. Maybe I'll make them later after I grade 6 essays.
"There's a pizza place near where I live that sells only slices. In the back you can see a guy tossing a triangle in the air."
- Stephen Wright
The tops didn't turn out pretty as I hoped, but they were delicious!
Mini Pizza Pot Pies
From Tastespotting.com
Ingredients
Pizza dough
1 1/2 cup marinara
2 chicken breasts
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 gloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped black olives
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/2 small onion, chopped
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Chop chicken and saute until just cooked through.
3. Add the chicken and the rest of the ingredient in a large bowl. Mix well.
4. Portion mixture into 4 ramekins and top with a little more cheese.
5. Cut dough into 4 pieces and stretch over the tops of each dish. Cute vents for steam.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and inside is bubbly.
I was going to make grilled nectarines for dessert, but I'm too full at the moment. Maybe I'll make them later after I grade 6 essays.
"There's a pizza place near where I live that sells only slices. In the back you can see a guy tossing a triangle in the air."
- Stephen Wright
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Overload
I don't have any fabulous recipe updates today, but I do have some interesting tid-bits to share.
First....there were 8 (8!) new pages of food on tastespotting.com. My brain is inundated with a million things as it is, and then I discover that upon arriving home. I might spontaneously combust.
Second....I tend to waste certain food items that I don't use very often. A good example of this is the ricotta cheese I used for the lasagna. I still have 1 1/2 cups left, and did some searching as to what I should use it to make. And then it hit me. I have new acquired ramekins! I have ricotta cheese! I love pot pie! I love pizza! That's right folks, tomorrow night's dinner is Pizza Pot Pies. Stay Tuned. Program it into the calendar on your phones.
Now before this Eureka! moment came upon me, I was searching some recipes to make with my ramekins and came across tons of souffles (they still scare me, almost as much as spiders do), and some interesting sounding recipes. I came across one for Coddled Eggs, which I first read as Curdled Eggs and then couldn't even bring myself to read the recipe because all I thought of was curdled things. Ew. But that brought me to my third tid-bit to share.
Third.....I shouldn't knock a recipe (no matter how icky, or mistakenly icky it sounds) without trying it. Since the start of 2010, I have tried a couple foods that in the past I would've swore to never eat them. When I say the start of 2010 I mean that literally. January 1st I was in NYC for New Years and we stumbled into a gastro pub and ended up eating this.
That my dear friends (or whoever is reading this) is bone marrow. I was excited and apprehensive to try it, but I'm glad I did. My first bite left me unsure, but they served them with little bread/cracker thingies and we smeared some on that and ate it. It's basically like a meat-gelatin substance. That probably didn't sell it too well....but really, it was delish. The second new dish I've tried is Beef Tataki. Now, my good friend Erin claimed that beef tataki tastes like dead babies. Let me assure you it does not. I promise. Then again, I don't know what dead babies taste like and have no comparison. For my 25th birthday feast, my posse and I went to Karma, a Japanese-Chinese Fusion joint here in town. We also went there the following week for my friend Katie's birthday. My birthday involved a puppet named Michael; Katie's birthday involved raw beef. ANYWAYS, beef tataki is AMAZING. Everyone should try it, because if you haven't, your life is slightly less meaningful than mine at the moment.
Did you think I was kidding when I said my birthday party had a puppet in attendance? I wasn't. That's puppet Michael re-enacting the famous Titanic scene on the sushi yacht.
ANYWAYS, my last bit of info has to do with my plan for the school day tomorrow. For those who don't know, I am a high school special ed teacher (now called Student Support Services Teacher). I teach students with both severe and moderate disabilities. For my English unit, we are reading Anne of Green Gables. There has been lots of talk about tea-time and etiquette in the story, so tomorrow, we are having a tea party. This is good practice for Erin's 30th Birthday Tea Party Extravaganza. We are having an herbal, caffeine free tea, one of my girls is bringing in tea cookies and a tea set, and we have some awesome bakery treats like raspberry bows, vanilla pizzelle cookies, and these:
BAM!
Tomorrow shall be wondrous.
Oh, and I'm sure you're all pulling your hair out, dying to know what I had for dinner tonight. And no, it was not leftover lasagna (that was lunch). Another fun fact for those who don't already know this: I live in an in-law apartment attached to my super-fabulous parents' house. So I sort of live on my own, but don't. I frequent the main house enough to socialize, pawn off my dog to them for babysitting purposes, and steal kitchen items that I run out of or don't have. Soon enough, the cord will have to be cut. (Please, send donations, so Sarah can buy the condo down the street that has a closet the size of my kitchen. The goal amount is $370,000). So tonight, mum made tacos and I mooched off of their dinner.
"The belly rules the mind." ~Spanish Proverb
First....there were 8 (8!) new pages of food on tastespotting.com. My brain is inundated with a million things as it is, and then I discover that upon arriving home. I might spontaneously combust.
Second....I tend to waste certain food items that I don't use very often. A good example of this is the ricotta cheese I used for the lasagna. I still have 1 1/2 cups left, and did some searching as to what I should use it to make. And then it hit me. I have new acquired ramekins! I have ricotta cheese! I love pot pie! I love pizza! That's right folks, tomorrow night's dinner is Pizza Pot Pies. Stay Tuned. Program it into the calendar on your phones.
Now before this Eureka! moment came upon me, I was searching some recipes to make with my ramekins and came across tons of souffles (they still scare me, almost as much as spiders do), and some interesting sounding recipes. I came across one for Coddled Eggs, which I first read as Curdled Eggs and then couldn't even bring myself to read the recipe because all I thought of was curdled things. Ew. But that brought me to my third tid-bit to share.
Third.....I shouldn't knock a recipe (no matter how icky, or mistakenly icky it sounds) without trying it. Since the start of 2010, I have tried a couple foods that in the past I would've swore to never eat them. When I say the start of 2010 I mean that literally. January 1st I was in NYC for New Years and we stumbled into a gastro pub and ended up eating this.
That my dear friends (or whoever is reading this) is bone marrow. I was excited and apprehensive to try it, but I'm glad I did. My first bite left me unsure, but they served them with little bread/cracker thingies and we smeared some on that and ate it. It's basically like a meat-gelatin substance. That probably didn't sell it too well....but really, it was delish. The second new dish I've tried is Beef Tataki. Now, my good friend Erin claimed that beef tataki tastes like dead babies. Let me assure you it does not. I promise. Then again, I don't know what dead babies taste like and have no comparison. For my 25th birthday feast, my posse and I went to Karma, a Japanese-Chinese Fusion joint here in town. We also went there the following week for my friend Katie's birthday. My birthday involved a puppet named Michael; Katie's birthday involved raw beef. ANYWAYS, beef tataki is AMAZING. Everyone should try it, because if you haven't, your life is slightly less meaningful than mine at the moment.
Did you think I was kidding when I said my birthday party had a puppet in attendance? I wasn't. That's puppet Michael re-enacting the famous Titanic scene on the sushi yacht.ANYWAYS, my last bit of info has to do with my plan for the school day tomorrow. For those who don't know, I am a high school special ed teacher (now called Student Support Services Teacher). I teach students with both severe and moderate disabilities. For my English unit, we are reading Anne of Green Gables. There has been lots of talk about tea-time and etiquette in the story, so tomorrow, we are having a tea party. This is good practice for Erin's 30th Birthday Tea Party Extravaganza. We are having an herbal, caffeine free tea, one of my girls is bringing in tea cookies and a tea set, and we have some awesome bakery treats like raspberry bows, vanilla pizzelle cookies, and these:
BAM!
Tomorrow shall be wondrous.
Oh, and I'm sure you're all pulling your hair out, dying to know what I had for dinner tonight. And no, it was not leftover lasagna (that was lunch). Another fun fact for those who don't already know this: I live in an in-law apartment attached to my super-fabulous parents' house. So I sort of live on my own, but don't. I frequent the main house enough to socialize, pawn off my dog to them for babysitting purposes, and steal kitchen items that I run out of or don't have. Soon enough, the cord will have to be cut. (Please, send donations, so Sarah can buy the condo down the street that has a closet the size of my kitchen. The goal amount is $370,000). So tonight, mum made tacos and I mooched off of their dinner.
"The belly rules the mind." ~Spanish Proverb
Monday, September 27, 2010
Two Posts in One Day...
I'm trying not to get over-excited about this new-fangled blog. Which, by the way, needs some serious sprucing up (puffy paint? bedazzler?), and I am not as tech-savy as I wish I was (added to the to-do list). So, if anyone knows how to customize blogs past the basic layouts that the program gives me, please, help! I've already been asked a few times to post the recipe for the Chili Cornbread Bake, so I suppose I won't wait til I make it again, and will post the recipe now. But, that means no awesome pictures to go with it. You win some, you lose some...
This recipe is adapted from the Pampered Chef recipe it came from. If you are fortunate enough to own every item made by pampered chef, including their spices and rubs, then I am jealous. Majorly jealous. I do not own everything that is Pampered Chef, just some key tools, so instead of using their crazy Deep Cover Baker that goes in the microwave, I did this the old fashioned stove top and oven way.
Chipotle Chili Cornbread Bake
Ingredients:
1 medium green bell pepper
6 green onions with tops, divided
1 lb 90% lean ground beef
1 can (16oz) chili beans in sauce, undrained
1 cup chunky salsa
2 tbsp Chipotle Rub (i do not own this PC gem, so I found a Sweet & Smoky rub in the spice aisle)
1 pkg (8.5 oz) corn muffin mix
1 container (8 oz) sour cream
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 plum tomato, seeded and diced (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 400. Coarsely chop the pepper. Thinly slice the onions, separating white and light green bottoms from tops. Reserve 1 tbsp of the onion tops for garnish. Set aside pepper and onions.
2. Brown the beef in a skillet and drain the liquid. Add the peppers and onions and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add beans, salsa, and chipotle rub, stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare muffin mix as directed on box (it's ok if you don't use milk, I did), but add the sour cream and mix together.
4. Pour chili into a 9x13 glass baking dish. Cover with a layer of shredded cheddar cheese. Top with cornbread mix and be sure to spread it out evenly over the chili and cheese. Bake for 20-25 or until cornbread is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed.
5. Let stand 5 minutes then top with diced tomatoes and green onions.
Now I am off to type up a Dance Team contract, another side project of mine. I coach the high school dance team at the school I work at, I host a trivia night every Thursday night at the Franco, and I take my own dance classes. And I play with my dog.
Tess the Mess. World's Awesomest Dog.
I don't have a good football or chili quote to end with, so I shall close with a plea of my own...
"Cut your God-damned hair Tom Bieber...I mean Brady!"
This recipe is adapted from the Pampered Chef recipe it came from. If you are fortunate enough to own every item made by pampered chef, including their spices and rubs, then I am jealous. Majorly jealous. I do not own everything that is Pampered Chef, just some key tools, so instead of using their crazy Deep Cover Baker that goes in the microwave, I did this the old fashioned stove top and oven way.
Chipotle Chili Cornbread Bake
Ingredients:
1 medium green bell pepper
6 green onions with tops, divided
1 lb 90% lean ground beef
1 can (16oz) chili beans in sauce, undrained
1 cup chunky salsa
2 tbsp Chipotle Rub (i do not own this PC gem, so I found a Sweet & Smoky rub in the spice aisle)
1 pkg (8.5 oz) corn muffin mix
1 container (8 oz) sour cream
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 plum tomato, seeded and diced (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 400. Coarsely chop the pepper. Thinly slice the onions, separating white and light green bottoms from tops. Reserve 1 tbsp of the onion tops for garnish. Set aside pepper and onions.
2. Brown the beef in a skillet and drain the liquid. Add the peppers and onions and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add beans, salsa, and chipotle rub, stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare muffin mix as directed on box (it's ok if you don't use milk, I did), but add the sour cream and mix together.
4. Pour chili into a 9x13 glass baking dish. Cover with a layer of shredded cheddar cheese. Top with cornbread mix and be sure to spread it out evenly over the chili and cheese. Bake for 20-25 or until cornbread is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed.
5. Let stand 5 minutes then top with diced tomatoes and green onions.
Now I am off to type up a Dance Team contract, another side project of mine. I coach the high school dance team at the school I work at, I host a trivia night every Thursday night at the Franco, and I take my own dance classes. And I play with my dog.
Tess the Mess. World's Awesomest Dog.I don't have a good football or chili quote to end with, so I shall close with a plea of my own...
"Cut your God-damned hair Tom Bieber...I mean Brady!"
Butternut Squash Lasagna Day!
It's finally here...Butternut Squash Lasagna Day. I've been planning this for about a week and a half, due to the fact that my schedule just couldn't fit in a lasagna. Two years ago, I never would've dreamed of making a lasagna...most recipes for them scared me away. I mean, have you seen some of the recipes for lasagna? The ingredients list is longer than my to-do list (which is ever growing and up to about 16 items at the moment). But not this one. This recipe was simple and super easy to make. It's a nice, refreshing lasagna that doesn't feel too heavy after you've eaten half the pan.
Feast your eyes on this, then scroll down for the recipe if you're so intrigued.
I'm not sure how I got by in life before I owned some Santokus.
Glorious, isn't it? All that melted cheese....
I don't remember where I got the recipe from, but it was most likely from my favorite recipe site (or maybe just any website) ever: www.tastespotting.com . It's food porn...seriously.
Butternut Squash Lasagna
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. butternut squash, 6 cups cubed
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
2 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
salt and pepper
15oz. ricotta cheese
12 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella cheese
***I recommend around 8 cups of squash, as I was spreading mine pretty thin. Also, I took a risk and used those ready-to-bake no boil lasagna noodles for the first time. Fingers crossed***
1. Preheat oven to 350. Peel and cube squash and cook in boiling water until soft. Puree and set aside.
2. Heat butter and flour in a saucepan until it turns a light golden brown. Then, add milk, whisking vigorously to avoid lumps. Season with salt and pepper, add nutmeg, and continue stirring until thickened. Stir in ricotta until smooth.
3. Layer 3 noodles on the bottom of a greased 9x13 glass baking dish. Spread with 1/4 of the squash, then top with 1/4 of the cheese sauce. Repeat for 3 more layers, then spread mozzarella over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
"Once again, my life has been saved by the miracle of lasagna." ~ Garfield
Feast your eyes on this, then scroll down for the recipe if you're so intrigued.
I'm not sure how I got by in life before I owned some Santokus.
Glorious, isn't it? All that melted cheese....
I don't remember where I got the recipe from, but it was most likely from my favorite recipe site (or maybe just any website) ever: www.tastespotting.com . It's food porn...seriously.
Butternut Squash Lasagna
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. butternut squash, 6 cups cubed
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
2 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
salt and pepper
15oz. ricotta cheese
12 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella cheese
***I recommend around 8 cups of squash, as I was spreading mine pretty thin. Also, I took a risk and used those ready-to-bake no boil lasagna noodles for the first time. Fingers crossed***
1. Preheat oven to 350. Peel and cube squash and cook in boiling water until soft. Puree and set aside.
2. Heat butter and flour in a saucepan until it turns a light golden brown. Then, add milk, whisking vigorously to avoid lumps. Season with salt and pepper, add nutmeg, and continue stirring until thickened. Stir in ricotta until smooth.
3. Layer 3 noodles on the bottom of a greased 9x13 glass baking dish. Spread with 1/4 of the squash, then top with 1/4 of the cheese sauce. Repeat for 3 more layers, then spread mozzarella over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
"Once again, my life has been saved by the miracle of lasagna." ~ Garfield
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Oh Hey.
So, the title says it all. This is a blog for no one, or anyone...maybe someone. I intend for it to be a collection of my culinary adventures with some random events peppered in. What kind of events, you ask? Events like my artistic attempts in painting, my party planning endeavors, random moments with my dog (most important), and whatever I deem awesome enough to grace my blog. If I had planned ahead, I would have photo documented the amazing Chili Cornbread concoction I made for the Patriots game today, but I didn't. Tomorrow I will be making Butternut Squash Lasagna, which is exciting for two reasons. One: butternut squash. Two: I get to bust out the food processor. If you are not as excited as I am about this, then you should probably stop reading this now and not return to my blog ever again.
Today, my football food sampling included the following gems made by various locals who like to watch the game at the Legion.
My Chipotle Chili Cornbread Bake (awesome)
Deli meats rolled up and filled with some cream cheese concoction
Deviled Eggs
Jaime's Buffalo Dip
Billy's Ribs marinated in ketchup and Coke
Buffalo Wings
Pasta salad with a sugar-vinegar dressing
and last but not least, little bowls filled with peanuts and candy corn (I ate some, so it counts)
That's all for now. My next post will either be the much-anticipated Butternut Squash Lasagna post or the "For Erin's 30th birthday we're throwing a tea party and I'm making the invitations" post (the title needs editing).
I've always been a fan of quotes, so I will most likely end every post with a quote or lyric.
"Life is rarely about what happened; it's mostly about what we think happened".
- Chuck Klosterman
Today, my football food sampling included the following gems made by various locals who like to watch the game at the Legion.
My Chipotle Chili Cornbread Bake (awesome)
Deli meats rolled up and filled with some cream cheese concoction
Deviled Eggs
Jaime's Buffalo Dip
Billy's Ribs marinated in ketchup and Coke
Buffalo Wings
Pasta salad with a sugar-vinegar dressing
and last but not least, little bowls filled with peanuts and candy corn (I ate some, so it counts)
That's all for now. My next post will either be the much-anticipated Butternut Squash Lasagna post or the "For Erin's 30th birthday we're throwing a tea party and I'm making the invitations" post (the title needs editing).
I've always been a fan of quotes, so I will most likely end every post with a quote or lyric.
"Life is rarely about what happened; it's mostly about what we think happened".
- Chuck Klosterman