Tomato Cream Sauce Pasta

Thought I would let you know that Noah gave the salsa his seal of approval when he came home from work yesterday. We embarrassingly went through a whole bag of chips (ok, mostly me). 

I did try one more Pioneer Woman meal yesterday which is her Tomato Cream Sauce Pasta. 

It was pretty easy to make and after the salsa and the pasta I have seen a whole bunch of tomatoes in one day! 

This one was pretty easy, it just took about 30 minutes (well, should have taken 30, it actually took me 40 because I put the pasta in to boil a little to late and had to wait for it to be ready). 

I'll forgo the directions since they're right on Pioneer Woman's page, but it's definitely worth a shot. For the second time, this makes a LOT of sauce. Good for a big family, or do what we do and save the left overs for another meal. 

After skyping with my sister and her boyfriend while preparing dinner I got to eat it with my sweetheart. All in all it was a great day and I'm hoping it will give me some strength. 

Have a lovely weekend!

Homemade Salsa

I got this recipe from Ree Drummonds, aka Pioneer Woman. I've been wanting to make my own salsa for ages but we just got a blender so I can finally fulfill my wishes.

You need a can of whole tomatoes, two cans of Rotel, an onion, cilantro, sugar, salt, cumin, and a jalapeno pepper. You're also supposed to have some lime juice but, being me, I went without.

Throw in all the tomatoes (with their juice) and then chop up about half an onion or so and add it.

Then throw in some chopped jalapeno pepper (seeds and all). 

Next put in 1/2 a cup to a whole cup of cilantro. I was so proud getting my cilantro from our garden. I ended up using about half a cup for our salsa. 

Throw it in the blender along with 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/4 sugar, and 1/4 cumin.  Blend and voilà. You now have splendid salsa.

It really is delicious and amazing. Just be warned about the amount. Let me tell you your options:

1. Clean off half a shelf in your fridge to store the salsa
2. Be taking a bowl or two to a party in the very near future
3. Share with the neighbors or friends
4. OR.... be prepared to suffer salsa overdose.

Ree has a big family but around here, well, that is a ton of salsa. It should keep well, but just be warned!

Now, if you have a blender go and try this little joy for yourself. Mmmm!

French Toast

My guy made french toast for everyone in the apartment this morning along with his own strawberry syrup topping. Earlier this week he did chocolate chip pancakes. How lucky am I?

The Master at work.

He was a pro at making these french toast slices. He likes them eggy and I don't so he was controlling that very well. 

Cinnamon, egg, and milk went into the dipping mix.

The strawberry syrup included strawberries, water, and sugar (he didn't use a recipe and isn't sure exactly how much water her used). He kept adding sugar until it was less liquidy and more syrupy. 

The finished product was delicious! He used cinnamon bread as the base for the toast. YUM.  I'm having daydreams about brunch now.

Cereal Bar

One of our campus dining halls had a snack similar to this on it's dessert table a week or so ago. I decided I must try and recreate it at home. I consider this a success.

The basic ingredients are: cinnamon toast crunch cereal, marshmallows, chocolate, and butter(?).

I used a double boiler because I'm skeptical of putting chocolate chips right on a stovetop pot regardless of the situation. So I threw random amounts of each ingredients into the second pot. I just wanted them to look fairly even.  Maybe I used a few more marshmallows than strictly necessary. I used maybe a tablespoon of butter, but I'm honestly not sure if you really need butter here.... hence the question mark up above. 

Once the double boiler got the chocolate nice and melted with the ingredients I stuck it in the oven at 350 F for around 15 minutes. I stirred all the ingredients around and let it cool! Easy enough right?

It's delicious and you can pick off little pieces to eat. In a way it's like eating smores without the hassle of needing a campfire (which can be difficult to garner approval for in an apartment). 

Veggie Dish: Spinach Lasagna

Tonight I made a spinach lasagna, which I've made once before, so that my guy could have something delicious to come home to! We've actually been planning on making this dish for a while and I wanted to use up the spinach before it went bad (it can get hectic during finals week)!

This dish is very easy and will satisfy you. Although, if your guy has an appetite like mine, you may only be able to get two meals out of it! 

Ingredients:

• Ricotta Cheese
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Lasagna Noodles
• Spinach
• (Grated cheese as well if you'd like it to top)

In an 8x8 pan pour a teency bit of oil to coat it on the bottom and edges. Then pour in some sauce (spooning it in will prevent a mess). Then lay some lasagna noodles down next. Then put a little more sauce over the lasagna noodles. Next put down some spinach and top it with ricotta. Then more sauce. Keep this alternating sequence going until you run out of an ingredient or two!

Next, put it in the over to bake for 40 minutes at 400 F. Easy enough right? 

Enjoy! Perhaps with a glass of lemonade?

Mint Chocolate Brownies

I made Mint Chocolate Brownies tonight at my sister's apartment (she had an 8x8 pan..... How did we not have one of those??). I was mixing in sugar, chocolate, and butter and having a grand time. Then I had to wait.... 45 minutes! 

How is a gal supposed to pass that amount of time while waiting for amazing smelling brownies to bake? Oh, that's right. Eat the batter. While she's pigging out, why not take a few photos? We also watched 10th Kingdom while waiting for these puppies. Oh yes. I felt like a child all over again! What more could you ask for during the finals week of your last semester as an undergraduate?

These were the final product! You can see the Peppermint Patties poking out from each brownie and boy are they delicious! I think I'll be sharing with my department tomorrow when I go in to take my last final. Maybe that'll sweeten up the professors! Hah, we'll be lucky if these brownies last that long actually. 

I used this recipe to make the brownies. If you like your brownies fudgey then do them at 45 minutes but if you'd rather them be a little firmer then definitely go for the full 55 minutes. 

If you like mint and chocolate this recipe gets a full five stars! 

Pull them out at your next dinner night with friends and they'll be a hit for sure. 

Veggie Dish: Cornish Pasties

Hello, comforting vegetarian dish! This meal took roughly one hour to make and can feed about five to six people. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 tsp. vegetable oil
• -1 small onion
• 1 stalk celery
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 small potato
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme (didn't have this so I used tarragon)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbs spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese (again, substituted sharp provolone because I'm a poor college student)
• Puff Pastry dough (one box: 2 sheets)

Directions:

1. To make Filling: heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic; cook 4-7 minutes, or until onion is lightly browned. add potato, carrot, and thyme; cook 3 minutes, then add 1/2 c water. Reduce heat, cover, and steam vegetables 10 to 12 minutes, or until tender.
2. Whisk 1 egg with mustard in large bowl. Stir in vegetables and cheese and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Whisk remaining egg with 2 tbs water in separate bowl to make egg wash, and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 400 F. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
4. Lay out one sheet of puff pastry on baking sheet. Fill with the vegetable filling leaving some space around edges. Lay second pastry sheet on top and pinch sides together. Use fork prongs to finalize the seam. brush top with egg wash and sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. Bake on prepared baking sheet for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. 

I could maybe go for a little more mustard or tarragon leaves, but this is a great dish to fill you up and keep you happy! I'd give it 4.5 stars! (-.5 for a little blandness)

Chickpea Curry

This is the recipe I used to make this curry. We had practically all the ingredients already on hand which made it simple. It's great for proteins for vegetarians and incredibly healthy, although I could personally use a little more spice for flavor....but I like things spicy. 

This would be great with the cauliflower I mentioned here, some rice, and especially some naan. I think I  may throw in some curry powder next time. 

Hope you're feeling Indian food!

Maria's Spinach Pie

Yesterday I met up with my friend and we each brought a vegetarian dish to the table. I made an Indian chickpea dish and she did a spinach pie. Today I thought I'd give you the spinach pie recipe.

{apologies for the cell phone quality pic}

She found the recipe here and you should definitely check it out! This dish was amazing and satisfying and, all in all, pretty healthy. We nearly finished it all (after she cut that recipe in half!). There was a good dose of spinach in there along with eggs, onions, and some garlic. The doughy shell was a Pepperidge Farm pre-made phyllo dough piece I believe. 

I'll definitely be giving this a whirl in my kitchen soon!

Sweet Potato Casserole

Using this recipe, I made a sweet potato casserole this morning for a luncheon. When the luncheon was finished, the dish was clean. Now that's the dish you want to bring for a potluck! 

The sweet potatoes were bought at the local farm market and were amazing. I recommend setting aside a solid hour and half to get everything done if you're starting with fresh potatoes (not canned). 

Veggie Meals

Mmm... Know what I love? A tasty, vegetarian meal with lots of veggies!

Last night a girlfriend and I met up and she brought over a vegetarian lasagna and I made sweet potatoes, curried cauliflower, and sauteed spinach. The potatoes and spinach came from our local farm market and were both of excellent quality. 

Here's how to make each if you're interested:

Spinach:

1. Need: Spinach, oil, garlic
2. Put small dose of oil into sauté pan
3. Throw in spinach leaves
4. Put in some garlic (I used roughly 2 cloves)
5. Let cook for as long as desired (roughly 3-4 minutes)

Sweet Potatoes:

1. Need: sweet potatoes, oregano, salt, pepper, oil
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut (you can do this cubed or in small slices like I did). Roughly one potato for each person.
3. Cover bottom of baking sheet with layer of oil, throw on potato pieces, take two pinches each of salt, pepper, and oregano and sprinkle over top sweet potatoes. 
4. Bake at 350F. If chips like mine ~30mins, if cubes (softer, less crunchy) ~1 hour.
5. Serve warm.

Cauliflower Indian Style

1. Need: 1 cauliflower, onion, 2 small potatoes, curry powder, sugar, turmeric, cumin, garlic (2 cloves), oil
2. The recipe I used (from VT) was a little unclear but I cooked my potatoes first because I was afraid sautéing them wouldn't be sufficient for softening them up. So slice and peel potatoes and throw into boiling water to soften up.
3. Cut onion and cauliflower to have them both ready.
4. Pour a dose of oil into a sauté pan. Throw in onions for 2-3 mins. 
5. Add 1stp tumeric, 1 tsp cumin, and 1 1/2 (I might even prefer 2) tsp curry powder. Also add garlic. Cook for 2 mins. 
6. (Drain potatoes) Add potatoes and cauliflower. Put in 1/2 cup of water and one tablespoon of sugar. Cook until water is gone. 
7. Serve warm. 

Enjoy!