Saturday, October 29, 2011

Brussels Sprouts With Pancetta And Shallots

The sprouts were a little crisper than I like them, and the preparation was a bit annoying. I think next time I'll steam them, and maybe cut them in half. But the pancetta and shallots were amazing! Do that part, if nothing else!!





Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Baked Cheesy Pasta With Vegetables

This pasta dish was so good! It was delicious and simple, and filling without making me feel stuffed. It's nice to have your whole meal in one dish. Plus, I really appreciated the cheese. This recipe makes 2 servings, so I'll be having leftovers.





Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I'm not going to lie to you, this soup took a lot longer to make than I had anticipated. If you're looking for a quick meal, buy a similar soup in a box. However, if you don't mind putting in the time, this soup is great! Simple and subtle, it warms you up and fills you with comfort. It's also yummy! It makes a few servings, so either invite people over to share it with you or keep it for several meals.




Monday, October 24, 2011

Spinach Chicken Roll

I was disappointed with this chicken. It seems like there was too much spinach filling, so I had trouble rolling it up. The cheese mostly leaked out and burned in the pan. That was sad. Anyway, this recipe clearly needs work.






Caramelized Onion Scrambled Eggs

I have to say, when I first saw the idea for these eggs on the blog For the Love of Cooking, I was a little sceptical. I mean, eggs and onions? Scrambled? Yeah, right. The point is that they were excellent: creamy, simple, delicious. Onions really do make a nice breakfast companion. This is my version of the recipe I found on her blog. By the way, that blog is amazing: you should check it out!

Leftover Cornish Hen With Gravy

Mmmm: leftovers! Who doesn't love them? Seriously, who? Because that person is just not normal. Anyway, These leftovers are fast and delicious and extra-thrifty, because you make the gravy from pan-drippings you saved. From-scratch loveliness, and a fast and easy meal! I had Cornish hen, but this will work for any poultry leftovers.




Sunday, October 23, 2011

Spice-Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

For those of you who've never eaten a parsnip, they kind of look like weird albino carrots or something. Maybe carrots that have live too long underground after a nuclear disaster. Anyway, these carrots and parsnips were delicious! If you can ever find bizarre-colored carrots -- like purple or something -- you should make this with them: it will look really pretty and taste nice while still being simple.



Friday, October 21, 2011

Oatmeal Muffins

These muffins, according to the people who've had them, are really good. I'll let you know as soon as I've tried one. One of the muffins (poor thing) got stuck to the tin and ripped. You definitely have to wiggle them to get them out. You get 12 muffins from this recipe.  [update: these are indeed moist, delicious muffins].





Tangy Scrambled Eggs With Salami and Cheese

What do you do when you have a bunch of leftovers too small to do much with? Make eggs, of course! These scrambled eggs were easy and satisfying, and made me feel virtuous for using up food that might otherwise be forgotten and sad.





Whole Wheat Loaf

If you've ever been afraid to make bread try making a quick loaf: it's essentially a muffin on steroids. There's no yeast and, therefore, no tricky rising-and-kneading process. Everyone who had this bread loved it, including me, but next time I'm going to try making it with 1/4 cup sugar. As you can see, it was also a little burnt, even though I set the timer 5 minutes early and took it out 5 minutes before that. So the bread was yummy, but my oven hates me.


Thursday, October 20, 2011

Rosemary Lemon Cornish Hen With Root Vegetables

This was my first time cooking a bird in its entirety, and it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be! Maybe that's because I started with something small instead of something like a turkey. Anyway, my Cornish hen turned out really well: it was moist and delicious and simple. Best yet, it didn't take forever to cook it. I'm definitely going to do this again! This recipe makes one meal with vegetables and a bunch of hen leftovers.




Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Creamed Leeks With Parmesan Crumbs

This is Fall comfort food at its simplest. The leeks come out of the oven very hot and the topping is delicious and comforting. If you've never had leeks before, this would be a nice first-way to experience them. If you've only ever had cream of leek soup, take this as an opportunity to branch out!





Monday, October 17, 2011

Chili-Orange Slow Cooker Chicken

This chicken was so good! And it goes without saying that cooking it in the slow cooker made the house smell amazing. I completely recommend trying this, especially as the weather starts to get colder. It was my first time using a slow cooker (I got this one on sale at Wallmart) and I count it a good experience.




Sunday, October 16, 2011

Flat Frittata With St. Albray Cheese and Cherry Tomatoes

This frittata is a little different from the ones I usually make: it's got the cheese inside instead of melted on top. It turned out pretty awesome, with the cherry tomatoes and the cheese forming nice little pockets of flavor. I recommend trying this -- a great, relatively quick meal for one!




Friday, October 14, 2011

Spicy Coleslaw with Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes

I am a firm believer that coleslaw can be a meal unto itself, and not only a side-dish from St. Hubert Barbecue (though if you ever have occasion to pick up for me, I prefer traditional to creamy). Anyway, this one turned out nice, though it could have been spicier. Either way, it was lovely. If you can't find the reduced calorie coleslaw dressing, you can use regular. However, the difference is about 40 calories per tablespoon, so you might want to look for the light one.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Magic Potion

This drink was...well...different. The carrot juice made it taste like carrot juice, which I suppose is fine if you like carrot juice. As for me, I found it just odd. It was a beautiful color though, especially for Fall / Thanksgiving. It reminded me of what butterbeer must look like.





Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade

This lemonade was nice and refreshing, especially since Thanksgiving weeked ended up being rather hotter than normal. Even though rosemary isn't really my favorite herb, it worked really well in this drink. Since I wasn't able to get a lot of watermelon, I made half a recipe. You can find it on the blog Piccante Dolce, which I really like and which, frankly, has an awesome name.




Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Chocolate Chip Cookie Oatmeal

I got the idea for cookie-ing up a morning bowl of oatmeal from the blog The Chic Life, which all around reminds me that everyone else is doing more with their lives than I am. But I digress. While I liked her idea, I didn't really love the part about putting butter in oatmeal. Or the sugar, either: I've learned that I don't like my oatmeal sweet. This recipe is my version, and I really loved the little pockets of chocolate, as well as the creamy texture. Yum!


Salad with Strawberry Jam Vinaigrette

This salad dressing was subtle and yet tummy: I suggest everyone try it! Next time, I'll be making it with less vinegar -- I found it a tad on the too-mush-vinegar side -- and I'll replace some of that with lemon juice. I meant to do that this time, but didn't have any. You can get the recipe from the blog Coconut and Lime.





Monday, October 10, 2011

Flank Steak and Cheesy Orzo with Pistachios

This meal was really born out of leftovers. Mmmm: leftovers! I had leftover cheese and leftover flank steak and leftover pistachio. Hence: this. The pistachios aren't really necessary for it, I admit that, but I liked them. They were a nice change. I have to say, you should really cook your steak longer than I did, since mine was practically still alive in the middle. So yeah: feel free to do that.



Saturday, October 8, 2011

Raw Apple Cobbler

Originally I wasn't sure that this recipe was going to be delicious: to be honest, it sounded a little weird, if not slightly icky. But I was intrigued by the idea of a dish that incorporate raw apples, so I decided to give it a shot. It was nice: the apples were crisp, the topping was sweet and simple. It was kind of a hit, actually. I found the recipe on the blog Spabettie.



Friday, October 7, 2011

Whole Wheat Pasta and Chicken with Garlic and Olive Oil

This is a simple, warm dish for a chilly Fall afternoon. The chicken was a tiny bit oily (because I heated it in the oil): I kind of like it that way, but if you don't, just add it to the pasta after you've mixed the pasta and sauce. If you do it that way, reduce the amount of oil by half a tablespoon and heat up the chicken somehow before putting it in.




Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Spiced Couscous

This couscous is more fragrant than it is spicy tasting, though I happen to like the taste of plain couscous, so I like it. The only thing that scares me about couscous is how much it grows when you add water. It more than doubles!! Anyway, I got the spice balance -- and basic idea -- for this recipe from the blog Living Lou, though I substituted my own way of preparing couscous.



Spicy Asparagus

I found the original recipe for this dish on the blog Week of Menus, which is awesome. Just so you know, every blog I've ever linked to is better than mine. Seriously: check them out. Anyway, these asparagus were yummy: if there was a spicy candy on the market, I'd say these tasted like candy. Enough said -- make them. Try them. They're delicious. I adapted the recipe just enough so that it serves one.


Monday, October 3, 2011

Salmon with Indian Spices

This salmon was really, really, good: the 'crust' that formed on top was delicate, and the spicy topping made a nice balance with the rest of the salmon. I totally suggest trying this!






Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

To be honest, I found the cupcakes a little dry, even though no one else had a problem with them. I'm going to be experimenting with the recipe to see if I can't make it better. The name is also a bit deceptive: these are really just vanilla cupcakes with a sweetened whip-cream frosting and strawberry garnish. The same basic vanilla cupcake recipe occurs throughout the cookbook I used, so I think it's worth tinkering with it.


Saturday, October 1, 2011

Knock-Off Mongolian Beef

This was pretty damn good! A little bit sweet, a little bit salty, crispy, yummy. Mmmm. It's a fattier cut of meat than I usually choose to cook, but once in a while I think it's okay. The only odd thing is that the beef seemed to absorb the cornstarch: next time I'll try patting it dry first, even though it didn't seem to affect the final product. I'll also try using a smidgen less soy sauce. I got the basics of this recipe from the blog Kitchen Trial and Error, but lightened it up a bit.