Mozzarella Sticks

When going out to eat it is always so hard for me to decide what to order. I've always had trouble making decisions when it will affect other people, (ie. where we should go out to eat in the first place). I think this is because I don't want to choose something that someone else won't enjoy, its like their opinion is much more important than mine. But choosing the food that I want to eat doesn't really affect anyone but me. So you would think that this wouldn't be a hard thing for me. But somehow it still is.

I'm not really sure where my problem began with making decisions, but I know its always been something I've struggled with.  I never want(ed) to choose something and then find out later that something else would have been a better choice. In 5th grade I had a teacher that tried to help all his students with this problem, of making decisions. Instead of answering "I don't know" or "I don't care" or "It doesn't matter", he made us answer the questions and make a decision. And during that year I got really good at making decisions (like its some sort of skill?) and the following year I was still good at making decisions. But somewhere along the way I lost this skill, and it became difficult for me to make decisions again.

So, sometimes when we go out to eat I like to order the appetizer sampler platter, as my meal. I mean its perfect, 3 or 4 delicious appetizers to eat, and that way I don't feel like I'm missing out on some flavor, I can have a little bit of everything. And one of my favorite things that they usually have on these sampler platters are mozzarella sticks.

And now with thanks to Pinterest, I have discovered that they are so easy to make from home. And this discovery might actually be pretty dangerous for me, and maybe for you too. But they are delicious, and gooey, and scrumptious, and perfect. Don't just trust me, this is one you'll have to try this out for yourself.

1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

10 sticks of string cheese
Vegetable Oil

1. Preheat a large pan filled with about 1/2 inch to 1 inch of oil. Heat over medium low.
2. Place flour in one bowl, eggs beaten in a second, and both kinds of bread crumbs mixed in a third.
3. Roll the cheese sticks in flour until covered.
4. Dip cheese sticks in beaten egg, cover completely.
5. Dip cheese sticks in breadcrumbs, and roll  to cover completely.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5.
7. Place the mozzarella sticks (a few at a time) in preheated oil, and fry until crispy and browned, about 2 minutes on each side.
8. Repeat with remaining mozzarella sticks.
9. Keep mozzarella sticks warm in an oven set at 200 degrees, or microwave for 30 seconds to warm.
10. Enjoy plain, or dipped in ranch or marinara sauce. Yum!

What do you order when you go out to eat? How do you decide?

Green Bean Casserole

This recipe isn't really any sort of secret, since I found it on the side of a Campbell's Soup Cream of Mushroom Soup Can. But I altered it ever so slightly, to my liking, and I think you'll like it too.

We went to Nate's aunt's house (on his dad's side) for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Although our parents live on opposite sides of the country (California and Virginia) we are not lacking in the extended family department here in Utah. We actually both have the majority of our aunts and uncles in the area. So, although we were unfortunately not able to make it to Virginia for Thanksgiving (as was previously planned) because of lack of funds (you know paying for a down payment really emptied our bank accounts) we had plenty of options. And since we are going to my parents for Christmas, I thought it would be best if Thanksgiving was spent with some sort of family from Nate's side.

So, we went up to Nate's aunt's house in Centerville, and even took the pup with us too. As there would be 4 other large dogs there for him to play with. Unfortunately he got into a small brawl with another dog over a toy, but luckily no major damage was done.

Anyway, for Thanksgiving dinner we were asked to bring green bean casserole. And as there would be about 20 people (and obviously not accounting all of the other side dishes that would be available for consumption) I decided to make 2 casserole dishes full of the creamy green bean mixture. Unfortunately only about 2/3 of one dish was eaten, but lucky for us that meant we could have leftovers for a week (hah!). But, luckily for you I'm going to give you the halfed version of what I made.

Green Bean Casserole

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 cup of milk

2 TBS soy sauce

1/4 tsp ground pepper

5 cans cut green beans (or 10 cups)

3 cups french fried onions

1.Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl combine mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, green beans and 1 1/2 cups french fried onions.

3. Put  casserole mixture in a 9x13 pan.

4. Bake for about 25 minutes.

5. Top with remaining onions and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

 Enjoy as a delicious side to any dinner.

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Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

One of our favorite snacks is dipping pita, chips or crackers into hummus. And although we're not picky about our hummus, our favorite flavor is roasted red pepper hummus. Finally this week we made our own hummus for the first time, and it was so simple, we'll definitely be making this recipe again and again.

This made quite a bit of hummus, if you're having a party it'd be a good amount, but for the 2 of us it was more than we needed. But we put some in jars and froze it. And we've already opened one of the jars and let it thaw in some water and the fridge and it tasted as good as new. But you could cut this recipe in half if you don't want to make as much.

2 15.5 oz cans garbanzo beans/chickpeas, drained **
2 TBS chopped garlic

1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)***
1 large red pepper
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin


**Did you know that garbanzo beans and chickpeas are the same thing? I saw some recipes calling for one and some calling for the other so I had to get to the bottom of what the difference was. And after a little online research I discovered that they are they exact same thing. -- So why can I find chickpeas and gabanzo beans at the store? No idea. But don't stress over it. Just get the can that is the cheapest.

***We purchased the Tahini at the Sunflower Farmer's Market in Orem, which is a whole foods kind of place. I think a place like Trader Joes would definitely have it too. It can be found near the organic peanut butters.



How to roast a red pepper:
1.Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cut red pepper in half, remove seeds and place in oven.
3. Bake for about 15 minutes.
4. Remove red pepper halves and place in a zip lock bag, and seal.
5. Let sit for 15 minutes
6. Remove from bag and peel off skin using your hands.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
1. Roast your red pepper.
2. Slice your red pepper.
3. Either using an electric food processor or a kitchen aid meat grinder attachment, puree you garbanzo beans/chickpeas**, red pepper, tahini and garlic, until smooth.

4. Transfer puree into a medium sized bowl and add lemon juice, salt and cumin.
5. Stir to combine.
6. Store covered in the fridge until you are ready to eat.
7. Enjoy on your favorite sandwiches, wraps, pitas, crackers, etc.

 

What is your favorite kind of hummus? 

What do you like to eat your hummus with?

Baked Ratatouille

Wednesday was my birthday. Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me! Okay, enough of that. But as you can read here, I was spoiled throughout the day. And one way that I was spoiled is by getting not only one, but instead FOUR kitchen aid attachments. So, we decided that one way to use a couple of those new attachments was by making ratatouille. We used the shredder/slicer attachment to cut the vegetables, and the vegetable strainer attachment to make the tomato puree.

My only previous experiences with ratatouille are 1-when my host mom in Vienna made it for us to put over noodles.Yum. And 2-the disney cartoon. So to my best knowledge this is what ratatouille should be like, but if you're some professional French chef you might have something better. This turned out great for us though, the flavor of the salted and thymed fresh vegetables was absolutely stunning. And it was my first time eating eggplant. No complaints here, it tasted mostly like squash.

Enjoy.

Baked Ratatouille

 1 zucchini squash

1 yellow squash

1 small eggplant

2 large carrots

1 green pepper

4 medium sized tomatoes

1 TBS olive oil

1 TBS thyme

1 TBS salt

1/4 TBS pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut tomatoes into quarters and puree using attachment or blender.
3. Slice zucchini, squash, eggplant, carrots and pepper to about 1/16 inch slices using the attachment, a mandolin or a knife.
4. Using either 2 small oval dishes (about 7 inches in length) or 1 large oval dish (10 inches across) spread tomato puree on the bottom of the dish.
5. Arrange slices of the vegetables, alternating vegetables as you go, overlapping so only the tops are not lapping.
6. Arrange the vegetables in the dish. If you are using the larger dish start on the outside and work your way to the center.
7. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables.
8. Sprinkle the thyme, salt and pepper over the vegetables.
9. Bake for 25 minutes for the small pans, 45 minutes for the large pans.
10. Enjoy as a side dish, or over pasta or rice for a main dish.

pre-cooked, pre-seasoned

 

What is your favorite french dish? 

Ps. I'm thinking of making French Onion Soup soon, any recommendations on recipes to follow?

Tomato Basil Soup

Although I made this soup on the stove top, we finished it off by putting it in the crock pot (the soup could easily be made completely in the crock pot as well) for about an hour to keep it warm, and to let the flavors blend together nicely while we ran some errands.  And let me tell you, the flavors of this soup were divine. And for one who grew up hating tomatoes and tomato soup (I still won't eat tomatoes, except in sauces/salsa), it says a lot that I think this soup tasted amazing. And whether you make this on the stove or in your crock pot, I think you'll love this too.

*This only made enough soup for about 3 servings, so if you are feeding more people you will probably want to double the recipe.

1 1/2 TBS minced garlic,
1 TBS olive oil
3 large tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth
1/2 TBS salt

1/2 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 TBS basil

1. Juice 2 of your tomatoes and chop the other into small pieces, set aside. **
2. Saute your garlic in a large sauce pan with the oil, for one minute, stirring occasionally.
3. Add your tomato juice and chopped tomatoes to the pan.
4. Crush your tomatoes in the juice with the bottom of a cup.
5. Add the chicken broth, salt, sugar and pepper.
6. Simmer for 5 minutes, over medium heat
7. Remove some of the large chunks of tomato and blend for about 20 seconds in a blender or magic bullet.
8. Return tomatoes to the soup.
9. Add cream and basil to the soup and stir.
10. Cook for another two minutes. (This is when we put it in the crock pot and left it for an hour on low, but you could put it in the crock pot at step 3)
11. Enjoy with a delicious side of bread-sticks, or grilled cheese.

**If you don't have a handy dandy juicer like we do, I recommend chopping all 3 of your tomatoes into small pieces and pureeing 2 of them completely in a blender, unless you like a lot of chunks.

What's a food that you hated as a child, but have since grown to like?

Baked Ravioli

So my second job is basically a receptionist position. I'm sitting at a computer for 4 hours, where I have to do basic computer skills such as emails, scanning, data entry, etc. and I'm answering any phone call that comes in, and helping anyone who comes through the front door. But when there isn 't any of that stuff going on, I can do whatever I want (on the computer at least) as long as I'm ready to answer the phone if it does ring. So during these 4 hours, after I get bored of Facebook and finish reading all the blogs posted during the day I browse recipes, cooking blogs (such as those listed on my side bar), martha stewart, all recipes, my recipes, or any others I happen to happen upon. I make lists of the recipes I like, and lately I've even started to organize them according to type of food, dish as well as ethnicity.

Of course there are probably many of those that I will never actually make, because when I'm thinking of what to make for dinner I don't always go back to the list. BUT, the other day I was craving Italian food. (Probably because the previous week Nate and I basically cut carbs from our diet.) And I went to the listed and decided upon Martha Stewart's Baked Ravioli. Here is my slightly edited version.

Baked Ravioli

1 TBS olive oil

1 1/2 TBS minced garlic

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes

1 (14.5 oz) can diced Italian flavored tomatoes

2 lbs frozen ravioli **

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup Parmesan

**I actually used 1 lb ravioli, and then realized I needed more noodles and used about 1 cup of rigatoni noodles. You could use any type of noodle that you have around the house.

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.

3. Add minced garlic and saute with salt and pepper for about 1 minute.

4. Add thyme, oregano and tomatoes.

5. Bring sauce to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.

6. Break up tomato chunks with a spoon as much as possible.

7. Scoop most of the bigger tomato chunks out and blend (I used a magic bullet, but a regular blender would work too) till chunks are gone. (There will still be some chunks, but small ones, you don't want any full sized tomatoes in your sauce).

8. Return blended mixture to the sauce.

9. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

10. Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling water, until they float to the top (pasta does not need to be completely cooked because it will continue to cook in the oven.

11. Drain water from pasta.

12. Toss pasta and sauce in a large bowl.

13. Pour pasta into a 9x13 pan. 

14. Top pasta with Parmesan cheese, then mozzarella cheese.

15. Bake for 20 minutes, until pasta is golden.

I though this was amazing. Although I really like the sauce recipe I learned from my parents, I'm always up for finding new tomato sauce recipes, and this one was perfect. 

I made this, and it was so good, I had to go back for seconds. I even had this reheated the next day. In my opinion Italian food makes the best leftovers.  

What is your favorite meal to eat as leftovers?

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Aimee and I have been trying to eat healthier lately and last night I decided to try something new- grilled portobello mushrooms. Aimee is not a big fan of mushrooms but I love them. They are a great substitute for too much of that heart-UNhealthy red meat and super low on calories and fat. I just threw this recipe together last minute and it turned out really delicious. The only adjustment I made to this recipe on here from what I made is that I halved the white pepper amount to taste (it had a little bit too much kick for my personal liking).

Here we go!

Start out by picking up as many portobello mushrooms from the grocery store as you want. They are BIG mushrooms- usually each person will only need one to be full. I had two because I was starving! They are located where you would expect them to be- in the vegetable area usually near bell peppers.

For each mushroom use the following ingredients:

Dry Ingredients
1/4 Tsp ground curry
1/8 Tsp ground white pepper
1/8 Tsp garlic salt
1/8 Tsp onion salt
1/8 Tsp seasoning salt (I used season all)

Remaining Ingredients
1 Tbsp diced green pepper
1 Tbsp diced yellow onion
1/2 Tbsp diced garlic
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

Wash the mushrooms thoroughly with cool water first. Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Place the diced pepper, onion and garlic onto the mushroom. Sprinkle the dry ingredients on top of the diced vegetables. Top with the worcestershire sauce.


If you are using a grill (preferably charcoal) cook on medium-high heat for 10-13 minutes. If you are baking in the oven set your oven to 350 and cook for the same duration. These mushrooms are safe to eat completely uncooked so don't worry about them being "raw" in the middle. This amount of time is sufficient to get the mushroom flesh just perfectly cooked and the peppers, onions and garlic will have enough time to get soft as well. Don't sweat it if some of the worcestershire sauce drips over the side of the mushroom- the flavor will still be there. The mushroom acts as a boiling pot and the flavors mix themselves in this boiling action.





Enjoy! This is a super simple recipe and it is incredible healthy as well- I calculated each mushroom with ingredients and cooked to be around 100 calories each. If you enjoy mushrooms this is a great recipe to try out.

Stuffed Squash

2 squash

1/2 cup marinara sauce (a recipe for mine can be found here)

parmesan cheese

Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Cut the squash in half, lenthwise.
4. Slightly scoop out the center of the squash.
5. Spoon marinara equally into each squash half.
6. Generously sprinkle parmesan cheese to cover marinara.
7. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of the parmesan cheese.
8. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until golden brown. (We cooked it a little longer because we were cooking chicken too and wanted to make sure it was cooked thoroughly.)
9. Remove from oven and enjoy.

We ate this with some chicken that I just coated in the same Italian bread crumbs as I used for the squash. This meal was super tasty, and super easy. Plus it seems relatively healthy too.

Veggie Quesadillas

1/4 of a large onion - diced

1/4 of a green pepper - diced

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 c. frozen corn

1 Tbs. diced chilies

1 can black beans - drained and rinsed

1/2 bunch cilantro - chopped

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 - 2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

2 c. Monterrey Jack cheese - shredded

6 wheat tortillas

butter - spread this lightly on the outside of the tortillas before adding to the frying pan



In a medium sauce pan, heat the olive oil. Add the green peppers and onions and saute for a few minutes. Add the corn, beans, chilies, cilantro and spices. Heat.



Heat a larger pan for cooking the quesadillas in. Lay 1 tortilla in the pan, add 1/6 of the cheese add 1/3 of the veggie mixture, add another 1/6 of the cheese and lay another tortilla on top. Cook until tortilla is browned and cheese is melting - flip and cook the other tortilla until cheese is completely melted and tortilla is browned.



Repeat for the other 2 servings.



If easier cook quesadillas by doing only half a side and fold over. It is easier to flip this way.



Serve warm and with your favorite condiments - salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

We really thought these were very yummy. We like quesadillas as leftovers for lunch and these worked really well for that.

Recipe adapted from Favorite Family Recipes

Spicy Avocado and Black Bean Salad

I found this recipe at Real Simple. I was looking for a different kind of salad that also passed for a side dish. I really enjoyed the vinaigrette and thought the salad was even better on the 2nd day after marinating together overnight.

Spicy Avocado and Black Bean Salad

1 15.5 ounce can black beans, rinsed
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and sliced (I only had a red so it was not as sweet but still good)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced (I had a homegrown mild jalapeno pepper, be careful seeding this and cutting it, any of the juices burn)
2 T fresh lime juice
2 T olive oil
3/4 tsp ground cumin
kosher salt
black pepper
1 avocado, sliced
1/2 C chopped cilantro leaves

1. In a medium bowl, combine the lime juice, oil, cumin, 1/2 t salt and 1/4 t pepper.
2. Add the beans, bell pepper, and jalapeno.
3. Fold in the avocado and cilantro.
4. Serve