Dinner For Three

Since being back in Utah for Christmas I ended up having to have knee surgery, which extended my stay about a week and a half. My mom, coincidentally, had to have arm and wrist surgery a week before I got home so we ended up being two helpless gimps while Grandma was left to take care of us (lucky her). So yesterday we finally got out to the grocery store and came home with a bunch of goodies - fresh mozzarella, halibut, coconut oil, and a ton of herbs and vegetables. We decided that since its my last week being home I'm going to whip up a few culinary creations while I'm here and I can use them to blog about - Yay! New years resolution fulfilled! 

Here's what we had for dinner: 

Ingredients: Yields 4

4 strips of bacon diced
1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 large garlic cloves

5 small zucchinis

2 - 3 bell peppers 

2 roma tomatoes
1/2 tbsp Beau Monde

1/4 cup green onions
20 - 25 shrimp (we used 5 per person, ours were small)

2/3 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
2/3 cup heavy cream
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
First off cook bacon in the oven on 450° until its crisp
 - not burnt! Chop and set aside.
Now...
1. Peel and chop garlic roughly into disks
2. In a large skillet heat the olive oil and the butter on medium until they're melted together
3. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until garlic begins to turn brown then remove from the pan and set aside. In the meantime..

[PREP]
4. Peel all zucchini into long thin strips - so it looks similar to thick linguini
5. Julliene the bell peppers and the tomatoes - taking the seeds out of both before hand
6. Cut the green onion into short strips
7. Chop the parsley and grate your parmesan cheese
8. If your shrimp is frozen - like mine - thaw it out and peel it
9. Have your wine, cream, tomato sauce and shrimp ready on hand so we can

[COOK]
10. After the garlic is taken out of the pan turn the pan up to medium high add the bell peppers (saute for 3 - 5 minutes until soft)
11. Add the tomato and green onion, cook for about 2 minutes until everything is heated together
12. Add your shrimp and cook until at least one side is fully pink then add the wine
13. Let that simmer until the wine is reduced (about 7 - 10 minutes depending on the size of your skillet)
14. Add your tomato sauce - mine was homemade courtesy of Grandma but when I'm at school I usually use a canned tomato sauce like mushroom or Italian style that I get at TjMaxx
15. Now is when I usually turn the heat up to high so that the sauce can begin to bubble and thicken up a little bit - once its at a nice thick consistency is when I add the cream, parsley, bacon and the cheese (save some to sprinkle on top of each plate though as well at the parsley)
16. I let this cook until its all combined and thick then I add the garlic back in and zucchini

Now here's some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

And vuala!! 
This recipe can be vegetarian without the bacon and shrimp or you can add leftover chicken or sausage or whatever you want! Don't have wine? That's fine just omit that ingredient, if you don't have cream add butter instead! This recipe can be changed into whatever you want, this is my version of zucchini pasta, now you can create yours!

Like my new signature! I used this tutorial to figure out how to do place it and I used My Live Signature to create it, check it out for your blog!!

Enjoy!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Finally here! My summertime recipe for spinach and artichoke dip. I usually only make this when I am in New York at the lake during vacation because Wegman's is the only store that sells the ingredients that make this dip taste just right. Below are the instructions and a rough estimate of the ingredients. Since I never write any of my recipes down this might not be the exact way I make it every time but if you use the best ingredients you can find and bake it until it bubbles you can probably get it to come out perfectly! 

Ingredients:

2 jars of marinated quartered artichoke hearts

2 - 3 vine ripe tomatoes roughly chopped (depending on their size)

1/2 red onion diced

3 cloves of garlic minced

2 jars of Italian style shredded parmesan cheese

2 boxes of frozen chopped spinach

1.5 cups of mayonnaise (roughly) 

1/2 cup of cream cheese

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°

2. Defrost packages of chopped spinach

3. While those are defrosting saute your tomatoes, garlic and onion in the olive 

oil and add salt and pepper to taste

4. When the spinach is defrosted you need to put it in a kitchen towell 

(one that you don't mind if it gets stained a light green color) and squeeze out 

all of the liquid - it is very important to NOT SKIP THIS STEP because if there

 is too much liquid in the mixture it will not cook out it will make the dip 

very soupy and mushy (we don't want that!)

5. Once you have drained all the liquid place the spinach in a bowl

6. Add the marinated artichoke hearts along with their liquid 

to the tomato, onion and garlic mixture and cook for about 2 minutes

7. Add the tomato, onion and garlic mixture to the spinach once the onion 

is softened and translucent

8. Add your cheese (but save about 1/4 cup for the top), mayonnaise and cream cheese

9. Stir the mixture together until it is all combined

10. Put in a baking tin and add remaining cheese to the top.

The in I used was probably just 10" around but it doesn't really matter 

what one you use as long at your mixture isn't more that 2" thick. 

Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes and take out and serve when it is warm and bubbly! 

Happy Thursday!

Butter Lettuce and Shrimp Salad

So, if you have read some of my recent posts you'll know that I eat gluten free - an extremely difficult task at times but you do learn how to make every single kind of salad in the process! I recently also decided to try and avoid red meats for a while, so far its been working out and there are a lot of fish and chicken dishes I've been coming up with that are easily just as good as a burger. This recipe was inspired by a fellow favorite blogger and a while back she did this recipe with avocado, shrimp and endive. She also did a video on it which if you watch it you'll see how incredibly easy it is to make. 

You know me - I like to put my own twist on everything - so here is my own recipe on shrimp salad. P.S. Make sure to check out her blog Because I'm Addicted and her Vimeo channel LEAFtv as well!!

Butter Lettuce and Shrimp Salad

1 Lemon

1 Avocado

1 Vine Ripe Tomato

5 - 6 Butter Lettuce Leaves

6 Shrimp (peeled and deveined) 

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

S & P

**This recipe yields one person according to the leaves and shrimp

If your shrimp are frozen (like mine) I put them in a strainer or colander in the sink and let the cool water run over them for about five to ten minutes until they're thawed. Then I lightly pat them dry, place them in a bowl and add one tablespoon of olive oil, one half juice of the lemon and salt and pepper. Let them marinate for about ten minutes - or longer - while you get the rest of the ingredients ready. I personally like long strips of lettuce in this salad, it looks elegant and you can twirl them on your fork making it easier to eat. How I do that is I pick a few of the outside leaves and place them one on top of the other so that they all fit together; then, starting from the bottom of the leaves, I roll them into each other upwards making a little roll-up. Then simply slice the log of lettuce and you'll get them into long thin strips. Put the leaves in a bowl and move onto the tomato - I usually cut it in half and then dice it into medium sized cubes then put that in the bowl. Next the avocado - half it, remove the pit, and remove the flesh from the skin and then slice into long thin strips and add to the bow. Add the juice of the other half of the lemon and the other tablespoon of olive oil. Now you're ready to saute the shrimp. In a small skillet saute your shrimp for about two minutes on each side - they don't take very long on each side if you over cook them they become rubbery so be careful! When they're beautifully pink and cooked through add them to your salad and toss! 

 

Friday Favorites

Today's favorites are short and sweet - just a few things I've collected over the week that I'm looking forward to. I also have a short and sweet soup recipe that I whipped up today when I didn't feel like making anything that was too time consuming. It was very tasty and its even good cooled or at warm temperature. But first things first, here are the Friday favorites:

 [whole artichoke that will be used in a recipe found at this blog]

 [one of my new favorite ingredients; recipe coming soon]

[cozie recently bought from a good friend in honor of our 2012 graduates]

Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

 1 yellow bell pepper

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 can chili ready roasted tomatoes

1 can cannellini beans

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano 

2 Turkish bay leaves

1/4 cup chopped parsley 

5 cups chicken stock 

s & p

In a large pot saute garlic and bell pepper in olive oil for five minutes until soft. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano. Add chili ready roasted tomatoes and cannellini or white kidney beans. Cook for about two minutes then add five cups of chicken stock - I used two cups of broth and then used chicken bullion cubes and water to come up with the remaining three cups since I ran out of broth. If you do it that way then bring the soup to a boil and then add your bullion cubes, usually one cube is good for one cup of water. Let simmer for ten minutes after adding your two bay leaves and parsley. Ready to eat!

This recipe can be used with any other vegetables too so you can use what you have on hand. Also the spices I chose can be substituted out for other ones or you can choose not to use them all together. I like the cumin because it gives a bit of heat and smokey-ness to the soup and the bay leaves bring out such a deep depth of flavor that makes it more vibrant. However, these aren't required so if you don't have them don't worry! Salt and pepper will do just fine but make sure to season liberally and TASTE it to check the flavor - you can always add more but you can't take seasoning out!

Summertime Asparagus and Tilapia

The big recipe is finally here! 

I've been working on editing these pictures and re-reading the recipe to make sure I did everything right so that when you try this at home it will come out just right! When I went to the grocery store last week there were a lot of things that looked good and I could have left there with almost every vegetable in the produce section but I came home with just a few things that would last me a while. One of those vegetables was asparagus. One bunch will last you a while if you know how to use it properly. Depending on how big or small they are my rule of thumb is to grab a bunch of them with your middle finger and thumb and that is roughly the amount one person can eat. However, if you think that won't be a big enough portion try cooking it with other vegetables and some protein and I promise it will fill you up. The second thing you should know is how to store it. I keep mine in a vase full of water in the refrigerator - I found that it doesn't need much water and they will stay perfectly fresh for about a week or longer even. 

The other main ingredient I picked up at the store was tilapia. Tilapia is a fantastic fish - it is extremely versatile and it takes on other flavors very well so it will pair great with almost anything. It also has a mild fish flavor in my opinion so seasoning and other ingredients is a must in order to give it good flavor and body.

The recipe below was inspired by something I made at work a while back when I was trying to find a way to have a good meal without using pasta. I am on a non-gluten diet currently and during the first few weeks it was very difficult to find things to eat that felt like an entree. My solution: vegetable stir fry or rice - or both! I found that if you cut your vegetable into longer, thinner strips they act as pasta strings and you can put sauce and protein and whatever else you like on top. In this recipe the onions play that roll and if you cook them correctly you get rid of that tart, sour oniony flavor and end up with sweet, mild, savory onion flavor. So anyways, here it goes!

First things first - you must blanch your asparagus before you use it; otherwise it will be tough and the ends will be very fibrous and hard to chew. Here's how:

Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. Once its boiling add a handful of salt - well salted water makes for well seasoned ingredients. Add your asparagus (mine is cut before hand so that I don't need to use a bigger pot). Let it cook for about 3 - 5 minutes until it is bright green. Strain or use a spider to fish out the pieces and transfer directly into an ice bath (a bowl of ice cold water with ice cubes) in order to immediately stop the cooking process. Now they are ready for the main recipe.

Summertime Asparagus and Tilapia
1/2 bunch of asparagus blanched

2 tilapia filets (seasoned with s & p on both sides)

1 vine ripe tomato chopped

1 medium while or yellow onion slices 

1 7.5 oz jar of marinated artichoke hearts quartered

3 cloves of garlic minced

3/4 cup freshly chopped parsley

1 lemon

1 tbsp capers

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter 

1 tbsp heavy cream (optional) 

salt and pepper (s & p)

In a skillet that is hot over medium heat cook onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter. Cook for three minutes or until onions are translucent. Add your blanched asparagus and cook that for three minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add your jar of artichoke hearts including the juice - the juice will help make the sauce later. Finally add one or two tablespoons of your chopped parsley then let the mixture cook on medium until about half of the liquid has evaporated from the pan. Transfer the mixture into a separate bowl, cover and set aside. Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the pan still on medium heat and place the seasoned tilapia in the pan. Add the juice of half your lemon then place in the pan flesh side down. After three minutes of cooking add 1 tablespoon of butter in order to keep the fish moist and the bottom of the pan from getting too dry (you can add more or less olive oil or butter in order to prevent the bottom of the pan from burning). Flip the fish over after five to six minutes of cooking. Add the juice of the other half of the lemon directly over the cooked side of the fish. Add your tomatoes, capers and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Cook the fish for three minutes in a covered pan on medium to low heat. Remove lid and add cream if desired. Pour the fish and tomato mixture on a plate and add the asparagus mixture on top to serve!

 

Number One

Hello! Allow me to introduce myself - my name is Rosie. I am a student at Oklahoma State University about to enter into my fourth and final year of school. For a long time now I have wanted to start a blog about cooking but every time I thought about it or put it on my to-do list I either procrastinated so much I forgot about it, or my list filled up with other more important things I needed to attend to. However this summer I finally mustered up enough courage to start it before I convinced myself that I had no idea how to blog. Now that I have started I realized that I probably should have actually written down more of my dishes and other recipes in order to write more posts - but I guess I just created a little adventure for myself.


This first blog will be historic because today was the first day that I made something and actually wrote down the recipe while I was cooking it! I also took pictures of the whole process too (which is something I rarely do because I'm so intense when I'm cooking that I forget about everything else I'm doing.) While I am still in the process of figuring out how to edit those pictures and make them look like the pictures on some of my favorite blogs here and here I have a simple breakfast recipe that will put a little pizazz on your scrambled eggs.

Scrambled Eggs with Bell Pepper and Tomato
4 eggs
1/2 vine ripe tomato
1/2 yellow or red bell pepper
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
2/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp italian seasoning
salt and pepper
(yields two)

I very rarely eat just plain scrambled eggs anymore every since I watched an episode of Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals (back when I was around 16) where she made breakfast for dinner and put tons of delicious veggies in her scrambled eggs and made it seem so tasty. Usually I only put 2 or 3 vegetables in my eggs but there is no rule that says you can't put more! Here is how I do it:


Beat the eggs in a bowl until they're the consistency you want them. Personally I don't mind if they aren't extremely fine; I like some bits of white and some bits of yolk. Then in a small skillet melt the butter on medium heat, then add in the bell pepper and tomato and salt and pepper to taste. After about two minutes the pepper will be soft and its time to add in the eggs. With a spatula pull the eggs from the outsides of the pan into the center letting the cooked parts separate from the uncooked liquid and continue until all is cooked through. Just before all of the eggs are cooked I like to add the Italian seasoning and some of the cheese so that the flavor is throughout the eggs and not just on top. When they are finished cut off the heat and add the rest of the cheese and the parsley on top to melt.


The great thing about eggs is that 1) they don't take very long to cook and 2) you can add almost anything to them. I've done this recipe with leftover vegetables too which is a great way to reuse cooked ingredients from the night before to create a brand new meal. In the past I've done zucchini, asparagus, spinach and avocado. You can also switch up the herbs and types of cheese you add which means there must be like 343,485,058,272,658 different combinations of eggs out there! Until next time - happy cooking!