All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel
BBQ Bacon Wrapped Corn – try taking your average grilled corn on the cob to the next level. A must make at your next summer BBQ.
Post from 8/23/18, Pictures updated 5/27/18
I’m so out of it this week.
I’m really thankful it’s Friday… Friyay… because this week felt like it was dragging and dragging.
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I haven’t been into cooking during the week. I try to do all my ‘big’ cooking done over the weekend and then just make something simple like boxed mac and cheese during the week. It’s too hot. I’m too tired. I don’t care.
But since I can’t live on boxed mac and cheese alone (or can I?), I’ve been trying to make some simple salads or sandwiches, besides PBJ. One that I have been turning to is a summer time favorite… a tomato sandwich.
I just feel that you can’t beat fresh summer produce so you should take every opportunity you can to enjoy it. And don’t mess around with it too much. Some bread, your favorite mayo, fresh greens, and slices of juice ripe tomato. Plus don’t forget the fresh cracked salt and pepper. Really, enjoy the best of every ingredient since there are only 4.
I recently received some Vegan Nayonsise from Nasoya to try. I’ve really been enjoying it on sandwiches, in dips for fries, and on burgers. Yes, I know. Dumb Dumb puts vegan mayo on a meaty burger. I’m pregnant. That’s my free card to do whatever. But really, because it is so good I’ve been putting it on and in all different things. I think that’s really impressive since I ONLY use Hellmann’s. Don’t try to give me Cain’s or Miracle Whip.
So naturally, I was hesitant to try the Original Nayonaise. But I was really pleasantly surprised with how much I liked it. No, this is not your typical mayo since it is Dairy and Egg Free, which means it is not going to taste the same or look the same as a ‘normal’ mayo but it really is very good. I think it is a great solution for someone to enjoy if they are vegetarian, vegan, or have a food allergy.
I had done some side by side comparisons while playing around with the Nayonaise by making some foods with it and some with regular mayo and mixing them up. If you were not really looking out for the difference I think you would not really notice it. The taste is subtually tangier than Hellmann’s, but I don’t think that is a bad thing. I never experienced a funny after taste with the Nayonaise either. I think the biggest difference I noticed was that it has a different texture compared to mayo. When mayo is pretty smooth, it is rather gummy, but I didn’t notice any problems mixing it up or spreading it on my sandwich.
Besides it being a great product for vegetarians, vegans, or people with food allergies, I think it would be great for people who are watching their figure. Compared to the average mayo that has 90 calories, 10 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat per serving, the Nayonaise has only 40 calries, 3 grams of fat, and .5 grams of saturdated fat per serving. The Nayonaise has slightly more sodium with 115 grams compared to 90 grams but overall a very healthy mayo alternative.
For real… look at this amazing perfect summertime sandwich.
Nom, Nom, Nom!!!
Makes 4 ‘sandwiches’
Ingredients
Process
*While I did receive this complimentary jar of Nayoniase from Nasoya, these opinions are entirely my own.
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After last week’s race I’m ready for this weekend’s Kobalt Tools 400 is held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. My favorite driver, Kasey Kahne, better finish better at this week’s race than last week’s since he was a favorite to win and then with some issues ended up at 19th. And he was involved in a wreck at the Daytona Race resulting in a 36th place finish. So, like last year, it ain’t starting off too well. But I’m hoping that, like last year, this get better and he makes it into the Chase. LAst year he ended up 4th overall, not too bad considering the start, but he needs some big finishes to get there!
So I’m excited about this race at Las Vegas since he does really well here. He is the all-time pole winner with three poles, including last years. In his 9 starts at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway he has won 1 race, hs 2 top-five finishes, and 4 top-ten finishes. Fingers crossed!
Well, what would I make for this week’s edition of Sprint Cup Snacks?
I figured what better way to gear up for the race in Las Vegas than to enjoy a buffet? They are everywhere in Vegas so I figured I would make a fun little buffet myself in its honor. I’ve done plenty of taco and chili bars but I thought that a Dress Your Own Baked Potato Buffet would be a blast. If you can bake a potato and put some toppings in some serving bowls than you are all set for a fun meal that everyone can enjoy and personalize.
The best is that this can be scaled down or up for any amount of people. For 4 to 40 this is a fun way to eat dinner or at a party.
Ingredients
Toppings:
Process
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The Las Vegas Speedrome was built in 1971, which first consisted of a road course and drag strip. Over the years needs changes, as well as ownership which resulted in complex that was refurbished in 1995 to create the 1.5 mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The first Sprint Cup race there, and the first Kobalt Tools 400, was first held in 1998, which Mark Martin won. In 2006 the racetrack was enhanced again with more progressive banking taking the turns from 12 degrees to 20 degrees.
Track: 1.5 mile
Shape: Tri-Oval Super Speedway
Banking: 20 degrees in the turns
Surface: Asphalt
Capacity: 142,000
Race: 267 laps for 400.5 miles
2012 winner: Tony Stewart
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This week Amanda and I are taking a break from our Thirsty Thursday’s posts so we each can bring you some different posts. Amanda has a giveaway on her blog and I have a post for the brand new Pass the Cook Book Club. Awesome right? But don’t you worry as we have some fantastic posts planned for March. 🙂
Kita of Pass The Sushi has organized this great group where she picks a few recipes from a cookbook for everyone to make. It’s a fantastic way of dusting off and cracking open all of those cookbooks we all own. I am so bad about buying new books to fill them up with post-it’s and then not doing anything with them. So I was really excited when I heard about the PTCBC because it would encourage us to cook from what we own. Anyway, the first book is The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier
From three options we had, I decided on making the Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin. I remember my parents making it when I was young so I wanted to try it myself. I’m glad I tried it myself since it was super easy and made a great side for our dinner. It is a great side dish and I like that it has the possibility to take on a lot of different flavors so I can make a lot of varieties.
When Ree says it will be garlickly she is not joking! 3 cloves of garlic!!! I love garlic so it was perfect for me and went really well with the pork cutlets I made with it. The potatoes are soft and flavorful from the creamy sauce and the cheese on top was so good. This is going to be making a regular appearance on our dinner table.
I only made a few changes to the dish’s ingredients and cooking process. First I didn’t serve the side with the green onions just because I forgot them in the store. duh! I swapped the black pepper for white pepper because I love white pepper with creamy sauces. I increased the amount of milk because when I put the sauce mixture in the dish it didn’t cover my potatoes. Also, since it is 8 servings I knew we would eat the leftovers over a few days so I didn’t want the dish to dry out either. Lastly, I popped it under the broiler for a minute so the cheese would get browned and crunchy- which I love, so if you don’t want it to browned then just bake it and don’t broil it.
Be sure to check out what everyone else made!
If you love cooking then you should join Pass the Cook Book Club for some monthly cooking inspiration.
Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
Process
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Dinner will never be the same when you make this Extra Cheesy Brussels Sprout Gratin. You’ll love all this cheesy goodness!
Post from 11/20/12, Pictures Updated 11/15/18
Post Contains Affiliate Links. Read my full disclosure HERE
I was recently going through old cooking magazines to organize them into a usefully system. Since a pile of cut up recipes from magazines tossed in a box isn’t much of a system…. no?
Well, my system is still getting tweaked but at least I can more easily find some fun things to try. In that process, I dug up recipes from December ’11 from Martha Stewart Living and one of the things that jumped out of me was the Smokey Brussels Sprout Gratin. Cheese! Brussels Sprouts! More Cheese! Winner!!!!
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Post from 11/13/12, Pictures updated 11/8/16
When I was younger, I wasn’t a huge fan of the cranberry side at Thanksgiving.
My mom loved the classic canned jellied cranberry sauce. She loved the ridges on it and how it would pop out of the can. I love that this is a staple on our table for her. I just didn’t really love the texture of it. Plus, cranberries were so tart to me back then.
I think things all changed when I was working in the South End of Boston by a place called Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe. You see, Charlie’s would sell oatmeal with a cranberry compote that I would get if I as a treat for suffering through retail on the weekends. I loved the warm oatmeal in the winter and the compote really added a lot of flavor to an otherwise pretty plan breakfast.
And then I met this amazing guy who just loved homemade cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. So now when we’ve gone back to my mom’s to celebrate Thanksgiving there have been 2 kinds of cranberry sauce on the table. It’s great to have cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving but really I believe you can have it at any point in the fall. It works hot with oatmeal or cold with yogurt if you can’t get enough of it and want to enjoy it for breakfast as well.
No matter if you call this a sauce, chutney, salsa, compote, or a relish, you will call this a new family favorite. I love the orange and cranberry combination so much. It helps highlight the natural flavors of the cranberry while adding some sweetness at the same time. I often throw a vanilla bean that I’ve been using in my homemade vanilla extract to add a bit more flavor. I just give it an extra scrape and throw it into the pot. You can add a bit of vanilla extract instead or even substitute the sugar for vanilla sugar, or skip it all together. If you feel you might light a scrape of nutmeg or to throw a star anise in there then give it a try as this is all about finding the right flavors so this will be a family favorite.
Ingredients
Process
For my Secret Recipe Club post this month I had Melissa’s blog. She shares great sounding and looking recipes on her blog called Fried Ice and Donut Holes. While her blog is not a vegetarian blog she does have a great number of veggie friendly posts that look mouth watering. I have several recipes bookmarked for some healthy comfort food eating this fall and winter.
When it came time to pick a make a recipe I had a very hard time because I had a whole list of great things like, Barbecue Chicken Pizza, Baked Pumpkin Donuts, and Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pot Pie. In the end I picked the Spiced Black Bean, Grilled Avocado, and Goat Cheese Tacos. I simply picked these tacos to make because I was having a crappy, super busy week. I had these bookmarked since I loved how they could be a great recipe to use when I didn’t feel like cooking. Well, that is exactly what happened. I had just about everything at home so I just ran out for an avocado and some wine (since I really needed that as well) and was quickly on my way to dinner once I got back home.
I made a few changes to the original recipe but I think you have to do what works best for you and you taste preferences/ingredients on hand/sanity. For example, I could not find coriander seeds at our grocery store so omitted them and decided to amp up the other flavors I did have. I switche using olive oil out for corn oil as corn has a more subtle flavor as a higher smoking point, which I figured would be best for the grilled avocados. I added some cilantro since I love it and always have it around (for us and the rabbits). I mashed my black beans as I like that texture and I figured that it would more easily stay in the taco to eat (while balancing a glass of wine on my lap and watching Parenthood). I really enjoyed these and since I typically have the ingredients around on hand I know I can always have a great dinner at the ready with some easy adaption.
makes 4 tacos
Ingredients
Process
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August: Birthday Cake Oreo Truffles
July: Tropical Pork Pineapple Kebabs
June: Cheesy Garlic Knots
May: Berry Brownie Torte
April: Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
March: Sauteed Green Beans with Lemon and Almonds
February: Fried Pickles
Jan: No SRC postings
December: Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry
November: Vegetable Enchiladas
October: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!
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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.
When Price and I were first dating he was working at a place close to Chinatown and we would often meet for lunch in there. We would often go to Chau Chow City down the road from his office. I would always get their “String Bean Szechuan Style” dish. A spicy dish that is so large that it would make up 2 lunches for me. String beans are one of my favorite vegetables so an entire dish centered around them was an obvious winner. And that is why I loved this recipe for Secret Recipe Club this month.
This month I was given Yasmeen’s blog called Wandering Spice. What I loved most about her blos is that she paired a song with each recipe. I think that is adorable. Yasmeen makes such interesting recipes that it was so hard to pick from. It sounds corny but I could see myself making most of them in the summer. I just equate flavorful spicey food for the summer. Strange… I know! So I’m sure I’ll be whipping up something like her lentil + fresh basil orzotto or her Chicken + Phyllo “Ladies Fingers”. I have not really explored cooking with lentils before , although I keep buying bags of them to stack up in the cabinet, so her recipes will definitely help me learn.
Yasmeen posted a simple Sauteed String Beans with Lemon and Almonds recipe around Thanksgiving and I was hooked once I saw it. I know that string beans are often associated with Thanksgiving but I think that they should be made more often. As long as they are not viciously overcooked and mushy. Please don’t do that to this lovely bean. And with this recipe you won’t do that since it’s quick cooking and very flavorful.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Process:
Warm a large skillet over low heat. Gently toast the almond until they are aromatic and light brown, around 2-3 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Wash and trim the cut ends of the beans.
Turn the heat up for the beans. Once the skillet has gotten hot again,add the green beans and 1/4 cup water. Cover the skillet and let steam 2-3 minutes, until beans are just tender.
Add the minced garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper, red pepper flake, and rice vinegar to the beans. Sauté for a 1-2 minutes, until flavours combine and beans are tender (but still crisp). Once done toss in the toasted almonds and dress lightly with olive oil.
Serve immediately or at room temperature.
February: Fried Pickles
December: Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry
November: Vegetable Enchiladas
October: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!
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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.
The thing I miss most about our old apartment is our little yard with grill. We had to ditch all the behind for this new place but the one thing we would not give up was grilled broccoli. Since we no longer have a grill we have been roasting it. Sometimes you just need to improvise and change things up to make one of your favorite foods stay with you. And since we had a gas grill (don’t judge, I have no patience to heat coal up on a nightly basis) I can’t tell the difference. Bliss.
I swear that grilled/roasted broccoli is life changing. I had it at a BBQ for the first time and I swear the world stopped for a moment and everything went into slow-mo around me as I inhaled a plate of it. Screw the steak, give me grilled broccoli. Roasting it produces the same crunchy bits on the floral part of the broccoli. The stalk still has some bite to it as well that makes you shudder at the thought of steaming broccoli ever again (unless you downed it in cheese). I’ve had it with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled over it once I’ve taken it out of the oven but swear the best way is just to have it with some lemon juice on it. I love lemon juice on it so I use 1/2 a lemon but you can adjust to your own taste, as well as the amount of juice that comes out of the lemon.
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
Process
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I am of the camp that worships lumpy mashed potatoes. While I have plenty of issues with the texture of foods I am eating, I love the contrast of a bit of firm potato that is cozy with some smooth, velvety mashed potato. I think mashed potatoes is such a great food since it is a great side and a great starter to other reuse recipes, like potato pancakes or soup. Plus potatoes are so affordable that they can help keep you making great dinners and keeping budget.
With the new year upon us, I thought I would share with you a great mashed potato recipe that is a lot healthier than a lot others out there. Now is the time for everyone to resolve to loose weight or save more so a mashed potato recipe is a great way to start the new year. We are trying to do both so I anticipate making some fun recipes with potatoes like this in the upcoming year.
These mashed potatoes use substitutes to make it healthier while still having great flavor. We pretty much only have skim milk in the house so I use that instead of a full fat milk. I do use butter but not too much considering the size of the batch of mashers. The thing that really makes these mashed potatoes thick an flavorful is low fat sour cream.
*serves 10-14 people*
Ingredients
Process
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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.
One night, while falling asleep on the Cos I was ‘watching’ a recorded episode of Everyday Food and I managed to actually take in the genius that was making a pizza with a sandwich wrap. Yeah genius. I love all the Martha does. Martha is hardcore. She is a Jersey girl through and through and will give you the stink eye on her show if you ‘f up the cooking/decorating segment. So going to prison just made her more bad ass to me.You know she had the best decorated cell in there too. So I love her more now, esp since her staff made this amazing looking pizza starting with a sandwich wrap. Feel free to check out their Thinnest Crust Pizza with Mushrooms and Ricotta since I used that to inspire me for my own pizza.
I really like pizza but I’m not often in the mood for making dough or getting it at the store. It is so much work and is so heavy. While, I enjoy regular pizza, using a whole wheat sandwich wrap will be my go to crust for pizzas. Why? Inexpensive. Fast. Thin. And fast. In total you can assemble one of these thin crust pizzas in 30 minutes. It’s a quick assembly and pretty quick baking time too. It produces a light thin crust pizza that makes for a great appetizer for a party or a personal meal.
I really suggest getting a whole wheat wrap since it has more flavor than the regular white ones. It’s like getting whole wheat bread or Wonder. Put down the Wonder Bread. You can use a tomato sauce, pesto, or just cheese, but just be sure generously top it with thinly sliced veggies. The thinner the veggie, faster it cooks. So if you are considering mushrooms I suggest that you purchase them whole and slice them yourself to regulate the thickness. Don’t be cheap with the toppings either- you basically want to completely cover the wrap since unadorned spots will be naked and may burn.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil
Lightly oil the edge of the whole wheat wrap. Evenly coat the wrap with pesto.
Place 5 spoonfuls of ricotta on the wrap. Place your sliced mushrooms evenly, covering most of the surface. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the red onion on top of the mushrooms
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
When I was younger I did not like tabouli but I believe it was because I was a bit sensitive to the strong taste of parsley and mint. But… I now love falafel, hummus, tahini sauce, and tabouli. Which is exactly why I go to Fafafel King at lunch or Rami’s for dinner. Since I’m trying to save some extra money (and calories by having it portion controled) I have been getting a prepared meal from Trader Joe’s called “Mideast Feast”. For $5 it is okay, not great, but okay. Well yesterday’s lunch was AWFUL. the hummus was bland and too smooth, the tabouli was all parsley and not salted at all, and the falafel was extra dry. Woes me. So half my lunch went directly into the trash.
I decided that I would make falafel, hummus, and tabouli from scratch to make a good dinner and learn how to make all of those things. Well, the tabouli and roasted red pepper hummus were successful but the baked falafel falls into the category of better luck next time. There was nothing wrong with the recipe or the fact that I baked it instead of frying the pieces. The mishap came down to the fact that I don’t own a food processor so I substituted with my Magic Bullet. This has worked in the past but not for the falafel. Let my failure teach you!
Well the tabouli came out really well. I made it last night, purposefully allowing the flavors to meld together for a full day. Tabouli is really simple to put together. While the cracked wheat is absorbing the water cut all the veggies and herbs to toss together later. The hardest part is all the mincing, ooo really hard. I like tabouli, and most other things, with a lot of lemon so I used 2 lemons for my batch.
adapted from Food Network
2 cups water 2 cups fine cracked wheat 1 large bunch of cup fresh parsley leaves, minced 1 medium red onion, minced 3 tomatoes, seeds removed and diced 1 large english cucumber, diced 1/4 cup olive oil juice of 2 lemons, or to taste salt and pepper to tasteIn a large bowl combine the cracked wheat and water. Set aside 20 minutes, or until the wheat has absorbed the water.
Once the water has been absorbed, add in parsley, onion, tomatoes, and cucumber toss together.
Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Adjust to taste.
