A Brief Update.

Well, the world ... ok the nation ... has (is) going to hell ... so I thought I'd put myself back on track of things I love ... and I do love food ... gotta preserve my mental health. 

So, I'm going to be blogging more about my culinary activities! ;) 

Stay tuned. 

Hungry Lady Soup - from TikTok

 Don't know why it's called as such, but this soup is delicious. 

Recipe etc. coming soon... 

No Dairy No Egg Coffee Whip

 I saw this on Facebook page called EmmyMade - she takes unique recipes and suggestions and tests them out to see if they really work, and if they are any good. This one is EASY and seemed like it would taste good so I gave it a try.

INGREDIENTS
Instant Coffee (1/3 cup)
Sugar (1 cup)
Cold Water (.58 cup)

Place the coffee and sugar in your mixers bowl and give it a quick whisk. Then add the water (I made it super cold by putting ice cubes in it and then measuring out the right amount).

Whip for 2-3 minutes, until it makes stiff peaks (like a meringue). And it's ready.

I put it on top of a sugar cookie - Emmy put it on a brownie cupcake.

Mine was super heavy on the coffee flavor - which I loved, but would possibly cut back on a bit depending upon who was going to be consuming it. :)

Buffalo Chicken Wings

If you don't own an air fryer, love Buffalo Wings, and want a slightly healthier way of cooking them ... bake'em. Here's a recipe I used and they came out really well!

Ingredients: 
3 lbs party style wings
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

For Sauce:
1/2 cup hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot Sauce)
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon honey

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).
In a bowl, place wings and dry ingredients and toss toss toss! (Coat those little buggers.)
Place wings on a wire rack (above some cookie sheets to catch the dripping grease).
Bake for 45 minutes (until golden crispy).

For Sauce:
Melt butter.
Add hot sauce and honey.
Mix.

Place wings in baking pan and coat with the sauce.

Serve (you may want to place them in the oven for a bit, to let that sauce sink in) and enjoy!

Tarantula and Crickets! (Dec. 2018)

This post is LOOOOOOONG over due ... for Christmas 2018, my father got a few interesting "treats" for our stockings (mine, my brothers and his) ... and we ate them!

Tarantula

Crickets

Mixed Bag of Bugs

Chirps Chips

Bugs are a "food" that I'm really not sure I could eat - if they looked like the bug. However, during rehearsals for Alice in Wonderland Charlie (my awesome SM and friend) bought these and I did in fact, try them.

They weren't bad ... they kind of tasted like a slightly cheddar'ed up bit of air.

Fried rice

One Pot Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls

One Pot Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls

Brown the chicken in a few tablespoons of teriyaki sauce.

Add 2 cups rice and 3.5 cups of water.

Add chopped carrots, fresh peas, and chopped scallions.

Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce and a few tablespoons of soy sauce.

Bring to a boil. 

Reduce to a simmer and cook for approx. 20 minutes.

Add some fresh broccoli.

Cook for a 5-10 more minutes - until broccoli is "done."

Eat.

Enjoy.

Fajita Rice Bowls

Made a "one pan" - in the oven - Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl.

Rice (cooked on the stove top).

Black Beans (warmed on the stove top).

Chicken; Sliced Red Onion and Sliced Peppers (orange, red and green) -- all on one cookie sheet in the oven. Covered all things on the cookie sheet in oil. Sprinkled veg with salt and pepper. Rubbed the chicken with Penzys Taco Seasoning.

Cooked at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Assembled and ate. 

Delicious.

And, 3 chicken breasts yielded dinner and four lunches for the week.

Crockpot chicken fajita

Pinterest Recipe.

Sliced chicken breasts.

Sliced Onions and Peppers.

1 Can of diced tomatoes.

Cook for a few hours - then pull the chicken apart and replace. Serve over rice or in a wrap. 

Yum.

Seared Chicken & Cous Cous

I love broccoli. I love chicken. I love cous cous. So, what's not to love about this recipe?! The yogurt dressing, very middle eastern, and very delicious. 

Greek Yogurt. Garlic. Lemon Juice (and rind). SUCH A GOOD TASTE!!!! There's nothing like it. So distinct. Tart. Zingy. YUMMMMMM!!!!

Another Blue Apron meal. Very tasty. 

Spicy Shrimp & Korean Rice Cakes

This was another Blue Apron meal. Not my favorite one, but it was still tasty. Actually liked my second day lunch left overs more. :)

Also, I liked the Korean Rice Cakes (even if something that's made from rice also contains wheat, haha).

Spicy Tuna Rice Burger

Spicy Tuna Rice Burger, with Avocado, Sriracha sauce and a seaweed "wrap."

I think I found this recipe on Facebook, one of those "Tasty" videos that go around, and it looked so good I decided to give it a go. Very tasty indeed.

I forgot to get the scallions the recipe called for, so I just left them out ... I imagine they would be delicious in it though, next time.

As you can see, I managed to get it folded, but I don't think I packed the rice tight enough/cooked it long enough because it did not stay tight. But not bad for a first pass. I made a second burger with slightly thinner rice buns, that one didn't fold at all ... but it still tasted awesome! And I made the left overs into a "rice bowl" for my lunch tomorrow. Not bad, if I do say so myself. 

(And gluten free ... not that I need it to be, but I am going to do a 30 day trial of being "gluten free" to see what that does ... nice to know I can make something tasty and filling without gluten.)

Spicy Tuna Rice Burger

Cook white rice.

Mix together:

2 cups tuna (I used 2 cans of albacore tuna)

3 tbsp. mayo (I used what I had left)

1 tbsp. sesame oil

1 1/2 tsp. chili oil

1/2 tsp. white pepper (I didn't have white pepper so I just left if out, though I think you could use any kind of pepper if you wanted too)

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 scallions - chopped

Form a round "bun" out of rice -- do this by placing rice in a small plastic wrap lined ramekin, and press it firmly together.

Remove rice bun and place in a pan with tbsp. of sesame oil and cook (you’ll need 2 of these to make one burger).

Using a pastry brush, brush the side of the rice bun not on the pan with sesame oil, and then with soy sauce ... flip and do the other side with soy sauce (repeat a few times, until it’s “done”).

Remove from pan and place the lower half of one rice buns on the edge of a sheet of seaweed (nori).

Place tuna, a few slices of avocado and some Sriracha sauce on it, and then place the second bun on tope.

Fold the seaweed up and around the bottom half of the burger.

Enjoy.

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Funny story, a few days before Christmas I was out shopping with my mother, and came across grape leaves in a jar - I'd never seen them in a jar before so I thought I'd give them a try -- thinking they were already stuffed. Surprise, they were NOT stuffed! Ha. So, last night, 12/31/16, my niece and I made stuffed grape leaves ... and they were amazing!!! 

I'd never made them before, and though they didn't all stay tightly folded (my sue chef is rather young, and it was my first time), but they were easy to do and they tasted AMAZING!!!

Here's the recipe I used--> 

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked long-grain rice

1 large onion chopped

1/2 cup fresh dill chopped

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves chopped

2 quarts chicken broth

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

60 grape leaves drained and rinsed

hot water as needed

1 cup olive oil

How to:

Sautee the rice, chopped onion, dill and mint over medium heat for about 5minutes. Add a quarter of the chicken broth and half of the lemon juice and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Laying the grape leaves (veined side up), place a spoonful of rice mixture in the center of the leave. Fold the sides in and roll the leaf up like a little burrito. Place rolled up grape leave in the pan. Once all are rolled an in the pot, add the rest of the chicken both, lemon juice and olive oil. Cook - simmering, making sure not to boil them (or they will very likely fall apart), for about an hour. Remove, let cool, and then munch away.

Salted Caramel Shortbread

Oh. My. Goodness. This recipe is AMAZEBALLS!!!

Another Pinterest find. Easy and delicious. 

This is the exact recipe I used. (http://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/salted-caramel-shortbread/)

SALTED CARAMEL SHORTBREAD

 

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

25 mins

TOTAL TIME

40 mins

 

Buttery shortbread crust layered with thick, chewy, rich caramel and topped with sea salt!

Author: Tiffany

Recipe type: Dessert

INGREDIENTS

crust

• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 stick butter (8 tablespoons or ½ cup)
• 1¼ cups flour
• 1 tablespoon milk

caramel

• 1½ sticks butter (12 tablespoons)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper or lightly greased nonstick foil.
2. First prepare the shortbread crust. In a medium bowl combine the sugar and butter and cream together until smooth. Add flour and mix. Stir in milk. Mixture will resemble crumbs. Press into the pre-lined pan and bake 20 minutes until golden. Remove and allow to cool.
3. While crust is cooling, prepare the caramel layer.
4. In a medium sauce pan melt 1½ sticks of butter with ½ cup sugar. Add corn syrup and condensed milk. (Continue to stir throughout the entire process) Bring to a rapid boil over medium-high heat, and then decrease to medium heat (should still be bubbling) 6-8 minutes or until mixture achieves deep golden color, stirring constantly. (I recommend a whisk! - see note)
5. Pour caramel onto cooled shortbread, sprinkle immediately with coarse sea salt. Allow to sit at room temperature 1-2 hours or until caramel has cooled and set. I have had success with placing in the fridge to cool to speed up the process. Cut into squares and serve or store chilled in airtight container.

NOTES

If your caramel starts to separate (the butter pools on top of the caramel in the pan), remove from heat and whisk whisk whisk like crazy til it comes back together. Then return to heat and continue to whisk until golden color is achieved. 

Prep time does not include cooling time.

50s Food Themed Christmas Party

Smoked Trout

Holiday Baking

What a fun, easy and NO BAKE, candy to make for the holiday's - peppermint patties! 

Roasted Veg

I found this recipe on Pintrest and decided to give it a go for Thanksgiving dinner - it's SO GOOD and very easy to make!!!

HOW TO MAKE IT

Cut Brussel sprouts in half and coat with oil.

Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. 

Bake (at 350) for 40 minutes or so.

After about 20 minutes add the squash to the baking sheet (cut and seed the squash, also peel the rind; cube it and place it in a bowl; add oil and maple syrup - about 1 tbsp of each - and mix; place on baking sheet - bake for 20+ minutes, or until soft)

When finished - place veg in a bowl with a cup of dried cranberries and stir.

EAT.

and 

ENJOY!