Hey y’all,

 

I’ve decided that I need to take a (planned) break from blogging for several months. At this point, I really don’t think I have anything to add to the huge number of blogs out there in the blogosphere, at least not within the time limits that I have. I am a student, and I really need to concentrate on that right now, rather than distracting myself from my studies.

Thanks for reading (Hi Sissy!), and I hope to “talk” (and actually talk!) to you sometime in the future.

Beccers

Hey guys,

I just wanted to apologize for my looooooong absence, I’ve been having technical difficulties. I have enough material for several posts, but 1. my camera is broken, 2. I can’t find the cable to connect my camera to my computer, and 3. Finals are wayyy too soon.

Sorry!!! I’ll be back as soon as finals are over.

Beccers

Hey guys,

sooo I’m sorry I was gone for so long (minus the previous post.. which I had basically already written). I’ve been pretty preoccupied with switching colleges. Life changes can be pretty stressful, ya know?

Now I’m back in the Deep South where I spent my high school years. Let me tell you, after a brief stint in the Mid West, moving to the South is pretty interesting. I grew up in Europe. I like to think that I’m pretty European. But not in the cool, hip way, but in the weird, bread-obsessed, not-understanding-pop-culture-references kind of way. Makes my interactions with people pretty entertaining, I’d say. At least I hope so. So even though I spent my life within walking distance (yes, we walk) of many kinds of public transportation (whaaaaa??), I really love it in the Deep South. It’s very calm (except when I get road-rage. But that could happen anywhere, really). I like the small town (university town, mind you) feel.

Moving on to the recipe. Yayyy!! As I mentioned in the title of this post, I would really like to be remembered by a bubbling pot of delicious smelling bolognese (meat sauce).  I hope that my boyfriend’s roommates will remember me by it when The Boo (my boyfriend) moves out. I tell them this too.

Before I tell you about the ingredients I want to share some pictures of the boo’s and my trip to Sam’s Club. The size of the beef and the tomatoes is RIDICULOUS.

This is what they call tomatoes. Crazy-big tomatoes. With a coke can next to it as a means of comparison.

This is six pounds of ground chuck. Half of it is now in the freezer, protected by several layers of plastic wrap. I couldn’t find any ziploc bags..

Ingredients:

2 lbs of ground beef (or turkey)

3-4 cans of crushed/diced tomatoes (no seasoning, please)

1 lb of pasta (spaghetti, penne, or something equally delicious)

2 medium sized onions, chopped

Onion Chopping Tutorial from The Boo

(apparently I don’t do it right)

1. Cut the non-root end of the onion off

2. Cut in half. Peel.

3. Make horizontal cuts that leave about a centimeter of cut onion at the                                         root end.

4. Do the same with vertical cuts (perpendicular to the root).

5. Make cuts parallel to the root end. Yay! The onion is chopped.

*Sorry if I’m bad at explaining. It’s all the boo’s fault anyways —                                                    he’s the one becoming a chef… yeah, I’m pretty lucky 🙂

4 cloves of garlic (have I mentioned that I love garlic?), crushed and chopped

1 Tablespoon basil

2-3 Teaspoons thyme

2 Teaspoons of crushed red pepper

salt

pepper

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Process:

Cover the bottom of a pot or pan with olive oil. When it’s hot (not to the point where the oil is smoking, please), brown the beef. Let it brown on med-high heat. While it’s cookin’, “chop” it with your utensil (i.e. wooden spoon, spatula, whatever).

When it’s nice and brown and in little pieces, add the onion. Turn the heat down to med-low to medium heat. After a few seconds add the garlic and the spices. Cook until the onion is softer and becoming a little translucent. Add the tomatoes. Cover, and let it cook on low heat for about an hour. Keep tasting every so often to adjust the seasoning or heat if necessary. The sauce should not bubble very much.

Cook the pasta according to package direction.

(Water in pot, salt in water, heat on high until it boils then add pasta).

When the pasta is done, drain it and add to the sauce.

Enjoy with parmesan and a nice drizzle of olive oil.

Yum!

Beccers

P.S. Sorry for not taking a picture of the final product, guess I forgot.

Hello summer!!!

Well, since coming home for the summer, I have been cooking A LOT! We made homemade pasta a while ago. Very good, although we didn’t roll the dough thinly enough. But all in all, it was a great first-pasta-making experience.

And yesterday, as boredom struck once again, I made chicken and scalloped potatoes. I honestly think that this chicken was amazing.

Yum!! So, I’ve been cooking a lot of bone-in, skin-on chicken breast. It’s so easy to cook in the oven and it doesn’t dry out, which is always a good thing, if you ask me.

This is my lemon-rosemary chicken (and scalloped potatoes – my favorite!)

I make this so often, it’s ridiculous. I’m bordering on obsession. And the rosemary-lemon mixture is good on many kinds of meats.

Lemon-Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients:

1 large onion – sliced and in rings

2 lemons – 1 sliced and quartered, 1 sliced thinly

4 chicken breasts with skin and bones

1 Tablespoon dried rosemary

1/2 Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper

Salt

Pepper

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

4 Tablespoons Butter, cut into pieces

1//4-1/2 cup of liquid (like say, rum.. or broth.. or wine)

Process:

Lube up a big baking dish (olive oil is good. pam too). Place the chicken in the dish. Season with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and lots o’ rosemary. Drizzle some olive oil, put the lemon slices on the chicken, the onion in the dish around the chicken (if you put it ON the chicken, it will burn — believe me, I’ve learned from personal experience). Put the liquid in the bottom of the dish (helps make a delicious sauce).

Bake at 425  F for 30-45 minutes. Honestly, I’m totally guessing on a time. I use a thermometer. When it gets to 180 F it’s done. But I also have to guess there because my thermometer is pretty bad. Sooo when the juices run clear.

Enjoy! I promise you won’t regret it 🙂

All the best,

Beccers

Hey guys,

I’m really sorry for not posting anything lately. It’s finals time, and I’ve been super-stressed. I’ve also been trying to eat up the random things lying around my room in preparation for move-out. This means lots of rice (I bought a LOT of boxes a few months ago), cereal, peanut butter, and the like.

When my father visited a few weeks ago he bought me a toaster which has made my life so much better! You don’t realize (or at least I didn’t) how important a toaster is until you don’t have one. But now I do! Yay!

Ok, I have to return to my studies. The next time I write I will probably be back home and cookin’ up a storm!

All the best,

Beccers

I found a new favorite last week: rotisserie chicken.

so I made broccoli (I like green veggies), chicken, and rice (of course. so easy!)

For the recipe, all you do is make the rice according to package directions, cut up the chicken (which you can warm up cold- or not), and steam the broccoli.

To do this, you cut about 1/4-1/2 head of broccoli (depending on its size and your hunger) and add about three tablespoons of water. Cook this for about 3-5 minutes in the microwave. Dump out the water and add 2 tablespoons of butter  (or more or less, this is about what YOU want. You could also use olive oil) and salt to taste. Bon Appetit!!

Alright. So I came across a really good new idea for delicious, easy microwave-food: soup! I know it sounds obvious, but until recently I had actually not found a good and easy soup. Enter the non-canned soup from the deli section. There are definitely some on the nastier side (I’m not a fan of the baked potato soup- that’s a personal opinion, though) but the one that one of my friends found was awesome. It’s a coconut and red curry bisque. So good! Just thought I should point your way to awesome food.

Today’s recipe:

Baked sweet potato, sugar snap peas, and dessert

Ingredients:

1 medium sized sweet potato (you can use any type of baking potato)

8 oz. sugar snap peas

2-3 tablespoons butter

salt

pepper

sour cream

Procedure:

Wash and prick the (sweet) potato. Cook it in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes, but the time really depends on the size of the potato. When that’s done cooking let it sit for a couple of minutes. While that’s sittin, put the sugar snap peas with a few tablespoons (about 1 inch in a normal-size mug or bowl) in the microwave. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Drain the water and add about 1-2 tablespoons of butter, or however much you want. Salt them to taste. Slice the potato down the middle (not all the way!) and add butter, sour cream, salt and pepper. And/or cheese. You can really put anything on baked potatoes. Serve with the sugar snap peas.

Serves 1

Dessert:

Baked Apple

Make sure you use a firm apple, otherwise it might get too mushy.

Ingredients:

1 apple

1 tablespoon butter

2-3 tablespoons sugar (white or brown- brown is better), or honey, maple syrup.. something sugar-y

A sprinkle of ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons cranberry juice (or cran-apple, or any acidy juice..)

Procedure:

Wash the apple and cut the core out, leaving the bottom of the apple completely intact. Put it in a mug and add the other ingredients. Microwave for 3-6 minutes depending on how cooked/mushy you want your apple.

Serves 1

Yes. Tofu in the microwave. I know you’re skeptical, but hear me out! I was inspired at the grocery store today. The appealing box of already cubed tofu with a 10-for-$10 deal of rice mixtures was enough to convince me. I added a bag of bagged, cleaned, microwaveable green beans.

Ingredients:
1 package rice or couscous mixture
1 bag microwaveable green beans
1 package cubed extra-firm tofu, drained
3 cloves garlic (I LOVE garlic, if you don’t add lots of spices instead. Or both!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper
a pat of butter

First, cook the rice/couscous/whatever you want mixture. Look at the package directions, it should take about 20-30 mins (sounds like a lot, but it’s not, I promise!) While that’s cookin away, crush, peel, and slice up the garlic and add that, the olive oil, salt (you need a fairly large amount- just keep tasting), and pepper to the drained package of tofu. Let that sit and marinate. Remember to stir the rice and make sure it has enough water (I ended up using about twice the recommended amount). Now sit down and enjoy a few minutes of rest. When the rice is tender, throw the bag of green beans into the microwave. That should take 4-5 minutes. Get the rice onto a plate, rinse the bowl, and put the tofu in it. When the green beans are tender take them out. Put the tofu in the microwave and cook for about 3 minutes. Be careful not to overcook! I saw horror stories online about microwaved tofu exploding so watch out. Nothing of the sort happened with me, though. Put some green beans on your plate with a pat o’ butter and salt. When the tofu is warm (it will be warm and garlicky- not brown). Enjoy!

Be sure to pay attention to your microwave as all machines differ.

My first recipe: Ramen-broccoli-chickpeas with garlic and olive oil

Ingredients:

2-4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2-1 cup broccoli florets

1/2-1 cup chickpeas

2 cloves of garlic

1 package ramen

about 1/2 pack of ramen seasoning (the little packet that comes with the ramen. I use chicken flavored ramen)

salt

pepper

optional: grated cheese, balsamic vinegar

Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil into your trusty microwave-safe bowl. Add the broccoli and microwave for 1 minute. In the meantime, crush and peel the garlic. Cut the garlic into pieces into the broccoli. Add chickpeas, salt, and pepper, and microwave for another 1 1/2 minutes. Put this mixture aside (onto a plate or whatever floats your boat). Tear/crush (you should end up with smaller pieces of ramen… or if you like, leave it whole) the ramen in the bowl (or if you have the luxury of another microwave-safe bowl, use that) with about 2 cups of water and microwave for about 2-3 minutes. Drain the water when the ramen is done (I found it works well with a plastic spoon, although you will lose some of the ramen). Add the ramen and the broccoli mixture and season to taste with more olive oil, salt, pepper, and a few pinches of the ramen seasoning. You can even add some grated cheese (parmesan would be good) or a splash of balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. Guten Appetit!

So, I am a college student living in a city with only horrible dorm food and expensive and/or delicious and greasy food that will make your stomach hurt after a few days.

I have been trying to cook as much as possible, but with only a mini-fridge and microwave (and a disgusting kitchen with no supplies) it has been a challenge. Here I am trying to share cheap and delicious food that is easy to cook with very few appliances (i.e. a microwave, most of the time).

When I go home to visit, I like to enjoy the beauty of a stocked kitchen and my beautiful knives to cook more complex meals. I will also share photos and ideas then.