Mexican Monday

It was Mexican Monday. I wasn't sure how tonight would go as far as cooking was considering I have started having much busier days lately. Not getting home until after 6 most days. Usually we are eating dinner by 6. However I did it!

I am also proud of myself for going from start to finish ALL BY MYSELF! (including grease splattering, which is something that frustrates me to no end, I do not enjoy the feeling when it hits my skin, in the past I have given the kitchen over to Walt at the first splatter)

I have made recipes so far that have been things that have made me think of my family. This week I was sent a recipe from my fantastic Aunt Robin! And man was it delicious. The recipe she sent was for Tortilla Pie. Which honestly if you know me you know how much I LOVE taco's/quesadillas. This meal was great. And all it took was a skillet pan and pan to bake the pie in. Easy easy clean up. 

Ingredients:(the ones I used)
Taco Seasoning
1 lb ground beef
colby jack cheese
salsa
tortilla's(I used medium, which fit perfectly in my pan, large fit best in a regular pie pan though)
Sour cream(to serve with after baking)

Ingredients:(optional)
refried beans (which is a vegetarian option or an add on to the beef)
sliced black olives
jalapenos or green chiles chopped

This was  a simple meal but delicious! You start by browning your meat and making the taco meat(as the package suggests)
After your meat is done you can start assembling your pie. Spray your pan with cooking spray so it is easier to remove the pie when ready to eat. 

Your layers include:
1. Tortilla
2. taco meat(or alternating beans by layer or just beans)
3. cheese
4. salsa

Repeat until the meat is gone. 
Add one more tortilla on top covering it with cheese
 
You then bake at 350 for just a few minutes until cheese has melted. It doesn't take long if your oven is rightly preheated.

Walt thought it was great. I thought it was wonderful. We both agree it will make great leftovers. I am so glad I did this all by myself. I had a great time cooking it and eating it. 

Thanks Auntie R, can't wait to try your other recipe also :)

Just look at that perfect cross section of my dinner! I added sour cream to mine.
Walt added extra salsa, sour cream and some hot sauce!

Great great meal! I like that I have leftovers from Monday's that are healthier than pizza or leftover take out :) It makes for much healthier week. Enjoy your week.

Next up will be Crockpot Mac n Cheese(which again if you know me well you know my momma makes the BEST mac n cheese, I'm sure most of my friends would agree). More on that next week though when I make it. We will be traveling for Labor Day Weekend, I may make my weekly meal while we are there or later in the week when we are home. 
Until next time!

Jamie
 

Pop Pop

It's got a bit of a glare but here is one of my favorite pictures of Pop Pop and I. Doing one of my other favorite things with him. Husking corn! He had the patience of a saint when it came to letting me help with this task! Husking corn and eating flounder are not the same without but they have great memories :)

Under the Sea

My title is "Under the Sea" simply because anytime I say or see flounder I think of "The Little Mermaid", my absolute favorite Disney movie. Although I would never cook the character Flounder I will eat and cook flounder that has been filleted already.

Last week I made Alfredo sauce which made me think of my wonderful grandmother who makes the BEST Alfredo sauce. This week I made flounder which when I was a little girl was my favorite thing to eat off my Pop Pop's plate. When we would have fish for dinner, whoever made my plate up for me would put a small amount of fish and whatever sides were for that night. By the end of dinner, however, I would have eaten almost all of the flounder that was on Pop Pop's plate(something that was a great deal, given he didn't share his food often). The poor man would end up eating almost none of what was considered the main part of dinner because I would either eat what he would give me when I asked or if he wasn't looking I would steal some from his plate(though I'm sure he knew this, he certainly never acted like it). He was more than happy to share his flounder with his punkin. In the past it was hard for me to consider eating or making flounder for the sheer fact that it made me miss him so much it hurt. But now it is a great memory that when I eat and now cook flounder makes me smile.

After the first day back to school I was unsure how my cooking adventure would go given that I started it during summer. Granted our school is open all year, the summer is more relaxed and I feel takes less out of me, maybe just because I have a summer mentality. I was determined to make dinner though with my planned meal without complaining. My knees do hurt which was a hurdle I needed to conquer but I did it with a smile and fantastic dinner.

Tonight's Menu:
Lemon Flounder with Lemon Vinaigrette
Noodles
Corn
Broccoli
and more grands biscuits

I thawed my flounder in a cool water bath while I washed up a few dishes from the day.
After that was done I started my water for the noodles. I added a little salt and some garlic powder to add some flavor to the noodles.

I put my frozen corn and broccoli in two separate glass bowls to microwave when the time came and placed them in the microwave.

The noodle water was then ready so I added the noodles stirring at first to keep from sticking.

I then started my flounder. I added lemon pepper and salt to both sides of each fillet and dredged in flour. I started my pan on medium/high heat with enough oil to cover bottom of pan. After a few minutes I added the flounder. It took about 4 minutes on each side to cook and brown properly. Getting burned by oil in a pan is frightening to me but every time it splashed(not much a little here or there) I didn't freak out nor did I decide to stop cooking. YAY progress in the kitchen.

After I got the flounder in the pan I started my biscuits in the oven.

While everything was cooking I mixed my vinaigrette up. (lemon zest, 1/4 c lemon juice, garlic powder, parsley and S&P to taste).

The only time I asked for help tonight was when I needed to flip the fish because I couldn't get the fish to flip without falling apart. I was getting frustrated at my attempts and decided to ask for help.(had Walt been out while I was cooking I would have continued to try flipping until I got it but didn't want the fish to brown too much)

After flipping the fish I started my veggies in the microwave and turn the oven from bake to broil in order to brown the top of our rolls not just burn the bottoms.

I drained the noodles after about 8 minutes. Added some noodles to each plate as well as some veggies and fish. The biscuits were then done and it was time to eat.

I put the vinaigrette on the table so we could each see how much we wanted after tasting the fish.

The fish was delicious! (with and without the vinaigrette). I am very pleased with my first attempt at cooking fish. Walt agreed.
The recipe had said the vinaigrette could be used on the pasta as well. Neither of us really enjoyed that so if you make this you probably don't want to put it on your pasta.

I have found that on the nights I cook I do not end up eating as much as if Walt or someone else has cooked. Probably because it is exhausting to me and I am just happy to be sitting down. But I feel like this is a better way for me to eat anyway given that I am not overeating.

All in all a delicious meal and I proved I can cook on real school night!

I also made this week trail mix to take as a healthy, fulling, energy boasting snack.

It includes:

Peanut Butter M&M's

Honey Roasted Peanuts

Marshmallows

Raisins

I am very happy with it and it cost so much less and includes what I want instead of things I feel the need to pick out.



Enjoy your week!
Jamie

Rainy Day Meat and Potatoes

I know, I know, I know, it is not Monday. However I have made dinner tonight also. I have accumulated more recipes than one meal a week for 10 weeks so I have decided to make dinner on some other days as well.

I had planned yesterday that I was going to make dinner today and after looking at the weather report for the day I decided to make a crockpot meal. What is better than a rainy, chilly(not very, it is COLA in August) day with a crockpot meal making your home smell AMAZING all day. So around noon when the clouds really seemed to roll back in I started my meal.

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Pork Roast
Ranch Packet
8 oz Cream Cheese(softened)
1 can Cream of Chicken soup

While my wonderful husband did the couple dishes that were in the kitchen I pealed and cut my small red potatoes. Just enough to cover the bottom of the crockpot. I cut my potatoes into the fourths. I sprayed some Pam in the bottom of the pan so that the potatoes didn't end up glued to the pot.
I then placed all the potatoes in the pot.

In a medium sized bowl I beat the cream cheese, can of cream of chicken and a can of water(2/3 full) until smooth. I then mixed in the ranch packet.

I placed the pork on top of the potatoes and poured the soup cream mixture in the whole pot. Our crockpot is a small one so I had a little bit of extra soup cream mixture. If I had put it all in it would have been too full.

I started the crockpot on high for 30 minutes and switched to low afterwards. It stayed on low from 1pm-6pm. (5 1/2 hrs total cook time) Which gave me plenty of time to sit and read a good book and watch a movie (take a nap) while smelling that delicous ranch pork.

I made some grands biscuits and that was that. It was a delicious meal that was super filling. The pork was almost falling apart, no knife needed. The potaoes were just right, and the extra sauce kept everything flavorful and moist.
I was going to make some veggies to go with our meal but becuase I fell asleep I didn't. I also decided after looking at the potatoes and the meat that it was going to be a very filling meal and we could do without the extra food, and I was right. We had just the right amount of food to be satisfied but not overly stuffed.

Great for leftovers. I will be taking a tupperware container of meat and potatoes for lunch on our first day back to school tomorrow. What a great way to start the year!

I plan on making dinner again tomorrow so come back to find out what I make. It will be great!

:) Jamie

Asparagus, what?

To start I made dinner yesterday(Sunday), also. Which was just Sloppy Joes with a salad. I do not feel the need to say much about this deviation from my 10 week plan because I have made Sloppy Joes and will continue to make Sloppy Joes. I am good at making them! It is simple and delicious and always makes a ton!

Today though I made a fantastic meal. Which consisted of Angel Hair pasta in an Alfredo Sauce, Oven Roasted Asparagus, and Garlic Bread. My one and only reviewer at this point said it was all great.

I have stated that my goal is to ask as few questions as possible by the end of this adventure. Well tonight my only question was "does the asparagus look done?"(which I thought it was, I was just making sure). You are probably wondering why the title of this is "Asparagus, what?" and why I asked only that question. Well the answer is I do not ever eat asparagus. I do not usually enjoy green vegetables. They are growing on me and I am trying more of them more often. I decided at the beginning of this adventure that I would not only try to make things I've never made but that I would try to also make things I would have in the passed turned my nose up at. Tonight's asparagus being no exception. I did however put it on my plate and clear my plate of it. If I had not eaten so much food I would have gone back for seconds. So, it looks like I can now add asparagus to the list of green veggies to try more often. I am embarking on this journey to culinary freedom to learn new things but also to start eating healthier food more aften and that started tonight with my delicious asparagus.

My choice of alfredo sauce was a tough one. I usually make a recipe that I was given by my grandmother/mom. Whom I believe make it the best! I decided though that I would try to make a new kind. I went in search of a recipe and found one that added ingredients that are not found in my original recipe. It was hard for me to imagine not making grams alfredo but I did it and it was great. (the secret ingredients that was the biggest difference were nutmeg and chicken broth).

I also made homemade cheesey garlic bread for the first time. Worried that I would burn or make the cheese melt too quickly I watched it like a hawk and low and behold, I DID IT RIGHT!

My recipes for tonight were:
Alfredo Sauce:
1 1/4 c whipping cream
1 c chicken broth
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Parmesan Cheese to thickness and taste

Mix all of the ingredients but the cheese together and let cook in medium sauce pan until it bubbles and starts to thicken. Afterwards turn down your heat some and stir in cheese until all melted.

Add to cooked pasta

Asparagus:
Asparagus
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
garlic powder to taste

preheat oven to 425*
place asparagus in a bowl drizzle with olive oil  sprinkle with cheese salt and garlic powder
place asparagus on baking sheet
bake until tender around 12 minutes
sprinkle lemon juice before serving

Garlic Bread:
slice fresh loaf of bread in half
lightly butter each piece. sprinkle garlic powder on the bread and then add parmesan cheese

I baked my garlic bread in the same oven as the asparagus so it started out at 425* for about 5 minutes and finished another 5 minutes at 375* just bake until cheese is melty and bread is browning

This was an enjoyable cooking experience. I didn't burn myself, ask too many questions, or give up on anything. I have already learned a lot about what I can and cannot do on my own in the kitchen.

Here are some pictures of my delicious night! Including a thumbs up to the asparagus.

-Jamie

The beginning!

I have decided to start cooking dinner once a week something most know is quite a daunting task for me. I will embark on this journey with an open mind and the knowledge that I will definitely grow. I am going to experiment weekly with not asking tons of questions about silly things.

I will take the next 10 Monday's starting today and see what I can do.

I will keep this blog to chronicle my journey to culinary freedom!

Tonight's menu:
Parmesan and ritz cracker crusted chicken
Creamy Parmesan grains
Corn
Broccoli
Caesar salad

I started by crushing the ritz crackers and adding grated parmesan to them.
I then coated 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts with mayonnaise. I then covered each breast fully with the breadcrumb mixture.
I baked the chicken for 25 minutes at 375• in the oven.

The creamy parmesan was a creative grains box mix but it was delicious. It had white rice and pearled wheat with Parmesan cheese and seasonings in it.

I then made broccoli (for my husband) and corn(for myself)

The caesar salad was just simple romaine with Parmesan cheese(again) and creamy caesar dressing.

I only asked a few questions tonight on my first adventure into cooking. Most things that I said though were "can you open the mayo I have chicken on my hands", "do you want anything specific done to your broccoli", and "the best temp for chicken according to our thermometer is 180• is this accurate?".

I think I did very well. And Walt said the food was delicious.

Here are some pictures of the process and the food itself. Also an empty plate afterwards showing Walt's true enjoyment of the food.