I have found, over the past few weeks, that my interest in cooking a quality meal (both tasteful and visually appealing) has skyrocketed. My biggest issue, as a single college student with only a single roommate (two if you consider her other half), is that cooking actual meals tend to fall by the wayside due to lack of people to eat the food. In addition, I have been previously frustrated with my inability to cook impromptu and thus have always strayed away from the kitchen. On the other hand, my natural ability to be concise in all that I do led me to realize how great I am at following a recipe. Therefore, with my addiction to Pinterest (feel free to follow my boards; user name JLD2) in addition to my discovery of FoodGawker (also refer to CraftGawker) I have enjoyed experiencing with the heat. To battle the issue of overwhelming amount of leftovers I try to stick to recipes that serve four or less and have adopted friend Kyle as a food critic in exchange for physics homework help. In addition, I have been encouraged to bring sweet treats into the hospital on my Wednesday volunteering days, which helps with my not eating everything when I cook in bulk!
With all that said, my plan is to post every week my major "eats." For the meals that I prepare I plan to provide pictures galore (at this point, poor quality pictures taken with my blackberry, because once again I am between cameras; I have gone through about 12 in the last 4 years) in addition to a break down of pricing from the grocery store (I will actually begin next week because, of course, I have misplaced this week's receipts). And after this week, it is evident I will definitely be starting to clip coupons on a more regular basis.
Honey Sesame Chicken & S'mores Cookies
On Wednesday, I went over to Kyle's for homework help and, bribing his time with food, gave him the choice between Honey Sesame Chicken and Taco Muffins, both new recipes found on FoodGawker and Pinterest, respectively. The decision for the Chinese dish was made and off I trotted to the lovely orange Bi-Lo. For those of you who are unaware, my adored university is Clemson and it is only fit that my exuberating town has orange every where; it's quite lovely (pictures of the orange Bi-Lo will come in next week's post). As sides for my chicken I made the executive decision of steamed asparagus and brown rice.
Unfortunately, I only took a few pictures of my Wednesday night delicacy, but don't worry, I made up for that Sunday with 40!
Making the Honey Sesame Chicken: For the most part I followed the instructions from the "My Kitchen Snippets." For the ingredients, listed in (italics) are the particulars that I purchased at the Orange Bi-Lo. And in bold are the main parts to each step if you're in a hurry and don't want to read all my side notes.
3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Cooking Wine
(Reese Vintage Red Cooking Wine)
1/2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
(Loriva Toasted Sesame Cold Pressed Oil)
1 Tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Flour
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
| 3 Tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce (Frank's RedHot Sweet Chili Sauce) 2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce 2 Tbsp HEINZ Tomato Ketchup 2 Tbsp Honey 1 Tbsp Oyster Flavored Sauce 1/4 C Water |
1. Through previous cooking experience I was instructed by a friend to always use meat tenderizer before cooking meats, and I continue to do so now (my preference is McCormick's found in the seasoning aisle). Simply sprinkle the tenderizer and, using your hands, rub each side of each breast.
2. Begin by slicing the chicken breasts into small cubes.
3. Prepare marinade by combining Soy Sauce, (1 Tbsp) Cooking Wine, Sesame Oil, and Sugar. I did this in a gallon freezer bag. Place the sliced chicken in the marinade and allow to bathe for 30 minutes to an hour. The longer you allow marination the more flavor you will get from the juices.
4. Combine Flour and Cornstarch and coat chicken bits. I did this by draining the marinade from the gallon freezer bag, adding the Flour and Cornstarch and shaking (similar to shake and bake).
4. Prepare a small amount of cooking oil in a medium skillet and fully cook chicken bits. I cooked until golden on all sides. Place chicken on napkin covered plate to drain some of the grease.
5. Prepare sauce by combining Sweet Chili Sauce (I was so excited about this purchase to use on other things as a dipping sauce), Soy Sauce (2 Tbsp), Ketchup (Emphasis was placed on Heinz, because, similar to Duke's Mayonnaise, in the south it is the ONLY acceptable brand and does make a difference!) Honey (I just couldn't resist the cute little bear shaped bottle), Oyster Sauce and Water. I allowed my food critic to taste test this for a good level of heat. To spice up I add an additional 2 Tbsp of the Sweet Chili Sauce.
6. Using the medium skillet (It's nice to still have the other flavors floating around) pour in the combination and bring sauce to a boil, allowing to thicken.
7. Place cooked chicken back in with sauce, stir to fully coat all pieces, allow to simmer for a few extra minutes, and add salt and pepper to taste!
Making Steamed Asparagus and Brown Rice: I cheated big time and used Glad SimplyCooking Microwave Steaming Bags and Instant Rice. I have used the the steam bags on several occasions for broccoli and cauliflower and swear by them for fast fresh veggies. Being the first time with asparagus, I wasn't overwhelming impressed and Mr. Taste-tester himself actually rescued the veggies with his mom's trick of splashing lemon juice on dry veggies.
Making S'mores Cookies: Ahhhhh! I and everyone who had the pleasure of experiencing these LOVED them and I am preparing an extra batch today to take with the Oreo Truffles (see Sunday night below) to the hospital! The actual from scratch recipe, from The Girl Who Ate Everything, was a little too time consuming for me and the particular occasion so I decided to impromptu, which was a BIG DEAL for me!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
(I like Tollhouse already sectioned for me, makes it even easier. Come one, who doesn't like easy!) Mini-Marshmallows Cinnamon Graham Crackers Hershey Chocolate Bars |
2. Place one sectioned square of dough for each graham cracker half.
3. Push two mini-marshmallows into each square of dough.
4. Following the directions on the cookie dough package (some brands require a different baking temperature or time) Bake for approximately 3/4 of the total baking time. (For Tollhouse 14-17 minutes are required, so I baked for about 12)
5. Remove from oven and firmly place one square of Hershey chocolate on each cookie.
6. Place back in oven for additional 3-5 minutes. Tada Amazing!
Last weekend was my family's annual summer lake visit. This is our third trip to Greenwood, SC as a group, which includes my madre and pops, my (Great)Aunt Patsy/Mom's Aunt/Mom's Best friend (they are they same age—my grandmother was the oldest female of 16 children and Pat is the youngest), Aunt Pat's clan: sons Will and Charlie and daughter-in-laws Lydia (Lulu) and Erin, and granddaughter Miss Priss Kaegan Lane. In addition this year I was SO thrilled to have Gib & St. Nick, as well as my cell-mate, Kristina (also know as cell), join! At the end of the weekend, as with most family gatherings, I am always loaded up with any left overs to take back to my apartment, which some times results in an excessive amount of spoiled food and things I have to throw out, however most of the time prevents me from having to go to the grocery store for at least a week, which in turns keeps my bank account out of the single digits. This particular weekend included a very excessive helping of low country shrimp boil, a full loaf of bread, a full package of assorted sandwich meats and sliced cheese, a 64 oz tub of homemade chicken salad, pimento cheese, two bags of chips, 1/2 a watermelon and a full fresh pineapple. Of these things, the low country shrimp boil was devoured by Adam (Cell's main-man) then tossed, the loaf of bread has been used several times with the homemade chicken salad and pimento cheese for sandwiches, don't forget the tomato on those yum, and for toast (everyone knows breakfast for dinner is my favorite)! The watermelon and pineapple presented me with a challenge for the week. I couldn't see just cutting up the fruit and being able to eat it all, so instead I foodgawked things to do with them. The contestants were Watermelon Pomegranate Ice Pops , Watermelon Salsa, or Watermelon Sorbert, and Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Turkey Pineapple Burgers, Pineapple Salsa, or Pineapple Ham Flatout Pizza. As tempting as it was to do all of these, and chances are I will probably be doing them in the future, I didn't have the resources or time to tackle them all. But for the time the winners were; drum roll...the salsas! They turned out amazing and am certain they will be a go-to for future summer party appetizers!
Clockwise from top: Gib & Gab, Aunt Pat & Lulu Mexican Train into the wee hours, & Goose showing Gib & St. Nick how you're suppose to use a toothbrush when shucking corn.
Watermelon Salsa & Grilled Pineapple Salsa
So after research and having the watermelon and pineapple for 4 days I had to tackle these Friday evening (as I had an early work day Saturday no DT for me)! The best thing about both is you get to add more of less of the things you enjoy and to adjust to your individual taste!
| Grilled Pineapple 1/4 Red Onion 1/2 Tomato 1 Bell Pepper 2 Jalapenos 1/2 C Cilantro 1/4 tsp Lime Juice 1 Mango | Watermelon 1/4 C Red Onion 1/4 C Bell Pepper 1 Jalapeno 1/4 C Cilantro 2 Tbsp Honey 2 Tsp Lime Juice |
Notice my favorite Sunflower cutting board, hand-me-down from my lovely Aunt Sharon when I moved into my first apartment and inherited a little bit of everyone else's things. And I promise I am wearing clothing here; purple strapless maxiedress
Easy as pie, chop all and combine in separate large mixing bowls! These are the measurements taken from Dinner or Dessert and Recipe Girl via Foodgawker. Because I have a HUGE addiction to bell peppers, per an old friend introducing me to stuffed bell peppers (which I am still working on mastering and will post on a later date) I upped the amount of bell peppers. Also, this was my first experimentation with fresh Cilantro and I must say I love it! The smell while chopping was amazing, however for the Grilled Pineapple and Mango blend I went a little over board, and suggest reducing the measurement to 1/4 C. After a few hours in the refrigerator, actually found both of these even better, and of course with Blue Corn Chips over White Corn (they can be found on the organic aisle)!
Kaytucky Chicken, Oven Baked Corn on the Cob, Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes, Oreo Truffles, & Oreo-Nutella Truffles
Oh wow, so Sunday night I decided to take on almost more than my little red wagon could pull; almost. Once again, studybuddy Kyle joined (It's a reoccurring thing to bribe him with food, I was always told a way to a guy's heart is through his stomach, in this case a way to his brain and a good physics grade). My adventure started at about noon with my Orange Bi-Lo trip, where I am beginning to think I am having an affair with the produce section, kind of sad. Returning to the apartment I began the Oreo Truffles, where I discovered my desperate need for a rolling-pin, food processor, and baster brush. My multi-tasking, then progressed to chopping potatoes, shucking fresh corn then soaking in water, going back to Orange Bi-Lo because I forgot Basil, chopping red onions and the newly bought basil all while watching Dawson's Creek Season 2 (Joey and Dawson are back together, Abby is dead and Jen is still ugly, Jack doesn't know if he likes boys or girls, and adorable Pacey and crazy Andie are keeping the show's drama going strong). This all was concluded by 6 p.m.ish in time to start the Kaytucky Chicken, (which I enjoy saying with a strong hillbilly accent) recipe found via Foodgawker, seeing a trend yet? Because of my multitasking I kept my oven at 350F throughout my process; the chicken and corn called for a 400F temperature while the potatoes called for 350F, thus I adjusted times and kept a close eye on things.
Making Oreo Truffles: These little guys were introduced to me by an old friend's family and I have been in love with them since. Luckly, the internet is at my service to teach me how to make them myself, AND adding my own little twist; using Nutella.
1. Begin by forming the inside balls. Using a food processor, finely crush the full oreo cookies. Because I didn't have a food processor, I attempted this with a blender, not very successful (my defense on this bright idea is I am young and trying my best). Instead, I placed the oreos in a gallon freezer bag and used a wooden spoon to crush the cookies then transferred back to the blender to finish the process.
2. Mix cream cheese and crushed cookies and Nutella
3. Using your hands, Form small balls, approximately 3/4 inch in diameter and place on a baking sheet then refrigerate to harden.
4. Melt semi-sweet chocolate. Using a toothpick dip each oreo ball into the chocolate and place back on baking sheet and back in the refrigerator to harden! Um :)
Kaytucky Chicken, Oven Baked Corn on the Cob, Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes, Oreo Truffles, & Oreo-Nutella Truffles
Oh wow, so Sunday night I decided to take on almost more than my little red wagon could pull; almost. Once again, studybuddy Kyle joined (It's a reoccurring thing to bribe him with food, I was always told a way to a guy's heart is through his stomach, in this case a way to his brain and a good physics grade). My adventure started at about noon with my Orange Bi-Lo trip, where I am beginning to think I am having an affair with the produce section, kind of sad. Returning to the apartment I began the Oreo Truffles, where I discovered my desperate need for a rolling-pin, food processor, and baster brush. My multi-tasking, then progressed to chopping potatoes, shucking fresh corn then soaking in water, going back to Orange Bi-Lo because I forgot Basil, chopping red onions and the newly bought basil all while watching Dawson's Creek Season 2 (Joey and Dawson are back together, Abby is dead and Jen is still ugly, Jack doesn't know if he likes boys or girls, and adorable Pacey and crazy Andie are keeping the show's drama going strong). This all was concluded by 6 p.m.ish in time to start the Kaytucky Chicken, (which I enjoy saying with a strong hillbilly accent) recipe found via Foodgawker, seeing a trend yet? Because of my multitasking I kept my oven at 350F throughout my process; the chicken and corn called for a 400F temperature while the potatoes called for 350F, thus I adjusted times and kept a close eye on things.
Making Oreo Truffles: These little guys were introduced to me by an old friend's family and I have been in love with them since. Luckly, the internet is at my service to teach me how to make them myself, AND adding my own little twist; using Nutella.
1 package of Oreo Cookies
8 oz Cream Cheese 16 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate (I picked up semisweet chips and melted them down) 2 Tbsp Nutella |
1) Time to crush some cookies—a rolling pin at this point would have been helpful 2) fun with the blender 3) adding cream cheese 4) time to get my hands dirty, so up goes the hair and 5) off comes the watch, notice the left over oreo I kept for snacking 6) mixing cream cheese, oreos, and nutella 7) yum 8) yum yum 9) forming the balls 10) oreos into the fridge 11) Michelob Ultra out of the fridge 12) 1/2 dipped; need to work on the presentation a bit
1. Begin by forming the inside balls. Using a food processor, finely crush the full oreo cookies. Because I didn't have a food processor, I attempted this with a blender, not very successful (my defense on this bright idea is I am young and trying my best). Instead, I placed the oreos in a gallon freezer bag and used a wooden spoon to crush the cookies then transferred back to the blender to finish the process.
2. Mix cream cheese and crushed cookies and Nutella
3. Using your hands, Form small balls, approximately 3/4 inch in diameter and place on a baking sheet then refrigerate to harden.
4. Melt semi-sweet chocolate. Using a toothpick dip each oreo ball into the chocolate and place back on baking sheet and back in the refrigerator to harden! Um :)
Making the Kaytucky Chicken: This was a huge gamble and turned out pretty well! However serving sizes were massive!! Each of us had at least 1/2 of the serving left over. The recipe from Kayotic Kitchen called for spring onions, but because both cell and I favor red onions I subbed them. Also from this, and a call to the infamous Aunt Margaret, I learned what a "few rashes of bacon" were.
4 chicken fillets
(I used breasts, I had extra from Wednesday buy on get on free at Orange Bi-Lo, which may have explained the outrageous size?) 4 frozen puff pastry sheets 4 oz soft cream cheese a few rashes of bacon (a few rashes just refers to several slices; I actually used Turkey Bacon because cell and I have a obsession for that as well) Parsley 1 Spring Onion (I used 1/2 Red Onion) 1 large Egg |
1)Yum Turkey Bacon 2) pastry shell 3) so good, Cell was upset I didn't fry her an extra piece 4) pretty parsely 5) chopped onions & parsley 6) slicing the breasts 7) making the "stuffing" 8) we actually had the leftovers as a chip dip 9) wrapp'em up 10) coat with the egg 11) ready to bake
1. Start by tenderizing! Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix cream cheese, chopped onion, bacon shredded to small pieces, and parsley in mixing bowl.
3. Slice each breast length wise, creating a pocket for the mix. Stuff a spoonful of the mixture into the slits of each chicken breast.
4. Wisk the egg in a small bowl and using a baster (because I did not have one I used the back of a spoon) coat one side (the inside) of a pastry sheet with the egg place the chicken in the center and fold the pastry sheet around the chicken breast. Coat the outside of the pasty sheet with the egg as well. Repeat for each of the pastry sheets and chicken breasts.
5. Bake 350F for 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden.
Making the Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes: I was introduced to this little miracle packet by Gib's mom, Karen. Found in the produce section at the grocery store the Roasted Potato Seasoning Mix is awesome! My first attempt of this about a six months ago resulted slightly more crispy potatoes than one would desire. However, this attempt was very successful! Simply follow the instructions on the back of the packet, no changes from me.
Making the Corn on the Cob: Because I am a southerner, corn on the cob is considered a delicacy in my book. Although I did not get the opportunity this go around to attempt the Milk Boiled Corn on the Cob that I have been wanting to, I did do some simple oven-baked corn on the cob, which we all enjoyed. In order to accomplish this, it is key to allow the corn to soak in water before hand. Also, because I wanted my corn to really have some juices, I added butter to my tinfoil before hand rather than after their baking. Wrap each corn tight in the foil and place on the top rack of the oven. I baked for 30 minutes at 350F.
1) Fresh! 2) Shucking 3) Don't forget to use the toothbrush Gib! 4) Sunflower Cutting board=lava 5) Garlic Butter Spread in place of butter
And now for the big finale...
1) Kaytucky Chicken, Roasted Garlic Potatoes & Corn on the Cob 2) everything is in 3) the group's plates 4) Kyle approves and I got an A for Physics!
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