Okay, so it wasn't really that much of a disaster. But it's the closest I've ever had to one in a really long time. So yesterday I made black bean burgers with steak fries. The burgers weren't hard. I did forget to buy bread crumbs so there I am toasting up some bread in the oven for bread crumbs. It was good, though because that bread was getting kind of stale anyways. It needed to have a job to do. Now the thing about making your own bread crumbs is it kind of helps to have a food processor. I tried putting them in the blender and it didn't work. So what I ended up doing is crunching them up by hand and just not using the big chunks on the inside that didn't get enough toasting to crumble properly.
After that I did the steak fries. I sprinkled on some oil, and also steak seasoning, parsley and oregano. Then I put them in the oven for 25 minutes. The recipe said to put them on "high heat." I really didn't know what that means so I set the oven for 450 and crossed my fingers that was high enough.
After putting the fries in the oven, I got to work on the burgers. I was halving the recipe, as per usual, since I'm only one person and I don't like having leftovers for days. I like to cook every single day not every other day. So, one thing it called for was a roughly chopped onion. I did that. Then I realized this and everything else was supposed to go in the food processor. I then finely diced the onion. I luckily found some chopped garlic in the fridge which I used. After that, I put in the egg, spices and bread crumbs and mashed everything up. Upon combining these ingredients, I looked at the recipe and realized I had forgotten to half the onions. I considered taking them up, but they were well mixed at this time so there was really no. Oniony burgers it is!
After this I remembered to flip the fries. I don't know why this is but my french fries always get really done when I bake them. If anyone can help me with this, I would be very pleased. I'm not sure if I'm putting them at the wrong temp or if I just use too much oil or what. But anyways. I flipped them so they would get properly burnt on both sides and then went back to cooking the burgers.
I sprayed the pan with some cooking spray and put them on the grill pan. Everything seemed fine until the fire alarm started going off. It didn't seem like anything was really burning that much besides my potatoes, but there wasn't any smoke really. At first, I was able to turn the fire alarms off. Then, they went off again. It was quite ridiculous. I then turned off the stove. I pressed "hush" on every single fire alarm to no avail until I got to the one in my room. I'm not sure if that was the one that did it since Dustin also pressed "hush" on a different one, but I was just happy the very loud noise had stopped.
The burgers were done anyways and the fries had been done so they got a little extra burn on them, but it worked out. I must say though that I didn't really like my black bean burgers. They were kind of bland. I think I'll try a different recipe next time and maybe even buy my own bread crumbs. Who knows.
All right. More cooking adventures to come.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
A Weekend Without Cooking
You may be wondering why I am writing a blog post if, in fact, there was no cooking done this weekend. Well, truth be told, I did cook a little bit. I don't know if Friday night counts but that's when it happened.
Friday:
So I got home around 10:30 or so from Video Gamer's Club upon which I took a shower and got started on cooking my "Veggie Pizza." There isn't a lot involved in this. Basically, I used croissant dough and baked it in the oven for about 12 minutes at 375 degrees (I've made a few croissants in my day, let me tell you). Then, after that had cooled basically, all you have to do is spread some cream cheese on top with cut up broccoli and carrots. It was a good way of using up the veggies that were about to go bad in my fridge. Next time, I'll make it from scratch and it will be a little more exciting. The cream cheese could have used some herbs or something. It was kind of bland. Also, note to self, I should probably refrigerate it instead of leaving it in my car all day. It would've tasted better if it had been cold. I had been making this for a party I was going to on Sunday, by the way.
Sunday:
So yesterday was Easter. I had no involvement in the meal that was made except for maybe helping put things on the table which really doesn't count. Somehow I got stuck working yesterday mostly because I was being nice and not making my dad work yesterday. Well, I missed getting to go to church so I was a little bit pissy especially when customers kept trying to buy things around the time I was trying to close up. Anyways. We had ham, green beans, croissants (did I tell you), tossed salad, mashed potatoes and scalloped potatoes. The scalloped potatoes really didn't turn out that good, but I'm not surprised. My mom doesn't really like cooking with cheese which I don't understand at all. But anyways. This is why I should have been there helping. Somebody needed to be the one to add the cheese, butter and milk (most of which my mom avoids).
So anyways. I did make a little something for my lunch today last night. I made tuna salad. It's actually quite good. Basically it's tuna, celery and onions with special mayo. The sauce includes mayo, dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, pepper and sugar. So yeah. It turned out really good. And all I had to do this morning was spread it on a couple of slices of bread and voila! Tuna salad sanwhich to go.
So anyways. I haven't gone grocery shopping this week, but I do wanna make a couple new dishes. I was thinking about doing fish again. We'll see, though. I kind of wanted to make stir fry, too. We'll see what happens.
Happy cooking!
Friday:
So I got home around 10:30 or so from Video Gamer's Club upon which I took a shower and got started on cooking my "Veggie Pizza." There isn't a lot involved in this. Basically, I used croissant dough and baked it in the oven for about 12 minutes at 375 degrees (I've made a few croissants in my day, let me tell you). Then, after that had cooled basically, all you have to do is spread some cream cheese on top with cut up broccoli and carrots. It was a good way of using up the veggies that were about to go bad in my fridge. Next time, I'll make it from scratch and it will be a little more exciting. The cream cheese could have used some herbs or something. It was kind of bland. Also, note to self, I should probably refrigerate it instead of leaving it in my car all day. It would've tasted better if it had been cold. I had been making this for a party I was going to on Sunday, by the way.
Sunday:
So yesterday was Easter. I had no involvement in the meal that was made except for maybe helping put things on the table which really doesn't count. Somehow I got stuck working yesterday mostly because I was being nice and not making my dad work yesterday. Well, I missed getting to go to church so I was a little bit pissy especially when customers kept trying to buy things around the time I was trying to close up. Anyways. We had ham, green beans, croissants (did I tell you), tossed salad, mashed potatoes and scalloped potatoes. The scalloped potatoes really didn't turn out that good, but I'm not surprised. My mom doesn't really like cooking with cheese which I don't understand at all. But anyways. This is why I should have been there helping. Somebody needed to be the one to add the cheese, butter and milk (most of which my mom avoids).
So anyways. I did make a little something for my lunch today last night. I made tuna salad. It's actually quite good. Basically it's tuna, celery and onions with special mayo. The sauce includes mayo, dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, pepper and sugar. So yeah. It turned out really good. And all I had to do this morning was spread it on a couple of slices of bread and voila! Tuna salad sanwhich to go.
So anyways. I haven't gone grocery shopping this week, but I do wanna make a couple new dishes. I was thinking about doing fish again. We'll see, though. I kind of wanted to make stir fry, too. We'll see what happens.
Happy cooking!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Eat Dessert First
So the other day I was actually able to make dessert (I think it was Saturday. Not sure). It actually turned out really good. I made mixed berries compote. It's basically sugar, water and frozen fruit cooked on the stove. It turns out to be this amazing warm syrupy goodness that went really good on my icecream. The only thing was that it kind of melted my ice cream a little too much. Maybe next time, I'll let the compote cool before pouring it on my ice cream.
So yesterday, I went grocery shopping. I know it's been less than a week, but my dad wanted me to pick up a couple things and I wanted to get a couple things anyways. So one think I picked up was croissant rolls because I was going to make a veggie pizza for the Writing Center party I'm going to this weekend.
So I left my groceries out. I didn't put them in the fridge because I didn't think it would be a big deal. I figured yogurt and cream cheese could deal for a couple hours. When I was putting away my groceries, I found the croissant rolls had popped out of their canister. So I ended up making croissants. So that means I'm going to have to go to the grocery store again. It's kind of frustrating.
So after I made croissant rolls, I made chicken noodle soup. I had bought the stock earlier this week. It basically consisted of chicken, noodles, stock, onions, carrots and celery. I also put parsley and thyme in there (dry). It turned out okay. Whenever I get store bought stock, I always am disapointed. This is what makes me want to make my own homemade chicken stock. It's kind of a lot of work, though. I don't really want to buy a whole chicken. I feel like I would end up throwing away a lot of stuff after the stock is made afterward.
So yesterday, I went grocery shopping. I know it's been less than a week, but my dad wanted me to pick up a couple things and I wanted to get a couple things anyways. So one think I picked up was croissant rolls because I was going to make a veggie pizza for the Writing Center party I'm going to this weekend.
So I left my groceries out. I didn't put them in the fridge because I didn't think it would be a big deal. I figured yogurt and cream cheese could deal for a couple hours. When I was putting away my groceries, I found the croissant rolls had popped out of their canister. So I ended up making croissants. So that means I'm going to have to go to the grocery store again. It's kind of frustrating.
So after I made croissant rolls, I made chicken noodle soup. I had bought the stock earlier this week. It basically consisted of chicken, noodles, stock, onions, carrots and celery. I also put parsley and thyme in there (dry). It turned out okay. Whenever I get store bought stock, I always am disapointed. This is what makes me want to make my own homemade chicken stock. It's kind of a lot of work, though. I don't really want to buy a whole chicken. I feel like I would end up throwing away a lot of stuff after the stock is made afterward.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Dessert
So yesterday, after showering and doing the dishes, I attempted to make bananas foster. I had bought bananas and ice cream for the occasion specifically, forgetting the vanilla of course. So first, I attempted making the sauce. Since I was only making one serving, I quartered the ingredient list. This did not work somehow. Each time I ended up burning the butter/ sugar mixture. I have no idea what I was doing wrong. I will attempt it again though since I still have bananas and icecream.
What I ended up doing was eating fried bananas with ice cream and chocolate sauce. It was good but it wasn't that good. It may have been because I got the cheap ice cream. Oh well.
Today:
So every week my mom and I go out to eat. Today I suggested this Mexican place, Casa Real, on Miller. I'd only been to the one in Oxford and had never eaten there so I thought we could try it out. Immediately, I could tell something was wrong once I sat down at the table. My mom, instead of drinking her margarita, was asking for more water. It was weird. Apparently it wasn't as good as Nuevo Vallarta's margaritas (which was actually true). Another problem was the chips weren't hott. This is a necessity at an authentic Mexican restaurant. They just taste better.
I ended up ordering a chimichanga which was good. It was really big though and I mostly just ate the rice and beans. I ended up having a lot left over. I also didn't leave enough room for dessert for which I was sad. Oh well I guess. I'm sure I could just make flan myself. What is it, like, eggs and sugar and milk or something? It sounds easy enough at least.
All right, well, more food adventures to come...
What I ended up doing was eating fried bananas with ice cream and chocolate sauce. It was good but it wasn't that good. It may have been because I got the cheap ice cream. Oh well.
Today:
So every week my mom and I go out to eat. Today I suggested this Mexican place, Casa Real, on Miller. I'd only been to the one in Oxford and had never eaten there so I thought we could try it out. Immediately, I could tell something was wrong once I sat down at the table. My mom, instead of drinking her margarita, was asking for more water. It was weird. Apparently it wasn't as good as Nuevo Vallarta's margaritas (which was actually true). Another problem was the chips weren't hott. This is a necessity at an authentic Mexican restaurant. They just taste better.
I ended up ordering a chimichanga which was good. It was really big though and I mostly just ate the rice and beans. I ended up having a lot left over. I also didn't leave enough room for dessert for which I was sad. Oh well I guess. I'm sure I could just make flan myself. What is it, like, eggs and sugar and milk or something? It sounds easy enough at least.
All right, well, more food adventures to come...
Friday, April 15, 2011
Healthy Food
The last time I wrote on this blog was New Year's Day. I know. Pathetic. I don't know where the time went. It seems like yesterday was the first day of the semester and now we're almost into finals. But anyways.
In my last blog I mentioned possibly doing something with this blog involving food. I'm going to attempt to do that from now on. I'm not sure how often I'll post but I'm hoping a couple times a week at least.
On to my food adventures.
Wednesday:
I was inspired to make chicken salad and sweet potato fries. I found both of the recipes online quite easily. When I was at the grocery store, I only needed a couple extra things. For the chicken salad: walnuts, dried cranberries, celery and onions. For the sweet potato fries: sweet potatoes. I kind of simplified the recipes to ease the affect on my wallet.
When I got back home, lo and behold, I had forgotten the dried cranberries. It was too late to go back so I had to do without. Basically the salad consisted of chopping vegetables up, cooking the chicken and mixing mayo and white vinegar together for the sauce. One problem I did run into was toasting the walnuts. I somehow managed to burn them but they were still salvageable so it was okay.
The salad turned out good and I accompanied it with sweet potato fries. The only thing about these was having to peel the sweet potatoes. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I chopped them, covered them in oil, salt, pepper and cinnamon. After a half hour in the oven, they turned out really well. They tasted like Thanksgiving and I regretted not having pumpkin pie to go along with them. Oh well. I was happy with the finished product so it's okay.
Thursday:
Not as exciting.
I made sloppy joes and spaghetti (sauce from a jar with ground beef). The only actual cooking skill that was needed for this meal wa s chopping onions for the sloppy joes. The sloppy joes that I make include beef, onion, ketchup and mustard. Nothing else. I know it sounds to simple, but try it. It's amazing. Then, I made spaghetti with meat sauce for today's lunch and early dinner (I usually eat dinner twice).
Friday:
So today was yet another grocery day. This is what happens when I get ideas for recipes: I shop a lot. More money out of my pocket that I don't have much of (thanks to having to pay my taxes). So I bought the stuff I needed for (hopefully) all of the week's meals including today's meal: shrimp scampi. I bought shrimp. That's it. That's all I needed for shrimp scampi.
Basically to make the shrimp scampi, you melt butter in olive oil with chopped garlic. Then, you cook the shrimp in that sauce. The linguine (spaghetti) is cooking while this is going on. Then, you add parsley, crushed red pepper, lemon juice (white wine vinegar) and I added a little parmegan for good measure along with the cooked spaghetti. Voila! Shrimp scampi. It was amazing. It was so refreshing to eat something besides: spaghetti, chicken quesadillas, or chicken alfredo. That's one of the reasons I'm doing this blog. I'm hoping to get a little variety in my cooking. It's gotten to be a bit boring eating the same thing week after week.
All right. I'll keep you updated any and all meals. Til next time.
Salud!
In my last blog I mentioned possibly doing something with this blog involving food. I'm going to attempt to do that from now on. I'm not sure how often I'll post but I'm hoping a couple times a week at least.
On to my food adventures.
Wednesday:
I was inspired to make chicken salad and sweet potato fries. I found both of the recipes online quite easily. When I was at the grocery store, I only needed a couple extra things. For the chicken salad: walnuts, dried cranberries, celery and onions. For the sweet potato fries: sweet potatoes. I kind of simplified the recipes to ease the affect on my wallet.
When I got back home, lo and behold, I had forgotten the dried cranberries. It was too late to go back so I had to do without. Basically the salad consisted of chopping vegetables up, cooking the chicken and mixing mayo and white vinegar together for the sauce. One problem I did run into was toasting the walnuts. I somehow managed to burn them but they were still salvageable so it was okay.
The salad turned out good and I accompanied it with sweet potato fries. The only thing about these was having to peel the sweet potatoes. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I chopped them, covered them in oil, salt, pepper and cinnamon. After a half hour in the oven, they turned out really well. They tasted like Thanksgiving and I regretted not having pumpkin pie to go along with them. Oh well. I was happy with the finished product so it's okay.
Thursday:
Not as exciting.
I made sloppy joes and spaghetti (sauce from a jar with ground beef). The only actual cooking skill that was needed for this meal wa s chopping onions for the sloppy joes. The sloppy joes that I make include beef, onion, ketchup and mustard. Nothing else. I know it sounds to simple, but try it. It's amazing. Then, I made spaghetti with meat sauce for today's lunch and early dinner (I usually eat dinner twice).
Friday:
So today was yet another grocery day. This is what happens when I get ideas for recipes: I shop a lot. More money out of my pocket that I don't have much of (thanks to having to pay my taxes). So I bought the stuff I needed for (hopefully) all of the week's meals including today's meal: shrimp scampi. I bought shrimp. That's it. That's all I needed for shrimp scampi.
Basically to make the shrimp scampi, you melt butter in olive oil with chopped garlic. Then, you cook the shrimp in that sauce. The linguine (spaghetti) is cooking while this is going on. Then, you add parsley, crushed red pepper, lemon juice (white wine vinegar) and I added a little parmegan for good measure along with the cooked spaghetti. Voila! Shrimp scampi. It was amazing. It was so refreshing to eat something besides: spaghetti, chicken quesadillas, or chicken alfredo. That's one of the reasons I'm doing this blog. I'm hoping to get a little variety in my cooking. It's gotten to be a bit boring eating the same thing week after week.
All right. I'll keep you updated any and all meals. Til next time.
Salud!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)