Brunch: Such Wonderful Possibilities

Nutella & Strawberry on Whole Wheat Toast.


Mushroom and Cheese Omelet.

A couple comments: The cheese had herbs all throughout;however, it did not melt nicely. Mushrooms were sauteed in a little butter(always unsalted), salt,and balsamic vinegar before I started making the omelet.(I like doing this. It adds tang.)

Dinner With A Friend

Chicken Noodle Soup!



First I cooked the chicken in the crock pot. Into the crock pot, vegetable stock, garlic, Italian seasoning, and lemon pepper were added.

Second, I sauteed sliced baby portabellas in butter with a little salt and balsamic vinegar then set aside.

Third, Chopped celery, carrots, and onions were added with a little salt and thyme. Sauteed in butter until soft.

Finally I added more vegetable broth( as well as some of the broth the chicken was cooked in), the chopped chicken, and the mushrooms. While the soup simmered, I cooked the noodles. Perhaps another pad of butter jumped inside while I wasn't looking. Salted to taste.

I add the noodles to the bottom of the bowl right before serving and spooned the rest of the soup on top. This way you won't overcook the noodles while the soup is simmering away.






Another variation...sweet potatoes!



Yes, I know. Chopped sweet potatoes like this have appear numerous times in the blog. This will be the last of it for a while. I'm getting rather tired of sweet potatoes. Thankfully the one used in this recipe is the last one in the fridge.

Very simple and easy. I chopped green peppers, ham, and sweet potatoes. Along with a can of corn some olive oil and adobo seasoning, salt, and a little sugar; I just sauteed all of it in a pan until the sweet potato was tender and everything started to caramelize.

The finished product:





Wonderful Cheesy Crescent Rolls



Just take a can of crescent rolls. Sprinkle your favorite shredded cheese, then roll them up. I did a sharp cheddar and just dusted the top with a little garlic salt. They tasted sort of like a cheese cracker...except a lot better.





Put it all together and this is what you have!


Finally a picture of me cooking the above items. I was aware of this picture being taken.


I was NOT aware of this one...but atleast you can see part of my little kitchen.

Breakfast and Lunch Items!

All three of these dishes were created from other recipes. What does that mean? Taking flavors and ingredients and working them into your own creations! I need to find better lighting in my apartment for taking pictures. The images in this post are a little rough.

Breakfast Bowl!
Ham & Sweet Potato Hash (adapted from the endive recipe in a previous post)
A Healthy portion of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
Topped with two eggs over easy.

Banana Goodness between Peanut butter & Nutella
An extremely simply recipe, but extremely delicious...if you have a sweet tooth!
-Slices of banana
-Two Pieces of Whole Wheat Toast
-Creamy Peanut butter on one side of the toast
-Nutella Spread on the other side of the toast



Now onto the Lunch Item: Pork Tacos
-Pork Roast. I always cook mine in a slow cooker with just some salt, pepper, vegetable stock, and onion. Shred for the tacos.
- Tomato & Avocado. Remember one of the first recipes i posted? Exactly the same thing.
- Sour Cream Mixed with Chipoltle Peppers in Adobo Sauce. This is the first time I used a can of this stuff. It has great smokey flavor but be careful. SPICY
-Shredded Sharp Cheddar



Finally, I would like to introduce you to THE GREEN DRAGON.

I painted him at this cute little craft shop near my house. In the future, I hope to paint many more mystical creatures in this fashion.

a little behind

I have been slacking off a little on my updates. So i'm combining two recipes into one entry.

the first: a ham and bean soup. I used pieces of ham, the 15 dried bean package, carrots, celery, some thyme, potatoes, vegetable stock, water, and the ham boullion stuff. We cut up all the pieces, threw it in the slow cooker, and let it simmer all day. Soups are super easy and flexible...which is why i'm not bothering posting the amounts of everything and exact directions. Just throw whatever you like in a pot and see what happens a couple hours later.

The pic isn't as good for this one:


the second: Bacon and Sweet Potato Hash on Endive Leaves. A wonderful little appetizer. I love sweet potatoes and the sour cream and chives on top really help to pull it all together. Sweet, Savory, Crunchy, and Mushy all in one bite. If you are interested in the exact recipe for these as well feel free to contact me.

shout out to the cool chica that got me the magazine with this recipe in it. I love it!

pic pic pic

Brussel Sprouts

Here is another recipe inspired by the free samples at dellalo's italian market.

Fry up the pancetta, and set aside. Dump excess oil. Saute brussel sprouts (halved) until tender with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add pancetta and serve hot.

As always a pic :) My family is really enjoying me being home! all of this delicious food.

Asiago Cheese and Onion Braid

- taken from a pillsbury magazine

You will need:
2 tablespoons butter
1 large sweet onion, cut in half, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar (i suggest using less than that...it can get a little to sweet)
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (i used 1/4 teaspoon dried ground thyme because i didn't have dried leaves)
1 can (13.8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated classic pizza crust
1 cup shredded Asiago cheese (4 oz)
1 egg white, beaten
1/2 teaspoon poppy seed

Directions:
1. heat oven to 425. spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2. in a 10 inch skillet (i used my dutch oven pot) melt butter over medium heat. add onion; cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden brown. stir in brown sugar and thyme. cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. remove from heat.

3. unroll pizza dough; place on a cookie sheet. starting at center, roll or press dough into 15x10 rectangle. sprinkle with cheese down center third of dough. spoon onion mixture evenly over cheese.

4. with scissors or sharp knife, make cuts 1 inch apart on both long sides of dough to within 1/2 inch of filling. alternately cross strips diagonally over filling; turn ends under and press to seal. brush egg white over top. sprinkle with poppy seed.

5. bake 11 to 15 minute or until crust is golden brown. let stand 5 minutes before serving. remove from cookie sheet; cut crosswise into slices.

Here is the picture of how mine turned out:


At first i thought that using pre-made crusts and doughs were cheating...but after experiencing a couple recipes...i've come to appreciate them! Its fast and easy. perfect for an inexperienced cook like myself to handle in the kitchen without being overwhelmed.

A couple side notes:
- My friend got me this wonderful new magazine, and i can't wait to test out some recipes from it. so this is a little shout out to her "thank you"

- Second, I went and had dinner and a movie with a friend the other night. It was an enjoyable evening. If you have not seen the movie avatar, you should! Pandora is a beautiful planet, and i would choose to live there instead of earth in a heart beat.

-Third, the united state of tara came in the mail. Ordered it online from target for under 30 bucks! SHOPPING WIN!

A Belated Introduction

Hello my name is scott...and this is my food blog. From time to time other interests or aspects of my life may work its way into these posts but for the most part it is about one thing that I love to do! MAKE FOOD!

I will be showing things that I make for family and friends. (the people i love to cook for most).

I am an student studying to be an accountant and dream of working in the professional business world...which isn't exactly a culinary career. However this passion of mine has slowly grown over the past few years in college and now FINALLY i feel that i have accumulated enough knowledge to write a blog about my cooking experiences.