Sorry for....

....the delay in a new recipe. As you might know, I've moved to a new apartment and so that puts a little strain on the finances. But rest assured, I will be back very very soon!!! Later guys :)

Who needs takeout....

Hello all!!!! So this is my third recipe for the blog and this one was pretty cool. Now, anybody who knows me knows that my favorite ethnic food is Chinese!! I could eat Chicken Lo Mein from China Fun here in Tuscaloosa EVERY DAY...that is, if it wouldn't cause me to break out in acne and blow up to the size of a barn. So when I saw this meal on "30 Minute Meals" I had to try it. True to form, Rachael has delivered one heck of an Asian meal...

On the menu tonight was "Orange-Sesame Pork Chops with Teriyaki  Lo Mein Noodles". First off, this might be one of the easiest meals I've made. Prep and all the recipe printed off the web said 40 minutes and I actually finished in exactly 40 minutes!! Who's getting good in the kitchen?!?! I AM!!

First thing I did was boil the Lo Mein noodles. Now the recipe actually called for whole-wheat spaghetti noodles, but when I found the Lo Mein noodles in Publix I thought "well it's an Asian meal so why not just use these?!?!" They were great!! They come in 8oz boxes and so I bought 2 boxes to equal a pound. This was a mistake. I ended up with lots of extra noodles so next time, I'll just use one box. But anyway, if you don't wanna use the Lo Mein noodles by all means stick with the whole-wheat spaghetti.

Next thing was the chops. Couldn't be simpler!! All you do is season them with salt and pepper, put them in the skillet and cook. When they are done, you set them aside and in the pan with the drippings, you add the orange marmalade, teriyaki sauce and water. Bring that to a boil and let it combine for a minute. Add the sesame oil and then pour it over the chops and that's it! See I told ya it couldn't be simpler!!

While the chops are cooking you add a few tablespoons of oil to a skillet and let it get hot. Add your scallions and edemame. Cook it for a couple minutes and then add your noodles. Add the remaining Teriyaki sauce and let it go for a minute and then you're ready!!!

This meal really was a super simple and quick meal. This meal is an example of why I am drawn to Rachael Ray and her cooking. Like most of us, she's a working person. Anyone that works can tell you when you get home, you don't wanna slave in a kitchen for hours and not eat till 10:00. With these meals you can get in the kitchen and get dinner done quickly. This one was not only quick and easy but had great taste. The smell of the orange-sesame glaze and the taste of the teriyaki noodles really brought to mind Chinese take-out. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did. Check out the pics below and as always, the recipe follows. Might be a few weeks before the next one is posted. More than likely, I won't be cooking again till we move but rest assured, I will be back. See y'all soon and remember Rachael's motto, "You've always got time to make a fantastic meal". Until next time....

"Orange-Sesame Pork Chops with Teriyaki Lo Mein Noodles"

1 Lb. whole-wheat or whole-grain spaghetti (Can subsititue 8 oz. Lo Mein noodles)
5 Tbs. vegetable or light oil
5 Boneless pork loin chops 1½ inch thick
3 Tbs. orange marmalade
6 Tbs. teriyaki sauce
1 Tsp. sesame oil
1 Bunch scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
1 C. shelled, frozen edamame
1 Tbs. black sesame seeds or toasted sesame seeds, optional
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for pasta, and cook pasta to al denté.

While pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chops with salt and pepper and cook 6 minutes on the first side, 4 - 5 on the second.
Remove chops to a plate and reserve, cover with foil. Add 3 tablespoons orange marmalade, a couple tablespoons teriyaki sauce and ¼ cup of water to the pan, bring the sauce to a bubble and combine 1 minute, stir in sesame oil remove from heat.

While the chops cook, heat a second skillet with 3 tablespoons oil over medium high heat. Stir-fry the scallions and edamame a couple of minutes. Drain pasta and toss with scallions and edamame and remaining teriyaki sauce, about ¼ cup. Sprinkle noodles with sesame seeds, if desired.
Slice pork or leave chops whole and top with orange-sesame glaze. Serve teriyaki noodles along side.

How about some "Pasta America"...

Ok so here is the second recipe for my blog. This one was just a one dish pasta meal and probably the first time I've ever come close to actually finishing dinner in 30 minutes lol....

So this dish was called "American-Italian Pasta all' Amatriciana", or as Rachael and her mom called it, "Pasta America". It was really super simple and actually a pretty fast cooking dish. Had I not forgotten to put bread in the oven, it might have actually been on the table in 30 minutes!!...

First thing to do was to cut up 6 slices of thick peppered bacon. Rachael used peppered in this because the Italian dish calls for pancetta that is rolled in pepper, but if you have just regular bacon, by all means use that! I went ahead and bought peppered. But, I digress. So anyway, you crisp up the bacon. To that, add one purple onion chopped and 4 cloves of garlic. You can prepare the garlic one of two ways. Either finely chop it or do what I do and grate it! It takes away the risk of biting down onto a chunk of garlic, which I don't enjoy, so the grating method works great for me! Anyway, let that cook 5 - 6 minutes till the onions are soft and translucent.

Add the chicken stock and tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes and ur good to go!! It's really a quick meal that has a lot great tastes!!

Monday night was a great night for this blog cause it was one of those nights that really proved the reason I cook and why I am doing this blog. Monday night, I had a car accident on the way home from work. I wasn't injured at all, but my car is more than likely totaled. At this point, I still don't know if it is for sure going to be ruled the other guys fault, nor do I know 100% that he has insurance. So needless to say, I was a lil bit stressed...

But, there really is something about grocery shopping and cooking a meal that just calms me and puts me in the best mood. As Rachael puts it, "Cooking is good for your soul" and it truly is. Instead of having a terrible night filled with me being extremely cranky and irritated, I had a great night, doing something I love to do! Plus, having 4 people tell you that your meal was wonderful always helps. Especially since one of those people might be the pickiest eater I've ever seen, and he had seconds!! But anyway, monday was a good testament to why I love cooking, why I enjoy writing this blog, and why I enjoy cooking Rachael Ray recipes. Food is something that is an escape for her and something she just genuinely loves to do. I'm glad that God blessed her with not only her cooking skills, but her personality to make it relatable to her audience. I'm also happy that God has blessed me with the ability to cook and actually be good in the kitchen and through it, gives me an outlet to be creative and share something that genuinely makes me happy. Hopefully you guys enjoy it too! If you like the pics, the recipe is at the bottom of the pictures! Until next time....

"American-Italian all'Amatriciana"

1 Lb. whole-wheat cassarecci, rigatoni or penne pasta
1 Tbs. EVOO
6 slices thick cut peppered bacon, chopped
1 Large purple onion, chopped
4 Cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 C. chicken stock
1 (28oz.) can crushed fire roasted tomatoes (Can use diced fire roasted tomatoes)
A handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Shredded sharp white Cheddar, to pass at table
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat water to boil for pasta, season with salt and cook pasta to al denté.



Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat with EVOO, a turn of the pan. Add bacon and crisp 4 - 5 miniutes then add onions and garlic, cook to soften, 5 - 6 minutes. Stir in stock then tomatoes and season with pepper to taste. Simmer sauce 15 minutes. Toss pasta with sauce and parsley. serve with grated sharp white Cheddar.

Who knew "Tex Mex" could be so good!!

Ok so finally, here is my first blog about my Rachael Ray cooking!! Monday night, as usual Dawn, Jamie and I had our weekly "date". We do this every week. One week it's at Dawn's house and the next it's at mine and Jamie's apartment. This week was at our apartment, and as usual, I cooked a Rachael Ray meal.

This one was a new one for me. On the menu was "Chili Lime Fish Fry", "Corny Polenta", and "Tex Mex Pepperonata".

First the fish. I love fish. I like it grilled, blackened, broiled, and fried, but, for some reason, fried fish doesn't really like me. Every time I eat fried fish, it always makes me sick so I was a little bit scared to fix fried fish, but since it wasn't actually deep fried like we like to do it here in the south, I thought it might be ok. Turns out, I was right. The fish used in this recipe was tilapia. There were three steps to bread it. First, you coat it in flour. Second, egg and third was a bread crumb mixture. To the bread crumbs you add a few sprigs of chopped thyme leaves, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder and lime zest. Once coated in the breaded crumbs you fry the fish in about 1/4 inch of oil. My skillet wasn't big enough to fry all 4 at once, so per the instructions I kept the first two in the oven while the second two cooked.

Next was the polenta. I had never had polenta so wasn't sure how it was gonna turn out either, but it was really really good. Polenta is ground corn and it is a lot like grits but cooks up thicker than grits. For this recipe you first take 2 ears of corn and cut the corn off the cob then caramelize it. Then you add in a few chopped scallions and cook. After they have cooked for a minute, you add the chicken stock. For quick cooking polenta, you use a 3 - 1 ratio. So for this I did 3 cups of chicken stock to 1 cup of polenta. Once the chicken stock boils you whisk in the polenta and in about 3 - 4 minutes, it's done.

Lastly was the pepperonata. This was super simple. You take a couple jalapenos, a red and green bell pepper and one purple onioin. Slice them all, seeding the peppers. Put them in the skilled with EVOO and ya cook them till they are soft. Add in a couple tablespoons of tomato paste and let that cook. I use the tomato paste in a tube. It's kind of the coolest thing ever! Then add a cup of chicken stock and just let it cook for a lil bit till it reduces and thickens up.

After eating this one it's one I'll definitely do again! The fish was great! Had a nice flavor to it and the pepperonata goes down over the top of it of the fish. Then you squeeze lime juice over it. The tart from the lime with the subtle spice of the pepperonata was great!!  The polenta also made a great side dish for this meal. It had a better consistency and taste than grits, because i am not really a grits fan :). The corn running through it gave a nice texture and nice little sweet bite to it.

Hopefully you guys see that I really enjoy cooking. I don't want his blog to just be a how-to but hopefully you see that i love cooking and that i really like cooking Rachael Ray meals. They are quick, easy and have great flavors to them and it's my goal to introduce you to something you might not have tried before. Check out the pics and also the recipes!!! Look for the next recipes soon!! Until then....

"Chili Lime Fish Fry"

• 4 Tilapia fillets
• 1 C. all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 C. bread crumbs
• 2 limes, zested and juiced
• 2 Tbs. chili powder, a couple palmfuls
• 2 Tsp. garlic powder, ⅔ palmful
• 2 Tsp. onion powder, ⅔ palmful
• 2 Tbs. fresh chopped thyme leaves or 2 tsp of dried
• ¼ cup vegetable, canola or safflower oil

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Arrange 3 shallow dishes. Put the flour in 1 dish and add the eggs to the second dish. Combine the bread crumbs in the third dish and season with 1 tablespoon of lime zest, 2 tablespoons of chili powder, the garlic powder, the onion powder and thyme. Coat the fish in the flour, then the egg and then the bread crumbs.

Heat the oil, about ¼ cup, in large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. If your pan is not large enough to fry 4 fillets,in a single layer, heat the oven to 275 degrees F and put a cooling rack on a baking sheet. As you fry the fish, transfer them to the rack in the oven to keep warm. Fry the fish until deeply golden and crispy and transfer to a serving platter. Season with a little extra salt, top with lots of lime juice and serve.

"Corny Polenta"

• 2 Ears fresh husked corn on the cob or 1 C. frozen kernels, defrosted
• 1 Tbs. EVOO
• 3 - 4 Thin scallions, finely chopped
• 3 C. Chicken stock
• 1 C. Quick-cooking polenta
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 2 Tbs. hot sauce
• Kosher salt

Scrape the corn from the cob by balancing the cob on a small inverted bowl nested in larger bowl. Using sharp knife, cut the kernels off the cob from the top to the bottom.
Heat the EVOO, a turn of the pan, in a sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add the corn and sauté until it starts to brown at the edges, 3 - 4 minutes. Add the scallions and cook for 1 minute, then add the stock and bring to a boil. Whisk in the polenta and cook until thick, about 2 - 3 minutes. Stir in the butter and season with hot sauce and salt, to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

"Tex Mex Pepperonata"

• 2 Tbs. EVOO
• 1 Purple onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Jalapeños, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 Red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 Green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tbs. tomato paste
• 1 C. beer or chicken stock
• Handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped, for garnish
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, the hot and sweet peppers, garlic, and salt and pepper, to taste. Sauté the onion mixture until crisp-tender, 5 - 6 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cook 2 minutes. Add the beer or stock and stir for 1 - 2 minutes more. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter, garnish with cilantro and serve.

Enjoy guys!!!

First recipe on it's way!!!

Hello all!! Look for the first recipe to come in the next few days...cooking tonight :)

Plugging a website....

Ok so if you have never heard of it I have a great website for anyone who likes to cook. It's called Tastebook.com. It's really cool. What you do is upload all of your recipes to it and then they print you a recipe book! Prices range depending on how many pages you order. You can get up to 100 Recipes per book! Check it out!

www.tastebook.com

Getting Started....

Ok so this is my first attempt at a blog, so we'll see how it goes. The purpose of this is really to be a creative outlet for me. I'm taking my cue from "Julie & Julia". My friend DAWN suggested this so here goes.

I'm gonna be using this blog to talk about cooking. Specifically, cooking Rachel Ray recipes. I love her recipes because they are quick, simple, and the flavors are amazing. Over the last year I've started cooking a lot of her food and have just fallen in love with it!

Now, I'm by no means trying to make this something like in "Julie & Julia". Basically, I just wanna have a creative outlet that can be something fun for me. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Look for the first recipe in the next week or so. Until then.....