bread and salad

August 20, 2010

Two in one week?!?!? Shocker I know! Well I'm actually excited because I made something today, and it wasn't a veggie dog in the microwave, like legit went out and bought ingredients!

Let me explain my motivation behind this... haha. So my cousin is visiting from Calgary with his family this week, and after meeting up with them this morning for the parade they invited me to dinner tonight out at their cabin, well of course I couldn't go empty-handed so I thought of my favorite pot-luck dish, which also happens to be my mama's favorite dish to take too! (Where do you think the recipe came from?)

And yes, I am aware that I already have a pasta salad on my blog, but this one's mamas specialty! and I apologize now for sharing the super secret (easy) recipe!

Ingredients:

• Fusilli
• One whole red pepper
• olive oil
• pepper
• cherry tomatoes (my own addition)
• Crumbly feta cheese
  

Okay to start I boiled off a box and a half of rainbow fusilli and let that cool down a touch then I sauteed the pepper in olive oil until just tender and put some fresh ground pepper on that.
Then sliced all the cherry tomatoes in half tossed it all in with the pasta and crumbled cheese over it all. Done!

So I also decided to take some garlic bread and my hand was hovering over the pre-made one at sobey's but I grabbed a loaf of french bread and did it myself.
To make the garlic butter I took 4 or 5 cloves of garlic threw them in the magic bullet with a cup of butter and bam! Garlic butter. Then, smear it all over the bread and pop in the oven and broil it until it's golden!

And that's all I have for you today, hopefully this makes up for my 2 weeks of silence. Hehe

In other news... 5 SHIFTS LEFT!!!!

Iced Coffee

August 18, 2010

Hello blog readers!

So not a very exciting entry this week, but I just made a great little concoction in the kitchen and felt the need to share.

Iced Coffee!

Haha, I know, I know. Not really pushing many boundaries this time, but seriously, this took me 3 minutes to throw together and it is refreshing and delicious!

So to start out, put your favorite coffee on to brew. Whether it's your old drip standby, or making your favorite french press, OR throw the kettle on and make an individual cup of instant coffee.

Now, once your coffee is brewed add about equal parts ice to it. Believe me it cools down quicker if you pour the coffee over the ice rather than just tossing ice cubes in on top.

Next toss it into a blender (I used my magic bullet) and top it off with your favorite additive. I used chocolate milk, but you can use cream, milk, soy, or whatever you want! Blend for a few seconds and serve. Delicious!!

Now for some coffee suggestions! When I made mine today I used Starbucks Via Instant Coffee, and before you think ew, Instant! Five it a try. It's a micro-ground coffee so it's not full of chemicals and it dissolved right into the hot water. It's definitely a quality product.
Now if you're not on the instant bandwagon, my favorite coffees are as followed (you might see a trend here): Caffe Verona- which is a Bold coffee from Starbucks, it's so delicious, and compliments chocolate to a tee. Next, Gazebo summer blend, from starbucks. So tasty! And it's only available in the summertime so i definitely suggest it. And finally Cafe Estima, another Starbucks product, it's another of my favs.

So anyways, give this treat a try and throw in your favorite modifications!

See ya later bloggers!

Stacy

Summertime quick meals

August 2nd, 2010

Rather than apologizing for not updating in a while like I normally do I'm going to just ignore the fact that I am clearly a big lazy bum and continue on as if nothing is wrong.

So to begin my post I would just like to start by wishing my mama a very happy birthday! it was her bday yesterday and I wasn't there to share it with her, but I was thinking about her! =)

Onto the food! I'm going to post share a couple of my newly found summer favorites. They are all quick and super easy. I find it really hard to cook for myself in the summertime because it's either too hot, or I'm just too lazy so these meals pack a lot of punch and get me through the day. Here goes...

Taco Salad- for lack of a better name

Ingredients:

1. Romaine Lettuce
2. Tomato, cut into chunks
3. Avocado, cut into chunks
4. Corn kernels, cooked and cooled
5. Black beans, if using canned rinse!
6. Grated cheddar cheese
   
7. A handful of tortilla chips or a flat tortilla
8. Salsa
9. Salad dressing of your choice (optional)

Okay, so to begin just toss everything in a bowl, you can either crumble the chips over top or leave them whole, your call. Or if using a flat tortilla, brush with oil and season with a little cayenne and toss it in a 400degree oven for hmm.. 5 minutes, check on it frequently. You'll end up with a hard tortilla that you can just break up over the salad.
I also tend to put salad dressing on mine, but that's totally optional. I use a blue cheese yogurt dressing that surprisingly mixes well with everything in the salad.
I am also known to do a fridge raid for any produce looking a little limp and chop that up and add it to the salad.

My next "recipe" I guess you can say is my new love of baked potatoes.

Take a baking potato and scrub off any dirt you see, then pierce it all over with a fork.
Now there's 2 ways to bake the potatoes now. If you've got all the time in the world you can throw them in a 400degree over for a good hour until they're soft and mushy, or if like me you decide you want a baked potato 20 half an hour before work toss those bad boys in the microwave for 6-8 minutes.

I know, I know.. I went to culinary school and I 'bake' potatoes in the microwave, shoot me haha.

So once my potato is baked, I cut an ex in it and put a dollop of vegan margarine in it, and I mean very little, but it does give a creamy, buttery texture that is too good to pass on.
Next I grate a little cheese on, then I put a heavy spoonful of salsa on it. I've been using fresh local salsas from the farmers market and it just adds such a punch to an otherwise plain baked potato.
Of course there's so many choices for baked potatoes. try the classic green onions and sour cream, or saute some mushrooms and onions (tried it, SO good) Or broccoli and grated cheese. Just about anything under the sun works on baked potatoes so get creative.

Also, for those potato-phobes out there. They are GOOD FOR YOU! Potatoes are knows as a resistant starch, in other words is not a simple carb going straight to your muffin top, they are actually keeping your weight in check!
As for a medium potato with the skin on, you're looking at only 100 calories with more potassium than a banana! They keep blood pressure in check and fight of heart disease, not to mention keep you full longer. Potatoes are a super food!

And finally my treat of all treat foods.. Green Onion Cakes!
Might possibly be the easiest recipe ever too.

Start with a 3:2 ratio of flour to HOT water and mix in slowly to make a ball of dough. Wrap in plastic and chill until you plan on using it.
Next roll out the dough (using additional flour if needed) Sprinkle sliced scallions (green onions) and then fold cake over on itself and roll out again, making sure onions are evenly dispersed.
In a large frying pan, heat canola or part canola and a sprinkle of sesame oil over medium-high heat and then drop cake into pan. Brown evenly on both sides.
Blot cake with paper towel and sprinkle with salt before cutting into triangles and serve with your favorite chili sauce for dipping.
Ahhh my favorite!

Anyways, that's all for now, I hope everyone's summer is going fantastic. Mine has definitely been interesting. I've been running out in the sun a lot, and going to early morning aquafit, as well as relaxing on the beach whenever I have a spare moment. Right now I have a pretty red sunburn. Oh well, that'll teach me!
See ya later crocodiles

Stacy