Shrimp substitute

I recently rediscovered a neat cost-saving device learned from my uncle Shannon.

Poor Man's Shrimp:

1/2 head raw cauliflower
cocktail sauce

Wash cauliflower and break into florets. Serve with cocktail sauce.

This is awesome- a nice, healthy, tasty snack. The cauliflower is a perfect vessel for the cocktail sauce.

All that was in plenty, from that cup no more...

Beans and Rice

At the request of Brian, I made black beans and rice for dinner yesterday. The beans and rice that I make is much different from traditional beans and rice, but it is easy, tasty, and probably nutritious.

Beans and Rice

1 can black beans
1 cup long-grain rice
1.5 cups water
1/2 cup frozen corn
jalapeno pepper, minced (I use the kind that comes in a jar)
1/2 tsp. dried cilantro
1/4 tsp. black pepper
salt
kielbasa or uncooked chicken (optional)

Drain black beans, do not rinse. Combine beans, rice, and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cut kielbasa or chicken into bite-size pieces. When mixture comes to a boil, stir in cilantro, pepper, dash of salt, frozen corn, jalapeno, and kielbasa or chicken. Allow to return to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes or until rice is done.

Serve with grated pepper jack.

You can't close the door when the wall's caved in.

IT'S ALIVE

So....you know those really awkward situations when you don't talk to a once-very-close friend for a long time and the longer it gets the more embarrassed you are about not calling them which makes you put off calling them even longer so you don't call even when you have time and want to talk to them just because you're embarrassed about taking so fucking long to get back in touch?

No, me either.

Of course, that's not why I haven't posted in forever... I've...been busy. Well, to be fair, just busy in June. Quick summary of the last few months: moved in with Brian, and into a Newer duplex near downtown; traded in the buick for another buick of similar mileage; decided to punish myself by taking organic chemistry for fun. Anyway.

Tonight will be the second of two evenings thus far for pizza and girls night, with the girls consisting of my cousin, sister, and my cousin's fun roommate. Actually, girls' night may not be limited Just to girls. It's kindof hard to kick Brian out of the house, seeing as he lives there. Not that I'd kick him out in this situation. Vaughan's fiance may come by to keep him company. But, tonight will be fun for sure, seeing as that we're making pizza.

How to make pizza:

Mix 2 cups all purpose flour with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp. sugar, and a packet of quick-rise yeast. Add .5 cups of warm water and 1 tbsp veggie oil. Mix and knead until the dough starts to get firm. Put the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover- allow to rise for about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

While the pizza dough is rising, make the sauce and prepare the toppings. I basically have two sauce recipes that I make.

Fast Sauce: combine equal parts tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir until smooth.

Slow Sauce: Saute 3-ish cloves minced garlic for 2 minutes. Add 14 oz. canned crushed tomatoes and italian seasonings. Simmer until sauce is reduced enough to where it will not make your dough watery (takes a while).

Possible toppings: spinach, onion, garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, fresh basil, pineapple. Cooked bacon, chicken, hamburger, canadian bacon, kielbasa. Cheddar cheese. Alfredo pizza with chicken was good, but not my favorite, as was barbeque chicken pizza. Endless list. My favorite at the moment is spinach, kielbasa, basil, garlic, and mushrooms.

When the dough is finished rising, roll onto pizza stone or round pizza sheet. Spread sauce thinly. Add mozzerella (about 8 oz) and toppings. Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is brown on the outsides. Don't take the pizza out of the oven unless the crust is seriously brown- if it's not brown, the middle of the crust will be soft.

Yum. My dinner tonight is going to rock.

Then we finished the bottle and broke into mine...

20-minute chicken cacciatore

I'm not exactly sure what real chicken cacciatore entails, but I made this fake-out meal one day when I had a green pepper on hand.

1 green pepper
1 onion
1 can Italian Stewed Tomatoes
1-2 chicken breasts, thawed
handful of mushrooms
shredded mozzarella cheese
pasta
salt and pepper

Set water to boil for the pasta (whatever you want...spaghetti, penne, etc.), and cook the pasta as you're doing everything else.

Chop green pepper and onion into bite-size pieces and start to saute with 2 tbsp olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on medium heat. Cut chicken into smallish bite-size pieces. Add chicken and mushrooms to the skillet and stir every so often. Salt and pepper as desired. When the chicken is cooked all of the way through, add the entire can of stewed tomatoes and stir (I also like to use my spatula to cut the tomatoes into smaller pieces). Continue cooking until the tomatoes are heated through. Serve over pasta with mozzarella on top.

This is really really good.

Saint Stephen with a rose
In and out of the garden he goes
country garden in the wind and the rain

Cheese and broccoli casserole

I'd been dreaming of cheesy broccoli with chicken for a few days (I occasionally, by which I mean all of the time, crave and obsess about certain foods), so Brian and I experimented a little making dinner yesterday. All we knew was that our dinner needed to include chicken, broccoli, lots of cheese, and garlic. And what do you know? Our made-up recipe was tasty! Now if only I could figure out why my carrot cake turned out bright yellow instead of its usual brown.

Cheese and broccoli, etc., casserole:

8 oz cheddar cheese
1/2 pack egg noodles
2 chicken breasts, thawed
2 cloves garlic
frozen broccoli in sprigs (florets? not sure...)
8 oz. milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
pepper
mushrooms (optional)

Prep:
Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Mince the garlic. Grate the cheddar cheese. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

This part is slightly complicated because you have to do several things at once.

1. Boil the noodles only until they are chewy (not all of the way done). Drain and toss with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together.
2. Saute the chicken with the garlic (and mushrooms). Do Not Overcook.
3. Put the broccoli into your large casserole dish, enough to cover the bottom, and put half a centimeter of water in the dish. Microwave for about 1.5 minutes, then drain the water, leaving the half-cooked broccoli in the dish.

Mix up these ingredients in your casserole dish with about half of the cheese.

4. Make the sauce. This requires concentration and constant stirring. First, microwave the milk for about a minute to warm it up. Then melt the butter in a saucepan. Once it is completely melted, add the flour and stir like crazy until it is smoothly blended. With the heat on medium, add the warm milk and stir forever for it to blend well with the butter/flour mixture. As soon as this is well mixed and slightly thickened and bubbly, add about half of the cheese and continue to stir. Add pepper and paprika. Once the cheese is completely blended, pour it into the casserole dish and stir a little just to make sure that everything is coated.

Bake at 350 for half an hour. Yum!

Look out of any window any morning any evening any day.

Turkish Beef

This recipe was invented by Holly in an attempt to imitate a dish made by a Turkish-exchange-student friend of hers. It's cheap and tasty, and only uses one pot!

1/2 lb. ground beef
1 cup uncooked rice
1 can diced tomatoes w/basil and oregano
fresh spinach
salt
pepper

Brown beef in a medium-sized pot. Drain excess fat and add salt and pepper. Add tomatoes (undrained), rice, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. After 5 minutes, add as much fresh spinach as you can fit into the pot and replace the lid. Cook until the rice is done, then enjoy!

I prefer mine served with thinly sliced pepper-jack cheese. Also, the proportions of ingredients in this dish are completely flexible- I never use the same amounts of rice and beef. And if you double the recipe, you'll have tons of delicious leftovers.

Grass ain't greener, the wine ain't sweeter, either side of the hill.

The wonders of lactose-free cooking...

I'm a busy med student who requires 3 things of her recipes in order to minimize prep time (and GI distress) and maximize nutrition:
1. All mixing, cooking, and serving will at most dirty 2 dishes.
2. The recipe will include at least 3 of the 5 food groups.
3. Only lactose-free dairy will be included.

With that said, here's my fantastic chicken pot pie recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Cook 16 oz frozen veggie mix with 14 oz chicken broth until veggies are thawed.
3. Add 6 oz of egg noodles and another 14 oz chicken broth and cook until noodles are tender.
4. Add 1 cup lactose-free milk and 1-2 cups chopped, pre-cooked chicken and stir.
5. Pour mixture into pie pan already prepared with pie shell.
6. Don't forget to pierce top pie crust!
7. Bake for 30 minutes.

Eat with some fruit and you've got all 5 food groups, baby!
Plus, this tastes great leftover and will keep for about a week.

I've learned that a single meal including meat can cause a person's glomerular filtration rate to increase 30-50%. I haven't learned yet whether that's good or bad.

Minestrone Soup

This recipe has gone through many alterations- the best (I think) is below.

3 cups chicken broth
2 cans italian stewed tomatoes
10-12 oz frozen mixed veggies
fresh spinach
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
bowtie pasta

Heat chicken broth (I use chicken bouillon to make chicken broth), and add Italian stewed tomatoes in a large pot with a lid. Bring to boil. Add frozen veggies and beans. Bring back to a boil. Add as much fresh (washed!) spinach as you can fit into the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add as much pasta as you want. Simmer for about 10 more minutes until the pasta is done. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.

"32 teeth in a jawbone..."

Famous Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb. ground beef
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
20 oz cheap spaghetti sauce
2 cans stewed tomatoes (italian style)
italian seasoning
salt and pepper

Heat vegetable oil in large pot. Add ground beef and cook until brown, drain off fat, and add salt and pepper. Push ground beef to one side of pot with a spatula, put onion on the other side of the pot over the hotter part of the stove eye. Add garlic when the onion is almost translucent, and when the onion becomes translucent, add spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Stir. Bring to boiling, then add italian seasoning to taste and reduce heat to simmer for 2-3 hours.

This sauce is absolutely fantastic, and pretty cheap to make. It's good with pasta, bread, or eaten with a spoon like chili. Also- the ingredients and their quantities are flexible. I never measure anything, and it always tastes great.

Half-a-cup of rock and rye...