Potato Salad Attempt One

Potato salad is one of my favorite summer sides. 

Seriously. I eat it as a main dish, not a side.

I have been craving my mom's potato salad all summer!!! 

I finally got her "recipe" from her.

(I write "recipe" because all it is, is a list of ingredients.
 No measurements.)

I tried to make it, and admittedly ignored a couple of things she mentioned mainly because I didn't have them and didn't feel like buying them.

It turned out good, but no AS good as my mothers.

So... Here.

You can try too.

Ingredients:

Red potatoes boiled- skin if u want

Onion (hate onions)

Celery

Hard boiled eggs

Mayo

Mustard

Celery seed (don't have...)

Celery salt (don't want to buy...)

Pepper

Dash lemon juice

Parsley

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Sweet Dill pickle relish (not a fan of sweet pickles)

Directions:

? 

Cook potatos.

Combine ingredients.

 

I hope you enjoy your version of this potato salad recipe!

Avacado Salad

I love, love, love avocados! But don't always remember to eat them. Mainly because when I get them I usually forget about them till they are bad. 

I do a lot of my grocery shopping at Trader Joes lately and have found that the bundles are cheaper than buying them individually.  So, I've started to just eat them as the main component in a dish.

My favorite go to dish is what I like to call an avocado salad. It's so simple and takes just minutes to throw together but is so delicious and full of flavor!

Ingredients:

One avocado

One hand full of spinach (or so)

One hand full of cherry tomatoes (or so)

Lemon pepper

Lemon or lime juice

Parmesan cheese (or a blend)

Directions: 

Add spinach to a salad bowl.

Slice up avocado and cherry tomatoes and add to bowl.

Drizzle a small amount of lemon or lime juice over. 

(to taste, but a little goes a long way)

Sprinkle with lemon pepper.

Top with a small handful of cheese.

Enjoy!

Summer Spaghetti

I may have found my new favorite go to pasta recipe!!!

This was SO delicious! 

A must try!

I mean you don't have to take my word for it... but you should.

I saw some recipe on Pinterest (of course) that had some ingredients I hadn't thought of using in pasta (namely the lemon), and thought it sounded yummy.

I also bought a basil plant a few weeks ago from Trader Joe's, because I love basil, and hadn't even used it yet. It seemed like a good time to finally use it. 

Any who, it seems I may be beginning a ramble here so I'll just get to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

Garlic- about 3 cloves

Cherry Tomatoes

Salt

Pepper

Fresh Basil

Bread Crumbs

Whole Wheat Spaghetti

Lemon

Parm. Asigo. cheese blend (I got mine at Trader Joe's)

Directions:

Coat bottom of sauce pan with olive oil.

Dice up garlic and add to oil.

Add desired amount of salt and pepper 

(remember you can always add more later if needed, I'm still learning this)

Cut tomatoes in half and add to pan.

Cook on medium heat for about 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta as directed on package.

After cooking oil for 6 minutes, add about 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs.

Add pasta to oil, mix together.

Put pasta in a bowl.

Squeeze 1/2 lemon over pasta (keep the seeds out).

Sprinkle with cheese.

Enjoy!

  

Please feel free to leave me any opinions, changes, likes/dislikes... anything!

Chia Pudding

I don't know about you, but it feels like I've been hearing about Chia seeds constantly lately!
It kept reminding me of the Cha Cha Chia plants from the nineties.
But, eventually I started noticing all the benefits that were being talked about.

The more I often I saw things about them, the more I wanted to try them.
I finally caved and bought some this past weekend, hoping that I would like them.
 (they are by no means cheap)
I had seen a recipe on Pinterest, and the back of the bag for Chia pudding. Combining these and my own preferences I came up with this version.

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Chia Seeds

1 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk

1 Tablespoon Honey

1 Tablespoon (or so, to taste) Cinnamon

Directions: 

Mix together all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 2 to 3 hours.

So easy, right!

The longer you let it sit the thicker it becomes.

OK, OK, I know it doesn't look like the most appetizing thing in the world but it is!
It turned out absolutely delicious, If I do say so myself!
It's also good for you!

Falafel Pita Sandwhich

Mmmmm... excuse me while I finish chewing...

This was one of those random recipes that came to me while I was grocery shopping for this week. 

It was a pretty genius one, if I do say so myself.
And, of course simple.

Ingredients:

Directions:
Toast Pita, cut one side open.
Smear Greek Yogurt Dip inside one side of the Pita.
Fill with peas, tomatoes, and salad (of your choice).
Heat Falafels (3 pieces literally take one minute).
(I was weary of the precooked Falafel... but it was good.)
Cut in half and add to Pita sandwich.
That's it! Eat!

 

 I'm pretty proud of this one. It was surprisingly delicious! 

Garlic Spaghetti Noodles

 This week I'm trying to get creative with the food, or lack of, I bought at the grocery store.

I got home from the grocery store on Sunday, and sorta realized I didn't get a whole lot of food... 

Does that happen to other people? Or is it just me who can't grocery shop productively all the time?

 Anyway, I basically ended up with some fruit, oatmeal, popcorn (I have been obsessed with Trader Joe's White Cheddar popcorn), and pasta. 

Pasta is one of my main food groups. Right up there with bread. 

I never want to even think about those "no carb" diets, yuck. 

Anyway, realizing this I have been trying to think of a new way to make something to eat aside from Mac and Cheese (which is what I ate for lunch for the past two days). 

My recipe today I'll admit was inspired by Pinterest and all the spring pasta recipes I've been seeing. 

Forewarning: I didn't measure one thing in this so the amounts are really up to you and how much you would prefer, but I will guesstimate to be as helpful as possible.

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Spaghetti

(your normal amount, I never know how to measure pasta)

Rosemary

 (you can use fresh or dried, mine was dried )

Olive Oil

(about one tablespoon or so)

Fresh Garlic

(I used one clove. My mother raised me on it, so I favor it)

Cherry Tomatoes

(one handful or so)

Bread Crumbs

(I used Italian)

Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Boil Water, add a little bit of olive oil and salt. I also add a little bit of rosemary to the water.

Add pasta, stirring occasionally.

While the pasta cooks, heat up olive oil in small sauce pan.

Chop up garlic. It doesn't really matter into what size, it's entirely up to you. 

Cut tomatoes in half.

Chop up rosemary.

Add garlic to heated oil, and cook on medium low heat- my mom would be so proud.

Once the garlic begins to brown, add tomatoes and cook for a couple more minutes. 

Remove from heat (I just poured mine into the bowl I was going to use).

Add rosemary to the garlic sauce. 

When pasta is cooked, drain and add to bowl.

Stir pasta to mix in the garlic sauce. 

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. 

Enjoy!

 This was really delicious and full of flavor from just a few simple ingredients! 

This would go great with a glass of red wine, like most things...

Toasted Ravioli

I'm always saving recipes on Pinterest and lately I've been trying to make more of them so that they are actually useful. One of my favorite types of food is pasta, so I tend to eat quite a bit of it and am always pinning new ideas.  I found this recipe a while ago and just got around to trying it. It was so easy and delicious, just my kind of recipe.  It took a total of about 25 minutes including cooking time. 

Ingredients:

Frozen Raviolis 

Italian Bread Crumbs

1 Egg

1 Tbs Milk

Marinara Sauce
(I just used canned, but you can use any kind you'd prefer)

Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Grease baking sheet.

Whisk together egg and milk in a small bowl. 

Pour small amount (add more as needed) of bread crumbs on a small plate.

Dip Ravioli in egg mixture, then roll in bread crumbs, and place on baking sheet.

Repeat with as many raviolis as desired.

Place on center rack in oven.

Bake for about 15 minutes.

Remove from oven add Marinara sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

This was so GOOD! I will definitely be making this again, and again.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits and Gravy is probably my favorite breakfast food! 

But, it has to be made right.

I've tried a lot of different kinds of biscuits and gravy and only found a handful of places who make them "right". 

By "right" I mean creamy gravy with sausage (which in most other cases I don't really like sausage) and soft fluffy biscuits. 

Finally! One day I saw a friend of mine make them this way and she was kind enough to share her incredibly easy and delicious recipe with me. 

I love this recipe and make it fairly often, so I figured I'd share it with all of you as well. 

Ingredients:

Canned Biscuits

Ground Sausage- about 1lb

flour

Evaporated Milk-1 Can

NOTE: Evaporated and condensed milk are not the same!!! I have made this mistake and it completely ruins it. Yes, I have some blonde moments. Trust me, you want to learn from this mistake of mine and not have to learn for yourself.  

Directions:

Get biscuits going in the oven (follow directions on can).

Gravy:

Brown sausage in a large skillet.

Sprinkle in just enough flour to lightly coat the sausage (about 3 or so large tablespoons).

Continue to cook until it is no longer white.

Pour in EVAPORATED milk.

Simmer until it begins to thicken, stirring often.

Take off burner.

It will thicken more as it cools.

 If you would like it less thick (I normally do this), add milk (add small amounts at a time, a little goes a long way). 

Pour gravy over biscuits and enjoy!

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!

Simple Chili

This was my first attempt at making Chili. 

I've been craving it practically all winter, but my grandma makes Chili so I've been avoiding actually making it.

Let me explain.

What my grandma makes, I do not. I know that mine will not turn out as good as hers does, and I will be disappointed. My grandma is modest about her cooking, but anyone and everyone who has ever eaten something she had made will agree. Her cooking is unbeatable. A trait that was indeed passed down to my mother. I grew up eating delicious home cooked meals. I blame this for my "picky" eating habits. I have high standards for food and generally restaurants just do not measure up.

But, I digress.

I finally caved and looked up a couple of simple recipes and meshed together one of my own. 

Ingredients:

Ground Turkey-about 1lb or so

Minced Garlic- about 4 or 5 cloves

(I love garlic, thanks to my mom, so I tend to use quite a bit)

Red Bell Pepper- oneish diced

Canned Diced Tomatoes- about 28oz

Tomato Sauce- about 8oz

White Kidney Beans- 8 oz

Red Kidney Beans- 8 oz

Black Beans- 8 oz

1 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Chili Powder

1/4 tsp Paprika

1/2 tsp Cumin

Directions:

Cook turkey, garlic, and bell pepper on medium high heat in a large soup pot until turkey is cooked through. Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and all the seasonings. Bring the chili to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about two hours. Stir occasionally. Add all of the beans, heat through and serve. 

I'll admit, I probably didn't let it simmer for the whole two hours. I got impatient. It's not that critical though. This is also a great meal to make and freeze in small containers for quick dinners on those busy/lazy nights.

Simple Orzo

This is a super simple recipe and most of the ingredients are interchangeable. It was created randomly one day when I wanted to make some thing with orzo and just used whatever ingredients I had around at the time. It takes almost no time at all to throw all of this together, which is a nice option when you don't feel like spending time cooking (which happens to me all the time) but would like to eat something relatively healthy.

Ingredients:

 The Orzo can be replaced with any pasta. You can use a number of different cheeses. And you can use whatever type of vegetables you'd prefer.

Simply cook the orzo, drain.

Mix all the vegetables, cheese, lime juice, and orzo together.

Viola!

Enjoy your simple, quick, healthy meal!

 

Hope everyone's week is going well!

A New Twist On Grilled Cheese

I'll admit that I am a bit obsessed with Pinterest. I am always pinning different recipes that I want to try, but seem to never get around to them. I have decided to start putting more effort into actually putting these pins to use. 

I LOVE Grilled Cheese! It is one of my main go to foods, but it can get a little mundane after a while. 

Today for lunch I decided to make a Grilled Cheese recipe that I found. It is soooo delicious!!!

Ingredients: 

2 slices of bread

Pesto

2 slices of mozzarella cheese

small handful of spinach 

oil

 Directions:

Pour small amount of oil in pan (just enough to cover bottom thinly).

Heat oil on medium heat.

Spread Pesto on each slice of bread.

Place one slice of bread in pan (Pesto side up).

Place slice of cheese on slice of bread.

Put small handful of spinach on top of the cheese. 

When bottom of bread is lightly toasted, place other slice of cheese on spinach, then last slice of bread (pesto side down).

Flip sandwich and toast other side of bread. 

Voila!  

This Grilled Cheese was so delicious! A great variation from the traditional! 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.