New Recipe: Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Avocado and Chicken

I forgot to mention a few weeks ago that I tried out a new recipe and a new food!  Sadly, it will probably never be made again when J is home because he wasn’t a fan, but I actually enjoyed this dish.

Brussel Sprouts.

I think for most people this food brings unpleasant flavors to the mind.  It did for me too, but when I sat down and thought about it I couldn’t think of when I had actually tried them.  Now, I know I have eaten them before , but I think that it happened when I was younger and I never went near them again.

I found this recipe that made them look delicious.  I thought that since I’ve been having such a change in my palate these days (a newfound love of chili WITH beans and what’s this, cooked mushrooms actually taste good?) that I’d give them a try.

When I told J this is what we’d be having for dinner initially he gave me a face like he smelled something terrible, but when I told him that you mix bacon and avocado into the brussel sprouts he said to me “So basically you’re masking the taste of the brussel sprouts,” and he agreed to at least try it.

  (Probably the best smelling part of the cooking process)

 (Cooked bacon, sliced avocado, and diced brussel sprouts with seasonings)

(Cook everything but the avocado)

(Add the avocado towards the end of the cooking process to warm it up)

We were only having chicken on the side, but after having J doing a taste test of our brussel sprouts I decided to dice up the chicken and toss it in with the whole pan.  We had this dish, which really could be all you cook for dinner, with a side of pierogis.

I was pleasantly surprised with the dish and would definitely make it again for myself.  It was a savory dish with just a hint of bitterness from the sprouts.  While J ate all of his, he told me he’d rather not have the dish again.  Oh well, at least we tried something new and I found out that I don’t hate brussel sprouts!

New Recipe: Spinach and Artichoke Bake

I don’t know how many of you are pinterest users, but from what I can tell, the population of people who use the site is increasing rapidly!  My students, colleagues, family, and friends use it.  I’m constantly hearing people saying that they are addicted to looking through the pages or even some who have to limit their use of the site otherwise they’d spend all day on it.

I’m a member of the site and see it as such a great resource.  I’m found some of my favorite new blogs, diy ideas and recipes through the links that people pin.   The recipe I’m going to share with you today is one I came across on pinterest, but it actually comes from the Budget Savvy Diva. 

I’m looking to spice up what J and I eat for meals.  This sounded like a good recipe to try because I recently found out that J likes artichokes and I like spinach so the mix works out.  J is not looking forward to the next recipe I want to try because the main ingredient is brussel sprouts! I don’t actually know if I like them or not so I want to try it out and I told J I’d make an extra vegetable just incase my recipe is unpleasant.

Anyway, back to this bake.  I made this dish for J and I we both LOVED it!  It was the right mixture of sweet and savory.  Unfortunately for all of you J and I were in such a hurry to eat that we didn't get a chance to take any pictures of our ingredients or the process.  Whoops!

But doesn't it look so yummy!

Spinach and Artichoke Bake (adapted from Budget Savvy Diva)
What you need:

• 1 box Whole Grain Pasta (we used rotini)
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 Cloves of Garlic ( Minced)
• 1 Cup of Sour Cream
• 1/2 a brick of cream cheese (4 oz)
• 3/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese
• 1 squirt of lemon juice
• 10 oz spinach (we used frozen, thawed and drained)
• 1 Can Artichoke hearts (mine said 8-10 large artichokes) rinsed and chopped
• 1 Cup of Mozzarella
• Salt and Pepper to taste

What you need to do:

• Set your oven to 425. Spray a large casserole pan.
• Cook your pasta and put to the side.
• Heat the olive oil in your pan(I used a large pan so I could dirty as few dishes as possible) and cook the onions until soft.  Add garlic and cook for a minute.
• Remove onions from heat and let cool for 5 minutes before adding the sour cream, cream cheese, parmesan and lemon juice.  Mix well and then stir in the pasta.
• Add spinach, artichokes, half of the mozzarella and salt and pepper to taste. (Here she also adds a 1/2 cup of pasta water, I did NOT do this and it turned out fine)
• Pour the mixture into the pan and top with remaining cheese (we also added some more parmesan here).
• Bake 10 minutes or until the cheese on top is a golden brown.

Enjoy!

New Recipe: Indian Chicken Wraps

I apologize for the lack of posts this week, well only kind of!  I had four day weekend from work and I fully enjoyed it.  I got caught up on some things around the apartment, but also managed to have fun time with J and my friends.  It was a great turnaround from last week where I felt like I could not get a single thing accomplished.

I haven't had a chance to try any new recipes or projects yet this week, but I remembered that I never shared one of the new recipes J and I tried last week with you!  This recipe came from (surprise, surprise) Food Network Magazine.  I did change it up a little to fit what we had in the apartment already(I HATE running to the store for 1 or 2 items because I always come home with like 10 more items than I meant to).  

My changes to the recipe:

• No cumin or ginger.  However, I will say that next time I would absolutely add the ginger and cumin as it would have added a lot of flavor to the dish that I think it needed, we just didn't have it in our apartment at the time.
• I did not use rotisserie chicken.  We had chicken at home and instead buying a chicken I just baked two chicken breasts and shredded them myself.

• No naan or pita bread. I had some sandwich wraps in our fridge so we just used those instead and the wraps were still really delicious.
• Greek yogurt instead of low-fat yogurt

Indian Chicken Wraps (From Food Network Magazine)

What you need:

• 1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled (I omitted)
• 1 chili pepper, chopped and seeded
• 1/2 small onion
• 1/2 tsp cumin (I omitted)
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 2 medium carrots shredded
• 2 or more wraps

What you'll need to do:

• Put the ginger, chile, onion, cumin and dash of salt in a food processor and pulse until it is a thick paste.

• Mix the yogurt, lime juice, and cilantro in a bowl then refrigerate until ready to use.

• Warm the vegetable oil up in a large frying pan and add the paste you made initially and cook until  lightly toasted.

• Stir in the chicken, carrots, and 1/2 cup water and cook until the entire mixture is warm.

• Fill the wraps with the chicken mixture and spoon on some of the sauce that you placed in the fridge.

These wraps were really good!  Like I said before I definitely would make sure to add the ginger and cumin the next time we make it, but this is definitely a recipe I'd make again!

Enjoy! 

Case of the Mondays? (Cajun Mac N Cheese)

Whoops! Forgot to hit post yesterday! Here is my post that was meant for yesterday!!

Typically Mondays are my least favorite day of the week, but to be honest with you today was pretty great.  At work a substitute was in for the main teacher I work with and I felt like a rockstar getting to take charge in the classroom.  My other classes were fun and interesting, my boring periods went by quickly.

J had some appointments today, but one of those was canceled so we were able to workout together which is a rarity now that he's back at work.  No one else was in our complex's tiny gym so we were able to talk and not annoy anyone else working out.  Fantastic, even though it was a tough workout!

I needed a tough workout however to workout the nerves I'm starting to get for my interview tomorrow.  Yes, you read that right! I have an interview for a teaching position tomorrow!  It may only be a long term substitute position, but it could be a step in the right direction for my teaching career.  While we worked out I went through a list of possible interview questions and answered them in my head to prepare myself for tomorrow.  Excited and nervous, but hopefully it goes well!

Something else that helps out my nerves is cooking.  Tonight I'm trying out a new recipe to share with all of you later on this week (hopefully this week isn't as hectic as last week).  But to tide you over here is a recipe that I tried last week and tweaked it to our preferences.

I recently got Food Network's March issue, "The Chocolate Issue" and everything looks pretty darn good, but I tried one of the few non-chocolate recipes: Cajun Mac N' Cheese.  Why did I want to try this?  Purely for the fact that the nutritional value was overwhelming. I"m sorry but 794 calories per serving...whhhhattt? And all the fat, but all that protein?  I adapted this recipe to try to make it healthier:

Cajun Mac N Cheese (adapted from Food Network Magazine)

• Kosher salt
• 1 box wagon-wheel pasta (Ours was a 1lb box)
• 1 package ground turkey (ours was a little over a pound)
• 2 bunches scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 green pepper chopped
• 1 tablespoon Cajun spice blend
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1.5 cups whole milk
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (we bought ours already shredded)

You can pop over to the link above to get the cooking directions (mostly because I'm too lazy to type them up for you today when they are right there on the website!).

The main difference between their recipe and what I did was that I used more pasta, turkey instead of sausage, no olive oil and slightly less whole milk and mine yielded WAY more than 4 servings.  I would definitely say this recipe yields at least 8 servings.  I had a bowl and a half, J had 2 full bowls and we STILL managed to fill two tupperware containers full of this mac and cheese.  The only other thing that I would change about this recipe is taking out the flour and taste testing the whole thing before adding it because I felt like the pasta had an after taste of flour, which was kind of gross.  Other than that I would definitely make this meal again but split it in half and freeze the other part for a future meal.

Thats it for today!  Back to preparing for my interview!

Weekend Happenings

This past weekend was a blast enough though I didn't get many things done around the apartment!  Saturday morning  J, my parents, and I had breakfast at a restaurant buffet in a few towns over expecting to eat something delicious only to be pretty disappointed in our meal.  The only food I really loved was banana bread french toast.  It was so good and because of all the flavor in the banana bread no syrup was necessary.  However, we've definitely decided it is is better to hit up one of the many delicious NJ diners for breakfast next time.

Onward we went to the Philly Auto Show.  We met up with my aunt and uncle who also happened to be at the show.  It was fun looking at all of the new models even though J has a relatively new car and I cannot afford a new car right now (my little car is going on 11 years this year!).  There were some really awesome old fashioned cars there and some trucks that J and I would consider if we were actually in the market to buy.

Afterwards we went to Reading Terminal Market to walk around.  We picked the worst time ever, however, because the place was packed with people trying to get some lunch.  On our way out we stopped at Bassetts for some ice cream, but since I still wasn't feeling all that great from being sick all week I only got a water.

On Sunday J had to work until close to game time.  My mom picked me up from my apartment and we headed home to spend the afternoon making pierogis.   For those of you who don't know, I'm half Polish and grew up on these delicious potato and cheese filled dumplings.  My mom, dad and I each taste tested one because we tried a new recipe for the dough, but also made a couple batches of my Babci's (polish for grandma) recipe.  While we cooked, the crockpot was cooking up my dad's delicious stew and the dogs were hanging around hoping for scraps.

Another day I will share this recipe with all of you.  It is a pretty simple process of making the dough and filling then creating a shell with the dough and filling it.  You seal the edges shut and boil the pierogis until they float to the top of the pot.  You can either fry them up to eat right then or put them in the freezer to eat later. We made a lot to freeze for later use.

When we were finished it was just about game time and J had finally arrived from work.  We sat down to eat and a lovely cold cat decided she wanted to curl up next to me for some warmth.  When the game was over the cat was not happy that I had to get up to head home.

Monday night J and I enjoyed our first batch of pierogis with grilled pierogis and asparagus.  They were delicious!!

Hope all of you had a great weekend and beginning to your week.  I'm happy we've hit the halfway point, but I still have so much to accomplish this week.

Sesame Chicken and Tofu

Nom Nom I think its time for another food post.

Today J and I went for our normal shopping for groceries for the week and we couldn't decide what we wanted for dinner.  J was indecisive and I wasn't really hungry at the time so I wasn't really hungry for anything.  J said to me that we should make the sesame chicken recipe that we tried a couple weeks ago.  I was up for anything so I agreed and boy am I happy that we did!

 Now if you don't know me then let me start off by saying that I love the Food Network Magazine.  I've only started reading it in the past few months but I love going to Barnes and Noble and finding a new one on the stands.  When I get home I read it once or twice through before I rip out the pages of recipes I like and put them in my binder full of recipes that I've found that I either want to try or I've tried and they are keepers.  A couple of weeks ago I pulled out this recipe for a healthier version of sesame chicken.  It was absolutely delicious, of course not exactly like take out, but a pretty darn good replacement for it!

Today J and I decided to change it up a bit and it was still delicious.  We opted for no snow peas this time around and added an entire block of firm tofu .  Also, J and I tend to eat white rice over brown rice (I know, I know... we need to fix that) and I didn't really see the point of adding sesame seeds.  Let me tell you this was soooo good!  We had barely any leftovers (we doubled the recipe from last time to account for the tofu and a little bit larger portion of chicken) and the tofu added the perfect texture to the meal.  To be honest, I never was into tofu until I met J and he showed me what good tofu is supposed to taste like, so I highly recommend that even if you've only had tofu once before and didn't like it that you try it again in this recipe.  You can find the recipe for this great dish at the Food Network Magazine website (if you click it will send you right to the recipe).

Mmm looks like its dinner time!

Don't forget the rice!

So delicious!

Enjoy!

Well Hello Again

Geez, it has been ages since I've posted on here.  I really thought that I would have the time to do more posting on here during my student teaching, but due to planning, coursework and the journal I'm required to keep about my teaching experience I haven't had any time.

I can't believe I'm finished the first placement of my student teaching internship.  It feels like I entered the classroom just the other day.  My time in the second grade was truly amazing.  I have my highs and my lows but ultimately the entire experience showed me how much I would love to be teaching in the younger grades.  The kids are just so amazing and it is just a truly rewarding experience to know that you are really setting up students for future success in school.  My students made me so sad to leave, on my last day they made me this compliment quilt

which is something they do for the star student each week.  They each make a 5x5 piece of paper with a compliment about that person and a picture.  Then we attach them all together to make the quilt.  Here are some of my favorites:

.

I almost received a handful of pictures and cards before I left from some of my favorite students.  Boy oh boy this is making me miss them right now.

Ah they were such a great group of kids!

Anyway I just finished my first week in the sixth grade and the kids and the classroom environment are totally different.  I'm having a hard time in making the transition from one grade to another.  I don't mind the sixth grade, but I would've rather stayed in the second grade and finished with my class.  Oh well, I can't dwell on it too much.  My first lesson is on Monday and it is weird because teaching one lesson means that I am teaching 4 classes! Yikes!  I'm interested to see whether the students will take to me or not.  Also...instead of having 22 names to remember I now have roughly 120 students whose names I have to remember.  Wish me luck with that.

On a side note, J made us fish and chips last night.  It was sooooo good!! When I was younger you couldn't get me to go near any fish other than salmon.  Fish sticks made me feel sick and I couldn't be near the smell of tartar sauce.  Now, however, my taste buds have clearly changed and I am more than happy to eat or try any type of fish and smother it with tartar sauce.  

Cod was on sale at our local Stop and Shop so we picked some up and right by the fish was McCormicks Beer Batter (which we used beer instead of water in) and yum yum yum....  The fish tasted like it was from a restaurant.  The only flaw to our meal was that we didn't have fries and instead we had actual potato chips which wasn't bad but wasn't great.  Here are some pictures of J's awesome fish.

Nom Nom.  I highly suggest trying making your own fish and chips at home.

p.s. The only bad part about making fish and chips at home is that our apartment still smells like fish today...I've been cleaning to hopefully remove whatever is left of the smell.

New Recipe: Sweet Potato Gnocchi

So the other day I finally had the opportunity to make the recipe I saw on The Foodie Scientist.  I had really been wanting to try it because J and I are both suckers for sweet potatoes.  Except usually we prefer them with brown sugar and butter (real healthy I know).  I thought that this recipe sounded delicious and worth a shot.

Gnocchi dough

I finally had a whole day on Friday to make these, believe me when they say you need 2.5-3 hours to make these they mean it.  The process of making the dough is not complicated, but you do have to be able to cook the potatoes for an hour and have time to make all the individual gnocchi which takes a decent amount of time.

Individual gnocchi before ridges are formed.

 I'm not a big fan of sage and to be honest I didn't feel like searching for chestnuts at the grocery store so my final product was only cooked in butter sauce and covered with some Parmesan.  Next time (because I froze half of the batch to see how they would cook up after being frozen) I will definitely try a different sauce.  While the gnocchi had a great texture, they weren't as flavorful as I was expecting them to be so maybe next time I'll pair them with some pesto sauce or some type of cream sauce.

They smelled delicious while they were cooking...mmm.

Finished product, may not look like a lot but it was filling.

I would absolutely make this again, but maybe with J's help because it was definitely tiring.  Oh and ps wear an apron!  Unless you have a huge counter space (which I do not ), you will most likely end up like this at the end of making the gnocchi.

Flour everywhere!

For me, an entire batch made roughly 165 gnocchi.

I'm off to run some errands.  Enjoy the beautiful day!