The Most Amazing Chili EVER

I love chili. Seriously, it is one of my favorite foods. I could eat it every week. We actually almost DO eat it every week. This is especially a common weekly-eaten item in the fall season. Is there anything better on a cool, crisp evening than a bowl of spicy chili with cornbread?!? Nope. Except maybe anything made with pumpkin. But I will not be sidetracked.

Anyway, a few years ago, I wanted to make chili and I looked at tons and tons of chili recipes. They all disappointed me in some way. Some were boring: simply ground beef and tomatoes. Some were missing something: spiciness and complexity. So I took tons of recipes and wrote down the parts I liked about each one and came up with my own unique chili recipe. It was a hit with the husband, so I knew it was here to stay. I LOVE my chili recipe. The problem is that I kept forgetting to write it down. I had little pieces of paper all over the kitchen with the recipe, and when we moved last year, I almost had a heart attack when I couldn't find any of the papers with the recipe on it. So I think it's time I restarted using this blog to write down my recipes, so that when we move again someday, I won't have a problem finding my favorite recipes.

I love eating this chili right now because this is the first time I have a small garden. I planted tons of pepper plants and they are producing so many peppers that I am overwhelmed with what to do with them. We are eating plenty of both homemade salsa and this chili recipe to use them up. Yep, life is good. :)


What I love about this chili: peppers, meat, beans, tomatoes, spices: they all meet together to make a spicy, hearty chili recipe that lasts for about 10-12 servings. It is lax enough that each batch is different while still having similar attributes.

Ingredients:

**1-2 pounds of ground beef or turkey (depending on what you like)
**1 pound of cooked bacon (optional!)
**1 onion, chopped
**1 green pepper, chopped (more if you prefer mild peppers to spicy ones)
**A variety of hot peppers, chopped (I use what is available in my garden, and I prefer a balance like: 6-8 jalapenos, 2 habaneros, 3 poblano/anchos, 3 serranos) (this produces a somewhat spicy chili, nothing intolerable because they are sauteed and lose a bit of their spice in that way, but be as brave as you can and use however many you want. You can always add more the next time!)
**4 (14.5 oz each) cans of stewed tomatoes, chopped up
**1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes (optional!)
**1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
**1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
**2 (15 oz each) cans chili beans (I use hot, you can use mild if you want), undrained
**1-2 tbsp. tomato paste
**spices: cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper, etc.
**hot sauce (optional!) to your taste preferences
**toppings (optional): shredded cheese, sour cream, cornbread

Directions:

(1): In a large soup pot, brown the meat. Add the onion, green pepper, and variety of hot peppers. Saute until the onion and peppers are tender (approx. 5 minutes). 

(2) Add the remaining ingredients. Add spices and hot sauce to your preference. Add enough tomato paste to help maintain a thicker sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for at least 30  minutes. The longer you let it simmer, the more complex the taste.

(3) Before serving, sample and add more spices or hot sauce until it is perfect. Put in bowls, add toppings of your choice. I recommend cheese, sour cream, and cornbread on the side. Enjoy!

Comments:

**I only add bacon when it is on sale. I don't want my chili to cost a lot of money, and I enjoy the taste of this chili both with and without bacon.

**I LOVE tomatoes, so I always add one extra can of diced tomatoes to the stewed tomatoes in this recipe. Of course, I like to have fun and I get a can of roasted tomatoes, or tomatoes with chipotle chilies, etc. No need to get just simple boring diced tomatoes (unless you want to)!

**Always remember to wear gloves when handling hot peppers! Otherwise, be prepared for your hands to sting for days, no matter how much soap you use (been there, done that, trust me, it is NOT fun).

**I apologize for not including exact measurements of the spices, but chili is supposed to fun and creative! I always just add a bunch, taste, and then balance it out to my preferences. 

**Make sure to use a big enough pot! This makes plenty of chili, so don't skimp on the pot!

Oven Roasted Cauliflower

We are on a diet  that involves eating lots and lots of veggies. After a while, eating steamed veggies gets old and boring. So I looked for alternatives and  started reading about how popular roasted veggies are right now. Apparently, roasting veggies makes their tastes explode into amazingness (that's as scientific as I get about my food). :)  So I decided to make a roasted cauliflower recipe that I found at OnePerfectBite. I admit that I was sceptical. It just seemed too simple to be "that amazing". 

But then I tried it. And it was so good that I was sad about only using one cauliflower head. I wanted more and more and more. Paul felt the same way. The cauliflower dish was supposed to be a side for two dinners in a row, but we loved it so much we ate it all on the first day. I don't like garlic all that much, but apparently, when it is roasted, it becomes delicious. I was seriously licking out the remnants of garlic from the pan after dinner. I will be making this dish many, many times in my life from now on and I really urge you all to try it! Hopefully, you all become addicted to eating this healthy like we have...

Ingredients:

1 medium head cauliflower (about 2-1/4 pounds), trimmed and cut into florets

3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: 
Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Combine cauliflower and garlic in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Transfer, in a single layer, to a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast at 450 degrees F for about 25 minutes, stirring once. Sprinkle with cheese. Don't use cheap parmesan: use the real thing and I guarantee that you will go crazy for more of this delicious dish. Enjoy!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                              

Asiago Herb Bread

This bread is the easiest bread I have ever made and by far the most delicious. Besides the ease of getting the ingredients (I always have everything at hand except a block of asiago cheese), I love that the recipe makes 2 loaves. Seriously, the herbs and asiago cheese mingle together to make my stomach and my heart happy for days at a time. :)

I found this recipe at FoodiewithFamily almost a year ago, and I have probably made it once every month (on average) since then. The hardest part of this recipe is keeping the bread in the oven until it is done. See this picture of the bread? It is not golden brown over the entire thing, so the center was a bit doughy, especially on the loaf in the front. The smell was so intoxicating and I was so hungry that I couldn't bear the idea of waiting any longer to eat a piece. Even with the doughy center, however, it was still amazingly delicious bread and it was a great side with all the soups that we have been eating lately.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1- 1/2 cups plus 2/3 cup (or more) grated Asiago cheese, divided
• 2 Tablespoons dry yeast
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon dried Italian Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (adjust up or down according to heat preference)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic (optional)
• 2 cups hot tap water (around 120-130 degrees)
• 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus a little for the bowl

Directions:

1) In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, 1.5 cups of Asiago cheese, yeast, sugar, salt, and seasonings.

2) Pour in the hot water and stir approx. 100 times.

3) Knead the dough on a floured board for 8 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.

4) Drizzle some olive oil in the mixing bowl and spread it around the edges. Place the dough-ball into the bowl and turn over a few times to coat with olive oil. Cover with a damp paper towel.

5) Allow the dough to rise for 15-20 minutes (check at 15 minutes to see if the dough is fluffy/risen. If not, add another 5 minutes).

6) Punch down the dough.

7) Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Form them into rounds (basically what you want your bread to look like afterward).

8) Use a sharp knife to make an 'X' shape about 1/4 inch deep over the top of the loaves.

9) Put them on the pan and drizzle the tops with olive oil (putting them on the pan avoids mess on your counters). Spread the olive oil around and then top with additional Asiago. Put as much cheese as possible on it for a perfectly delicious taste. :)

10) Place the pan in a cold oven over a loaf/cake pan filled with hot tap water.

11) Set oven to 400 degrees F and immediately put the timer on for 40 minutes. Begin checking the bread when the timer goes off. If it is still light colored, add more time. I have never needed more than 10 minutes of additional time. Remove the bread when it is a beautiful golden brown color. Enjoy the best bread EVER! :)

Comments:

*The only comment I have is that if you wanted to use a food processor or a fancy blender, you can check her website for that information. I like to be old-fashioned and use my hands. :)

Slovenian Mushroom Soup

Okay, it's been a while, and I have all these recipes that I need to add to this blog. Time to get started!

Apologies for this poor-quality picture. This mushroom soup contains wine, and whenever I cook with wine, the smell is so fantastic that I can't help but eat it as soon as possible! After making the mistake on day one, I told myself that on day two of the soup, I would take pictures. I took this one and then forgot to take another picture of it displayed nicely in a bowl because once again, the smell of the wine made me stop thinking and just devour the soup in front of me!

This soup is amazingly delicious, very simple/easy to make, and very healthy. It is everything that I love about soup. :) I LOVED the clear broth, the texture of the mushrooms, the wine added to the broth. YUM YUM YUM! I will make this soup again and again in my future. I hope you enjoy it too!

I found the recipe at oneperfectbite, a blog that I discovered and enjoy. I changed some things about it, but the recipes at that blog are def. worth checking out! For this soup, use any combo of mushrooms that you desire. I used 10 oz. of normal grocery store mushrooms and 4 oz. of shittake mushrooms and it was really good. Someday, when we move, I will join a foraging mushroom club and use wild mushrooms in the soup. Or, if you are blessed with a good grocery store nearby, you could try new/foreign mushrooms to open up new possibilities for your palette. :) This soup made 4 hearty servings which lasted for two meals with a slice of bread on the side.

Ingredients:
*5 tbsp. butter
*1 onion, chopped
*14 oz. mushrooms, sliced
*1 tbsp. flour
*2-4 cloves minced garlic
*2 red potatoes, cubed (with skin on)
*4 cups of vegetable broth
*1/2 cup of water
*spices (I used marjoram and thyme from the garden)
*1/2 cup of white wine
*salt to taste
*Sour cream (optional topping)

Directions:
1) Melt the butter and saute the onion until it is tender. Stir in the flour and garlic, stir constantly for 1 minute.

2) Stir in the mushrooms, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the broth, water, and spices of your choice.

3) Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 10 minutes. After this, add the potatoes. Simmer on low for 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add the wine and salt to taste. Pour into bowls and serve with a spoonful of sour cream and a slice of your fave bread if interested. Enjoy!

Comments:

*You can use dried mushrooms if you want. Simply pour warm milk over them in a separate bowl for a few minutes, drain the milk and add the mushrooms to your soup. I used fresh mushrooms in mine this time.

*The original recipe used white potatoes, so if you have a preference for them, you can use them instead of red potatoes. Also, if you don't like potato skins, you can peel them for the soup. I really enjoyed the taste of red potatoes and their skins in this soup, but everyone has different tastes, so I wanted you to know of other options.

*There isn't much to say, really. This soup is easy to make and has only a few ingredients and tasted fantastic. It's hard to go wrong with a soup like this!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Hmm...I just noticed that my last post was for Chicken Enchiladas as well. It must be a Fall Seasonal dish for me! :)

Anyway, I was trying to come up with a simple meal to eat before Thanksgiving, since I knew we would be stuffed full of fantastic meals for the holiday weekend. This soup is really easy and not very time consuming, so it was perfect for us. As teachers, we are particularly busy right before Thanksgiving, so this was a nice, simple, and light meal to eat before gorging on Thursday.

I think the thing that makes this soup fantastic is the many options of toppings. The soup itself is so simple that you can add any amount of toppings, and as you can see from my picture, I did not hesitate to go "topping-crazy".

What I loved: the creamy, simple soup combined with crunchy tortilla slices, avocados, a spicy jalapeno crunch, and sharp cheddar cheese. YUM!

Ingredients:
*2-4 cups chicken broth (depending on if you like a more broth-type soup...I used 4 cups)
*6 (6 inch) CORN tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch strips
*1 can (10 oz.) green enchilada sauce
*1 can (4 oz.) diced green chilies
*10-15 oz. red enchilada sauce (if you add 4 cups of chicken broth, add 15 oz. sauce)
*1-3 tsp. cumin (depending on your taste desires)
*1-3 tsp. cayenne pepper (depending on your taste desires)
*shredded chicken from rotisserie chicken OR 3 cooked, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
*1-1.5 cups half-in-half

Optional Topping Ideas:
*2-4 CORN tortillas, cut into strips, and fried in olive oil with a dash of salt until crispy (dry on paper towel)
*1 tomato, seeded and chopped
*1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
*1 avocado, seeded, peeled and chopped
*1 bunch of green onion, diced
*sharp cheddar shredded cheese
*spoonfuls of sour cream

Directions:
1) Combine the 2 cups of chicken broth and the 6 tortillas (cut up) to a large soup pot. Cook over medium heat until the strips soften (and almost dissolve) and the broth thickens. At this point, decide if the broth is too thick for your liking. If you like a thick soup, leave the way it is. If you like a more broth-based soup, add the other 2 cups of chicken broth.
2) Stir in the enchilada sauces, green chilies, and spices. Heat until combined on medium heat. Then add the chicken and half-in-half and heat through (be careful not to cook on high heat so you do not scald the half-in-half!) Taste and add more enchilada sauce or half-in-half to your preference.
3) When thoroughly heated, pour the soup into the bowls. Add your preferred toppings and enjoy! Serve with tortilla chips. Makes 4-6 servings.

Comments:
**The first day we ate this soup, I forgot to chop up the jalapeno. The soup tasted great without it, just a bit on the mild side. The next day, I remembered the jalapeno and it made the soup much spicier and also gave it a bit of a crunch that I really liked. Both ways were delicious, so it's up to you if you like spicy food or not.

**I used ALL of the toppings mentioned and I really think it's what makes this soup really delicious. So I highly recommend using all of the toppings. If you add different toppings and find it makes the soup taste good, please let me know what you use! I love trying new things.

*I used most of a rotisserie chicken for this soup. This really helped me save time. Seriously, I think by the time I chopped the toppings and warmed the soup, only 20 minutes went by, and I chop things VERY slowly. So this is really a quick meal that lasts a few days.

Chicken "Enchiladas"

I am surprised that I have not posted this recipe earlier. This is one of me and Paul's favorite meals, and yet, I have not made it for over a year.

That should not be much of a surprise since I LOVE trying out new recipes rather than getting 'stuck in a rut' with the same ole recipes all the time. We used to make this recipe all the time when we were first married and dirt poor. It was our "fancy meal" in order to get away from onion soup, potato soup, and whatever else was super cheap. We always knew this would be delicious, so it was hard to spend money on a new recipe when this one was SO GOOD.

Anyway, it was time to make this old favorite of ours, and once again it was a winner. I found this recipe in a cookbook called: Taste of Home's Favorite Brand Name Recipes, 2003. Technically, the recipe calls them "Chicken Enchiladas", but I don't see how the term 'Enchiladas' can be used for this particular recipe because it has little in common with ordinary 'enchiladas' meals. However, I can't think of another title for this recipe, so I am using the name of the original. For now. If you can think of a good name for this meal, I will use it and give you credit! :)

What I love about this recipe: creamy chicken and green pepper insides, with a creamier velveeta topping, with a salsa on top to make it even better. Yum...

Ingredients:
*2-3 cups of chopped cooked chicken
*1 green pepper, chopped and deseeded
*1 - 1.5 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, cubed
*1-2 cups of salsa, divided
*8 flour tortillas
*8 ounces velveeta, cut up
*1/4 cup milk
*4 oz. can of green chilies (optional)

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2) Mix the chicken, green pepper, cream cheese, and 1 cup-ish of the salsa in a large saucepan, stirring occasionally. Cook over low heat until the cream cheese is melted.
3) Spoon the chicken mixture into the tortillas and roll up. Place the tortillas seam-side down in a lightly greased 9x13 or 11x7 baking dish.
4) Mi the velveeta and milk and green chilies (optional) in a small saucepan, cook over low heat until the velveeta is completely melted. Stir frequently to prevent burning. Pour over the enchiladas and cover the dish with foil.
5) Bake for 20  minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with remaining salsa. Enjoy!

Comments:
*I usually use one 8oz. package of cream cheese and then a few huge spoonfuls of veggie cream cheese that I always buy that week for bagels. This works great and I like the extra taste the veggie cream cheese adds to the dish. However, plain cream cheese works great too.

*I added green chilies to the velveeta topping last time and I really liked how it tasted. It gives the meal an extra spicy kick. I will be doing this from now on, though I also know from experience that it tastes fine plain as well.

*If I am concerned that there is not enough chicken mixture to fill all 8 tortillas, I simply add extra chicken and salsa to the mixture as I fill the tortillas up, and it tastes great. This is an easy mixture to add on to in order to make it last.

*This makes 8 tortillas, which feeds us for 2 days. If you add a sidedish, though, this meal could easily feed up to 8 people, because the chicken mixture is rather filling.

How to cook Chicken to Perfection

How to cook chicken? This might seem like basic knowledge, but I found a great recipe for how to cook chicken to perfection (i.e. not overcooked) and I figured that I should add the recipe information here to my blog. Even if you, the reader, think this is a "duh" type of recipe, I found it helpful, and this is really a blog for helping me collect my favorite recipes, so I am adding this anyway.

I found this recipe in a cookbook that I loaned from the library called: Sara Moulton's Everyday Family Dinners. I do not recommend getting this cookbook. This was the only recipe from it that I found useful/delicious. This is only a cookbook of everyday recipes if you have tons and tons of money to spend on groceries. For example, there is a recipe for lamb burgers. I can't afford lamb for an everyday occasion, and if I buy it, I am certainly not going to make it in to ground meat for a burger! Yikes.

Anyway, this recipe is pretty much guaranteed not to overcook your chicken. I typically either buy a rotisserie chicken for my recipes or quickly cook the chicken on our George Foreman grill. However, since I am super careful, I always, ALWAYS overcook the chicken on the grill because I would rather it was overcooked than something that makes us sick. This recipe keeps the chicken nice and juicy and I will certainly be using this recipe over the grill for my chicken in the future. I plan on always buying a pack of chicken breasts, cooking them with this recipe, and using that chicken for all my necessary recipes for the week. Yum...

Ingredients:
*3-4 cups of chicken broth
*1-1.5 pounds of thawed boneless, skinless chicken breasts


Directions:
1) Bring the chicken broth to a boil over high heat in a large pan that is large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Once the broth is boiling, add the chicken breasts and make sure they are completely covered by the broth (if they are not, simply turn the chicken every once and a while during this cooking process, that works fine). Simmer them, uncovered, for about 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover it, and let it stand for 10 minutes.
2) Remove 1 chicken breast to a plate and cut it in half to make sure it is cooked through. If it is, remove the remaining chicken breasts. If not, return to the pan, cover, and simmer it for 2 minutes more, than check again. Reserve the chicken broth for other recipes. Use the chicken as necessary for your recipe. Enjoy!

Comments:
*Make sure you plan ahead and have a recipe that uses chicken broth. This recipe makes plain chicken broth into Super Chicken Broth, and it would be a shame to waste it. (I did not think about it, and sadly, that beautiful broth was thrown away...how tragic).

Greek Chicken Gyros

Rick, Paul, and I decided to have fun with food and eat a different ethnic food together once a week. This week, it was Greek food as a theme. I found a whole bunch of Greek Gyro recipes and bunched them all together to come up with my own recipe. And man, it was SO good! I felt like I was in Greece again. Sigh...I miss Greece a lot right now. I suppose I will just have to eat this gyro recipe every once in a while to reminisce until we can afford to travel to Greece! :)


What I loved: the tart, creamy tzatziki sauce combined with the starchness of french fries, the crispness of onion, the sweetness of tomatoes, the marinade on the chicken. Yum yum yum!

Ingredients:
Souvlaki Marinade:
*3/4 - 1 cup balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
*3 tbsp. lemon juice
*spices of your choice: I used Italian seasoning and black pepper. Oregano would be good too, etc.

*4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed

Tzatziki sauce:
*1-2 cucumbers (depends on size, I used 2 small ones), mostly peeled (leave a few stripes for decoration), and shredded (best to shred in food processor for quick results)
*1 tsp. kosher salt
*12 oz. Greek plain yogurt
*6-10 oz. sour cream
*1 tbsp. lemon juice
*1/2 tbsp. rice vinegar
*1-3 cloves garlic, minced (depends on how much garlic you like)
*small handful of parsley, finely chopped
*1 green onion, finely chopped
*3-ish tbsp. olive oil
*spices of your choice and salt and pepper to taste


*pita bread (10-12 pieces)
*roma tomatoes, sliced
*red onion, sliced
*crumbled feta cheese
*french fries
*olives (optional)

Directions:
1) Prepare the marinade and place over chicken either in a large plastic sealed bag or in a dish with a cover. Marinade the chicken for at least an hour.
2) Prepare the Tzatziki sauce at least an hour in advance as well: Shred the cucumber and put in a small bowl. Cover the cucumber with 1 tsp. kosher salt and set aside for at least 5 minutes. In another bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Start with just 6 oz. of sour cream and mix everything up. Traditional Tzatziki sauce is a bit tart, but you should still make it your fit your taste buds. The more sour cream you add, the less tart the sauce will be. After mixing with just 6 oz. of sour cream, go back to your cucumber. Squeeze the shredded cucumber to remove all of the excess water. Add the cucumber to the yogurt mixture and mix again. Now, taste the sauce. Is it too tart for you? If so, add more sour cream until it is tart but tasty. When ready and happy with the taste, cover and put in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
3) About 30 minutes before dinner time, cook the fries according to the package directions, and cut/prepare the pita bread (slightly warm it up), the tomatoes, onions, olives, and feta cheese. Cook the chicken on the grill.
4) For a delightful presentation, have separate dishes with all of the toppings (pita bread, red onion, tomato, olives, feta cheese, fries, tzatziki sauce, and chicken) on their own dishes. That way, you can make your gyro the way you want. Enjoy! :)

Comments:
1) In Greece, most of the restaurants put fries in a gyro. It is so incredibly delicious. However, if you don't think fries make a gyro very authentic, you can easily do without them. It will still taste good.

2) If you DO make the fries, you will find that dipping additional fries into the tzatziki sauce is also amazingly good. You won't need boring ketchup at your dinner table!

3) I used chicken in my recipe because even though I don't mind spending money on food, I just can't justify spending tons and tons of money on lamb. In Greece, both chicken and lamb can be used for gyros. The marinade for this chicken helps make it taste more "Greek-like" so I was very happy with the results.

4) When I was in Greece, tzatziki sauce was always served with a large pool of olive oil in the middle. I think that is because Greeks put olive oil on EVERYTHING. So if you want to make an authentic presentation, give that a try!

5) If you don't have rice vinegar, white vinegar should probably work just as well...

5) This recipe made about 12 gyros. And trust me, between the three of us, there were few leftovers. :)

17 day diet

You might have noticed that I haven't been posting new recipes lately. That is because the husband and I are currently participating in the 17 Day Diet plan by Dr. Moreno. I've been wanting to go on a diet for a while, but I have had difficulties finding the Right One. I tried the Yoplait Yogurt diet, which promised that if I had yogurt and fruit for breakfast and lunch and a normal dinner and daily exercise for 2 weeks, I would lose weight and inches. I don't really care for yogurt all that much, maybe once a day I could handle, but I gagged my way through the two weeks anyway. However, despite their promises, I did not lose weight or inches. I don't get it. I eat three meals a day, two of which are yogurt and fruit, and I exercise every day, and nothing happens?!? How lame. So I was pretty annoyed with diets for a while and simply said: "this is what my body is supposed to look like, so there."

It's not like I hate my body shape or anything. I think I look just fine. I eat healthy and I exercise. The way my body looks now is the result. However, even though I try not to let culture tell me I am fat, it still stings occasionally. I find it very difficult to find clothes that fit. Then I get depressed and work even harder on trying to trim down. Then, after a month of trying harder and no results, I get annoyed and say "this is who I am". Then it cycles and cycles every time I try to buy new clothes. The doctors don't help. I got a "lovely" email from my primary doctor a few months ago that simply stated that I was overweight for my height and suggested that I "eat veggies and fruit and water" more often. More often?!? I drink 10-12 bottles of water (16oz each) a day! I eat veggies and fruit multiple times a day! I try as hard as I can to avoid candy, muffins, cupcakes, and anything else that is delicious but fattening! I work out almost every day! I don't drink pop more than once or twice a month. I do like wine a bit much, but I mainly avoid all other alcohol. I hate doctors.

Anyway, I tried to find other diets that I could maybe tolerate. There are so many that are, in my opinion, impossible:
1) Diet plans that are over 30 days long.
*I love cooking too much to suffer for 30 days on a boring sounding diet. Sorry.

2) Diets that are too complicated or gross-sounding:
*Sorry, but I am not interested in "1/4 cup roasted oats with 1 teaspoon of flaxseed oil and a drizzle of agave nectar" for breakfast. Yuck.

3) Diets that are fads and not very healthy:
*I am not going on a grapefruit diet or a caveman diet or anything like that. No way.


So I kept searching and searching for the right diet while eating as healthy as I could in the process. Eventually I found Dr. Moreno's 17 day diet plan. First, it's only 17 days! That's the shortest diet plan (besides the failed yogurt diet) that I have ever found. This was the first thing that grabbed my attention. Also, this diet doesn't restrict too many foods, so it isn't all complicated about measuring oats and agave nectar or whatever. The diet plan combines eating  protein and nutrient-rich foods with probiotic and cleansing foods. The theory is that cleaning out the system will jump-start your metabolism again. You metabolism often gets slowed down by all the clutter and chemicals you digest. Perhaps that's why I can eat healthy almost all of the time and exercise (which I hate so, so much) all of the time and I don't lose any weight. If the theory is correct, perhaps my metabolism will renew itself and things will become peachy-keen. We shall see.

In the meantime, I am on day 13 and I am really, really eager to be done with this diet. I don't mind the foods we eat, it's just that I LOVE cooking so much, and this diet is too simple. All I have been doing for the past few days is looking through healthy cookbooks and writing down all of the recipes I am going to make once this diet is done. You see, we eat plain chicken or fish with steamed veggies for dinner right now. It's so boring. I mean, it tastes fine, but I don't really have to prepare anything. I just put chicken on the George Foreman Grill, and cut up veggies and steam them. *Yawn* I am itching to cook soups, chili, pasta dishes, ANYTHING that takes time and talent. That's probably the only problem I have with this diet. You can't use any sauces or "fun" stuff to make dishes have more taste, so I can't do anything to the chicken. It just sits on my plate, screaming "make a fun salsa to pour on top!" and other such things.

I also am pretty sick of salads. We eat them for lunch every day. Any one who knows me knows that I despise salads. I love eating healthy, but I hate salads. Go figure. Why do I hate salads? I hate lettuce (though I can tolerate romaine and spinach), and I hate how you put liquid on the lettuce and it gets soggy. It makes me gag. But without liquid, the salad is boring and too dry. And that makes me gag too. So I am excited to stop eating salads as well.

Here's an idea of how we have been eating:

Breakfast options:
1) yogurt, fruit, green tea
2) 2 hard boiled eggs, fruit, green tea

Lunch options:
1) salad (with veggies, and either chicken, hard boiled eggs, or tuna), with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, green tea

Dinner options:
1) chicken, steamed veggies, green tea
2) fish, steamed veggies, green tea

Snack:
1) Kefir smoothies (YUM!)
2) Yogurt and fruit

It's a simple, non-complicated diet. I don't mind drinking that much green tea, either! You also have to drink 8 (8oz) glasses of water a day, but that's not difficult for us. We drink water all of the time. After these 13 days, I am feeling pretty great. I think that I have lost some weight, at the very least, some inches. I have noticed that my clothes fit nicer. In fact, I have been wearing some of my favorites that I haven't worn in a long time due to them shrinking in the wash. It's a nice feeling. We exercise almost everyday as well. I feel happy and energetic most of the time, too. However, it's not all perfect. Besides the salad-gagging and the restlessness for making creative meals, I have found that I have intense cravings for carbs. Sometimes, my energy levels get really low and I think it's because we get energy from carbs. So I am looking forward to adding carbs back into my life.

I think the main lesson that I have gotten from this diet is that Paul and I should eat "plain, boring meals" at least once a week and I am going to try to eat yogurt and fruit for breakfast 3-4 times a week. I like the idea of eating simple and eating probiotic foods daily. I just don't think I can completely change to eating simple. I enjoy cooking and baking too much for that. I am going to try to watch how many carbs we put into our bodies as well. 

Overall, this diet was challenging, but not too challenging that I felt like giving up or I felt miserable. And I am pretty sure that I got results, so that's a plus for the diet. I think we might do this diet again. At the moment, I am ambitiously thinking that we will do this "body cleanse" once every spring and once every fall. We shall see. After all, I have four more days of this diet to do. Then, I promise, I will post more recipes. :)

Garden Couscous Salad

This was me and Paul's favorite meal this summer. I think I made it five times, and besides the two times I made it for a large family gathering as a side dish, we ate it alone. It was enough food for 2.5 meals. That is, we ate it for dinner two nights in a row and then I ate what was left for lunch the day after that.

Have you ever had couscous before? If not, I highly recommend that you give it a try! We had it because I was having intense and abnormal cravings. Seriously, have you ever had a craving for something you've never had before?! It was insane. I am blessed with the ability to control my dreams AND remember them. It's wonderful, most of the time. I will lay in bed right before falling asleep and think: "What should I dream about tonight?" and then I will dream about it in amazing detail. So I was getting pretty frustrated because my dreams kept getting interrupted by my odd cravings for couscous, which I had never eaten before. Example: I am a princess, staring up at the large tower in front of me. If I can get inside, I can save the prince and be the hero. The problem is that I have to use my bow and arrows and do some cool martial arts moves against a large group of goblins. Suddenly, the prince shouts down from the tower: "It's pointless saving me, my love! Just sit down somewhere and eat a large helping of delicious couscous. It's the only way to have a happy life..." At this point, I would wake up from my sleep/dream and would be really hungry for couscous. I would yank the sheets from Paul as grumpily as I could, and toss and turn for the rest of the night with the prince's words about eating couscous going through my head. It was getting pretty annoying and after having three nights of dreams interrupted by cravings for couscous, I gave in and searched for a good recipe.

Enough of my ramblings. I found this recipe at foodiewithfamily, a site that I have used before. I changed some things from her recipe, though, so I need to write it down here in this blog so that I don't have to keep having little post-it notes stuck to my kitchen walls that remind me of the changes.

What I love about this recipe: Well, besides the fact that couscous no longer ruins my dreams, it is such a beautiful dinner: the colors and textures really work well with each other. Also, this dinner really symbolizes summer: it's full of veggies and it's light and healthy. Finally, it is SO delicious! The salty taste of feta combines with the tart taste of red wine vinegar which combines with the crunchy taste of carrots, zucchini, and broccoli, which combines with the soft texture of couscous. Oh, what a treat!

Garden Couscous Salad

Ingredients:
*10 ounce box of Near East plain couscous (see picture below)
*4 cups of water
*olive oil (3tbsp plus approx. 2 tsp.)
*2 teaspoons of kosher salt
*1 teaspoon of pepper
*2-3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1/2 sweet onion, minced very fine
*1 broccoli crown, cut into many tiny florets
*1/4-1/2 cup of kalamata olives, diced
*4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
*1 medium zucchini, diced
*2 medium carrots or approx. 8 baby carrots, diced very small
*1 tsp. spicy mustard
*1 tsp. cayenne pepper
*small handful of parsley, roughly chopped

Directions:
1) Heat the approx. 2 tsp. olive oil in a large pot that has a lid. When the oil is hot, add the couscous and stir well to coat. Stir the couscous in the oil for 1-2 minutes or until the couscous is JUST starting to become golden (only a few kernels will be golden). Slowly and carefully add the water and 1 tsp. of kosher salt. Put the lid on and simmer, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes, or until the couscous is cooked through but not mushy. Take off the lid and let it cool.
2) While the couscous cools, chop the veggies and set them aside. Then, grab a large bowl. Transfer the couscous to the large bowl and add 3 tbsp. olive oil, the red wine vinegar, garlic, onion, 1-2 tsp. salt, and pepper. Toss until the couscous transforms magically from yellow, mushy porridge-type stuff to white, individual pebbles of deliciousness. At this point, taste and add more red wine vinegar/olive oil/salt/pepper to your taste preferences. I always end up adding a bit more red wine vinegar...
3) Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly. Make sure there is a good balance of ingredients: for example, is there enough carrots/orange? If not, add a few more. Etc.
4) Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (you can also eat immediately). Enjoy!

Comments:
*I always add more cayenne pepper and red wine vinegar (as already mentioned) than the recipe calls for. That's just a personal preference, but I thought I would let you know that it works well with this extra boost of spice and zest.

*I don't care for olives, so I add less than 1/4 cup and it still tastes fine. So if you also don't care for olives, you could probably do without them...Also I have become addicted to parsley this summer, so I added LOTS of parsley and it was So good. I think this is a long-winded way of saying that you can add/subtract things from this recipe and it will still taste wonderful. :)

*I really hope you get addicted to this healthy meal like we did!

Mango Salsa

Okay, I need to be perfectly clear here. Before I made this mango salsa, I HATED the concept of a fruity salsa. Just the thought of fruit being mixed with peppers made my stomach cringe and my eyes roll in disgust. I tried a mango salsa once. I took one TINY bite and dramatically spit it out on the ground. Of course, that was back in the day when I was dramatic...which is, um, not a problem anymore. :)

Anyway, I made this mango salsa to please my husband. He always went on about how much he loved it and how he wished I wasn't so weird about it. I figured that since I was making an Avocado Salsa because I love feta and avocado, I should also make a salsa that my hubby would enjoy. So I forced myself to make this recipe. The whole time that I was preparing it, I kept thinking about how crazy people are to enjoy such random foods mixed together. And then I tried it.

Words cannot describe the tastiness of this salsa. I can't explain it because I still can't believe that I liked it. I liked it so much that I ate 1/4 of the container of it before letting my husband know that it existed. Oops. :) If you read the ingredients and think it sounds weird/gross/etc., I highly recommend that you try it anyway. I hope you love it as much as me. I will certainly be making this again. I got this recipe from foodiewithfamily, a blog on cooking that I check often for ideas. She has nice pictures of how to prepare the mangos, check it out here. Otherwise, here are the ingredients and directions if you are already a pro when it comes to mangos.

Ingredients:
*2-3 mangos
*1/4-1/2 red onion, diced small
*2-3 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced small
*2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
*1 large handful of cilantro OR parsley OR half of each, washed and chopped
*the juice of one lime OR one orange OR 1/4 cup of lime/orange juice OR some combination
*1 tsp. kosher salt
*ground pepper to taste
*tortilla chips

Directions:
1) Prepare the mangos so that you end up with as much mango flesh as possible, diced and put in a large bowl. You can look up directions easily on google or check out the link above.
2) Add the red onion, jalapenos, and garlic. Use gloves when handling the jalapenos if your skin is sensitive.
3) Add the cilantro/parsley, juice of a lime/orange, and salt and pepper. Mix together, taste and add spices/juices as desired. Enjoy!

Comments:
1) The only problem we had with the original recipe was that she added an entire red onion to the salsa. I added only half of an onion, thought it looked like too much, and stopped there. Paul still said that the salsa would have been better with LESS onion. I think you should eyeball your bowl and decide for yourself how much onion you want in your salsa. Next time, I will add more mango and use a little less than half of an onion.
2) I used a combination of parsley and cilantro for this salsa. It was very good! However, decide for yourself if you like one over the other. Parsley is more mild tasting than cilantro.
3) I used the juice of one super tiny lime and also added a splash of orange juice. The end result was a beautiful blend of orange and lime (aka sweet and tart) to this amazing salsa...yum
4) If you are hesitant about using jalapenos because you like milder foods, I assure you that this actually isn't that spicy of a salsa! It's weird. When I used two whole jalapenos for this recipe, I kept thinking about how my mouth was going to be on fire when I tried it. However, the orange juice and mangos do something magical to the recipe so that the jalapenos are a perfect addition and not as spicy as usual.  
5) I warn you now: this salsa is very addicting. Don't expect it to last more than one night! :)

Avocado Feta Salsa

Ahh, summer. The time when all I feel like eating is light meals full of veggies and fruits. :)  One day, I was craving homemade salsa for dinner. All I wanted was a few options of sauces to dip some tortilla chips in. I looked up a few recipes and decided to share them here so that I remember them for future cravings.

This particular salsa was delicious! So good in fact, that my husband has been hinting that I should make it again....soon. :) This is not a problem to me! This recipe was easy to make and I loved it almost as much as him.

What I love: While I do wish this salsa looked prettier, the tasty blend of tomatoes, avocados, red wine vinegar, and feta cheese was an amazing combination that I have never had before! This unique blending of foods made it very addicting.

Ingredients:
*2-3 roma tomatoes, chopped and seeded
*2-3 avocados, peeled, pitted, and chopped
*1/4-1/2 red onion, diced
*1-3 cloves of garlic, minced
*1 handful of cilantro OR parsley OR some of both, chopped
*1 tbsp. olive oil
*1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
*4-6 ounces of feta cheese, crumbled
*tortilla chips

Directions:
1) In a bowl, gently stir the tomatoes, avocados, onion, and garlic. Add the cilantro/parsley and gently stir. Add the olive oil and vinegar and gently stir. Add the feta cheese and gently stir. Taste and add spices to preference. Chill in the refrigerator for 2-6 hours. Enjoy with tortilla chips!

Comments:
*I did a combo of both parsley and cilantro due to the hubby's aversion to cilantro. It was delicious. I leave it up to you to decide which you prefer or how you combine them. I bet it will taste good no matter what. :)
*After adding the liquids, I eyeballed the food and decided to add a bit more vinegar. Decide your preference for yourself. Again, I bet it will taste good no matter what.
*And of course, I added TONS of feta because I have a cheese-addiction problem. :) Again, I bet it will taste good no matter how much feta you use.

Portobello Bruschetta

Oh yeah! Another bruschetta recipe. :) They make me so happy. This one is pretty unique and has quite the bite to it. I liked it a lot and it is important to use portobello mushrooms if at all possible. They have a meaty-type taste that works well with these ingredients.

Once again, I found this recipe at allrecipes.com, but I changed some things and made it my own. It's a great website if you know what you are looking for...

I have been interested in arugula lately. It's a bitter leaf, but with the right ingredients, it tastes great! It works well with a salty cheese (like goat cheese or feta cheese) and tomatoes.

Ingredients:
*2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped (or 3 if you love tomatoes like I do)
*1/2 cup of feta cheese
*1.5 - 2 cups of arugula, chopped (I used baby arugula)
*2 -4 cloves of garlic, minced (depends on how much garlic you like)
*5-8 baby portobello mushrooms, diced (or approx. 2 large portobello mushroom caps, diced)
*approx. 2 tbsp. olive oil
*parmesan cheese
*spices of your choice
*slices of cheese (optional) (either provolone, fontina, swiss, or whatever you like!)
*bread loaf of your choice

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange slices of bread on to a cookie sheet. Drizzle the slices with olive oil and sprinkle them with parmesan cheese. Place in oven until slightly toasted. (approx. 2-3 minutes)
2) Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tomatoes, feta, arugula, garlic, mushrooms, spices, and a tiny amount of olive oil (just to keep ingreds. moist and together).
3) Put the tomato mixture on the slightly toasted bread slices. Place in oven for another 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture is starting to warm up.
4) If interested, take the slices out of the oven and cover with cheese slices. Place back into the oven until the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Comments:
*This is another excellent appetizer idea or a meal of it's own. It depends on what you like to eat. Paul and I ate this for dinner and it lasted for two meals.

*The ratio of the ingredients is a loose interpretation. I apologize, but it really depends on your taste buds. I simply added the items into the bowl and made sure that there was a perfect ratio of all of the ingredients. Because I love equality in my meals. But perhaps you like more mushrooms and less arugula, etc. It's up to you.

*The original recipe called for fontina cheese slices on top. I couldn't find that and instead used provolone. It was great with the provolone at least! However, as I was eating it, I thought that it could have tasted just as good (and with less calories) without the cheese slices on top. Since I have a probably-unhealthy-obsession-with-cheese-thing going on, I used the cheese slices. But if you don't care for that much cheese, it most likely tastes great without it! Here's a picture of this fabulous meal without the extra cheese:

Bruschetta with Hummus

I am such a picky eater in the summer. I prefer veggies, pesto, basil, and bruschetta. In fact, I love bruschetta so much that I find tons of alternative recipes so that I can eat some type of bruschetta multiple times a week and never get sick of it.

This bruschetta recipe has quickly become my favorite. It combines hummus, which I love to bits IF it is homemade (grocery store hummus is too tangy), feta (we all know by now how much I love cheese), and tomatoes (YUM) in a wonderful combination. Once again, I found it at allrecipes.com

Paul and I eat this as an actual dinner-meal, but it also makes a great appetizer. Choose any type of bread that you like for this bruschetta. I picked up a loaf of spinach-feta bread from a local farmer's market and it really hit the spot. However, I doubt that I will find a loaf of bread like that again, so next time, I will use french bread or perhaps asiago bread....so many delightful choices ahead of me! :)

Ingredients:
*1 can (14 oz) of garbanzo beans, drained
*lemon juice (approx. 2-3 tbsp.)
*minced garlic (approx. 1 tsp.)
*cumin (add until satisfied)
*olive oil (approx. 2 tsp.)
*spreadable butter
*parmesan cheese
*paprika
*3 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
*1/2 cup (approx.) of feta cheese
*oregano, garlic powder/salt, spices of your choice
*shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
*bread loaf of your choice (ciabatta, french/italian, etc.)

Directions:
1) For the hummus, place the drained garbanzo beans, lemon juice, cumin, garlic, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until well blended. Taste and add ingredients until it tastes just as you like it. (For example, I do not like my hummus to be too lemony, but you might. Perfect the hummus until you are satisfied!)
2) Slice the bread of your choice and spread with butter and parmesan cheese (to your liking). Either place under your broiler or into a preheated (approx. 350 degrees) oven until the bread is golden aka toasted. (approx. 3 minutes)
3) Spread the hummus over the toasted bread slices. Sprinkle with paprika. Top this with the tomatoes, feta cheese, spices, and a very light sprinkling of moz. cheese (optional). Place back into the oven and heat for approx. 3 more minutes or until cheese is melting and tomatoes are warm. Enjoy!

Comments:
*Often, hummus recipes add tahini sauce. I don't like that taste, so I do not add it. However, if you enjoy that taste, simply look up a hummus recipe that uses it. They are EVERYWHERE on the internet. I was excited to find this recipe for a milder tasting hummus. Everyone has different tastes.

*I add a tiny bit of moz. cheese because I really love the taste of melted cheese. It isn't necessary for this recipe, however, if you are trying to cut calories. The feta is the important cheese for this recipe.

Pesto Chicken Florentine

Yay for another pesto recipe! This was a delicious way to combine a typical alfredo-sauce pasta dish with pesto. I've decided pesto can go into almost any meal. :)

This recipe is very good. It combines mainly spinach, pesto, and alfredo pasta to make a fabulous meal. I added tomatoes, onion, and mushrooms because I love my veggies.





Ingredients:
*Olive oil
*2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed/diced
*3-4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
*2-3 cups of spinach leaves
*1 jar of alfredo sauce
*3 tbsp. pesto (see my recipe if interested)
*1 (16oz) pkg of penne pasta
*parmesan cheese
*1/2 sweet onion, diced (optional)
*2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced (optional)
*4-6 mushrooms, sliced (optional)

Directions:
1) Begin cooking pasta according to box instructions.
2) As the pasta is cooking, saute chicken in olive oil until almost done (almost no pink). Take out of the pan and cut into cubes. Add back to pan along with garlic, onion (optional), and mushrooms (optional). Cook until onion is tender and chicken is finished. Add spinach and saute for another minute.
3) Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the alfredo sauce and the pesto sauce. Add as much pesto as desired. (I made my sauce quite green)
4) Drain pasta, put back into its' large pot. Add the chicken/spinach mixture and the alfredo/pesto sauce. Top with tomatoes (optional). Mix. Place on plates and add parmesan as desired. Enjoy!

Comments:
*This recipe is open to creativity. The main part is having a chicken-alfredo pasta with spinach and pesto for some nutrients. Be creative!

*Make sure to add enough garlic. I always use less garlic in my meals b/c if there is too much, I won't eat it. I should have actual amount for this one...mine needed more garlic.

*My onion ended up still being crunchy, but my husband informed me that he LOVED the crunchy onions in this otherwise "soft" meal. So I will continue to add onion for that texture. This is just a head's up about that in case you are not as thrilled about crunchy onions in your pasta as we are!

Goat Cheese Arugula Pizza

I just HAD to add another pizza recipe because this recipe was so good and it used pesto as the sauce, which is such a delicious change of pace from a typical marinara pizza sauce.

I found this recipe at allrecipes.com, but I added some things to it that I think made it better. One thing: arugula is a bitter leaf, and at the last minute, I chickened out and used half arugula and half spinach. This tasted wonderfully, but the bitterness of arugula leaves actually blends perfectly with goat cheese, so if you are okay with it, I highly recommend using arugula. That's what I will be doing in the future.

What I love: The fresh veggies, pesto, and goat cheese made the most heavenly combination. YUM!

Ingredients:
*Pizza crust (your choice: I use Jiffy)
*6-8 tbsp. pesto (see my recipe if interested)
*3 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
*5-7 oz. goat cheese, big globs of it
*1 cup of arugula leaves, chopped (or spinach, or mixture, etc.)
*4-6 mushrooms, diced
*1-2 cloves garlic, crushed or diced
*1/4 - 1/2 cup of mozzarella shredded cheese, optional
*parmesan, optional

Directions:
1) Make Pizza crust according to directions.
2) Add pesto sauce and cover bottom of pizza crust.
3) Add the toppings: tomatoes, goat cheese, mushrooms, garlic, moz. cheese (optional) and parmesan (optional)
4) Bake pizza according to directions on the box, but take it out 1-2 minutes before it is done. Add the arugula. Bake until complete.
5) Enjoy!

Comments:
*The bigger the globs of goat cheese, the better tasting the pizza! I actually tried to slice the goat cheese, which is difficult due to its' soft texture, but the resulting globs were big and I put those on the pizza. The goat cheese globs mix so well with the arugula and pesto tastes....

*I added a tiny amount of moz. cheese to make my pizza have that melted-cheese look. If you don't care about appearances, then you probably don't need the moz. cheese added.

*Add the arugula later in the pizza process to avoid a burned-arugula taste.

*Here's another picture of heavenly pizza!

Pesto!

I finally have time to post some meals that I eat in the summer. My apologies for waiting so long to post again, but my husband and I have tons of adventures and activities planned for our summers off (teachers rock!) and it's hard to find time to sit still long enough to post recipes.

Anywho, for those that know me, I am obsessed with basil. I love it so much. So I might have gone a "bit" crazy this year and planted 8 plants of basil...okay, actually 10 or 12. Suddenly I find myself with tons and tons of basil so I decided to make my first ever batch of pesto.

I have always enjoyed the taste of pesto, but I cringe at the price of a small jar of pesto at the store. Homemade tastes better and is WAY cheaper! All of the ingredients for pesto should already be in the cupboards of anyone who bakes and cooks. All you need in addition to common ingredients is basil and pine nuts. When I went to the store, I almost decided against making pesto when I noticed that 4 ounces of pine nuts cost 4 bucks! But then I realized that you get a huge quantity of pesto (see picture above) from only 2 ounces of pesto, so it ended up costing me 2 dollars for a huge dish of homemade deliciousness. If you do not have enough basil growing in your garden for this recipe, simply go to your local greenhouse and buy more basil. Around Milwaukee, basil plants cost between 1 and 3 dollars. No biggie. Do NOT buy basil from the grocery store produce aisle! The stores around me, at least, have terrible tasting basil leaves that are majorly overpriced. It's way better to just buy another plant.

Enough jabbering from me. I promise to post plenty of recipes that use pesto. We have eaten four meals this week that used only part of this container of pesto, and I just made another batch and put it in the freezer. It stays good in the fridge for 2-ish weeks and for 4-ish months if you freeze it.

Ingredients:
*3/4 cup olive oil
*3 cups of basil (can include some stems...I just cut of the top third of each basil plant and put it right in the  food processor)
*1/2 cup of parmesan
*4 garlic cloves
*1/4 cup (2 oz.) pine nuts
*1 tsp. lemon juice


Directions:
1) Place all of the ingredients in a food processor. Blend to perfection. Taste and add additional items if necessary. Enjoy!

Comments:
*If you put it in the freezer, add a little layer of olive oil before putting on the cover. I don't remember why, but it had something to do with helping keep it fresh longer (I read it somewhere)

Homemade Pizza

Sometimes, when I go to the grocery store, I wonder if the frozen pizza selections have improved since I last looked. Perhaps it's just because I am fussy about my pizza toppings (I do not like pepperoni or sausage), but I have always found frozen pizza options as so disappointing. They are so boring; so expensive; or something is wrong with it (yucky thin crust with good toppings; half good toppings and half yucky ones; etc.)

I always get disgruntled with the frozen pizza options in the end and make homemade pizza instead. It's healthier (you know what's in it!), it's more fun, it's creative, and the list goes on. I often find it is a nice, simple, yet romantic date to make a pizza with Paul. We choose our favorite toppings and he chops the toppings while I make the dough. It's great fun!

While making this particular pizza at home, I thought it would be good to write down the ingredients so that I can remember it for the future, and figured, I may as well give these brilliant pizza ideas to my readers and friends while I am at it! :)

This particular pizza includes:
*Jiffy pizza dough (my favorite due to its price, taste, and simplicity
*spaghetti sauce with onion and garlic
*chopped spinach (handful)
*1 roma tomato, seeded and chopped
*4 mushrooms, sliced
*4 leaves of basil (from my garden!), sliced
*clumps of goat cheese (1/3 a package: I roll bits into small balls and plop as much as possible on there!)
*mozzarella cheese

This pizza is SO good! I love all of these toppings and my stomach is happy with me afterwards. Yum!

While I am at it, here's another favorite homemade pizza that Paul and I adore. We ate a similar pizza at our favorite pizza restaurant, and now we make it at home with some variation:

*Jiffy pizza dough
*spicy bbq sauce
*1 roma tomato, seeded and chopped
*chicken (rotisserie chicken, you are my friend once again!)
*jalapeno slices
*red onion, chopped
*cheddar cheese
*4 mushrooms, sliced (sometimes we do not include these)

I love how this pizza is unique and spicy! Yum yum...

What about you? What are YOUR favorite pizza toppings? Please share if you can, because I love getting new ideas! :)

Here's that pizza picture close up to make you crave pizza right now. :)
                                                                                                                                                                                      

Julie's Quiche

I sometimes envy my best friend Julie. While I research recipes and follow them closely, Julie can wake up one morning and think: "I wonder if such and such ingredients will taste good together..." and off she goes, inventing a new recipe with relative ease. :)

One day in college, I came home from my Latin class, grumpy and brain-tired, to a wonderful smell in our apartment. Julie and our friend Cindy were eating something delicious in our kitchen. When I asked about what they were eating, they replied that it was a quiche recipe that Julie came up with. I hate egg dishes, so I was confused why I thought it smelled good. I couldn't resist and sample it and fell in love with it immediately. I never thought that I would ever eat a quiche before. Now I crave it every once in a while and I have never veered from using Julie's recipe. Someday, maybe, I will be brave and try another quiche recipe. However, for now, I will remain loyal to my Julie's idea for quiche with a smile on my face. :)

What I love: It's simple and I love the taste of ham and tomatoes together! And of course, I love how I can add more cheese than the recipe calls for and it still tastes AMAZING!

Ingredients:
*1 pkg crescent rolls
*1 cup of grated cheese (swiss, cheddar, or mozarella are all good)
*1 cup of diced smoked ham
*3/4 cup of diced tomatoes
*3 eggs, lightly beaten
*1 cup cream, heavy or light
*salt, pepper, preferred seasonings

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) In a 9 inch pie pan, press in the crescent rolls (up the sides and the bottom of the dish)
3) Put 1/2 of the cheese, ham, and tomatoes in the pie dish, in that order.
4) In a separate bowl, mix eggs, cream, remaining cheese, salt, pepper, and preferred seasonings (I use paprika)
5) Pour this egg mixture on top of the ham/tomatoes in the pie dish.
6) Bake for 45 minutes or until the egg dish is set. Let it cool for a few minutes. Enjoy!

Comments:
*The crust along the edges gets burned while in the oven. It doesn't taste burned (to me) though, so I don't bother being worried about it. However, if you are concerned, try putting foil around the edges of the pie dish.

*Depending on your oven, more time might need to be added. Since taking this recipe from Julie, I have lived in four different places with different ovens. For each one, I had to alter the amount of time for this dish in the oven. So just watch your quiche carefully toward the end of the time in the oven. When you can "jiggle" the quiche and it doesn't slop all over, the egg is set and can be taken out.

Penne Gorgonzola with Chicken

This is another fantastic and simple meal. When I was home visiting family in Michigan a while back, I was paging through my mom's Taste of Home cooking magazines. This recipe won first prize of all the meals from 2010. That should be the best proof of how delicious it is. It makes 4-6 servings.

I have not changed anything about this recipe because it is perfect the way it is. Well, okay, I admit, I DO add more gorgonzola than the recipe requires because of my addiction to cheese. :)

What I love about this recipe: It is quickly prepared, simple, yet elegant and SO good! I love the wine, garlic, and gorgonzola combination, it is marvelous.

Ingredients:
*1 package of penne pasta (16oz)
*1 pound of chicken cut into pieces
*olive oil (approx. 1 tbsp.)
*1 garlic clove, minced
*1/4 cup of white wine
*1 cup heavy whipping cream
*1/4 cup of chicken broth
*2 cups (8 ounces) crumbled gorgonzola
*basil (dried or minced fresh)
*salt, pepper, parmesan

Directions:
1) Cook pasta as directed on box. Meanwhile, brown chicken in oil on all sides. Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer. Add wine and stir.
2) Add cream and broth, cook until sauce thickens and chicken is no longer pink. Stir in gorgonzola and spices; cook until the cheese is melted. Combine the sauce and pasta. Enjoy!

Comments:
*This is one of the few chicken recipes that I make where I do NOT use rotisserie chicken. Rotisserie chicken is too shredded-like for this recipe. I used it once and I did not care for it. Instead, grab some frozen boneless/skinless chicken breasts and use them. I cut the partially frozen chicken into cubes. I like the texture of cubes of chicken in this pasta dish.

*If you are wary of gorgonzola, add less and taste. You can always add more. I love it so much that I usually add 10 ounces of it. Yum...

*One of the coolest things about this recipe is that when you start boiling the water for your pasta, you should start at the same time making the sauce. Both the pasta and the sauce will then be done at the same time! It works out perfectly and it is not a difficult multi-task cooking job at all.

*Of course, if you open a bottle of wine for the recipe, you can't let that wine go to waste! I highly recommend drinking the remaining wine with this meal. It's a great combination! :)