Mish Mash!

Hi there!  It's been a while, I know.  I've been revamping my eating/cooking again... but this particular post might be a mish mash of things I've cooked recently.  To start us off, here's a picture of some cauliflower my lovely hubby bought at the store:

While it does seem to be very fun, it kind of scares me.  Is cauliflower ever supposed to be purple, yellow, or green?!  It just doesn't seem right.  Which brings me to my current ponderance.  I've been making baby food for the past few months and thinking about what I would want Olivia to eat vs. what Jim and I sometimes put in our own bodies.  I've been trying to educate myself on what to buy organicly... here's a list if you're interested.  There are other lists out there and it seems like there are different variations, too. 

The down side to buying organic food is the price... but I guess you have to think about what kinds of chemicals you're willing to put in your body. 

Anyway, enough about that for now.  Here are a few things I've made that you might enjoy!  :-)

Avocado Grilled Cheese

I actually found this idea on Pinterest.  I heart Pinterest!  It's just grilled cheese (grilled on my fabulous grill pan) with some avocado slices.  Amazing!  If you like avocado, that is.  That link under the picture will take you to not a ton of grilled cheese ideas.  Check 'em out. 

Shrimp Creole

Straight from the Bayou to your table.  Just kidding!  I actually found a box (yes, I know, this goes against everything I was just saying about being careful about what to put in your body) of creole rice mix that you could add chicken or shrimp to... so I did.  It was in my pantry from I don't know how long ago.  Someday I'm going to try to make one of these versions of Shrimp Creole... they just seem like they would be better than a boxed version (thought it was mighty tasty and lasted me all week long!). 

Crescent Roll Pizza

Ugh.  Okay, I shouldn't start off that way.  Jimmy really liked this!  A complete Alissa original recipe.  :-)  Haha.  I thought it was kind of a flop. 

I sprayed a cookie sheet with olive oil and then put down some crescent roll dough.  Next, I added some sauce, chopped cilantro, shallots, chunks of mozzarella, bits of taco meat (because I always seem to have leftover taco meat in the fridge), and mushrooms (only to my side).  I baked it in a 350 degree oven for eh, about 8 minutes because my oven cooks everything at the speed of light. 

Don't get me wrong, this probably would have been amazing as an actual pizza.  You know, on pizza dough.  It was weird on crescent roll dough.  Jimmy scarfed it down, though.  Hehe.  So, I guess it wasn't a total flop. 

That's all for now!  I've been making lots of different salads recently... all of them good!  I'm going through a little corn-on-the-cob phase.  Does anyone make it a special way that's yummy?  I'd love to have some new ideas!  :-)

A Day of Cooking

Ugh.  I came home from work on Friday super frustrated with life.  Don't get me wrong... I have a very full life.  I love my family.  I like my job (most of the time).  Not too many people can say that!  It's just that life is a little too full at the moment.  I am counting down the days until summer vacation.  It can't come fast enough!

So, in order to try to give myself more time each night this week, I did a whole lot of cooking today.  My lovely husband, who does not get nearly enough credit for all that he does, went grocery shopping for me while I watched the baby.  Did I say that I love my family? 

Here's what I made:

Rosemary Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables

Except that I used beef instead.  Lamb is crazy expensive and we are trying to stick to some sort of a budget here, people.  Plus, who wants to eat lamb?  Lambs are baby sheep!!!  :-(  If you eat them, they won't grow to their full potential and give anybody any wool.  Sheesh. 

Smokey Shrimp and Corn Soup

This is not for those allergic to shellfish *cough* Jimmy *cough cough*.  I'm eating some right now for dinner though and enjoying every bit.  Both of the above recipes were from the infamous WW recipe book that I can never find links to online.  I'll see what I can do. 

Veggie-Stuffed Shells

Absolutely no lactose in those... well, at least right now.  I may add some cheese directly to the top once I scoop some out.  They smelled really good while they were cooking and I'm excited to try some this week.  I love all things pasta.  There's also no meat, by the way.  Completely vegetarian. 

MORE Barley with Spinach and Asparagus

Yeah, I made this last week and it was so amazing that I made it again.  I didn't even take a new picture.  It looks exactly the same except that I accidentally added more onion than last time and I did add some leeks (on purpose) because I had one to use.  I like leeks. 

Anyway, if I have to cook this week, then there's something wrong.  Our refrigerator currently has a lot of yummy, healthy choices in it!  Go me!  :-)

Ugh, just ate a spoonful of onion.  I think I chopped/sliced/diced too many onions today. 

Crab Melt Loaf

My lovely hubby went to the food store today while I worked on school stuff.  Yep, back to the grind.  I went back to work last Wednesday and have been thoroughly overwhelmed since then.  I'm hoping eventually I'll catch up with things and feel like I'm back on track.  ::crosses fingers::

I have all kinds of yummy plans for dinner this week.  :-) 

Here's what I made tonight:

Yep!  It's more fake crab.

Crab Melt Loaf

This was sooooo yummy.  You mix all the ingredients in a bowl to create kind of an imitation crab salad, spread it on the French bread, and then when it bakes in the oven the cheese congeals everything together in a hot, delicious mess.  The only problem with it was that it was kind of difficult to eat.  I ended up opening the sandwich and creating two open-faced melts.  If I make this again, I think I'll probably bake it that way so that the goodness bakes right into both sides of the bread. 

Here's my baby helping me in the kitchen!  Okay, so she might look a little terrified... but really, dinner was delicious.  Someday she won't look so skeptical. 

Helping me cook!  :-)

Fake Crab

For those of you who know me personally, you know that I love seafood.  I haven't blogged too many seafood recipes though, because I don't tend to make a lot of seafood dishes.  Mainly because hubby is allergic to shellfish.  :-(  Very sad. 

To live in Maryland and not be able to eat crabs is just awful! 

Don't get me wrong, I eat seafood every chance I get... I just try not to flaunt my seafood eating in front of those who cannot partake.  See how much I love you, honey? 

So, the other day I discovered Pinterest.  It's a little too addictive for someone like me.  If you know about it already, you know what I mean.  If you don't, you should check it out!  ;-)  I started pinning all kinds of recipes to my board to try at a later date (I'm pretty excited).  That's when I found a recipe for Pasta Crab Casserole that uses imitation crab meat. 

Why, oh WHY have I never thought to use imitation crab meat before?!

It's super fun to chop!

Pasta Crab Casserole

...and is a great substitute when you can't eat real crab (for whatever reason).  I'm sooooo excited to try some other seafood recipes with imitation crab to see how they turn out.  This one was delicious.  Mmm...

Saucy Goodness

Snow!!!  Finally!  Bring it on.  :-) 

We actually got out of school an hour early, as I'm sure some of you did, and I came home to watch the last 10 minutes of Ellen and the saddest Oprah show I think I've ever seen.  Then, I cooked some shrimpies (pre-butterflied!) on my George Foreman grill (just to see how it would work versus a grill pan-since I don't have one of those...).  I made that yummy shrimp salad again (recipe posted here!).  Go here to see my pictures of it's amazingness.  Jimmy got a turkey version this time.  :-)  Not too shabby:

 I just left it open and flipped them around.  It was fascinating to watch because shrimp are weirdly translucent before being cooked and then they turn all orangish.  Hey, at least you can tell when they're done!  That works for me. 

While working on my shrimp, I decided to finally cook the spaghetti squash (per Beth's instructions from our cooking date) and it was equally fascinating.  It just comes out in strings!  If you've never cooked a spaghetti squash before, here's what I did.

Step 1:  Cut it in half.

 Step 2:  Put each half in microwave for about 10 minutes. 

(Sorry, no picture!  Imagine it...)

Step 3:  Use a fork to shred the inside.

Step 4:  Dump insides into a casserole dish.

Step 5:  Add sauce and cheese and then bake til gooey.

Step 6:  Enjoy!  :-)

All in all, I think I'd make the spaghetti squash again.  I made kind of a creamy sauce to put on top of it and spiced it up with garlic salt and pepper.  Jim really liked it, but I think I prefer regular squash just steamed up.  Crazy, right?  Who doesn't like saucy, cheesy goodness!?  

Cooking Date! :-)

Where to begin!  Just to warn and possibly excite you, there may be several posts on their way... I did a lot of cooking to bring 2010 to a close.  What a good food year it's been.  :-) 

My friend, Beth, and I had a cooking date last Thursday.  She came over and taught me some tricks.  She's modest, but she is quite the master chef!  I don't think I've ever eaten anything that she's made that wasn't delicious.  Several things I learned:

1.  Always use fresh citrus. 
2.  Always use fresh herbs. 
3.  Grill pans are awesome. 
4.  How to butterfly a shrimp. 

Now, you should know that I've never cooked shrimp before.  Mainly because hubby is allergic to shellfish!  ...but, I love shrimp.  Now I know how to butterfly it, grill it, and put it on a yummy salad.  Very tasty!

That's the shrimp prior to being cooked.  Deveining them was quite interesting... and a little gross.  So worth it though.  I don't think I've ever touched a shrimp that was not cooked.  Now I have!

THAT is a grill pan.  Just in case you didn't know.  You probably did know because I think I might be the only person who didn't know what a grill pan was until I googled it.  Yeah, I'm definitely still learning.



Shrimpies all cooked!  :-)

Southwestern-Style Shrimp Taco Salad

There were lots of leftover shrimp, so I made this salad again the following day when hubby was home.  Instead of shrimp, I added leftover ham to his salad and he raved about it.  This would work with just about any kind of meat!  Or, obviously, you could leave it just veggies.  Yummy.

Southwestern Ham Salad

After that, we made the best pot pies ever.  I say that because I've typically never been a fan of the pot pie.  To be fair, I also haven't had a pot pie in at least 15 years.  I remember hating them when I was little... as I did with most things that contained any kind of chicken.  I'm working on my hatred of chicken.  It's getting a little better now that I'm cooking more...

Anyway, we made turkey pot pies.  Here are some pics:

Turkey Pancetta Pot Pies

You can probably see the progression there without my explanation!  Soooo good.  Either that means I've been sleeping on pot pies all these years or this recipe is just that good.  You be the judge.  Sorry for the tease, I really will link the recipes soon!  :-)

I shall leave you with a picture of the largest box of baking soda in all the land.  When I pulled it out of my pantry, Beth may have laughed for a good five minutes at the absurdity of this box.  Hehe.  This is what happens when you send your hubby to the store for baking soda.  (Love you, Jim! <3) 

Thankful for butter.

Mmm... what a delicious few days!  Thanksgiving truly is the best food holiday in existence.  While in Long Island this year, my uncle taught me how to make some easy appetizers that are always a hit:


Stuffed Mushrooms

Baked Clams

  

The stuffed mushrooms were vaguely reminiscent of the Grilled Margherita Portobello Mushrooms that I've made before.  You could stuff them with crabmeat or sausage if you want, but we used the stems of the mushrooms instead.  That means they're healthy, right?  ;-)  Hehe.  Yeah... if you're looking for healthy appetizers, this may not be a good post to read. 

Thanksgiving recipes aren't necessarily supposed to be healthy.  So there.  Be thankful for butter. 

Using the mushroom stems does mean that they are vegetarian AND that Jimmy was able to eat them (woohoo!).  Silly shellfish allergy.  Ah well... for those not allergic to shellfish we made baked clams. 

Baked clams happen to be one of my personal favorites, so I was very excited about this recipe!  Pretty easy, too.  My uncle talked me through it... so I figure that means I technically made them.  ;-)  Not sure I can post the authentic recipes, though.  You might just have to find me this holiday season so that you can taste them for yourself.  I figure I have to make them and bring them to at least one holiday get-together for Christmas.  I even have a bag of the little shells so that I can!  :-)

Seriously, though... there are a bunch of different recipes for baked clams.  Try this one, or this one, or this one! 

I also have to say that Long Island included some fabulous bagels from Bagels 'N' A Hole Lot More and pizza from O Sole Mio.  Maryland bagels can't compare (and I'm sure there are bagel connoisseurs out there who would say that there are even better places...).  Our car stank of delicious bagel all the way home and we loved every minute of it.  Mmm...