Hope all is well in everyone else's worlds. Mine's pretty good right now. We just moved furniture and stuff into our apartment on Friday. Makes the whole move up to apartment living seem like more of a reality. Melissa and I are both really thrilled.
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| Myself and Melissa on Friday night after moving in. |
I know...I know...it's a lot more work. I'll get tired of it. Soon I'll wish that I'm back in a hall of Freshman (no offense guys, you know I love you) with a meal plan that provides me with frightening faux food. Yeah...I think not.
I do realize that it will be more work. But it's real work that I'm really glad to take on. It's like my mom keeps saying to me:
"Lauren...you're like...a real person now!"Those of you who know me, know that I like to be in control of things. Those of you who don't know me probably know that too, haha. I wouldn't say that I'm a control freak (surely others might disagree), I would say that rather than needing to be in control of everything...I need things not to be out of control. So if something is under control and safe, healthy, and of course to my liking...but in the control of someone else...I'm totally cool with it.
Food is a big thing for me. I can't handle anything be questionable about food. I also have a really hard time handling raw meat...but I'd rather brave through the terror of working with raw meat than have somebody that I don't know or trust preparing my meat for me. Makes sense, right? At least a little bit?
Anyway, this weekend marks the time when I will actually be moving in...not just moving in furniture.
Audience participation time...okay?
Please, please, please send me a favorite recipe...or two...or four...so that I can try it out! I'm going to Facebook this request too, but I'm planning on doing this stuff from my blog mostly. Here's the deal. I'm thinking about trying to chronicle my new apartment experiences or whatever in the blog. Kinda like Julie & Julia with the cooking thing. So send me a recipe...AND YOU COULD SEE IT ON THE BLOG!
Exciting, right? Well...I think so.
A little note about recipes: Healthy recipes are preferable...just because that's part of why I'm so excited about cooking for myself...but if the're super awesome and not the healthiest...I might be able to make an exception. Also, not a huge fish person. But again...if you can convince me it's super awesome...I'll probably try it out.
Let's see some recipes people!!!!
Peace Out,
LT
P.S. Sister...wet burritos? Pretty please?
Wet burritos (not the healthiest, but definitely delicious. I should also say that I only know how to make these for multiple people, so cut the recipe where necessary.
ReplyDelete1. 1 lb ground beef
2. 1 white onion
3. can fat free refried beans
4. 1 can tomato soup
5. 1 can enchilada sauce (hotness of your choice)
6. 1 can chili no beans
7. burrito tortillas
8. shredded mexican cheese
Chop onion and put in saute pan. When onion is tender, add beef and cook thoroughly. Drain meat mixture. Add can of refried beans.
In a separate sauce pan: stir chili, enchilada sauce, and tomato soup. Heat through.
Put meat mixture in tortilla and roll up. Spoon enchilada and soup mixture over top. Sprinkle with cheese. Micro for 30-45 seconds to melt cheese.
More recipes to come!
Two of my favorites, and no raw meat involved.
ReplyDeleteLinguini with Zucchini Sauce
3 medium zucchini
3 Tbsp. mixed vegetable and olive oil
1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
½ pound linguini, or more
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1/3 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
Scrub zucchini and cut them into quarters lengthwise. Cut into ¼” pieces.
Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan until it sizzles. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, turning it often. Add the zucchini bits and turn them to coat with oil. Cover the pan and lower the heat. Cook for 20-25 minutes stirring often, until the zucchini is completely soft. Mash it with the back of a wooden spoon and season it with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the linguini according to package directions. Drain the linguini, place it in a heated bowl, and pour the zucchini sauce over it. Sprinkle it with parsley and half of the cheese. Toss and serve. Pass the rest of the cheese at table.
Tuscan Bread Soup
1 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for finish
1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup fresh basil
Ground Black Pepper
1-28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, with juice
1-28 oz. can of pureed tomatoes
3-14.5 oz. cans of low-sodium chicken broth
½ loaf of Italian bread, cut or torn into bite-sized chunks, slightly stale
Parmesan cheese
Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium heat. Add onions; sweat until soft and sweet. Add garlic, basil and pepper. Stir for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 15 minutes.
Soup can be made in advance to this point and kept for several days in the fridge. Bring back to a boil when preparing to serve.
Stir stale bread chunks into soup. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring gently, until bread is saturated but still chunky. Upon serving, drizzle olive oil and Parmesan cheese on top.
Dear Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI am the Queen of no fuss cooking and convenience food! Here are a couple of easy & tasty recipes.
To make the turkey pie even easier:
get the already cooked turkey or chicken strips or pieces (in the frozen foods). No raw meat to touch!
frozen carrots - throw in the microwave to cook
Pillsbury Already Pie Crust
Love you & happy eating!
LuAnn
Rotelle with Four Cheeses
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Swiss
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded Fontina
1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
1 jar (32 oz) chunky tomato sauce
1 package (16 oz) Rotelle pasta, cooked & drained
2 Tablespoons chopped Parsley
In medium bowl, combine cheeses. Heat sauce & spoon over cooked pasta. Add cheese; toss to coat well. Sprinkle with parsley.
Deep Dish Turkey Pie
1 cup celery
1/4 cup onions, diced
2 TBsp margarine
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups cooked carrots
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cup cooked turkey or chicken
1 pie crust
Cook celery & onion in butter till tender. Stir in remaining ingredients; bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Pour turkey mixture into casserole, top with pie crust. Trim edges, make several slits in top.
Bake at 450 for 15 minutes or until crust is browned.
OK, sister, as promised: Recipe #2. This is my idea of comfort food. I should mention that, again, I suck at portions. So, I make this with the intention of eating it's leftovers for a few days.
ReplyDeleteChicken and Broccoli Casserole
1. Rotisserie chicken (You know the chickens they have pre-made at Martins? I use those because they are delicious and it cuts a step of cooking the chicken. Hopefully your grocery down there will have one, too.)
2. Broccoli crowns
3. i lb twist pasta
4. 2 cans broccoli cheese soup (get the low-fat for healthiness)
5. low-fat mayo
6. milk
7. bad shredded cheddar cheese
8. stick of butte
9. sleeve of Ritz crackers
Cook box of pasta.
In 2.5-3 qt baking dish, cut/ tear chicken and put in the bottom of the dish. (I use both white and dark chicken.)
Cut the broccoli crowns into smaller pieces. Put in a bowl. Put water in the bottom of the bowl and cover with a plate. Micro for 5-6 minutes to steam. Or steam them on the stove if you've got a steamer.
Add broccoli and pasta to the chicken when they're done cooking.
In a mixing bowl, mix the cans of soup with 1/4 cup of mayo and 1/2 cup milk. (I always eyeball this mixture, so if you want it creamier, add more milk and mayo.) Pour mixture over the pasta chicken mixture and stir. Once stirred and pasta is covered, sprinkle bag of shredded cheese over the top.
Melt butter in a bowl. Once melted, crunch crackers and pour into butter. Mix the crackers and the butter together. Sprinkle onto the top of the cheese.
Cook at 350 for 20 minutes. Enjoy!!