Things I've learned in the kitchen

This is a roasted chicken, sun dried tomato, arugula and goat cheese panini I recently made.

I've been doing more cooking recently and thought it would be useful for me, and maybe someone else, if I wrote out some tips and tricks I've learned while in the kitchen. Some of these things have been told to me but most of them I've learned by doing the opposite and not liking the outcome.

• Set out all the ingredients before you start cooking. It's easier to remember everything in the recipe and it makes cooking quicker.
• Think about the entire meal before you start cooking anything and make a game plan. Figure out when you need to put the pasta in the water, or put the asparagus in the oven so that all the dishes are finished around the same time.
• I always put the water on to boil or turn the oven on first so that they are ready and waiting on me, not the other way around.
• This is probably Jim's biggest pet peeve that I don't always do, but try to clean as you go. If you have an extra minute while some onions are browning then wash the cheese grater or mixing bowl you just used. 
• Try to start cooking with an empty sink. If you start dirtying dishes when the sink is already full you're just going to be overwhelmed with clean up when the meal is done.
• The difference between a wonderfully savory broth or soup and something that tastes like dirty dish water is salt. Salt is so important in cooking.

Let's talk about lessons in knife safety that I have learned the hard way.

• Wipe your knife down after cutting things like potatoes, garlic, mozzarella or herbs. If I don't get the residue from these ingredients off the knife right after using it they take forever to scrub off later, and I've had a few accidents while vigorously scrubbing a knife which leads me to the next lesson learned...
• When washing a knife, leave it laying flat on the sink bottom and scrub it there rather than holding it in the air with one hand and scrubbing with the other. I have cut my knuckle down to the bone twice (yes twice, the first time I didn't learn my lesson) because I was holding the knife in the air while scrubbing and it slipped. I actually have some numbness in my finger because of it.The look on Jim's face when he came into the kitchen and saw what happened was something I hope not to see again. 
• Put a damp paper towel under the cutting board to keep the board from slipping or moving while cutting on it.
• When chopping something; instead of moving the knife around on the board, use your free hand to feed the ingredient into the knife's path. The knife should pretty much go up and down on the same spot of the board when chopping. 
• You would think that you are more likely to cut yourself with a sharp knife, but actually a dull knife can be more dangerous because it can slip off of the ingredient and onto your hand easier. Always use a sharp knife. 

When I keep these tips in mind my cooking experience and the meals I make are always better.

Lexi

Skillet ravioli

Sometimes my weeknights are too busy (or I am too lazy) to cook an elaborate meal, and I need something simple and quick. This recipe fits the bill.

I originally found this recipe on this website, and changed a few things to make it my own. I love using fresh mushrooms in tomato sauces so I added those, along with some extra garlic and tons of Parmesan cheese. This dish really was a one pot meal and was really good, just be sure to let it simmer long enough to reduce the liquid so it isn't a soup.

Ingredients: Tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, cheese ravioli, chicken stock, cheese, onion, garlic, mushrooms and Italian sausage

Not the best pic, but I was too hungry to take a better one.

Tortilla soup

It's getting to be that time of year when snuggling up to a warm bowl of soup on the couch is just about all one wants to do. One of my favorite soups to make is tortilla soup; it's super easy, pretty healthy, and hits the spot every time.

Ingredients:

onion
bell pepper
corn kernels 
garlic
tomato
jalapeno
salt
pepper
chili powder
cumin
cayenne
chicken
chicken stock
cilantro
tortilla chips
cheese

Best served with a glass of wine

Chop up some onion, bell pepper, corn and garlic

Add the chopped veggies to a large pot

After the veggies are cooked down, add some chopped tomato

Next, seed a jalapeno

Dice the jalapeno and add to the pot

Add the spices to the pot to toast them for a minute before adding the stock. I add a mixture of salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne

Stir the contents

Add some chopped chicken and chicken stock

Boil for about 20 minutes

After you pour the tortilla soup over tortilla chips and cheese, be sure and add plenty of fresh cilantro

Enjoy!

Lexi

Pumpkin bread

This year for Thanksgiving Jim and I took off work Wednesday-Sunday, it's currently Friday morning and this mini staycation has been glorious so far. On Wednesday we went to the grocery store to pick up everything we would need for the next few days and I decided to get fancy and attempt to make this pumpkin bread recipe.

The instructions aren't super detailed, but thanks to Ina Garten I knew that anytime you mix wet and dry ingredients together, you have to add the dry to the wet (not the other way around) and do it in a few batches to get a batter that will come out moist and delicious. I added the dry ingredients in 3 batches, mixing in between. I also used this opportunity to break out my KitchenAid stand mixer that I rarely use.

I also made my first attempt at my aunt's famous honey butter. Her instructions weren't super helpful..."I start with 2 sticks of butter and add honey until it tastes right."..... I used 1 stick of butter since it would just be the two of us eating and added maybe 3 tbs honey. 

Grease and flour the baking dishes

Mix the wet ingredients

Mix the dry ingredients

Add the dry ingredients to the wet in 3 batches, mixing in between

Distribute the batter evenly between the 3 pans

Bake

Yum!

 Lexi

Super Simple Salmon Dinner

So I haven't posted a recipe since August, when I made Orange Chicken. I've still been doing a lot of cooking, just haven't been cooking anything exciting, like a super simple salmon dinner! 

This recipe is for nights where you don't have the energy to put any thought into cooking, have the time to do a bunch of dishes, or have the patience to make something that takes forever.

This recipe includes the main dish, salmon, and 2 sides, roasted potatoes and asparagus. Also, you throw it all in the oven, no standing over a stove trying to saute something. 

Roasted Potato Ingredients:

1 lb fingerling potatoes

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp cayenne

1 tbs dried Italian herbs 

salt

pepper

3 tbs olive oil

Cut the potatoes into small cubes, mince the garlic

Throw everything into a bowl to mix

Put on a cookie sheet (bonus points for adding aluminum foil for easy clean up) and bake at 375 for about 45 minutes

 The asparagus side dish is just as simple.

Asparagus Ingredients: 

1 bunch asparagus
salt
pepper
1 tbs lemon pepper
2 tbs olive oil

Cut the ends off the asparagus and lay on a cookie sheet. Pour olive oil over the top and add seasonings. Put in a 375 oven for about 15 minutes

Salmon Ingredients:

2 salmon filets 
1 lemon, zested and then squeezed
3 tbs butter
1 clove garlic
salt 
pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Zest the lemon and then slice. Mix the lemon zest with all the other ingredients in a bowl. 

Yum

Place 2 lemon slices on a 6" x 6" piece of aluminum foil. Place the salmon on that, then slather the butter mixture over it. 

Repeat for the second piece of salmon. Bake in a 375 oven for about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your salmon.

Enjoy your delicious meal that took minimal effort but looks fancy.

Give it a try!
Lexi

Orange Chicken

So sorry for the lack of posts lately, other things have taken the spotlight and I've put this blog on the back burner. But not to worry, I am going to make a conscious effort to make this blog a top priority, so enjoy this awesome recipe post.

I love ordering Chinese food but it's also so unhealthy I feel horrible immediately after eating it. I decided to try to make a healthy version at home and this came out great. For the orange sauce, I used this recipe, but I didn't want to fry the chicken so I used this recipe for the chicken. 

Ingredients: soy sauce, orange juice, rice vinegar, panko, olive oil spray, green onions, corn starch, oranges, ginger, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, chicken, and brown rice.

For the sauce combine a little soy sauce, rice vinegar, orange juice, orange zest, ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Hint: instead of grating the ginger, I just threw a chunk of ginger in the pot and took it out when the sauce was done cooking.

Cube the chicken, then dip in the following order: corn starch, egg, and lastly panko.

Place the breaded chicken on a cooking sheet, spray with cooking spray and put in the oven. 

While the chicken and sauce are cooking, make the brown rice according to the package directions. I threw a green onion in the mix for some flavor.

After the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, mix the 2 together along with chopped green onions in a large bowl.

Put some brown rice in a bowl, then pour the orange chicken on top.

Also, this is my last post using my crappy iPhone camera, the next post will include pictures taken from my new fancy camera I got for my birthday.

Lexi

Best tomato sauce ever!

Ok everyone, get ready.....because I made the best homemade tomato sauce ever!!! It all started when I went to the farmer's market on Saturday morning with Jim's step mom, Debbi and bought some heirloom tomatoes. I didn't really know what I was going to do with them, but I knew I had to do something! I'm not a huge fan of raw tomatoes, so I decided to try to make a sauce out of them. Here's how I did it.

Step 1: You are going to want to peel the skin of the tomatoes first, to do so put them in a pot of boiling water for about 2 minutes. Next scoop them out of the boiling water and into an ice bath to cool. From what I've read online, the ice bath is crucial.

Step 2: Remove the skin. Once you cut the tomato in half, the skin should peel right off.

 Step 3: Chop the skinned tomatoes into little chunks. This gets a little messy.

 Step 4: Put the tomatoes in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. The tomatoes have alot of liquid so the sauce will need to thicken for a little while.

 Step 5: Add the flavors! I added 3 garlic cloves that I minced, about a tablespoon of tomato paste, a teaspoon or so of crushed red pepper flakes, and lots of salt and pepper.

 Step 6: I let the sauce cook down and thicken for probably 10 or 15 minutes.

 Step 7: Ok, this is kinda a secret, but at the very end I added maybe 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar. That's right, sugar. It helps cut the acidity of the tomato.

Step 8: Serve with your favorite pasta! I served it with some fresh ravioli.

Lexi