Homemade Nachos

I know...this is terrible. I have not been blogging like I should have been. The poor blog has been left to dry out for months!! I guess I felt that if I didn't take a picture, then it wasn't worth it to blog about the food. It seemed like every time I cooked, I simply forgot to find my camera to document the deliciousness. I've since realized that the point of the blog was not to take picture, but to figure out what recipes are good and worth making again, so I decided that I need to be more disciplined about posting, especially since January was legitimately a HUGE month of cooking for me.

I made Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal, Chicken Pesto Tortellini Soup, Chorizo and Sweet Potato Enchiladas, Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars, and Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup. Tonight I made Nachos because my dear friend Monika in Slovenia reminded me of these amazing nachos we used to get at El Banditos in Iowa City.

Anyway, to make up for lost time, I'm going to blog about each one of these recipes in this entry. Also, I want you to know that I had such the itch to cook because of Pinterest. It is so much fun to get ideas for things to cook and bake :) I also have two recipes that I tried specifically because I got a Crock Pot for Christmas and wanted to use it. Any recipes used with the Crock Pot will get two asterisks next to it.**

I'll start with Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal. I have never used steel cut oats before, so that was a first for me. I found them at HyVee in the aisle where you can measure out and weigh ingredients yourself in a bag, usually near the coffee aisle. Below is the recipe:

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal**

2 Cups Water
2 1/2 Cups Milk*
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1 Tsp Pumpkin Spice
1 Cup Steel Cut Oats

Feel free to add honey, maple syrup or molasses

1. Place all the ingredients in the crock pot and stir to combine.
2. Cover and cook on low for 5-9 hours (note that the cooking time can vary depending on your crock pot. Crock pots without non-stick surfaces tend to get hotter, so you’ll want to stick closer to a 5 hour cooking time).
3. Serve.

*You can also use rice, almond or soy milk if you want to make a dairy free or vegan version of this recipe

Source: http://weelicious.com/2012/01/09/pumpkin-spice-oatmeal-in-the-crock-pot/

This recipe was super amazing! Since it serves 4 to 6 people, I had it to eat for breakfast for a full week, which was really convenient. I did end up drizzling a little bit of 100% pure maple syrup on this oatmeal a few times that week, and it was really delicious. I would say this is a healthy breakfast too because it was filling, which made me less likely buy a muffin at the hospital for a mid-morning snack. I would give this recipe two thumbs up!

For dinner one night, I made Chicken Pesto Tortellini Soup. I also found this simple recipe on Pinterest. I liked it because there were two steps to make it. Though what I did find difficult about this recipe was that I didn't have the ingredients on hand, which means I had to buy fresh tortellini and pesto sauce at the store. I was thinking about making homemade pesto, but the ingredients are definitely not in season and are therefore pretty expensive. I justified buying a jar of pesto though because I love it on pasta in general. Hopefully in the summer, I will attempt to make fresh pesto. I made this recipe when I had my dear friend Alissa over for dinner. She really liked it as well, so I definitely recommend it if you invite a friend over, especially because it is so easy to make. I modified this recipe slightly, so I'll indicate what I did differently in red.

Chicken Soup with Tortellini & Pesto

Makes about 10 cups

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

4 cups water

4 cups chicken broth

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups uncooked tortellini (refrigerated or frozen)

1-2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded

Salt and pepper, to taste

Basil pesto, about 2 ounces

Parmesan cheese, to garnish

Tip: Our favorite chicken soup shortcut? Rotisserie chicken. Grab one at the supermarket and use the leftover meat to make chicken lettuce wraps, croquettes or quesadillas. I boiled two chicken breasts in a separate saucepan before shredding it with two forks and putting it in the chicken broth.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy saucepan, bring water and broth to a boil.
2. Add sliced green onion and tortellini. Cook until tortellini is tender, about 10 minutes.
3. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, add chicken. Season soup with salt and pepper.
4. Ladle into bowls, then swirl in a dollop of pesto (about 1 teaspoon). Top generously with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Tip: For extra kick, substitute 1-2 cups spicy chicken sausage, crumbled and cooked. Or make it vegetarian with 1-2 cups fresh mozzarella balls (known as bocconcini) and 4 cups vegetable broth. I didn't try the above tip, but I'm sure it would be excellent!

Source: http://www.homemadesimple.com/en-us/foodandrecipes/pages/chicken-soup-with-tortellini-and-pesto.aspx

Another night I made this delicious pasta dish because the picture looked so good on Pinterest haha. I definitely think the way food is presented and photographed really makes all the different in the world. I really loved photography in high school, and really wanted to pursue it, but I haven't since then. Maybe I can start taking pictures again and bring my love of cooking and photography together. Anyway, the dish I made is called Tuscan Pasta with Tomato Basil Cream. I couldn't seem to find the Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo sauce, so instead I used the Roasted Red Bell Pepper Alfredo sauce. Either way, this recipe was EXTREMELY fast to make. I literally chopped up the tomatoes and basil real quick and then heated up the sauce and threw everything in. Another good thing about this recipe is that it freezes really well. Since I cook for one, I appreciate recipes that freeze well so that I can freeze individual portions in plastic baggies and take them to work with me.

Tuscan Pasta with Tomato Basil Cream

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

• 1 (20-oz.) package refrigerated four-cheese ravioli* $
• 1 (16-oz.) jar sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce $
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 2 medium-size fresh tomatoes, chopped** $
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese $
• Garnish: fresh basil strips
• 
  

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, pour Alfredo sauce into a medium saucepan. Pour wine into sauce jar; cover tightly, and shake well. Stir wine mixture into saucepan. Stir in chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup chopped basil, and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Toss with pasta, and top evenly with 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish, if desired.
3. *1 (13-oz.) package three-cheese tortellini may be substituted.
4. **1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, fully drained, may be substituted.
5. Note: For testing purposes only, we used Buitoni Four Cheese Ravioli and Classico Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta Sauce. I used Buitoni Whole Wheat Three Cheese Ravioli and since I couldn't find the Classico Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo, I substituted Classico Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo
   

Source: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/tuscan-pasta-with-tomato-basil-cream-10000001646355/

One of my absolute favorite recipes that I made was Chorizo and Sweet Potato Enchiladas. These are super amazing and quite healthy, especially if you substitute whole wheat tortillas and drain the fat off of the chorizo. I got this recipe from an amazing food blogger who finds and develops recipes for those with their budgets in mind:

Total Recipe cost: $9.08
Servings Per Recipe: 10
Cost per serving: $0.91
Prep time: 20 min. Cook time: 40 min. Total: 1 hr.

INGREDIENTS		COST
2 Tbsp	vegetable oil	$0.06
1 medium (1 lb.)	sweet potato	$0.82
1 medium	poblano pepper	$0.46
2 cloves	garlic	$0.14
3 links (3/4 lb.)	chorizo	$2.80
10 taco size	tortillas	$2.00
1 (15 oz.) can	enchilada sauce	$1.49
1.5 cups	shredded cheese	$1.31
TOTAL		$9.08

STEP 1: Peel the sweet potato and cut into a half inch cubes. Remove the stem and seeds from the poblano and also dice into half inch pieces. Mince the garlic.

STEP 2: In a large skillet, cook the sweet potato, poblano and garlic in vegetable oil, over medium heat until they begin to soften (about 10 minutes). Squeeze the chorizo out of it's casing into the skillet. Break up the meat and cook until thoroughly browned (about 5 minutes).

STEP 3: Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Scoop about 3/4 cup of the chorizo sweet potato filling into each tortilla. Fold in the ends and then roll the tortilla up around the filling. Place the filled and rolled tortillas in the baking dish. They should fill the dish and fit tightly against each other to prevent unrolling.

STEP 4: Pour the enchilada sauce over the the rolled tortillas and top with shredded cheese. Bake in the oven until the edges begin to bubble (about 20 minutes). Serve hot.

Optional garnishes: green onion, cilantro, sour cream.

I forgot to buy a poblano pepper at the store and also forgot to saute the garlic with the chorizo and sweet potatoes, but they turned out beautifully without those two things anyway. I potentially counteracted the poblano pepper by using spicy enchilada sauce. These turned out so good that I just bought all the ingredients again to repeat this recipe. Also, the freezabilitity of these is excellent.

Source: http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2011/02/chorizo-sweet-potato-enchiladas-908.html

The next recipe I made was Chocolate Chip Bars. I was seriously craving something sweet and didn't have anything ready to eat, so I decided to make chocolate chip cookies. I originally was going to make normal cookies, but then saw a really nice 9" x 13" pan that I bought and hadn't used, and thought, what the heck? Why not bake them like I would bake brownies? Anyway, I tried it and found that cookies are much more satisfying as a bar. I baked them for 5 extra minutes, which was the only adjustment I made to the recipe below:

Chocolate Chip Bars

Makes 35 bars

Preheat oven at 375 degrees fahrenheit

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes (5 extra included already, so don't bake for 20)

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts.

SPREAD cookie mixture in a 9 x 13 inch ungreased pan and bake for 15 minutes. Be sure to test the bars with a toothpick or fork to make sure it comes out clean before removing the cookie bars from oven.

These were a huge hit at the Free Clinic I volunteer at, which is good considering I would have eaten them all myself had I not shared with others.

http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18476/Original-NESTL%C3%89-TOLL-HOUSE-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/detail.aspx

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup. Delicious! And very rich. I was impressed on how good it tasted even after freezing, which is good. In fact, after I thawed the leftover soup I had a few weeks after making it, I put it over whole wheat pasta, which means it doubles up as a pasta sauce...yay!

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup**

Makes about 2 quarts

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano
1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups chicken broth
½ bay leaf
½ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
2 cups half and half, warmed
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

1. Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.
3. About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Add additional basil and oregano if needed (the slow cooker does a number on spices and they get bland over time, so don't be afraid to always season to taste at the end).
4. Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.

and last but not least...HOMEMADE NACHOS!!

This is the first recipe on the blog that I developed myself. I am not going to make it into the traditional recipe format because it deserves to be written out in paragraph form :)

To make Julia's Famous Nachos, you will need your favorite tortilla chips, a half of a serrano pepper, chorizo in casing, one small onion, one avocado, a handful of cilantro, shredded cheese (whatever you like), and a tomato. You will first fry up the chorizo and once that is almost done cooking (aka the oil is out when you heat it on medium), you fry up the chopped onions and add the serrano pepper and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, puree the avocado in a blender or by hand and add the chopped tomatoes and handful of cilantro. Add salt if desired, but realize that as soon as the pseudo guacamole is on the nachos, the chips make it plenty salty.

Pour a plate of chips on a plate and add the chorizo/onion mixure. Layer with shredded cheese and microwave for 1 minute. Remove and add as much pseudo guacamole as you desire. Enjoy!!

Chocolate Brioche French Toast

So this recipe is AMAZING! I bought chocolate brioche bread yesterday at the Farmer's Market and decided to develop a french toast recipe.

I dipped 5 slices of the brioche bread in an egg mixture with cinnamon and vanilla. I found that these basic french toast ingredients brought out the flavor and richness of the bread. Since the bread already had chocolate in it, it seemed almost too decadent for breakfast, though then I reconsidered and decided it would be a perfect way to surprise someone on an anniversary or a birthday in the morning:

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 tbsp butter
1/2 a loaf of chocolate brioche bread

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

So it appears that I have already managed to become a slacker with this food blog, but nevertheless, I am posting now. My first recipe! I made homemade chicken nuggets with breadcrumbs, basil, and garlic salt. I cooked them in oil and they turned out wonderfully.

Below is the recipe:

I took chicken breasts and dipped them in eggs before coating them in the breadcrumbs, basil, and garlic salt. I cooked them for 10-15 minutes in a half of inch of vegetable oil and then blotted off the excess oil before eating them.

All in all, a really simple recipe that was somewhat inspired (though mostly made up by me) by a recipe on the Food Channel Network website.

Salsa in the Summer

For my 1st new recipe I decided to try something I have never made before: homemade salsa. Originally I intended to make a peach salsa, but my plans changed when I realized the peaches I bought were not ripe at all. So instead I decided to throw a few things together based on a few recipes I have seen in the past. Overall, I just kinda improvised and the end result was great. Here were the ingredients I used:

1 can diced tomatoes
2 fresh tomatoes, diced
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 red pepper
1 red onion
cilantro (I just added as much as I felt would be enough...)
jalapeños (I used the canned type)
salt

I chopped everything up, mixed it all together, and let it sit overnight. It was really good last night but had a lot more flavor when I tasted it today. I even used some of it to make Spanish rice and it turned out to be delicious. Since I don't have a food processor, it ended up being a very "chunky" salsa, almost like a pico de gallo. I may try to blend it in the future so that it is more like a regular salsa. Overall, I feel like my 1st attempt at salsa was a success! Now back to studying for anatomy...

~*Jessica*~

New Blog!

Hello new readers! I hope you like to cook or at least read about cooking. My sister Jessica and I decided to start a blog about cooking. The reason to have a blog is to share something between the two of us and to add new recipes to our cookbooks. There are so many recipes out in cyberspace and in thousands of cookbooks, which makes it difficult to know whether a recipe is actually good and worth making. Therefore, we will blog about 1) what we like about the dish 2) whether it is worth making again 3) if the dish ought to be for a special occasion 4) any variations that may enhance the recipe. We have a few simple rules in place for how it will work. We will each will cook one main dish and one dessert every week and report our findings to this blog. We will post a picture of each food item to include in the blog and will post the recipe as well. Also, it is important to know where the recipe came from, so we will also cite our sources about where we found the recipes.