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Sept 4th, 2010
Homemade Pancakes
I did not take pictures... because it came out kinda meh :( I was going by a recipe and when I started mixing everything I realized... we did not have any sugar at all. I don't think Lisa's family likes sweet stuff and although Lisa loves cake, she always goes out to buy it. So all I had were a few packs of Equal which is totally not the same. The consistency came out alright but it almost tasted a little metallic. Maybe I added a little too much baking soda or baking powder as well as not having the sugar. Adding syrup on top made it not bad but not the best. I also would have liked to add fruit but alas we did not have anything lol.
Sept 5th, 2010
Pan-fried Tilapia with home fries and brocolli
I took Lisa out to Ruby Tuesday and she got an herb covered fillet of tilapia. I tasted it and said no problem! I think it came out pretty tasty. I bought pre-frozen Tilapia so the quality of the fish itself wasn't the best. In the future I'd like to find a fish market around here so I can try fresher fish but I haven't seen any around College Point. I pan fried with oil until it was cooked all the way through. I was afraid it was going to still be raw in the middle but it cooks pretty fast within 4-5 minutes. I finished by adding some butter, lemon juice and rosemary. Mixed in was oregano, salt and pepper as I was frying it. The outside of the fish was first washed, floured, egg washed then a mix of italian breadcrumbs and panko breadcrumbs.
Sept 11th, 2010
Fish Nachos!
I had bought some more Tilapia in hopes to butter poach or fry without the breadcrumbs but we didn't have any side dishes to accompany the fish. I had just bought some salsa and chips and ding I thought why not try to make fish tacos but instead make fish nachoes! I am always afraid of using a ton of butter so I used more lemon juice and used a little oil to get the fish going. The herbs on top was primarily oregano and heated up some hot green peppers in some oil to top it off. The salsa I got from the store premade.
Sept 12th, 2010
Broccoli and Cheddar with Potatoes Soup
Busy day today! I've been meaning to make this soup ever since I had it at Panera recently. I had a few things that had to be adjusted and I think I learned from my mistakes. I added some potatoes to give it a little more texture with something to chew on. The main issues I had were that I didn't whisk the flour well enough. When I poured it into the soup, it thickened the stock but there were still chunks of flour which are totally gross. Anyone that knows me, knows I don't like gooey stuffs like yogurt and clumps of flour in soup is bleagh. Also I didn't have enough cheddar cheese so I went with a reduced fat mexican blend of cheeses which isn't as tastey as the sharp cheddar that I started with :( Next time I'll make sure I have enough cheddar and make sure the flour is thoroughly mixed before adding to the soup.
Recipe taken from allrecipes.com.
*Ingredients*
* 1/4 cup butter (I used less)
* 1 onion, cut into medium dice (Didn't use as Lisa doesn't like onions)
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder (Didn't use)
* 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (Didn't use)
* 1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli (Fresh broccoli)
* 1 quart chicken broth
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
* salt to taste
* 8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
*Directions*
1. Melt butter over medium heat in a stockpot. Cook onion in butter until softened. Add garlic and pepper; cook for 1 minute then stir in broccoli, and stir in chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile whisk flour into milk until dissolved. Stir into soup stirring frequently until thickened. Reduce heat, and stir in cheese until melted and heated through.
3. Season with salt to taste.
Prepared in my awesome moocow bowl thanks to Jenny who bought it for me a few years ago :D
Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, Mixed sauteed noodles with leftover peppers, Leftover Spiral pasta with Turkey Meatballs
We had some leftover broccoli from the soup in the afternoon as well as leftover peppers from yesterday's hunan meal. It was my first time cooking with a wok! It was hella fun. Annoying thing is the wok is pretty crappily built, some random one that my parents found in the garage. I might think about investing a little more to get a decent one. Mian issue was that the cover doesn't really cover well, there's a gaping hole on the side because the wok bottom isn't completely round >.> Additionally I wish I had one with a long handle so I could left it up and pour stuff out. The way the handles are made on mine, if I try to get a good grip then I can't hold it up and I would burn my fingers.
The pasta was from the night before. Made some homemade 93% fat free turkey meatballs from breadcrumbs, seasoning, egg, etc.
And finally the eggplant with garlic sauce :D I really love eggplant and I've always wanted to make it. I said let's try and see what happens. I tossed some oil in the wok and let it get hot. I had already cut quartered chunks of the eggplant but left that to cook later. First I heated up some garlic, ginger and turkey meat. After it was almost done, I tossed the peppers in to get them hot. I moved them to the side in a bowl and heated up some more oil for the eggplant. I got a quick burn on the eggplant to get the outside a little crispy then added water to steam them. It ended up taking a good 10+ minutes after I added the water to let it simmer down and absorb. I mixed the sauces, corn starch and sugar as a final touch. Mixed it all with the peppers and meat and it was off to eat! :D I might add... it was pretty damn delicious for my first try.
Recipe from allrecipes.com.
*Ingredients*
* 3 tablespoons canola oil
* 4 Chinese eggplants, halved lengthwise and cut into 1 inch half moons
* 1 cup water
* 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (Used chili oil and hot green/red peppers)
* 3 tablespoons garlic powder (Used fresh garlic)
* 5 teaspoons white sugar (Used only about 2 tspn of sugar)
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
* Added Turkey meat
* Added some fresh minced ginger
*Directions*
1. Heat the canola oil in a skillet over high heat. Cook and stir the eggplant until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the water, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. Cover and simmer until all the water is absorbed. Meanwhile, mix sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, and oyster sauce in a bowl until sugar and cornstarch have dissolved. Stir sauce into the eggplant, making sure to evenly coat the eggplant. Cook until the sauce has thickened.
Sept 4th, 2010
Homemade Pancakes
I did not take pictures... because it came out kinda meh :( I was going by a recipe and when I started mixing everything I realized... we did not have any sugar at all. I don't think Lisa's family likes sweet stuff and although Lisa loves cake, she always goes out to buy it. So all I had were a few packs of Equal which is totally not the same. The consistency came out alright but it almost tasted a little metallic. Maybe I added a little too much baking soda or baking powder as well as not having the sugar. Adding syrup on top made it not bad but not the best. I also would have liked to add fruit but alas we did not have anything lol.
Sept 5th, 2010
Pan-fried Tilapia with home fries and brocolli
I took Lisa out to Ruby Tuesday and she got an herb covered fillet of tilapia. I tasted it and said no problem! I think it came out pretty tasty. I bought pre-frozen Tilapia so the quality of the fish itself wasn't the best. In the future I'd like to find a fish market around here so I can try fresher fish but I haven't seen any around College Point. I pan fried with oil until it was cooked all the way through. I was afraid it was going to still be raw in the middle but it cooks pretty fast within 4-5 minutes. I finished by adding some butter, lemon juice and rosemary. Mixed in was oregano, salt and pepper as I was frying it. The outside of the fish was first washed, floured, egg washed then a mix of italian breadcrumbs and panko breadcrumbs.
Sept 11th, 2010
Fish Nachos!
I had bought some more Tilapia in hopes to butter poach or fry without the breadcrumbs but we didn't have any side dishes to accompany the fish. I had just bought some salsa and chips and ding I thought why not try to make fish tacos but instead make fish nachoes! I am always afraid of using a ton of butter so I used more lemon juice and used a little oil to get the fish going. The herbs on top was primarily oregano and heated up some hot green peppers in some oil to top it off. The salsa I got from the store premade.
Sept 12th, 2010
Broccoli and Cheddar with Potatoes Soup
Busy day today! I've been meaning to make this soup ever since I had it at Panera recently. I had a few things that had to be adjusted and I think I learned from my mistakes. I added some potatoes to give it a little more texture with something to chew on. The main issues I had were that I didn't whisk the flour well enough. When I poured it into the soup, it thickened the stock but there were still chunks of flour which are totally gross. Anyone that knows me, knows I don't like gooey stuffs like yogurt and clumps of flour in soup is bleagh. Also I didn't have enough cheddar cheese so I went with a reduced fat mexican blend of cheeses which isn't as tastey as the sharp cheddar that I started with :( Next time I'll make sure I have enough cheddar and make sure the flour is thoroughly mixed before adding to the soup.
Recipe taken from allrecipes.com.
*Ingredients*
* 1/4 cup butter (I used less)
* 1 onion, cut into medium dice (Didn't use as Lisa doesn't like onions)
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder (Didn't use)
* 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (Didn't use)
* 1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli (Fresh broccoli)
* 1 quart chicken broth
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
* salt to taste
* 8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
*Directions*
1. Melt butter over medium heat in a stockpot. Cook onion in butter until softened. Add garlic and pepper; cook for 1 minute then stir in broccoli, and stir in chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile whisk flour into milk until dissolved. Stir into soup stirring frequently until thickened. Reduce heat, and stir in cheese until melted and heated through.
3. Season with salt to taste.
Prepared in my awesome moocow bowl thanks to Jenny who bought it for me a few years ago :D
Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, Mixed sauteed noodles with leftover peppers, Leftover Spiral pasta with Turkey Meatballs
We had some leftover broccoli from the soup in the afternoon as well as leftover peppers from yesterday's hunan meal. It was my first time cooking with a wok! It was hella fun. Annoying thing is the wok is pretty crappily built, some random one that my parents found in the garage. I might think about investing a little more to get a decent one. Mian issue was that the cover doesn't really cover well, there's a gaping hole on the side because the wok bottom isn't completely round >.> Additionally I wish I had one with a long handle so I could left it up and pour stuff out. The way the handles are made on mine, if I try to get a good grip then I can't hold it up and I would burn my fingers.
The pasta was from the night before. Made some homemade 93% fat free turkey meatballs from breadcrumbs, seasoning, egg, etc.
And finally the eggplant with garlic sauce :D I really love eggplant and I've always wanted to make it. I said let's try and see what happens. I tossed some oil in the wok and let it get hot. I had already cut quartered chunks of the eggplant but left that to cook later. First I heated up some garlic, ginger and turkey meat. After it was almost done, I tossed the peppers in to get them hot. I moved them to the side in a bowl and heated up some more oil for the eggplant. I got a quick burn on the eggplant to get the outside a little crispy then added water to steam them. It ended up taking a good 10+ minutes after I added the water to let it simmer down and absorb. I mixed the sauces, corn starch and sugar as a final touch. Mixed it all with the peppers and meat and it was off to eat! :D I might add... it was pretty damn delicious for my first try.
Recipe from allrecipes.com.
*Ingredients*
* 3 tablespoons canola oil
* 4 Chinese eggplants, halved lengthwise and cut into 1 inch half moons
* 1 cup water
* 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (Used chili oil and hot green/red peppers)
* 3 tablespoons garlic powder (Used fresh garlic)
* 5 teaspoons white sugar (Used only about 2 tspn of sugar)
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
* Added Turkey meat
* Added some fresh minced ginger
*Directions*
1. Heat the canola oil in a skillet over high heat. Cook and stir the eggplant until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the water, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. Cover and simmer until all the water is absorbed. Meanwhile, mix sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, and oyster sauce in a bowl until sugar and cornstarch have dissolved. Stir sauce into the eggplant, making sure to evenly coat the eggplant. Cook until the sauce has thickened.