Yummy Dinner and Other Randoms

Well, here I am...still unemployed. After my layoff in February, I decided I wanted to study to get my PMP certification (Project Manager Professional) since that's pretty much been my title for the last 5 years. So from February until June 2, I did nothing but study...hard. The exam is a 4 hour exam that I had to pay $555 for and be up at the butt crack of dawn to take on June 2. I was SO nervous the night before. But I crammed for the exam that night and in the parking garage of the building I was taking it in that morning. I couldn't believe it but I PASSED!!! I was SO excited that I walked out of the testing center, got in my car and started crying before I could even call anyone. I couldn't believe that I passed. It's a pretty hard and super intense test. My friends and I celebrated like crazy that night.

So, this has really been the first week that I haven't had anything to do all day. I've gotten so used to waking up at the same time every day, studying until 11, working out, showering, then studying again until 5pm. So now I've been waking up still at the same time, checking my email and stuff, & applying for jobs. But that gets me to about 11am. I haven't been working out so I plan on getting back into that today. But I will still have a good 3 hours after that with nothing to do. You can only job hunt for so long every day.

Needless to say, I got caught up on my DVR the other day. I watched a Giada episode I had recorded (I love her!) and knew that I HAD to make one of the things she showed. So that was the last half of my day yesterday, running to the grocery store and preparing my dinner for that night so all I would have to do was pop it on the grill. It was Grilled Corn and Cheese cakes. Oh my god....SOOOOO good. The cheese it calls for is smoked mozzarella which I had never actually had before. I do believe that I am in love with it. I don't think I will ever go vegan now! Ha ha.





In the summer I'm really big on what I like to call "smorgasbord dinners". I don't like to eat a lot of warm dishes in the summer so I tend to eat a little serving of a lot of different fruits and veggies for dinner. It's just random summer favorites that most people would think weird eaten together, but I love them. My parents made a lot of lunches and dinner for me and my sister that were like that when we were kids. So now I think it's a nostalgia/comfort thing. :) So I had two of these corn cakes with a side of raw sugar snap peas and a big ole' slice of cantaloupe. I also had pickled beets too but I was eating them from the jar. As these cakes were grilling on my grill pan, I was in heaven. The smell of the sweet corn and the smoked mozzarella is literally mouthwatering. I couldn't wait for them to finish!! Here's the recipe if you're interested:


Grilled Corn and Cheese Cakes

2 cups frozen sweet corn, thawed
3/4 cups shredded smoked mozzarella
1 cup plain breadcrumbs, divided
1/3 cup fresh chopped chives
1 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup creme fraiche, for serving (I just used sour cream instead of this)


In a food processor, pulse the corn into a chunky puree. Place in a medium bowl. Add the cheese, chives, sour cream, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and salt and pepper. Mix well. Form the mixture into 9 balls and then flatten into patties, each about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 3/4 inches thick. Refrigerate 30 minutes.


Coat the patties with the remaining 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Place a grill pan over medium high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Brush the patties with olive oil and grill until toasted about 4 to 5 minutes on each side.


Arrange the corn cakes on a plate and serve with a dollop of the creme fraiche (or sour cream).

Yum, yum. I'm having the exact same dinner tonight! :)

Spaghetti Casserole

Mmm mmm. Tonight I decided I wanted some comfort food. Last night my roomie made spaghetti and it smelled SO good. I hadn't had spaghetti in ages. So today on my way home from work I decided that's what I wanted to have. I made a pit stop at the grocery store and bought all the stuff. But I decided to put a little spin on it and make a casserole. So along with all the spaghetti "stuff", I got some Panko (Japanese bread crumbs). Well I've never made anything with bread crumbs nor have I ever really warmed up any bread in my oven. So I don't really know how to use the...ahem...broiler.

Needless to say, after 15 minutes on bake, the bread crumbs still weren't getting brown. So my roomie suggested I turn on the broiler for about 6 minutes. So I did. But my oven has a "HI" temp and a "LOW" temp for the broiler. I didn't ask which one to use. Just flipped it on (HI) and kept it at the minutes the timer was already on, which was 4. BIG mistake. When the timer went off, my spaghetti casserole was nice and black on top. LOL. So we scraped off most of the top layer and what do you know? It was STILL fabulous! Next time I'll know to cook it on "LOW" for about 5 minutes. And I will be making this again because it was so freaking good.

I would have taken a picture but...well you know....the black didn't look very appetizing, even though it was. I'll take a picture the next time.

Here's the recipe:

1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 cup of red onions, chopped however you like
1 small red bell pepper, chopped however you like (I kind of like my veggies chunky)
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
3 or 4 garlic cloves (diced)
Oregano to taste
Basil to taste
Parsley to taste
Salt & pepper to taste
1 pkg whole wheat noodles

Pre heat the oven to 350. In a non-stick pan, sautee the onions and garlic until onions are translucent. Add in the red peppers, sauce, tomatoes, salt and pepper and spices. Let this simmer on low heat while the noodles are cooking. Cook the noodles until ALMOST al dente. Once the noodles are ready, strain and pour into an 8x8 casserole dish. Pour in the tomato sauce mixture. Then sprinkle the panko on top, covering the entire dish. Cover with foil and cook for 10 minutes in the oven. Then uncover and broil ON LOW(!) for about 4 or 5 minutes. You may just want to keep an eye on it. :) Serve and enjoy! It's probably going to be even better tomorrow for lunch!

My $150 Butternut Squash Soup

It's been one of those days that I love...Sunday, rainy, cool...ALMOST October. I can't wait for Fall if you can't tell. I woke up this morning and saw that it was supposed to start storming around noon. I wanted to make some soup for lunch. It was a Barefoot Contessa recipe that sounded delicious. So I dragged my roomie out to the grocery store because we both needed to go. I wanted to get home before the rain started.


I LOVE SOUP. I eat it probably four out of seven days when it's cold out. So when I saw the Barefoot Contessa episode with Butternut Squash soup I knew I had to try it. The pic above is of the veggies roasting.

Now let me explain why the title of this blog is "My $150 Butternut Squash Soup". First of all, the next time I make this I will be buying pre-peeled, cubed butternut squash instead of trying to peel and cube my own butternut squash. What a pain in the arse THAT was. I think it probably took me a good twenty minutes just to peel the squash. It's very oddly shaped in case you aren't familiar with it. Thank god I have awesome knives or it would've taken me forever to cube it. So after peeling it, I took the peelings and stuffed them down the garbage disposal, turned on the water and flipped the switch. BIG MISTAKE. My disposal is now clogged and I'm waiting on the plumber to get here. I tried EVERYTHING...plungers, Drano, resetting the disposal, using that little "key" thing, sticking my hand in the drain, trying to clear it...nothing worked. SIGH. SO...I had to call a plumber. I'm guessing that it's going to cost around $100-$150 and that's why this soup is called the $150 Butternut Squash Soup. Next time it will probably only cost me about $10.

Anyway, the soup was freaking delicious. I really could not stop eating it. But I had to because my roommate is making a yummy dinner tonight. So I didn't want to be too full for that. Here's a pic of the finished product.
It's very savory, very filling and kind of sweet. I kept adding salt trying to cut the sweetness until I got it to my liking. You'll just have to do the same. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 to 4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded

2 yellow onions

2 McIntosh apples, peeled and cored

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 to 4 cup chicken stock (I used veggie stock of course)

1/2 tsp good curry powder (I used WAY more curry powder. Just a preference)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Cut the butternut squash, onions and apples into 1-inch cubes. Place them on a sheet pan and toss them with the olive oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Divide the squash mixture between 2 sheet pans and spread in a single layer. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, tossing occasionally, until very tender.

3. Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock to a simmer. When the vegetables are done, put them through a food mill with the medium blade. (Alternatively you can place the roasted vegetables in batches in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add some of the chicken stock and coarsely puree.) When all of the vegetables are processed, place them in a large pot and add enough chicken stock to make a thick soup. Add the curry powder, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Taste for seasonings to be sure there's enough salt and pepper to bring out the curry flavor. Reheat and serve hot. YUM!

Pasta with Walnuts in Sage Butter Sauce (Vegan)

So last night I decided, on a total whim, that I wanted something with sage butter sauce. I saw something in a magazine with that in the title earlier that day and couldn't stop thinking about it. So I started googling "sage butter sauce recipes" and came up with a total keeper. I found it here It sounded delicious so I knew I just HAD to try it.

I actually used whole wheat angel hair pasta and Earth Balance Buttery Spread as opposed to the Fettuccine and stick butter. But I'm sure it tasted just the same.

Excuse the poor picture quality. My roomie, with the mad photography skills, was MIA when the pasta was ready for it's close-up.

This was a perfect Fall dish. It was earthy tasting and savory. Even though my roomie was MIA with her camera, I still made enough for her because I'm sweet like that. She loved it. I will definitely be making this again...especially on a brisk fall night.

Holy mother of all sweet potato dishes!!

Last night I decided it was CUBAN THURSDAY! Thursdays are usually champagne Thursdays but I was out so...I had to drink wine. Darn. :) I'm in love with Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet and I've been making all sorts of yummy stuff from it.

I've been dying to make one of the recipes in particular...Cuban-Style Roasted Sweet Potatoes. I picked up some sweet potatoes from my local farmers market last weekend just so I could make it. While thinking about the potato recipe, I thought, hmm...what else can I make to go along with the Cuban theme? I had a can of black beans in the cabinet, a red onion and some AWESOME salsa, made right here in the ATL that I also got from the farmers market. I also had some collard greens, which really doesn't go with the theme but right then and there I knew I had my dinner planned. My roomie had a chicken breast in place of the greens but I did make her squeeze some lime juice on it to go with the Cuban theme.

Don't those sweet potatoes look freaking delicious? They were!! My roommate and I couldn't stop "mmm-ing" every time we took a bite. Here is the recipe:

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered (about 3 lbs)

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Fine sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the sweet potatoes in a medium bowl, toss with 2 tbsp of the oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes on the prepared baking sheet and roast until they can easily be pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes or so.

Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl, and toss with the garlic, lime juice, parsley and remaining 2 tbsps of oil. (I used a little more lime juice than the recipe called for because I love lime and it totally made it for me.) Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Here's the recipe for the yummy beans:

1(15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Purple onion, diced (use as much as you like)
1/3 cup of your favorite salsa

Saute the onions until soft. Put the beans in a saucepan and add the onions. Then add the salsa and stir. Just heat until warm. I sprinkled on some fresh cilantro right before I served it. If you're in Atlanta, go to your local farmers market and see if you can find Zocala Salsa. There are different flavors. My favorite and the one I used in this recipe is Mole Rojo. It's by far my new favorite salsa and it's spicy. (Ready for the cornball comment?) It's like a party on your tongue! Ok, I'll stop.

I had all that with my side of collard greens that I sauteed with some Olive oil and even threw in some red pepper flakes to make it go with the theme. Maybe next time I'll have a shot of tequila instead of wine with this dinner. Ick...ewww...no. I'll stick with the wine. :)

Tracy's Fried Rice

So today I was at work and I was super busy. But as I was working I kept thinking about the container full of raw veggies I had in the fridge. I chopped up a bunch of veggies last weekend and I just haven't eaten much of them. There was broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, carrots, and celery. I thought to myself, geez I need to do something with those veggies or they're going to go bad! So I started doing some internet research on what to do with leftover veggies. I came across a recipe for fried rice. I altered it a little bit..ok, I altered it A LOT. It's pretty much my own creation. But it was SO good that I had to post. I even gave myself a couple of pats on the back. My dog was looking at me like I was crazy while I was doing that by the way. Anyway...here's the recipe:

Tracy's Fried Rice

1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of finely diced veggies (I used red onion, broccoli, cauliflower, celery and carrots)

1 pkg Near East Long Grain & Wild Rice from Whole Foods

( I wanted to use brown rice but this is what I had on hand.)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup vegetable stock

2-3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

Salt & pepper

1. Cook the rice according to the package's directions. (1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 3/4 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Add the rice and the seasoning. Bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tender or water has boiled out.)

2. Chop up all the veggies really fine. Put 1-2 tbsp of oil in a skillet then add the veggies. Then add about 1/2 cup of vegetable stock. Cook on medium heat for about 5-6 minutes or until tender.

3. Cook the rice for about 20 minutes.

4. After adding the rice to the veggies, add about 2-3 tbsp of low sodium soy sauce and some fine sea salt and cracked pepper to taste.

5. Cover and let simmer for 3-5 minutes or until the rice is tender to your liking.

6. Serve & enjoy!

It was YUMMY. My roommate was upstairs and came down and said, "What the heck are you cooking? It smells delicious!" So I let her taste and she loved it. I'm not normally a big rice fan but I hadn't had any "grains" today so I figured I needed to get some in. :)

Hope you like it!

Bruschetta

I went to a friends birthday party last night and everyone was supposed to bring an appetizer. As much as I love bruschetta, I've never really made it myself. But I made it last night and every last bit was gobbled up within an hour. It was SO yummy and definitely something I will be making again. Here is the recipe:

6 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 clove garlic, whole
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 1/4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
2 Italian baguettes, sliced (about 3/4 inch thick slices)


Whisk together diced garlic, salt & pepper, vinegar & basil.
Slowly drizzle in olive oil. Add the tomatoes and onions to the mixture.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the flavors can blend together. Brush both sides of the bread with more olive oil and rub them down with the whole clove of garlic. Broil on low and flip so both sides are golden brown. Top with bruschetta mixture and serve.

Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Geez, I've been getting beat up for not posting for awhile, especially considering I wanted to do this so bad and I've only posted once. I've been busy! Gimme a break. :)

Anyway, I just thought I would share this recipe that I made for dinner the other night. I was tired of the same old meals so I started looking for something I had never had before. I know stuffed peppers aren't all that "different" but I had never had them. I found the recipe on Giada De Laurentiis' website. (I love her!) I tweaked it a little bit to my taste. I used all red peppers because they're my favorite. I also used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth because I'm vegetarian. There's a bit of prep work for this recipe but it's not too bad and was totally worth it in the end. It made my house smell SO good too. Here ya go!



INGREDIENTS:
1 (28oz) can diced Italian tomatoes
2 zucchini, grated
1/2 cups chopped fresh mint leaves (I used basil instead because basil is AWESOME)
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
6 sweet bell peppers (red, yellow or orange)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat over to 400 degrees F.

Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl. Add the zucchini, mint, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes. The orzo should only be partially cooked. Use a fine mesh sieve to transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the other vegetables, Stir the orzo into the vegetable mix to combine. Transfer the warm broth to a 3 quart baking dish.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up.

Place the peppers in the baking dish with the warm chicken broth. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the top of each pepper with cheese and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully transfer the orzo stuffed pepper to a serving plate. Eat up!


Cook Time: 1 hour / Level: Intermediate / Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Tip #1: I halved the recipe and it still made almost 4 whole peppers.
Tip #2: Use real Pecorino Romano cheese if you can. It's SO SO SO much better than that pre-grated packaged stuff!