Simple Cooking

Holy Cream Cheese

2014-10-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

I hope those who see this do not offend easily. If that is the case I apologize in advance, but this post does make a light humorous touch on religion and is all meant in good fun. That being said, I want to introduce you all to what I have dubbed, The Holy Cream Cheese!

At work there is a new associate, and during her first week she brought in this delicious dish that a relative makes. I took a bite and immediately started rewriting the lords prayer in honor of this cream cheese pastry treat. I got the recipe the other day and have made it for myself, altering it slightly. I will post the official recipe, along with the changes I made myself. I will post my cream cheese prayer at the end.

Ingredients:
3x tubes of flaky crescent rolls
3x blocks of cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
sugar
vanilla
cinnamon
milk (maybe)

All right, so one of the best things about this is you don't have to measure ANYTHING!

Preheat your oven to 350.

To start you blend together all of the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and some cinnamon. Add all to taste, add a little, try it, and add a little more depending. Because it's all to taste I did it one item at a time. I also replaced regular granulated sugar with powdered sugar. I did this because I happen to make an amazing cream cheese frosting with powdered sugar, so I knew it would be enjoyed.

I actually stopped at the sugar. My boyfriend, Jay dislikes cinnamon, so I saved that for just the top layer, and I was out of vanilla. Once blended I added just a splash of milk not even 1/4 of a cup, just to thin it a little bit and make it more manageable late for spreading.

Okay so once you have your filling all blended to how you like it, its time to put it all together. Spray down your casserole pan with non-stick cooking spray, or coat it in butter or Crisco, whatever you like for a non-stick surface. Then pop your first roll of crescent rolls, and lay them out on the bottom of your pan.

Take half of the filling and spread it over the rolls. Between the non stick spray, and the thick filling, this part with bee difficult. Just stay patient, and spread it as evenly as you can.

Then pop the next can, and add a new layer of crescent rolls, followed by the rest of your filling. Spreading out the filling this time will be super easy because the first layer of filling will hold the second layer of crescent rolls in place.

Alright, add the third canister of crescent roll, Then in the microwave, (or on the stove if you prefer) melt one stick of unsalted butter. Then drizzle it all over the top and use a spatula to make sure each pastry triangle is covered. It will gather up between the pastry, don't worry about it, just spread it out as evenly as you can.

Next take your granulated sugar and your cinnamon and dust all over the top.

Bake for 35 minuets in your oven preheated to 350 degrees. After 35 minuets, take it out and smell that sweet cinnamon goodness!

LOOK AT THAT! Oh so good. You are able to dig in almost right away, it cuts easily with a spatula and is great both warm and cold.

It is so simple and easy! Give it a try, play around with the ingredients since it's all just however you like it! This is one backed good that is done by heart, not by head!

And now for the prayer that has already set off way too many laughs!

My taste buds who art in Heaven

Cream cheese be thy name

Thy baked good come

Thy sweet will be done

On my tongue as in my stomach

Give us this day our cinnamon topping

Forgive us eating cheese cake

As we forgive those cheesecake against us

Lead us not into vegetable

But delivers us from Greens

For thine is the cream cheese

The cinnamon,

And the crust,

Forever and ever, amen

Meatloaf Patty

2014-10-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

Alright so the meatloaf burger patty is so simple my 2 year old niece could make them. Well, she could start them, I don't think anyone wants a two year old cooking with hot oil. But my point remains, these are so fast and easy, and most importantly, they are GOOD!

My boyfriend became a vegetarian almost two years ago. Until then, he ate meat as much as I do, maybe even more, which is quite a bit as I claim I am more carnivore, over omnivore. But anyway, I had to get creative with a great many meals. I was saving so much money on buying meat since I was only cooking it for myself now. But I also was working like mad at the start of 2014, and I needed something I didn't have to think about when I got home from work so tired. I had so much burger, but was sick of regular burgers, and the other usual dishes too. I love my Momma's Awesome Meatloaf, and since I was the only one eating it I could have leftovers for my lunches and other dinners. But I didn't have cream of soup and I wasn't about to leave the store. Then I remember that there had been times when my mother had made meatballs in a similar way to her meatloaf, sh would serve it with a white gravy. So as I was being sleepy and lazy I decided to make it a meatloaf patty that I could fry up. Over the last few months, I've experimented, and even took a cooking method out of what is essentially a pre-teen kid's book that I discovered and still read today (don't judge me.)

The Meatloaf Patties have become my preferred method of making burgers now. They are also great for making extra and eating them cold the next day. They can be cooked medium well and remain juicy and moist, even while cold, for a couple of days. They fry up fast, though I do encourage experimenting with baking in the over like a regular loaf, but I haven't tried it myself. Alright, well lets get to it!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 package of saltine crackers
2 large or jumbo eggs. 3 if eggs are smaller than large
Seasoning of your choice
Olive oil

Alright so to start you want to put your ground beef, in a bowl that is big enough to not let it spill over when mixing. Crush up your crackers over the beef, and then crack in your eggs.

Before you begin to squish it all together, start up your frying pan. Cover the whole pan in a good amount of olive oil. You are essentially going to fry the hell out of these suckers. (I never claimed they were healthy!) I always cover the bottom, well then add what I estimate to be the same amount of oil once more. Heat it up on halfway between a medium and high heat setting. too high and that much oil will spit out and you might get hurt, or worse.

Once that is done you can mix/squish/fold everything in the bowl together. USE YOUR HANDS!!! That is the only way to know it's all really and properly mixed together. Meatloaf is home cooked comfort food. The use of your hands over a mixer or a spatula, or whatever it is you want to use adds to the feeling of cooked with love. So again, hands. Use them.

Once all is mixed well, then add in your seasoning. You can season it however you want, or not at all! Many people use just salt and pepper. The great thing about meatloaf is that you can literally experiment with ANYTHING here. The origins of meatloaf was back in the day the poor needed a way to utilize all the scraps and leftovers they had so no food would go to waste. Meatloaf is the loaf version of stew, you can put anything into it and it will still be meatloaf. SO have fun experimenting, try using ginger or dried onion flakes. I like to use Cavender's Greek Seasoning. It is pretty much my favorite all seasoning. I use it on almost everything.

Use as much or as little as you like, and mix in. Once more, everyone say it with me.... HANDS! USE THEM!

Once you have it all mixed well together, start making your patties. I make a lot for me so I always wind up with like three huge patties. They will be slimy from the egg and they will feel like they don't want to stick together. You might find yourself trying to press them harder, I know I have, but don't worry about it. They won't fall apart on you. Then, with a spatula, lay them in the hot oil. It will sizzle and spit and the frying will begin.

Cook time depends on how thick your patty is, the thicker the longer it takes. Use this time to start up any sides you might want to have with it. I suggest mashed potatoes and green beans. Once your patty is about half cooked, flip it and let it finish. Because of the egg, the inside texture will feel raw still even though the burger is cooked medium to well all the way through. And yes you do want this patty cooked to at least medium. It will be too mushy feeling as you eat it if you don't. But don't worry. If you are like me and like your meat still mooing, this will seem just that way! Once it is well done take off the heat and serve it up!

The outside, top and bottom will be crispy and so delicious. The inside will be medium to well done, and soft, and juicy! Add your sides and you're done!

Suggestions: Feel free to treat it like a burger and add all the fixings, and bread or buns. It's good. Add cheese, A1, or any other condiments you like. You're going to love this super quick twist to the classic burger patty!

If you have any leftovers, toss them int he fridge, and have them cold for lunch the next day. They stay juicy for a day or two. I don't know if they go tough after that, I always eat mine pretty quick!

That's all for today! Happy cooking!

Spicy Chicken and Rice

2014-06-15T19:45:00.002-07:00

It has been quite a long time since I've posted, but I have a wonderful recipe for you! This is a change up to the Orange Chicken and Fried Rice. I ran out of several things I needed for that recipe, but all I had was chicken and rice in the house, so I changed it up a bit but I don't have pics, sorry! So ready? Here we go!

Ingredients:

White Rice
Chicken
2-3 Eggs
Ground Ginger
Red Pepper Flakes
Soy Sauce
1/4 cup water
Olive Oil
Butter

Alright so you need to start it all by cooking your rice. If you're like us and have a rice cooker (because your Asian significant other eats it at least twice a day) it is easy enough, but other wise I recommend buying a box of Uncle Ben's and cooking it as instructed on the box for however many servings you need.

Once your rice is cooked and is all fluffy go a head and drop a pat of butter into a deep skillet on medium heat. You want a deep one so there isn't a huge mess with the rice later.

While the butter melts, crab a frying pan and put some olive oil in it, heating it up on medium heat.

Chop your chicken into bite sized bits, and toss into the frying pan. Take the rice and put it in the skillet, using a spatula to spread it out evenly in the pan.

Now for your eggs. If you have eggs Large or smaller you'll need 3. If you have XL or Jumbo you will be fine with two. Crack your eggs and drop them onto the rice, each on opposite halves of the skillet. Break the yolks with your spatula then start to fold and mix it all in. The idea is to coat the rice evenly in egg. Something else you could do is crack the eggs into the blow and stir them like you would for scrambled eggs, then pour that over the rice and fold in. Once the egg is evenly mixed in spread it out evenly once more and leave it be to fry. Every couple of minuets during the next step fold the rice on top, into the bottom, bringing the fried rice from the bottom up top.

Now its time to focus on cooking up your chicken. Once it is cooked through, pull it out and place it in a bowl. Add a little more olive oil to the frying pan, and reheat. Turn the heat up just a little bit as well. Then add in your ginger and red pepper flakes to the pan. Add a lot of each, the point is SPICY! Once that is in shake in some soy sauce. It should be enough to sizzle hard and turn it all into a thick kind of goo. This is where you add in your water. Fill the bottom of the pad about quarter of an inch. Add in a little more ginger then let it simmer just enough for it to thicken. Toss in your chicken and coat all of it. Once all your chicken has been coated, remove from heat and set aside.

Your rice should be well fried by more. Now it is time to add more ginger and red pepper flakes to the rice. Remember with the rice it is more like folding then spices in rather than mixing or stirring them in. Rice love to jump out of the pan and make a huge mess. So folding allows for better control and less mess. Once it's added in you are ready to serve it up!

I like to serve this in a bowl, rice on bottom, chicken on top. If you make more sauce than the chicken needed you can drizzle it on top of everything else as well. DELICIOUS!

LEFTOVERS!!!!! If you make extra of both rice and chicken, one of my favorite things to do is put it all together in a container and eat if cold for lunch the next day. It's almost better cold than cooked fresh.

Who will like this:

Anyone who likes spicy food. You can always tame it down but just adding less ginger. Then it could be more tolerable for the more sensitive pallets. Children or elderly for example.

Thanks for tuning in everyone! See you next time!

~Alex~

Baked Cinnamon Apples

2013-03-10T17:46:00.001-07:00

Alright I have a REALLY simple SO DELICIOUS treat for you today!

I was looking for something healthy and yummie. To add to my criteria list, my boyfriend recently became a vegetarian, and I needed something he could share with me. Something sweet and treat like that can be thought of as a dessert as well. Then I was struck with gold...or maybe red. Baked apples with cinnamon! It is so unbelievable easy, and so good too! My boyfriend ate almost all of it in one sitting haha!

Ingredients:

Red Apples sized medium to large
Cinnamon

Starting note. There is no measurement for this. The amount and size of the apples all depends on how you want to slice them up, including the kind of slices and how thick they are. The cinnamon is strictly to taste. Lets begin!

First preheat your oven to 200. Now you are going to slice your apples. Be sure to core them. I sliced mine two different ways. the first was into quarters then into eighths. The second was simply cutting off the top and bottom, and making nice round slices.

I also had a third apple that cut into eighths and then proceeded the make them even thinner. Next, be sure to take the seeds out. Some may prefer to core the apples entirely. Then arrange them on a baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon to taste.

Place them in the heated oven and let back for about an hour. Your house will start to smell like apple pie, your mouth will be watering! After an hour, choose a thicker slice and test with a bit. The apple should be hot and soft as though it really were in a pie. If it is not return to oven, checking regularly. In the end you will have a delicious finished treat that's great for home made lunches and snacks!

It is so good and great for you! If you are looking to lose weight like we are, this is a great way to change up all those apples you've been eating!

Note: The thinner the slice the quicker it will dry out. Some very thin pieces with harden like apple chips if left in for too long.

FUN TIME CREATES GREAT MEMORIES! This is a great way to get the kids involved in healthy eating! When I was little I had a teacher who taught us a story about the star in the center of the apple. I had already loved apples at that time, but every time I have one, I still think of that story. Use this super SIMPLE COOKING recipe to make some great memories for you and your little ones!

Strawberry-Orange Smoothie

2013-03-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

Hello my loves!

I am sorry! I know it has been so long since I've updated.But that is life and it happens. As it is, I have a wonderful new juicer and have begun some delicious drink recipes! Today I give to you, Strawberry-Orange smoothies!

Ingredients:

One package of strawberries
Seven Oranges
Half a cup of milk
Eight ice cubes

First you are going to roll your oranges on the counter and between your palms This softens them up and helps get more juice out. If you have a juicer, go ahead and use that, otherwise, after softening your oranges, cut them into quarters and peel.

Next juice or blend your oranges. Seven oranges with pulp should come to about 24 ounces.

Next put your Ice and milk in the blender. Crush the ice, but only just enough to make it easy for the blender later.

Now add in your strawberries. Be sure the greens are cut off. Put the lid on and hit the blend button for a few seconds. Once you see the white milk consumed you can stop.

Now add in your orange juice, and blend one more time to mix it properly.

Your finished product will be a delicious, thick, smoothie that makes about three pints. Plenty of orange and strawberry perfectly blended so one doesn't over power the other!

Added bonus!!! This is a nice healthy drink with no added sugar. Completely fresh and healthy for you and your loved ones!

Jello Salad!

2012-04-07T07:22:00.003-07:00

This is a delicious treat I only got at Easter time... SOMETIMES at a 4th of July picnic or other special holiday but it was never really make any other time. I associate it most often with Easter though, and I hope you try it out this year for yourselves and enjoy it!!

Ingredients:

8 oz pack of Jell-O (any flavor you choose. I used cherry)
Mini Marshmallows
Cool Whip

First your'e going to make your Jell-o and let it sit for the directed time. When the Jell-O is ready, open a bag of marshmallows and dump it into a large bowl.

Then with a spatula or spoon dump the jell-o into the bowl as well.

Add in an entire small container of cool whip (or half a large one if that's what you bought)

And mix it all up! A rubber spatula works best for getting the marshmallows from the bottom in the center of the bowl. It should look like this when finished....

So good! You can use any flavor you want. You can also ass in things like mixed fruit cups or pineapple or apple chunks. adding in fruit really changes it up texture wise since it's so soft. Experiment with flavors of Jell-O and different add in foods!

When you're all done refrigerate until ready to serve!

Tip: If you making for more people simply add in another half bag or even an additional full bag of marshmallows. That's all you really need to do for a big family gathering!

That's all for now! Happy Easter!!!

Strawberry Shortcake

2012-04-05T08:28:00.004-07:00

I know it's been just over a month since the last entry, I apologize. A lot has happened in the last five weeks but to make it up to you all I am going to post my dad's Strawberry Shortcake. This is for those who are always asking for dessert, and its probably the one I remember the most from my childhood. It was always a really special treat when my dad made this, and even now when I buy the things for it, I get really excited and just can't wait for it, haha. I hope you all love and enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients:

Two packages strawberries
Sugar
A package of mini angel food cakes
One pint of heavy whipping cream
Whipped Cream (optional)

First you're going to wash your strawberries and cut the tops off. Slice them in half and place them in a blender. Don't cut them all up, save a few to garnish your finished product!

Next pour in about a third of your heavy whipping cream.

Then sprinkle in about a quarter cup of sugar.

Place the top on your blender and turn it on. The blend or the whip setting are what I prefer to use but whatever floats you boat as long as it mixes it well. When done it should be nice and thick and creamy.

Give it a taste, if you find it to be a little bland, add more strawberries to counter out the whipping cream. They also balance it out if there is too much sugar.

Next place a cake round in a bowl, and pour the strawberry sauce over it, to drown it.

Place another cake on top of the first and add more sauce. Top it all with whipped cream and the left over strawberries for a delicious treat!

Who will like this: Everyone! Kids love it because it's a rare and special treat, parents love it because it's easy to make, and really not that messy.

LEFTOVERS! Yes that's right! Depending one how many you are serving there is usually some sauce left over. I like to place it in the refrigerator and save it for a delicious treat later, when I'll simply sip it out of a glass. I think this was my favorite part grown up, drinking the leftover strawberry goodness!

There you go guys one more insanely super Simple Cooking gone right! I hope you all enjoy it, leave comments let me know what you think of if you have questions!

Remember you are all amazing and wonderful! I love you all!

~Alex~

Cinnamon Candy

2012-02-27T12:46:00.007-08:00

My big sister, over at Burnt Toast likes to give me challenges for Simple Cooking. The other day she challenged me to make a Cinnamon Candy recipe she found. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! I love candy, particularly cinnamon candy. This was a really great and fun recipe. And like the goal of the blog says, simple! You can find the original recipe here.

So lets get started!

Ingredients:

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of water

1/2 cup of light corn syrup

1/2 a tsp cinnamon extract

1/2 a tsp red food coloring

You will also need a candy thermometor. You can get one at Walmart for just under four dollars. :)

Alright! So lets get started. In a pot start cooking the water, sugar, and corn syrup on a medium heat.

Let it cook to a boil on the medium heat, we wanna heat this up slowly. As it rises to boiling be sure to stir it occasionally. Once boiling, place a lid over it and let it cook for three minuets. Go a head and take the lip off then and turn the heat to a medium/high heat. From here on out let it boil, and do not stir. The mixture will thicken severely as it boils. Use your candy thermometer to check the temperature. You want it to be at 310 Fahrenheit, also known as the Hard Crack Point. It will take about 15-20 minuets for it to reach that point, just keep an eye on the thermometer.

Once it's reached the hard crack point, remove the pot from heat and add in your cinnamon extract and red food coloring. Mix well and fast, and be sure it's all well away from your face as the fumes will be strong.

Quickly pour onto a greased baking sheet and using a spatula spread it out so it cover the whole surface.

Using a sharp knife, or a pizza cutter, start to score the sheet of liquid candy into roughly one inch squares. You can cut them as big or as small as you like, however. The gel will trying to form back together, you just have to keep repeating the scoring lines until it's cooled enough for the lines to stay in place. I had some issues with it pushing around on the sheet so mine are all deformed, but the over all shape really doesn't matter.

Let it sit at room temperature till it's completely cooled and hardened. This only takes about ten minuets or so, not too long at all. The pieces break apart easily into their squares, like sugar glass, and that is all there is to it!

The texture is the same you would get in say, jolly ranchers, and things, so just by changing the flavore of the extract this recipe opens up a lot of candies to you, if you want to make others.

Note about the cinnamon, I felt the flavor wasn't enough for me, next time I'll probably add a full teaspoon instead of just half, but it's still very good.

LEFTOVERS! This makes a lot candy.

Who will like this: Children will love this! It's homemade candy, I don't think any kid wouldn't like it! Also, anyone who enjoys cinnamon flavored candy!

That's all there is to it my loves! Go out and enjoy the cinnamon goodness that is this candy!

Alyce Sheahen's Banana Bread

2012-02-24T14:55:00.006-08:00

An Introduction to This Recipe:

This recipe started belongs to Cassie's great Grandmother. She never wrote down her recipes. So if a family member wanted it, they had to follow along with her and write it down as she went. Cassie shared this with us on the Simple Cooking Group .

This is actually my third attempt at this recipe, which is why it's taken so long to post a new blog. I have been hell bent on this recipe being the next entry. The first time I attempted it, I cooked it exactly as instructed. The very middle didn't cook at all and the top caved in because of it. The second time I cooked it for longer and on a higher temperature, and it turned into a Banana Brick.

I knew it wasn't my oven, because it cooks everything else just fine. And I was following the recipe exactly. It had to be the pan. Well a few days ago I bought some 9" round pans, and decided to use those instead of the traditional loaf pan. Today I gave it my third try and SUCCESS! I now have banana bread in the shape of round cakes! Enjoy!!!

First, oreheat oven to 350 degrees. Next....

Cream Together:

1/2 cup shortening (See note at bottom of entry on Shortening)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 bananas

Sift Together:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Little by little add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, mix well, and repeat till all is mixed together well. Don't worry if it is a bit chunky, it doesn't have to be smooth.

Now add in a tsp of vanilla. This is also where you add in nuts if you choose to do so.

Pure dough into pan. If you use a bread loaf pan, as tradition dictates, I suggest splitting it into two pans or cooking half now and half after the first, as the center tends to not cook for me if I place it all in a bread pan at once. Alternately you can use round pans or small casserole/cake pans, they work just as well, and in my experience, the 9" rounds take about half the time to cook.

Whatever your choice in baking dish is, place the dough into it after spraying it with non stick cooking spray.

Place in the hot oven and cook for 40 minuets. If using a more sallow pan like a round pan, keep a close eye on it, it should be ready after about 20 minuets.

When is is all done it make appear slightly under-cooked. This is alright as long as it's ONLY slightly and not drastically under-cooked. You can keep it in the oven for longer, but be careful, because if it gets over cooked it will be dry and not as good. Let it cool for a few minuets then go a head and cut right into it! It's delicious! Especially when its still warm and has butter on it. Hope you enjoy it!

Note on shortening: Shortening and butter were used to replace the use of lard in recipes. The shortening and butter, when melt in the oven, create the little air like pockets we see in cakes, breads, and other baked goods. The most common shortening is Crisco, but you can replace shortening with butter if you like. The ratio for that is..

1 cup shortening + 2 tbs water = 1 cup butter

Roughly a cup for a cup then. It is recommended, however, that if you choose to replace shortening with butter, you chill the batter before cooking it. Butter melts at a lower temperature than shortening does, and in baking, timing is everything. If the butter melts too soon, it can create a problem with the turnout, but chilling the dough and subsequently the butter will help it last a little longer, to melt at a more opportune time.

Who will enjoy this: EVERYBODY! I honestly don't know a single person who doesn't like banana bread unless they have an allergy, in which case, shame on you for eating noms in front of somebody who can't have it!

April's Oreo Balls

2012-01-27T20:23:00.000-08:00

Alright this is a wonderful recipe directly from one of our Simple Cooking group members, and one of my best friend's April. They are Oreo Balls. I don't know where she came across this recipe, but Jay and I took one look at it and decided it was a must try. I took pics in hopes it would be yummie enough to be blog worthy and dear lord it really is! So without further ado, the Oreo Balls!

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package of Oreo Cookies, crushed.

1 (8ounce) package of Cream Cheese, softened.

1 (24 ounce) package of Almond Bark (This can be subsituted for White Chocolate Bark too).

1 (24 ounce) package of Chocolate Bark.

Alright, step one is going to be the hardest thing of the whole process. I'm sorry to be the barer of bad news but you need to crush up the entire package of Oreos into a bowl. It's hard I know but I promise it IS worth it!

Next, make sure your cream cheese is nice and soft, I had to soften mine in the microwave for about 40seconds. Then with a blender or hand mixer, mix the Oreos and cream cheese together well..

Roll the mix into balls, April suggest about the size of a walnut. An ice cream scoop can work wonders for this part, otherwise your hands end up really covered in the stuff. Not that that's a bad thing. You want place the Oreo balls on a cookie sheet and chill in the fridge or freezer for about an hour.

As the hour draws to a close, pull out your double broiler, or whatever you use to melt chocolate, and heat it up. Toss in your almond bark. You want to use at least 3/4 of the package, though I used the entire thing in the end. Melt the bark down and then either with toothpicks in the Oreo balls, or with a tongs, dip the balls into the melted bark and place back on the cookie sheet.

Back into the fridge or freezer for about 20 min. Wash out your pan during this time and rinse well, then go a head and get started on melting your chocolate. When the almond bark is hardened pull the cookie sheet out and drizzle over the Oreo balls with the melted chocolate. Use as much or as little as you like. Chill for another 10 min, and you're ready to eat!!!

These are SO good, delicious, and simple!

Kids will LOVE to make this happy treat. Like the peanut-butter balls, this is a fun messy thing to make, and an easy hand help treat they can march off with the nom on while playing.

ENJOY!!!!

Burnt Toast

2012-01-25T08:33:00.000-08:00

No this isn't a recipe, this is a shameless plug for my big sister. She's been such a huge contributor to the Simple Cooking group on Facebook (find the link on the right hand side.) She'd an admin, she keeps the discussions going and now shes taken it a step farther to support the group, and her own interests.

I am proud to introduce to you Burnt Toast! My big sister's new cooking blog. Please check it out. The first recipe is mouth watering and new! That's something great about what she brings to the table, chances are it's always something new! So check it out!!!! Thanks all!

~Alex~

Chocolate Covered Peanut-butter Balls

2012-01-20T16:29:00.000-08:00

This is a crazy yummie treat, its great as a special holiday dessert/snack. I was asked to do a blog on deserts, this is one of my favorites! Any time of the year this is a wonderful treat for everyone! Special thanks to my friend Scott for this! He gave it to me about a year ago and it's been a big hit with everyone ever since!

Ingredients:

1lb bag of powdered sugar
16oz jar of creamy peanut-butter
1 stick melted butter
1tsp vanilla extract
2 (13 oz each) bags of chocolate chips (i preferr milk chocolate but it's up to you)

You'll also need a double boiler, but if you don't have one, don't worry because I have a special tip to use instead!

Steps:

Mix the sugar, butter, vanilla, and peanut-butter well, until creamy. The sugar will try to clump up so just do your best.

Next you're going to use your double boiler to melt the chocolate. If you don't have one, use a glass pie plate sitting on to of a pot of boiling water, or some sort of glass or ceramic dish. Just place it on tops and pour in about half a bag of chocolate chips. Don't add all the chips at once because you really do need it later.

Using the drop spoon method or an ice cream scoop or something, make peanutbutter balls and roll into the melted chocolate. Then place on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper.

Melt more chocolate as needed and repeat.

Remember to roll quickly or the heat will melt the peanut-butter.

When you're all down place cookie sheet in the freezer or fridge to cool for about an hour, then.. ENJOY!!!

Who will like this: CHILDREN: Kids will LOVE IT! Its fun and messy to make, and it's small enough to fit into their hands as you give them one and send them one their way happy.

Enchiladas and Salsa

2012-01-19T07:58:00.000-08:00

Its been a goodly while I know it. I've been so busy with work that I haven't had time to cook, and then when I got time I haven't had the money for ingredients. That is over and done with though, as I have time AND money again hahahahahah!!! So here for your viewing pleasure is Awesome Sauce Enchiladas with my own home made Salsa. Enjoy it! And please be sure to stop by the Simple Cooking discussion group to talk about this meal and lots of others!

Rissa's Cooking Challenge

2011-12-03T16:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, so my big sister challenged me to make Sausage-Stuffed Shells. So, I did. It was really good. The original ingredient list from the site is ...

24 jumbo pasta shells (from 12-oz box)
1 lb lean Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

1 container (15 oz) light ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded reduced-fat Italian cheese blend (8 oz)

1 box (9 oz) Green Giant® frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
3/4 cup finely shredded carrots (1 medium)
1 jar (25.5 oz) Muir Glen® organic Italian herb pasta sauce

Some items were left out entirely from my first try as I do not like carrots and Jay doesn't like spinach. The plan, next time is to split the stuffing into two bowls, one with spinach for me and one with carrots for Jay.

Other things were changed out for what I was able to obtain. For sausage the site says you can simply use Italian pork sausage. That's what I did, I chose the Jimmy Dean brand because I know it, I've used it before and it's really good. The Italian cheese blend according tot he site can be substituted for 3 cups mozzarella shredded cheese. Again this is what I did. The ricotta cheese i was simply UNABLE to find. I was going to use Provolone instead but it's expensive for 15 ounces so I settled for the Hy-vee shredded Pizza blend which is a blend of mozzarella, provolone, romano, and parmesan.

Alright now that we've got all of THAT out of the way lets get to cooking!

First your going to fill a nice BIG pot with water. Not all the way, but you ARE going to be cooking BIG shell noodles so make sure it's enough so the shells can move around while boiling. Then set your over pre-heat to 350. Next you get to pull out a pan and brown up your sausage. Same rules as burger, nice and brown with no pink.

ALRIGHT! So while that's going on, take all of your Ricotta (or the replacement of your choice) and get it all in a good sized mixing bowl. Add in all but 1 cup of the Italian blend (or Mozzarella if you replaced it) and also the Basil. I added a TON of basil just because I love it. Half a teaspoon isn't enough for me haha! This is also the time where you add in your spinach and carrots. When I do use the spinach I plan on using fresh leaves no frozen crap. Use your hand (make sure they're clean) to fold in the basil, spinach and carrots. There is so much cheese the only way to get it all well blended is to use your hands. It's too think to get a spoon of any size through there. Just fold it through with your hands and BE SURE to get the cheese in the center and at the bottom, that was the hardest to get at to mix in.

Okay by this time your water should be boiling, go a head and pure your shells in.

Alright so now you get to pull out your casserole dish. A 13x9 is recommended but work with what you've got I like to say :) Use non-stick cooking spray, or coat the dish in a light layer of butter. Now the site says to put half a cup of the tomato sauce in the pan and spread it around, but that is really VERY little sauce. I used a cup of it instead and a rubber spatula to spread it out.

You should have been keeping an eye on your cooking meat during all of this. Just like cooking up ground burger. It should be nice and brown.

Strain out the little bit of grease into a bowl or a pan. Then you can put the ground sausage into the bowl with the cheese and basil and other good things. THIS TIME you do want to use a spoon to mix it around. That meat is still hot. It's gonna fight against you, the meat will try to melt the cheese a little bit but it won't be too bad. And don't worry if you forget to strain the meat. The grease makes the cheese taste insanely good.

Your shells only need to cook for at the MOST 15 minuets. Any longer and they're over cooked. 15 is even pushing it. When they're done, strain them out and rinse them in nice cold water. This allow then to stiffen up a little as well as make them ale for you to handle them. be sure while rinsing them, that you take apart shells that have slipped inside each other. They fit so well like puzzle pieces that they just slide one inside another while cooking lol.

Right, so now you get to start stuffing the shells! WHHOOO!!! This is a little messy, but it's fun. The original recipe on the site says to fill each shell with 3 tablespoons. NOT gonna happen. 1 you won't have enough filling, and 2 the shells barely hole a single generous tablespoon. Here is what you do. Fill each shell with just a single generous table spoon of the cheese, sausage, basil, etc mixture. And place in the sauced baking dish with the open side up.

Keep filling the shells in this way and lining the pan. If you have any of the cheese and sausage mixture left over, go a head and fill in any shells that look like they could use some more. :) I had extra shells left over i put them in the fridge knowing i can cover them in some sort of sauce tomorrow for lunch. Here was my finished stuffing product.

Now take the rest of your sauce and spread it out over the top of the shells.

Now get some tin foil and spray it with non-stick, and cover the pan. Place it in the over for 40 min. Don't have to check on it, or anything, just leave it for 40 minuets, and it'll be just fine. Then take it you and take that last cup of cheese that you left out of the mixture earlier...remember that? Haha, sprinkle the cheese on top after removing the foil.

Toss the foil and place the dish in the oven for just a few minuets, until the cheese has melted.

Now you're ready to serve it up!

I wound up taking too many shells and had to put 3 back int he pan later! But It is so amazingly yummie!

LEFTOVERS! You'll have a lot left over. Put them in a container and in the fridge. If you want a quick snack, take one out and eat it cold. Good finger food since everything is held in the shell :)

Who will like this: KIDS! The shells are big something they aren't used to seeing and since it's less physically on their plate, they're more likely to eat it quickly since they don't view it as a lot. They'll also like the finger food snack option with the cold leftovers :)

That is all for tonight my loves. This was a super easy meal just takes some time. So if you have a free night, give it a try, it's worth it and with so much for left overs, you'll have snacks and lunch for the next few days :)

Orange Chicken and Fried Rice

2011-12-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

Here we go, Orange Chicken and Fried Rice. Mmm, mmm GOOODD!

For full written Orange Chicken recipe, check out Here! :)

You'll find a list of who'll like it and why its a great meal idea, use of the left overs, and Helpful hints can all be found in that post. That is the first ever Simple Cooking post, so make sure you check it out for any questions you might have. If they still aren't answered, find me on Facebook and ask on our Simple Cooking Group!

Momma's Awesome Meatloaf!!!

2011-11-19T19:36:00.001-08:00

Enjoy it in all it's greatness and splendor!

Okay so here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 lbs burger

1 1/2 package crackers

1 large or jumbo egg

1 can cream of chicken soup.

Preheat over to 425
In a mixing bowl with clean hands crush crackers over the burger and start the mash and fold together, adding more crackers as you go.
Crack the egg into the bowl and fold that in as well, it will all start to come together better once the egg is in.
Once it's all mixed togethere evenly, put into pan (any pan will do as long as it's not too big. A bread pan is the best.) and press out to all sides, making sure it's level.
Spread cream of chicken over the top, use the entire can.
Place pan into over and let cook roughly half an hour. Check periodically, to see if its cooked through, sometimes it can be done sooner than expected :)
Once the soup has a skin on his, and possibly even lightly browned, and the meat is no longer pink inside, it's all done!

Super fast and SUPER simple cooking right there for you all! Enjoy it! I know I do. I don't like any other kind of Meatloaf.

BONUS!!: THe best part about this is the it's NOT dry in any way! It's super moist without being ugh, it really doesn't fit any of the preconceived notions of meatloaf!

ENJOY!

Special V-Log #2 Spaghetti with Garlic Toast

2011-11-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

Hey all, our second V-log is ready to go! Tonight I made Spaghetti with Garlic Toast! Enjoy the video. If you want the full written recipe check it out here... Spaghetti with Garlic Toast :)

Without further ado, here's the V-log!

As you can see we now have a twitter account. I will connect it up with the blog tomorrow, I'm so sleepy tonight. As it is I really really hope you all enjoy this! Its so good and really easy, I want everyone to have a go at it! Have a great evening everyone, I love you all!

Simple Cooking V-Log One! Baked Ziti and Ceasar Salad!!

2011-11-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

Alright everyone, this is it! This is what Jay and I have wanted for Simple Cooking all along. Our ultimate goal has always been to turn Simple Cooking from a a text blog into a V-log. I know it's not the best quality, but this is our very first one and we're SO excited about it! I hope you all enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it, and eating the final results...Jay had some for breakfast this morning as well hahaha!

Also along with posting the V-log here, we ask that you all check out our brand new Simple Cooking Channel on You Tube. So here it is, what everyone's been waiting for! The Simple Cooking V-Log!

I hope you all enjoyed it! Here are the written instructions as promised!

Three Cheese Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

1 box ziti noodles
2 jars of tomato and basil spaghetti sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese
shredded/ground Parmesan cheese
sliced provolone cheese
sour cream

Alright so before we really dig in, you want to set a pot of water to boil, make sure it is big enough to cook the entire box of noodles. After that, things move super fast and you really have only about 10 minuets of wait time.Preheat over to 350 degrees Add box of noodles to the boiling pot of water, and cook for about 7-10 minuets until the noodles are al dente (see glossary term at the end of the recipe) Once the noodles are cooked, pour them into a strainer and rinse with cold water until they're luke warm.

Next, get out a baking pan, one you might use for other kinds of casserole, or cakes, etc. and cover the bottom with the cooled noodles.

Add on a layer of sauce, covering the noodles. Place the provolone cheese around the pan on top of the noodles and sauce. Next add on a nice thick layer of sour cream. (Helpful Hint: I like to spread the sour cream on each slice of provolone before putting it into the pan. I learned the hard way what it's like to spread sour cream onto something that is slippery underneath! )
Add another layer of noodles, and another layer of sauce.

The next layer is a nice, thick spread of mozzarella cheese, don't be afraid to cover it all!
Layer on the last of the noodles, and the rest of the sauce once more time. Finally cover the top with the Parmesan, as much or as little as you like, it doesn't matter a whole lot, do it to taste!
When you're all done, put it in the over for 10 minuets, just util it starts to boil at the top a little and the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and serve it up!

Cesar Salad

Ingredients:

Lettuce
Parmesan cheese
Croutons
Cesar dressing

Break lettuce up wash it up if you choose, fold in Parmesan cheese and croutons, then mix in just enough dressing to coat everything without drowning it all.

There ya go, that's all you need! I hope you all try it and really enjoy it! :)

Cassie's AWESOMESAUCE Feista Chicken Enchiladas

2011-10-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

This one is the FIRST!!! recipe that has come to me through our Simple Cooking Group . One of my best friends, Cassie posted this. Now growing up I never liked the way my parents made enchiladas, but when I read Cassie's recipe I just had to give it a try since it was so different from what I am used to. It was so amazing! Its just... all I can say is you can't understand till you try it for yourself! So with a large THANK YOU to Cassie, we dive right in!

Ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped ( or how ever fine you wants it )

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lb chicken breast chopped ( i use 2 breasts from a bag of frozen breasts. we have done strips, corsely and finely chopped. it all depends on the size ou want to bite into )

1 cup salsa, divided ( THIS is your real deciding factor of how spicy and the base of the flavor. I probably use about 2 or 3 cups in total. )

4 oz cream cheese ( if you cut it up it melt quicker and spreads nicely )

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup shredded cheese (what ever you like. i usually use coby jack cheese and probably use about 2 cups.... )

8 tortillas

Alright so this is the list as Cassie posted it. I highlighted the first two in red as I did not use them, since I had plenty of onion and garlic in my salsa. FOR the salsa, I used the fresh from scratch stuff I made in my previous entry.

Alright so lets start cooking!

Preheat the over to 350 degrees
In a larger sauce pan heat it up on low with either oil or butter, however you prefer it. Chop up your chicken and toss it in.
As the meat starts to slowly cook, add in your onion and garlic. (Like I said I didn't do this due to my salsa.) saute it a bit.
Add in a cup of the salsa.
If you ought your cream cheese in bar form, it's only half a bar that you need. I cut that up into 8ths so it would melt faster and spread it around the entire pan.
When its about half melted, add in the cilantro, (see previous entry on how to cut up easily) and the cumin. I actually added a ton of the cumin, as I just really really love the flavor. It wasn't too strong just right, mmm yummie!
As it all melts down and starts to come together, you'll find it becoming very sauce like all on it's own accord. this is good, we want that. just be sure you're checking your chicken to know it's cooking through all the way. Once the chicken is done, add in your shredded cheese to goo-a-fy!

Alright so now that we're all cooked up, its time for the baking pan. A larger casserole dish is best but I didn't have one so I had to make due.

If you have more salsa, lay it out on the bottom of the dish.

Next, lay out a tortilla. and scoop some of the dish onto it. You can do this one of two ways. You can double the tortilla shells and put the sauce in there with the rest of it. Or you can use one shell and strain the sauce back into the pan. If you use only one tortilla and the sauce it will rip through and it really isn't fun to deal with that. I learned it the hard way. That's when I started to strain out the chicken and sauce.

Wrap it up burrito style or however you like, and lay it seam down in the baking dish. Rinse and repeat, you know how it is, till you baking dish is all filled up.

Alright, so now you should have a lot of leftover sauce with some chicken. Get a spoon or measuring cup or something and drizzle it all over the top of the shells, covering them completely. There may or may not be chicken int he sauce, that's just fine. The more chicken the merrier! After that, if you have any more cheese, just lay it out on top. You can never....NEVER have too much cheese!

Now we bake! Put it in the now hot oven for about 15-20 min. Any longer and the edges of our tortillas will may burn. Mine were only in for 15 and it smelled like they'd burned. Luckily they didn't. Once it's all melty and hot you can take it out of the oven.

Now I actually had to use two spatulas to get these out, they were THAT full, and they still broke up on me! HAHAH! Once you have the enchilada onto the plate, use what's left of the salsa to top it off.

There is SO much food there it's insane! But OH! So mouth watering delicious! I water just thinking about it, this is my new favorite meal, I kid you not.

That's all there is for this super easy!

Who will like this: Adults, especially if you like Mexican food. Children might if you make a smaller one for them, and also if they aren't picky about "foreign objects" I.E.: the weird red or green things. Also depending on the spice level of the salsa that you use, people may not enjoy it if they aren't big on spicy foods. My version in pretty mild, as I didn't make a very spicy salsa for it at all.

LEFTOVERS!!!! We had tons of left overs. They were really good fresh and cold form the fridge the next morning for breakfast. May sound odd but everything you should have for your first meal is right there wrapped up in a nice shell. It's hard from cold and since you wrap the end up, nothing falls out and you can eat on the go if you need to!

That's all for Simple Cooking tonight, you got two entries for the price of one! Enjoy the Enchiladas and let me and Cassie know exactly what you think of them over at the Simple Cooking Group or right here in the comments for Simple Cooking.

Until next time. I love you all, and remember to love yourselves too!

~Alex~

Home Made Salsa!!!

2011-10-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

ALRIGHT!!! I have a super quick super easy recipe for salsa, only takes a few minuets to make too!!!

Ingredients:

Two large, firm tomatoes
Peppers..green pepper, jalapeno pepper it doesn't matter here just whatever you prefer. PLEASE READ THE NOTE AT THE END OF THE RECIPE BEFORE YOU MAKE THIS!
White onion
Cilantro
Lime juice
Minced Garlic (for salsa I like to use the pre-minced stuff in the jar, it's comes in a liquid so the pieces are nice and soft and you're not biting into hard garlic)

Note: If you need pictures for this one..there is no hope for you.

Alright so this so freaking easy anyone can make it. you CANNOT SCREW THIS UP! I promise you that! So lets roll up our sleeves and get started!

Chop up your tomatoes. I use really first ones because I have such a hard time dicing them up what they're soft. Put ALL of it into a good sized bowl. The juice, seeds, everything.
Dice up your onion. The amount you use is dependable on how you like it. I'm not a big fan of it, but Jay is. I can't bite into hard onion it makes me gag so I used the cheese grater to made it mushy and put a lot in that way. This way I can bite into it without worry and Jay gets lots of onion!
Cut up your cilantro. This you need VERY little of. Also scissors is the easiest way to get nice small bits, just hold it all together in one hand, making it as dense as possible. Then use the scissors and snip snip snip snip and it'll just mince itself!
Now for the pepper. I do this last because I know how bad it is to get pepper in your eyes or on your face. Depending on how spicy you want it, you can add in the core, or at least the seeds. If you don't want to use them just cut them out and set them aside. Dice up your pepper and add it into the bowl with everything else.
Using a long spoon or spatula, fold the ingredients together. Switch between a gentle fold and a slow mixing stirring. The juice from the tomatoes will be more than enough for the liquid aspect, the rest is nice and solid and crunchy and spicy for you!
Add in one teaspoon of the minced garlic and mix.
Add in the lime juice to taste. Start with a little and go from there. I don't like Lime at all, but I found the salsa didn't taste right to me until I'd used like half of the little green lime thingy haha!

From there adjust the amount of lime juice and garlic to your liking..the lime can do A LOT for the salsa and is great for balancing out a flavor you don't want as strong. Also black pepper helps to balance out come flavor too!

IMPORTANT NOTE!: If you have never word with peppers of any kind before PLEASE BE CAREFUL! The core with the seed are ALWAYS the hottest parts. Once you make the first cut into your pepper do not, DO NOT touch any part of your face! If you cut up the pepper before you dice up other ingredients, PLEASE wash the knife and the cutting board before moving on. Also PLEASE wash your hands right away. I am speaking form experience when I say you do NOT want any part of a pepper even if its only a green pepper, on or near your face. Please be careful!

That's really all there is to this. It's really good. I kept a bag of tortilla chips next to me for proper taste testing!

I don't really have any special tips on who'll like this or anything like that. It's salsa, if you don't normally like salsa this may be a good way to to try different things to see if you just have a particular taste to it, or something like that, yanno? Give it a try, it can't hurt. I just used a green pepper, not super spicy but enough and it was SO good...and that's coming from someone who's very picky about salsa.

That's about it for now. I'll have another recipe up VERY shortly. Keep this one in mind, when you read the next one. Until then, have a good one!

Spaghetti and Garlic Toast

2011-09-03T16:56:00.000-07:00

Alright it's that time again, for another super simple recipe! Today it is my all time favorite food, something I've been in love with for as long as I can remember and for me at least, there is nothing better.....Spaghetti!!! And also a really great, super fast way to do some home made garlic toast! :) Really it's the sauce we're making from scratch here. If you need detailed instructions on how to boil noodles I worry for you, haha! but go a head and read this there is a brief description on cooking noodles, most all are the same as far as it goes so have at I'd say :) . I actually got this sauce recipe from my Momma, back when I was in Jr. High school. I've tweeked and altered it over the years to suit my tastes and those of others, etc. So lets get cooking!!!

Ingredients:

1 Box of spaghetti noodles
1 pound of hamburger (optional)
Two 29oz cans of tomato sauce and One 15oz can
Oregano, Basil, Thyme, and Rosemary
Soy sauce (don't knock it till you try it)
Garlic (two cloves or already minced)
1 green pepper, or red pepper flakes

So to kick things off go a head and start boiling the water for the noodles. This is literally the longest process so start it first, or possibly even several minuets before you start anything else, depending on your time allowance. Bust out a second large sauce pan where you'll cook p the burger and make the sauce. Got it? Okay ready now? Lets get started!

Cook up the one pound of burger in the pan, getting it chopped up nice and fine till almost all of it is nice and brown. (if you prefer meatless skip this step :) )

Open up all three cans of sauce and add them to the pot with the burger. Mix it all gently together, making sure all of the meat is mixed in well.

Next you want to crush up two cloves of fresh garlic, OR use about the same amount from a jar of pre-minced garlic. Add it into the center of the pot and stir in well. It will separate on it's own and flavor all areas of the sauce.

I like a lot of oregano in my sauce, it really is my go to herd here. Sprinkle on the oregano liberally, covering the top of the sauce really well.

BEFORE stirring the oregano in, sprinkle on the basil. I suggest using about 1/3 the amount of basil you use of oregano. If you take a look at the image above and the image below, you'll see what I mean about the proportions.

Now you can slowly stir in the oregano and basil, it's kinda fun to watch it slowly vanish into the sauce, and you'll really start to smell the yummie goodness too!
After it's all blended in, it is time to add in the rosemary. You don't nee a lot of this pine needle looking herb. Just a small enough pinch to fill the hollow in the palm of your hand (see image below). Once you have it in your hand use your fingertips to crunch it all up, essentially you'll be breaking each needle into two or three pieces, but that's all you need.

Stir it all in, and then lightly dust the sauce with thyme. It'll smell a bit like Christmas, but it won't last for long.

Once everything has been blended together, you add the soy sauce. You only need one maybe two small splashes of the soy sauce. Any more than that and you're risking the sauce tasting really salty. If that happened, use the oregano and more garlic to balance it out.

Blend in the soy sauce really well, I suggest stirring for at least a 30 seconds to make sure it really is spread out evenly.
By this time your water should be oiling and you should have added your spaghetti noodles to it to cook.
Back to the sauce, this is where we throw in our pepper. Normally I would cut up a fresh bell green pepper, tossing out the seed and insides, and slicing it up to about half inch sections. Freeze the rest for later use in another sauce and toss in two or three pepper slices. They don't make it hot, but add just the right amount of zip to it.
If you are unable to use green pepper for whatever reason, red pepper flakes (the kind I use in the Orange Chicken) are a great substitute, just sprinkle in a small spoon full and lightly dust the sauce with some black pepper (see image below) The combination has the exact same effect as the fresh/frozen green bell peppers do.

Once it's all been mixed in, give it a small taste (remember it's hot!) If it is there is too much garlic, or too much salt, or whatever, play around with the herbs to balance it out to how you like it. The great thing about the sauce is it's ability to be customized! Make it your own!
When you have everything to taste, go a head and let it simmer on low until the noodles are finished. It shouldn't be too long now.

While We Wait...

Let's go a head and make some quick garlic toast. All you need is bread, a toaster, butter or margin, and garlic salt (not garlic powder! For the love of all that is holy please listen to me and do not use garlic powder you will regret it! HAHAHA)

Put the bread in the toaster and prep the ingredients.

When the toast pops up, and while still hot, spread out the butter/margin
Next very lightly coat the buttered toast in garlic salt. You don't need a lot.

That's it, you're finished. By this time your noodles should bet completely cooked, and ready to serve, grab a plate, dish up, add your garlic toast and some Parmesan to top it off and dinner is served!

LEFTOVERS!!!!! One of my favorite things to eat (after a fresh hot spaghetti meal) is cold leftover spaghetti smothered in an offensively large amount of Parmesan cheese. I don't know why but its SO good. And heated up, this sauce tasted drastically different after being in the fridge over night. It's like a totally different meal. And unless you're feeding a lot of people, you'll at the very least have left over sauce, considering how much tomato sauce went into it!

Who will like this:

Everyone! I honestly do not know anybody who doesn't like spaghetti. I won't say everyone loves it, but I've never had someone turn it down before if you know what I mean. It's a great classic, and fun to eat. Perfect for large dinner parties since it's just so damn easy to make more! So serve it up anytime to anyone and ENJOY!!!

That's all I have for you for tonight my loves! Enjoy the meal and keep you're eyes open for some short "bonus" recipes directly from the lovely members of the Simple Cooking Facebook group! Please come join us, check us out and share your own recipes! Thanks for reading!

~Alex~

Three Cheese Baked Ziti

2011-08-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hello my loves! I know it's been a while since I updated you with so super yummie food, but I promise the wait is well worth it. Today I am giving you Baked Ziti! It's something I've been making for a really long time. This particular version has three different kinds of cheese in it, and is so ooey gooey good I've had friends ask me if I'd make it for them if they bought all the ingredients. So are we ready to rock? Then lets wash our hands and get cookin' !

Ingredients:

A box of Ziti noodles (my local stores don't carry it, Mostaccioli works just as well!)
2 jars of your favorite red sauce (I like to use tomato and basil)
A package of shredded mozzarella cheese
A package of sliced provolone sandwich cheese
Parmesan cheese. (You can use shredded but the powdered kind is just fine too!)
16 oz sour cream

Preheat over to 350 degrees

Add box of noodles to the boiling pot of water, and cook for about 7-10 minuets until the noodles are al dente (see glossary term at the end of the recipe)

Once the noodles are cooked, pour them into a strainer and rinse with cold water until they're luke warm.

Next, get out a baking pan, one you might use for other kinds of casserole, or cakes, etc. and cover the bottom with the cooled noodles.

Add on a layer of sauce, covering the noodles.
Place the provolone cheese around the pan on top of the noodles and sauce.
Next add on a nice thick layer of sour cream. (Helpful Hint: I like to spread the sour cream on each slice of provolone before putting it into the pan. I learned the hard way what it's like to spread sour cream onto something that is slippery underneath! )

Add another layer of noodles, and another layer of sauce.

The next layer is a nice, thick spread of mozzarella cheese, don't be afraid to cover it all!

Layer on the last of the noodles, and the rest of the sauce once more time.
Finally cover the top with the Parmesan, as much or as little as you like, it doesn't matter a whole lot, do it to taste!

When you're all done, put it in the over for 10 minuets, just util it starts to boil at the top a little and the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and serve it up!

As you can see, it DOES NOT come out in a nice layer like a lasagna would, but that's alright, everything still mixes really well together and is still FABULOUS to taste!

LEFTOVERS!!!!: Not only can one box of noodles in this dish feed a few people but there is enough to feed a TON of people! Even when I feed close to seven people on one box (three of which have massive appetites) I still have left overs! This lasts us for a good long while, its wonderful to bring to work or school and its so good cold or hot!

Who will like this:

People who do not like sour cream!!!: I have a very good friend who loves this meal. I fed this to him several times before I discovered he didn't like sour cream. I asked if he knew I had it in the Baked Ziti and he was floored, he said he couldn't taste it at all. Even now, knowing its in there, he still loves it!
Children: It's cheesy, ooey, gooey and strings out like mozzarella, so it's really fun. The noodles are small too so that helps kids approach this new dinner idea more easily.

GLOSSARY TERM!!!!!

For those of you who don't know what "al dente" means. Here is the definition directly from BusyCooks.about.com

Al dente refers to the desired texture of cooked pasta in Italian cooking. It literally means "to the tooth". When the pasta is cooked al dente, there should be a slight resistance in the center when the pasta is chewed.

That is it for tonight, my loves! Cook, and cook for the love of it! Feel free to ask any questions you might have right here OR... on the Simple Cooking Facebook group page! Come join the fun and the conversation! See you all later!

~Alex~

Orange Chicken

2011-07-31T23:27:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite recipes it takes maybe 20-30 minuets to make, and most of that is the actual cutting up and initial cooking of the chicken itself. Now I know that Orange Chicken is breaded and I will include the breading at the end of this post, but I personally do not use it. I tried to the first two times I made it and we wound up eating more breading than chicken! Anyway, I prefer to just put the sauce directly onto my chicken and my family and friends agree it is better that way. So lets scrub our hands and get cooking!

Ingredients:

2lbs of boneless chicken breast. (obviously more if you're cooking for more people)
Sesame cooking oil or Olive oil (Sesame oil is pricey and really only for more traditional flavoring. Regular olive oil is what I use)
Rice wine (This too is pricy, and you do not need a lot of it, this will last over the next several times you make this meal. Also, Rice Wine Vinagre is NOT the same thing, do not try to use it trust me I learned that the hard way. You may have to ask a store employee where this is becasue it's in a different location in every store)
Dried red pepper flakes
Green onion
Ginger
Minced garlic (you can use the pre chopped stuff in a jar if you like or fresh it's up to you as long as it's not dried you want it moist and seemingly fresh :) )
Soysauce

Alright so lets start to dig in. Go on and pre heat your cooking pan on low and add in a little olive oil just to get it going. It can heat up slowly while you're cutting up the chicken. All you need to do is cut the chicken up into bite sized pieces, small and quick to cook through. Once it's all cut up, toss it in the pan, turn the heat up and saute the chicken till all the pieces are cooked through. If you're unsure, cut open one of the bigger pieces and see if all the pink is gone or not.

While it's cooking, you can rinse the green onion and use a scissors to cut it up into small pieces. You'll be able to get everything else set up and ready for the next part too.

Once it's all cooked through, put the chicken into a bowl and clean the pan out. Add more olive oil get it medium hot again and add the olive oil once more. Now the fun starts! All of this is to taste there are very few exact measurements here on out.

You want to put a good deal of powdered ginger into the pan estimated 2-3 teaspoons
Add in roughly 1 teaspoon of the minced ginger and use your spatula to mix it together really well. It'll only take about 15 second before it starts to burn down so mix it quick.
Sprinkle in about a handful of red pepper flakes and another handful of the cut up green onion. Mix it all together. It's going to start smelling really good right about now. And this is the trickiest part next.
Pour in exactly 1 tablespoon of Rice win... any more and you have to try and counter it's taste...which is really gross in when too much is present.
Add in a splash or two of soy sauce
Slowly mix it all together in the pan, and as you do this pour in about 1/4 cup water a VERY little at a time mixing it all together. The goal here is to let it all cook down, you may have to add more ginger to the mix to help thicken it. I personally like a lot of the ginger and that's the main flavor in my Orange Chicken.
When the yummie sauce is nice and thick, go on and add in the chicken once more. Push it all over and around, making sure every piece is covered. Once it is all covered in the sauce, and hot again, it's ready to serve!

HELPFUL SUGGESTION!!!: If you're cooking for more people I like to add the chicken little by little, get a small amount covered thickly, place it in a new bowl, make more sauce and coat more chicken. I personally do not mind doing this as it assures all the chicken is coated thickly with lots of flavor. And really it doesn't take any longer than if you were to do it all at once. :)

GREAT MEAL IDEA!!!: Feel like Asian food? Serve this dish up with some rice which is nice and filling, and a big glass of cold milk and you've got a GREAT filling meal.

LEFTOVERS!!!: I have always been in the habit of cooking a ton of food even when I'm not cooking for a lot of people. The Orange Chicken I just "made" is a WONDERFUL leftover! In my opinion, it probably taste better as a next day or two left over, cold from the refrigerator! Mouth watering in my opinion!

Who will like this:

Children: The pieces are fun and bite sized. They can't really taste the onions or garlic if made correctly and it's not spicy, the pepper just adds flavor! It's small, colorful, and a new way to get them interested in chicken!
Adults: Adults who are new to Asian food but want to try something will enjoy this. There is no intimidation at all. It's something they're totally familiar with with ingredients they have eaten their whole life! It's a great way to introduce you, your family, or anyone to Asian food!
Anyone who already enjoys Asian food or even new foods, in general will like this. It's a great twist, a totally new way to serve a classic dish!

Alright as promised here is the things you'll need for breading the chicken if you so choose to do so :)

Ingredients:

Egg
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Cornstarch
Flour

Before cooking the chicken, put the cut up chicken into a bowl. In a separate bowl mix the egg, a dash of salt, pepper and a tablespoon of olive oil. Add in 1/2 cup of cornstarch and a 1/4 cup of flour. Go through the rest of the recipe as is above, except when you're mixing the chicken and sauce, add in a little water to the four and cornstarch mixture, about 1/4 of a cup should work, then slowly mix it in with the sauce and the chicken so it all thickens and breads up and gets covered in sauce. And that's how you bread the chicken :)

That's it for my AWESOMESAUCE Orange Chicken! I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know how it turned out for you or any suggestions you've got!

~Alex~

About the ads on the blog

2011-07-31T22:23:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to tell you a little more about the page here... mostly I wanted to explain the ads all over the page. I want to apologize, I know they're annoying and I tried my best to make sure they were at least relevant to what I do and discuss here as well as tried to make them as little annoying as possible.

I placed these ads because I don't make a lot of money. I'm lucky if I get $250 at the end of two weeks and usually it's completely gone with two days due to bills, gas and food. My boyfriend is out of work, the job market here sucks. He's been out of work since January and feels so useless even though he continues to search hard for work. I've been looking for a second job and have also been failing. I do what I can to provide for us. I've tried to save us some money by applying for food stamps this last week, we'll see how that goes...probably going to try and apply for rent assistance too.

The ad's can help us bring in a little more money, I'm hoping at least enough to pay for gas each month or maybe the phone or the net bill. I don't know to put it towards yet, but anything they help bring in really does help us in general. I'm not asking you to click the links, I'm not trying to give you a sob story either. I just know that the ads can turn people off and away I've been there before myself. But I just wanted you, the readers, to know why they are there in the first place.

Again I apologize they are there, I know exactly how it is, all I ask is that you please be patient and bare with me and continue to read Simple Cooking despite them.

Thank you all for your time. Now I'll go a head and post another little something for you! <3

~Bananas & OJ~

2011-07-29T22:18:00.000-07:00

Hello I decided I'd give you a really fun treat to get us kicked off. This is a dessert that I learned while working as a dietary aide in a kitchen. It is so quick and easy and can be served right away or let to sit for more flavor!

Ingredients:

Bananas
Orange Juice

Alright so first off remember the way you like your bananas is how you should buy them. This is a chilled snack so they'll stay good no matter how ripe they are, for the most part. Alright now for the steps!

Peel the bananas.
Slice the bananas the round way so you get a whole bunch of little fruity coins piled up on your counter. (the thickness of the coin is completely at your discretion.)
Take the orange juice and pour it into a bowl. (make sure the OJ hasn't been sitting out. we don't want warm OJ)
Scoop the chopped bananas into the bowl of OJ and gently mix making sure the banana coins are all soaking well in the OJ.
Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Step five is optional, but a little note on it for you. The longer the bananas soak in the OJ the better the flavors mix together.

FUN SUGGESTION!!!: When you serve up, small serving bowls or cups are great! That way you can dish up the juice as well and everyone have a fun drink to go along with the rest of the treat!

Who will like this:

Children: Kids love fun snacks like this. Its a great twist on something that's great for them, and it's a nice cool treat in the summer in place of ice cream and soda.
Elderly: The elderly who may have a more difficult time chewing harder foods especially may like this. It's a nice soft dessert for them that isn't too cold for any sensitive teeth or mouths.
Just about anyone will enjoy this treat no matter that age. You can even put then in fancy little serving dishes and serve them to a dinner party, perhaps as an appetizer?

Thanks for reading!

~Alex~