On a cold day…

On a cold rainy day all I want to do is stay inside and watch tv and eat soup! Even though it’s almost April you would never be able to tell since it’s been a cool 40-50 degrees and except for a sunny weekend last week, sold rain. I have been obsessed with tortilla soup and feel like I have been getting it any time I can. So I decided to make some myself and it turned out so good I almost ate the whole pot of it that night! It was a simple recipe and used canned chicken which made me weary at first, but was actually brilliant. Most of the ingredients were from a can and made it even easier.

Here is the recipe I used from Campbell's. Although I substituted the Pace salsa for a Safeway brand chipotle salsa that made it slightly spicier, but so worth the smokey flavor! I also substituted the frozen corn for canned corn with peppers and threw in a can of black beans and topped with avocado slices at the end. All in all I think it was a delicious soup that I would probably start making weekly since it literally only took 30 minutes.  

Wear to go from here… well duh, to the kitchen. It’s almost dinner time!

*Megs

Holiday Food Challenge #2 - complete!

So I finally got around to my 2nd Holiday Food Challenge this week. And since I have committed to a dairy free November (Hopefully I can stay strong the entire month...cheese is my biggest weakness!!) I thought I would try some recipes that use alternative ingredients to dairy. For my first attempt at being dairyless I tried Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatoes. The secret to the creaminess was Vegenaise which made me super skeptical, but it turned out so good it might be the way I always make them!

I made them at the new boy's (yes there is a new bf!) house and was so focused on talking to him and being so hungry I totally forgot to snap any pictures, but really they looked just like regular old mashed potatoes so you were not missing much.

Here are the ingredients... Recipe link above!

8 -10 potatoes

1/4 cup Vegenaise

1/2-1 1/2 cup plain soy milk

1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 -3 tablespoons italian seasoning

1 -2 teaspoon seasoning salt

1 -2 teaspoon onion powder

1 -2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt & pepper

So if you are not oppose to soy milk and vegenaise you will really enjoy this because it was AMAZING!! And was super easy. After boling the potatoes for 30 minutes the rest literilly took about 10 minutes.

Wear to go from here... onto Holiday Food Challenge #3!
Gotta get going, only have 2 more weeks and so many recipes to try!
*Megs

Holiday Food Challenge #1 - complete!

Ok so my first week's Holiday Food Challenge finally got made this weekend. (Sorry for the delay, my week got busy) I must say it didn't turn out as amazing as I had hoped, but that's why I am doing the trial run...to make sure my dish is not only delicious, but knocks the socks off my family at our thanksgiving dinner! 

I think where I went wrong was I may have cooked the sauce a little too much on too high of heat that it became more of a jelly than a liquid sauce. And I think I would need to double the sauce recipe to cover the amount of yams that the recipe calls for. 

Again a learning experience... and glad to get more practice in my new found hobby! So here are some pics of my trial run! At least the yams were a pretty orange that was great to photograph.

Wear to go from here... back the kitchen for Food Challenge #2! Stay tuned!

*Megs 

Holiday Food Challenge #1

One of the best things about the holidays is ALL THE FOOD!!
And we all know how much I love food! But of course family is the best thing... but I'm talking about the food right now. Even though I am not the best cook, I have dreams of someday having people over to my house for a big thanksgiving celebration with my amazing food, pretty dishes and a fancy decorated table! (I must think I am Martha Stewart in this dream.)

I think I definitely need more practice in the kitchen (...and of course a bigger place for said party!) so why not start now! So I am challenging myself to try at least one "fancy holiday" dish a week before thanksgiving so that a) I can practice my cooking skills, b) find an amazing dish that will knock the socks of my family this year's thanksgiving dinner (I was asked to bring rolls & beverages last year), and c) because I always like a challenge! Who wants to come over for dinner??

My first recipe is Candied Sweet Potatoes. One of my favorites, it's like candy for dinner! I found this recipe from Betty Crocker and I am ready to try and report back with my results!
Even the picture is making me hungry just looking at it!

Wear to go from here... the grocery store!

*Megs

Edible Pink Lemonade

Experimenting with my new cupcake cookbook '101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes' (thanks A for the b-day gift!) I decided to try a Pink Lemonade Cupcake. This book is great because it takes boxed cupcakes and adds other ingredients to make them "gourmet". Which is great for me since I can seem to never master baking unless it comes from a box.

Here is the recipe I used...

1 box white cake mix

1/3 cup pink lemonade concentrate

1/2 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

2-3 drops of red food coloring

1 can of cream cheese frosting

**I need a better camera to photograph in my small dark kitchen. Added to my wish list!**

Happy to say, they turned out deliciously and I couldn't be happier!

I even dyed the frosting blue for a Fourth of July party.

Wear to go from here... Baking aisle for a boxed cake mix!

*Megs

Mac and Cheese Please

One of my favorite foods to make is home made mac and cheese. I mean it's basically a food group for me! I got this recipe from a co-worker after having it at her party. It calls for Gruyere and Pecorino Romano cheese along with cheddar... but at the store when I realized the price for those cheeses I opted to make my own experiment with the recipe. And then the "Poor Man's Mac & Cheese was born! I switched out the 'fancy' cheese for just cheddar, mozzarella and pepper jack for a fun kick.

The basic ingredients, freshly grated cheese, bread crumbs and macaroni noodles.

Melt the cheese mix and then pour the melted mix over the noodles.

Add the bread crumbs to the top and some added cheeses then place in the oven for about 30 minutes until the bread is golden brown and all cheese is melted on top.  

The final result is Ah-maze-ing!! Best Mac and Cheese ever, but I might be bias.

Wear to go from here... the dairy section the the grocery store!

*Megs