Weekday cooking

I'm honestly appalled when I hear people say that during the week, cooking is not an option. The one option that is there for them is fast food. Yuck! Do you know what's in that stuff??! Yea, that's the problem....you don't!!

I can make a weekday meal in 30 minutes ...sounds like a popular cooking show doesn't it?! But with my meals, there isn't a huge, long list of needed ingredients!

Tuesday night I made a chicken stir fry. Cut up a couple of chicken breasts, saute them in vegetable and sesame oil. While that is cooking, I cut up a carrot into little sticks,cut some broccoli into little florets, of opened a can of sliced water chestnuts and little baby corns. Added them to the chicken with our favorite stir fry sauce and soy sauce...voila!  2 minutes for rice cups in the microwave and dinner was served.

Tonight was my take on chicken burrito bowls. I marinated the chicken before going to work with a dry rub so it was full of flavor by 5! Cut that up and sauteed it with a small can of chopped green chillies and some small red beans, it was what I had in the pantry. Chopped up 2 heads of romaine, 1/2 a tomato, opened a can of sliced olives.  Added to all that shredded cheddar, salsa and sour cream, whatever your favorite toppings may be....mmm. Mmm. Mmm!!

This is my idea of fast food. :)

I like to cook.

I do. and I like to share what I cook. Recently, I've been getting some ribbing from my better half that I post too much food on Facebook. I like to share what I cook and I have been told that I inspire others.  So, I thought, fine, I'll post all my cooking here. Thing is, here I have 2 followers. See right. Facebook, I have a bigger audience, only due to the fact that I haven't told anyone except those 2 on the right about my blog.

So I got to thinking. Scary, I know. I'm going to post my cooking things here ... and often. Maybe even my easy 30 minute weekday dinners. Shocking, I know. And maybe, I'll get more than the 2 on the right looking here at what I do. It's not spectacular, but, it's what I do. ;)

Tonight featured cheeseburger salad! Almost like a taco salad, but not!
I used Cheeseburger Salad | The Pioneer Woman Cooks | Ree Drummond  except I used ground turkey breast since we don't eat beef. Oh, and in lieu of the croutons, I topped mine with crushed potato chips!

The recipe  doesn't call for any dressing, but I did use some Kraft Buffalo Ranch, which is my new fave dressing. It's spicy but not too overly spicy.  The ketchup, mustard and barbeque did lend a really good flavoring to the meat. And who would've guessed that pickles taste darn yummy on a salad!
Enjoy!

When life hands you lemon....

You make lemonade.

When life hands you basil, you make pesto.

My basil was looking good and lush! Before it went to flower, I figured I had better get busy making some pesto. I'm not giving a recipe because I honestly never follow one to a T....Google for a pesto recipe and you get the same things if you're looking for a classic pesto...
Basil
Pine nuts
Olive oil
Garlic
Parmesan cheese

I basically eye ball all quantities and then add more things to taste like garlic and salt.

I picked up an ice cube tray at Target for a dollar and after they freeze, they'll go into a freezer bag to be used whenever!

As Martha would say, "it's a good thing"!

Garden progression!

So far, so good! Haven't had any casualties and everything is looking pretty good! There is even one small green tomato already!

The additional herb garden, ok, hanging herb gardens, have already come in handy. I made quite the kickass potato salad yesterday with not only dill, but chives and parsley too, since I had them!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/creamy-dijon-dill-potato-salad-recipe/index.html

Fathers day part 2

Deliciousness to be had yet again!

Corn bread...grilled eggplant, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with homemade basil pesto....crab stuffed mushrooms and crockpot pork bbq!

My family sure is lucky that I like to cook!

Fathers day part 1

My other half is a great daddy to our dogs.....there's meals to make, walks to take, poop to pick up....it's very similar to having kids without having to pay for a college education!

For him, sugary cereal might as well be a food group, it's a staple in his diet, so what better breakfast to make on this Fathers day but Cap’n Crunch French Toast Recipe - Food.com - 413072
And let me say it did not disappoint. It is really good! And with syrup, very sweet. Thank goodness I made some bacon too! And the Screwdrivers we drank along side were tasty as well & helped balance out all that sugar for me!

I was able to find texas toast bread and it really held up to the cream and egg mixture. I would say that is a must for this.

Now off to my parents to make a more savory meal for them!

Kitchen day

I love the days I can spend prepping and cooking and simmering!

The morning started with cleaning out the freezer which uncovered 2 bags of chicken scraps so chicken stock was made. Nothing fancy, chicken bones and scraps and a couple carrots and onions taking a very long bath. Sure makes the house smell good!

Hummus. One of the easiest things to make. Tahini, chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice...all blended into creamy goodness. I have to admit this was my first time making it and it rocked! It definitely got better as it sat. At first I could still taste the tahini but the flavor blends in after a few hours.

My new favorite make from scratch is granola. I use a recipe from Pam Anderson as a base and then add some extras. Yum!

Lastly came lasagna for dinner based off of the Pioneer Woman's "Best lasagna ever" recipe and it's my go to recipe now.