Jessi's Guac



I'm pretty sure this is the best guacamole I have tasted, made by my favorite cousin Jessi. The only issue is that her directions were pretty loose and since I have never made guacamole before, mine didn't come out as good. But with the help of some of Tom's family, we ripped it off alright. Here's her recipe, she's even got some good cooking techniques in there: 

3 avocados
1/2 a tomato (diced)
1/2 a yellow onion (diced with a bit of extra mincing)
3 cloves garlic (crushed)
1/2 a lime
coarse salt (kosher or sea)
cayenne pepper (we didn't have any, so I used jalapeño)


(makes a good-sized bowl full)


Halve and scoop out the avocados. Discard pits. Roughly squish the avocados, but only slightly at this point. 

Since these measurements are kind of vague, continue testing the guac throughout to get the desired taste. Squeeze the half lime over the avocados and stir in. If you have an extra juicy lime, go easy and taste it before you squeeze the whole thing in. (The lime helps the guac not go brown as fast, so this is a good thing to do straight-away.) Add a bit of salt; just a good sprinkling. You'll be adding more later. Crush the garlic. To do this, first finely mince the three cloves. Sprinkle with coarse salt, and use the side of your knife to scrape the mixture across your cutting board. Combine into a pile again. Continue scraping and piling until you have a nice cohesive paste. Add to avocados and stir in. Dice the tomatoes and onion. Stir into the guac. Add a bit more salt and some of the cayenne (or jalapeño! I used about 1/3 of one).If you overdo these, you can add more of the other ingredients, particularly tomato and lime, to undo it, but it's not as good. Be careful. If you still have any big chunks, break them up. You should have a good somewhat-smooth but still chunky texture. 


There's actually a funny story that comes with these jalapeños. Tom's father's friend invited us to come over and take some of their veggies from their garden. So 6 of us piled into his dad's Hummer and stopped off at this person's house. They had a good sized garden. We took tons of cherry tomatoes and jalapeños. The police drove by while we were there, thankfully his dad knew the cops. The person who's garden we were picking from had a neighbor that called the police on us who thought we were stealing!

Huevos Rancheros

Here's another great egg recipe. This meal makes for an energizing way to pick yourself up on those why-am-I-up-at-this-ungodly-hour mornings. With a great combo of protein (Egg: the complete protein! whoohoo for paying attention during Nutrition 130!) and some healthy veggies (and some delicious cheese which is pretty much a necessity in my life) you should hopefully be able to stay awake during your first class. Some coffee would help too.

3 eggs
1 tortilla wrap
1/3 bell pepper, chopped
1/3 tomato OR 1 heaping tbsp salsa
1/3 yellow onion
1 slice of American cheese (or whatever type you prefer)

Scramble your eggs and add a splash of milk before pouring them into the pan. You can either saute your veggies in a pan, or mix them into the scrambled eggs depending on how cooked you would like them. I personally like adding salsa to mine because it gives it a little more of the Spanish flavor. When the eggs are cooked, put them on the tortilla and add your cheese immediately so it has the chance to melt. Roll up your tortilla and enjoy!

Jessi's Guac



I'm pretty sure this is the best guacamole I have tasted, made by my favorite cousin Jessi. The only issue is that her directions were pretty loose and since I have never made guacamole before, mine didn't come out as good. But with the help of some of Tom's family, we ripped it off alright. Here's her recipe, she's even got some good cooking techniques in there: 

3 avocados
1/2 a tomato (diced)
1/2 a yellow onion (diced with a bit of extra mincing)
3 cloves garlic (crushed)
1/2 a lime
coarse salt (kosher or sea)
cayenne pepper (we didn't have any, so I used jalapeño)


(makes a good-sized bowl full)


Halve and scoop out the avocados. Discard pits. Roughly squish the avocados, but only slightly at this point. 
(Tom's example)

Since these measurements are kind of vague, continue testing the guac throughout to get the desired taste. Squeeze the half lime over the avocados and stir in. If you have an extra juicy lime, go easy and taste it before you squeeze the whole thing in. (The lime helps the guac not go brown as fast, so this is a good thing to do straight-away.) Add a bit of salt; just a good sprinkling. You'll be adding more later. Crush the garlic. To do this, first finely mince the three cloves. Sprinkle with coarse salt, and use the side of your knife to scrape the mixture across your cutting board. Combine into a pile again. Continue scraping and piling until you have a nice cohesive paste. Add to avocados and stir in. Dice the tomatoes and onion. Stir into the guac. Add a bit more salt and some of the cayenne (or jalapeño! I used about 1/3 of one).If you overdo these, you can add more of the other ingredients, particularly tomato and lime, to undo it, but it's not as good. Be careful. If you still have any big chunks, break them up. You should have a good somewhat-smooth but still chunky texture.  


There's actually a funny story that comes with these jalapeños. Tom's father's friend invited us to come over and take some of their veggies from their garden. So 6 of us piled into his dad's Hummer and stopped off at this person's house. They had a good sized garden. We took tons of cherry tomatoes and jalapeños. The police drove by while we were there, thankfully his dad knew the cops. The person who's garden we were picking from had a neighbor that called the police on us who thought we were stealing!

Dill Veggie Dip

I received this recipe courtesy of my mom, who said she found it from the book Eating Right!: A Realistic Approach to a Healthy Life Style. I love this recipe because the yogurt makes it healthier than many other veggie dips, and it also encourages me to eat raw veggies more often! My favorite pairing is with baby carrots.

1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup mayo
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dill
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt (optional)

(makes 1 1/2 cups of dip)

Blend thoroughly with a wire whisk. Refrigerate overnight before serving for the best taste.

English Muffin Pizzas

This is a classic in my household. Nothing brings me out of a deep late afternoon slumber like the smells of these in the oven.


1 English muffin
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
drizzle of olive oil
dash of oregano



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle each half of the English muffin with a little bit of oil, then top with tomato sauce, cheese, and a sprinkle of oregano. Cook for about 10 minutes, making sure they do not burn.

Homemade Potato Chips

Do you have extra potatoes lying around and not sure what to do with them? Well, when my potatoes start growing extra limbs I always feel the need to make lots of potato recipes. This is my favorite potato themed late-night snack. It's quite simple.



2-3 medium potatoes (this usually fills a baking sheet)
1/8 cup butter
salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Slice the potatoes thinly. (The thinner the better...it's just difficult to do. Tom found some weird gadget in his house that we used to make the wavy chips. I honestly have no idea what it was supposed to be used for or what it was called.) Line a baking sheet with tin foil and place the slices as a single layer on the sheet. Using one of those handy pastry brushes (try a real paintbrush if you don't have one! Just make sure it's clean...), paint both sides of the potato slices. Top with however much salt you like and bake for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown and (hopefully) crispy.

I sprinkled a little bit of garlic powder on some of the chips and I really liked the taste. Some people also like pepper on their chips. Try to experiment and find out ways to copy your favorite potato chip flavors.

Just be sure to watch out for your chips during the last few minutes of cooking. I didn't check enough and mine came out a little burnt. Nice and crispy though!

Free Shipping...What??

Thanks to my little brother I have discovered Amazon's dirty little secret.

If you have an email address that ends with .edu, you can get free two-day shipping for a year! All you have to do is click this link and it'll bring you to the place where you can sign up for an Amazon student account.

Ah, just in time for textbook shopping. And being a UMass student I do NOT buy my books from the evil textbook annex that wants all of my money with only a 10% return.

Yay!

Egg in a Tomato

I found this recipe from a fellow UMass student, who found it from another blog, and this blog has mouthwatering pictures of what I did not capture very well.
I tried this recipe on a whim because I needed something light to eat before dance class. It ended up being way tastier than I expected. Like, I-kind-of-want-to-eat-this-every-day good. 

1 medium-large tomato
1 egg
a little bit of shredded cheese to top (I used Monterrey jack because that's all I have, but it would be excellent with cheddar)
few sprigs of fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. (I did 450 because I was in a rush.) Hollow out the innards of the tomato. Crack an egg in the tomato, being careful not to break the yolk. Put the tomato on a baking pan or ramekin and cook for about 25 minutes, checking regularly with a fork to be sure that the egg whites solidify but being careful not to overcook your yolk. (You want it to still be runny when you go to eat it, a mistake I made by confusing the juices from the tomato with uncooked egg white.) Immediately after you take it out of the oven, sprinkle the cheese on top of the egg and top with fresh basil and salt and pepper to taste.

Try this recipe, now! You'll be glad you did.

Pigs in a Blanket

Now I realize I can't really give you a recipe for this because it's on the back of the crescent roll package, but I just thought I'd throw it out there as an idea for a meal. I always seem to somehow forget that these things exist.
I wanted to do something a little more creative with them than just American cheese, but got too lazy. I was thinking this would be good with chili stuffed inside. I also would like to try it with different types of cheese. Try your own versions of pigs in a blanket and tell me how it goes!

Cran-Ras Salad

My mom makes this salad on special occasions and I'm a big fan; and I don't usually eat salad (hence why I haven't put any salads up yet). For this one you need:

raspberry vinaigrette dressing
fresh spinach
romaine lettuce
feta cheese
craisins

You technically can go without either the spinach or the lettuce. Sprinkle a little feta cheese (or bleu cheese) over your salad and top with some craisins. For some extra excitement, top with walnuts or almonds. This is also good with red onions.

Eggs Barbacoa

Lately I've been on a Mexican food kick. Here's my latest concoction, coming from this blog. I modified it a bit to make it quicker.

1 tortilla (recipe calls for corn but I generally use flour)
1 egg
about a handful of chopped onions
1/4 cup of grated cheese (I used monteray jack)
1/4 cup refried beans
a couple spoonfuls of salsa

Poach the egg by bringing a small pan to a boil, then reducing the heat until it is just barely boiling. Crack the egg into a bowl being careful not to let it break, then gently drop it in the boiling water. Let the egg boil for about 2-3 minutes. (I cooked mine for about 5 and it wasn't very runny.) Meanwhile, warm the beans and microwave the tortilla for about 40 seconds to get it soft. Put all the ingredients in the tortilla, roll it up and enjoy!

I liked this recipe because it was a little different than a basic burrito. I think it would have been exceptional if my egg hadn't cooked so much.

Basic Money Saving Tips

Now I'm not here to tell you how to grocery shop. I'm going to assume you're a big boy/girl now and you at least have the ability to locate, drive to, and buy things at a grocery store.

But I will admit the first time grocery shopping for more than just some munchies can make you feel a little small and lost. Who knew there were so many types of cooking oil? And why the hell isn't Kraft mac & cheese with all the other macaroni in the pasta aisle? How do I scan my pineapple in the self-checkout line?

Hopefully I can help make things easier for you. Definitely leave me comments if you have more questions on things I didn't cover.

I am a girl who is obsessed with bargains. I generally will not buy any clothing unless it's under $20. I get a hard time because I will sometimes deny myself fries because I don't want to spend the extra $1 at Wendy's. So when I started grocery shopping for myself I had no problem with searching for the best prices on everything. But I know most people aren't like this. Most people will buy the brands they know and the food they're used to having. Now there is no problem with this. I'm just letting you know that there are some tricks that can save you lots of money in the long run. And you know you're going to start needing to save money as soon as you start throwing ragers every weekend.

1. Milk. Who thought milk was so damn expensive? I was blown away I discovered that Stop N' Shop sells it for about $5 a gallon. I guess our calcium will have to suffer. Wrong. They say everything is more expensive at convenient stores. Well, this is true. Except for milk at Cumbies. If you can spare your love for whole milk you can make a killing here. For some strange reason, 1% is cheaper than all the other types. It's less than $3 a gallon here. Luckily for me, there's a Cumberland Farms right down the street from me, nestled between a liquor store and a pizza-by-the-slice. Things like that make me love Amherst.

2. Store brand vs. name brand. Oprah once taught me a wise tip. (At least, I think it was Oprah. It must have been; all great wisdom comes from that lovable black menopausal woman.) There is some law that dictates that whoever produces pharmaceuticals has to make a cheaper brand (hence CVS brand). The secret? It's the same stuff. Yes you are paying double the price for Advil as opposed to ibuprofen, but getting the same ingredients that work just as well. Now I never buy brand name medication, ever. Now, I know this may not be true for food. I've had some cardboard-y Honey-Ohs, and I wouldn't recommend fake Kraft mac & cheese. But there is something to be said about generic brands. A lot of times you can buy things that are just as good for much less. (I am actually a HUGE advocate for Wal Mart's cola.) It's really up to you to experiment with what generic products are up to par. But do not be afraid of them. One tip though. Check the prices of everything because sometimes with sales, store brands are not the cheapest brand. Do a little math on your cell phone.    

3. Coffee. This may seem like a no-brainer, but I'm gonna say it anyway. Buying a coffee at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts every day is a big weight on your budget. If you as much of a coffee addict as I am, I understand your pain. But you really need to make your own coffee. Not only are you paying for the coffee, but you're paying for labor, the cup, and ultimately the BMW's that the managers drive. The biggest killer? Iced coffee. Ever think about it? Why is it more expensive? Is it because you're paying for ice? I'm gonna let you in on something: ice is made from water, water is free. The only reason I can think of for iced coffee to cost more is BECAUSE THEY CAN. You are getting less coffee. I don't care if the iced cup looks about twice the size of the hot cup. There is usually so much ice in there that you are probably getting about half the coffee for the higher price. And iced coffee is not complicated for you to make at home. Just add ice! Lots of it, because the hot coffee WILL melt it. So you like mocha? Buy some chocolate syrup and put it in your coffee, that's all it is. Same with caramel. Think about how much you spend on a coffee per day, and then multiply it by how many days in a month, and you'll realize how much that $2 really turns into.

4. The Dollar Store is a beautiful thing; especially when it comes to household supplies. Hell, they even have $1 cases for your iPod! If you've never been to one, I suggest you try it out. I'm not saying you buy their underwear, but there are some perfectly good items you can get for only $1! (Just be careful, not all dollar stores are really dollar stores. Go to ones that say "yes, everything is really $1!") You can even buy food there. They have massive sized bottles of soda and fruit punch that make great mixers. There's only one thing you have to be careful of. Sometimes you might think, "omg this bottle of minced garlic is only one dollar!". But then you go to the grocery store and realize you could have gotten a much bigger bottle for only a few cents more. Don't be fooled into thinking that just because things are a dollar that it's a better deal than the real thing. 

5. Sales. In my eyes, there are two types of sales at the grocery store. There's the kind where you HAVE to buy two to get the third one free, and then there's the kind where you can really just buy two of something to get them for a dollar each when the sign says 10/$10. This is very tricky. I don't like to buy too much of something if it's going to go bad and I know I won't use it all. The way that I found the difference is if you look closely at the little sign and when it says, "Buy two get one free (savings $.50 each)" it means you will save $.50 on each individual item. If it doesn't say how much you save per item, then you probably have to buy the two to get one free.

6. Cards. If your grocery store has a card you can sign up for, chances are it's free. And you'll save a hell of a lot more money if you use your card than if you don't have one.

7. Deli vs. packaged. When I first went grocery shopping, I bought all my lunch meats and cheese from the deli, since that's the way my family always did it. I never really ate the kind that comes in a container. Upon further investigation, I discovered that you can often find better deals on the packaged meat. A lot of times there will be 2 for 1 sales and you can get a package of ham and a package of turkey. Some brands have other meats such as bologna or salami. But the only way to decipher which way is really cheaper is to do a little ol' fashioned math. On anything you buy it will always say how much is in what you are buying. Say you buy a 1/4 lb of American cheese. There are 16 oz in one lb. So if you've got a package that costs less and it's got 4oz of cheese or more then you're golden. Math is important here because the deli usually lists their produce by the pound, where a lot of packaged brands list it by ounce. For me, I buy Land O'Lakes cheese at the deli and get my meats from the packaged section.

8. Coupons. Of course coupons are great. However, I don't get a paper that has them (so when I go home I usually snag them from my parents). But, a lot of stores have coupons hidden throughout the store. My eye has been trained to immediately go to anything sticking out of an aisle or flashing red lights. They have coupon dispensers now that you can use immediately, but they usually last a few weeks too.

9. Self checkout? I'm sure a lot of people haven't used this new-fangled self-checkout contraption they have in stores now-adays. I certainly wouldn't recommend it to everyone. However, you are a technologically advanced college student so I think you are ready for this. What I love about self-checkout is that if something isn't what I thought it cost, then I can stop and ask for assistance to take it off my bill. If someone else is scanning my items, chances are that I'm in la-la land and won't realize when the bag of grapes I picked out cost me $7. Yes, it can be kind of embarrassing to ask for help, but they've got them programmed now so that you can just press a button for assistance and don't need to go screaming through the store for an employee to assist you. Lately I've even had managers bagging my items for me. One tricky part about self-checkout is that you have to weigh your own produce. So anything without a bar code on it, you will need to press the button for "produce lookup" and find your item in the computer. Usually this works out pretty well. And finally, another plus about the self-checkout line is that if you're in a bad mood, there's no need to interact with anyone.

Evil Pie


I apologize that I have been posting very few dessert recipes. I haven't really made any desserts as it has been dreadfully hot pretty much the entire summer, and generally desserts require turning on the oven. However, this one is completely no-bake and can be made in about 5 minutes! It's another original from my grandmother. I grew up eating Evil Pie; we're not quite sure where the name came from but I was always told it was "because it's so good it's evil". As a child this was my absolute favorite dessert at any holiday.

1 pre-made graham cracker crust (if you don't feel like buying this, you can definitely eat this as a pudding without it)
1 can crushed pineapple (20oz)
1 package of pistachio pudding
6oz Cool Whip

In a bowl, combine the pineapple and dry pudding mix (do not drain juice). Once this is thoroughly mixed (it'll make this spectacular lime green color), add the cool whip and stir until well mixed. Scoop the filling into the graham cracker crust and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Baked Potatoes

Need a good side dish? Baked potatoes. You may be thinking, baked potatoes are boring. Baked potatoes need sour cream and I ran out of that a week ago. Baked potatoes take too long. I hate baked potatoes.

These are no excuses.

My boyfriend, king of modifying foods with a disgusting amount of spices, has come up with the best baked potatoes I ever ate. And it's so simple. Before you put the potatoes in the oven, sprinkle them with salt and red pepper flakes, rub on a little garlic and oil and wrap them in tin foil. The potato skins soak up the flavor nicely. All you need is a little bit of butter and you can eat these potatoes, skin and all. (Before this I never was a potato skin eater either.)

Maybe you are new to this cooking thing. Well, I am here to tell you precisely how to cook a baked potato.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Poke some holes in the potatoes with tin foil (this prevents them from exploding!), wrap the potatoes in tin foil, and stick them on a cookie sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes, until you can easily stick a fork through them.

If you want your potatoes done quickly, you can just as easily cook them in the microwave. Poke holes in your potato (DO NOT use tin foil this time). Start with 5 minutes and continue adding more time until they are soft enough. This past weekend my dad put the potatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes then finished them  up for about 10 minutes on the grill and they were quite good!

Turkey and Avocado Sandwich


You can see the original recipe here. I did the less fancy version over the weekend. I was surprised how well it came out. And it's pretty simple. All you need is:

1 bulky roll (or bagel if you have it)
about 3 cherry tomatoes
1/2 of an avocado
2 slices of deli turkey
1 slice Provolone cheese
a few slices of onion
handful of fresh spinach

Slice up the tomatoes. Spread the avocado one (or both!) sides of the bulky roll. Add all the other ingredients to your sandwich, and put it in the toaster so that the cheese can melt.

The Best Grilled Cheese

You may know how to make grilled cheese. You just butter two pieces of toast and then throw on some cheese, right? Wrong.

Grilled cheese is the best when you put multiple types of cheese; the more the better. I generally use American, cheddar, and mozzarella when I have them around. But you can do any mixture you want. Cheeses with a little more zip, such as pepper jack, make your sandwich much more interesting.

Another way to spruce up your grilled cheese is by adding a dusting of garlic powder over the buttered slices of bread before you grill it.

Grilled cheese is also delicious if you add a slice of tomato or some chopped onion. It's also great with a slice of deli ham, although at this point it may be considered a ham & cheese and no longer a just a grilled cheese. You do not need to have this sandwich be boring. Tom and I made grilled cheese (on the actual grill!) with mayo, onion, and bacon on our vacation. It was deliciously fattening.

Ghetto Garlic Bread

I accredit this title to one of my best friends, Lindsay. This is the way to make garlic bread when all you have for cooking devices is a toaster. All you need is:

4 slices of bread (aside from Italian or French bread, white works best)
1/4-1/2 stick of butter
1/2 tsp of minced garlic OR you can use garlic powder 

Melt the butter in the microwave until it is soupy. If you're using minced garlic, mix it in with the butter and spread on the bread. If you are using garlic powder, spread the butter and then sprinkle garlic powder on top. Put your toast in the toaster (or oven if you're fancy) until it's golden brown.


Penne in Alfredo Spinach Sauce

I've done enough experimenting in my lifetime with different alfredo recipes to come up with my own. I tried something a little different by putting sauteed spinach in my pasta. It was good, but I've also done it with zucchini and I liked that better. You can technically use any type of pasta you like, but I recommend either penne or linguine. 

Alfredo Recipe:
1 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 tbsp sour cream
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

While your pasta is cooking, place a pan over low heat and stir together the flour, milk and sour cream. Once this is all mixed, add the cheese and continue stirring until cheese is melted. After draining the al dente pasta, add it to your pan and toss until the pasta is fully mixed in with the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. I like to add red pepper flakes and extra Parmesan cheese on top as well.  

The thing that is great about this alfredo recipe is that it doesn't involve a lot of weird ingredients like heavy cream or fancy cheese. It's also a lot less fattening because it only needs a little sour cream and you can do this with skim milk if you want to. If you think your sauce is too bland, add more cheese. 

Coconut Rum Mango Orange Sorbet

This is the first of my alcoholic drink recipes. Of course as a college student I am aware of the importance; it's something that you will detach parts of your vehicle to find hidden quarters if textbooks have you broke. I don't know why I didn't post one of these earlier. I suppose I've been enjoying too much of the girly goodness of Mike's Hard too much this summer.

For this drink you will fill your glass of choice halfway with Coconut Malibu Rum (my absolute favorite hard liquor). Add a splash of fruit juice. My favorite juice to mix with Malibu is peach mango Fuze. Any flavor of Fuze works wonderfully though. These two things are what I usually drink, but for fun I made it into a fancy drink last night. Add about 2 heaping tablespoons of orange sherbet, then a splash of Sprite Zero and this will help melt your sherbet. Now you have an alcoholic sherbet float!

If you buy Stop & Shop sherbet it's really cheap. I got two containers for $3 the last time I went. Malibu is a not a cheap rum but I spring for it because it tastes so damn good; it goes for about the same price as a bottle of Smirnoff but I like it a whole lot more.

Mexican Pizza

Today I was in the mood for Mexican, so I decided to make Taco Bell at home. I googled Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza recipe and found this. What better to do on a ridiculously humid day but get the oven going? I definitely learned my lesson. But I did make some pretty delicious lunch a la Taco Bell.

1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
dash of garlic powder
2 flour tortilla (I have huge tortillas so I just folded one in half)
1/2 cup refried beans
1/4 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup diced onions
1/4 cup your favorite salsa
1/3 cup shredded cheese (I used Monterey Jack, but pepper jack, mozzarella, or cheddar would work just as well)
1/2 cup fresh spinach (optional)
(The things this recipe called for that I did not have: 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/4 lb ground beef, dash onion powder)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. (If you have ground beef, great. Mix the spices with the ground beef and cook in a skillet for 5 minutes.) If you are like me and are not using beef, mix the spices with the refried beans after you warm them up in the microwave. Heat oil in a medium pan and place a tortilla in the pan. Fry each side until they are both golden brown, repeat with the second tortilla. If you want spinach in your pizzas, saute the spinach for about 1 minute and place on one tortilla. Cover that tortilla with the refried beans and ground beef and place the other tortilla on top. Cover the top of your pizza with salsa, tomato, cheese and onion in that order. Place in the oven and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

I could definitely taste the similarity to Taco Bell in this dish. Except I'm sure this version is much more healthy and more filling. I bet if I had the ground beef and the paprika it would taste even more like the "real" thing. Also it would be nice to have some cilantro to top it off. Try it yourself and let me know how close you can get to that fast food deliciousness at home!

Honey's Potato Salad

Honey (as referred to by half of her grandkids) makes the best potato salad I've ever had. Maybe I'm biased because grandparents always seem to do everything better.

What do you do when you have a bag of potatoes about to go bad? Call up your grandmother for her famous recipe. And of course she responds with: some of this, a little bit of that; no real measurements here.

Well I tried it out last night. And of course it didn't come out as well as when she makes it, (but hey it's still pretty delicious; I think I'd feel sacrilegious if I could make it taste just as good), and of course I forgot to measure anything for when I blogged about it. But here's my loose recipe:

Cook the potatoes. I used 3-4 medium sized potatoes which made an ok sized batch, I might use more next time. The potatoes will cook faster if you chop them up first; I did about half-inch cubes. Boil them for about 10-15 minutes, until they are soft enough to put a fork through, but not too soft that they crumble. Strain them and let them cool for 5-10 minutes so they are still warm but not too hot. (Not sure what this is for but it's what I was directed to do.) Chop up some onion, I used about 1/2 of a vidalia onion, and put it in a large bowl with your potatoes. Stir together potatoes, onion, oil and vinegar. I really can't tell you my measurements. If I had to guess, I'd go with 1-2 tbsp of oil and maybe 1/4-1/3 cup of vinegar. Just pour on some vinegar, give it a taste and add more as necessary. When everything is fully mixed, add about 1 tbsp of mayo and sprinkle with parsley. Chill before serving.

Not only is this potato salad delicious but I also love that there is barely any mayonnaise. I am a huge fan of all summer sides: potato salad, cole slaw, macaroni salad; but there's always SO much mayo. This recipe barely needs it, so it's a lot healthier than most. Good luck on competing with a grandmother when making this one!

Ratatouille

What dish is cheap, healthy, delicious and has a Pixar movie named after it? You guessed it. First off, if you've never seen this movie, I highly recommend it. I especially loved it because it's right up my ally of experimental cooking, and of course it's adorable.

But anyway, back to the food. Ratatouille is a great vegetarian dish. With such a fancy name I assumed it would be complicated to make, but it was actually super easy. I based my recipe off this one.


1 medium zucchini, cubed
1 medium summer squash, cubed
1 onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 tsp of minced garlic
1 tomato, chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil (fresh basil would be optimal, in that case use about 1/4 cup)
2 tbsp oil
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
(This recipe calls for eggplant but I personally am not a huge fan so I left it out.)

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and saute the zucchini and squash for 5 minutes. Then add the onion, pepper, and garlic and cook for a few minutes, adding more oil if needed. Stir in tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt and pepper and reduce the heat to low. Here the recipe says to cook on low for an hour, but I was too hungry to wait that long. I cooked it for about 20 minutes. I think it would have been more flavorful if I had waited longer, but it still came out delicious. It's up to how much time you have and how badly you want to eat your ratatouille. Top with Parmesan cheese.



A Playlist

I'm a huge fan of the 8tracks website...it's a place where people can create and share playlists. Anyone who knows me knows I have an obsession with playlists. I have one for pretty much every moment of my life. This is one I created to listen to while cooking, because good music and cooking are one of my favorite combinations.

Here it is:
http://8tracks.com/caishcaish/cooking-on-sunday-afternoons