Chocolate Vanilla Almond Cake

This recipe came from a week that just required a dessert... so I did something I don't normally do, which is to experiment with baking. Usually these attempts have not gone very well, but I'm pleased to tell you that this one did. Try it, and I think you'll like it too! It goes really well with a cup of coffee.

Chocolate Vanilla Almond Cake
Ingredients:
1 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter
1 egg
1/2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 c semi sweet choc chips
3/4 c crushed cocoa roasted almonds (I used the emerald brand from target)

Mix flour, soda, powder, beaten egg, and vegetable oil, and vanilla in one bowl. Mix sugar with softened butter in another. Mix together and add chocolate chips and cocoa roasted almonds. Pour into 11x7 GREASED (I almost always forget to grease pans...) baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until toothpick test is clean.

Enjoy and let me know if you try it!

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

So, today I went to this Festival of Nations they had going on in Tower Grove Park here in StL! I had food from Greece, Eritrea, Thailand, and Haiti. I also bought some amazing olive oil straight from Sparta, Greece, and met the farmers who picked the olives! They may or may not have talked me into some kalamata olives as well... Who can say no to the Spartans? So... I was so full from that, dinner was put off until 8. I made some grilled sweet potatoes! If you don't have a george foreman, or a big person grill, this could easily be done in the oven as well. The potato was enough for me for a meal tonight, but this would also be an easy (and cheap!) side dish.

Needed:
1 sweet potato
tsp butter or margarine
tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
2 T brown sugar

Spray the grill with cooking spray to prevent sticking and drying out
Cut the sweet potato lengthwise, making pieces that are about 1/4 inch thick
Put the pieces on the grill once it is heated up

While that is going, put the dry ingredients in a small bowl or microwave safe cup
Add the butter, and microwave for about 15 seconds or until the butter is liquified.
Stir the mixture until it is homogeneous

Turn the sweet potatoes after about 6-8 minutes, let that side cook for another 4 minutes or until tender.

Once tender, put on a plate and brush with the cinnamon mixture.

Done!

I have an idea for a thinner version of these and turning them into actual chips! I'll try it out next time and see what happens. :)

Tequila Lime Chicken

¡Hola! Sorry it's been awhile since my last post... I've had grad orientation all week and thus have been enjoying free dinners out from the social events. Anyway, I made this last week on the night I stayed in from the festivities. It's super easy, takes about an hour, and cost me about $3.50 for this portion.

You'll need:
brown rice
black beans (if desired)
tequila
a lime
tequila lime salt (if available)
1/3 c milk
a chicken breast
1 T butter

Start your rice. I used brown rice, since it's about 250x better for you than the regular stuff, but to each their own. Follow the directions on the package you're using. I've always found it best not to mess with those directions. Doing so leads to burned/awful rice.

Next, grab a thawed chicken breast. I bought a pack of about 15 of them at walmart for $12. When you do that, bag each one in an individual quart size freezer bag. That way, you'll have easy portions while cooking for one! (Do this trick with anything that can be frozen that you buy in bulk... it'll save you from throwing a lot of food out.) Cut the chicken into small, half inch size chunks.

If you want beans to go with it, put a can of beans either in a bowl and heat in the microwave, or in a small pot on low heat, stirring occasionally.

In a large pan, on low to medium heat, melt a tablespoon of butter.
Add 1/3 cup milk.
Cut 1/2 of a lime and squeeze as much juice as possible into the pan. This will curdle the milk (due to the acid), but it will end up going back to liquid after awhile.
Add a shot and a half of tequila.
I also bought some tequila lime salt at the spice market here and added a few shakes. (It added a lot of flavor to the dish, but if you can't find such a thing, add a little sea salt. If I figure out what is in the stuff from Soulard, I'll let you know!)

Add the chicken, and turn occasionally to ensure even cooking. When it looks ready, cut a piece to check before serving. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes on low heat after it's done.

If you use a large chicken breast and serve beans, you could easily feed two people with this recipe. Or, have delicious leftovers for tomorrow!

As you can see in the picture, I made a simple, low calorie margarita to go with this. Using the $1 carton of light lemonade from wally world and a shot of the tequila, it tastes pretty good with mexican food and only has about 60 calories!

Orange Ginger Rice, Tilapia, Spinach salad

So last night my friend Rachel came over and we created a really delicious meal. Orange ginger brown rice, tilapia fillets, spinach salad with homemade dressing, Rach's homemade bread, and steamed veggies. Oh, and I came up with a super refreshing cocktail. We'll start with that.

Green Ginnery:
1.5 Oz Gin
3 parts iced unsweetened green tea
Splash of diet tonic water
Ice

Orange ginger rice:
make brown rice with directions on package
after 40 minutes of steaming, add  a mixture of 1/2 cup orange juice and 1.5 tsp ground ginger
After 10 minutes, remove from heat and stir in one stalk of chopped celery

Tilapia:
Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a large skillet
Sprinkle in a bit of ginger
Once skillet is warmed to medium heat, add tilapia fillets (you can get these at walmart now in a pack of about 12 for $7.50!)
Cook until the fish becomes white throughout

Note: you could follow these same directions for chicken breasts if you do not enjoy fish!

Spinach salad:
Put washed whole spinach leaves (also on sale at wally world right now) in a large salad bowl - i used about 5 handfuls (not super specific, but i promise this has leeway)
Add 3/4 cup washed, sliced strawberries

To make the dressing, mix 1 oz apple cider vinegar, 1 oz water, and a splash of orange juice

Don't put the dressing on the salad until you're ready to serve.

We also steamed carrots, cauliflower, and green peppers which went really well with the meal.

We toasted Rachel's bread under the broiler with a bit of brushed on olive oil about 5 minutes before the fish was done.

Any questions about the directions, please please let me know! :) Enjoy!

Lunch: Egg Salad with Spinach and Mushrooms

This is a pretty easy way to add a little excitement to plain old egg salad.

If you want to make egg salad yourself, which I did, I suggest boiling about 5 eggs, dicing them, and adding them to 1/3 cup light mayo, 2 Tb mustard, and pepper to taste.

In a small frying pan, put a tsp of olive oil, another tsp of butter, add several shakes of garlic powder. Once the pan is warm, add two sliced mushrooms and several leaves of spinach (these will cook down considerably). Once the spinach has cooked to a consistency you like, put the mixture on one half of the sandwich. Top with egg salad, add another piece of bread and you're done!

You have to begin somewhere... Pasta Manzo Fungo

Originally I started this blog a few years ago because I enjoy writing... but I didn't have much that seemed worth sharing with the world. Now, however, I'm living on my own and LOVE to cook my own recipes in the kitchen. Cookbooks are great for inspiration, but I'd much rather use them as a starter than follow someone else's directions. As a person who loves rules, cooking is my one front in which I loathe them. Hence why baking is a struggle for me. Anyway, now to the food. For the next 2 years of my life in this large city, I'm going to attempt to create as many brand new recipes as I can on a very stringent budget. If you ever would like to see a certain ingredient turned into something wonderful, please let me know by commenting on a post and I'd be happy to see what I can come up with! Also, my recipes will mostly be for one person, unless otherwise stated. So... if cooking for more than one, use some sense and add more to my amounts. Ha.

Here's the first recipe creation in my new apartment... we'll call it Pasta Manzo Fungo (google translate that).

Cookware needed:
Two frying pans
One small saucepan
A pasta pot (a colander is helpful at the end)
Two spatulas
A spoon

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Oregano
Sage
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder (fresh garlic if possible)
8 oz canned tomato sauce
3 medium sized mushrooms
1 green bell pepper
1/4 lb. ground beef
1 box garden rotini pasta (the great value stuff from walmart is about $1!)
Mozzarella cheese to top


First, start about 3 cups of water boiling in the pasta pot.
Slice mushrooms and finely chop half of the green pepper (save the rest for something else).
Brown the ground beef in the first frying pan.
Add pasta to boiling water (I used about 1/4 of the box).
Put 2 tbsp olive oil in the other frying pan on medium heat, add 2 shakes each of garlic powder, onion powder, sage, and oregano. Add mushrooms and peppers. Occasionally flip with spatula to ensure even cooking.
Bring tomato sauce to low heat in the saucepan (add garlic and oregano to taste).
Add ground beef to olive oil pan. Once mixed, add contents of pan to the tomato sauce. Mix well by stirring.
Pasta should be done, but still slightly firm. Strain.
To serve, plate pasta first, then sauce mixture, top with mozzarella!

I ate mine with a gin and tonic, as I just had wine last night... But a nice merlot or cab/merlot blend would go well with it, I believe.

Let me know what you think if you try it!

One of my favorite places in the world is my Great Aunt and Uncle's farm in Tennessee. This was Annie and my favorite place to read. Took this picture on our last visit there when she was still with us. Miss her a lot but know her spirit is still with us. Someday I hope to go back there and read in that same shady spot.