Chili night!

So I know I am late on this one. And I promise to get better. I'm trying to fit blogging into this new work schedule. It'll happen, sooner or later. So last Thursday was a cold night and I really wanted to make soup. So I thought, what is better than chili? I looked up some recipes but kinda decided to go off on my own for this one.

I used ground beef and also added a lot of veggies to put some good stuff in there. I started off with sauteing onions and putting a few spices, including, cumin, chili powder and oregano. Have to have the chili powder in order for it to be chili. I then added about 5 or 6 cloves of garlic and the house was already smelling awesome. I also added half of an orange pepper and a red pepper and that was giving it some color. I added 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and let that sit for a few minutes. Then I added some peppers that were sitting in adobe sauce that I found at the store. I added the whole can....:) The sauce was amazing by itself and smelled it too. After that I put in some canned, sliced jalapenos and also fresh as well. I didn't put the seeds in, I was being nice. After I put in about 2 pounds of ground beef and started to let that cook for about five minutes. Then came the tomatoes. I used two cans of whole peeled tomatoes. I put them in a bowl first and started to squish them with my hands. (A weird, but interesting feeling.) That simmered for about 10 minutes until the meat was cooked.

Some recipes called for a can of Mexican beer. Since I didn't see any Mexican beer around the house, I kind of added a can of Budweiser. I know what you are thinking...eww, Budweiser. Not something to add to soup. However the soup erased the smell of the gross beer and instead turned it into a much better flavor. Believe me, it made the chili better.\ I also added three types of beans: red kidney, blackbean and chickpeas. Now, you don't see chickpeas in recipes all that often, but I love them so why not. I added beans last since they don't take all that long to cook.

Whilst the soup simmed for about about 15 minutes, I made cornbread. Now, I kinda copped out on the cornbread. I used a mix. Cost and time made me do it. However it came out delicious and I added some paprika and chili powder to the batter to make it my own.

Once the soup was done, I put a little but of scallion, sour cream and shredded cheese and voila!

Old School.

So, tonight I did not totally get out of my comfort zone. That's for next week. But tonight it was old school spaghetti and meatballs. However, this had to be done just right. Mom of course makes the best meatballs in the world. So it's a hard recipe to contend with. Also I am now living back with the boyfriend in Connecticut with a bunch of guys who don't eat a lot of home cooked meals most of the time. So I am hoping they'll be happy to know that I'll be cooking a lot again.

So, I knew as I saw a good price for 3 pounds of ground beef for a good price today, that it would be a beefy week. Besides, nothing says more like a home cooked meal or colder day than an awesome plate of pasta and meatballs. I actually started the sauce early in the day, as soon as I came home, in fact. I went off of my Mom's recipe and kind of made it my own. Sauteed onion, garlic, a little diced, yellow pepper to give color and to add a veggie in, peeled tomatoes and a good amount of tomato paste and I started to let it simmer. I added some sherry cooking wine to deglaze the pot and add some extra flavor and it really did. Balsamic vinegar also gave it some extra kick and depth. I am a fan of spice so a teaspoon of red pepper flakes added some kick as well.

So, the sauce simmered and became rich and awesome all day and I started the meatballs around dinner time. I used about a pound and a half of meat, (I have some hungry boys in this house), one egg, italian breadcrumbs, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and red pepper flakes. I also added some thyme and oregano. Now, I know we are all fans of pan fryed meatballs which give a great crispy texture. But I tend to find and my Mom has taught me this as well, that baking the meatballs gives extra an extra juicy and moist flavor. Plus, they don't turn out dry. So the meatballs cooked at 375 in the oven for about 12 minutes while I got the pasta going, I chose fettucine tonight. One thing about pasta, I don't know about anyone else, but overcooked pasta is the worst. This is why it's always best to cook it al dente. Obviously longer pasta takes a bit longer. Fettucine in this case, about eight minutes. The pasta also continues to cook when it is taken out of the water and continues if you put it directly in the sauce. It is the same case with the meatballs.

I made a very simple garlic bread. It's my go to when I am craving it and don't have much to work with. So I simply toasted bread with a little bit of butter and a piece of chopped garlic on top to give it that garlic flavor.

Tonight, it was my boyfriend's father and I eating dinner while others were at work. But I know two people that will be enjoying it later. Played it kinda safe tonight, but all in all delicious and couldn't go wrong with a classic. Also an ode to Mom. =]

Middle Eastern Night

Hello Peeps!

So, sorry for the late post. I meant to start the whole cooking and blogging adventure earlier...but things got a little hectic and life is calmer now. So I had the day off and I figured tonight would be a great night to start. I am going with cooking seasonally and started to go through cookbooks and was immediately attracted to a few dishes. I was going through one of my Mom's vegetarian cookbooks, Cooking by the Seasons, and found a recipe for hummus, (which I've actually never made before) and another one called Middle Eastern plate. I knew I wanted those for appetizer and entree. Desserts were not calling my name in this cookbook so I did some Googleing and found something called Indian fruit pudding...um...hello, yum?! It sounded and looked like a warm pudding/apple pie. I couldn't resist.

I also went to Market Basket today, which is supposed to be the mecca for cheap groceries on the Cape now. So I went on an adventure. I have never seen so many little old ladies push me out of their way before...forrealz. I almost got run over. But, to my delight, everything was inexpensive and went with my budget and I got a metric ton of food for like $80. My bank account is taking a sigh of relief.

And so the Middle Eastern food palooza started around 5. I started with dessert because I knew it would take the longest. 6 cups of milk, butter, cinnamon, eggs, cornmeal later and the house was starting to smell like apple pie. Yum! Decadent: yes, but so worth it. Plus I was making super healthy veggies for dinner, I was set. Pudding went into the oven for 2 hours and onto...the app.

What is a Middle Easter dinner with hummus? I mean really. I'd never made homemade hummus before but figuredit had to be super easy. You put chickpeas, garlic and....stuff into a food processor. Well it's super easy until your good processor decides to not work on you. Yeah, no bueno. No matter how much I tried to lock it..it would not start. And so I start to use a potato masher, which was working except of course for the big chunks of onion and garlic. Though it was smelling pretty fantastic, I was ready to eat it then and there. Note picture of my fun above. Of course the cursed food processor started to work for my mother as soon as she came home. It just likes her better.

Now it looks much prettier.

Dinner was the easiest part of the meal really. Roasted eggplant, butternut squash, garlic, onion and green beans on couscous. And what is easier than couscous? Five minutes and you have cooked rice!

So all in all appetizer and entree were really easy and I'm thinking next time I'm going to look for more difficult recipes. But not a bad start. I've always been a fan of Indian and middle eastern food flavors so I knew it couldn't really go wrong. I'd say that dessert was the hardest part of the meal and having left it at room temperature...it was so delicious. GUYS, IT WAS SO GOOD. Like apple pudding and pie all in one. Btw, I totes made a cinnamon, home made whipped cream. Delicious.

So..night success. Btw: I could eat this hummus all night long. My dogs wish they could too. Also Mom and Dad were guinea pigs and both enjoyed every part. Kinda a big deal, cause Madre is picky when it comes to other people's food. But Dadders enjoys all food. So peeps should come over and be my test monkeys!

Some more ideas.

Alright: so someone gave me an idea to do a seasonal blog. I would pick certain recipes pertained to each season. And I am liking this idea. I'm thinking of going to Barnes n Noble pretty soon and picking up some new cookbooks...maybe just an Autumn one? I'm hoping to really start cooking and blogging by the weekend.

Where to start?

So... how to go about this? Shall I pick one cookbook and give myself a time limit? Shall I make each week themed? Shall there be a chicken week, beef week? Veggie week? Desserts? Still working out the kinks. I'm hoping that this food blog will allow me to focus on my goals and future career since I am taking time off from college. Ever since high school I have been a foodie and taught myself how to cook from the Food Network. I love to cook and cooking allows me to escape and spend time in the kitchen. In the kitchen, I can be creative and delve into other worlds. I'm really hoping to get out of my foodie comfort zone through this. Maybe I'll have an epiphany...then again maybe not. I'm just really hoping to get out of a rut and let my creative and wild foodie side out.

...Let the adventure begin!