kashi frozen dinners: the lamborghini of frozen dinners

My roommate, Tessa, introduced me to Kashi frozen dinners. She called them the "lamborghini of frozen dinners."

I have to admit that they are pretty good - especially with the 7 whole grain rice. They are practically godsend to grad students like us, who during the week, barely have time to cook in between classes, grading, and studying.

Plus, they are super cheap! woo woo.

Here's Tessa enjoying her meal:


Pictures taken with Iggy the iphone.

chicken and wild rice soup?

I'm on the hunt for a good chicken and wild rice soup recipe.
One recipe calls for 1/2 a cup of butter! Eww! Doesn't that seem like a ridiculous amount?

Is that a stick of butter or more? I told my roommate about this and she said she just imagined shoving a whole stick of butter in her mouth. yuck.

frittatas and left over ingredients

i had all these left over ingredients over the weekend. the type of ingredients that need to be eaten right away, such as asparagus, feta cheese, and grape tomatoes.



so my mom suggested making an omelet. i suck at making omelets so i decided to make a frittata instead.

The recipe I use from www.foodnetwork.com says to use 6 eggs. However, I only used 3 and added egg whites. Trader Joe's sells egg whites in a carton. Genius!

I then added my cooked asparagus, tomatoes, and feta cheese to the eggs and placed in an oven safe pan. Sprinkled some salt and pepper on top. I cooked it on a stove for about 2 minutes.


Afterwards, I placed the pan in the oven (375 degrees) for about 7 minutes.


And that's it! This whole cooking thing is getting easier. I never would've thought that I'd enjoy it. I thought I'd only enjoy eating.

The pictures are from my iphone. I think they came out pretty good!

birthday cakes

Because today my adorable goddaughter, Jadenne, is celebrating her 2nd birthday, birthday cakes have been on my mind. I thought about what it would be like to have a kid and celebrate their birthdays. I decided that if I have children, I would like to what Ashley Judd's character in the Secrets of the Yaya Sisterhood did, waking her children up on their birthdays with a birthday cake and candles.

My mom gets pretty creative when it comes to our dogs', Wallace and Gromit, birthdays. Every year, she gives them a different kind of cake. It was only one year, when they could actually eat the cake - for the most part the cake is for picture taking purposes only.

Here are pictures from the past two years:

grilled goat cheese sandwhiches. yummm!

As promised, here is the recipe for the grilled goat cheese sandwiches.

Who could resist this recipe when the headline describes the sandwiches as "Tangy goat cheese, tomatoes, and a crispy coating of grated Romano cheese set these sandwiches above the rest."

Thanks to the random person who made up this awesome recipe.

And it's true, the sandwiches were delicious and incredibly easy to make.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 1/2 cups grated Romano cheese
* 1 (8 ounce) package fresh chevre (goat) cheese
* 8 slices bread
* 8 slices tomato


DIRECTIONS

1. Place the beaten eggs in a wide, shallow bowl, and set aside. Place the grated Romano cheese in a wide, shallow dish, and set aside.
2. Spread the goat cheese onto one side of each slice of bread. Sandwich two tomato slices between two pieces of bread, then dip both sides into the beaten egg. Allow the excess to drip off, then press the sandwiches into the grated Romano cheese, coating well on each side; set aside. Repeat to make 4 sandwiches.
3. Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the sandwiches until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes per side.

I'm disappointed in Yu (Yu's Mandarin)

Today, I had this sudden urge to eat Walnut Shrimp (sans Walnuts - I'm allergic, so I tend to just nudge them to the side).

I asked Glenn to bring home some take out, requesting Honey-glazed Walnut Shrimp and Stirfried green beans. He told me that he heard that Yu's Mandarin in Schaumburg was a pretty good Chinese restaurant close to his work.
I felt like it was the final countdown - watching the clock tic until Glenn came home after work with our dinner and my delicious Walnut Shrimp. I pictured it to be just like the shrimp at Mandarin King in Granada Hills.

When I took my first bite, I was sadly disappointed. The glaze was watery and lacking flavor and the shrimp was obviously frozen and not fresh. I could smell the remnants of that fishy icy smell of unfresh seafood.

Everything else was good - along with the green beans, we ordered sesame chicken.

Ultimately, I felt disappointed and homesick. it's not like back home where you know exactly which places are the good Chinese restaurants. I guess I'm still on the hunt.

Oh, Yu's Mandarin, you disappoint me.

oops! it's been awhile

ok so, i haven't written in this in maybe 2 years. oops!

so i decided to blog about food in general, including, food i've cooked.
it's more for me to keep track of what i've tried to cook, what was good, what wasn't so good, etc.

Here's a list of things i've made. When i'm not so lazy, I'll also post the recipes.

Last Month (I can't remember what I made each week, so I'll just make a monthly list)

- Baked Chicken with Artichokes and Mayo (Glenn's new favorite Chicken dish)
Argentinean Steaks with Chimichurri (sp?)Sauce (I finally got to use my food processor! woo woo!!)
- Salmon with Wasabi Mayo - this one was good, but I put too much of the Trader Joe's Wasabi Mayo for the amount of Salmon
we had. I think it'll be better next time.
- Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Garlic, Chicken, Ricotta Cheese, Grape Tomatoes and Spinach (basically, it was whatever I found in
my fridge that I needed to use before things expired)
- Banana and Chocolate Chip Whole Grain Pancakes
- Blueberry Whole Grain Pancakes

Last Week:

- Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwiches
- Minestrone soup with Mild Italian Sausages
- Roasted Lemon and Rosemary Chicken
- Spaghettini with Sundried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
- Baked Salmon (Glenn made this. Good job, Glenn!)
- Grilled Peaches with Honey and Oats

I pretty much liked everything I made last week. I have to say that the grilled goat cheese sandwiches were my favorite. we ate it with tomato bisque from trader joe's.
thanks to tessa who helped me cook everything. and my mom for helping over the phone. my mom is super happy that i'm getting into cooking. we bond now. hahaha
After if this weekend, I'll post the latest menu.