It's a feast!

I've slowly been experimenting more and more in the kitchen, but mostly I have resorted to old favorites and lots of processed foods. My aversions have come back, hard, and I cannot seem to stomach fresh veggies. I have also been extremely exhausted and my feet swell if I am on them too long... hence why I have been pretty absent from the blogging world.

However, the other day Brent and I were at the grocery store and we decided we wanted ribs for dinner. Now, I LOVE ribs, and he loves ribs but neither of us had ever made them before. I tried looking up several recipes, but I didn't like any of what I found (mostly because they called for a 1 1/2 hour to 3 hour cook time and I was starving :P), so I decided to try it my own way.

We spiced them up with BBQ sauce and an assortment of other spices and put them under the broiler for about 15 minutes, checking on them somewhere around the 7 minute mark. This somewhat worked, the meat cooked but the BBQ sauce burned into a hard crisp shell. Don't get me wrong, it was still extremely delicious.. I just think next time I will try something a little different in the preparation.

On the side I made some homemade mashed potatoes.

Fun fact: Before he started dating me Brent hated potatoes with a strong passion, claiming they were disgusting and swore he had tried all kinds before. Now he loves them. He begs me to make potatoes (he especially loves them baked) with dinner! Success, if I do say so myself :)


Fun fact #2: Kenji loves mashed potatoes. It is a well known fact that Kenji is spoiled worse than most children, so of course when he smelled the delicious aroma of a new meat being cooked he all but dived into the oven to investigate. When we sat down to eat he jumped up on my chair (this is typical, he sits next to me in my chair while we eat waiting for me to give him bites), so I tore off some rib meat and scooted it over to him. He ignored it and instead stuck his entire paw into my potatoes and proceeded to lick it all off, then stuck his paw back in for more. I almost died laughing. :)

Overall, I would say the dinner was a success...

Pork and Beans

It has been forever since we've had a decent burger and Brent was really craving one so we went to the store and bought some natural, grass-fed beef and came home and put it on the Foreman.

He spiced the meat with crushed red pepper, seasoning salt, black pepper, and paprika. Instead of sprinkling it on while cooking, he mixed it all in with the raw beef before forming the patties.

His was served on a whole wheat bun with provolone, spinach, mustard, and ketchup; with a side of natural vegetable chips made from potatoes, tomatoes, and spinach. He also had his first taste EVER of pork and beans. Unfortunately, he was not a fan.












I was unfortunately not feeling a burger, so I crushed up my patty and added it to some mac&cheese, which turned out to be pretty good. :)

And since Brent is now at work until 9:15, I have to decide what I want to make today. All of this blogging about food has made me huuuuungry!

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

While none of us in this house are Italian, pasta is definitely a favorite. In fact, I think Brent lived on pasta before we met. Unfortunately, his version was a box of noodles mixed with plain tomato sauce. ew.

Since then, we have spiced it up creating our own fun pasta dishes and recreating some of his favorites from childhood. It wasn't until last night that I decided to get real creative.

I was going through my cookbook, a main hobby of mine these days, and found a recipe for homemade pasta. Interesting. A quick glance at the ingredient list showed that I had everything I needed so I set out to make him a delicious dinner.

The noodles were actually a LOT easier than I had anticipated, I just wish I had a better set of kitchen knives or a pastry cutter because cutting the dough into noodles was the hardest part. However, after two hours they were done and ready to be eaten.




For the alfredo sauce I simply mixed butter, heavy whipping cream, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. I cooked a few chicken breasts on the skillet in EVOO and mixed it all together.


Brent claims that it was better than The Olive Garden, I'm not sure how much I believed this but I do have to agree that it was very good for my first attempt at a homemade pasta dish.

He also proved once more that he is the greatest boyfriend ever by buying me this the other day:

I had been complaining (probably more than necessary) that it was hard to use homemade dough with no rolling pin.. I had used various other items such as an applesauce jar, an old tea bottle, etc. in my baking prior to this, so while we were at the store one day he ventured into the kitchen gadgets and came back with this! I was so happy! It's the little things in life... :)

Note: I got the recipe for the pasta and the sauce in a general cookbook, but if you would like me to post them just leave a comment and let me know :)

Chai Tea Cupcakes

This has, by far, been my greatest "new recipe" success since I started experimenting in the kitchen. These cupcakes turned out sooooo delicious, and moist, and perfect that the entire batch was devoured in less than 12 hours (seriously!) :)


Brent and I are both chai tea fanatics. Anytime we go to a coffee shop, this is exactly what we order. Obviously this can get expensive so it is a rare treat, until recently. I started experimenting with spices and combinations and have found a way to make it at home! I daresay it is even better than the $4 version we normally buy. However, this also left a few chai tea bags laying around begging to be used, so I decided to experiment again.

1/2 cup sugar
2 oz. butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
pinch of salt
1-2 chai tea bags, depending on how strong you want the chai flavor.

1. Heat oven to 350*. Place liners in cupcake pan or spray with oil.
2. Heat up milk on stove, remove. Place tea bags into milk at steep for 5-10 minutes.
3. Cream butter and sugar together. Mix in egg and vanilla. Mix in tea mixture.
4. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, gloves, ginger, cardamom, and salt together. Mix dry and wet ingredients.
5. Divide batter into cupcake tray.
6. Bake 15-18 minutes.
6. Allow to cool. Frost with buttercream frosting and sprinkle with cinnamon.

They were seriously A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. If you love chai tea, they are definitely worth your time to make.


Kenji says hello from his favorite perch in the kitchen. He loves watching me cook and bake, secretly hoping I drop some delicious noms on the floor for him :)

Banana Bread

I did it! My first venture into making my own bread was a HUGE success!













I have always wanted to make my own bread, so when I saw this recipe on Megan's Blog, I decided to give it a shot.

The recipe was very simple, easy to follow, and the result was absolutely delicious!

-1/2 cup oatmeal
-1 cup whole wheat flour
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 cup white sugar
-1 1/4 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 egg
-3 really ripe bananas
-1/3 cup apple sauce

Mix all these ingredients in a large bowl, pour into a greased 8 X 4 inch loaf pan, then pop into a 350 oven for about 50 minutes! I like to toast slices and top them with butter.

I had a few plain slices, a few with butter, and my personal favorite: heated with honey and chocolate chips. mouth watering! :)

My next quest is to find a good recipe for cinnamon bread... yum!

Betty Crocker

Being pregnant means that everything is not always about yourself. Well, this has certainly proven true throughout my pregnancy this far. Beannette has intensified my sweet tooth by a ton, but has made it almost impossible for me to drink any beverage that has been sweetened (chocolate milk, juice, etc.)... which I find strange, but I roll with it.

I've also been hit hard with the nesting symptom. While most of this has been directed toward the kitchen as I spend countless hours baking, digging through cookbooks and online recipes, and cooking new and delicious meals; I have noticed that all I want to do is organize and get things ready for when she gets here. This is difficult since we plan on moving so soon after her birth, but I think in my haste to get everything perfect I have found our perfect apartment for when we do move in March!

However, this blog is not for that and I will focus on my ridiculous baking splurges.

I have decided, through my college education, common knowledge, and food movies/books/blogs, that I will never again buy boxed mixes for baked goods. Homemade tastes better and has better nutritional value.

That being said I have been experimenting hard core in the baking department. My adventures have included:
Cinnamon Rolls

Brownies

Vast amounts of cookies













Everything was so good and went over extremely well with Brent and his co-workers... obviously I didn't want the baked goods to pile up too much around the house so I sent some to work with him.

I have also discovered how much I really love to bake! I used to think it was fun, opening the packages and stirring in an egg... but actually making everything yourself is much, much more satisfying.

Note: all of these recipes are from a general cookbook, but if you would like me to post it just leave a comment and let me know :)

Pork Tenderloin with a Blueberry Rub

I know what you're thinking... blueberries on pork?! But I promise you, it was delicious!


I started with about a 1 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin. I coated it with whole grain country dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. I put it on a broiler pan and placed it under the broiler for about 18 minutes, flipping the meat every 3-4 minutes.

For the sauce I used 1 cup blueberry preserves, chipotle powder, orange juice, country dijon mustard, salt and pepper. I don't have an exact recipe for this because I just kind of added as I needed to make it thicker and seasoned to my taste.

For a side I made some long grain wild rice.

I cannot say that I am entirely new to cooking, but I am new to experimenting. I grew up in a household that didn't even use salt to season (because of health issues), so spices and herbs are completely foreign to me so I am having a great time testing them and exploring new recipes!