Showing posts with label My Chef's Hat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Chef's Hat. Show all posts

My Chef's Hat - Hoisin Pork with Rice Noodles

I have a love/hate relationship with the weeks leading up to Christmas. Love, because it means we are off work for at least a week. Yes, we still have basketball games and the bowl game, but there's no early AM alarm clocks or sitting in the office all day.  Hate, because we get all kinds of treats and goodies in the office. Sure, it's great to get all of that stuff, but my waistline certainly doesn't like it.

 About 3 weeks ago a box came to the office, specifically for me. I opened it to find a pork loin 

I've never gotten one of these before, either as a gift or from the grocery store. And besides, I was having a holiday party that weekend and realized it would be perfect to use for that. So I was pretty excited. 

 I figured pre-cooked, it wouldn't take more than about 15 minutes to warm up. Well, that's not even remotely close. To do it properly, without cutting it first, takes about 40 minutes. But my goodness is it worth the wait! The whole kitchen smelled amazing, and the meat was incredibly tender and juicy. Even the white meat, which would normally get very dry.

 I had some leftover, and rather than just pick at it every time I opened the fridge, I wanted to make a meal out of it. There are tons of recipes on Pinterest for pork loin, both new and leftover. I eventually came across the recipe for Hoisin Pork with Rice Noodles. I was in kind of an Asian mood anyways, so this was perfect.

 Here is the official recipe photo

Here's the pork in the overnight marinade

And here is my finished version

This dish was excellent. I was a little worried that doing a stir-fry of the pork loin might make it dry because this was essentially a 3rd cooking. The marinade kept that moisture locked in, and the only pieces I didn't care for were those that were the leanest to begin with. I was convinced I had more than enough marinade, but looking at the recipe photos I could have easily done more. There's really never such a thing as too much marinade. Also, I didn't add peanut butter so that made a difference in the consistency of mine.

 There were so many flavors and vibrant colors going on in this dish as well. I roasted the peanuts slightly before adding them on top, and that just added to the overall flavor of the dish. I sauteed my veggies instead of adding them raw, which I do very often. It adds even more flavor while softening the veggies just slightly.

 I will definitely be making this again, and soon.

 Original Recipe Courtesy of Pinch of Yum
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My Chef's Hat - Creamy Chicken & Corn Chowder

Living in Oklahoma, we are lucky that cold weather rarely hits before late November. When it does though, it's always a rude awakening. That happened a couple weeks ago, and it was a combination of cold, wind, rain and just all around dreary weather when the day before it had been at least 25 degrees warmer. That kind of weather makes me want to do nothing but stay curled up in bed all day and eat warm, comforting food. We had a home game coming up that Saturday so the staying in bed thing was out. I can't remember what my original meal plan for the night was, but halfway through the day I decided I needed soup. 

I had never made soup until about 2 months ago when I made Thai Shrimp Soup. For some reason I thought it was really difficult and time consuming. I'm sure there are a lot of recipes that are, but the shrimp soup was pretty simple, so it fortified me that I could make other kinds as well. Off to Pinterest I went, and came across Creamy Chicken & Corn Chowder. It looked like exactly what would hit the spot. 

 The recipe calls for chicken breast, but I very rarely ever cook it because they tend to get really dry very quickly. Yet another reason I prefer dark meat. As I read through the reviews, a couple of people mentioned that they had used rotisserie chicken.  I had never bought a rotisserie chicken before, but that seemed like a great idea, especially because I could use the carcass to make chicken broth. I stopped at the grocery store after work, and got the next to last chicken that was left. It was only $5, which is really good considering it's an entire chicken and I could use it to make at least 3 meals plus make the broth.

 Here is the official recipe picture


 And here is my version


The chowder was awesome. It was rich and flavorful, and I love the contrast in textures. The rotisserie chicken added a great deep flavor that you wouldn't get from regular chicken so I'm so glad I followed that recommendation.

 Overall I was pretty pleased with my first attempt at chowder. Corn isn't in season right now. Normally you can still find pretty decent fresh corn at the grocery store well into the fall but they didn't have any at all, so I used frozen. And in a chowder, I don't know that you could taste the difference. I did mess up on the potatoes, because I cut them too large, and I used too much. So mine was much thicker than the recipe photo. I tried to add more broth to thin it out, but by that point it didn't really work. But that is an easy fix. I added jalapenos in the cooking, but didn't add any fresh for serving as the recipe recommends. That would help add a great kick of heat right at the end, because I couldn't really taste any heat from the cooked jalapenos. I think using roasted garlic would be a great add as well. Maybe a little in the last few minutes of cooking so it doesn't totally go away.

 Will I make this again? Absolutely. It's such a perfect dish for a cold day. It's easy to make, and doesn't take too long. It's definitely on the dinner rotation.

 Original Recipe Found at Cooking Classy

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My Chef's Hat - Green Chickpea & Chicken Coconut Curry

My parents are from Trinidad, so growing up I ate a lot of curry chicken, homemade by my mom. It was always one of my favorite dishes. I actually never learned to cook until I was moving into an apartment my senior year of college. I figured I should learn to make a few things, so we wouldn't live on fast food and gain tons of weight. Curry chicken was one of the first recipes I learned from my mom.

 There are so many different kinds of curry that you can buy in the store, or make using a variety of different spices. My mom always used the store-bought kind, so I did the same. It's hard to find good dry curry mixes in Oklahoma, but I have found a couple. 

 I've also recently found recipes that use green and red curry. I've never attempted to do my own mix of spices; instead, I just buy the little jars in the Asian section of the grocery store. Yes, it's probably more expensive. But I don't use it enough to justify buying all the spices needed for the mix.

 The other day I was on Pinterest, doing my meal plan for the week. My original thought was to make Thai Shrimp Soup, which has quickly become one of my favorites. But before I got to it, I came across a recipe for Green Chickpea & Chicken Coconut Curry.  It looked delicious, so I picked up some green curry at the store, soaked my dry chickpeas, and added it to the list. 

 Here is the official recipe picture


 And here is my version


What a wonderful dish. Spicy, but also a great depth of flavor. I served mine over basmati rice, to help tone down the spice and also to soak up some of the fantastic broth. The recipe calls for swiss chard, but I never buy that because it's way too tart for me, so I used kale instead. I also didn't have shallots, so I used onions. I'm honestly not sure if it makes much of a difference. And since I never buy shallots, I probably won't ever find out. I always cook with chicken thighs or legs. I think you have to for this recipe; chicken breast would get really overcooked with the smaller pieces and length of cooking. 

 I'm a huge fan of this dish, and will definitely be making it again soon.

 Recipe Found On The Crepes of Wrath
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My Chef's Hat - Spicy New Orleans Shrimp

Getting fresh seafood in a landlocked state is usually a challenge. When I first moved to Stillwater I refused to eat seafood for about a year. Then I started buying the flash-frozen stuff at Sam's Club, and then about a year ago I discovered 2 places in Tulsa that sell truly fresh seafood that they fly in daily. One is White River Fish Market, and the other is Bodean. Bodean is both a fine dining restaurant and a market. So now every time I go to Tulsa, I stop at Bodean Market to pick up seafood. I often buy raw shrimp and salmon, but have also bought clams, mussels, and scallops. 

 On my last trip I bought clams, mussels & shrimp. I made one of my favorite dishes, steamed clams & mussels in garlic butter sauce. I've found quite a few great shrimp dishes on Pinterest, but I wanted something different the other night. So I got online and searched, and came across Spicy New Orleans Shrimp. I was so excited to make it, until I saw that it needed 4 hours to marinate. And it was already 7pm. So clearly that wasn't happening until the next night

 Here is the official recipe photo


And here is my version, served over rice


I don't normally post in-progress pictures, but I couldn't help it this time. 





Oh. My. Goodness. This was absolutely outstanding. I've never used a marinade that you cook before using, but it definitely intensified the flavors. As it was cooking I kept going back and smelling it, because it was so good. I normally pare back recipes for a single serving, but I decided to go full force with this marinade and I'm so glad I did. Because it meant that much more goodness for the shrimp to soak in. There was some serious heat, as well as a ton of serious flavor, going on in that bowl. I didn't have any crusty bread, so I put it over rice, which helped tone down the heat. I've never baked shrimp before, so I overcooked them slightly. But that's an easy fix.

 I can't wait to make this again, and will be doing it very soon.

 Recipe found on Jo Cooks
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My Chef's Hat - Bacon, Corn & Avocado Salad

Growing up, I never ate avocados. I honestly don't remember my parents ever buying them. And we very rarely ever went to Mexican restaurants. So when I moved to Oklahoma, it was a little bit of culture shock to see avocados absolutely everywhere. I was still really hesitant to try them, until we were at a retreat at Mr. Pickens' ranch, and we had guacamole as part of the appetizers. I had to stop myself from devouring the entire thing. From that day on, I was a fan, but it still took another year or so for me to buy them. Now I buy them all the time, and try to eat 1/4 avocado every day. They do have quite a bit of fat, but it's the good kind. 

 When I'm on Pinterest, I look for recipes that use avocado. And when I come across ones like Bacon, Corn & Avocado salad, I am completely sold. Because those are 3 of my favorite ingredients. 

 The original recipe comes from the Absolutely Avocados cookbook. I'm tempted to buy it. But I already know what will happen. I'll get it, put it with the other cookbooks, and look at it maybe once or twice. 

 Here is the original recipe photo


 Here is my version


This dish is fantastic, simple to make, and ready in about 20 minutes. I already knew the flavors would work really well together, and I wasn't disappointed. I added red onion and sauteed it with the corn, to deepen the flavor and add another layer of texture to the salad. I also threw in some scallions since I had them. I didn't even remotely think of looking to see if I could find cojito cheese at the grocery store, so I used the goat cheese I had on hand.

 This is definitely going on the dinner rotation. I made it with grilled salmon the first time, and then pork chops the other night. It's such a versatile side that would work well with many different types of protein.
Recipe Posted On Recipe Girl; original recipe courtesy of What's Gaby Cooking

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My Chef's Hat - Spicy Fried Pork Chop

There's lots of things I love about living in a small town: light traffic; I can get to work in 8 minutes or to the other side of town within 20; family atmosphere; very friendly people; local businesses. But on the flip side, there's quite a few things we don't have. When I came on my interview, I was stunned to learn that there was no Target in town. And even worse, the closest one is 45 minutes away. But that's a whole other story. 

 Another thing Stillwater lacks is good grocery store options. We have 2 Wal Marts, and it was just announced recently that we're getting ANOTHER one. Yes, it's going to be a Neighborhood Market, which is strictly a grocery store. But that's not really the point. Why do we need to have 3 of the SAME STORE?? In a town of 50,000 people? We also don't have a local butcher. But about a year ago Michele introduced me to Ralph's Packing, a butcher about 15 minutes away in Perkins. One trip and I was sold. When I've got a special occasion dinner I always go there for fresh meat. Their frozen meat is sold in big bulk, but I'll still buy it, portion it out if needed, and store it in the freezer. I also discovered their enhanced pork chops. I'm not sure exactly what they do to them, but they are so much juicier than regular pork chops. I won't buy anything else now.

 A couple weeks ago I was on Pinterest, looking for something to do with the pork chops I had taken out to thaw. The first couple I came across needed several hours or overnight of marinating. I didn't have time for that, so I kept searching. And then saw Spicy Fried Pork Chops. It's very rare that I ever fry anything at home. Don't get me wrong...I love fried food. A lot of the posts on this blog prove that. But I just avoid doing it at home. It's messy, it can be smelly, and then you have to do something with all the grease. I was going to keep searching, but I decided to just jump in and try it. Besides, the picture looked amazing.

 Here is the recipe photo


And here is my version


 Wow, this was fantastic. It was so juicy and tender, just the way fried food should be when it's done properly. The recipe doesn't exactly call for it to be deep fried, but it does say to fill the pan not more than halfway full. That's way too much oil for me. I did less than half that, so it was more of a pan fry. Probably why I didn't get such a thick crust, but honestly it didn't matter.

 I will say that I pretty much failed on the creamy gravy. This was my first attempt, so that's not fully unexpected. I used too much flour, because I could taste it a little. I didn't have heavy cream, so I used half & half instead, and I'm honestly not sure if it made a difference.  I think mine looks so much thicker because of the extra flour. 

 I made this dish again the other day, and as you can see the gravy was still really thick. 

Clearly I need to learn how to properly make gravy.

 I will most certainly be making this again.  It won't be on a regular rotation, because of the frying. But I'll definitely make it occasionally. 

 Recipe Found On Creole Contessa

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My Chef's Hat - Orange Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry

When I got home from Wisconsin-palooza, a 4-day cheese and beer binge, it was high time to eat something healthy. I was kind of afraid that my body would go into shock at the first bite of vegetable, but it was a risk I had to take. 

 Of course, Pinterest to the rescue. I wanted a dish with only protein and vegetables, and relatively low in both calories and fat. So when I came across Orange Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry, I knew I had hit the jackpot. This is one of those dishes I've made a million times but never posted about. And quite honestly, I hadn't made it in a long time. 

 Here is the original recipe photo

And here is my version

Unfortunately I can never find bean sprouts anywhere in Stillwater, other than the canned stuff in the Asian section of the grocery store. I tried those once...there is NO comparison to fresh. There's a great Asian store in Oklahoma City, so I always buy them when I go there, and plan a few recipes that use them so they don't go to waste. I'll use whatever crunchy vegetables I have on hand, and this time I had a whole bunch: celery, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, asparagus, and broccoli. The recipe says to boil the broccoli and beans first to soften them a little, but I never do that. I think that would make them way too soft for my liking. I much prefer tender-crisp. So I cut the broccoli small and sautee the veggies longer before adding the chicken.

 I really like this dish.  It's bursting with flavor, and I love all the contrasts in texture and crunch. The one down side is that it's saltier than I would like, because of the soy sauce. I use low sodium and it's still quite a bit. Next time I'll cut back on the soy sauce and see if that helps. 

 I need to make this more often because it's filling and delicious. And great for when you need a break from a lot of carbs. 
Recipe Found On Kitchen Explorers
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My Chef's Hat - Kung Pao Chicken

Asian food is one of my favorite cuisines. I love the flavors, the variety, and the vibrant colors. But a lot of the dishes you get at restaurants are really high in calories, and tend to have a lot of sodium. And they usually give you so much food. So I've started trying to make more Asian recipes at home. Most of the time they're pretty easy to make, and you can even make your own sauces.

 About 2 months ago I came across a recipe for Kung Pao chicken. You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? The picture that popped up on my Facebook feed made me instantly stop and look it up. My dad was visiting at the time, and originally my plan was to make it with tofu since my dad is a vegetarian.  I never got around to making it though. A couple weeks ago I was searching for new recipes to make for the week and came across the Kung Pao chicken.  I wasn't letting it get past me again. 

 Here is the official recipe photo


And here is my version

Wow, this was one of the best dishes I've made. So much flavor. Marinating the chicken before hand helps deepen the flavor as well. The recipe calls for sesame oil and hoisin sauce. I didn't have any hoisin sauce and didn't realize it until I was already cutting up the chicken. I'm still not sold on sesame oil. It is really strong, and a little goes a VERY long way. The first time I used it I did what the recipe called for... and almost threw it out because that's all I could taste. So now I put about 1/4 of what the recipe says. And still sometimes it's too much.

 I will definitely be making it again. Most likely this week. I bought hoisin sauce the other day, so I'm ready for it.

 Recipe Courtesy of Penney Lane
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My Chef's Hat - Thai Shrimp Soup

When I began the blog 3 years ago it was really just for me and my friends who like food. The only social platform I used was the blog itself, so of course I wasn't getting much readership. Aaron’s friends Matt & April moved to Stillwater in January. Not only have they become great friends, but April is a blogger as well. They bought a fixer-upper house, and April's blog projects are transforming their home. Her website is uncookiecutter.com, and you really need to check it out. Every time I go to their house she’s got new stuff. She’s so creative, and her projects are amazing.

April and I have really bonded over blogging. It’s funny, because we’ll be out with friends, get started talking about blogs, and get completely absorbed and ignore everyone else. One of the many things I truly appreciate is that she’s gotten me much more active on social networks, and that has drastically increased my readership. I've also joined several blogger groups. April’s blog is a source of income, and many others in my blogger groups are full-time bloggers. At some point I would love to get to that place in my life. I’m nowhere near that yet, but I’m working on it. 

Starting a Facebook business page has been really good for me, because I follow a lot of other food bloggers and find great recipes that way. No, I’m not giving up Pinterest. I still always look there for recipes. But when I see a great one on my Facebook feed I pin it for future use.

A couple weeks ago the recipe for Thai Shrimp Soup popped up on Facebook, and it looked so good. I've never made soup before, and I really don’t know why. I guess I always thought it would be hard. Which is dumb. I have quite a few soup recipes pinned and ready to go. This recipe was courtesy of Damn Delicious, and I've made many of her recipes before. She takes amazing pictures, and all of her recipes are easy to make and delicious.

When I decided to add this soup to my weekly menu, I had to go to the grocery store to get shrimp, coconut milk, and red curry paste. I always have shrimp in the house, but of course happened to be out just when I needed it. The curry paste and coconut milk aren't normal staples in my pantry. But when I got home I realized I had indeed bought coconut milk before. Then I saw it had expired about 6 months ago. 

Here is the official recipe photo


 And here is my version


This was fantastic. Light but full of flavor. I’m not sure if using light coconut milk makes a difference in the creaminess of the soup, but I’m willing to risk it to save calories.I didn't realize until I pulled up the recipe that there’s rice in the dish. And that the recipe calls for basmati rice. I amazingly found some in the pantry that I guess I had bought for a recipe at some point way back when, and the bag was about 2 years past its “best by” date. But it’s rice. How can dry rice go bad? So I went with it. I think I went overboard on the curry paste because the broth was very spicy. But the rice toned that down. I've never cooked with coconut milk, so this was a new experience. I pretty much guestimated on the quantity of both the milk and vegetable broth. But I figured with soup you could do that. And I wasn't wrong. It’s more about the quantity you end up with. And I tried to keep the ratios about even. I always use broth to save on calories, but I think stock might make the dish a little richer. I may try that.

I will definitely be making this again. And now that I know how easy it is to make soup, I'll be making others more often.


Recipe Found On Damn Delicious 
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My Chef's Hat - Sausage & Sweet Potato Hash

I've posted on here about the fact that I have the sickle cell trait. I'll never get the disease or suffer any symptoms, and luckily don't have to alter my lifestyle.  But my iron is very low, and I struggle to keep it up. About 18 months ago I started giving blood, but I can only do platelets. And it takes me a couple weeks of serious iron bulking to even get the level high enough to donate. It's a vicious cycle. I really need to go to the doctor to see if there's anything I can do to help regulate my levels so I don't have to go crazy with it every couple months.

 A while ago I had found a reciepe for sausage & sweet potato hash. I made it a couple months ago, and since it was the night before I was donating, I added kale and spinach for some extra bulk.

 I try to always keep Italian sausage in the freezer. I don't use it that often, but I do have a few go-to recipes. My favorite brand is Johnsonville, and they've got sweet, mild, and spicy. I used to buy the mild, but once I tasted the spicy I haven't gone back. It's not crazy hot, but it definitely adds a good kick to the dish.

 My original plan for lunch was a completely different dish with the sausage, and then I remembered I had a sweet potato that I needed to use. And I also remembered that it's the first day of Fall, and this is the perfect recipe to kick off the season.

Here is the recipe version

And here is my version:

I really like this dish.  It's healthy, hearty but not heavy, and filling.  The recipe calls for both white and orange sweet potatoes.  I had no idea white sweet potatoes even existed.  I used sausage in the casing and cut it into small chunks. I could probably cut it smaller, but it's a pain to cut up much smaller than this when it's raw.  The recipe calls for the potatoes to be boiled for a few minutes and then just added in at the end.  I cooked mine all the way through in the same pan I cooked the sausage in, which adds tons more flavor.  The first time I made this I went way overboard with the parsley, and also didn't cut it up nearly small enough. You could barely see the food through it.  This time I held back, partially because a caterpillar ravaged my parsley plant a couple weeks ago and it's just starting to grow back. 

I would say the only negative to eating such a savory dish is my sweet tooth is in overdrive. So I'll eat just a little something sweet to take care of that craving. 

And I'll definitely make this regularly, especially before giving platelets. 

Recipe found on Noble Pig Vineyard & Winery


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My Chef's Hat - Buttermilk Baked Chicken

I did a post a few months ago for buttermilk baked chicken. I actually did a double-post, because I made roasted mushrooms with garlic & thyme with it.  I very rarely do 2 new recipes in the same meal, because you never know how either one will really turn out. What if you don't like one or both? What if they don't look good? What if they don't work well together? Lot's of "ifs". But I went ahead and did it that night anyway. 

Buttermilk is not something that I cook with regularly, and for a long time I never cooked with it at all. I always thought it was really heavy, hence the name "butter"milk. But then I learned that it's not at all...it's just milk with vinegar added. The catch is at the store the smallest container I can find at the store is a quart, and I normally don't use it often enough to justify the purchase. And I use almond milk in my breakfast smoothie, and I'm really not sure how that would translate into buttermilk. So when I buy the quart, I plan ahead for 3-4 recipes over a couple of weeks before the milk goes bad. But then again, how do you know when it's bad when it's sour milk to begin with??

 Of course, the recipe came from Pinterest. More specifically, from Pat & Gina Neely of The Food Network. I have to admit, their show wasn't one of my favorites. I liked a lot of their dishes, but they were so sugary sweet and lovey-dovey towards each other. I felt like I was stuck in a Harlequin romance novel, and it was way over the top. Come to find out that was all fake, and they got divorced about a year ago.

 Here is the original recipe photo


Here is my first attempt. 


As you can see, it looks nothing like the picture. But that's happened before. My thing is, as long as it tastes good, I'm okay with it. And this chicken was very good. I didn't have corn flakes as the recipe called for, so I used corn flake crumbs. But the crumbs are so fine that it doesn't really work well in this dish. I also followed the recommendation of a reviewer, cut the onion into big chunks, coated them in flakes and baked them along with the chicken. I did really like that flavor combination.

Last night I decided to make this chicken again because I had some buttermilk to use up. I also went to the store and bought actual Corn Flakes instead of just the packaged crumbs, and crushed them up in the food processor. I also left them in pretty good-sized pieces. The recipe calls for cooking the chicken on a wire rack so it won't get soggy underneath, and I did that as well

 Here is my picture from last night

Looks so much better! Bigger chunks of corn flakes makes a huge difference, and you almost feel like you're eating fried chicken. I agree with a reviewer who said she was eating pieces of the cornflakes off the chicken first. This time the flakes were too big, but that's an easy fix, with just a few more pulses in the food processor.

 The chicken was super tender and juicy. And the wire rack definitely prevented any sogginess. I need to remember that when I make Shake & Bake too. As I was eating I thought to myself, this is really good, but it was kind of bland and missing some "oomph"...and that wasn't the case the first time.  That's when I realized I was so excited about the corn flakes that I completely forgot to add freshly grated parmesan and more fresh thyme into the corn flakes. I think it could use some garlic powder and onion powder as well. 

 Next time I make this I'll get the whole dish right. And I'll definitely be making this again soon. 

 Recipe courtesy of The Food Network
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My Chef's Hat - Corn Cakes with Goat Cheese

Before Pinterest, I got most of my recipes from cooking.com and foodnetwork.com. I printed them out because I didn't really have anywhere else to store them. A couple months ago I was cleaning out my little office space and came across a huge stack of those recipes. I went online, found most of them, and pinned them. I also realized I hadn't done posts about any of them. 

 The problem with Pinterest is that it's almost impossible to go immediately to what you're looking for. Every time I log on I find fun new things to pin, get sidetracked, and sometimes totally forgot what I was even originally looking for.

Since the end of July my life has been absolutely insane getting ready for football season. And this has probably been the craziest year since I've been here. Unfortunately my blog suffered, because obviously my focus was almost solely on work. I was only posting about once a week, which was a big drop from before. Last week, after the first home game, I figured I would pick back up steam with the blog. But then I forgot how busy it is when there's back to back home games...especially at the start of the season. Now that game 2 is over, it's truly time to shift some of my focus back to the blog. I've worked really hard this year to grow my blog, so the last thing I want is to let it slide and have people stop following.

 I absolutely love corn. In the summer I could eat it all the time, when it's so sweet. It's hard to find in the winter, so occasionally I'll buy canned or frozen corn. They say frozen vegetables are practically an equal substitute, because they pick and freeze them at the height of their freshness. When it's part of a casserole or dish, then yeah I agree. Growing up, my mom normally just boiled corn on the cob, and we'd eat it with butter. Simple, easy, and delicious. I would say until about 10 years ago that's almost the only way I ate it. But there are so many other ways to use it. One of my favorites, and one of those pre-Pinterest recipes, is Corn Cakes with Goat Cheese. 

 Here is the official recipe photo


 And here is my version

I have to admit I forget about this recipe periodically, and then I make it again and remember why I like it so much. It's a great way to get double vegetables, and the mild zucchini doesn't compete with the corn. The goat cheese adds a very mild flavor and creamy texture. Wonderful contrast to the cakes. The recipe only calls for spring onions, but I always add regular onions as well. Usually yellow onions, but sometimes red onions for a little more sweetness. I also add minced fresh garlic, which adds a nice flavor.

 I really need to get this recipe back on the rotation. It's easy to make, substantial, and a great side dish. 
Recipe courtesy of Cook Like a Champion


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My Chef's Hat - Chinese Style Shrimp Fried Rice

Wow, the last month has been absolutely insane. It's always tough getting ready for the first home football game, and this year there were added challenges with large-scale renovations on both the club and suite levels, and an "upgrade" by Suddenlink that required us to add cable boxes and new remotes to every single TV in the building. I tried hard to keep up with the blog, but of course OSU is what pays the bills, so that's where my focus had to be.  Now that I've survived the first home game, I can shift some of that focus back to the blog. 

 About 6 weeks ago I made fried rice for the first time. I don't know why I had never made it before, but it's really easy and very delicious. A couple weeks later I came across a recipe for Chinese Style Shrimp Fried Rice. I love shrimp, and at the time I was getting ready to donate platelets so I was on a binge to up my iron, and shrimp has a lot of it. 

 Many of the fried recipes out there say you can use regular cooked rice. But to me, it's not truly fried rice if you use Uncle Ben's. You need to use the steamed rice from Asian restaurants. Or cook sticky rice. I haven't taken on the challenge of cooking my own sticky rice, so for the foreseeable future I'll just order extra rice when I go out for Chinese food and use that to make it. 

Here is the recipe photo


 And here is my version


 This dish is awesome, and has tons of flavor. I'm guessing I didn't get enough coating on the shrimp because mine doesn't really look like the recipe. And I cooked them in the pan along with the fried rice rather than separately, so that might have contributed as well. But the flavor is all there, and that's what matters. I followed the rule of the fried rice recipe I originally found and cooked it with butter (well, Smart Balance spread in my case). Let's be honest...butter adds flavor. And as long as you use it in moderation, and especially if you use butter substitutes, the calories won't go crazy.

 I made this again about a week ago, and went overboard on the cornmeal/flour mixture, and you could taste the flour. Fail. I shouldn't have made it that night because I was in a rush and I was super tired, so I didn't take as much care as I normally would. Next time I'll fix that.

 Recipe courtesy of Creole Contessa
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My Chef's Hat - Orecchiette with Wilted Spinach, Kale & Toasted Pine Nuts

I hate needles. Always have, probably always will. My mom said when I was a kid and would go to the doctor, I would be chatting away with him non-stop...until he went to "the drawer". I knew exactly what was in that drawer, and the tears would start. Dr. Sinkford was a wonderful, gentle man and would never hurt a fly. But I didn't care. When I was 16 I had to get 24 stitches in my leg (long story), and I almost killed my dad when he started describing the length and size of the needle they used to numb my leg. He had nail marks in his arm for days where I dug into him as they stuck me.

 No surprise, I never gave blood unless it was necessary. And then about 18 months ago, Russ convinced me to go do it. So I did, and found out I have the sickle cell trait (another long story). When you give regular blood, the needle is in your arm for about 10 minutes. But I can only do platelets, which is about 90 minutes. And I still refuse to look when they stick me. But honestly, it's not bad once the needle is in. And as long as the piece of gauze covers the point, I'm okay. So I go about every 2 months. And besides, giving blood is good for your body, and it's the right thing to do to help those who need it. Platelets only last 5 days, and they are really necessary for a lot of people, so at first the blood place was calling me every 2 weeks. I don't think so. 

 Because of the sickle cell, I have very low iron. So for the 2 weeks leading up to my donation, I take iron pills and load up on iron-rich foods daily. Another reason I won't donate every 2 weeks. I've got an appointment for next Saturday, but with my insane work schedule I haven't been iron-loading as much as I should. So for tonight's dinner I wanted to find something that would pack a punch.

 I've got a bunch of recipes filed under "made it, loved it" on Pinterest, and recently realized that I haven't posted about many of them. So I'm on a mission to fix that, with one recipe a week from that board. I was originally thinking of doing sweet potatoes tonight because I have a couple here that I need to use. But then I came across Orecchiette with Wilted Spinach, Kale & Toasted Pine Nuts. I have baby spinach that's about to be past its life span, so that won out.

 Here is the recipe photo

And here is my version

I really like this dish. It's a great contrast of textures, and has very good flavor. I've never been able to achieve the golden color on the pasta that Laura gets in her photo. I went overboard with the kale, mainly because when I opened the bag of spinach there was even less usable than I originally thought. I didn't have enough orecchiette, so I supplemented with baby shells. Toasted pine nuts add so much flavor, as well as a great soft crunch, to any dish. The recipe calls for both butter and oil melted at the start. I've never done the butter before, but added it this time. Well, I use Smart Balance to keep it lighter. The butter certainly adds to the flavor of the dish.

 This is a recipe I made regularly when I first found it, but I haven't made in months. I need to get it back into at least a periodic rotation. I normally make it as a side dish with fish, but I think adding in grilled chicken would make it a good one-pot lunch.

 Recipe courtesy of Fork Knife Swoon 
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My Chef's Hat - Potato Hash with Bell Peppers & Onions

When I was a kid, my parents did all the cooking. I can't remember when I started, but I was probably in middle school. And even then it basically consisted of eggs, chocolate chip cookies, and the occasional spaghetti. So needless to say I didn't help out in the kitchen too often. When I moved into an apartment with Kara right after college, I knew it was time to learn to cook, or weigh 500lbs from eating out all the time. So I watched my mom and helped her a few times to get the hang of things.  I had a few go-to recipes, but that was about it. When I moved out on my own I found a few more, but I was still rotating the same recipes over and over again.

 A couple years ago I discovered Pinterest.  I hesitated at first, because I had heard it was addicting.  And then I gave in and joined. For the first week I spent HOURS on there. Every time you log back in, there's hundreds of new items to search through. It's insane, kind of like a cult. Sometimes you want out, and then it sucks you right back in. And even when I go in to find a recipe to make, I'll end up pinning another 25 new ones.

 I've currently got over 1,200 recipes that I've pinned and want to make. And another 130+ that I've found and made. About 2 years ago I started a goal of making one brand new recipe every week. Some weeks I'm really good, other weeks I'm okay. And then there's times I go a month at a time without a new recipe. There's really no excuse for that. The other day I began a new mission of one brand new recipe per week; and then one that I've made but haven't posted on the blog.

 That's where the recipe for Potato Hash with Bell Peppers & Onions came in. I first came across this recipe on The Pioneer Woman, and have made it a bunch of times. I made it for my dad while he was here a couple weeks ago, and he really enjoyed it. Then the other day I found a slightly different version The Comfort of Cooking. So, in the spirit of the food blog, I made that one.

 Here is the official recipe photo

And here is my version

I love this dish. It's so flavorful and filling, and a perfect one-pot side. This recipe calls for fresh minced garlic to be added in for the last couple minutes of cooking. I had never done that before, and I was worried that it might be too strong. It does add a slight bite, but mainly it just adds really good flavor. The parmesan is good, but I think it would be okay without it. The recipe only calls for red pepper, but I added red, orange, yellow and green because I had them all. And I love how they add such a great pop of color. The recipe also calls for butter to be added in with the oil at the beginning when you cook the potatoes. I started with just Pam, and when I remembered the butter I added just a little Smart Balance about 5 minutes before the garlic. It still did the trick. I also eventually added just a very small amount of oil to prevent the potatoes from sticking. I've made the mistake in the past of not giving myself enough time to cook the potatoes, and then I end up burning them. But this time I cooked them perfectly.  A few pieces look a little burnt in the picture, but I kept the skin on so that's just how dark it got.

 I'm definitely keeping this version in my "must make" folder, and will be making it more often.
Recipe found on The Comfort of Cooking 


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