I know I've failed you all :(

So I know the holidays have been rough and they're not about to ease up on me yet!! I promise I will be more regular in my food blogging in the future! For now, here are some tantalizing pictures (some more than others) to curb your appetite for more pictures!!

::Small Group Christmas party dinner::

Corn Casserole, Mac & Cheese, Homemade ham, Sweet Potato Casserole, Creamed Spinach, and Rice

::Yes, another lazy night at Moe's::

::Christmas at my parents::

::Green Bean Casserole::

::Prime Rib Roast::

::Quail::

::Crescent Rolls::

::My full plate::

::Rum cake!!!!!::

Agh!! I've failed!!! :)

So the past few nights have been really off! First we went out to eat sushi (which is the food below), then my husband made burgers, and tonight he made pan-fried chicken and mac & cheese! Sorry for the lack of posting! It will probably be this way until the Holidays end! My apologies to my fans ;)

::Have to start with a steaming bowl of Miso Soup::

::Pork Katsudon::

::The Uptown roll (yes, again) and a small tuna roll::

Roasted Chicken & Veggies

So I've had some interest in this recipe, so I figured I would post the details of how I cook it! I usually dice up around 3 small white potatoes, a medium sized yellow onion, one red bell pepper, and 2 chicken breasts. Pre-heat the oven to bake at 500 degrees. I put the potatoes in a bowl, pour a little olive oil over them, and season them (I use an Italian bread dip seasoning, but my favorite is Tony's Creole seasoning). I put them in my olive-oiled cast-iron Le Creuset pan, put them in the oven for 5 minutes, get them out and stir, then back in for another five minutes. Then I take the onion, pepper, and chicken, and oil and season them, and mix them in with the potatoes. All of this goes back in the oven for 5 minutes, then I stir it again and add a little extra seasoning to top it off, and back in for another 5 and they're done!

Creamy Parmesan Pasta & Salad

So 6 o'clock came around a lot quicker than I was ready for! I didn't have time to thaw any chicken for my famous roasted chicken & veggies (which I will hopefully do tomorrow), so I panicked! Fortunately I'd bought a box of Pasta Roni and cooked it up with some extra milk and pasta to stretch it, then whipped up a quick salad with some spring greens, and voila, dinner is served!!

Corn Chowder

So tonight I decided that the best remedy for the chilly weather was some corn chowder! I've made this recipe before, I just cut it in half, and usually use a little extra potatoes and corn because I like my soup chunky!!

::I love my Le Creuset::

::Topped with some delicious crispy bacon::

New Recipe Saturday: Sweet & Spicy Pork Chops and Mashed Cauliflower

Wow that was a long title!!! Ok so tonight was a made-up recipe for the pork chops and this recipe for the mashed cauliflower! Here is the process:

::2/3 cup each ketchup & brown sugar, with 1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper::

::And voila, sweet & spicy::

::cut a butterfly pork-chop in half, wrap in 1 layer of bacon::

::Random non-essential step, cook up the excess bits of bacon!::

::Ingredients for the cauliflower::

::Cooked cauliflower and all the other ingredients ready to be processed::

 

::Finished and delicious!!::

::Delicious pork chops:: 

(disclaimer, this was actually before they were all the way done, they ended up a little darker)

::My delicious dinner!!!::

My review- Things I would do differently:

• I would use a little less cayenne, maybe 1/3 of a Tbsp
• I'm not sure how long I cooked the pork, but I cooked it to 150 degrees, and man was it DRY! So I will watch how long I cook it next time!

Late Friday post: Banana Bread

So Friday my husband and I went to his work party, so I knew I wouldn't be making dinner. This fact, plus the dying banana on my counter, inspired me to make some banana bread from scratch!! It turned out absolutely delicious! Thin, but delicious!!!

Sushi & my festive house!

So today I went out to get sushi with a girlfriend of mine, and we tried some new things. The roll is called the "Uptown" roll, and it had yellowtail, tuna, salmon, asparagus, and cream cheese (which I replaced with avocado) and was topped with spicy mayo, sweet eel sauce (just a sauce, there's no icky eel) and tempura flakes (which is tempura batter that is fried). We also had an edamame appetizer, which my friend had never had before, and I have only experienced it cold, so it was nice to have it in the warm style!! I also got two pieces of yellowtail nigiri (fish on top of sushi rice).

::Edamame with sea salt for flavor::

::The entire meal complete with soy sauce and spicy mayo::

::Close-up of the Uptown roll::

::Close-up of the yellowtail nigiri::

 

::And here's my festive house::

Moe's Night Out!

So since my husband is still out of town and I've been feeling under the weather I decided to get out of the house for dinner now that I'm feeling better!!! So here's my burrito, queso, & chips from Moe's! (sorry for the iPhone pic, I forgot my camera at home!!)

 

And here's the AFTER picture!

 

And yes, I FINALLY put up our tree today!! This is just lights (more ornaments to come later!):

Fried Rice

So today I've been feeling sick and my husband is out of town, so I didn't have high hopes for dinner. When I looked in the fridge I saw some leftover rice! Perfect! Dice up an onion and saute it, add an egg, then add the rice, frozen veggies, and some soy sauce! Really easy and an actual meal! (Yes, I'm patting myself on the back for actually cooking and not giving in to chips & salsa for dinner!!)

Linguini with Marinara & Salad

So I'll admit it, I cheated tonight!!! My husband wasn't supposed to be in town but work got crazy and he ended up being here tonight! I found this out about 30 minutes before hew as supposed to be home, so panic set in and I yanked the last bottle of pre-made pasta sauce out of the pantry and seasoned it a little more with my favorite secret seasonings (balsamic vinegar does WONDERS to marinara). Then I cooked up the linguine (I left the water boiling on the stove until he called and said he was leaving) and chopped up some carrots for a quick salad!

Here's the yummy meal and the icicle lights on my house I promised to take a picture of! (disclaimer: the section that went out was working when my husband put them up!!)

Tacos and Rice!

So my husband's best friend is Dominican and he is OBSESSED with rice and whenever I cook it he goes bonkers (his wife doesn't really cook). So we invited them over today for tacos and rice, and requested that he help my husband put up the icicle lights on the front of the house! So they came over and I was so ready to eat that I fixed my tacos, ate half of one, then panicked realizing I forgot to take a picture! So pardon the half eaten taco, but it was YUMMY! Also, credit for cooking the meat goes to my amazing husband!

I'll post pictures of my house tomorrow so I can get a quality night shot! :)

New Recipe Saturday: Curry Chicken & Rice

Tonight was the amazing venture in Indian recipes! I've never actually tried cooking with Indian spices, so I figured curry would be a great way to get into them! Here's the recipe I used: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Indian-Chicken-Curry-II/Detail.aspx.

My critiques:

• I'd skip the 2 minute sauteing of the spices with the onions and go ahead and add in the other ingredients. 
• I would add more curry next time.

And here are the pictures from each stage!
First: The yummy ingredients: Clockwise from top: Coconut milk, chicken, tomato paste, all of the spices, onion, and yogurt.

Second: Cooking up the onions in olive oil

Third: Adding in the spices (This part was a bit weird... It just stuck to the bottom of the pan and didn't do much other than annoy me!!)

Fourth: Adding in the rest of the ingredients... It looked great at this point!!

And finally: It's done!!! (the reddish areas is the olive oil that is saturated with spices!)

I made a small bowl for my husband and he LOVED it and got up after his first bite to fill his bowl!! This is DEFINITELY one for the recipe books!

Introduction

So this is my way of sharing my adventures in cooking dinner! Obviously there will be nights where I don't make anything to die for, but I will be posting what I eat regardless!!! Maybe this will hold me more accountable for my diet! Also, Saturdays will be "New Recipe Saturday" dinners! I want to try and do a new recipe each Saturday to increase my recipe box!