School Lunch menu: Friday = Pizza Day

Remember those days when you would get a printout of the lunch menu for the entire month in elementary school? Every Friday was designated Pizza Day. I have to admit, I actually wasn't so grossed out with school cafeteria food until middle school when almost every meal was drowning in oil *shudders*

Just because I check an older age box now doesn't mean I can't enjoy pizza every once in a while. I just have to watch what's in it... hello pretty pizza.

Ricotta Cheese Pizza
Recipe from Allrecipes



Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 (8 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crust
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh broccoli
1 (3 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained

Preparation:
1. Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken in the butter until no longer pink and the juices run clear, 7 to 10 minutes; remove from heat and set aside.

3. Combine the ricotta cheese, 1 tablespoon butter, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 1 minute; stir to combine. Spread the mixture over the pizza crust. Scatter the mozzarella cheese evenly over the pizza. Arrange the cooked chicken, broccoli, and mushrooms evenly on top of the pizza.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.

Tine's Notes: I used homemade pizza crust for this using the bread maker. It irks me to buy that kind of stuff sometimes because of how inconvenient it is to store it unless you plan to use it right away. Really who stocks up on pizza crust? You? Oh sorry then. I always have flour. Also, I used fresh mushrooms and frozen broccoli. I guess we're even then.

First day of summer, but I like spring [rolls]

*If you follow Allrecipes on Facebook, they do a Meatless Monday recipe of the day and today it was the tofu parmigiana I used a couple of posts ago!

In honor of following along with their theme, today would be perfect to share with you a meatless option. Oddly enough, we go vegetarian probably 2-3 times a weekly without consciously thinking about it. It's more for mother's health than anything. You'll notice I've only made a red meat (steak) once since this blog started up.... looking for the healthy fat/protein, if you will. Enter chicken and fish. And tofu!

This recipe was shared with me through the awesome kids of the Go Green, Eat Smart apprenticeship of Citizen Schools at Bedichek. These kids spent a semester learning about and cooking up vegetarian dishes. I tasted it at their demo and had to make it for myself... and when I did, I made a dinner of it. Yes, honestly.

Spring Rolls

Ingredients:
Thin rice noodles (vermicelli)
Rice spring roll wrappers
1 carrot
Few basil or soft lettuce leaves
Cilantro
1 package Hard texture tofu
Teriyaki sauce

Preparation:
1. Prepare the following sauce:
        1 small clove garlic, crushed
        1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
        1 tbsp peanut butter
        2 tsp lime juice
        1 tsp brown rice syrup
        2 tsp water

        Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl, except the water. Add water as needed for the right consistency.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Open package of tofu and drain excess water. Cut tofu into slices 1/2" to 3/4" thick. Choose a baking pan that fits just the amount of tofu you want to bake in one single layer. Put 2 tbsp of teriyaki sauce in bottom of pan. Place tofu on top and cover with more sauce. Can add a little water so it will not burn. Place pan uncovered in oven. Bake 10 minutes then flip over. Bake additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

4. Cut carrots into thin strips. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch carrots. Wash basil leaves and cilantro and let dry.

5. Cook noodles by immersing in boiling water. Gently separate noodles with tongs or a spoon. They should be done in 3 minutes. Taste to check doneness. Pour noodles into colander and rinse with cold water. Let drain.

6. In a pan large enough for the spring roll wrappers to fit, add warm water. Dip one spring roll wrapper into the water until it softens. It is ready when it is flexible and translucent.

7. Assemble your fillings in front of you. On a flat surface, lay the softened wrapper. Place 1-2 herb leaves first in the center. Place other ingredients such as carrots and tofu on top. Place a small amount of noodles also in center on top of pile.

8. Fold the side of the wrapper closest to you over the filling. Fold in the sides and lastly roll away from you tightly to seal the filling in.

Tine's Notes: For the dipping sauce, I used sugar instead of rice syrup, just a dash will do you. Also, feel free to add additional filling, I added bean sprouts

Thing(s) I learned: Growing up without it, I'm a now a big fan of hard texture tofu. I really do like cilantro.

Flounder; not Ariel's friend

Sorry that was my favorite childhood movie... and no, I didn't know about the castle. Anyway, to the cooking portion of this show....

I realize many of the dishes I have made include components that are not to be considered healthy: butter (oooh butta), heavy cream... well actually, those two are really the big players I'm taking about. They add an integral part of each dish, I cannot deny them... so this dish is a wonderful change. It includes neither and you will feel a tad healthier after eating this.


Flounder Mediterranean
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:
5 roma (plum) tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Spanish onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pinch Italian seasoning
1/4 cup white wine
24 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
4 tablespoons capers
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
6 leaves fresh basil, chopped
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound flounder fillets
6 leaves fresh basil, torn

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2.Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Plunge tomatoes into the boiling water, and immediately remove to a medium bowl of ice water. Drain, and remove skins. Chop, and set aside.

3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute onion until tender. Stir in garlic and Italian seasoning. Stir in tomatoes, and cook until tender. Mix in wine, olives, capers, lemon juice, and 1/2 the basil. Reduce heat, blend in Parmesan cheese, and cook until the mixture is reduced to a thick sauce, about 15 minutes.

4. Place flounder in a shallow baking dish. Cover with the sauce, and top with remaining basil leaves.

5. Bake 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until fish is easily flaked with a fork.

Tine's Notes: I reduced this recipe by half since I'm only feeding two and it was the perfect serving size. I used 4 flounder fillets, 2 tomatoes, and left out the kalamata olives. Olives are pretty heavy in sodium and the capers added just the perfect amount to make this dish stand out. Don't skimp on the white wine, I probably added a little more than the 1/4 cup. Simple and delicate, great dinner served over brown rice.

I've already made this twice with some variations (e.g. lime juice instead of lemon, more onions, less tomato, more Parmesan). This recipe was made to be customized for your flavor preference. Have at it!

Muffin: bread baked in small portions

At the house, a variety of fruit is a must. Put it in a carb and you've got the best of both worlds.

The day I made these I saw 3 bananas about to go south of the border (something my dad used to say) so this was the perfect recipe to try out.

Banana Crumb Muffins
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Tine's Notes: Followed the recipe to a T. No changes! These will definitely brighten your morning! Not overly banana-y. If you want a smooth muffin, make sure you mash the bananas well. There were a few chunks in mine-- not exactly the best texture. They keep well and the topping stays crunchy for a couple of days- eat them quickly! This made 12 muffins instead of the 10 in the recipe.

Thing I learned: I deserve a pastry blender with the types of baking I do.

Pretzel [time]

I made this recipe many times during the winter because I love baking and the smell that lingers in a cold house. With everyone home for the holidays, one full recipe barely lasted... minutes. Not kidding. I was the kid that grew up to the mall pretzels as a treat for not complaining when I was bored out of my mind. These taste EXACTLY like the mall pretzels. Who knew it was the baking soda?

Soft Pretzels
Recipe from Recipezaar

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups water (approx 105 degrees)
1 tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups occident flour (bread flour)
2 cups flour

Dipping solution:
1/2 cup baking soda, into
3 cups hot water

sweet creamy butter, for 'dipping' face of pretzels after baking (melt butter, then let set a few minutes, and use paper towel to remove cream which will float to the top)

Preparation:
1. Dissolve yeast into warm water.

2. Add sugar, then flour & mix well- do not 'knead' as this toughens the dough. (Mix just until combined well) Let rise until doubled, at least 20 minutes.

3. Cut into long 'ropes'. Shape into pretzel shapes, then dip into prepared dipping solution.

4. Place on well-greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with pretzel salt.

5. Bake at 500-550°F for 4-6 minutes until golden brown.

6. Dip face of pretzel into melted butter.

Variation: add 1 t vanilla to the dough.

Flavor variations:
Cinnamon/sugar- omit salt& dip into cinnamon sugar after face has been coated with butter.
Sour cream & onion- after dipping face of pretzel in butter, sprinkle with sour cream & onion powder
Garlic- same as sour cream & onion, but use garlic powder.
Sesame or poppy seed--BEFORE baking, AFTER dipping into dipping solution, dip pretzel face-down into the seeds, then bake. Salt is optional with this one.

Tine's Notes: I've only made the original and cinnamon sugar variations. I had to fight off a hoard to even let them cool off. These will go fast!

I haz chiken?

I know, I know. The meme is so played out. Give me a break, I cook all these dishes and I'm supposed to worry about what to title a blog post? Priorities.

To the food!

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1/4 c. Italian dressing
1/2 c. plain bread crumbs
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp basil leaves
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 parsley flakes
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 c. grated Parmesan
1/2 c. tomato sauce
1/4 c. Parmesan
1/4 c. Mozzarella cheese

Cooking:
1. Dip chicken in Italian dressing. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl except for remaining cheeses and tomato sauce.

2. Bake chicken for 10 mins per side. Generously top with sauce and cheese, cook for another 2 minutes.

Tine's Notes: I used the NuWave oven for this but the HI setting is equivalent to a 350 degree oven so no worries about that. For the mozzarella, I used an Italian blend. And because you can't have too much cheese, I threw in a couple tsps of grated Pecorino Romano. You'll probably need to avoid salt for a bit after this meal.

Also, a couple of days later, I also made Tofu Parmigiana. I warned you I like Italian flavors...

Thing I learned: This dish is entirely too easy to make. Will not be ordering it at a restaurant again. And neither should you.

P.S. I bought a springform pan so be on the lookout for that Mocha Mousse Cheesecake soon. =)~

Break to say hello!

Hi all 3 readers I know of! Glad you are here and reading this lonely food blog. Because of you, I can legitimately say "I have a food blog" and not feel like I'm lying.

If you've been reading before this post, you'll notice I have redesigned. The other layout was just a bit confusing to try and customize beyond what I had already managed to do. This is it now. Like it? Tell me yes.

I know this blog is far from polished and that's what I love about it. I will be doing tweaks as I see fit, but I have no desire to turn this into a beast of a blog with a plethora of tabs, categories and non-food topics. If I do, you have the right to remind me that I said I would never do it.

Also, I'm not going to write long detailed posts about what I did all day or come up with crazy stories to tell you that have nothing to do with whatever recipe I'm featuring. I'm starting to notice this annoying trend in some blogs and I'm really having an issue with it. I'll keep my crazy stories to one line, is that a deal? The ultimate goal of this endeavor is to share a recipe and keep it short and sweet. Like myself.

So dear reader(s), I hope you are enjoying this diamond-in-the-rough of a blog because it's been so fun to share my kitchen with you thus far.

Cheers!
Tine 

Da-na da-na

Laugh now, but this is serious stuff. My mother can't eat because of this. Well, she couldn't eat much of it because of the connotation but you get it, right?



My brother went deep sea fishing about a week ago and his spoils came to about, oh I'd say about 25 lbs of black tipped shark meat. I had no idea what to do with all of it let alone how to cook it. Google-fu to the rescue.

What did I discover? There are two options to cook shark: frying and baking. I found this recipe and thought we should get a jump start on consuming this... meat.

Seven Spiced Shark Steak

Ingredients:
3 (8 ounce) shark steaks
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder

Cooking:
1. Rinse the shark steaks and trim off any skin.

2. Mix together the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic salt, thyme, black pepper, and chili powder in a small bowl to form a paste. Spread a thin layer of the soy sauce mixture on both sides of each shark steak. Place on a plate and cover. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Arrange the shark on a baking sheet. Bake the shark in the preheated oven until cooked completely through, about 40 minutes, turning the steaks over once, about half-way through the cooking time.

Tine's Notes: Subbed dried thyme for the fresh [who actually has that on-hand all the time?] Shark meat is very clean tasting and not at all fishy like I thought it may be. The spices in this recipe really go all out. You should probably taste it before slathering it on as I did not. Needless to say our sinuses were quite clear after dinner this night. It's quite a kick. [I hear shark tacos are the way to go. Anyone have a recipe or suggestions for more shark recipes? Better yet, anyone want to take some off our hands?]
Seeing as how my mother flips out knowing she is eating shark, brother instructed that I continue to cook it and tell her it's just fish. On it.

Here's a pic: Shark is not pretty.

*NEW Thing I learned: I suck at filleting.

Easy-as-pie [pineapple carrot] cake

No really, this has to be one of the easiest cakes to make. First, it's just baked as a sheet in a 9 x 13 pan. Second, it's glazed to make it pretty for all the superficial foodies. Third, it tastes YUM. Now, I know you may see the flavor combination as strange, but the pineapple gives this cake great moisture. Recall carrot cake *cough more-like-bread cough* Yeah so this solves that issue.

I made this the night before I left for a trip to Austin for 5 days and I didn't get to see it again. Say it with me, folks. Re-frid-ger-ate. Ok thanks!

Pineapple Carrot Cake

Ingredients:
3 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1 c. salad oil or your choice of vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
2 c. fresh carrots, grated
1 c. crushed pineapple (not drained)
1/2 c. milk


Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.

2. Add nuts and toss with flour mixture. Stir in oil and eggs. Add carrots, pineapple and milk.

3. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees about 35-45 minutes. Cool, then frost with the following frosting:

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla or lemon juice
1 (1 lb) box powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 c. nuts, chopped

Tine's Notes: I added chopped pecans and used fresh pineapple and this was perfect. Honestly, you can't really taste any pineapple flavor so keep that in mind. I had extra frosting from the Red Velvet cupcakes I made a while back so I used the remainder instead of making another batch which is why my glaze is barely there. Probably better for the waist right? Sure....

Cream = comfort food

The TV is constantly on at my house. Just think of it as background noise. Don't think less of me, it's usually on the Food Network. Lately, everything that Giada De Laurentiis makes causes this strange sensation.... also known as drool face -> :-)~

Can't help it. She went to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. I admire that she's a real chef unlike some other people parading around that network.... Anywho, this is one of her recipes from her grandmother.

Nonna Luna's Rice
Ingredients:
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, divided, at room temperature
2 cups parboiled long-grain rice
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 pounds small shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 cup whipping cream
Freshly ground black pepper

Cooking:
1. In a medium nonstick saucepan, heat 1/2 of the butter and smashed garlic clove over medium-low heat. Remove garlic to another pan to cook with shrimp.

2. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the chicken stock and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer covered for 20 to 25 minutes until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat and rest covered for 5 minutes.

3. In a large skillet, melt the remaining butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 to 2 minutes until aromatic. Add the shrimp, lemon juice, and hot sauce. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the shrimp is pink and cooked through. Stir in the cream and heat through. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

4. Using a fork, fluff the rice and arrange on a platter. Spoon the shrimp cream sauce over the rice and serve.

Tine's Notes: I used brown rice for this and the chicken broth really adds the flavor you are looking for. This slightly tart, but creamy sauce is definitely a comfort food. Enjoy!