Cherry Cookies and Eggs

One more week of classes after tomorrow!!! yyaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

SO happy, I am in dire need of a break!

Any who I wanted something easy and warm for lunch today so scrambled eggs with a kick sounded good to me. My secret ingredient is KEY to making the BEST eggs..... And I won't tell you not matter how hard you beg!!!

Okay... maybe I will... but only this once!

Super Awesome Amazing Scrambled Eggs!
Cooking spray

2 large eggs (I use 3 egg whites)

1 tablespoons skim milk

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

dash of salt and pepper

1 teaspoon mayo

hand full of cheese

leftover meats

Directions

1. whisk the eggs, with milk, baking powder, mayo, salt, and pepper until very well mixed and froth

2. Spray skillet with cooking spray
3. Pour eggs into hot skillet and and stir/scramble until cooked until liking

4. You may also ass cooked meats /cheese to the finished dish as I did today.

Ease of execution: 9/10
Taste: 10/10
Health: 6/10

There cherry cookies I developed last year after I had some leftover cherries to use up. This is now one of my favorite cookies I make for the Christmas season.

Cherry Cookies
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons leftover cherry juice
1 teaspoon orange extract (or vanilla, whatever you prefer)
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped drained maraschino cherry
1 1/4 cups flaked coconut
Directions
1. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy, then blend in juice from drained cherries and extract.
2. Mix in flour until combined then stir in coconut and cherries.
3. Shape the dough into rolls in plastic wrap(this will be very sticky!) and place in fridge for a few hours until firm (or freeze until needed).
4. Preheat oven to 380°F
5. remove from fridge and slice into rounds and place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes.
6. I did mine convection at 360 for about 10 minutes also.
7. Bake until edges are slightly brown.

Ease of execution: 9/10
Taste: 9/10
Health: 4/10

Chicken Souvlaki Salad

Today was a pretty easy day at school. Only had one class today since my childhood pysch class was cancelled for the entire week.... and my neuroethics class lasted 20 min. since we had a "sub" teacher who just handed out our assignment.

Today I made a yummy indoor grilled dish again. This is my favorite version of chicken souvlaki I have came up with so far. I finally mastered this recipe over a year ago and have not varied from this recipe since. Enjoy!

Chicken Souvlaki Salad

CHICKEN

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 boneless skinless chicken breast

Lettuce (to serve with)

TZATZIKI SAUCE

1/4 cup cucumber, shredded

1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 small onion, minced

1. Combine all chicken ingredients in a bag and place in fridge for about 30 minutes at least.
2. remove chicken from bag and grill or broil until done (about 4 minutes per side).
3. cut chicken into strips and place on lettuce topped with the tzatziki sauce.
5. SAUCE:.
6. Combine all ingredients and place in fridge to let flavors "mellow".

Ease of execution: 19/10
Taste: 10/10
Health: 9/10

Who Needs to Go Outside to Grill???

I have had a pretty busy weekend which means not much time for cooking, so when I did finally whip up something on Sunday night it had to be simple but of course tasty. I used my indoor grill (like always) to produce some delicious chicken kabobs. I came up with this recipe over a year ago and have been using this marinade on so many other meats since then. Enjoy!

Yummy Sesame Chicken Skewers

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons honey

1 dash worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

1 onion, sliced

pineapple chunk

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1. Mix all wet ingredients together in a large zip lock bag to make marinade, then place chicken into a bag with onions and pineapple.
2. place in fridge for at least an hour.
3. Thread chicken onion and pineapple onto skewers then grill or broil about 8 minutes, or until done then sprinkle with sesame seed.
4. I also add other veggies to the skewers like tomato and peppers sometimes, also I make extra marinade to baste the chicken with while grilling sometimes.

Ease of execution: 8/10
Taste: 10/10
Health: 8/10

MMMMM.....Microwave Meatballs!!

So today I had lab (ICK) but it was sort of fun. We extracted DNA from corn and other farmed products to test it for DNA. It was actually quite amazing, I mean I never thought I would be able to do something like extract DNA. Well I am sort of worn out today so I will get right to the recipe.

A Microwave Meatball??? whaaaaattt you say???? Yes, Microwave Meatballs... and they are quite tasty! I was planning on hating these since well meatballs should be simmered lovingly in a sauce, not nuked!!! But alas! I was wrong, they were/still are amazing.

Microwave Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I use whole wheat homemade crumbs)
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or less)
1 egg ( I used egg beaters this time)
1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:
1. Mix ground meat, bread crumbs, water, basil, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, and egg.
2. Form mixture into about 15 meatballs.
3. Put meatballs in a microwave safe baking dish.
4. Cover with spaghetti sauce and parmesan cheese.
5. Cover dish with plastic wrap and microwave at 70% power for 12 minutes.
6. Uncover; add Mozzarella cheese. (I skipped the cheese this time)
7. Microwave at 70% power for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Today I changed it a bit and did not add the sauce and cheese when I nuked it since I was going to eat some later without sauce. They still turned out great when I added the sauce at the table.

Ease of execution: 10/10
Taste: 10/10
Health: 9/10

Leftover Pasta Pizza

Hopefully the hardest part of the week is over now that I have handed in my term paper, now onto the fun! I am cooking a dinner for one of my friends b-days on Thursday so I have to get prepped for that. Going to be making eggplant parm, stromboli, and some other random things I haven't thought of yet. I just love cooking for large groups of people, Thanksgiving and Christmas are always so much fun for me.

That reminds me I have to start my x-mas cookie baking soon. I normally make about 20-30 types and around 200-300 of each type of cookie. My Father started this tradition about 8 years ago and I am determined to keep it going.

So last nights dinner was excellent. I used miracle noodles which are about 5 calories per serving when I made this, so it lightened it up quite a bit.

Pasta Pizza from Leftovers (Or Not)

1 1/2 cups cooked pasta (cut into about 2 inches or so and lightly tossed with pasta sauce)
4-5 eggs
1/2 cup of cooked meat or cooked vegetable or stale bread, diced (only up to 1/2 cup or it wont "stay")
1/2 cup cheese (your choice)
garlic powder (optional)
onion powder (optional)
dried basil (optional)

Directions:
1. Mix everything together.
2. Pour into a lightly greased oven proof frying pan.
3. Preheat broiler to high.
4. Cook mixture over stove top on medium heat until bottom is set, shaking pan occasionally.
5. Once bottom is set place pan into oven 4 inches away from broiler and cook until top is set as well.
6. Take out of oven and invert onto serving platter.
7. Slice into wedges.
8. OR, to it make more pizza like, place sauce and more cheese on top of the cooked "pasta pizza" and broil again until melted.

Ease of execution: 10/10

Taste: 10/10

Health: 8/10

Great Weekend and Great Food

Had a wonderful weekend, even though I cranked out 20 pages of glorious essayness..... but still had an awesome weekend. Got school off of my mind for the most part at night FINALLY. My Mom went to Toronto to see a play with her boyfriend on Saturday, so she was in a good mood too.

So kinda big news... my Mom is moving! Now that I am moving out in a few months she said it was finally time for her to move. So she is building this pimp house about 5 minutes away from my house where I live now. I guess this house is just getting too big and too much for her to take care of now that my Dad is gone. We got rid of the pool last year, which got rid of a lot of headaches, but I guess other stuff is "bothering" her as well.

I don't know how I feel about her moving. I mean this house has so many memories of my Dad... So I don't really want to leave them just yet.

Anyways to get my house ready to sell my Mom's boyfriend who is a contractor has been painting our house this entire past week (well my Mom "ordered" him too hahaha). I don't see why he really has to, my Mom is SOOOO OCD about keeping things cleaned etc that the walls, rugs, and just everything is basically looking brand new still.

My Mom confuses/baffles/surprises/stuns me all of the time with things like that.

ANYWAYS...

On to the fooooodd!

Crab Cakes yummmmmmmm. I looove crab cakes. Espically semi healthy one like these! This is my #1 all time favortie fish cake of anytime recipe, enjoy!

Oven Fried Crab Cakes

Pam
1/3 cup red and green pepper, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup bread crumbs whole wheat

1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup egg whites

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
3 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoon mustard
salt

pepper

other random dried herbs about 1 1/2tbs

1 lb lump crabmeat

1. Roast veggies that have been sprayed with Pam in a oven at 400 until tender and let cool.
2 In a bowl mix everything except crab.
3. Gently add crab.
4. Shape cakes then place in fridge for at least 1-2 hours.
5. After chilled broil cakes for 3 minutes on one side, 3 on the other

6. Serve with rolls/tatar sauce/whatever else you please!

Ease of execution: 9/10
Taste: 10/10
Health: 8/10

This is my all time favorite light dessert. Nothing says comfort better than warm apples...mmm

Microwaved Low Cal Apple Dessert

1 apple

3 TBS low sugar orange juice

dash of splenda

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

dash of lemon juice

1. Peel and cut apple into wedges

2. Mix all ingredients together and microwave in 30 second intervels until tender, stirring every 30 seconds.

Ease of execution: 10/10
Taste: 10/10
Health: 10/10

Super Easy Meal for a Super Hard Day

Had an URGHHHHH day again. Had multiple issues when I was signing up for my classes today. Finally got into a few classes for next quarter, but they were not any of the ones I wanted. I cranked out 8 pages of my neuroethics paper after my exam today.... I am fried.... again. Thank god I have tomorrow off!

But too bad I will spend most of tomorrow getting my car inspected, getting my rabbits teeth trimmed, and finishing my thesis.... haha oh well at least I'm going out tomorrow night to get rid of some of this stress.

I had this recipe forever, can not remember ever not eating these tasty bad boys!

Roasted Sprouts

1 lbs Brussels sprouts

1/2-1 tablespoons olive oil (I normally just spray with a bit of pam)

1/2-3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Cut off the ends of the Brussels sprouts

3. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper

4. Put them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp outside and tender inside.

5. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the Brussels sprouts evenly.

Ease of execution: 10/10

Taste: 10/10

Health: 9/10

Pan Fried Polenta

1 Prepared tubed polenta

seasoning

Directions

1. Cut the polenta into 1/2 inch slices and spray the slices with pam and sprinkle with garlic powder or any other seasoning

2. Place under the broiler until lightly toasted, then flip and continue broiling until the other side is crispy as well

Ease of execution: 10/10

Taste: 10/10

Health: 8/10

SO MANY TESTS and Bread Baking!

I have been SO swamped with school. Two tests, a midterm, Three essays, one powerpoint, and one lab practical later I am fried. And not the tasty deep fried type of fried. ARGH!!!!!!!

Today was beyond annoying. I could not register for my classes since my immunization records were not at RIT.... but I faxed them over THREE TIMES since I started going there. Every quarter I get a message from them saying they do not have my records, and ever quarter I send them. I mean how can they loose them at the start of EVERY course selection period??? So 45 minutes later on hold at RIT I got their fax number, 36 minutes later I got ahold of my doctor only to find out they LOST my records some how in the transition from their new office!! WTFFFFF. So luckily I had a copy of the fax filed away that I did not know about that my Doctor sent RIT last year, so I faxed that over........ AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

I need a stiff drink.

So in the past week or so that I have been MIA I have been cooking a lot. First up is my favorite bread recipe.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread That Actually Works!

Ingredients
3 teaspoons yeast
1 cup warm skim milk (or any other milks really)
5 tablespoons water, that is warm
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup melted butter
3 1/2-4 cups flour (or more or less as needed)
1/4 teaspoon salt
extra melted butter
cinnamon
sugar
nutmeg

Directions
1. Mix both yeast and water together and proof.
2. mix together sugar, butter, eggs, milk, and proofed yeast.
3. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour and mix well.
4. add the rest of the dough until a stiffish dough forms, cover and let rest for a few minutes then knead for about 5-10 minutes until soft.
5. Cover and let rise until doubled in a greased bowl, punch down and let rise again.
6. Then roll dough out into a rectangle then brush with a little bit of butter.
7. Sprinkle with sugar cinnamon and nutmeg to taste then roll up jelly roll style.
8. Place in a greased bread pan, or cookie tray and bake for 30-45 minutes at 375 F or until when tapped it sounds hollow.
9. Cover if the top is browning too fast, when you take it out of the oven you may brush the top with extra butter to make a softer crust. Also you may freeze the cooked loaf and re heat in oven covered in foil until thawed and it taste just as good.

Ease of execution: 7/10
Taste: 10/10
Health: 6/10

Next up was my Moms favorite seafood salad

Seafood Salad

Ingredients
4 cups cooked small shell pasta (or any other small noodle)
2 (6 ounce) cans shrimp
6 ounces crabmeat
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup peas
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup sliced carrot
1-1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Italian dressing
prepared mustard (optional)

Directions
1. Mix everything together and chill.

Ease of execution: 10/10

Taste: 10/10

Health: 6/10

Here is another oh my gosh easy recipe using random goodies you have around your house.

Bisquick Danish

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
5 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 cups Bisquick
1/3 cup vanilla coffee creamer
1/3 cup half-and-half (or 2/3 cup milk for healthier)
1/4 cup fruit preserves
Glaze
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla coffee creamer (or milk)
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup

Directions
1. Stir butter, sugar and bisquick together until crumbly.
2. Gently add in coffee creamer and half and half or milk until dough just starts to form.
3.Drop about a heaping tablespoonful dough onto a greased baking sheet.
4. Make an indent into each Danish.
5. Fill indent with a small amount of preserves.
6. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden.
7. While they are baking make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar, coffee creamer or milk, and corn syrup.
8. Drizzle glaze over warm danishes.

Ease of execution: 9/10

Taste: 10/10

Health: 4/10

And finally a little something to get you in the mood for Halloween

Chocolate Cookie Cut Outs

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 dash salt
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk

Directions
1. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt until well blended .
2. cream butter and sugar until smooth in a separate bowl, then beat in the egg and yolk. mix the sifted ingredients into the creamed butter slowly
3. Divide dough and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
4. heat the oven to 375 degrees F and on a lightly floured surface roll out the chilled dough to about 1/6 inch thickness and cut dough into shapes. Be careful its sticky!
5. Bake cookies 8 to 10 then let cool on sheets for a few minutes before removing them to a rack.

Ease of execution: 8/10
Taste: 10/10
Health: 4/10

Thursday=Friday for Me!

Since I never have class on Friday my weekend starts on Thursday. Tonight should be fun since Tour De Franzia is happening at my friends apartment..... seeing what team can consume 5L of wine first. I'm just gonna "ref" this time. Wine chugging is not quite my thing. The rest of this weekend should be fun too since I have my thesis in neuroethics to work one/finish and two tests to study for... ICK.

Oh well, at least tonight will be fun!

Onto the food!

Today for lunch I had a favorite of my! Quesadilla combos! This is the best recipe to have when you want to use up leftover anything in a tasty quick manner. I bolded what I used today

Quesadilla Combos

1/4-1/2 cup spinachor chopped onion or chopped cooked potato or sauteed mushrooms or cooked corn or chopped peppers or cooked squash or chopped tomato
1/2 cup cooked chicken or ham or cooked beef or cooked turkey or tofu or cooked shrimp or cooked crabmeat
1/2 cup Cheddar or feta or moz. cheese etc
1/4 cup salsa or tomato sauce or pesto or Alfredo sauce
dash of garlic powder, or onion powder, or basil, or oregano
2 soft tortillas, corn or wheat

1. Combine all ingredients except tortilla and oil in a bowl.
2. Spray skillet with cooking spray or lightly coat it with oil and heat to medium high.
3. Lightly brown one side of the tortilla and set to the side.
4. Re oil or spray pan and place un toasted tortilla in the pan and top with cheese, meat, and veggie mixture then place toasted tortilla on top.
5. Continue cooking until cheese is melted and warmed.
6. Slice into wedges and serve.

Ease of execution: 8/10

Taste: 10/10

Health: 7/10

For dinner I have made a salad and pasta bake to use up some leftovers.

Simple Pasta and Cheese Bake With Veggies for Two

1 cup cooked pasta (I used miracle noodles for mine and regular pasta for my Moms)
1/2 cup vegetable or meat, cooked
1/4-1/2 cup Italian dressing
1/4 cup parm. cheese (I skipped cheese on mine)
1/4 cup moz. cheese or provolone

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease a casserole dish.
3. Combine everything except the mozzarella cheese.
4. Place mixture into a casserole.
5. Top with the mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake until bubbly and heated through, or microwave until done (about 2 or 3 minutes tops)

Ease of execution: 10/10

Taste: 9/10

Health: 6/10 or 8/10 with less cheese and miracle noodle

Lab Midterm Done... Time to COOK!!

So yesterday was spent studying basically all day and all night. When I got up this morning I went to the gym and brought my book and studied there. At stop lights on the way to class I was reviewing flash cards. In the hall way waiting to enter the lab I was skimming my notes. Biology OWNED my life the past 48 hours. I was SO sure I was going to fail this exam. I have been hung up on my molecular neural classes and neuroethic that I forgotten about bio completely. URGH!!!!!


I mean REALLY who NEEDS to know dilution factors and conversion off the top of their head?? Who NEEDS to know what each kind of bacteria cell looks like? Well yeah, some people do need to know this.... but not me!! haha!!! I am a psych major! I do not caaarreee how to tell different bacterias from each other. I do not want to know the anatomy of a microscope. Why do I need to know what iodine does in starch and sugars? BLAAAAHHHHH.


Well what do you know, I walked away with an 85.76%. Not at all what I want to get. If I do not get an A in this class it will ruin my almost perfect career at RIT. But I guess I can live with a B for now.

SO now that bio is off my mind I can finally get some cooking done!

A bit about the recipe below. I make this all the time when I have leftover meats and veggies laying around. Its my Moms favorite comfort food. I on the other hand wanted a nice beef stir fry. This recipe I came up with last year after playing with some stir fry sauces combos and finally came up with a very good recipe!

Thanksgiving Pie (Left Overs Shepherd's Pie)

4 cups cooked turkey or any other cooked meat
3-4 cups cooked veggies(I use carrots, corn, onions, green beans, and peas)
1-1 1/2 cup gravy (to match meat flavor) or cream of whatever soup
3-4 cups mashed potatoes
1 egg

1. Heat vegetables, meat, and gravy on the stove until warmed then pour into a greased casserole dish.
2. Mix mashed potatoes with egg and spread over the warmed filling.
3. Bake at 400°F for about 25-30 minutes until filling is bubbly.
4. Want a change? Sprinkle cheese on top, or mash ranch dressing mix into the potatoes with 2 TBS sour cream.

Ease of execution: 10/10

Taste: 9/10

Health: 5/10

Fast and Easy Beef Stir Fry
1/2 lb flank steak, sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
oil to coat the pan
cornstarch
cooked rice to serve if you want.
Sauce for beef
1 tablespoon hosin sauce
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce (I use low sodium)

1 tablespoon rice wine
1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup beef broth (I use low sodium)

1. marinade sliced beef in soy sauce, garlic, and ginger in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour.
2. heat oil on a skillet or wok to about med.
3. take beef out of marinade and toss in cornstarch and stir fry until almost cooked all the way thru.
4. Mix together the sauce ingredients and pour into the skillet and simmer with the beef until the sauce is thickened and the beef in cooked all the way thru.
5. You may add any cooked veggies in the the beef if you like, I serve this over rice or on a salad for a great meal.

Ease of execution: 7/10
Taste: 9/10
Health: 7/10