Comfort Soup.

Food is truly comforting, especially when someone lovingly takes the time to make it for you. Mrs. O made this Tuscan Bean Soup awhile ago, which I don't have the recipe or the link at hand. It was served with a wonderful French baguette, and that is all. Nothing fancy, and yet it hits all the spots: it was warm, delicious, and comforting. 

And then for dessert, she made these magically yummy but super healthy pumpkin/brownie bites. I know what this looks like, but seriously... They were the perfect combination of moist on the inside surrounded by this crisp outer layer, like the wonderful texture of a muffin top embracing a moist chocolate cake.

The end.

Simple Pleasure.

One of the things I loved when I was growing up was Nutella. I still love it, but I rarely have it nowadays. It's become like a treat. But once in a while, when I'm feeling a bit sentimental (or overwhelmed and stressed), I whip out the Nutella, a couple slices of bread, and a glass of milk. Then all is well. So here are the basic steps to a perfect Nutella sandwich snack (or dinner).  :)

1. Spread some Nutella on a couple pieces of bread. Multigrain if possible, it goes well with the Hazelnut-Chocolate spread.

2. Fold the bread...

... like so.  

3. Pour yourself a glass of milk and enjoy one of life's simplest pleasures. 

This is especially comforting when you have a midterm in Pediatric Language Disorders. 

I bet those kids on the front cover would love Nutella!

Chicken in a Pot.

The series of pictures you're about to see tells the story of a simple dish that I now love so much, not only because of its simplicity, but because of the spices that bring this simple chicken dish to life. When I tried this, it brought me back to my childhood in the Middle East, living in a building with a culturally diverse tenant population (mostly Indian), and constantly getting a whiff of the strong, lingering smells of curry and garam masala in the hallways and stairwell. This dish was something I concocted after my boss said, "Here's some chicken, we want it in some type of soup or sauce, and we want some vegetables in there. Okay, see you later!"

So, here's what I came up with: we already had the chicken, so then I quartered a few potatoes, sliced a couple onions, peeled some fresh cloves of garlic, opened a pack or two of baby carrots, defrosted about a cup of green peas, made chicken broth with chicken stock, and opened a can of diced tomatoes.

BUT, here are the most important elements: a couple of bay leaves, a teaspoon each of cumin, curry powder, and paprika, and less than a teaspoon each of garlic and onion powder. Don't worry, my bosses and the kids are really big on these spices too. About 2 to 3 times a week on average, I usually end up cooking something with curry, cumin, paprika, thyme, or "zahatar" seasoning, which is a Middle Eastern blend of herbs and spices.

Okay, let's begin. Olive oil goes into the heavy Dutch oven. Dutch ovens are so wonderful and I like them a lot. Anyway, back to the process. Are you ready? Here you go: DUMP ALL THE INGREDIENTS IN THERE. Easy enough?

First the chicken (which can be browned first), then the spices and the onions and garlic cloves...

Then all your veggies...

Then finally, the broth. Cover it and let it cook on medium or low-medium heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 

After a couple of hours, it should look like this!

There ya go! Easy, yummy, Middle-Easterny, and very nostalgic (well for me, at least).

Don't forget to sprinkle some parsley on there so it looks pretty. Enjoy!

Healthy-er

The following pictures are a little... hmm, what's the word? Unappealing? Unattractive? But I have a good reason: I made this dish with the help of Mrs. O a few weeks ago. I'm not used to taking pictures of what I make yet, so we started eating. To make a long story short, I forgot to take pictures of the nice, neat sandwiches before the mushrooms started popping out of them. :(

But anyway, B who so nicely reminded me to take pictures halfway through our sandwiches, helped me arrange it so you can barely tell that it's halfway gone.

I found this recipe while browsing a CookingLight magazine. Click here for the actual recipe... and here are slight deviations I made to the recipe:

• instead of using ground sirloin to make the patties, I used ground chicken
• I used a red onion instead of a yellow onion
• I used whatever beer was available, which was not dark (porter) beer
  
• instead of rye bread, I used Publix's multigrain Italian bread

Nevertheless, this was delicious! The chicken patty was not bad at all, and the potatoes were yummy.

Tasty Tip.

One of my favorite dishes from a restaurant is Grilled Ahi Tuna "Tokyo Style" with Chilli Sauce from Bonefish Grill. I sort of ordered this meal by accident one time. When I saw it, I wasn't too sure about it, especially because *raw* fish makes me ill. But it was amazing! I definitely recommend this one!

Paul L. Newby II | The Grand Rapids Press

This is served with vegetables and Jasmine rice. Yum!

... and of course, their famous Bang Bang Shrimp.

By jellybeanjill13

This is Work. Part II

Here's an example of what I cook at work. Actually, I've never made this before, but my boss gave me some FLOUNDER and told me to cook it however I wanted. The first thing I usually do when my boss does that to me is look at some cookbooks. If I find a recipe that looks really good, I'll do that. If not, I'll combine two recipes or take ingredients from different recipes. Sometimes, I'll already know what to do with a piece of fish, or meat, or poultry. As for these pieces of flounder, I didn't really find a recipe that was simple enough that called for simple ingredients that I already had at hand. So I just brainstormed, folded the laundry, and went with these items:

• Olive Oil
• Butter
• Lemon Juice
• Salt & Pepper
• Flour
• Garlic
• Parsley, Basil, & Marjoram

I cut the big pieces of fish into smaller, more manageable sizes. I squeezed some lemon juice onto each, coated them with a bit of flour, seasoned them with salt & pepper, and finally evenly distributed the herbs, including the minced garlic. I then seared them for a few minutes on each side.

Look at that golden goodness!

Then I tried it... I always try what I cook to make sure it's not too bland, or salty, or spicy, or whatever (especially for the kids). I don't think I've ever had flounder before; I know I've never cooked it and I honestly wasn't sure how this would turn out, because apparently flounder is really flaky. But it held up, and it was delicious!

This is Work. Part I

I love to cook and I love doing laundry. And that's what I do at work. I've been cooking and doing laundry for this wonderful family for three years now, and all I can say is that I've been blessed to have this job. And I don't even know what to call it when people ask me what I do. I just usually say that I cook and do laundry. It's strange, I know. But for now, as a college student, I wouldn't trade it for any other job.

First of all, this is where I work 50% of the time:

I mean look at all that kitchen counter space!

And another 50% is spent with these bad boys:

After which I turn this...

...into this:

I can't complain. I feel a little bit part of the family. I'm even on their refrigerator door. 

Easy Peasy Shrimp.

Fridays are meat-less days. So I thought I'd do something with shrimp. I hadn't had shrimp for a while and I really missed it. So I bought some shrimp but didn't know what to do with them. I've never really cooked shrimp by itself before. I've always added it to some kind of soup or red sauce. But I wanted try something new, fast, and easy. I decided to go the pan-seared route because I figured that would be the fastest. And then I thought about what would go well with a simple pan-seared shrimp dish:

• olive oil
• lemon 
• salt & pepper
• crushed rep pepper flakes (for a little kick)
• parsley

I had all of those, so I got to cookin'. The end result? Yum! It was simple, easy, and healthy! I put it over some brown and wild rice with broccoli and carrots.*
  

*The Bird's Eye rice (and other vegetable) thingies are really good for a quick side.

Take Advantage, You Must.

I love two for one deals at Publix. For a graduate student trying to pinch every single penny as much as possible, these deals are ESSENTIAL. So when I'm extremely busy and don't even have time to chop onions, these food items come extremely handy.

1. Cereal for dinner is one of my favorites!

2. These soups are great for a quick hearty meal... with some Italian bread, of course.

3. There were more of these. But whole grain bread has come a long way, I tell 'ya! These are perfect for quick sandwiches or some good 'ol PB&J.

4. Speaking of PB&J. This is a must, at least for B. I love these too, though. I sometimes have the weirdest craving for a peanut butter sandwich.

5. Ah, spaghetti sauce. When there's no time to make your own... like when you're super busy.
I forgot to take pictures of the pasta; they were also 2 for 1 at Publix.

For as the wise Yoda would say: "Student, save money you must. Cereal for dinner, you must eat."
Indeed, master Yoda. Indeed.