Everyday cooking for the typical busy professional

Couscous I

Debs — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:28:05 +0000

This is titled “Couscous I” because there is potentially more to come in the future. Couscous doesn’t appeal to many but I strongly feel that they just haven’t had it prepared well. Not claiming myself to be a couscous expert but I made some and got my sister (who disliked couscous because she followed the instructions on the box) to say that she like it and eat more.

My biggest secret is to use broth (usually chicken broth) in place of water. There is another variation that I make that doesn’t completely use chicken broth but that’s for another day.

yeah i didn't do such a good job photographing this. my bad..

This post’s “cooking guide”:
Couscous (I use that box from Trader Joe’s)
Chicken broth
Carrots
Celery
Onions
Salt
Pepper
Butter

Chop up veggies and stirfry them in butter or oil in a pot. Wait until the desired softness and then add the amount of chicken broth needed for the amount of couscous you’re making (look at the box and see how much water you’re instructed to add.. and then add that much chicken broth.). Add couscous/butter as the box instructs. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy! It’ll probably taste a lot better than you expect it to.

Shrimp Ceviche

Debs — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:19:21 +0000

So while I was still home… I made ceviche! My lovely parents once again had just about every ingredient in their garden and freezer.. and my mother was craving quesadillas so I figured ceviche would be a nice companion

this was also easier to make than expected

This post’s “cooking guide”:
Shrimp
Cilantro (I actually didn’t have this and used some chinese celery from the garden… it was an excellent substitution..)
Juice of 1 Lemon
Juice of 1-2 Limes
Salt
Pepper
Hot pepper (those red ones i got from my garden… you can actually see them in a previous post)
Onions
Garlic
tomatoes

I basically quickly cooked/blanched the shrimp, chopped, and mixed this all together.. and put it in the fridge for a few hours before eating.

Vodka Cream pasta

Debs — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 03:47:08 +0000

This probably tastes better than it looks… unless this looks delicious to you. I can’t decide, but I can assure you that if you’ve never tasted Vodka pasta, you must! It looks fancy, and tastes great but so easy to make. It’s creamy, a little tart (but not in a dessert-y way… rather in a mmm-this-is-so-flavorful-and-interesting kind of way), tomato-y and a great dish to make to impress

i probably should have tossed this all together before photographing..

Fried Rice

Debs — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 03:39:30 +0000

Okay, so clearly I am not very good at keeping true to the title “daily cooking.” But I still cook basically on a daily basis, I just find that half the stuff I make are not appealing enough to be blog worthy and other times I just don’t take pictures. Anyway, moving along. I love cooking when I visit my parents because my mother has everything I could possibly need in the kitchen… every ingredient, every cooking utensil, and a kickass kitchen to boot. It’s great. So when I went home for Christmas, I made some good ol’ Fried Rice for my relatives. It’s pretty typical fried rice but my mom gave me some pineapple sausages to throw in and oh man those made the dish. Seriously. Next time you make fried rice, use pineapple sausages. You’ll love it.

ready to eat

Here is a fantastic recipe from Simply Recipes and guide on how to cook fried rice… go over there if you’re interested in making your own: http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007316shrimp_fried_rice.php

Good old fashioned hamburger

Debs — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:08:18 +0000

What do you do if you have a bunch of hungry mouths to feed and the supermarket happens to have ground beef on sale? Why you buy 10 pounds of beef and make a bunch of burgers that are sure to leave everyone satisfied

ready to eat

another angle... yeah the lettuce is disproportional

These weren’t the originals… but these patties were constructed about an inch thick (YUM!) cooked medium, with flavors of onion, garlic, pepper strewn throughout. These were sandwiched between an english muffin with a slice of american cheese, onion (hidden by the lettuce), lettuce, tomato and some mayo. The options are limitless!

This post’s “cooking guide”:
Beef
Garlic
Onion
Steak Seasoning

Other suggestions:
Soy Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
Worchestire Sauce

Shape the patties and grill/fry in a pan. I know this “guide” is weak, but you get the idea. Refer to the turkey patty post if you want more ideas… they’re similar enough.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Debs — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:31:21 +0000

Pumpkin lovers and haters all around the world may find that these cookies will probably unite them as one. These cookies are so moist they almost taste like the top of a muffin. They are not overwhelming with “pumpkin taste” yet pumpkin lovers will find their pumpkin craving satisfied. Without further ado, let me share the pictures and refer you to the link containing the exact recipe I used.

ready for the oven!

all done!

Recipe!

So I made these during Thanksgiving. During that break, I visited my parents’ and as a bonus, I present to you some snapshots of their garden. Now I must forewarn you that given the cold weather at this time of year, the variety of this garden doesn’t live up to its greatest potential..

i love spicy.

green onions and lettuce

do you spot the broccoli?

Mashed Potatoes

Debs — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:47:53 +0000

Chances are, you celebrated Thanksgiving the past week. Or at least acknowledged this glorious holiday. For the occasion, I whipped up some mashed potatoes. If you’ve never made mashed potatoes before, it is MUCH easier than you might expect, and this dish was well received at the dinner table, if I do say so myself Oh and these potatoes came from my parent’s garden!

finished product

different angle

This post’s “cooking guide”:
Potatoes
Milk
Garlic
Green Onion
Salt/Pepper
Butter

Other suggestions:
Cheese
Parsley
.. be creative, but don’t go overboard

1. Boil potatoes (I usually cut them into smaller pieces so this process is faster.. I think.)
2. Chop garlic and green onions. I used a lot of garlic.. it’s what really made these mashed potatoes.
3. When the potatoes are soft, drain the water and then pour some milk in. Start mashing over low heat.
4. Repeat step 3 until you have something that resembles creamy mashed potatoes (it sounds vague, but it’ll happen! Pretty instantaneously actually. Doesn’t really take any special technique.) If you want, this can be a mixture of chicken broth and milk. I just used milk. I also mixed in bits of butter every once awhile here too.
5. Toss in garlic/onions/salt/pepper/cheese/whatever you want here.
6. Mix thoroughly. and EAT!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving…

as a bonus... the finished turkey!!

Spinach Sausage Pasta

Debs — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:31:26 +0000

As previously mentioned, I like making things in one pot as much as possible So here’s another one that is almost a one pot meal.

closer up

This post’s “cooking guide”:
Pasta
Sausage
Spinach
Olive Oil
Garlic
Tomatoes (except I didn’t have any when I made this)
Salt/Pepper
Pine Nuts

1. Boil water for pasta… when it’s boiling, toss the pasta in to cook.
2. While pasta is cooking, I slightly browned the sausage and pine nuts. Precook the spinach if desired… I was lazy and just threw it into the pasta immediately after draining and let it cook that way. (Hey, it worked.. haha)
3. When pasta is done, drain. Then immediately toss it with olive oil and garlic over low heat. (And spinach/tomato if desired… especially if spinach isn’t yet cooked).
4. Heat through, season with salt/pepper and eat!

Asparagus

Debs — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:15:50 +0000

I was sick for a few days, which meant many lazy, unhealthy meals and food that probably aren’t even considered real meals. Therefore, I was really excited to eat some vegetables for once. Asparagus is one of the most low maintenance vegetables I can think of off the top of my head. Usually all it needs is some butter, salt and butter and it’s perfect. Since I had some leftover bacon, I decided to use it (after all, I’ve already established that.. everything tastes better with bacon )

pre chopped and cooked

different angle

I just ate this with some rice. I don’t know if it mixes, but oh well… this would also probably be good as a pasta dish..

Lasagna

Debs — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:51:51 +0000

Since I had some leftover meat sauce and I always have lasagna noodles around, I decided to make lasagna.

Béchamel Sauce

You can google a recipe for this sauce.. it generally consists of just flour, butter, and milk. How can you go wrong, right? I also sprinkled in some salt in and put some garlic in. Hm, now that I’m a roll I’m thinking that some parsley might be good in this too.. haha.

all ready for the oven

The layers went like this: thin layer of meat sauce, and then 3 times of this sequence: lasagna noodle, meat sauce, bechamel, cheese.

in the oven

amazing meal!!

Incidentally, a few of us got together for dinner that night, so I contributed the lasagna.

finished lasagna. taken with a regular canon point and shoot..

Easy, delicious, and made (almost) entirely from scratch!