First week of School Completed!

So I haven't posted for 11 days. I have been busy with school and a new part time job. School is fun to get back into. This semester I am getting some pre-req's out of the way so I can focus on Culinary stuff next semester.  My job is also something I have never done, I work booking hotels for college sports teams. It is very interesting and fun. But that is about it, I will be posting a recipe for Banana Pancakes and Muffins later tonight! 

Parmesan Rosemary French Fries

Today I started my part time job working for a travel agency booking for college sport teams. It was a wonderful day, my new boss took me out to lunch in downtown Boise to a restaurant called Fork. They had the most wonderful food there. What made the  biggest impression on me though was the Parmesan Rosemary Fries. They were simply AMAZING. I ended up telling my husband about them and let him try the left overs from it, he loved them so much he wanted me to make my version of them for dinner tonight.  

Tools:

Cutting Board
Knife
2 Mixing Bowl
Deep Fryer

Ingredients:

4 to 5 Potatoes
1 Sprig Rosemary
1/4C Shredded Parmesan
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Pepper

Directions:

Pre-Heat deep fryer to 375°F. Slice potatoes into fry shape. Fill one mixing bowl with cold water and place sliced potatoes in them for 5 minutes, then drain.

Then place potatoes into deep fryer in batches for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Then mince the rosemary and add to mixing bowl with parmesan. Mix the mixture until combined. Add the salt and pepper and mix.

Then place the cooked fries into the mixing bowl with the mixture. Toss until fries are completely covered.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Jam

I got some strawberries from Bountiful Baskets this week and still had a bunch of fruit left over from last week. So I decided to make strawberry jam before they went bad.

Tools:

Cutting Board
Potato Masher
Sauce Pan
Spoon

Ingredients:

1 Container Strawberries
1 1/2 Tbs Pectin
1C Sugar

Directions:

Cut and mash the strawberries.

Place in sauce pan on medium heat, Add pectin in and stir. Bring to a boil and stir continuously until thickens. Then add sugar in the mixture and bring back to a boil and let it boil for 1 minute solid while stirring.

Let cool and place in a container then refrigerate it(lasts 3 weeks) or freeze it(lasts 3 months).

Granola Bars

I get from the co-op Bountiful Baskets a granola mixture that is wonderful. The first time "tried" to make granola bars with it, it did not come out the way I wanted, they didn't hold together very well. So I decided to try again and see if I could improve on my mistakes I made the previous time. It worked out wonderful this time which I am really happy about because they make for an easy and yummy breakfast.

Tools:

Cookie Sheet
Medium Sauce Pan
Measuring Cups
Spatula

Ingredients:

2lbs Granola Mixture
1/2C Peanut Butter
2Tbs Honey
1/2C Brown Sugar
2Tbs Water
8Tbs Butter
Crisco

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Grease the cookie sheet with the Crisco or use parchment paper. In medium sauce pan combine butter, water, sugar, peanut butter, and honey together. Stir until sugar is dissolved and butter is completely melted.

On cookie sheet spread out granola mixture over it. Pour sauce over the granola and mix the granola until sauce coats all of it.

 Bake for 20 minutes then let completely cool then cut into the size you would like.

Spicy Spaghetti Sauce

I love making things spicy. I use lots of peppers and seasonings to make a wonderful spicy dish. Its my take on combining Italian and Mexican food all in one dish. The sauce I make is usually a really big batch because my whole family loves it. I even made it for my family that was going camping this week.  You can also add more heat or take some out of the heat out.

Tools:

Cutting Board
Knife
Large Sauce Pan
Spoon

Ingredients:

3 Bell Peppers(any color), sliced
1/2 Onion, diced
1lb Hot Italian Sausage, cooked
4 Cloves Garlic, diced
1 Jalapeño, diced
1 34oz Tomato Sauce
1 16oz Stewed Tomatoes
4Tbs Tomato Paste
2Tbs Cayanne Pepper
2Tbs Chipolte Powder
1Tbs Salt
1/2Tbs Black Pepper
1/2Tbs Red Pepper Flake
2Tbs Fresh Basil, minced
2Tbs Fresh Thyme, minced
Olive Oil

Directions:

Heat sauce pan up with tablespoon of olive oil. Crumble meat into sauce pan and brown . Add all the veggies and sauté for about 10 minutes with the meat.

 Add garlic, stewed tomatoes, and tomato paste; cook for 1 minute.

 Then add all the seasonings and tomato sauce. Simmer for 4 hours or more. Then serve over any kind of pasta. Enjoy!

Bruschetta~Americanized

So I love Italian food, among all other types of food which I love as well. I made tonight some yummy Bruschetta; which is usually toasted bread that has garlic rubbed into with some olive oil topped with a tomato, onion, herbs and garlic mixture. The mixture is usually served cold or room temperature as an appetizer. Well how I Americanized it was I add mozzarella to the mixture and heated until the mozzarella melted into the toasted bread. I hope everyone enjoys my take on this classic Italian dish.

Tools:

Cutting Board
Chef Knife
Bread Knife
Mixing Bowl
Cookie Sheet

Ingredients:

4 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 Onion, diced
2 Clove Garlic, one diced one whole
1/2Tbs Parsley
1 Sprig Thyme
1tsp Rosemary
2Tbs Basil
1tsp Salt
1tsp Black Pepper
1tsp Red Pepper Flake
Olive Oil
1 Loaf Ciabatta Bread
8oz Fresh Mozzarella

Directions:

Slice bread in half an inch slices. Place on cookie sheet and put in oven with broiler on. Toast until golden brown. Pull out of oven and with one of the whole garlic cloves rub across the bread until all is covered with the garlic. Drizzle olive oil on top the bread. Set aside.

Pre-Heat oven to 350°F. Dice tomatoes, garlic, and onion, place into mixing bowl. Crumble the mozzarella or use the little pearls of mozzarella into mixing bowl with salt, pepper, red pepper flake, and minced herbs.

Then place mixture on top of the bread and bake for 5 to 6 minutes or until mozzarella is melted. Then enjoy!

Baked 3 Cheese Eggplant

The only time I ever had eggplant was at a Thanksgiving dinner with basically my second family, The Riley's. It was an Italian themed dinner. I remember it so well because all the food was so wonderful. Especially the eggplant lasagna that Michelle Riley made. When I went to make eggplant for the first time I remembered the Eggplant Lasagna she made. So sometime this week I will be making another eggplant recipe for eggplant lasagna.

Tools:

Cutting Board
Large Mixing Bowl
Knife
Large Baking Dish
Medium Sauce Pan
Food Processor

Ingredients:

1 Medium Eggplant
1 Onion
5 Roma Tomatoes
3 Cloves Garlic
5 Basil Leaves
1tsp Salt (for sauce)
4Tbs Salt (for "sweating" eggplant)
1tsp Pepper
12 oz Ricotta
6oz Mozzarella, shredded
4oz Parmesan, grated
4Tbs Olive Oil

Directions:

Slice Eggplant into half an inch discs(you can peel the eggplant, but it isnt necessary) Place in large mixing bowl with 4Tbs salt, mixed so all eggplant discs are salted. Set aside for 30-40 minutes to "sweat" the eggplant to get excess liquid out, if not done the sauce will become very watery.

While eggplants are sweating use the food processor to dice tomato, garlic, onion, basil, salt, pepper, and 4Tbs olive oil into small chunks and completely blending together. Then add to sauce pan and cook on medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Then drain eggplant and pat them dry. Place eggplant into baking dish. You can add some olive oil and pepper if you would like.



Then add the sauce over the top of the eggplant. Then layer the ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan on top of the sauce.

Then place in pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and sauce is bubbling.

Then Enjoy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This recipe is using the remaining of the chicken and liquid from the tacos before. Its a way to use that yummy liquid that has all the flavor from the chicken and vegetables.

Tools:

Crockpot
Large Skillet or Cast Iron Pan
Cutting Board
Knife
Can Opener
Tongs
Cookie sheet


Ingredients:

Leftover liquid and meat from Chicken tacos
4 Tomatoes, diced
2 Cans Kidney Beans
2Tbs tomato paste
3tsp Salt
2tsp Pepper
5 or 6 Tortillas, sliced
Canola Oil

Directions:

Place left over liquid mixture in crockpot with tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 cans of beans, 2tsp salt and pepper, and one sliced up tortilla. Turn on the heat to high on the crock pot and cook for 2 hours.

Heat up about 2 inches of canola oil in large skillet to a medium high heat. Place tortilla strips in hot oil and cook 2 minutes per side.

Once both sides are cooked place on the cookie sheet and salt with remaining salt.

Then place soup into bowl with the strips of tortillas on top and enjoy!