Turkey Chili with Corn and Black Bean Corncakes and a watercolor update

On Saturday night I made Turkey Chili with black bean corn cakes.
So for the chili -

1. Saute in olive oil 1 green pepper, 1 jalapeno and 1/2 red onion
2. add 2 lbs of ground turkey (or chicken, beef, pork)
3. Salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder to taste
4. let the meat cook until there is no pink
5. add 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, half the juices drained. I like to squish the tomatoes up a little so they're not so big
6. 1 can tomato paste
   
7. 2 - 3 tablespoons steak sauce of your choice (I use A1)
8. 2 Chipotle in adobo sauce
9. 2 Tbs. of adobo sauce from chipotle in adobo can
10. taste test to see if it needs any more salt or pepper.
11. Throw in anything else you might think is yummy!

This recipe is really versatile. I found a can of diced tomatoes with chipotle peppers and threw them in too. Green chiles are also a great addition.

For the corn cakes, I just bought 2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix and made that as directed on the box. Then I added 1 can drained black beans, 1 can drained corn and a handful of colby jack cheese. Then I cooked them like pancakes on the griddle.

I like to put some chili on the bottom of the bowl then add cheese on top - Look at those tomatoes and green peppers! Then I throw a couple corn cakes on top. This is a big meal.. this amount was able to stuff 6 people. The corn cakes add the perfect amount of sweetness to a rather spicy chili. And the recipe can be altered to whatever you like in your own chili!

In other news, this is how my watercolor is coming along.

He is getting there. I had my first watercolor class on Saturday and the teacher was able to give me some guidance so I know what I am doing now! I am pretty happy with him, I just need to add some fine details. He will be a glorious octopus.

One Meal to Rule Them All

I made a pretty epic meal last night... It was a collaboration of ideas from my husband Chuck, our friend Rita and myself. It all started a few months ago when an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives featured Kuma's Corner and their "Lair of the Minotaur" burger that has Bourbon soaked pears and melted brie cheese. We have pretty much been drooling and dreaming about that place ever since! So Chuck wanted to try and poach some pears to put over chicken. I immediately thought of adding brie cheese. Rita and I were both thinking sauteed green beans, she suggested adding almonds to them and I thought of a shallot to toss in. And lastly, Rita requested baked rosemary potatoes to round it out.
This is what we ended up with! I started out by pan frying the chicken in a little butter. I didn't go heavy on seasoning, just a little bit of salt, pepper and garlic. I got the potatoes baking in the oven so they would get some crispy skin going on them.

I decided to use white wine as opposed to bourbon for our pears.
The recipe for the poached pears is -
2 cup sweet white wine.. I used Riesling
2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cup water
The juices from 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

This little mixture was really good, but next time I make it I won't add the water and maybe add a little more cinnamon. It almost tasted a little held back so next time we won't have the water there to subdue any of the flavors. I also only had canned peach halves (I know a crime) so I will use fresh ones next time as well.

For the green beans I just sauteed the diced shallot in olive oil, added some chopped roasted almonds and then the green beans. They were amazing. I thought they tasted like something you would actually get at a restaurant! Hooray!!A little more food porn... I layered the pears on top of the chicken then added some sliced brie to let it melt. I drizzled some of the poach sauce on top and then sprinkled some cinnamon on it... absolutely divine dinner. I don't know if I can do better than this!

My take on baked Ziti... that isn't really baked or ziti :D

First of all, let me declare it here - I will never cook meatballs in a pan again!!!! No seriously... it's all about baking them.

OK So I took some leftover spaghetti sauce I had and added a ton of mushrooms, Italian seasoning, red wine, garlic and a little rooster sauce. Then I boiled up some whole wheat Penne.

For the meatballs, I combined one pound of ground turkey, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, diced mushrooms, an egg, rooster sauce and cilantro. I rolled them out on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkled bread crumbs on them. I put them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. They were seriously the most delicious meatballs I have ever made. Here is the cooked pasta with the baked meatballs (excuse the starch line around the pan :>).Added the sauce on top of the pasta and meatballs.
And sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top!
I wish I could have swam in it. And not too terrible on calories either. I used whole wheat pasta, low fat mozzarella and organic spaghetti sauce. Next time I make it I will have to calculate exact calories. But I could literally eat a ton of this stuff! Seriously, next time you make meatballs bake them! You won't be sorry!

Mushroom Mozzarella Chicken with Feta and Tomato Orzo... oh and homemade Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Ah I haven't updated in a week! I will not let this happen again! I haven't really been doing anything too productive this last week. I have been trying to preserve what little Summer break I have left. School starts on Wednesday and I am actually pretty excited. At the very least I will have something to do. Anyways on to the tastys!
So for dinner I made some chicken breasts with a mozzarella/mushroom/green pepper topping. A few hours before dinner, I made a dry rub of garlic salt(I am obsessed), pepper and parsley and let the chicken marinade for a bit. I was a little naughty and sauteed the veggies in butter >.< al dente directions that came on the box and then added a little butter, a can of diced tomatoes, feta cheese, parsley, garlic salt and pepper. And of course some garlic bread.
And a view from the top - such a pretty and colorful dish!

Yesterday I made Carrot Cake Cupcakes. I have been wanting to make them for a while and found myself possessing almost all of the ingredients so I whipped them up. Oh and for the record, grating carrots is the worst thing ever... if you have the opportunity to buy them pre-grated or shredded then do it! I swear I almost grated my whole damn hand off.
Here they are in all their glory! Well as you can see they didn't rise that well... next time I will cut the oil and maybe add some more flour. I might jazz them up a bit by adding some crushed pineapple too. And yes that is homemade cream cheese frosting... I could have just ate that and been good to go!

Steak with Pesto Sauce

I got the new issue of Better Homes and Garden (yes I am an old lady :P) and it had this delightful recipe in it. It is a flank steak with a cilantro-y pesto sauce. On the side were some cumin spiced corn and some roasted potatoes. It was ridiculously tasty. I didn't have flank steak on hand so I used breakfast steaks instead they were just as tasty.
Um yeah... the pesto is really GREEN! I actually still have a lot of the pesto left over... I am going to have to think of something good to do with it...

It's time for a (sexy) painting party!

My friend Rita and I hung out last night and we actually did what we said we were going to do - paint! Our watercolor class is starting in a week so I decided to start my first project early so I have something to show and talk to the teacher about on the first day.


This is Godric the octopus! He is going to be my first watercolor painting of the semester... I sketched him out with some colored pencils first just so I have some color placement to follow. Why an octopus you might ask? Well I am not sure.... I have been wanting to paint an octopus for a while but I have never gotten around to it. I started sketching randomly a couple days ago and I drew this weird face with puffy cheeks and a huge head that reminded me of an octopus so that lead to this sketch.

And this is what I have so far! Almost done with the background then I can start painting the octopus.










This is what Rita is working on. The picture she is painting is in the bottom left corner. This is the painting when she first brought it to my house.







BAM! This is how much she got done! It is looking ridiculously good... I wish my camera could pick up more of her colors because the colors are so deep and rich. My most favorite thing about the way Rita paints is her use of color - she isn't afraid of it! I have seen her squeeze paint right from the tube directly onto her paper and it comes out brilliantly! Just look at her palette you can see all the pretty vibrant colors she is using. Can't wait to see this one done.

Oven Fried Chicken

Just for the record yes I can cook more than chicken!! We just happened to buy a bunch of it on sale (buy 1 pack of breasts get 1 free!!!) and have been steadily using it. I swear I can cook more than chicken! Alright I got this recipe from a Weight Watchers cookbook and it is mighty tasty. It really does taste like fried chicken but you bake it in the oven!

So for 4 servings, you will need 4 breasts, 4 eggs, 2 cups of crushed corn flakes, 1/2 cup flour and whatever seasoning you want to add to the chicken. Tonight I used garlic salt and pepper, but I have used dried cilantro, chili powder and salt and pepper. Experiment with your favorite spices, you really can't mess it up. Whisk the eggs together in a bowl. In another bowl mix the corn flakes, flour and spices together. Dredge the chicken through the eggs and coat with the corn flake mixture. For extra crispiness, dredge the chicken again in the eggs and add one more coat of corn flakes. Throw them in a greased baking pan and put them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes, flipping the breasts in between.

For a side I took 2 cans of french style green beans and 1 can of Italian stewed tomatoes, drained the bean juice and threw all the cans into one pot and let them simmer together. I also added a little bit of lemon pepper for some bite. Pretty simple meal that doesn't take too long to make!

Quick Green Chile Chicken

Tonight I made a quick chicken dish for my husband, our friend Brandon and myself. I bought 2 green chiles because they are so cheap right now! So instead of roasting them in the oven like I should have done I cooked them up in some oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. Then I added some garlic and red onion and let them all saute together for a while. I seasoned 3 chicken breasts with salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin and threw them in the frying pan to let them cook up and get nice and brown. The onions actually ended up sort of coating the chicken and making this really yummy coating on the chicken. And then I made some more Yukon gold potatoes like I mentioned in my previous post because they are just too good!!!

Greasy plate! It's all good though the dish came out mighty tasty for being hastily thrown together.

On another quick note, my friend Brandon is contemplating going to culinary school. Of course I support it because who doesn't want a friend around? But anyways I am really happy for him if he thinks he has found that something he is supposed to do with his life. When I made the realization food is what I wanted to do I just felt so happy and complete and like I was finally on the right path. I have seen so many people be so disappointed with the course they have chosen in their life that it's my biggest fear to get stuck in some dead end career that makes me feel like my soul is dying every day. It makes me sad when people settle because they don't think they can do any better. I definitely do not want to end up regretting anything I have done or not done.

Chicken with tatties and the most epic Chocolate Chip Cookies

So for dinner last night I made another dish that I make a lot. Well I have made the sauce a lot but usually have used it for flank steak. Tonight I decided to try it with chicken! It is a red wine sauce with balsamic vinaigrette and mushrooms and red onions. On the side I made baked rosemary potatoes.
Sorry for the shoddy picture... I only had my cell phone available to snap a quick pick... but trust me this dish is DELICIOUS! On to the recipe!

I started by cutting 5 boneless and skinless chicken breasts into long skinny pieces. I seared them in a pan with some vegetable oil and added some garlic, half a chopped red onion and 1 cup of sliced mushrooms. When the chicken looks about done (I slice into a piece to make sure it is getting cooked all the way through) and browned on both sides add 1 cup of balsamic vinaigrette and 1 cup red wine. I like to use Cabernet Sauvignon but whatever works for you. I also add about a tablespoon of brown sugar to add some sweetness. Let that all simmer together occasionally flipping the chicken pieces so all those delicious juices get absorbed evenly.

While the chicken was simmering, I took 5 yukon gold potatoes - my personal favorite - and cut them in quarters and boiled them in water with about 2 tablespoons of kosher salt for 20 minutes. When they got tender I put them on a baking sheet coated with olive oil. I brushed some olive oil onto the potatoes and added liberal amounts of kosher salt, pepper and rosemary. I baked them at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes - or until crispy. The sauce for the chicken also tastes delicious on the potatoes.

Then I baked some chocolate chip cookies. I recently saw an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay ( Bobby Flay is my boo) where he went head to head with two women who made the most epic cookies I have ever seen and immediately I wanted to try and make them. I have made chocolate chip cookies countless times but not like these! I used the classic recipe you can find here.
The dough! This was also the first time I got to use my beautiful new mixer. The only thing I did differently with the recipe is instead of 1 cup semi-sweet chips I did half semi-sweet and half milk chocolate chips.... and added a little more than a cup... And when it came to spooning it onto baking trays I spooned huge dollops of dough. I used one of our large serving spoons for size and fit 6 dollops on a tray. I tried to keep their shape as round as possible. I baked them for 17 minutes at 350 degrees and this is what I got!
Again sorry for the shoddy picture quality! I will never rely on cell phone cameras again! But they came out perfect. Crispy on the outside soft on the inside.

Julie & Julia

I am sure all food blogs are updating about the same thing today and I am no exception. I just saw Julie & Julia and I thought it was a charming and hilarious movie. I mean come on it is Meryl Streep! She really can do no wrong - she's so good as Julia! The Amy Adams story line as Julie Powell didn't do that much for me... I kept wanting to see more Julia. Nonetheless, the movie was really inspiring and makes me feel like maybe I am taking the right direction in going to culinary school.

Spicy Pineapple Turkey Meatballs

Tonight I made a dinner that I make pretty frequently - spicy pineapple turkey meatballs with white rice and some garlic bread.














So this meal was for 4 people and I used 2 lbs. of Jenny-O ground turkey. I got 24 meatballs out of it and a little bit left over to make myself a burger for lunch tomorrow!

I started off with the rice. Sadly it is instant rice! I haven't grasped regular rice quite yet let alone the sticky rice my husband so desires.... but i digress! So I boiled 2 and 3/4 cup water and added 3 cups of rice. I like to add more rice to water when making this much because the rice comes out firmer. Then I just let it set with the lid on until everything else was ready.

Turkey meatballs are SUPER easy. You'll need -
2 lb Ground Turkey
1 can Pineapple (chunky, sliced doesn't matter)
handful of breadcrumbs
1 egg
3/4 cup soy sauce (more if you like 'em salty)
6 - 7 big drops of rooster sauce (more if you like 'em SPICY)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix meat, breadcrumbs, egg, soy sauce and rooster sauce in a big bowl and roll out your meatballs. I put them in a frying pan with some vegetable oil on medium high heat. When meatballs are cooked through add pineapples and pineapple juice for a delicious sauce to put over the rice. You may have to drain some of the meatball juices before adding the pineapple... sometimes they can get greasy.

The garlic bread is also super easy! We got this delicious crusty bread at the grocery store for only .99 cents. Dip one side of the sliced bread into some olive oil. Flip it over in the oil and sprinkle some garlic salt and and a little pepper. Then I put the slice in a preheated frying pan(griddle or grill works good too) with the garlic side facing down and sprinkle more garlic salt and pepper on the other side. Takes about 5 - 6 minutes on each side depending on how crunchy you want them.

I love to pile the food up so I get some delicious meat, rice and pineapple in every bite!

Off to a good start

Well I don't have much to update with in terms of actual finished product, but here is the painting I have been working on for the past couple days... although today I kind of slacked off a little >.<














Here is my painting set up. It's just a 16x20 inch stretch canvas I bought at Michael's forever ago and has been screaming at me to use! The picture I am painting is on the bottom right. It's a leafy flower thingy. I was in the mood for something monochromatic and since I haven't painted in so long I thought I would start off with something simple.



COLORS! Yes I am cheating and throwing in some of the forest green on the right just to give the colors a little pop. And silver because I thought it would be fun! As you can see I have quite an assortment of paint brands... I am not picky I usually buy the paint that's on sale!














Here is what I got so far! My lovely paper plate palate has served nicely since I needed to mix a lot of paint at once to cover the canvas. So yeah I pretty much have all the hard stuff like details left... could be why I am procrastinating but tomorrow I swear they will look like leaves!

Here... We... Go.

I am jumping on the band wagon and starting my very own blog. Here I hope to chronicle my journey through cooking school and finding my way in the kitchen - and also inspire my love of painting and crafts. I figure if I have to update with something... I better be creating! So here we go, it will be interesting to see where this little experiment takes us.