Winner Winner College Chicken Dinner

Hi everyone
As a college student cooking for myself, I have realized that cooking for one is quite difficult. Sometimes you have the intention of using a product, and then it just sits there...and sits there...and sits there... You get the point. It just sits there until it eventually goes bad and you throw it out. One thing I've tried to do to combat this is cook a batch of protein, and then use it throughout the week. Tonight I baked off 4 chicken thighs, and ate two of them for dinner. I served them simply with a side of corn. The chicken thighs were skin on,bone in, and took 50-60 minutes at 400 degrees. They came out with a crackling brown top which is the perfect way to cook chicken. Now I have 2 more chicken thighs that I can use for different meals over the next few days.

Do you have any tips for cooking for one?
How do you like to cook chicken?

                                                 

                                                

Pantry staples

Hi everyone

I'm back again with another post. I'm sure many of us are all in the same boat where we try to stretch the ingredients we have as much as possible. That is exactly what I did today before I go on my next big grocery trip. I cooked up some zucchini, kale, and white bean. To that I added lemon juice and frozen corn. I tossed this mixture with some 90 second brown rice and topped with Parmesan cheese. I love using 90 second brown rice. You just pop it in the microwave and in 90 seconds you have a grain ready to go for a variety of dishes. Versatile ingredients are the best ingredients. 

Tomorrow or Friday I plan on going grocery shopping for the week. I'm going to try to plan most of my meals out ahead of time. I find if I shop without a plan I just end up with a bunch of ingredients that I don't know what to do with. Does this happen to anyone else? Hopefully if I plan out my dishes I can make some good food this week. I'll keep you updated. 

Do you have any pantry staples that you always keep on hand? 

Going back to an old favorite

Hello everyone,

Long time no blog. I have taken more haituses then I would've liked, but hopefully that will change. Now that I have an apartment and kitchen at school I'll be posting more recipes of the things I am cooking.

Today I made a snack that I posted a few years ago on this blog. The snack was Cinnamon Chips with Fruit Salsa. I was in the mood for a sweet snack today and made the cinnamon chips. All you do is spray some tortillas on both sides with cooking spray, coat in cinnamon sugar, and bake until golden brown. You can make variations of this recipe like drizzling them with some melted peanut butter or serving with fruit salsa (like the original recipe)

This snack isn't the healthiest thing you will ever eat, but is a sweet treat I like to make every once on awhile. 

Have you ever made cinnamon chips before? 

Do you have a snack you like to make over and over?

Until next time,

Mike 

Bittersweet BEAN Brownies

Hi everyone, 
This is officially my first new recipe after a hiatus from 2012-2014. I may have mentioned this before, but I am huge fan of desserts. Sometimes when you go out to a restaurant they can taste like a pure sugar overload. However, when done right, a dessert ends up being my favorite part of the meal. One class I am taking this semester is a Food Service Systems Management course. For the lab portion of this course we make a variety of recipes which lets us sharpen our culinary skills and sample some terrific dishes. One dessert we made at the beginning of the semester were Bittersweet Bean Brownies. Some people may be put off by the fact this recipe contains black beans IN A BROWNIE. However, our professor told us before we made them that you cannot taste the black beans and will never know their in there. And you know what? She was right. There is absolutely no way you would know black beans are in these. Armed with the cart at the grocery store that squeaked with every step I took, I gathered the ingredients to recreate this recipe. These brownies are delicious, and also provide a variety of health benefits. Here is the recipe for Bittersweet Bean Brownies. (http://www.glutenfreemadison.org/Recipes/Cookies/Cookie0073.html)

 Bittersweet Bean Brownies
1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 C sugar
3 eggs
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant coffee
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 C bittersweet (semi-sweet) chocolate chips
1/2 C chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 inch baking pan.

Using a food processor, blend together beans, sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, cocoa, vanilla extract, coffee, baking powder, and salt until batter is completely smooth. Using a spatula, fold in chocolate chips and nuts, and pour evenly into baking dish. bake for 30-35 minutes, until middle sets up and edges begin to pull away from sides of pan. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool before cutting into bars.

                                                   Sitting on top of a scoop of ice cream
                                                   with some whipped cream and cinnamon

The main thing I really liked about this recipe was how simple it was. All you did was process most of the ingredients together, and fold in peanuts and chocolate chips. The batter will be more of a liquid consistency then you may be used to, but the end product will turn out just fine. These brownies have a moist center once they are finished baking. The black beans in these brownies are a good source of fiber. Fiber helps aid in digestion and promotes satiety. Also, compared to other brownie recipes I have come across, these are much lower in sugar. When our bodies consume sugar, our blood glucose levels tend to rise very quickly and then drop. This leads "crashing" and feel fatigued. With these brownies containing a limited amount of sugar and lots of fiber, you will continue to have energy throughout the rest of your day.  I hope some of you try to make these brownies. You won't even taste the black beans.

The 1.5 Year Recap

Hi everyone,
Thanks for checking out this blog after my long hiatus. When I last updated this blog I was just about to start my sophomore year of college. That year ended up being quite a whirlwind and here I am now almost finished with my junior year of college. Sophomore year was full of memorable moments. One cool thing I did was study abroad in London which you can read all about ( if you haven't already) at mtedonelondon.blogspot.com. While there I had an internship providing nutritional services to people diagnosed with HIV. This experience was the first time since starting college I felt like I was doing meaningful, worthwhile work in the field of nutrition. Since coming back from London in April 2013 I've tried to get more involved with the nutrition field via experiential courses at UCONN and seeking out volunteer opportunities. In the future I hope to find some type of paid work in either food service or nutrition, but right now I'm enjoying any experience I come across. As I continue to update this blog, I hope to shift it's focus a little bit. I plan on still posting recipes that I think others would enjoy, but will also try posting on any nutrition or food topics I think people may be interested in. If there is a topic you may want to read about leave a comment and let me know. For now I thank you for coming back and reading.

How Twitter Changed My Life...sort of

Hello readers,

Thanks for checking out my blog again. I appreciate everyone taking the time out of their day to read about my kitchen endeavors. Today I was scrolling through my twitter feed ( follow me at michaeltedone), and realized I wasn't following the Cooking Channel. I follow various cooking/food brands, and decided to add one more to the list. Soon after I followed the Cooking Channel they posted a link to a recipe called Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies. I was suppose to pack for school, but making an unhealthy, sugary dessert took precedent. The bottom layer of the dessert is a moist, homemade brownie, topped with homemade cookie dough, and drizzled with a chocolate glaze. It's a very rich dessert, but that won't stop you from eating one, two, or three of them. The recipe for these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies can be found at http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-brownies-recipe/index.html?soc=tw&hootPostID=7ef7156b8129ab41172362accc6e592d . Here's how I made them.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

For the brownie:
1/2 C all purpose flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
3.5 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 C unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2/3 C light brown sugar, packed
2 lg eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla

* Preheat oven to 350
* Spray Pam Cooking Spray on an 8x8 inch pan
* Sift flour, cocoa powder, salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
* Melt chocolate & butter in a bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water.
* Stir chocolate & butter until smooth. Take off heat.
*Whisk in brown sugar until dissolved.
* Whisk in eggs & vanilla
* Fold flour mixture into eggs mixture, until incorporated.
* Pour brownie batter into 8x8 inch pan. Bake 18 minutes.
* Transfer & let cool.

For the cookie dough:
1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 C granulated sugar
1/2 C light brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C semi sweet chocolate chips

* In a large mixing bowl,beat butter & sugars on medium speed until light & fluffy. This should take 2-3 minutes.
* Mix in milk & vanilla.
* Mix in flour & salt until incorporated.
* Stir in chocolate chips.
* Spread cookie dough over cooled brownies smoothing into an even layer. Refrigerate brownie/cookie dough mixture while you prepare the glaze.

For the chocolate glaze:
3.5 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter

* Melt chocolate & butter in a small sauce pan over low heat until melted & smooth.
* Pour chocolate glaze in a thin layer over the cookie dough.
* Chill the chocolate chip cookie dough brownies for 30 minutes.
* Cut into 16 squares & enjoy.

                                                   Bottom layer of brownie.

                                                   Middle layer of cookie dough.

                                                   Top layer of chocolate glaze.

Overall these brownies tasted just as good as you'd expect. The mixture of chocolate & cookie dough is a combination that I am huge fan of. If you make these let me know how they turn out. If you have any suggestions as to what I should make in my last week of summer break leave a comment. Thanks for reading.

Dessert Before Dinner, Always a Winner

Hello readers.

I would once again like to thank everyone for checking out my blog. I really do appreciate everyone taking the time to read up on my cooking endeavors.  It's been a while since I've updated my blog so I wanted to feature a dish that would appeal to a lot of my readers. I'm sure it's safe to assume many of you like chocolate so I decided to create a chocolate dessert that will give you the chocolate fix you're looking for. I made Triple Chocolate Cookies which can be found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/healthy-appetite-with-ellie-krieger-/triple-chocolate-cookies-recipe/index.html. Their simple to make, and relatively healthy even though they are a dessert. Here's how I made my triple chocolate cookies.

Triple Chocolate Cookies 
(makes 12)
Ingredients:
1/4 C unsalted butter, softened
1/2 C dark brown sugar
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/4 C canola oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 C dark chocolate chips
1/3 C milk chocolate cooks

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees
*Beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric stand mixer until combined.
* Beat in the oil and egg.
* Mix in the vanilla. Set aside.
*In a medium bowl, whisk the flours, cocoa powder, and salt.
* Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
* Stir in the dark chocolate chips & milk chocolate chips.
* Scoop the batter, with a tablespoon, onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
* Bake cookies for 12 minutes.
* Cool & Serve.

                                                    Drizzle with peanut butter or serve
                                                    on their own. Either way their a hit!

Thoughts on the recipe: I know I say this about every recipe I make, but once again I really enjoyed this dish. Your expectations for a full on chocolate flavor will certainly be met. I recommend using both types of chocolate chips, but if you don't like a certain kind of chocolate leave it out. You can always double up on the kind of chocolate you do like. They will taste great served alone or you can drizzle some melted peanut butter on them. Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies sounds like a pretty good dessert to me. If you try out this recipe, let me know how you like it.

Tips & Tricks: As I've been cooking more often this year, I've picked up little tips & tricks along the way. Knowledge is power so I thought I'd share some things I've learned with my readers. I hope it helps.

1) Everyone has to buy groceries to cook their meals. To save money on your groceries, consider buying store brand. At the end of the day, salt will always be salt, flour will always be flour, and sugar will always be sugar. You cannot tell the difference between the different brands of these products so save yourself some extra cash and go with the store brand. If your wallet could talk, it would thank you.

2)  Recipes are meant to guide your cooking, not limit it. Therefore I recommend to get creative in the dishes you make. The recipe for my triple chocolate cookies can be modified to fit your personal taste. Instead of chocolate chips you could add pecans, walnuts, dried fruits, raisins, or any combination of things I've listed or not listed. You know your palate the best, and should make food you are going to enjoy. Get creative with your food, and really enjoy it.

I hope that you've liked this post for my triple chocolate cookies, and some of the advice I have to offer.  If you have any suggestions as to what I should make feel free to leave a comment. If you are enjoying this blog tell everyone you know about it. Once again, thanks for reading.