Crazy for Croutons

Hello World!


Thanks for keeping up with my blog and taking the time to follow me on my cooking adventures.  While being on break, it has been nice to have a bunch of free time to experiment with recipes and try new cooking related things. Every once in a while though, I just want to make something quick. Just because a dish can be made quick doesn't mean it has to be boring. That is what I set out to prove today when I made lunch. I made a salad, but decided to add a little something more to it by making homemade croutons! Their so simple to make, you'll want to make them each time you make salad!


Homemade Croutons
bread
olive oil
salt 
pepper


*Take any time of bread you want ( my family is a Wonderbread family), take off the crust, and cut into squares.
*Toss the bread in olive oil, salt, and pepper
*Bake bread at 375 degrees for roughly 6-10 minutes depending on size of bread
*Once golden brown, the croutons are done!


Thoughts on the recipe: I love making homemade croutons. They taste much better then the ones you buy at the grocery store. These croutons are simple way to add a little something more to your everyday salad.


I hope to show that through some of these recipes, you don't need to slave 45 minutes over making lunch just to try something new. Every once in a while, you can change 1 or 2 elements and make something  delicious. In my dish below, I laid  leftover chicken over some spring greens. I topped the salad with croutons, and drizzled some balsamic vinegar over the whole dish. It was a light, healthy, and delicious lunch that was elevated with some homemade croutons. Try them out next time you want to make a salad. You won't be disappointed.

                                          These croutons are a bit larger then I usually 
                                          make them, but they still taste great!

Saturday Morning Pancakes

Hello everyone! 
I hope you're all enjoying reading my blog so far and I definitely appreciate everyone taking the time to look at it! Today I decided to stray away from dessert & lunch/dinner recipes and make some breakfast. I understand the title of my post "Saturday Morning Pancakes" may seem a little confusing since it is of course only Tuesday. I called this post "Saturday Morning Pancakes", because Saturday was the day that my Dad would cook pancakes for me, my brother, and sisters on the weekend. Granted, he didn't do this every Saturday, but when he did it was a very exciting time for my 8 year old self since I love pancakes. Since being on break, and having no job or any reason to wake up early in the morning, everyday feels like a Saturday. So why not treat today like Saturday and make some pancakes? 


Personally, I like to make homemade pancakes instead of using the box. I'm not sure everyone realizes, but pancake mix from the box is usually just baking powder, salt, and flour. These are things that most people have on hand, so why not save yourself some money? The recipe I used I found online, and I cut it in half to make about 4 pancakes. I measured the pancakes using a 1/3 C measuring cup!


Here's the link to 
Pancakes
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/good-old-fashioned-pancakes/


Now I know most people (myself included) like to add maple syrup to their pancakes, but I decided to switch it up and make a raspberry sauce. It adds a little something different to your everyday pancakes!


Homemade Raspberry Sauce (makes enough to top 4 pancakes)
3 oz raspberries
1/2 tbsp sugar
lemon juice of 1/2 sm lemon
1/2 tsp cornstarch mixed with a little bit of water


*Place the raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a sauce pan, and heat over medium heat for 5-7 min until raspberries are soft
*Take saucepan off the heat.
*In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch and water. Add cornstarch mixture to berry mixture.
* Strain the mixture to get rid of the raspberry seeds, and you've got yourself a raspberry sauce.


Putting the dish together: Make the pancakes as the directions in the recipe states. Place the pancakes on the plate, and top with the raspberry sauce!


Thoughts on the Recipe: Overall, I liked the pancakes. I've made pancakes using this recipe before, so they came out just as expected. The sauce was good, but a little too sweet for my liking. I think it was the combo of the raspberries AND lemon. I'll have to think about a better way to round out the flavor, but the sauce did have a very good taste to it. In my picture below, you will see a whipped cream on the plate.  I thought it would be a good idea to make some type of honey whipped cream, but to put it bluntly it came out AWFUL. I don't really like honey in general, and the whipped cream just never came together. I only put it on the plate, because it looked nice in the picture! If you do want to make a whipped cream (WHIPPED CREAM AND PANCAKES IS A DELICIOUS COMBO), feel free to look one up on the internet. Next time I'll stick to the way I usually make it with vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and heavy cream. Yes buying premade whipped cream and squirting it into your mouth is always fun (even at age 18), but so is making it yourself. I recommend everyone to give this recipe a try, and fool around with the combination of flavors you like. Give this recipe a try any day of the week, and you won't be disappointed.

Tortillas as a Delicious Dessert!

Hello Everyone! 
 
 
 
We have finally made it to the home stretch: dessert! Out of all 3 recipes, this 
dessert recipe is my favorite. It's a dish that I made in my food and nutrition 
class in high school (best class ever and the only class I have ever gotten over 
100 in!). This dish is simple, but don't be fooled you will NEVER WANT TO STOP 
EATING IT! Who knew tortillas could be so good, and there's fruit in this dish 
so it is kind of healthy. Just thinking about this dish makes me want to go make 
it right now, but I have this blog post to write so I will have to wait. So I 
don't have to make you guys wait any longer, here is the recipe to the best: 
 
 
 
Cinnamon Chips with Fruit Salsa! 
 
 
 
For the salsa: (makes about 1/3 C salsa) 
 
3 strawberries  
 
4 raspberries 
 
1/4 C blueberries 
 
1 sm apple 
 
1 tbsp orange zest 
 
Juice of 1/2 of an orange 
 
*Chop the strawberries, raspberries, and apple into small bite sized pieces 
 
*Place chopped fruit in a bowl and mix in the blueberries 
 
*Toss fruit with the orange juice and orange zest 
 
*Cover the bowl of salsa, and set in fridge while you make the chips! 
 
For the Cinnamon Chips:( makes 16 chips, but their so addicting you'll want to 
make extra) 
 
2 flour tortillas 
 
Pam Cooking Spray 
 
3/4 C Sugar 
 
3/4 tbsp cinnamon 
 
*Cut each flour tortilla into 8 triangles to make 16 total tortilla chips 
 
*Coat a baking sheet with Pam Cooking spray 
 
*Place tortilla chips on baking sheet. Make sure their evenly spread apart 
 
* Coat each tortilla chip on top with Pam Cooking Spray 
 
* In a bowl mix together the 3/4 C sugar and 3/4 tbsp cinnamon. This mixture is 
called cinnamon sugar. You can play around with amounts if you think there's too 
much or not enough cinnamon. 
 
*Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the the the tortilla chips. Don't 
be afraid of being generous. 
 
* Bake the chips for about 8 minutes at 425 degrees until the bottom of each 
chip is golden brown and the cinnamon sugar mixture has oozed into the chip. 
 
* Take the chips out of the oven, place them on a plate, and garnish with fruit 
salsa on the side! 
 
Thoughts on the recipe: As stated above, I love this recipe. I love the cinnamon 
sugar mixture, and the fruit salsa adds a nice bright flavor to the dessert. 
Basically you can use any variety of fruit you like for the salsa. You don't 
need to be limited to what I listed above. If you want to add some pear, and 
leave out raspberries go for it! You just wanted to make sure to cut the fruit 
small to try and resemble salsa. Also, if you cut some tortillas smaller then 
others (for some reason mine don't look the same size all the time)  they will 
cook faster. So watch out for burning. If you don't like fruit, or want even 
more sugar, I have been known to leave out the fruit and dip the chips in some 
whipped cream. It's up to you! 

                                             SO GOOD!
 
I hope that you have all enjoyed reading about my experiences making dishes from 
flour tortillas. Maybe some of you will try them, and like them as much as I 
did. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I should cook next, leave me a 
comment and maybe I'll try to give it a shot. Thanks for taking the time to read 
my blog posts so far, and there will be more to come. I promise!

Tortillas for a Healthy Entree!

Hello Readers! 
 
 
 
After you use a tortilla to make chips & hummus, go ahead and use it to make a 
what I like to call mock pizza. I was inspired to make this dish after eating at 
a restaurant and getting an overpriced salad ($13) that I realized I could make 
at home for probably much cheaper. As I ate my overpriced salad I made sure to 
think about how I could recreate it at home with a little bit of a twist. This 
lead to the creation of the healthy entree below! 
 
 
 
 Arugula Salad Pizza 
 
 
 
For the salad: 
 
1 cup arugula 
 
2 tbsp asiago cheese 
 
1 slice of your favorite deli ham (mine's Boar's head) 
 
2 tbsp balsamic vinigar 
 
1/2 tbsp olive oil 
 
Salt & Pepper to taste 
 
 
 
*Place the arugula in a salad bowl, and toss with remaining salad ingredients. 
Set aside 
 
 
 
For the pizza crust: 
 
1 flour tortilla 
 
Pam Cooking Spray or Olive Oil 
 
*Spray a baking sheet with Pam Cooking Spray to coat 
 
*Place the flour tortilla on the baking sheet 
 
*Spray the top of the flour tortilla with Pam Cooking Spray 
 
*Bake the flour tortilla for 6 minutes at 425 degrees until golden brown 
 
 
 
For the tomatoes 
 
3-4 grape tomatoes 
 
*Spray a baking sheet with Pam Cooking Spray to coat 
 
*Place tomatoes on baking sheet and bake 3-4 minutes @ 425 degrees until 
softened 
 
Putting it all together 
 
* Let the flour tortilla crust cool slightly 
 
*Top tortilla crust with arugula salad 
 
*Garnish salad with the tomatoes 
 
*Cut into 4 wedges 
 
 *Makes 1 personal Arugula Salad Pizza 
 
 
 
Thoughts on the recipe: When I made this recipe for my family, it got mixed 
reviews. Some people liked it while some people didn't really consider it a 
pizza. In a way their right, which is why I like to call it a mock pizza. You 
have the tortilla as the crust, and the toppings come from the salad. I 
personally REALLY like it. I think arugula has an interesting, peppery taste and 
is a different type of leafy green then what I am used to. The asiago is an 
interesting cheese with a distinct, yet not overwhelming flavor. When you get 
the perfect bite, with the burst of the grape tomato in your mouth, it tastes 
like something very special. I recommend everyone to give this a try. It's a 
creation that I am proud of, and hopefully you'll all enjoy it too. If your 
looking for something different then the boring, everyday salad, turn it into 
this Arugula Salad Pizza! 

Totally Tortilla

Hello Everybody! 
 
Yesterday I finally got the chance to get in the kitchen, and decided to cook up 
3 different dishes using the same main ingredient: Flour tortillas! I know that 
most people just take them and fold them up to make a taco, but I wanted to show 
how versatile they can be. I decided to use the flour tortilla to make an 
appetizer, healthy entree, and delicious dessert. To make sure this post isn't 
completely overwhelming with 3 dishes, I'm going to split each recipe up into 3 
different post. So let's start with appetizer: 
 
 
 
Garlic Hummus 
 
The website I used for inspiration to make the hummus can be found at 
 
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1618,132176-254196,00.html. 
 
 
 
I did modify the recipe a little bit, so below are the measurements and 
ingredients I used along with directions on how to make the hummus! 
 
 
 
Hummus 
 
-juice of 1 small lemon 
 
-15 oz canned chickpeas(with water) 
 
- 2-3 tbsp tahini (after spending 10 min searching, I managed to find it at 
Stop&Shop near the olives!) 
 
-1 tsp salt 
 
-1/2 tsp cumin 
 
-2 cloves garlic 
 
*Throw the above 6 ingredients in blender & blend until smooth! 
 
*Makes about 3/4 C hummus 
 
  
Chips (because you need something to dip in the hummus!) 
 
-1 flour tortilla 
 
-Pam Cooking Spray or Olive Oil 
 
*Spray a cookie sheet with Pam Cooking Spray to coat 

*Cut tortilla into 8 triangles 
 
*Place tortillas on baking sheet 
 
*Spray the tortillas on top with Pam Cooking Spray 
 
*Bake tortillas for 6-8 minutes at 425 degrees until golden brown 
 
*Makes 8 chips 
 
-Transfer the chips & hummus onto a serving plate and your all set 
 
 
 
My thoughts on the recipe: Overall, I really enjoyed the way the chips & hummus 
came out. The only complaint I have about the hummus is that it was a little too 
thin, so i recommend having some extra  chickpeas on hand in case you want to 
thicken it up a little bit! I would have also roasted the garlic before blending 
it, and added a touch more lemon juice to make the hummus truly amazing! But for 
a first time, I thought making the hummus was fairly easy. I can't wait to make 
it again, and experiment with different flavors & combinations. I went with 
garlic this time because it's my favorite, but who knows maybe I'll spend a 
whole day making all different types of hummus? So many options going through my 
mind right now! Below is a picture of the finished product, and next were off to 
see how you can turn a tortilla into a healthy entree.(It's possible!) 

                                                     The finished product. The hummus 

                                                     was a little thin, but had great flavor!

Introduction

Hello World! I never thought that I would be one to make a blog, but I also adamantly stated I would never make a twitter (until I did). So I guess it was only a matter of time before I eventually made my blog! I was inspired to make this blog once I went away to college and was no longer able to cook (darn dorm rooms). I decided that once I went home for break I would cook more, but decided to go one step further and blog about my cooking adventures. In this blog I will post recipes, pictures, and my general thoughts on the different dishes I make when I'm home for break. Some recipes I create come from my head, inspiration from restaurants, and the good old internet. I will make sure to post the URL to a recipe I make that is not my own as I don't want to plagarize other's work. And who knows maybe some of you will want to make one or two or ALL of these recipes! My goal is to make dishes that are easy and inexpensive, but are also delicious! Hopefully I will get a post up today or tomorrow as I am very excited about this project.  Hopefully you enjoy reading about my experiences cooking in the kitchen!