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I’ve been cooking a lot more lately. I have a huge and brand new kitchen with wonderful appliances and friends who come over to watch Dexter and other things on Sunday evenings. This is great because it gives me an excuse to use them as my guinea pigs and experiment with new recipes or techniques or whatever.

In case you were wondering, no, I’m not a chef. I’m just some girl who likes to cook. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t, and I plan to let you know when it goes awry because I will need someone to laugh with me, and to offer suggestions for fixing the problems.

I have also started ordering from Good Eggs NOLA. All those good, fresh groceries have been keeping me inspired.

The first week with Good Eggs, I ordered a bag of everything bagels made by Sugar man’s and I got SO MANY BAGELS! They were delicious, but I wasn’t able to eat them all. Half of the lovely bagels went stale right there on the counter. I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away and I kept thinking about what I could do with them while the poor bagels grew ever staler.

Bread pudding

No, too much garlic. Breadcrumbs maybe we have been eating a lot of salads — what about croutons? Yes!

First, make sure your knife is sharp. I tried my old serrated bread knife, but this regular knife was sharper and more effective.

Depending on how stale your bagels (or other bread items) are, you will be able to break these up quickly, or, in my case, spend a large chunk of your afternoon whacking at your bagels. Eventually, I got the hang of it and started using the knife as a wedge in firewood.

The bagels shattered into nice pieces from that point on. REMEMBER SAFETY FIRST. Keep your fingers out of the way of your knife! Protect your eyes from flying sharp bits of bagel and seeds!

I used my knife like a wedge, shattering the bagels into little chunks, and arrived at this pretty bowl of nuggets.

Right about now, you should set your oven to 350 degrees, and let it heat up.

Here’s where the fun begins. You can put any little flavor your heart desires on your croutons. My bagels already had garlic, so of course, I added more garlic. I also like pepper, Cavender’s, Tony Chachere’s, and other things. Pick whatever flavors you like with your salad (or for snacking) and go to town! Do yourself a favor, though, and TASTE IT.

Basic Croutons:

Bowl of bread pieces
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
1 Tbsp Cracked Pepper
1 Tsp Cracked Sea Salt

Whisk all the ingredients together,

then pour over your bread pieces,

and toss until all pieces are coated.

Once the pieces are all good and coated, spread them evenly on a big cookie sheet.

Pop the cookie sheet into your hot oven (you pre-heated, right???)For 15 to 20 minutes, and let them brown. Turn them over about halfway through so you don’t have uneven color and texture.

I’ll be honest, I’m just getting used to my oven, so mine got a little browner than I’d have liked.

No matter, they are really crunchy and taste great

From this basic recipe, add whatever you like, more garlic, less pepper, some red pepper flakes, more salt, snipped rosemary, whatever! For the record, I tend to add a lot more of everything, and I sprinkle the salt on when I finish so the crystals don’t fully dissolve in the oil.

Whatever bread you use, if you find a half cup doesn’t coat or saturate your bread as well as you would like, sprinkle on a little more, but remember that some of the oil will escape your bread and end up on the cookie sheet.

Y’all have fun and let me know how yours turn out

So as I sit here watching tv I am planning dinner for tomorrow and tonight.  Believe it or not, I do feel a sense of peace when o have not planned and do not have to make a stop at the grocery store. I try my best to shop for and plan meals for the week on my off days. During the holidays our local bulk store was selling king crab legs for a reasonable price I put in the freezer in zip lock bags till now.

Tomorrow I will steam in a large pot with a rack on the bottom for five minutes.  For the side, I take a package of frozen corn and thaw.  I a large skillet with 3 tbsp oh butter I sauteed the corn salt and pepper to taste.  When the corn is golden brown mot dark brown I add half a cup of shredded gouda cheese.  Delicious!  Add some crusty bread and done.

My son and daughter love Avacado tonight and tomorrow I am making grilled chicken with rice and beans and mango pineapple avocado salsa. I buy boneless chicken breasts in bulk. It has gotten pretty expensive in the supermarket.

I slice the breast as thin as I can. I mix tsp each of onion powder garlic powder paprika and salt. Add 1/2 tsp of black pepper and season breast. About 3 breasts grill until done. I a bowl add 1 avocado diced into about 1/2 inch pieces.

Take half a lemon and squeeze juice over the avocado. This will keep it from turning brown.  Cut one mango into half-inch pieces and half a pineapple.  Canned pineapple in its own juice also works.  I cook half a jalapeño pepper and add to the bowl.  Add half tsp salt and quarter tsp of cilantro. Refrigerate for an hour. For the rice, I cook the four serving’s amount on whatever rice you prefer white or brown.

I love minute rice.  I crisp up 3 slices of any brand bacon in a cast-iron skillet. I but the slices into the quarter in pieces remove when crisp and leave the fat in the pan add 1 small minced onion and cook until soft. Add 2 tbsp of cumin and 2 tbsp of butter.  Add 1 can of rinsed canned pinto bean beans and cook on low flame till warmed through. Salt and 0eeper to taste add rice and mix.  Enjoy

Snow day!!!  Do not know why but at our house snowstorms are an excuse to eat. And eat. For. lunch its mini pizzas.  I bought a store-made pizza dough. Remove from package and place in a large bowl coated with olive oil. This will allow the dough to become puffy and create a nice light crust.

Roll dough out to desired thickness. We like thin crust so about 1/8, the inch thickness. I then use a biscuit cutter or a glass with about a 3 to 4-inch diameter.  Place on a baking sheet coated with olive oil. Light coating.  Add a tsp of marinara sauce to each circle. Add 1 tbsp of grated mozzarella and a 1/4 tsp pares a to each round. Bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

My daughter is the health nut in our home. So I made these for her this morning. And she loved them.  Mix 1 cup.   whole wheat flour with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp.     baking soda. Add 1 tbsp sugar and whisk together in another bowl mix together 1 cup low-fat almond milk. 2 eggs. Tsp vanilla and 1/2 cup ricotta cheese. (I put the ricotta.in a.blender and puree till smooth I prefer the texture)       add to dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add 1/2 cup blueberries.

Frozen works also.  Drop by 1/4 cup measures into a heated nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray and cook until brown. These pancakes take a little longer to cook than regular pancakes.  Serve with desired toppings.

I liked to microwave 1 cup of any type berries with 1 tbsp honey microwave for 1 minute on high rate cheese Add to dry ingredient stir to combine. Stir in 1 cup of blueberries. Frozen works also Heat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add batter to the pan and cook until brown on each side. Use about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake

So today is busy. Need a quick dinner. Spent the morning traffic court with my daughter. Had to thank her for the experience!!!!!!  So tonight meatballs of course son just told me he hates spaghetti and my daughter will not eat tomato sauce.  So rotini it is.  For my daughter, I take a cup of the cooked pasta add 1 tbsp of butter, and 1 tbsp olive oil. Mix together with 2 tbsp grated parmesan.

Make sure pasta is still hot when the cheese is added.  For the tomato sauce, I use a jar of sauce that tastes go9d and is on sale!   For the meatballs, I use 1/2 pound each of ground pork and beef.  I take left9ver bread any that I have. White Italian etc.   I store leftover not so fresh bread in the freezer and use for the crumbs.

About 1/2 cup.  Mix with 1 small grated onion. 1 egg. 2 cloves chopped garlic 1 tbsp fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp dried. 1 tbsp of dried parsley or 2 tbsp of fresh.  1/2 cup grated parmesan. 1/2 tsp pepper and 1 tsp salt.  Mix well then add meat and mix lightly to combine.  Don’t overmix. Meatballs will be tough. I preheated the oven to 350 shape meatballs. About the size of a ping pong ball.

Place on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray and cook until brown about 30 minutes.   Remove meatballs with a slotted spoon and place in a large pot with one 32 ounce jar or preferred sauce. Cook on very low heat on the stove until cooked through. About 30 minutes.  Serve with any pasta and a nice loaf of bread

Risotto with ham and peas: a sprint recipe!

Yes, because it is really a simple recipe, and also very quick to prepare.
What I like to do, in fact, is to offer recipes for delicious and tasty dishes that can be made ​​quickly and without too much effort.
I will never get tired to repeat, however, that the easier the dish the best the quality of the ingredients to use.

When ingredients are few and the dish is simple, without sauces, the flavor of the individual ingredients is exalted and only a great quality product can guarantee a winning result.

This risotto, which is prepared in twenty minutes including cooking time, provides only rice, peas, onion, ham, and Parmesan cheese, but the result is a dish of great taste that has convinced everyone in my family.
Try it!

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: economic

Ingredients for 4 people:

400 grams (14.11) of Arborio rice
1 spring onion
250 grams (8.82) of peas already shelled (or frozen)
100 grams (3.53) of cooked ham
50 grams (1.76) of parmesan cheese
1 glass of dry white wine
600 ml (21.16) of beef broth
5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
salt as required

Preparation:

Clean the spring onion and cut it into thin slices: I‘m as lucky as to have at hand red spring onions, Trope type, freshly harvest from the field, and I guarantee you that the aroma and flavor are truly outstanding.
Heat the oil in the saucepan where you will cook the rice. Sauté the onion until it’s withered and then simmer with the white wine until reduced.
Add the peas and let them cook with the onion to gain taste, then add the rice and toast along with the vegetables.
Pour the hot broth onto the rice, to cover it up, stir and cook on low heat, and leaded pot.
Stir every once and a couple of minutes before the rice is cooked (check the cooking time recommended on the package of your rice), add the grated Parmesan cheese and the ham, cooking until creamy but with the heat off.
Let stand a few minutes and serve.

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