Alright, people, lets talk potatoes. Specifically, the Baked Potato. Here's the deal. When you wrap a potato in foil and put it in the oven, you're not really baking the potato....you're steaming it. A truly baked potato is cooked without the foil wrapping/covering it. Here's my favorite way to bake a potato.
Baked Potato
1 potato (you pick the size...you're eating it! Just remember, the bigger it is, the longer it'll take to cook!!)
2 table spoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 table spoons Salt--I like to use a salt mill/grinder and sea salt
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Pull out a small, oven-safe pan (again, I have smaller Pyrex pans that are awesome for this).
2. Wash your potato really well, and pat it dry. Pierce the skin a few times with a knife or fork...maybe 5 or 6 times.
3. Pour the Olive Oil over the potato and make sure it's well coated...but not super saturated.
4. Sprinkle the salt all over the skin of the potato, so that it's evenly covered. Place it in the pan and cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until the texture of the potato feels soft all the way through. If you put the fork in and half way in the resistance changes, stick the potato back in the oven for a little bit longer.
Remember the cooking time depends on how big your potato is, so you'll have to wing it a little bit. I usually pick out potatoes that are about the size of my palm...any bigger and I'll end up wasting it! BOO!!
Happy New Year and Happy Cooking!!
Amy
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
how can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?
So I've been thinking about how to portion out food for one person. I need to do a little bit of research and get everything straight, but here is what I do know.
Since you're cooking for one, unless you eat chicken breasts EVERY night or have a big dinner party coming up, don't buy the super huge frozen chicken bags at the warehouse stores. You can buy a single pack of chicken breasts, divide them up into zippered freezer bags and you are good to go. Make sure to squeeze all of the extra air out of the bags to keep the meat fresh longer.
Ok, here's todays little piece of amazingness...it's not an original recipe, but it's still good.
Cream of Mushroom Chicken
1 tbs of flour
1 tsp veggie oil
1 chicken breast
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (condensed)
1/2 cup of water
mushrooms (if you want extra)
1. Pat the chicken breast dry and coat with flour. Put the oil in your frying pan and turn on medium-high heat. Cook the breast in the frying pan until done...check and make sure it's done in the middle, with no pink at all.
2. Set the chicken breast aside on a couple paper towels to get rid of the excess oil. Drain the oil from your pan and wipe down lightly. Be careful, the pan is going to be hot! Use plenty of paper towels so the oil doesn't soak through and burn you.
3. Pour the cream of mushroom soup and the water in to the same frying pan and mix together. Turn the heat back on to medium-low and place the chicken breast in the soup mixture. If you want to add the extra mushrooms, do it now. If you're using canned mushrooms, be sure to drain them well. If you're using fresh mushrooms, you'll need to saute them before you put them in with the chicken and soup. (Just heat up a table spoon or two of butter and throw your cleaned and sliced mushrooms into the hot butter. Cook until the mushrooms are tender. Drain the butter and then mix them into the chicken and soup).
4. As the soup mixture heats up, stir occasionally to mix the water and soup. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until the soup is nice and thick and well mixed and you can't stand waiting any more!!
OK, now, I love to eat this over rice...and I won't lie, I just use instant rice. Just take equal parts rice and water and put them in a microwave safe bowl and nuke according to the rice directions, probably 5 minutes. Remember it's going to make twice as much as originally measured, so if you want 1 cup of rice, use 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup of rice.
I hope you enjoy the Cream of Mushroom Chicken. It's always been a favorite of my friends and I.
Happy cooking!
Amy
Since you're cooking for one, unless you eat chicken breasts EVERY night or have a big dinner party coming up, don't buy the super huge frozen chicken bags at the warehouse stores. You can buy a single pack of chicken breasts, divide them up into zippered freezer bags and you are good to go. Make sure to squeeze all of the extra air out of the bags to keep the meat fresh longer.
Ok, here's todays little piece of amazingness...it's not an original recipe, but it's still good.
Cream of Mushroom Chicken
1 tbs of flour
1 tsp veggie oil
1 chicken breast
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (condensed)
1/2 cup of water
mushrooms (if you want extra)
1. Pat the chicken breast dry and coat with flour. Put the oil in your frying pan and turn on medium-high heat. Cook the breast in the frying pan until done...check and make sure it's done in the middle, with no pink at all.
2. Set the chicken breast aside on a couple paper towels to get rid of the excess oil. Drain the oil from your pan and wipe down lightly. Be careful, the pan is going to be hot! Use plenty of paper towels so the oil doesn't soak through and burn you.
3. Pour the cream of mushroom soup and the water in to the same frying pan and mix together. Turn the heat back on to medium-low and place the chicken breast in the soup mixture. If you want to add the extra mushrooms, do it now. If you're using canned mushrooms, be sure to drain them well. If you're using fresh mushrooms, you'll need to saute them before you put them in with the chicken and soup. (Just heat up a table spoon or two of butter and throw your cleaned and sliced mushrooms into the hot butter. Cook until the mushrooms are tender. Drain the butter and then mix them into the chicken and soup).
4. As the soup mixture heats up, stir occasionally to mix the water and soup. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until the soup is nice and thick and well mixed and you can't stand waiting any more!!
OK, now, I love to eat this over rice...and I won't lie, I just use instant rice. Just take equal parts rice and water and put them in a microwave safe bowl and nuke according to the rice directions, probably 5 minutes. Remember it's going to make twice as much as originally measured, so if you want 1 cup of rice, use 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup of rice.
I hope you enjoy the Cream of Mushroom Chicken. It's always been a favorite of my friends and I.
Happy cooking!
Amy
Sunday, December 26, 2010
no name cookies
Here's a little holiday treat...and it's good any time you need a sweet snack. I got the recipe from a good friend and I don't know if they have a 'real' name, but I've kicked around a couple names and decided they're going to be 'no name cookies'. They're a delicious little chocolate peanut butter cookie I know you'll love.
10 ritz crackers
1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter (you don't have to measure out exactly 1/3 cup...use what you need)
2 squares chocolate almond bark
1 square white chocolate almond bark
1. Cut a piece of wax paper and place it on the counter/workspace. Take 5 crackers and spread peanut butter on one side. You want a generous amount, but not so much that it squeezes out of the sides when you do the next step.
2. Take the remaining 5 crackers and stack them on top of the peanut-buttered crackers so that they are sandwiched together.
3. In a small, microwave-safe bowl heat the 3 squares of chocolate in the microwave at 15-20 second intervals. Stir between each turn in the microwave so that the chocolate mixes together. It will take a few trips in the microwave, but you want the chocolate to be well blended without burning or getting super hot.
4. Once the chocolate is mixed and somewhat runny, place one cracker sandwich in the chocolate and rotate until it's covered. (I like to use 2 forks to rotate the crackers so I don't make too big of a mess or burn my fingers.) Place the covered crackers on the wax paper to cool and harden completely.
When they're cool and the chocolate has hardened, they're ready to eat! The recipe is really easy to increase, too. Just keep a 2:1 chocolate to white almond bark ratio and heat until it melts, at regular heat, but microwaving in intervals.
Try it out and let me know how you like them! They're my favorite!!
Happy cooking!
Amy
10 ritz crackers
1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter (you don't have to measure out exactly 1/3 cup...use what you need)
2 squares chocolate almond bark
1 square white chocolate almond bark
1. Cut a piece of wax paper and place it on the counter/workspace. Take 5 crackers and spread peanut butter on one side. You want a generous amount, but not so much that it squeezes out of the sides when you do the next step.
2. Take the remaining 5 crackers and stack them on top of the peanut-buttered crackers so that they are sandwiched together.
3. In a small, microwave-safe bowl heat the 3 squares of chocolate in the microwave at 15-20 second intervals. Stir between each turn in the microwave so that the chocolate mixes together. It will take a few trips in the microwave, but you want the chocolate to be well blended without burning or getting super hot.
4. Once the chocolate is mixed and somewhat runny, place one cracker sandwich in the chocolate and rotate until it's covered. (I like to use 2 forks to rotate the crackers so I don't make too big of a mess or burn my fingers.) Place the covered crackers on the wax paper to cool and harden completely.
When they're cool and the chocolate has hardened, they're ready to eat! The recipe is really easy to increase, too. Just keep a 2:1 chocolate to white almond bark ratio and heat until it melts, at regular heat, but microwaving in intervals.
Try it out and let me know how you like them! They're my favorite!!
Happy cooking!
Amy
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Just a note
Here's the deal: I love to cook, but I don't want to make a meal for 6 people. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one, either. So, over the next few months,I'm going to post recipes so others can enjoy them, too. If you have requests for main ingredients or recipes you want to contribute, email me or leave a comment. If you try the recipes, let me know what you think!
Here's a rough recipe....Let me know how you like it:
Broccoli Rice Casserole:
1 cup frozen broccoli (I usually use more because I love broccoli)
1/2 cup instant rice
1/3 cup of cheeze whiz
1/2 cup of french fried onions
1/3 cup water
1/3 can (about 2 heaping tablespoons) of Cream of Mushroom soup
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix broccoli, rice, soup, water and cheeze whiz together in a bowl. Mix in half of the onions. Spread into small casserole dish or oven safe pan (I love my small pyrex pans!) Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Take the pan out (it's gonna be hot...duh...use a pot holder!). Add the remaining french fried onions to the top and put the dish back in the oven. Bake until onions on top are golden brown, about 10 minutes.
I've been itching to add bacon pieces to this recipe, too. I think 2 table spoons...maybe 3 if you really like bacon. :)
Happy cooking!
Here's a rough recipe....Let me know how you like it:
Broccoli Rice Casserole:
1 cup frozen broccoli (I usually use more because I love broccoli)
1/2 cup instant rice
1/3 cup of cheeze whiz
1/2 cup of french fried onions
1/3 cup water
1/3 can (about 2 heaping tablespoons) of Cream of Mushroom soup
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix broccoli, rice, soup, water and cheeze whiz together in a bowl. Mix in half of the onions. Spread into small casserole dish or oven safe pan (I love my small pyrex pans!) Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Take the pan out (it's gonna be hot...duh...use a pot holder!). Add the remaining french fried onions to the top and put the dish back in the oven. Bake until onions on top are golden brown, about 10 minutes.
I've been itching to add bacon pieces to this recipe, too. I think 2 table spoons...maybe 3 if you really like bacon. :)
Happy cooking!
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