How to make the BEST Pasta Salad you've ever had!

Okay, here goes!  First, you get the crazy curly pasta.  I can't remember what it's called, but here's what it looks like:

Yup, that one.  You can get it at the grocery store, in a bag.

Anyway, then you boil it till it's tender and squishy, salt it and stir it while you boil it, then drain it when it's ready.  Then put it in the fridge until it's cool.

Chop up some Cheddar Cheese into little squares.  Chop some Broccoli.  Chop some Carrots.  Get some cherry or grape tomatoes.  Then add these ingredients to the noodles, mix it all up, and put a whole bunch of Light and Zesty Italian Dressing on it!  It is to DIE for!  Seriously.  The first time my mom made it, I was in Heaven.  And I've loved it ever since.  And it's my favorite thing to make!  It's so easy and, seriously guys, SO delicious :)  Yum!

Beef, Pork, Chicken, Mmmm!

Name that line!  Anyone?  Anyone?  Let me help you: Disney's.... Mulan!  :-)

So here's a poll:  which of those three meats is YOUR favorite?

I grew up on Pork Roast.  We had it every Sunday.  And then we ate chicken with just about everything else.  Then of course there was turkey and ham on the holidays, and the occasional barbecue of hot dogs and hamburgers.

But I realized the other day that none of those things is beef!  Weird!  Of course I have had beef before, but it was not something I grew up with much at all.  Anyway, I went to Lee's the other day to buy a pork roast, and all of their Pork Roasts were ginormous, and I was only cooking for two people.  So I looked over and saw Beef roasts!  I had never had a beef roast before, but decided to try it.

I am converted.  Totally, and fully converted.  Beef roast.  Why did I have such a shortage of beef in my childhood?!  I love it love it love it!  Brock pointed out that it makes sense that I love the beef roast more- at restaurants I always order the steak.  And I love ground beef so much in tacos and soup.  And Roast Beef is hands down my favorite lunch meat on a sandwich.  And hamburgers are just delicious.  Plus, beef is totally healthier than pork.

So there's my story of my conversion to Beef over Pork.  It is so delicious!  And now let me share with you the easiest way to cook a delicious roast!


Crock pot!!

Add some oil and some water, and put the roast in it.

Add a bunch of salt and pepper, and season the whole thing (I like Italian Seasoning the best).

Cook on low for longer time; that helps it cook more evenly.

So delicious!  You can also add red potatoes and carrots in the crock pot with it if you want to make a full meal out of it.  It is so easy and healthy and not very expensive and super tasty!  Bueno!

Don't Forget the Baking Soda!

High Fiber Chocolate Cupcakes.  They're actually really good if you do it right!

I was all excited to make these with Heather and Brock last night.  We pureed the black beans (use that instead of butter so it makes it way healthier), added all the ingredients, and put them in the oven.  Haha, they didn't rise one bit and the texture was awful!  They tasted okay but they were kind of hard and, just not how cupcakes should feel.  So we were all eating them (Brock and Heath ate them reassuringly to be nice hahaha) and then Brock was like, "Did you put Baking Soda in these?  Because that's what makes them rise and gives them the good texture but it doesn't affect the taste."

Haha, Heather and I looked at him all weird because, um, he's the guy!  He shouldn't be the one knowing these things, we should!  So I checked the recipe and sure enough, I had forgotten the Baking Soda!  Oi.  No wonder they were so gross.  Hahaha, word to the wise.  The baking soda is more important than you think!

Chicken Burritos!

I was sitting in my kitchen pondering on what I could possibly make for dinner because I had not planned ahead and didn't want to drive to the grocery store.  So I decided to concoct my own recipe....  Chicken Burritos!

Boil chicken and then dice it.

Make Rice (if you want details on how to do it, see my previous blogpost entitled "How to Make the Perfect Rice") and make sure you include minced onions and salt.
Drain and heat up some black beans.
Mix some canned green peppers in with your cooked rice.
Heat up some Tortillas and put the above ingredients inside them.
Top with shredded cheese and heat up til the cheese melts.

It turned out delicious!  If I did it again, I would have added some lettuce and tomatoes, and put some cheese inside as well as on top.  Here's to inventing new recipes!  Hooray!

Chicken Enchiladas!

Last night's project.  Brock told me this is his very favorite thing that I make, so I feel comfortable bragging a little in saying I ROCK at making Chicken Enchiladas!!!

They are also super easy and they make delicious leftovers!  You've gotta try this recipe!


1 dozen Medium Flour Tortillas
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 pt Sour Cream

Mixture #1:
1 chicken (or about 5-6 breasts) boiled and diced
1 small can green chilies
3-4 cups shredded colby jack cheese (depending on how cheesy you want it!)

Divide Mixture #1 evenly into tortilla shells and roll up next to each other in a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Mix Sour Cream and Cream of Chicken and spread generously over the top of the tortillas.  Top with more cheese!  Cook 350° 30-40 minutes.  Ready to serve!

Secret time-saving tip:
Canned white chicken breast instead of boiling chicken is WAY faster and easier!  So if you're in a hurry, that's the way to go!

Enjoy!

Take n' Bake

Let me give you some pointers on Papa Murphy's Take n' Bake Pizza so that you don't end up making the same mistake I did.

First of all, if you live in a tiny apartment with a tiny kitchen and a tiny oven, don't try and cook things that don't fit in it.

We bought a delicious Heart-Shaped pizza to enjoy on Valentine's Day and were so excited!  However, it wouldn't quite fit in the oven...  but it was so close!  So I figured I could bend the sides up a bit and they'd just be touching the edges of the oven and be fine.  Bad. Idea.

Five minutes later, we were watching a movie on the couch and started to smell a terrible smell.  I jumped up and our oven was smoking!!!  My first thought was the fire extinguisher as Brock and I both looked at it at the same time.  I rushed to the oven, turned it off, and pulled out the pizza.  Thank goodness- no fire.  Just a lot of smoke and stinky-ness and burnt edges of the pizza.  And then the smoke alarm went off.  So we freaked out again and opened the doors and turned on the fans and were frantically airing out the room.  Then it turned off, and we both burst into laughter.  That's a Valentine's memory we won't soon forget!  It was so funny!

So we transferred the pizza to a cooking sheet.  Brilliant, right?  Haha and cut off the burnt edges, and the pizza was saved :)  And very delicious!  But take this as a word to the wise.  Don't let what you're cooking touch the edges of your tiny oven....  Especially if it's flammable like the paper pizza holder.  :)

How to make the Perfect Rice

Get out the frying pan and put it on the stove.

Chop some onions and sautee them in Corn Oil.

Add the rice and stir it around a bit, letting it fry until it's a light golden color.

Pour in warm water (careful- the steam will attack you!).  You don't need to measure it, just add it.

Cover it completely with a lid or a plastic grocery bag :)

When all the water is gone, test the rice.  If it is too crunchy, add more water and cover it again.

When the rice is the perfect texture (soft and chewy but not too gooey) add a bunch of salt.

Voila!  The perfect rice!

And if you want a real Nicaraguan meal, fry some red beans and add them to the rice.  Mix together...  and you have Gallo Pinto!  The famous meal that all Nicaraguans eat all day every day.  It is SO delicious.  Try it with some sour cream and some chips.  Mmmmm good!

Or, you can make ham fried rice!  Like I did last night!  Scramble some eggs, cut up some ham, add some peas, mix it all together with a bunch of Soy Sauce.  So easy and SO delicious.