I’ve been in a cooking rut as of late. The last two recipes I made did not come out that great and I became a little discouraged and unmotivated. I’ll post about my unsuccessful recipes eventually, but this weekend I finally liked the results of my chicken and I couldn’t wait to share! Continue reading
I participate in the tradition of eating gnocchi every 29th of the month. It’s a South American tradition that was influenced by Italian immigrants. If you search the Internet for the origin of this tradition, you will find various versions. Here’s a brief explanation I found in an article from The Washington Post:
The custom of eating gnocchi on the 29th is said to spring from a celebration of simple food and meager means: It’s the end of the month, the money has run out, and all that is left in the pantry is some potatoes, some flour and, if you’re lucky, an egg or two. What else to make but gnocchi?
While usually lumped together with pasta, gnocchi are really little dumplings, often made from potato, but they’re also seen in semolina, ricotta and other versions. The 29th celebrates all these incarnations, although the standard-bearer is the ñoqui de papa, or potato gnocchi.
On this day, restaurants offer gnocchi specials, and lines form at the city’s abundant fresh pasta shops. Tradition dictates that you eat the gnocchi with money under your plate to ensure good luck and prosperity.
Last Friday was Gnocchi Day and I wanted a quick and delicious sauce to go with the fresh gnocchi I would be buying at Whole Foods after work. I would love to make gnocchi from scratch someday, but this time I would have to settle for store-bought. I had recently read Jessica Seinfeld’s Do It Delicious recipe for Ricotta Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter and was inspired. The original recipe involves making raviolis – which I fully intend to do some day – but this time I would just make the sauce. Continue reading
I was looking for a roasted broccoli recipe and I can’t believe I had forgotten about Do It Delicious’ Roasted Broccoli with Shallots and Garlic recipe! It is so easy and really, really delicious, I could eat it every week. I came across Jessica Seinfeld’s website Do It Delicious years ago when she did a tutorial for a fast and juicy herb grilled chicken. It was a simple video she did for a friend who didn’t know how to cook and it really was easy to follow and the chicken came out good (I have issues cooking a simple chicken breast). Jessica’s instructions are very clear with little fuss, and her website just resonated with me. I am so happy to have become reacquainted with her site! Continue reading
Although it hasn’t been that long since I started writing here again, I feel like this project is helping me get more organized and focused. I find myself constantly searching for recipes from different sources and trying to get more creative with my weekly meals. As I’ve mentioned before, I usually eat the same thing multiple times during the week, so each time I cook, I have to take that into consideration. For example, I grew tired very quickly from last week’s Cuban Picadillo, but I could have eaten more of the previous week’s Skinny Chicken Enchiladas.
Since last week, I had been trying to decide what to make and couldn’t come up with a solid plan. The long weekend came and went, and Monday night I still hadn’t decided. Tuesday I finally settled on a chicken skillet recipe but I ended up leaving work so late that I didn’t have the energy to go grocery shopping, much less cook. Sometimes I’ll resort to Instacart and have my groceries delivered, but now with the blog I like to pick out the items in person. Tuesday while browsing Instagram, I came across a friend’s lunch plate and knew that that was what I wanted to make. Continue reading
I came across Skinnytaste’s Cuban Picadillo when looking for easy recipes that I wouldn’t mind eating multiple times during the week. Last week’s Skinny Chicken Enchiladas were delicious and I most definitely did not get tired of eating them throughout the week. I was very pleasantly surprised with how great they tasted and I can’t wait to make them again. Hopefully this will be the case with today’s recipe! Continue reading
One of the things I have been trying to do for some time is meal prepping for the week. I am constantly searching for recipes that are lower in calories, tasty and can be easily packed for lunch. I also don’t mind eating the same meal multiple times, so this works for me.
A favorite site of mine is Skinnytaste. Gina, the site’s author, creates recipes that are healthy and low-fat but don’t sacrifice flavor. I visit her site at least once a week. Her readers are also active commentators, which is something I definitely appreciate and look for when viewing any recipe online. I love reading people’s reviews, comments and questions. Chances are, there’s someone out there who has the same question and/or comment as you, and it’s nice to see how their issues were resolved. Granted, the comments should be taken with a grain of salt, as we all have different tastes, but overall I find them helpful and use them as a guideline. Continue reading
Happy 2016! Well this is a surprise, even to me. I had been flirting with the idea of blogging again but I didn’t realize I was actually going to go through with it until this afternoon, when I decided to cook and started taking pictures of today’s recipe with the full intent to post, regardless of the recipe’s outcome. After cooking today’s meal and reacquainting myself with WordPress, here I am!
Over the years people had asked me to blog again and I always complained about how time consuming it was. It remains time consuming, but I decided to make an effort to try to post at least once a week. That being said, I’m excited to be back so let’s get to it!
Closing out the menu for my dinner with friends, dessert! Wanting something very easy (sorbet) but also with a homemade touch, I decided to try one of recipes from the InStyle magazine party guide page I keep talking about, Ginger Pecans.
The third easy dish I made for my dinner with friends was Nigella Lawson’s Thai Crumbled Beef in Lettuce Wraps. I first came across this dish when I bought Nigella’s Forever Summer cookbook in 2003. I have made many wonderful dishes from that cookbook, and this one remains one of my favorites.
Continuing on to the next dish that I served for my friends at my easy dinner party, the Beef-Scallion Skewers. As I mentioned in the original Tuna Tartare Chips post, while browsing InStyle magazine back in 2006, I came across a party guide section that included wonderful and easy recipes that I have made multiple times and are always a hit. The Beef-Scallion Skewers are part of those recipes and like the tuna tatare chips, they are also very easy to make and super flavorful.
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