Meal Planning

I think I've been neglecting my blog enough and since I'm about to start getting into my routines, I thought it's time to sneak blogging into it too.  With student teaching and working, mine and the hubbie's schedule will get a little difficult to juggle and coordinate and i'll most definitely have to meal plan and strictly follow a schedule. SO.....

Here is my attempt (once again) to meal plan for the week.  It works wonders when I do keep up with it, but for some reason I just get caught up with everything else and get uninspired to just do it.  Now, I do have to warn you, I don't follow recipes to a "T".  I usually look it up and make sure there isn't any essential ingredients and make it up as I go to taste.

So here is what i'll be making this week (sorry, I didn't take pics this week but i'll be posting how I made it as the week progresses):

Shrimp Pesto Ravioli
I used wonton wraps for the shell and for the filling chopped ricotta, sauteed shrimp and spinach.  I boiled it and baked for no more than 10 min with pesto sauce and parm cheese as garnish.  It didn't think it look all that good so no pics but it tasted delish!!!  I did however Google'd pesto ravioli and it looked pretty similar to mine.  We ate it with a green salad.

Source

Fried Chicken
I usually don't fry my fried chicken, I bake it.  But this time, since the hubbie requested it, I thought i'd give in into the greasy goodness.  All i did was season the chicken, shake it into flour, and deep fry it.  I must say, i much rather bake it any day--I was so afraid it was going to be under cooked that I ended up cooking it too long, and it turned out kind of dry :-( We ate it with mac&cheese and peas and corn.

Source

Fish Tacos
So easy and yummy!  I sauteed cod fish on a bed of blend mixed veggies (onions, red and green pepper), and seasoned it with salt and pepper.  Since the fish was frozen, it collected lots of water, so I cooked it until it dried, shredded it and served on soft corn tortillas garnished with cheese and tomatoes.  We ate it with Cajun rice and beans.

Source

Buffalo Chicken Braid 

Simple and successfully delish!!!  Also pretty...  All u need is a few chicken breast sauteed in hot wing sauce (I sweetened mine with a little bit of bbq sauce), pizza dough, and cheese.  Now I embellished mine with spinach leaves as well as cream cheese.

before I braided

love, Nanda!!

Cupcake and Celebrations

The hubby's surprise dinner was a success!  He had no idea!!!  Everyone even went to the movies with us afterwards.  We watched Battle:LA (totally recommend it).  The movie was super fast and I'll definitely have to watch it again and rewind a couple of scenes but it was really good.  I thought Aaron Eckhart did an excellent job on his role and made the movie really believable (and i'm one of those people that doesn't believe nor believes in aliens).

Anyways, the weather was warm enough to wear a dress with not tights or leggings but cold enough to require closed toes shoes.  I changed a few times, after I decided on this.  I had a different longer vest on and a skinny belt, but after I put the boots on, it just looked like it was going to be too much.  The warm front is now gone, so back to covering up... but it was kind of fun to get a glimpse of what's to come!

vest: ? (so long ago)
necklace: clarie's
dress: ross
boots: soda

I totally forgot to take pictures of the cupcakes after I was done.  I got the idea from somewhere online and thought it was easy enough to try (oh boy was I wrong!).  It wasn't rocked science, but given that I don't have a piping bag it was a nightmare considerably hard to get perfect lines.  The best one was the first one and from then on it just went downhill (good thing the cupcake itself was a hit).

dark chocolate fudge football cupcakes

Brazilian Style Fruit Salad {Must Try}

As you all know I'm brazilian( yes, born and raised).  I've been in the US for a little over 8 years.  I grew up eating tropical fruits and all things fresh (and I'm talkin about fresh out of the water fished by my dad and uncles).  Coming here was a big transition, and thou it wasn't a big deal when I first came, since I was still a kid, now I'm starting to miss things more and more; which explains me venturing in the kitchen to help me cope with missing our amazing culinary.  Now don't get me wrong, I love me, some pizza, cheeseburgers and fries, and in fact my favorite dish today, is meatloaf with squash and sweet corn (something I never even dreamt of in Brazil).  Brazilian cusine just takes me back to my childhood and a place that I cherish and hold dearly close to my heart!!

Here is what I used:
half of a papaya
a whole pineapple
two mangoes
two kiwis
a few strawberries
one apple
two bananas
juice of a giant lemon (to prevent
fruits from darkening)
and a cup of orange juice

Top Secret: drizzle condensed milk on top of your serving (that's the creamy looking thing on the pics) to take it up a notch of yummy-ness :-)

I feel like...

I've been neglecting my blog for the past couple...  As you know I didn't have class so, I was really not trying to do much (that's my lame excuse this time).  Remember the cleaning I was going to do?  Didn't happen! Are you surprised?  Please don't be, you'll prob hear that a lot from me... anyways in the mist of uneventful three days with no classes, I did of course managed to step in the kitchen and experiment a little (nothing out of the ordinary thou) and I also did go somewhere yesterday so I'll be posting an outfit...

One of the nights I made quesadillas, and they turned out just like I wanted.  You see, I always just make them on the stove top griddle, and they are just fine, but not to long ago Kirstin @ What Happens at Naptime posted this really gorgeous crispy looking BBQ chicken and black beans quesadilla that I just had to try.  I did not follow the recipe (again hope you are not surprised), but I did butter the tortilla and made it on a skillet  this time.  The result?  See for your self!!!!

I think they looked how I wanted and it tasted even better...  Now that I've mastered the crispiness, I will have to try the chicken and black beans recipe though, it's just too good to pass.

Another thing I mixed up in the kitchen this week was chocolate chip waffles.  I love making waffle sandwiches at anytime of the day and instead of mayo I use cream cheese.  I'm not a fan of syrup so this time, it left me with plain chocolate chip waffle, so since I can't contain myself from experiencing, I decide to spread  cream cheese anyways like the usual and it was better than I expected deli-sh.  I'm pretty sure I'll be gaining a few pounds from eating that for breakfast (no bueno).

Lasagna Style CrockPot Pasta

I was craving crock-pot lasagna but I totally forgot to buy lasagna pasta.  Lucky me I had all the other ingredients and pasta!  Since the recipe for crock-pot lasagna calls for no cook lasagna, before I ventured with the hard pasta I googled if in fact the crock-pot would cook the pasta throughly.  I found tons of responses to my question and didn't really know which one to trust, so I decided to trust my gut and cooked the past half way so the other half would just cook in the crock-pot and that way it would be just right.  I didn't follow a specific recipe, just my regular pasta sauce I always make (plus additional tomato sauce).  Here is some pictures of the semi-finished product...

I'll have to updated ya on the taste later because it is still cooking!  Have you made pasta in the crock-pot before?  What were your experiences?

Happy Saturday !!!

UPDATE:  Pastalagna (the hubbie came up with that) was a success!!! I was afraid the pasta was going to be soggy but it was perfect... It was gone in a day and a half, so I would say that's a good sign.

Peanut Butter Cravings

Have you ever fallen for those infomercial that swears it's the best product you'll ever purchase?  Well I have!  It was a few years back more like five or so (gosh I don't even remember when).  I do remember it was a Sunday morning before church, I turned on the tv before rolling out of bed, was flipping through the channels and something caught my eyes... any job done in 10 secs or less?  does breakfast, lunch, and dinner?  chop, grate, grind,  and blend? wait! party drinks? (I was already dialing by "or less").

Yes, I'm talking about the magic bullet...

I was so mesmerized by this little blender, that now that I look back, I have no idea why...  I mean I use it a whole lot more now (though it's no all that great like they make it seem), but back them I didn't  do any cooking, nor was I someone that need to save time (heheh silly me)  The thing is, I did in fact get it that morning and not only did I get one but I paid the extra shipping for two.  I also thought it was the greatest mother's day gift (boy was I wrong), but that's another story.

Now onto the "Peanut Butter Cravings"...  The other day I was craving something Peanut butter.  I had decided to make peanut butter crumbs, but no idea what to eat it with.  Browsing around for recipes I came across a peanut butter cream pie with crumb top.  I wasn't trying to make all that, neither was I craving a pie; so here is how the magic bullet comes into place.  I knew I wanted peanut butter crumb and meringue sounded good.  One of the segments of the Magic Bullet infomercial is chocolate mousse made from heavy cream and chocolate syrup (can you see the light bulb blinking?).  Whipped cream is close enough (to me anyways) to meringue, and if I fold in peanut butter crumb, it will some what resemble a pie.

Guess what?  It was pretty darn good.  Except that I didn't follow a recipe for the whipped cream and pour in a 'lil too much sugar (and you all know how much i'm not a fan of too sweet).  I made it again today and elided (just learned this word today, hopefully i'm using it right) the sugar, but it wasn't sweet enough.  my advice is if you'll try to make this, is to just make it to taste.  And oh I also added quick oats oatmeal to the crumbs, it was simply delightful.

Cake Pops!

How cute are they???  I love to just browse around and see all the variation people come up with.  There are so many creative ways to match your party or personality...  I first had cake pops last year made by a classmate.  To be honest I hated did not like it!  I described it as chewed up cake?! (who invented this was nuts)  I immediately googled it when I got home, (maybe she did it wrong, it looked so good) but no, there was the recipe... simply cake crumbs and frosting.  I don't think I ever told you, but I prefer not to have frosting-- makes things a little too sweet for me (yes I just scrape it all off sometimes!)

How was I ever be able to recreate this art on a stick in a way that I would enjoy eating?  Well I'm glad you asked!!  Using frosting not only made it too sweet for me, but it also had this wet mushy texture I wasn't too happy about.  I thought, what about chocolate???  And that is exactly what I did.  I melted some white chocolate chips and used it instead of frosting.  It didn't make it any less sweet, tough it eliminated the mushy texture.  It was much pleasant to my taste.  Besides, who doesn't love chocolate?  I know I do... I'm a chocolate lover loud and proud!!!!  I didn't take any pictures (i know bummer), but trust me they didn't look anywhere as good as the ones on google, like this other one.

my new favorite snack!!!

The other day when I was doing groceries (in the cereal isle to be precise), I saw Chex cereal and immediately puppy chow came to my mind (I could almost taste it in my mouth!!!) I'm kinda weak when it comes to commercial, I see it I want it (that's how I ended up with a Magic Bullet, no complaints btw).  Anyways, I bought the damn cereal ( I said that because I really could spare the cal, but no now I was craving it and know myself I would not rest until I had some) and as soon as i got home I had to make puppy chow.  


Here is what is so amazing, I realized we had crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth, so I decided to use my white chocolate peanut butter; and it turned out to be THE BEST puppy chow ever.... Seriously you should go make some right now...  Oh and instead of chocolate chip, I used Nestle Nesquik.

Here is the word behind "my white chocolate peanut butter" if your wondering... I don't really like pbj's, I eat peanut butter on sugar cones or on Quaker Rice Cakes so I get a white chocolate or dark chocolate peanut butter(they're sooo yummie)  for me and the regular for the hubbie for his pbj's.

So here is What I made today!!!

Peanut Butter and White Chocolate Blondies

7 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for greasing

4 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (11/4 cups)
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 ounces crunchy peanut butter (1/2 cup)
6 ounces soft light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ounces white chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter the sides of an 8 by 8-inch square cake pan

Sift the flour and baking powder into a small bowl, and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the 7 tablespoons butter and peanut butter together until very soft. Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract, and beat until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, and the chopped chocolate, and mix to form a dough.

Spread the dough in the prepared pan, and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and almost firm in the center.

Allow the brownies to cool in the pan, before removing and cutting into squares.

PS: the measures are a little funky but it turned out great!!!! The hubz love it!!

'til next time...

Pave, or so they call it, American Ice Cream

So first of all, what is with that name?  I've been in the US for quite a while and never saw this dessert on any restaurant menus or dinner parties.. ( not that i've been to many anyways)

But here is the recipe of this delicious dessert that up til now I've only had it when my dear sister made it.  (i can't quite remember if my mom made it back in the day, but she certainly haven't made it for as long as I can remember)

PS: I'm translating the recipe from Portuguese to English so it might be worded a little weird, but just go with or ask me question.. There will also be pictures if it's too confusing.

Pave

1st  layer

1 Can of condensed milk

1 can of milk (just measure with the condensed milk can)

3 egg yolks (save the egg whites because you will use it for the last layer)

Pour everything in a sauce pan and make a pudding (what that means is to mix it in like a medium heat until it thickens some what). BTW before I poured into the sauce pan, I mixed it with the mixer just to make sure the yolks were broken and smooth.  (the recipe really doesn't call for that but I wanted to make sure)

After that is ready pour it on a rectangular glass pan and reserve it.

2nd layer

1 cup of milk

3 tablespoon of cocoa powder (I used dark chocolate hot chocolate powder)

1 pack of champagne cookie (I had to use two to cover the whole pan)

Mix the milk and the cocoa powder, wet the cookie in the mixture and arrange them carefully on top of the 1st layer.

3rd layer

3 egg whites (told you!)

1 can of Media Crema (you can find it at a Mexican store or the Mexican aisle)

3 tablespoons of sugar

 Beat the egg whites until they are fluffy and if you turn the bow it won't fall ( i forgot what is called right now).  Then add the sugar and keep mixing it for another minute.  After that fold it the Media Crema with a spatula.  Last pour it on top of layer #2.

Now cover it with aluminum foil or wrap plastic and stick it in the freezer until it hardens.  I let it chill over the night, since I made it at ten o'clock.

Oh a variation for the second layer would be vanilla wafers, or maybe any cookie of your choice if you are feeling daring enough. Also leave the cookie out and just pour in the chocolate (I'll have to ask my sister for this one, cuz I'm sure is not only a chocolate milk).

ENJOY!!!!

'til next time...

4th of july Part Uno

I guess I need to stop saying that I'm going to stop slacking and actually do it.  I started a blog hoping to write everyday, and document my adventures in the kitchen, but (like everything I start) is not going as planned.  Throughout the day I keep making mental notes of what I'll write but never get to the writing part.  I even attempted to do the WWW challenge but being as though I don't leave home much, that is being postponed til school starts in a couple o months.  DO YOU NOTICE A PATTERN?  "postponed" seemed to be on all my post.... sad day, yet reality!!! One day this will change...

Breakfast Inspiration

My very first blog post.. cheers to a new hobby!!!!! Still becoming familiar with the page and with the idea of blogging but excited to start this new journey, so I call it. It's a Saturday morning(wait not morning anymore)and I'm sitting home besides my hubby, who is playing call of duty. (He can seriously play that all day (sight!) Well my breakfast inspired me to start a blog. One about food there is... A little about me: I absolutely love to cook!!! ( I'll let ppl that eat my food to judge whether or not I'm a good cook! ) Anyways, I made my hubby a stuffed french toast sandwich, but wasn't really feeling it so I just used some of the batter to make a flat waffle (my waffle maker is at my mom's). I topped it with frozen fruits and whipped cream, which made a gorgeous little tower and it also tasted good; I took pictures of it and I'll post them here. (it was my inspiration after all) Since I cook a lot I'll try to post my adventures in the kitchen, but I'll also be posting a lot about me and my new life. Ah, there is so much I want to say... well 'til next time!!! Oh I almost forgot today is my half birthday, maybe I'll have an interesting post tomorrow...