Mini Cooking Adventures

I'm cooking a little more you guys! Yay me! Roughly 1-2 times a week...lol. Not much, but it's more than what I had been doing.

I'm late posting what I made a few weeks ago. No specific name for it. Just rice, shrimp, green and red peppers, and some Caribbean Jerk sauce from Kroger's...all combined to form a perfectly spicy meal. I was really in the mood to cook that day, so I called Chelsea for suggestions. And this is what she recommended. It was quite bum, I might add. My family enjoyed it too. I didn't realize how vast the variety and flavors of sauces were at the grocery store. (I don't really do much grocery shopping.) So, you can get even more creative with this recipe; mix/blend sauces or opt for something a little less spicier than the Caribbean Jerk flavor.

This didn't take long to make. Disregard the "30 Minute Marinade" on the sauce, because I clearly didn't follow those directions. I just combined everything together; I don't think it took longer than 30 minutes altogether though (including removing the tails from the shrimp, boiling rice, etc.).

I really need to start couponing though, because this one meal cost around $22. And that's what the price came to after scanning my Kroger's card. I mean, I don't grocery shop on a regular basis yet. So, maybe this is the average. I guess that's a good deal, as 3 people feasted on this $22 meal. I think the shrimp caused it to be that high, now that I think of it.

I'm starting to become an expert at frying chicken. I know, y'all have been doing it all your lives and I'm the slow one now catching on....yadda yadda. But better late than never! 

Frying with this fryer definitely calls for patience. Only 5 wings will fit on it comfortably. Then, I have to wait for them to be cooked completely...which could be around 15-20 min. For a family of four (including two dudes that stay hungry) that's a lot of time on the entree alone.

Nevertheless, I made chicken wings for dinner tonight, along with a salad and fries. Then, I wanted to experiment on the last few wings I had left. I shook some of the Caribbean Jerk sauce (mentioned above) in the chicken batter bag. It was so good! I should have made them all like that. My dad even said if I keep cooking like that, I'll get a husband! Ayeeeee! lol

Aftermath: Macaroni & Cheese Balls

Sorry I'm late with posting this...

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!!! =)

So I fried a few of the balls, and pretty much they tasted like fish and/or the batter stuff. So, that was a fail on my part.

However, my dad fried the rest of them the next day. And my family tore them up! My dad must've had a magic touch or something, because apparently his tasted so much better than mine. And he fried them on the deck, as opposed to the kitchen like I did. I don't know if that made a difference.

I don't think I'll make this again. It took too much time; novice cookers like myself should just stick to the "short and sweet" recipes, and then work their way up. Next up...banana pudding! Yum! I've been buying ingredients for this recipe since Thanksgiving, but it's taking me forever to get to it. My dad ate my vanilla wafers from last time, since I was taking too long to use them. lol...and same thing with the bananas...smh! Hopefully, I'll whip it up by the end of the week! =)

Quick Update: Fried Mac & Cheese Balls

This recipe is getting on my nerves....still not done! Smh! I didn't realize there was only one egg in the house. And of course, I needed two to make some gross-looking egg wash stuff. I just came back from the store to get eggs, and I failed to realize that there wasn't enough vegetable oil either so I could fry these suckers up. There was a fair amount in the container, but not enough to cover the fryer thing. Ughhhhh! Is this meant to be?? :-/ .....lol

So, I guess I'll get more veggie oil tomorrow.

Shoot, this thing is taking like 3 days to make. What if it doesn't even taste good?

My family is wondering why I've been in the kitchen all night and today, with nothing to show for my efforts. My dad has been teasing me, saying that he hopes I don't take 4 days to fix my husband a meal. Or that I don't forget to feed my kids. Hardy har har...lol

Not sure if you can see the balls all that well. But they're covered with seasoned bread crumbs. I have about 4 or 5 containers in the freezer. I was able to make SO many! And it would be such a shame if they tasted anything less than the best. lol.. Until tomorrow...

Thanksgiving 2011

As stated previously, I had an awesome Thanksgiving. It was just a perfect chill and peaceful day.

I intended to make both of those desserts listed below, but I was missing an ingredient for the banana pudding recipe. So I just fixed those carrots (that I've been raving about) and the cookie dough cheesecake bars. I still can't decide if I like the bars or not. One of my cousins had a bite of one when he first came over, and he was quick to say that they were a bit dry lol...but he said they were still good. So, I'm not sure if I'll make that again or not. Even though cookie dough and cheesecake are two of my favorite sweets....we'll have to see.

I had family from my dad's and mom's side come over to the house. I was really excited about those from my dad's side coming over. We rarely ever get together for family functions. We had a family reunion a few years ago, and people from the local area didn't really come; however, there were folks from out of state travelling to attend. Something's wrong with that picture. A lot of my dad's family lives within 5-15 min away, and years will go by without seeing them. Smh. My dad even has a twin sister, and I don't think I've seen her since my grandpa's funeral last December. It's so sad.

Since my grandpa passed, I've been praying earnestly that my family would grow closer. And I think we have. Numerous events including graduation celebrations, birthdays, Christmas brunch last year, getting my hair braided (by my cousin), and just visiting each other more often have taken place this year. And I'm so thankful. I've always wanted a big close-knit family, extended and immediate. I want to be able to hang out with my cousins more, and not just because we're brought together for the next holiday on the calendar.

This year was great. Good eats and great convo over dinner. I don't like those awkward moments where it's a silent dinner. Ugh! I know the food is good, but...it's better (in my opinion) if there's laughter and a good conversation going along with it.

I don't know why, but I always seem to get nervous when entertaining folks at my house. I don't want them to get bored easily. I want them to enjoy themselves, and not think my event was a waste of time. So, I was wondering how everything would flow after dinner. Those "eat and run" dinners are kinda awkward too, so I was hoping no one would do that. The guys, of course, made their way to the basement to engage in that good ol' football. **I'm gonna get into football one day. I'm gonna be rockin' a Redskins (my household's team) snapback, yelling at the TV with the guys, and giving a detailed response when someone asks me, "How 'bout that game last night?" Being that I'm a girl not associated with football, they probably won't ask. I guess I'll have to start that convo or somethin...I'll know the ropes one day. :) **


Fortunately, it wasn't awkward after dinner. We played Jenga and Pit, so that was fun. I'm just thankful for how the day played out. Just perfect.

Here's the recipes I used for the carrots (courtesy of Essence mag November 2011 edition) and the cookie dough cheesecake bars (mybakingaddiction.com).


Orange-Glazed Carrots


Makes 10 servings.
Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 25 min

2 pounds baby carrots
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 pinches salt

Boil the carrots in a shallow saucepan until tender. Drain and return carrots to pan. Simmer in orange juice over medium heat for 5 min. Stir in the brown sugar, butter and salt. Heat until butter and sugar melt.

Per serving: 100 calories, 14g carbohydrate, 12mg cholesterol, 5g fat, 1g protein, 102mg sodium

The recipe for the cookie dough cheesecake bars is kinda long. You actually make the graham cracker crust, the cheesecake filling, and the chocolate chip cookie dough. Feel free to click the link above, where you'll find the complete recipe. Here's a few of my own pictures, regarding this dessert.

Crushing graham crackers for the crust

 Before placing the dish in the oven to cook

Out the oven and ready to eat! Disregard the missing left corner. Had to taste test! lol

Healthy Living!

So we haven't blogged about any meal preparations lately. I did a blog a while back about how I was getting on the "healthy food train," but unfortunately my cravings for sweets and salt seemed to be too much for my little taste buds to go without lol But I'm happy to say I've gotten back on track. And I owe that to a water fast I completed. Although I was fasting to get closer to God, drinking only water for a few days will make you appreciate ANY food, even the healthy foods :-)

This was a very easy meal. No recipes. Just whipped it up!

So this is the boneless chicken breast. It looks small in this pic but it was about the size of my entire hand! lol Anyway, I let it soak in cold water to thaw.

So once that was out of the way, I got my seasonings together. Once the chicken was thawed, I poked a few holes in it and I used less than a teaspoon of salt. (Nobody wants high blood pressure. Plus if you're trying to lose weight, sodium will hold on to every ounce of water in your body) I didnt really measure the other seasonings that are shown below. I just seasoned a good amount on both sides in a plastic bag. And shook it up.

I put Reynolds wrap in an oven friendly pan and added olive oil. I cut up about a whole onion and placed that along with the chicken in the pan. I put the oven on about 400 I believe. (Little more or little less) But the chicken cooked for about 40 minutes.

During the last 10-15 minutes before the chicken was done, I sauteed some onions and peppers on the stove. You can do this either with fresh veggies or the frozen ones. They're so good. I added a little oil to the pan before I cooked them and a little seasoning as well. The longer they cook the softer they'll get. I've always heard that if you cook veggies too long, you may cook the nutrients out of them. Leave a little crunch in them. They're better that way! :-)

This is the end result! :-)


Very simple meal! I was going to make rice with it but I'm glad I didn't. It was very filling but I wasn't stuffed. And as you can see, it was very healthy. And honestly I can say that the chicken was more tender than any boneless chicken breast I've had! (No joke! It was good)

And one of the biggest things I'm proud of is I couldn't go to sleep until I washed the dishes lol I washed them earlier today and then washed them again after I cooked. It was only a matter of time before I turned into my gma and mom haha They NEVER could sleep with a dirty kitchen. I understand now. Keeps you from having to do them the next day! :-)

Let's Eat!

"They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Well um, WOMEN EAT TOO! lol Another path of this journey to wholeness is knowing your way around the kitchen. Candice and myself decided to make a lil dish. I take after my grandma because we didn't measure ANYTHING but it came out great. YUM! Let us begin...

Boiling water is simple enough right! I put some olive oil in to keep the noodles from sticking. You can use vegetable oil too but we didn't have any of that. Beginners should AT LEAST make it through this step lol





Aren't these the cutest lil shrimp?? We brought these frozen with the tail still attached. (Didn't realize the tail was attached until we got to the house but luckily Candice was patient enough to detach them all :-)) They thawed in about five minutes while running cold (NOT hot) water over them.

These are the red and yellow peppers. These are REALLY good. Candice diced these up good. She keeps saying she's not a cook, YET. She did great though and didn't even complain ONCE hahaha

The seasoned shrimp. They were seasoned with red pepper, oregano, garlic, and basil.

Cook the shrimp and peppers a little with olive oil.

Put the noodles in boiling water until they're tender.

Add the Alfredo sauce (Yum!) and then combine everything together.

AND HERE'S THE GRAND FINALE!

IT WAS SO GOOD AND LASTED LIKE THREE DAYS CAUSE WE MADE SO MUCH LOL STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT MEAL!