an experiment in the kitchen (meat sauce)

im kicking myself now for not taking pictures but this creation ended up being so good I decided to share it with you anyway. i was craving good old spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner. when i went to the pantry for a jar of tomato sauce, I was out! so the experiment began…

Ingredients:
1 yellow bell pepper 
½ yellow onion

1 glove of garlic

1 ½ T. sugar

1 6 oz. can of tomato paste

1 t. dried basil

1 C. water

salt and pepper to taste

1 Lbs. ground beef

Directions:

start water for pasta and cook pasta as directed (suggestions below*).

cook ground beef until browned. 

while the meat is cooking dice ½ an onion, mince one garlic glove  and one yellow bell pepper. remove the meat, but do not drain the grease, leave it in the pan. sauté the onion and bell pepper in the grease from the meat until the onion is translucent. add the salt, sugar, pepper, basil, tomato paste, and water. stir until the tomato paste has turned into the consistency of a sauce.


next pour the sauce into a blender and “mix” the ingredients for a smoother texture. transfer the sauce back into the pan and add the already prepared meat. 


the sauce is ready to be served. put a generous helping over a serving of pasta and enjoy!

*Cooking Tip:I recommend adding a teaspoon of salt to the water and putting olive oil over the pasta once you have drained it to prevent the pasta from sticking.  if you find that the the sauce is to acidic add a little sugar to even it out!

pear crisp

Last week my roommate maggie and myself volunteered at a seminar that our college was putting on.  After the seminar was over there was a ton of sack lunches that the participants didn’t eat.  being cheap college students; we scavenged through the lunch sacks and took all of the pears. There were so many pears that we didn’t know what to do with them.  our solution to the pear problem was a pear crisp.  who doesn’t love a good crisp?  the combination of butter, oats and sugar makes this effortless dessert an all time favorite!

Ingredients:

For the filling:

5 or 6 large pears

2/3 C. sugar

¼ t. salt

For the topping:

1 ½ C. all-purpose flour

1/3 C. sugar

1.3 C. firmly packed brown sugar

½ t. cinnamon

1 C. oats

1 stick butter (melted)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  peel and slice pears and mix in a bowl with the sugar and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, oats and melted butter.  Stir the mixture with a fork until nice and crumbly.

Place the pears into a square baking dish and top with the crumble mixture.  Bake for 40 minutes until the top is nice and golden brown.

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

note: If you don't like pears or don't have any on hand, you could also use apples, berries, peaches or nectarines.

thai honey peanut chicken

we all have nights when creativity and inspiration are just not happening. yes, the typical grilled chicken, bbq chicken and lemon chicken are great, but sometimes switching it up is much needed. last night all “the girls” came over to try this Asian inspired dish…and it was a hit! it is sweet and creamy with a little kick (if desired). i mean who doesn’t like an recipe involving peanut butter. this meal takes less than 20 minutes to prepare and get on the table! enjoy.  

Ingredients: (serves 3)

1 lb. chicken

¼ C. soy sauce

1 t. minced garlic

1 T. peanut butter

2 T. honey

½ t. curry powder

1 T. lime juice

1 t. siracha (optional)

Directions:

Start cooking rice according to directions then defrost and cube the chicken.

Mix all the ingredients into a medium size bowl.

Cook chicken and the sauce over medium-high heat for approximately 7 minutes or until chicken is done.

Serve over a scoop of rice and garnish with crushed peanuts and cilantro.

Cooking Tip: using the marinade as the sauce- even though it came in contact with raw meat- is safe because it will get to the necessary 160° when you cook it with the chicken. 

easy homemade salsa

football sunday is always a reason to indulge in some good salsa.  this sunday we were all out of store bought salsa, so with a little help from our friend the pioneer woman and a pantry full of canned goods we whipped up a delicious and easy batch of homemade salsa!  Even with an embarrassing seahawks loss we were still satisfied with good food.

Ingredients:

1 can whole tomatoes (28 oz.) with juice

2 cans diced green chilies

¼ C. chopped onion

1 clove garlic

1 whole jalapeño seeded and diced

½ C. cilantro

1 C. frozen corn

¼ t. salt

½ t. cumin

½ t. chili powder

¼ t. sugar

The juice of 1 whole lime

Directions:

Turn the oven on broil and place the frozen corn on a baking sheet.  Bake until the top is golden brown and set aside.

Place the can of tomatoes, green chilies, chopped onion, garlic, jalapeno and cilantro in the food processor (we used a blender because that is all we had) and blend until smooth. 

If you like your salsa a little chunkier save some of the diced onion and one can of green chilies and add after you have processed the salsa

Pour the salsa into a bowl and stir in the salt, cumin, chili powder, sugar and corn.  Finish off with the limejuice and salt and pepper to taste!

Note: if you would like a spicier salsa do not take the seeds out of the jalapeño.

happy birthday bethany!

thanks to Bethany turning 21 (happy 21^st birthday Bethany!!)- and a lot of leftover beer from the celebration- we have had all sorts of fun experimenting with beer recipes. our favorite has been the beer bread. the best part about the recipe, it only requires 5 ingredients! 5 ingredients that most college students keep on hand.

Ingredients:

1/3 C. sugar

3 C.  bread flour (substitute below)

12 oz. of beer

1 t. of salt

1 T. butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° F. 

In a large bowl combine sugar, flour and beer. If the dough looks too dry add more beer until the dough is a sticky texture. Add the salt last because it will bring the dough together.

Butter the bottom and sides of a pan (8X8) and place dough inside. Bake for 55 minutes. 

Pour 1-2 T. of melted butter on the top and bake for another 10 minutes.The top should be golden brown.

this recipe is great for the winter months. eating a warm slice of fresh bread paired with a bowl of steamy soup is perfect on a rainy day in the northwest. surprise a friend, roommate, or family member with a tasty treat.

Substitute for Bread Flour- One cup self-rising flour equals: 


1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 


1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, plus 


1/8 teaspoons salt

Cooking Tip:

For ease of cleaning wash the bowl using cold water to prevent flour residue from becoming sticky 

the first of many

being seniors in college we (julia and skylar) find it very difficult to make time for all of the things that we love. however, one thing that we do make time for is cooking. we both constantly get asked about healthy, quick and tasty recipes from our friends. the purpose of this blog is to share a few recipes that we both love, as well as little tips and techniques to make it easier and more enjoyable!

"to the illuminated mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light." ralph waldo emerson