Happiness is... Hot Soup on a Cold Day

Lately the cold has been getting to me. I'm finding myself chilly and miserable a lot... too much in fact - I need to fix this. The solution to my winter weeping? A hot, rich, cheesy soup. I searched allrecipes over for a soup containing the vegetables in my fridge and a cheesy base but to no avail, so I took matters into my own hands: I made my own. For a first shot at making my own soup I have to give it to myself, it turned out just the way I wanted. This hearty blend of vegetables is sure to give you just what you're looking for as well!

Hubby Approval Rating?         4.0/5.0          Why? "I was expecting something more like straight cheese soup or closer to hamburger cheese soup. So I was a little disappointed at the lack of meat. Although, it was very filling and the potato was a pretty good substitute for meat (texture wise). It was light and tasty."

Dani's Cheesy Veggie Soup

1 cup cauliflower chopped    1 cup broccoli chopped

1 cup potatoes cubed           1/2 cup onion chopped

1/2 cup carrot diced              1 cup water

1/4 cup butter                         1/4 cup flour

3 cups milk                             3/4 cups Velveeta cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

- In a large sauce pan combine cauliflower, broccoli, potato, onion, carrot and water. Bring to a boil and cook until soft - about 5-10 minutes

- In soup pot melt butter over medium heat. Add flour stirring constantly and remove from heat

- Gradually whisk in milk and return to heat

- Gradually add Velveeta until melted

- Salt and pepper to desired taste.

Cauliflower and Cheese,

Dani

Phenomenal Pork Roast

On a recent trip to the local grocery store I noticed the pork shoulder was on sale. Now, typically I've been playing it fairly safe and only buying cuts of meat that I'm used to ie: chicken breast, ground beef, pork cutlets - we're talking basic, basic stuff here. So I thought I'd give something new a try - and it paid off! Not only was the pork juicy and tender it was packed with flavour. For a first attempt at pork roast I'm calling this one an exceptional success! 


*Note*  My camera is currently out of order and both pictures featured were taken on an iPhone.


Hubby Approval Rating:    5/5


Why? "It was well cooked, very tender and juicy. The sauce wasn't over powering but complimented the meat well. It was just really good." 

Herb Roasted Pork


1 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (5 pound) boneless pork loin
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, combine sage, salt, pepper, and garlic. Rub thoroughly all over pork. Place pork in an uncovered roasting pan on the middle oven rack.
3. Bake in the preheated oven approximately 3 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), depending upon your desired doneness.
4. Meanwhile, place sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, water, and soy sauce in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken slightly. Brush roast with glaze 3 or 4 times during the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Pour remaining glaze over roast, and serve.

I think you'll enjoy the unexpected tanginess of this fabulous pork roast. I encourage you to try something new, outside of your comfort zone - it just might be worth it :)

Garlic and Soy Sauce,

Dani

Comfort Food with a Kick: Chicken Florentine Casserole

With it's cold weather and dreary days, October seems to be the month for comfort food. I've been wanting to try something a little different with chicken breast and this florentine casserole hit the nail on the head for me! It's a creamy, flavourful dish that is all in all WAY too filling to eat every night. 
I'd like to take a minute to tell you how I find most of the recipes I try. Because I am only new to living on my own and cooking for two, I don't actually have any cook books so I do what most modern people do when trying to learn something new: I hit the internet! 
Quite some time ago I came across the website: www.allrecipes.com, originally I used it to find recipes for cookies, cupcakes, any kind of baking really... nothing practical that one would make on an everyday basis. Now I rely on it most nights to help me whip up dinner! The great thing about this website is that you can search for specific recipes or by the ingredients you want and don't want - very useful when you have a picky eater in the house! When searching for a specific recipe, I find the best way to utilize this website is to pick based on high ratings and number of ratings. Also, READ the comments, often you'll find several people making the same suggestions to make the dish even better!

Chicken Florentine Casserole*

4 Chicken breast halves                1/4 cup butter
3 teaspoons minced garlic            1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 can cream of mushroom soup   1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup half-and-half                       1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen spinach              1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
2/3 cup bacon bits                          1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a medium frying pan, saute spinach and mushrooms with 1 tablespoon butter

Melt the rest of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly, mix in the garlic, lemon juice, cream of mushroom soup, Italian seasoning, half-and-half, and parmesan cheese. 

Arrange the spinach and mushrooms over the bottom of a 9x9 inch baking dish. 

Cover with half of the sauce mixture.

Arrange chicken breasts on top of the spinach and mushrooms, and cover with the remaining sauce mixture. 

Sprinkle with bacon bits.

Bake for 45 minutes, then sprinkle with mozzarella and bake for another 10 minutes

* this recipe has been altered from the original at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-florentine-casserole/detail.aspx

 Hubby Approval Rating      4.5/5

Why? "It was good but there was too much spinach"

Based on Jason's review I'll probably use half of the spinach next time and throw in some diced artichoke heart!

Chicken and Bacon Bits,
Dani

Playing Catch Up! The Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

Life has been hectic as of late and I haven't had a lot of time to update the blog - but rest assured, I'm still cooking, baking, etc. I have a whole arsenal of recipes to share with you that I haven't had a chance to write about yet!

Recently I have decided to look back at my favourite foods from when I was a kid and attempt a few of them. An all-time fave of mine is one that most people cringe and turn their noses up to - Chocolate Zucchini Cake, and if you haven't tried it before I know what you're thinking - ew. It's a moist, flavourful chocolate cake that DOESN'T taste like vegetables. Seriously, this isn't a lie like those commercials that tell you that all you can taste is the fruit in their fruit and veggie juice.

Looking back at my childhood I can remember my mom growing zucchini in the garden. Once they were HUGE my mom would pick the zucchini, my brother and I would groan in distaste knowing we would soon be eating them and within days we would magically be eating delicious chocolate cake wondering where the nasty old zucchini went. Yeah, she pulled a fast one on us.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I asked my mom for this recipe a few weeks ago and she couldn't remember which recipe I was talking about - this cake was such a memorable part of my childhood and she had no idea the impact it had on me.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake (Thank you Ancsineni)

1/2 cup butter                         1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 3/4 cup white sugar              2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla                            1/2 cup sour milk  (or sub. 1/2 cup milk and 1 tsp white vinegar)

2 1/2 cup flour                         4 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder              1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon                     1/2 tsp ground cloves

2 cups finely diced* zucchini     1/4 chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan
Cream butter, oil and sugar
Add eggs, vanilla and sour milk
Mix together all dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) and add to creamed mixture. Beat well with mixer
Stir in diced zucchini
Pour into baking pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean


* When I made this I was in a particularly lazy mood and decided to grate the zucchini with my cheese grater - it worked great!!


No hubby approval rating on this cake because lets put it this way - there's only 2 of us in this house and the cake was gone in a few days - 'nuff said.
I'd love to get some feedback on this recipe, so if you do get a chance to try it let me know what you think!


Zucchini and Cinnamon,
Dani

Review: Pad Thai Restaurant - Pitt Meadows

I did say that I was wanting to do reviews of products and other things so here's my first wack at it. I'll be reviewing take-out based on food and value. If we eat at the restaurant I'll include ambiance and service. All categories will be out of 5 and I will have an over all average score. 


Pad Thai Restaurant - Pitt Meadows     2.0 / 5


Food     2.5 / 5
Value    1.0 / 5


What did we order?  1 order Pad Thai and 1 Order Yellow Curry with Chicken (side of rice)
Cost?   $29.05
Why the score?   Look, I'm no expert on Thai food BUT I do know that Pad Thai should never look or taste like there is ketchup on or around it. It was way too sweet, the tails were left on the shrimp (huge pet peeve of mine - if anyone knows of a valid reason why they do this other than utter laziness please comment below) and all the noodles were stuck together like it had been in the fridge and reheated. The Yellow Curry was also too sweet, very little spiciness to it and it was lacking substance. In the curry was chicken, green peppers and very few potato chunks. I've had much better Thai food elsewhere - ie: "All Thai'd Up" in Port Coquitlam (best Thai food around for about the same price.) You know there's a problem when the best part of the meal is the side dish of rice. Thoughts?


If anyone knows of a better Thai food place in the Pitt Meadows/Maple Ridge area please let me know!


Curry and Coconut Milk,
Dani

Hungarian Fasírozott (Fushi-rows-oat)

Earlier this week my Mom came over to help me make a traditional Hungarian dish called "fasirozott". Fasirozott is essentially meat patties utilizing the most common spice found in Hungarian food - paprika. Seriously... it's in everything. When I was growing up my Nagymama (Grandma) made this all the time when she took care of my brother and I on Tuesday nights and although it's fairly unhealthy my mouth still waters when I think about it. This was a great experiment for me as I've never fried anything before and honestly... grease/oil scares me. Why? When my brother was younger he was helping my Mom in the kitchen and some grease splattered on his arm and gave him a burn the size of a lemon. He was in a huge amount of pain and the burn became infected and started tracking up his arm. Needless to say I've been weary of frying since then.

I found frying meat to be fairly difficult and time consuming, however, rewarding. If the oil is too hot the outsides will burn and the inside will still be cool and uncooked. If it's too cool the meat will take FOREVER to cook and essentially simmer in grease until cooked. The first few always end up as testers and help you find the correct temperature on your stove... It's not uncommon to burn the first 2 or so.

Hubby Approval Rating? 4.5/5
Why? "It's almost like a mini meatloaf. Really good fresh, but also good to snack on or have in a sandwich the next day."
I asked Jason, "Why isn't it a perfect 5?" Answer: "cause you burnt some of them"

                              Fasirozott

Cooking oil (amount depends on size of  pan)

1/2 cup bread crumbs (or as needed)

1 lb ground pork

1 1/2 to 2 cups bread

1 white onion

1 egg

1/2 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

On medium high heat fill a saute pan with cooking oil so it is about 1/2 inch deep. 

In a large bowl combine pork, onion, egg, paprika, salt and pepper.

Soak the bread in water and squeeze to drain excess water. 

Break soaked bread into small pieces and combine with pork mixture.

Form pork mixture into 3 inch patties no more than 1 inch thick (they'll plump up in the grease)

Coat all sides of the patties with bread crumbs

Drop patties gently into the hot oil

Cook until medium brown on each side and center is no longer pink

I hope you've enjoyed this weeks addition to "Learning to be a Wifey". I encourage you to explore your own heritage and learn about the different flavours it has to offer.

Pork and Paprika,

Dani

Afternoon Delight... no, not THAT kind.

Since all my posts can't be about dinner I've decided to post a new recipe that I actually altered a bit - and it came out great! It's Sunday afternoon and Jason is playing video games. Let me be honest here folks, I can only watch him play so much "Unreal Tournament" before I start to get bored. As I was trying to find something to do I remembered that I purchased too many nectarines last time I went grocery shopping and I've been looking for a way to use them. I sorted through a few recipes I have saved on the computer and printed out to no avail: nothing has nectarine in it. I stumbled across my Mom's recipe for plum crisp and decided, hey, why not try it with nectarine? If it doesn't work out at least I know they probably would have gone to waste anyway.

Since I really made this for me I'm nixing the "Hubby Approval Rating" on this post and replacing it with my own "Wifey Approval Rating"

Jason's thoughts anyway? "Besides the fact that it's nectarines it was pretty good. I like it with plum better"

Wifey Approval Rating?               4.5/5.0

 Why? It's a nice, light, easy to make dessert with one of my favourite fruits. I think I would sprinkle a little bit of brown sugar on top next time to sweeten it up a touch and leave it in the oven about 3 minutes longer so the crumble on top is a golden brown colour and a little bit crunchier.

Nectarine Crisp

3 Large Nectarines                  1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon              1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar                  1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

5 tablespoons butter, melted   1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 7x7 baking tin or 7 inch pie plate

Slice nectarines in wedges or round slices and arrange on bottom of baking tin so the bottom is covered

Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon

In a small bowl mix together flour, sugar, oats, butter and vanilla

Sprinkle over nectarines to they are evenly coated

Cover with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes

Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown

Serve warm (with vanilla ice cream! Yumm)

So what changes did I make? Well, besides the plums, the recipe does not call for cinnamon, I doubled the amount of topping and instead of vanilla extract it actually calls for almond extract... which I don't have.

I love baking and trying new delicious desserts. I hope you find this recipe as easy and rewarding as I did!

Cinnamon and Oats,

Dani

The Endchiladas

That's right - no typo - the ENDchiladas, as in the end of my good cooking streak. Now, I'm the first to admit I don't know a damn thing about Mexican food but I'm always trying new things because hey, you can't eat burgers and french fries every night. Theoretically this should have gone really well but I made a critical error... one I'm still shaking my head at: I didn't grease the pan. Seriously?! Rookie mistake - I thought I was beyond these kinds of accidents.

My overall thoughts? As you can see from the picture on the left instead of neat little rolls we had piles of filling topped with flour tortilla shells and cheese. Though I initially thought they were bland I think any further seasoning would make them too salty. On a side note: I did have the left overs 2 days later and the flavour was spectacular!

Hubby Approval Rating               3.5/5.0
Why? "For the pure and simple fact that the bottom portion was fused with the bottom of the pan resulting in a pile that looked more like chicken chili. The flavour was really good, although the chicken was in fairly big chunks so the sauce didn't really mix with the chicken. Also I didn't like the corn being put in. I made this point before she started cooking. But given all that, really good...especially with salsa."

... it's better with sour cream actually.


Dani's Enchiladas

6  8-inch round flour tortillas        2 chicken breasts cut into cubes

1/2 large white onion                   1 green pepper

1/2 cup canned corn                    1/4 cup refried beans

1/2 cup enchilada sauce             3/4 cups grated cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease an 8x11 baking pan
Grease a large frying pan and cook chicken, onion and green peppers for about 10 minutes
Add canned corn and refried beans
Evenly fill and roll the 6 tortillas with frying pan mixture
Spread enchilada sauce and top with grated cheese
Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes
Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes

There's no reason for these enchiladas to not be fantastic just remember to grease the pan!

Chicken and refried beans,

Dani

A Loaf of Meat

When Jason and I went for our first big grocery shop in the new place we made a mistake that I'm sure a lot of people make when they first move out on their own - we bought too much. Specifically, we bought too much meat. We walked out of the local Superstore with 4 chicken breasts, 4 lbs of ground beef and a box of 15 hamburger patties... all expiring within 1 week. Clearly we didn't think of the logistics of how much meat people typically eat. So, as the calendar started winding down to the day everything was about to expire we did the only practical thing one can do - we froze it. What's my point? It's a cautionary tale, now if I'm planning to make something for dinner I need to remember to take it out of the freezer before I leave for work or else we're having KD.

When I suggested to Jason that we have meatloaf for dinner on Friday he was all over it - with one condition - it HAD to be my Mom's meatloaf *sigh*. God love my Mom but she doesn't exactly do things "by the book" per se. So when I asked her for her recipe she rattled off a list of ingredients to me with measurements such as "bit of this, a bunch of that" please Mom... does bunch = a 1/2 cup or 1 cup. The response? "You'll figure it out as you go." OK so as I'm attempting to recall everything my Mom said I remember one kind of important detail, how long do I cook it for and on what temperature? If my Mom hadn't left on Friday for vacation this would have been a simple fix, thank goodness for the internet because if it wasn't for www.allrecipes.com we may have gotten food poisoning. 


So without further ado... my take on "Mom's Meatloaf"

I'm not going to include my recipe for the cheese sauce on the brussel sprouts because I made it up in 2 minutes and it showed. My overall thoughts on the meatloaf? I'm not the best person to ask, I'm not a huge meatloaf fan. In fact I'm not even a huge ground beef fan but for what it was it was pretty darn good. My Mom's holds together a little bit better (as you can see by the picture) so I'll be asking her next time what the key to a firmer, less crumbly meatloaf is.

Hubby Approval Rating?     4.5/5.0
This apparently would have been a perfect five however you "can't just give'm away".
Why? "The sauce was as sweet as it was supposed to be. My only, although small, problem is that the sauce is quite sticky. The meatloaf itself was very well seasoned. The flavour and texture almost reminded me of the Kobe Burger at Samz Pub in PoCo. Also it's quite good in a sandwich the next day."

Mom's Meatloaf 

1 1/2 lbs ground beef            1/2 a white onion (coarsely chopped)
1 egg                                   1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup rolled oats                 3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic (minced)        1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon butter                 1 teaspoon pepper 

Glaze:
1/4 cup ketchup                  3 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking pan
In a large bowl combine beef, egg, oats, garlic, ketchup, soy sauce, salt and pepper
In a small skillet melt butter and saute onions until soft
Add cooked onions to beef mixture
Form beef into a loaf shape in baking pan
In a small bowl combine ketchup and brown sugar
Coat beef with ketchup and brown sugar mixture
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 70C (158F) and center is no longer pink.


Thanks for reading this addition to "Learning to be a Wifey"

Ketchup and Brown Sugar,

Dani

The Chicken Experiment

So this is my first food experimentation post. Pictured is the following:

Creamy garlic breaded chicken, sweet asparagus and quinoa salad.

Let me clear the air right now about the quinoa salad... I didn't make it. Phew, I'm glad I got that off my chest. My lovely mother made it for us

My over all thoughts on what I made? The chicken was awesome - I would definitely make it again! The coating was so flavourful and creamy. Next time I will use slightly less though, as some of the bread coating was still moist when it came out of the oven due to excessive moist coating. The asparagus was delish and easy to make.
Hubby approval rating?       3.75/5.0  
Why?  "The breading could have been a little crunchier and have a little more spices added after it was cooked"


Creamy garlic Chicken

2 chicken breasts halved   1 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup mayonnaise           1/4 cup cream cheese (I used light)

1 clove garlic (minced)       1/2 green onion

pinch Mrs. Dash


Pre-heat oven to 425C and lightly grease baking tray
Mix together: mayonnaise, cream cheese, garlic, green onion and Mrs. Dash
Coat mixture lightly and evenly over chicken
Coat with bread crumbs
Place on baking tray and cook for 30 minutes until center is no longer pink and juices run clear

Sweet Asparagus

1 lb asparagus                             3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar        1 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce              1/2 cup chicken broth


In a small saucepan melt butter on medium-high heat
Add brown sugar, garlic and soy sauce
Heat until brown sugar dissolves
Cut asparagus into 2 inch pieces
Saute asparagus in butter mixture for 2 minutes
Add chicken broth and bring to a boil
Lower heat and let simmer for 8-10 minutes

*optional: remove asparagus and continue to let sauce simmer until reduced to half - then pour mixture over cooked asparagus*


I hope you've enjoyed today's addition to "Learning to be a Wifey"

Bread crumbs and Sugar,
Dani

Welcome

Disclaimer: the point of this blog is NOT to perpetuate a stereotype and my goal in life is NOT to be the world's best housewife... I have bigger fish to fry (perhaps literally.) The point of this blog is to learn about becoming a self-sufficient, fully functioning ... ADULT...  (dun dun dunnnnnn) and share my thoughts with friends, family and others who are in this same uncertain stage of life.

So this is what you can expect from my blog:

- my thoughts and opinions on household products I have purchased

- pictures and recipes of food I've made or attempted to make (with ratings from the hubby)

- day to day thoughts about the new responsibilities and challenges I'm facing

For those who don't know me I suppose a quick introduction is in order. My name is Dani, I'm a recently engaged 23 year old who - within the last week - has moved completely out of my comfort zone (ie: my parent's house) and in with my considerably more comfortable fiance, Jason. Jason and I have been together for three and a half years and just bought our first townhouse. We have a big dumb husky named Loki who just happens to be the most beautiful dog in the world... just FYI.  This blog was inspired by my friend Rosie who just happened to offhandedly comment yesterday that I'm "such a little wifey" which I found highly amusing. It got me to thinking - I don't need to be a little housewife, but I really should learn how to cook so I can, you know, feed myself and stuff. So - good and bad - this blog will chronicle my and Jason's first year living together. I hope it's as amusing as I think it's going to be.

Pecans and Sugar,

Dani

xoxo ... too gossip girly?