I don't know why, but I've been in the mood for pizza a lot lately. My roommate from college was always talking about how much she loves French bread pizza, and I just so happened to have a coupon for a free loaf of French bread at the grocery store. It was made to be. And it was delicious!
Ingredients:
- one loaf French bread
- marinara/pizza sauce
- mozzarella cheese
- pepperoni
- any other toppings
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut loaf in half lengthwise. Place on cookie sheet.
Spread cut sides with sauce.
Top with cheese, then toppings.
Bake 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starts to brown.
My idea for this blog's name came in part from my dining room wall decoration, a motto I try to keep in mind all the time. Life is simple.
It's hard to remember this when things get busy and stressful, but the most important things are the simple ones.
I have a great roommate. We have a lot of fun together. I also get a lot of laughs at her expense sometimes.
This winter, I took her on her first real grocery shopping outing. She had never bought groceries for herself before. The girl was 22 at the time. I just couldn't believe it. Everyone in the grocery store got an absolute kick out of her telling them it was her first time grocery shopping!
The shopping wasn't the only funny experience we've had. The next time I laughed so hard I cried came in our kitchen. MB wanted to make herself some rice to go with her lunch.
She asked me how to make rice, so I took out my box of rice with really good directions on it and showed it to her. I told her to decide how many servings she wanted to make, look at the chart to see how much rice and how much water to use, and follow the directions on the box.
After about 10-15 minutes, while I was on the phone with my mom, she calls me into the kitchen asking "Do you think this is done?"
Here's what I saw:
I managed to ask her if she followed the directions before doubling over with laughter. She assured me that she had measured out the amount of rice she wanted...and then added water. My mom is also laughing her head off on the phone while I'm explaining to her that rice doesn't work the same as pasta where you just strain off the excess water.
Luckily, she was just going to make her rice into chicken and rice soup, so we assured her that adding it to her soup would be just fine.
It's been a couple months since this incident, and I'm not sure if she has made rice without immediately making it into soup since then.
MB has now learned to grocery shop, make rice, and [hopefully] read directions.
One of Jas's birthday celebrations this winter was getting a whole group of us together for a Black and White Masquerade Ball.
It was a really cool kind of pop-up style event where we bought our tickets way in advance, knowing only the date and the time. They emailed us a couple hours before it began to tell us the secret location - Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason in San Francisco.
It was not just a pop-up party, but it was a pop-up dinner party! We planned a really fun menu of food we could make ahead of time and would taste good if it wasn't totally hot. We made grilled shish-kebabs with chicken and veggies, a delicious salad, a charcuterie plate, and personal cheesecakes with raspberry coulis for dessert. We also tried a fun side dish - quinoa cakes. They turned out delicious!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups uncooked quinoa
- 3 cups water
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 cup chopped chives
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup goat cheese
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 cup bread crumbs (we crumbled gluten-free bread to make this Jas friendly)
- Water
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Directions:
Ahead of time, bring 2 cups uncooked quinoa and 3 cups water to a boil in a kettle, cover. Turn heat to low, simmer 25-30 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature before assembling quinoa cakes.
Combine the room temperature quinoa, eggs, and salt in a large bowl. Add the chives, onion, cheese, and garlic. Stir in the bread crumbs, the let sit for a few minutes so they can absorb the moisture.
The mixture should be nice and moist, but able to be formed into patties. (Add more breadcrumbs if it's too wet, or a little water if it's too dry.)
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add patties, cover, and cook 7-10 minutes, or until the bottoms are deeply browned. If they're not browning after 10 minutes, turn up the heat.
Flip the cakes with a spatula and cook the other side for another 7 minutes or so, until golden.
Cool on a wire rack.
Adapted from Epicurious
I have realized this year that I love quinoa (now that I know what it is). Add that to my Midwestern-ness, and I've started to have fun with quinoa in casserole form. This is one of my new favorite casseroles, and it can be made as a side dish or a main dish. Since I like making casseroles that are almost an entire meal on their own, I usually add ground beef or turkey to this and just add a veggie - like yummy Brussels sprouts - on the side.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa (and 2 cups water)
- 1-1.5 pounds ground beef or turkey
- 6oz can tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup shredded cheese (I've used parmesan, mozzarella, and a Mexican blend, and all are good)
Directions:
Combine quinoa and water in a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, then cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and leave covered.
While quinoa is cooking, brown ground beef or turkey in a skillet.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine tomato paste, garlic, onion, water, and olive oil well. Add seasonings and mix again. Add quinoa and meat, combine. Mix in some of the cheese if you want.
Spread everything in the casserole dish, sprinkle with cheese, and place in the oven.
Bake 30-35 minutes until cheese is lightly browning.
Adapted from Food Doodles
Anyone who knows me knows that I have a wicked sweet tooth. And sometimes it just NEEDS a baked treat, but it doesn't have the patience to wait for me to bake a whole batch of cookies or brownies. This little guy has come through for me on many occasions, and while it's not a real cookie, it's pretty delicious and does the trick.
Also, it only requires one measuring spoon, which is an awesome bonus! Plus, I get to use the wonderful latte mugs Papa Rist gave me for Christmas.
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 Tablespoons flour
- 2-3 Tablespoons chocolate chips
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch salt
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a coffee mug. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.
I have been in a peanut butter mood lately, so I like to do half chocolate chips and half peanut butter chips to get all the cravings satisfy. Add a little vanilla ice cream on top and life is great.
As you know, one of my friends/coworkers/neighbors is gluten-intolerant, which has been a learning experience for me. I also had apples sitting around and a dessert craving, so I decided to try a recipe that will be easy to make gluten-free for Jazzy. Alas, baked apples!
Ingredients:
- 2 apples
- 1/2 cup gluten-free oats
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Core apples and cut in half. Place on a baking sheet cut side up (lined with aluminum foil for easy cleanup).
In a small bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and syrup.
Divide oat mixture among apple halves.
Bake 30 minutes.
I'm excited to play around with this and try honey instead of syrup for a different flavor next time, and maybe add in raisins or something fun.
Adapted from With Style and Grace
I don't know why, but I've been in the mood for pizza a lot lately. My roommate from college was always talking about how much she loves French bread pizza, and I just so happened to have a coupon for a free loaf of French bread at the grocery store. It was made to be. And it was delicious!
