![]() Tonight's dinner was a "throw together as quickly as possible" kind of meal that turned out AWESOME! Don't you love that? Well I do. Nothing worse than trying to throw dinner together and having it turn out terrible. I've had my fair share of those. Or burning your tongue before dinner while trying to taste test what your cooking. Ugh. That makes me so mad. It ruins the whole meal for me! Anyways, this stew was freaking great, and I quickly wrote down my recipe so I could share it with you!! Seriously-if I don't write down my recipes the same night, they are gone forever-I've often looked back on my recipes and thought "Dang-that looks good! Don't remember making that at all!" My memory=bad. Sometimes I think this website may be more for me than anyone else-so I have a place to keep my recipes! I really hope you enjoy this stew. I sure did. Went back for seconds...twice. :) GUINNESS STEW RECIPE
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![]() These green beans are dirty. The slut of all green beans. Tossed with bacon, onion, butter….If I had nothing else to live for, these would be it. Period. Damn these are good. Click here for the recipe!!!! ![]() Tonight I just felt like cookin. I put my hair back, rolled up my sleeves, stuck my apron on and started creating with the ingredients I had in my fridge and pantry. This dinner could have gone so many ways. My final creation? Cabbage-Beef Tamales. The name doesn't fit this dish entirely, as they are not tamales, and there is no cow meat in them, but-I thought the name sounded scrumptious, and I couldn't think of anything better, so I stuck with it. Somehow "Beef Cabbage Rolls" doesn't sound appetizing. Yuck. Tamales sound much more sophisticated. And these suckers were pretty dang good. They made me happy. I hope they make you happy too! Click here for the recipe….. ![]() Make this salsa TONIGHT for the game tomorrow! Click on the pictures or this link for the recipe. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!! ![]() After I got E.Coli in July of last year, it took 6 months to fully heal my stomach. More than the probiotics, yogurt, fish oil, & herb supplements, THIS juice helped the most. I really started noticing a difference after one week of drinking it every day. I call it "Heal Your Gut Juice" because it healed mine. Here's the recipe: Note: You will need a juicer for this recipe. I highly recommend buying one. When my mom got a new one, she gave me her old one. I swear it's 15 years old and sounds like a plane taking off, but boy does it work good! 2 organic carrots, cut into smallish chunks 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled (veggie peeler works great) 1 organic apple, seeded and cut into smallish chunks Juice in order listed above. Drink immediately. ![]() I can't get enough of this dressing. I've been making it every week. It's so light, refreshing, easy to make, and healthy! Can't beat that combo. It goes great on any type of green salad, but my favorite to pair it with is a salad consisting of:
Oh BABY! I hope someone else out there loves food as much as me, because I'm starting to feel a little crazy. I think I like it more than anything else in the world…. Just make this dressing! ![]() Dirty and clean produce of course! I'm posting this list because it is a good reminder of what produce is essential to buy organic, and what produce is okay to buy non-organic. Because I, like most people, cannot buy everything organic, although I would love to. For those of you that may not know, the "dirty" list is produce that ranks the highest in pesticides. The "Clean" list is produce that ranks that lowest in pesticides. Hope this is helpful, I know I will sure use it. 2013 DIRTY LIST Apples Strawberries Grapes Celery Peaches Spinach Sweet Bell Peppers Nectarines Cucumbers Potatoes Cherry Tomatoes Hot Peppers 2013 CLEAN LIST Mushrooms Sweet Potatoes Cantaloupe Grapefruit Kiwi Eggplant Asparagus Mangoes Papayas Frozen Peas Cabbage Avocados Pineapple Onions Corn ![]() Today I made homemade chicken broth. For the first time, I might add! It always seemed like such a hassle in my mind, but oh my word, it is so simple! You throw some ingredients in a pot and forget about it! I don't like being wasteful, so every time you roast a chicken (or turkey), make broth the next day!! Click here for my recipe! 2 days ago I attempted to make real authentic Thai curry. From a cookbook. Against my better judgment ( and nose!). I make curry about once a month, Gabbi style, American style, with no recipe, just my creative imagination. And it always tastes pretty dang good.
I followed this recipe out of a THAI cookbook, and I STILL CRINGE when I think of the taste. Do people not taste their own cooking before they write a cookbook? I don't understand. Dear God it was awful. I remember thinking halfway through the recipe that something wasn't right ( I cook a lot by smell). Maybe it was too much fresh ginger? I'm not really sure, but it tasted horribly bitter, with no chance of trying to save it. Like taking a huge swig of milk and waiting for your tastebuds to realize it has gone sour. I had to toss the whole thing and start over. I didn't want to waste all the veggies, so I stuck 'em in a strainer and washed them by HAND to get the terrible flavor off. Did I mention I'm terribly stubborn and was DETERMINED to make this meal wonderful? I kept going despite the fact now I was pissed and in a horrible mood. Bad food makes me cranky. Plus the hour and a half I had spent making the bad food, just to have to start over. But in the end, it turned out yummy! Here's the general recipe: Big 'ol bowl of fresh veggies (thinly sliced carrots, fresh green beans, zucchini, mushrooms) 1 onion, diced 3 cloves, minced Few tablespoons olive oil 2 heaping tablespoons curry powder, more to taste 1/2 cup coconut cream 1 cup or so chicken broth 1 cup or so coconut milk 1 tablespoon cornstarch Little extra coconut milk Salt/Pepper, to taste Fresh cilantro & basil, to top In a large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Throw onions and garlic in there sautéing until soft/slightly browned. Add curry powder & give it a good stir. Add all veggies, tossing to combine with onions. Cook for a few minutes then add coconut cream, chicken broth, and coconut milk. Stir well, then taste. Add salt & pepper to taste. Add more curry powder to taste. Heck, toss a little cayenne in there if you like it spicier. It's all about what flavor YOU like. I just keep adding stuff till it tastes good! And if it sucks, start over! :) To thicken a little, whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a bowl with a little chicken broth until smooth then add to curry. Mix well, then cover and let it simmer 20-30 minutes, stirring every once in while. Serve over rice and toss some fresh cilantro & basil on top. YUM! I don't think I have ever explained how I got started cooking. Let's just say when I got married 2 years ago I could make pizza, toast, and some pretty basic pasta. Somehow inside I wanted to be able to make a beautiful and tasty meal for my husband that was ready when he got home from work, but did not know where to begin. I was afraid to cook for him, because I thought he was a picky eater. It took a lot of trial and error.
I remember the first time I attempted making chicken pot pie from scratch. I got off work early, went to the grocery store, and had such high hopes and aspirations for this meal. I was going to "WOW" my husband when he came home. Well....that is not what happened. It took me over 2 hours (not sure why or what I was doing) to prep everything and get it in the oven. Then I made the mistake of putting it in too small of a pie dish and no pan or foil underneath to protect it in case of spills. I was cleaning up and doing dishes when the fire alarm went off in our house. I turned around and black smoke was BILLOWING out of the oven. I cautiously opened the oven afraid of what I was going to see. My pot pie had exploded over and was about to catch on fire at the bottom of my oven. All I could think was "shit, shit, shit!!!!!!" I was running around trying to open doors, turn the oven off, stop the fire alarm, get the pot pie out of the oven..... I was freaking out!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Luckily, no flames came forth and I turned everything off in time. I opened the front door and noticed that the neighbors kids were watching out their window and had seen the whole thing. Awesome. I wanted to punch the wall. I almost did. Instead of my husband walking into a clean, organized home with the smell of a home cooked meal filling his senses, he walked into a home reaking of smoke and me curled up on our bed crying. We got pizza that night. SO......if I figured out how to cook, so can you! And in the end, I found out that I absolutely LOVE it!!!! I got over my fear of cooking and found a hobby and passion that I enjoy and am good at. I started reading cookbooks cover to cover and watching the show, "Take Home Chef" with Curtis Stone. Everything I learned I learned from watching and reading. I even have a great chef friend who has complemented my knowledge of cooking. FOOD IS MY PASSION. |