next_to_normal: Aaron Tveit in Graceland (Mike Warren)
I have been boring and not posting much, but it's summer and therefore not much is on TV and apparently that is all I talk about? *pause for existential crisis*

I've been using this time to whittle down my Netflix queue a little bit, but haven't watched anything really worth mentioning. On TV, I'm still watching my bb Aaron Tveit in Graceland, which is a fun and not terribly thought-provoking show. Oh, and Dexter, but I've only seen one ep, so I can't decide if it's still good or not.

Ooh, I did try cooking some things. Let's see, recipes...

Stir-Fried Rice with Asian Vegetables and Beef - This was good! I don't know why they recommend using frozen rice? I just made regular brown rice.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies - These were meh, but I might possibly have screwed them up, since the recipe called for egg substitute, which I didn't have. So I put in a real egg, but it was more than 2 tbsp. so then I added more flour and oats to counteract it. Oh well.

What is everyone else up to? What should I do to entertain myself? Talk to me!
next_to_normal: Haymitch giving a thumbs-up; text: Haymitch approves (Haymitch approves)
Despite working long hours lately, I've weirdly been doing a lot of cooking? IDK. Sometimes I get ~inspired.

Pesto Shrimp Mac and Cheese - Yum! I love anything with pesto, though, so I may be biased. In fact, I even tried making regular mac and cheese the other day and decided it really needed pesto, lol.

Chicken with Cashews - Not bad. A little bland, but good enough to satisfy the take-out craving.

Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce - This was super easy to make and tasted amazing the first time around, but rather less so as leftovers (too gloppy), so maybe cut down the recipe if you're not going to eat the whole thing in one sitting, haha. In other news, I now have half a can of canned pumpkin to use up. Any suggestions?

Grasshopper Parfaits - I was craving something creamy and minty, and this did the trick. Very simple. I didn't bother to dye the Cool Whip green. This is how low-maintenance I am right now.

(Also, in case anyone is wondering, my new workplace is having its big annual conference this week, and I pretty much got thrown into the deep end with the planning of it. hence the long hours and lack of non-linkspam posts. Once it's over, I will hopefully return to some semblance of normalcy re: my time on the internet.)
next_to_normal: (Andrew cooking)
Ginger Glazed Mahi-Mahi Swordfish - My supermarket didn't have any fresh mahi-mahi, and the guy at the seafood counter said swordfish was the closest thing he had. I don't really know how they compare, but the swordfish was very good? I definitely wanted more of the glaze, though, especially since I was eating it over rice and the entire point of rice is to get the sauce into my mouth, lol.

Chicken with Tarragon and Vermouth - Also yummy, but also needed more sauce. The chicken itself was actually a bit bland. I'd probably let it simmer in the pan a bit longer, to give it more of the tarragon and wine flavor. (I used chardonnay instead of vermouth, because the bottle was already open.) I'll have to tell my mother about this one. Wine and butter are basically her two favorite things.

Roasted Potatoes with Blue Cheese and Walnuts - I love the combination of blue cheese and walnuts. Forget the potatoes, I could just eat the topping with a spoon. Er... but the potatoes are good, too! My potatoes stuck to the baking dish a bit, though, so I should probably be more thorough with the cooking spray, haha.

next_to_normal: (Andrew cooking)
Some of you may recall that my first-ever Cooking with Eowyn post involved my friend Kelly (aka [personal profile] per_aspera_ad_astra) and a mug cake made in the microwave. It was... not a smashing success. HOWEVER. Not to be defeated, I have returned to my roots with three mug + microwave recipes.

Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Cup: This was not bad for a first effort. A little dry and more cake-like than cookie, really, but I think if you are going to be a microwave-baking aficionado, you just have to do some trial and error to get the timing right. These suckers go from too gooey to dry and crumbly in about five seconds. I might actually try this one again to see if I can get a better result. Also, of the three, it was the only one that seemed to be a good portion size for snacking.

Nutella Mug Cake: Whoa. I did not think I'd ever say this, but that is too much cake. If I make this again, I'd be sure to cut the recipe in half at least. I used a giant mug, which was completely filled when the cake was done. But it tasted good, although it mostly just tasted fudgy and not very Nutella-y. Also felt like it was lacking in texture - maybe needed some nuts?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake: Alas, I did not have any cream cheese to make the peanut butter mousse, but the cake by itself was pretty good. Nicely balanced, chocolatey and peanut buttery. And I used a regular-sized mug this time, but it still felt like too much cake. By the time I'd eaten 2/3 or so, I kind of didn't want any more cake? This is not a feeling I am familiar with!

next_to_normal: (choose your weapon)
I wasn't feeling much of the Christmas spirit this year, so I didn't get too creative with my cookie options. I snagged this recipe from [personal profile] aerintine for my book club's cookie exchange, and they're OM NOM NOM GOOD:

Jamie's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c margarine or butter
3/4 c packed brown sugar
3/4 c white sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 c rolled oats
1 c peanut butter
2 c chocolate chips

Cream butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Add vanilla, eggs, flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and then add oats, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. Drop 1 1/2" balls of dough on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Cool 2 minutes and then move to cooling rack.

Since I had the oats handy, I also made Frosted Oatmeal Cookies to take home to the family for Christmas. I decorated them with festive sprinkles since it was the holidays, and they came out really well, even though I ran out of powdered sugar and ended up with four unfrosted cookies. (Don't worry, I ate the evidence so no one would know!)

The Apple Butter Flax Seed Cookies, on the other hand, did NOT look pretty - in fact, before they were baked, they kind of looked like poo? :( Also, the batter was very wet, and so the cookies spread out a LOT and I sort of ended up with a few giant cookies that had a cake-like consistency. But don't be fooled - they taste like healthy. Not bad, though. But if you have a hankering for cookies, this probably would not satisfy. But at least baked they looked less like poo. :-\
next_to_normal: (Andrew cooking)
Four new recipes, two of which I tried out during the hurricane, and two from a looooong time ago that I never posted. Whoops. Quick and dirty version:

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese - My never-ending quest for the perfect mac & cheese rears its ugly head again (I've got something like six more recipes, lol. I try to space them out so that I am not eating mac & cheese for weeks on end). I liked the addition of the squash. It might not quite satisfy if you have a craving for "traditional" M&C, but I'd make it again.

Gnocchi with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Pesto
- This one only sort of counts, because I was lazy and used pre-made pesto. I don't think I'd ever be not-lazy enough to make my own pesto, but feel free to try it either way!

Creamy Scallop & Pea Fettuccine - YUM. I've developed a new addiction to lemon in creamy pasta dishes. Also, this recipe allows me to show off my awesome scallop-searing skills.

Pork Loin with Apple Cider Glaze
- While I question the use of the term "glaze" (the marinade never really reduced enough, even after more than 20 minutes), it tasted pretty good. I served it over rice, which helped soak up all the liquid.

How about you? Made anything good lately?

next_to_normal: (choose your weapon)
Slow news day, sorry. Snagged from [personal profile] slaymesoftly.

This list kind of amuses me, because although I'd say I cook a reasonable amount, I've never used 90% of these items (half of them I'm not totally sure what they are). Mostly I'm thinking, you need a special gadget for that?

Read more... )
next_to_normal: (Andrew cooking)
While my mom was visiting, she shared with me an experimental recipe that she'd been playing around with. It was delicious, but only vaguely measured, so it remains to be seen whether we can replicate it...

Peaches in Cream Sauce and Lemon Coconut Rice )

Honey Mango Chicken... also with Lemon Coconut Rice )

Warm Tortellini Salad with Cherry Tomatoes )
next_to_normal: (Andrew cooking)
I clearly suck at posting recipes soon after I've made them. I generally forget about it until I go to make the shopping list for my next batch of experiments, which is precisely what I was doing tonight, lol.

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Farfalle )

Pineapple Sweet and Sour Chicken )

Banana and Peanut Butter Flaxseed Cookies )
next_to_normal: (choose your weapon)
Bad luck with these recipes, which is perhaps why I have neglected to post them, despite trying them out ages ago. I think they're probably salvageable, but I'm not in a mood to try again just now.

Mozzarella Sticks )

Teriyaki Pork )
next_to_normal: (choose your weapon)
Good lord, we haven't had a cooking post in a long time, have we? That explains why I have ton of recipes to post. Fortunately, they're all pretty good ones this go-round!

Balsamic Honey Chicken )

Lemon Fettuccine with Bacon and Chives )

Shrimp Newburg )

Thai Pork and Peanut Stir-Fry )
next_to_normal: (Andrew cooking)
Kind of slacked off on the cooking thing because I was trying to save money, but I have a few recipes to discuss.

Guilt-Free Double Chocolate Brownies )

Four-Cheese Macaroni Bake )

Crunchy Onion Pork Chops )
next_to_normal: (choose your weapon)
Well, so far I am on target with my New Year's resolution... four weeks, four recipes!

Tortellini-Alfredo Casserole )

Chicken Thighs Pan-Seared in Maple Syrup Mustard Sauce )
next_to_normal: (Andrew cooking)
Ack, it has been a while since I inflicted my cooking experiments on you. I made an unofficial New Year's resolution to try at least one new recipe a week, which... I sort of am doing? Except it'll probably be more like "four or five sporadic attempts per month, which average out to about once a week" because that's just how I roll. ANYWAY, here are the first two.

Apple-Cheddar Soup )

Mac and Cheese )
next_to_normal: (snowman)
Heh, I am not good at posting around holidays. Posting has already gotten scarce as I've been sucked into shopping and parties and such. Christmas kind of snuck up on me this year? I felt like I had all this time, and then all of a sudden, it's a week away and I'm only half finished my Christmas shopping and hadn't even put my tree up yet. (It's up now, don't worry.) One thing I made sure to get done, though, was my Christmas baking. :)

As I've probably mentioned before, my parents have the market cornered on Christmas butter cookies, so I like to try out new recipes to provide some variety. Here are this year's experiments, all delicious!

Flourless Chocolate Brownies )

Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Cake Bars )

Lemon Berry Crumble Bars )
next_to_normal: (choose your weapon)
Couple new recipes I tried a while ago. Did I mention that I'm on a quest for the perfect mac & cheese? I have about a dozen bookmarked, and I've been trying them every once in a while, so as not to eat nothing but mac & cheese for weeks, haha.

Oven-Baked Mac & Cheese )

Taco Stuffed Crescent Rolls )

Apple Crumb Pie )

Mmmmmmm

Oct. 25th, 2011 09:56 pm
next_to_normal: Dawn squealing excitedly; text: *squee* (Dawn squee)
YOU GUYS! I made an apple pie! With apples I picked myself! And it is delicious!

Saturday was a trip to the farm for apple and pumpkin picking and a hayride. I came home with a dozen hand-picked apples, five potatoes (two of which have already become baked potatoes), an onion, two pumpkins (for decorative purposes, although I am totally craving pumpkin pie...), and half a gallon of apple cider. Mmmmmmm.

Now I have 8 apples left! What should I do with them?
next_to_normal: (choose your weapon)
How about some party recipes from my (second) housewarming?

I tried a ton of new recipes for this party. One of the things I like about parties is that it gives me the chance to try things that I probably wouldn't go to the trouble of making just for myself. Some of the recipes came out only so-so; these were my favorites.

Sweet & Sour Kielbasa )

Hot Crab Dip )

Macaroni Salad )
next_to_normal: (Andrew cooking)
Well, the housewarming party ended up rather nice. Only people from my building came, due to the nasty weather, but it was good to get to know my new neighbors better. And I'm planning to try again with the party thing in couple weeks, barring any further natural disasters. I do have two recipes for you, one of which is an old favorite from many parties of my youth, the other a new recipe I tried for the first time.

Corned Beef Dip )

Tortellini Bites )
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