Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook on February 26, 2011

For a commentary-free and printer-friendly version of it, please click here.

Recipe originally published in Simple and Delicious, December/January 2011.

I have to be honest; I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.  If I do get a craving, it is usually in the morning and can be taken care of with a cup of coffee with cream & sugar.  Of course, that isn’t the healthiest option and doesn’t leave me full to make it to lunch.  Because of this, I am always looking for easy to make and semi-healthy morning pastries.  I don’t try to fool myself: Muffins, bagels, donuts are not the healthiest option for me, but every once in a while, I just gotta have one!!!

I was really excited that this recipe used a whole wheat flour blend.  I really want to start cooking with more whole grains, and this was a great place to start.  Simple and slightly healthier than normal – I’m in!

Asian Chicken Skillet

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook - February 25, 2011.

For a commentary-free and printer-friendly version of it, please click here.

Recipe originally published in Simple and Delicious, December/January 2011.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m kind of a cynic.  I am especially critical of the Fantastic-30-Min-That-Is-Good-For-You-And-Easy recipe.  When I see these types of recipes, I usually roll my eyes hard enough to make me dizzy.  That doesn’t mean I don’t try to get it done in the time specified though.  When I see a 30-minute meal, I find it a personal challenge to get it done.  See, I fancy myself a moderately good chef.  I can’t create recipes but I can cook (and yes, there is a BIG difference), so I should be able to cook a 30-minute-meal in the time specified.  Alas, that is very rare for me.

Now, I present to you a one-pan recipe with 7 ingredients that can be done in 30-45 minutes.  I know what you’re thinking.  My BS detector went off almost immediately.  However, it actually happened.  I think this is the first time on record (for me that is).  I actually finished making it in 41 minutes with minimal equipment.  Is it “good for me?”  Well, it isn’t the healthiest dish I’ve made, but it wasn’t bad either.  I think for using convenience foods, this is probably as good as it’s going to get.

My finished meal:

© You Want Me to Cook?
Asian Chicken Skillet

This dish looked and smelled fantastic.  In fact, I considered eating it right off the serving spoon.  The chicken looked great and that came as a surprise to me.  To me, it always seems to dry out in a skillet.  I was glad I bought a stir-fry blend that had red and green peppers in it.  It gave the dish a little color (and flavor – of course)

Eating Out: Sonic Drive-In

Even though I enjoy cooking and prefer a homemade meal, I must say that I do like fast food.  Sometimes I crave it.  In fact, on occasion I’ll get a taste for something stuck in my head and can’t focus on anything else until I’ve eaten it.  I’m like my neurotic Chihuahua when I pull out her favorite toy… gimme gimme gimme!!!!

When my husband and I lived in Hawaii, I used to be tortured with the commercials for Sonic.  Yes, I enjoyed the local Hawaiian fast-food-goodness of Zippy’s, and got to experience the deliciousness of Jack ‘n’ the Box (we both grew up where Ronald McDonald is king & Jack is nowhere to be found), but the ice cream and drinks from the Sonic commercials haunted my dreams. 

Okay, that last bit was a little dramatic, but I really did get semi-upset that I didn’t have access to one.

When we were moving back to the mainland, we joked that we were only going to move where there was a Sonic.  Of course, my husband, being the intelligent and practical one in our marriage (I supply the spontaneous excitement and goofiness), wouldn’t stick to the Sonic plan and moved us back to where we grew up, the Chicago area.

Shrimp and Tomato Linguine Toss with Parmesan-Pepper Biscuits

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? – February 24, 2011

For a commentary-free and printer-friendly version of it, please click here.

Shrimp and Tomato Linguine Toss recipe originally published in Simple & Delicious – December/January 2011.

Parmesan-Pepper Biscuits recipe originally published in Gourmet – October 2008.

So the question has now been answered… no, I haven’t actually fallen off the face of the Earth.  I really hate it when people disappear and when you finally catch up with them they say, “I’ve been really busy.”  Like the rest of us aren’t busy.  All I can say is this… when I started this blog; I was pretty much a housewife occasionally seeing clients out of our home.  I was “busy” but it was busy on my own time and it was much easier to write, cook and photograph food.  It was also a little hard to buy said food since there wasn’t much money coming in.

Then I got a job where I was SUPPOSED to be working 18 hours a week.  It became slightly harder to post every day, but I was managing several posts a week at least.  Suddenly, the 18 hours became 30 hours and I had to drop down to one post a week.  About a month ago, I was promoted and I’ve been working 65+ hours a week for at least the last 3 weeks.

So comparatively speaking, I’ve gotten much busier and that’s why posting has been nonexistent for several weeks now.

Now that I’m working so much, it is pretty hard to cook meals with seafood.  Fish simply tastes better when it’s freshly cooked and I’ve found it makes terrible leftovers.  Therefore, to get my seafood quota, I’ve been making a lot of shrimp.  The Shrimp and Tomato Linguine Toss seemed to hit the spot.  Of course, I wanted to make some bread and the Parmesan-Pepper Biscuits sounded delicious.

My finished meal:

© You Want Me to Cook?
Shrimp & Tomato Linguine Toss with Parmesan-Pepper Biscuits

I was really proud of the way the pasta turned out, although, I think the original picture looked yummier.  Still, it looked yummy enough that I couldn’t wait to eat it.  I was kind of disappointed in the “biscuits”.  I use parentheses because frankly, they weren’t biscuits at all.  They were more like crackers.  Still, expecting something else aside, they still looked and smelled great.





 

© Taste of Home

Obviously, I used different pasta – wheat.  Their picture just looks more fresh and light with a tad bit more color since they used the fresh basil on their dish.  There was no picture for the biscuits, which was a big reason why I didn’t realize they weren’t fluffy bread.  Of course, had I read the ingredient listing a little more closely, I still wouldn’t have made that mistake.

See, when I don’t follow my own rules, bad things happen.

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis with Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? - February 23, 2011

For a commentary-free and printer-friendly version of it, please click here.

For a commentary-free and printer-friendly version of the Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis, please click here.

For a commentary-free and printer-friendly version of the Garlic Roasted Potatoes, please click here.

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis Recipe originally published in Cooking Light, January/February 2011.

Garlic Roasted Potatoes originally published in Taste of Home Holiday Collection 2008, but found at the Mrs. Dash web site.

Meatloaf, as boring as it is, is one of my go-to recipes when I’m in a pinch.  I always have ingredients on hand and have a favorite recipe (Better Homes and Gardens).  On occasion, I’ll stuff it with vegetables and cheese, but for the most part, it’s a standard recipe that, while tasty, doesn’t have much pizzazz.  The Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis definitely had a more interesting ingredient list than my usual meatloaf.  Horseradish, Dijon mustard, onion and garlic made it almost impossible for me to pass up.

Since meatloaf isn’t really difficult to make, I decided this was a dish I needed to prepare with a side.  Now, I have a list of about 9000 recipes (yes, you read that right) of every kind of dish you can imagine.  I couldn’t find ANYTHING I wanted to serve with my mini-loaves.  I stumbled across this recipe that was attributed to a magazine, yet was so old that I found it on a completely different web site than the original.

I don’t know if that made any sense.  I think I need to tweak my medication.

On to the pictures!!!!!

My finished meal:

© You Want Me to Cook?
Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis with Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Admit it.  You want to eat the mini-meatloaf.  Okay, my vegetarian friends/followers don’t, but the carnivores, like me, do.  My loaves didn’t look as pretty as those of Cooking Light, but they aren’t ugly either.

The smell was FANTASTIC, but upon reflection of this dish, I should have gone with my initial instincts and made garlic mashed potatoes.  Still it tasted good with the meatloaf and overall I was happy with the way it looked.

Chocolate Chip-Pretzel Blondies

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? - February 22, 2011

For a commentary-free and printer-friendly version of it, please click here.

Recipe originally published in All You, January 2011.

I enjoy baking, but it tends to be last on my cooking list.  If I run out of time, there are plenty of bakeries I can visit to satisfy my sweet tooth.  Also, my husband is a sweet-fiend.  If I bake something, I literally have to hide it from him or he’ll eat the entire dish.

On occasion, I’ll stumble across a great bar cookie recipe.  These tend to get pushed up on the cooking list since it is mix, pour and bake.  I have to admit that the peanut butter/pretzel/chocolate chip combo was very appealing and I was excited to make these.

My finished product:

© You Want Me to Cook?
Chocolate Chip-Pretzel Blondies

One task I have yet to master is having my bar cookies lay flat and not overcook on the edges.  I know there’s a trick to it… I just don’t know what it is.  They still looked good enough to eat though.

When Good Recipes Go Bad

First, let me apologize for lack of posting.  My life has gotten significantly more complicated - in a good way.  In two months time, I have gotten a new job and a promotion.  Excellent, no?  Unfortunately, that severely cuts down on my blogging (and cooking) time.  Sunday is my "leave me alone" day where my husband and I have decided I will blog/cook as much as I want, so hopefully I'll get on a regular schedule.

So today, I'm staring at my laptop and stack of magazines that I need to read.  I decide to go for the magazines first since I was feeling neither humorous nor bright.

Okay, okay, I'm never either of those things, but one can dream.

Anyway, I'm feeling like a little Every Day with Rachael Ray this afternoon morning, so that's where I go first.  Nine pages in, I find a recipe for a Big Beef Burger with Crunchy Sour Cream Onions.  This also happens to be the cover of the magazine.  (Please ignore "awfulness" of this picture - I couldn't find her COVER RECIPE anywhere on her site)

How the hell do you eat this thing?