Croissants, Pot Pie, and Soup! Pizza too.

This weekend, S. and I realized we had definitely fallen off when it comes to cooking.  Therefore, we spent our Saturday night proving it to ourselves that we still had it.  Of course, we didn't really think about the fact that we would eat it ALL, resulting in us falling off another wagon (trying to lose a little weight).  OOPS.  But honestly, it was totally worth it and not all that unhealthy - minus the first item on the menu...

Nutella Croissants. 

Whoever said dessert had to be last didn't make good enough dessert.  Just buy a can of crescent rolls, dollop nutella on each triangle, roll it up, and bake!  So easy, so good.

 

Might as well keep going backwards in the meal.  Here was our main dish:

Veggie Pot Pie 

S. added some curry powder that makes me think even my mom will eat this!  We used Gardein's chicken strips, though, and I have to say I prefer the Morningstar ones.  Gardein's are bland and didn't seem to soak up flavor as well as the Morningstar chicken strips.

 

And on to the appetizer...

Mushroom Soup!  I followed this recipe from pinterest, but I substituted rosemary for thyme (didn't have any thyme; who ever has the thyme to do anything?! - so corny, I know) and skipped the parsley.  I used all white button mushrooms, since those are the cheapest, but I can imagine this being delicious with a medley of mushrooms.  I forgot to garnish with some sliced mushrooms, but it was still awesome.  This was definitely S.'s favorite.

 

And here's a gem from another night: Portabella, Red Pepper, and Goat Cheese Pizza

I was most excited about the pizza dough.  I got the idea from pinterest (where else?).  Buy a bag of frozen dinner rolls (I bought a pack of 36 for $4.50).  Twelve rolls, thawed, and rolled together make a pizza plenty large enough to feed two hungry people, with a slice or two leftover.  That's $1.50 per crust, which is a lot cheaper than your pre-made crusts and a lot tastier!  Also - the red peppers roast nicely while the pizza is baking, and the goat cheese adds a savory touch that is out of this world.  Give it a go!

 

Tip:  if you have trouble getting the dough to stay spread apart as your roll it into a pizza shape, put plastic wrap (I used a plastic bag because that's all I had - don't judge) over the dough and wait 15 minutes.  Something about bonds and chemicals and science and stuff - but that definitely solves the problem!

What have you been cooking lately?

Slob Kebab

Good morning!

Since I was a total slob kebab after yoga yesterday and ate tortilla chips, nachos (spicy thai peanut sauce and melted cheese), a sweet roll, a banana, and some plain spaghetti, I will save you the torture of describing in detail that meal.  Instead, on to pad thai and bbq faux chicken thin crust pizza!  (Two SEPARATE meals, not to be served together, mind you.  But oh my, that could be fun.)

Pad Thai

I LOVE pad thai.  I LOVE Thai food generally.  I love it so much I'm going to Thailand from 8/31-9/16 (more on that later).  But as much as I love Thai food, I have consistently failed to make it taste like the restaurant at home.  But this time, I think we got as close as I've ever been.  It would have been nice (and much easier) to buy the ready made pad thai sauce at HT, but almost all of those use fish sauce, and you know I'm not down with that.  Instead, S. whipped together his own sauce using spicy HT peanut sauce (can you tell we love this stuff yet?), garlic, ginger, cilantro, ketchup (just go with it), peanut butter, and sugar.  We coated the rice noodles with the sauce in the pan and garnished the whole affair with green onions, cilantro, and, our favorite, bean sprouts.  Oh, yeah, we also added marinated tofu, but that turned into a mess as the tofu hadn't completely thawed from the freezer, turned a weird spongy texture, and was way too salty (with our garlic soy sauce marinade).  Next time, maybe just a garlic sesame oil marinade would be better.  In any case, the meal was delicious, as you can see:

BBQ Faux Chicken Pizza

This meal is my go to.  It is delicious, quick, and looks so appetizing while it's baking it almost makes me want to eat my own arm.  But that's not vegetarian.  (Monkey logic strikes again).  The recipe is quite simple.    Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil on a frying pan and heat.  Cook the top side of the tortilla until it is nice and browned, then flip the tortilla so the back is on the pan.  Mix a teaspoon of spaghetti sauce into 3 tablespoons of BBQ sauce and spread over the tortilla.  Add your chopped up Morningstar buffalo wings, red onions, chopped garlic, freshly chopped jalapeno peppers, and sliced mushrooms.  Sprinkle shredded cheddar/mexican cheese over all of the toppings.  Wait until the cheese begins to melt on the pan.  Once the cheese starts melting, pick up the entire tortilla with a spatula, stick it in your oven/toaster oven, and bake for 10 or so minutes.  Switch to broil for 2 more minutes.  When the cheese and the crust of your tortilla have browned, it's ready, and it's oh so mouthwatering-ly good.  Crispy too!  Next step: drizzle ranch on top and go to town.  YUM:

On another note, I'm moving at the end of this week.  I can't believe it's been a year since I've been here, since I finished law school!  At the same time that I'm sad to leave the friends I've made here, the familiarity I've grown to love, and the comfort in my job, I am also ready to start something new, to really push myself to my limits at work, to live only 10 minutes away from my parents, and to make new friends and a new life.  

I will never forget this year though.  It was plain old freakin awesome.