Oh She Glows

I haven't cooked much this weekend, as it was my boyfriend's birthday and we were out for his day!  We had such a great weekend celebrating, indulging in great company and great food. 

Although I haven't cooked a meal in a few days, I am very excited about my new cookbook that I just picked up today.  My cousin has recommended Oh She Glows, and swears by the recipes in it.

I've taken a look at some of the meals and snacks that the author/blogger [Angela Liddon] has included, and I'm not quite sure which one to try first as they all look so fantastic.

I'll get back with Meal # 12 soon, straight from the Oh She Glows book.  Can't wait!

Meal 9: Chicken & Black Bean Rice Skillet

So, not only was tonight's dinner extremely easy to make, but it was also delicious (if I do say so myself ;)

This reminds me of something my mom used to make - a yummy rice and sausage concoction that I will need to ask her the recipe for....

But until I get that, this meal will do!

You'll need:

• 2 cups brown rice, uncooked
• A few splashes of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup white onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup black beans, drained (about 1/2 15 ounce can)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 lemon, squeeze the juice!
• 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken 
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce 
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 
  
• First, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and heat cast iron skillet over medium heat, add oil.

• Next, cook the rice and set it aside. When the oil is hot, add onion and garlic.  After about 5 minutes,  stir in cooked rice, black beans, cumin, lemon juice, chicken and hot sauce. Top with cheeses and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted. 

By looking at these photos, it doesn't really look that appetizing.  But I assure you - it was one that we'll be making again!

Serves 8 (for the two of us, I naturally halved this recipe!)

Meal 3: Best Chili Sunday

I have never made chili before and as today had been rainy, full of football and World Junior hockey, I thought that chili would be the perfect dinner.

I took to Pinterest and found a recipe for the "The Best Chili Recipe", which was attached to Pink When's blog (http://www.pinkwhen.com).  I tweaked it slightly, as I was making it in the crock pot, but it was still delicious.

This is my crock pot version of The Best Chili...

1.5 cups of chopped onions
1/4 bell pepper (I used orange & red)
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp chili powder
2 cans (6 oz) of tomato paste
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans
1 can (46 oz) tomato juice
2 lbs lean ground beef

I browned the ground beef first, before adding everything to the crock pot.  Set on high, it simmered for 4 hours.

Paired with a fresh Italian loaf, dinner was served!

*Note: For 2 people, this recipe made way too much, but now we have lunch for tomorrow....

Meal 2: Saturday Morning Crepes

Saturday mornings are a favourite in the house.  Besides being able to sleep in, watching Criminal Minds marathons and seeing friends and family, we start the weekend by indulging in some delicious crepes.

You'll need:

1/2 cup of milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp of vanilla

Mix the above ingredients together before adding:

1/2 cup of flour 

Once you have mixed in the flour, make sure that the batter has a smooth consistency before pouring into a greased frying pan.

You'll need to flip the crepe at least once until both sides are golden brown.

To finish, I like to add some fresh strawberries or bananas to it, but they are just as delicious when eaten alone!

Makes about 3 crepes.  We will normally double this recipe for the two of us!

265 Meal Challenge

I'm not one to set resolutions for the new year, but as 2014 had been a pretty fantastic year, I wanted to make a challenge for myself, for 2015.

This past year, I've started to really enjoy cooking.  There is just something so relaxing about it.  So, I decided to incorporate my newfound interest in cooking with a personal challenge.

My challenge is to cook 265 meals this year - old, new, breakfasts, lunches and/or dinners.  And of course, I'll aim to cook as healthy as possible (but who am I kidding, I do love a good pizza).  That leaves 100 days for meals out, holidays, and just the odd time that we like to order in.  By jotting it all down in this little spot on the internet, I am hoping that it will hold me accountable to actually doing it.

I am a total beginner - a rookie cook.  And so I am hoping that this challenge will give me some fresh new moves in the kitchen.

Seeing as Jan 1st was already a day off from cooking, today marks Meal 1.


Chicken Stirfry

I pretty much eyeballed everything and so I don't have any measurements. 

First, some extra virgin olive oil was heated up in a frying pan, before adding the chicken.  Some chives and garlic went in next, along with some yellow onions; letting it cook all together. 

While the chicken was cooking, I chopped some fresh veggies.  Broccoli, red and orange pepper, red onion and  brussel sprouts.  Since both Ken and I are big fans of onion, I added some green onion to the mix.  

Once all chopped, the veggies were added to the chicken, along with VH Orange Ginger sauce. 

 After letting it all simmer together for about 5 minutes, we put it into bowls and enjoyed!  

The fact that this whole dinner took only 15 minutes to make, is the cherry on top... especially since the puck was about to drop on the Team Canada game!!