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Posted by
yanti on Saturday, February 28, 2015
If you live in Ohio, you have probably heard of Melt Bar & Grilled. Even if you don't live in Ohio, you may have heard about these huge gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches on shows like Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. The first one opened in Columbus last winter (original is based in Cleveland) and I had a Parma, Italy which is chicken parmesan between two slices of Texas toast with a side of fries. While it was really, really good... I kind of feel like I might have a heart attack afterward! So I have been wanting to make a healthier version ever since.
So when Food Network teamed up with Sargento to do the Chopped at Home challenge, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to recreate this sandwich. I buy a lot of local cheeses, but I also love Sargento and their artisanal cheese wedges. I also like their commercials about how they are "real cheese people"... that cheese slices shouldn't come wrapped in plastic and I couldn't agree more!
Shredded cheese for a grilled cheese sandwich can get a little messy, but it's the best way to get all of those Italian flavors without tons and tons of cheese. Some other big differences between my sandwich and Melt's is that the chicken just has a light breading instead of being fried and the sauce is for dipping (kind of like tomato soup) because I hate, hate, hate soggy bread (can't have condiments of any sort actually touching the bread, ew). With the garlic butter, the bread ends up becoming garlic bread, so this really is a complete Italian meal without the pasta. Buon Appetito!Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Friday, August 1, 2014
You know that perfect spot in a campfire to roast marshmallows? Right by the red embers not too close to the flame. It gets the marshmallow gooey and lightly toasted without catching them on fire. Well, that same spot is the perfect place to cook your dinner too! Just wrap the ingredients in heavy foil, spray with cooking spray, carefully put the foil packet in that perfect spot, and enjoy some perfectly cooked dinner in about 30 minutes.
I made this dinner while we were camping last weekend. As soon as I got everything on the campfire to cook, the sky opened up and it started to pour. We took cover in our Jeep and checked every single weather app on our phones... possible tornadoes. Eek! Thankfully the storm passed by pretty quickly. There were a lot of puddles and the ground was muddy, but the campfire was still hanging in there (thanks to good tree cover)... but only by a little bit. The rain made the whole fire those perfect red embers for cooking. Surprisingly everything cooked just right and as the sun came out, we were chowing down on some delicious camp food. :)Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Friday, July 11, 2014
So before I started reading about nutrition and really learned how to cook, occasionally I would just make some nachos for dinner which involved some chips, lots of cheese, and a little bit of salsa. It was quick, of course. Only about one minute in the microwave. But had no nutritional value what-so-ever.
After reading a couple books about digestion and the ways what you eat can cause certain annoying symptoms, most of which you might blame genetics on like unclear skin, stuffy nose, or trouble concentrating... I realized that there was more to food than just tasting good. Food is really about nourishing your body because it takes a lot just to keep our heart pumping, lungs inhaling, and brain thinking. I started to make a conscious effort to make sure vegetables always had a spot on my plate for both lunch and dinner. I started to cut back on meats and gluten. I tried to limit how much dairy I ate, but I just couldn't give up cheese. It is little steps that make the difference. Going to the extreme will leave you hungry and feeling deprived. Being too strict makes it nearly impossible to enjoy a meal out with a friend. With most things, a happy medium is best.
It's been several years since those old microwaved nachos days, but sometimes you just want what you want. I follow a couple bloggers that plan out their meals as well and one of them posted that they were making nachos for dinner one night. I've been thinking about whether nachos are really dinner food ever since. I decided to make my version of loaded nachos and it was quite filling and loaded with veggies (and cheese!). This makes a great quick meal that you eat with your hands. Perfect for a casual weekend dinner or to have with a couple drinks tailgating. Read more �
More about → Loaded Shredded Chicken Nachos - total time 20 minutes
Posted by
yanti on Thursday, June 26, 2014
I can't believe it is already the end of June! Where did the month go?!? I need to get out of the office earlier so I can really enjoy the summer. Whether it's late nights at the office or you just want to get dinner on the table quickly, taco night is always a great solution.
What's funny is as often as we have taco night around these parts... I've never made ground beef (or ground turkey) tacos. I have made chicken (of course), fish, veggie, fajita, and shrimp tacos... probably even some more that I can't think of off the top of my head. But the default taco at every Mexican or Tex-Mex restaurant is always ground beef. Likely because it is the less expensive meat (but not always). Maybe it's because the original Mexican taco was made with beef. Who really knows!
So... I thought I would give these tacos a try. The thing about tacos is really getting the spices right. You don't need a prepackaged mix... you don't know what is in that thing and you can't customize it either. I always keep a few spices on hand; chili powder and red pepper flakes. Those two combined give anything the right amount of flavor and spice to make taco night a success! And don't worry, for those of you adverse to spicy foods... regular chili pepper isn't really spicy (though chipotle chili pepper is, I breathed in steamy chipotle air by accident and my lung felt like they were on fire!). The recipe below is spicy enough to keep you reaching for your water but not make you sweat. And of course you can adjust how much you add depending on how you like your tacos (the beauty of not using a mix)!Read more �
More about → Turkey Tacos - total time 20 minutes
Posted by
yanti on Saturday, May 31, 2014
Oh boy, I am such a messy eater. My husband can always tell when I've been getting into something sweet because I somehow end up with chocolate on my face. I really have no idea how it happens, but he always notices! I swear it's happened when I haven't had anything with chocolate...
So if it happens with a bit of chocolate, you can imagine what happens with something like wings or... heaven help me... sloppy joes. You don't even want to see the damage afterward.
As a result, I have steered clear of the sloppy joe sandwiches. The occasional exception needs to be open-faced with fork and 10 napkins in hand.
But what if you could make it less messy? Why not make it encompass all of the sloppiness? My husband called these sloppy joe hot pockets... but I would like to think these are of higher quality than a microwaved, processed, pocket of heat. It really is just sloppy joe made from scratch (although I just ran out of my own canned tomatoes) and just like you would eat a normal sloppy joe, just all wrapped up! Perfect for lunches and days your short on napkins. :)Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Thursday, May 22, 2014
I know I'm one of the anomolies that has cooked or baked just about everything on their food-related Pinterest boards, but there are still some recipes on there that I'm just not sure about. Most of the foodstuff I pin look and sound delicious, with a couple tweaks, it's perfect for my somewhat picky pallet. Other recipes look amazing, but sound much less appealing.
That's how I felt about this taco twist that pinned over six months ago. I love stombolis and I love tacos, but mixing the two together seems sacrilege. I guess if I can do it to stuffed shells, I can do it to stromboli. So, inspired by Bev's raving review, I checked another recipe off my Pinterest board.
Taco bread is basically begging to be dipped into something, whether it be guac (my fav), salsa, sour cream, or queso dip... the bread makes it nice and sturdy so you don't lose anything when you make your dunk. The egg wash give the crust a good crunch with a fluffy inside and a savory filling. I don't know what I was afraid of, taco bread is delish!
Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Wednesday, May 14, 2014
If you're like any college student ever, you have probably had your fair share of Ramen noodles in your life. Probably to the point of never wanting to see a pack of those noodles again! But then a couple years ago, Ramen noodles came back in a more sophisticated, trendy way with chunks of fresh salmon and cute little restaurants.
As the Ramen goes, so goes the Soba noodle. Maruchan used to make a yakisoba kit available in the refrigerated section next to the wonton and eggroll wrappers. It had instructions on how to prepare vegetables to go along with your soba noodles and "yaki" sauce pack. Several years ago, they got rid of that option and opted for a version just like those Ramen noodles we loved to hate in college. Added in more preservatives to give it a shelf life of forever and has about a teaspoon of dried veggie pieces to try to pass as real yakisoba. Ugh.
Well, now soba noodles are getting trendy and I'm loving this Japanese fast food!
In this recipe, we're piling on the veggies and they happen to be all green (with at least one serving of green veggies per plateful, you're mom approves of this recipe). The sesame oil makes this dish a real treat with tons of flavor. And it truly is fast food, taking less than 30 minutes from start to finish.Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Saturday, May 3, 2014
Do you ever have those moments where you learn something that seems like it should be common sense and it changes the way you think about everything? Basically like there must be a better way to do everything... I just don't know it yet.
That's how I felt after watching one of Jamie Oliver's 15-minute meal episodes.
After having issues cooking chicken breasts all the way through (you know, there's the thinner side that's done in seconds and the thicker end that can sometimes seem to take an eternity to cook)... I started buying cutlets or actually using my cooking mallet (I have no idea if that's what it is actually called). And of course, I always season my chicken.
The new-to-me, crazy easy trick... pound the seasoning into the chicken while your flattening it out! Seriously so simple and the flavor is so much more pronounced. Wish I would have had this moment years ago!Read more �
