Can I pasta my chicken in peace? (Week 3- 1/16- 1/22)

So I am recovering from a terrible cold and I am just regaining my appetite so I wanted to make something simple. I had some penne rigatoni pasta and some alfredo sauce, so I purchased some chicken. I lightly browned the chicken to get the juices out. Then I cut them into thick strips while the pasta was boiling with a bit of oil in the water. I then cooked the chicken in the alfredo sauce and added some spices to enhance the taste. Then I poured the pasta (after it was drained) into a bowl and poured the chicken alfredo sauce into it. and then just mixed. It was sooo good! I felt very accomplished especially since the recipe was straightforward and I did not have to stress too much in my weakened state. This week, cooking was definitely harder to do because I did not want to really spend any energy I had. I just wanted to rest since I was still recovering from being sick. I did have to tell myself that I made a commitment to this and I need to see it thru no matter how I feel. I mean if I stop this week because I am not completely healthy, I will have no problem not cooking next week because I am sad or just not up to it. I am glad I went ahead and cooked because I feel great knowing I accomplished something this week.

A World Without Rice is No World for Me (Week 2- 1/9- 1/15)

So I was pretty sick last week so I am super late on updating the blog. But yay God for healing me! So last week I had a bit of fridge drama. I wanted to buy a fridge so I can stock up on grocery so I won’t have to shop every week for ingredients and I can save left overs. It seems the universe disagree with my thought process though. I could not find a fridge at Walmart, the place that has all things. So I was stuck with the question, what can I cook with the least amount of grocery? I visited my fave recipe site and got the inspiration to make chicken stir fry with rice. I ALWAYS have rice on hand. I LOVE rice. No I am IN LOVE with rice. So I went to work, got some groceries, and while shopping I remember reading about balsamic vinegar and how it brings out the taste in meat so I decided to buy it for the chicken stir fry and other future endeavors. I also got interested in making ky lime pie and saw that it was pretty easy! So I said why not?! Let’s do this! I did not really follow a recipe for the stir fry. I just seasoned the chicken, slightly browned them in a fry pan with the balsamic vinergar, and added veggies as well as ginger roots and spices. It WAS goooooooood! The chicken was really tender and juicy! the ginger added spicy/zesty taste to it. Then I made the key lime pie. The recipe can be found on allrecipes.com. It was sooooooooo good! Before I even baked the pie mix, I wanted to sit there and drink it. The pie would have been perfect if I had not allowed them to caramelized!

Extra Thick Crepes anyone? (Week 1 1/1- 1/8)

After almost 24 hours of not eating, I had a SERIOUS craving for pancakes. Mind you, this craving came @ almost 9pm. I looked in the fridge and no eggs! Booooo! After a quick google search, I found out it quick possible to make pancakes with no eggs. However, all the recipes I found required vanilla extract. I had none! I decided to go ahead anyway. Doesn’t hurt to try right? I followed a recipe that can be found @ http://www.free-old-time-cooking-recipes.com/desserts/pancakes/pancake-recipe-without-eggs.html I followed everything to a tee, except I had no teaspoon! Oy! So I took some liberty with ingredients that require usage of teaspoons. I mixed everything together and decided to make it healthy by adding some diced red delicious apple to the batter. The batter tasted pretty good! The moment of truth lies in the “frying” of the batter. Well it started off looking good but I immediately noticed that the batter was not fluffing up as it does when those pancake mixes are used. At the end of it all, I got what I decide to call, extra thick crepes. There was no fluffiness to the pancake. It had the smoothness of crepes, that is the only way I can describe it. It was certainly tasty but it was not exactly the pancake I had envisioned. So I slapped some butter on that jont and ate it anyway.
So I took a few pics with my phone camera (I was too lazy to walk upstairs and dig thru my suitcase for my real camera. go figure ). One thing I definitely learned from those pictures is, lighting can flatter your food or make it drab! I actually knew the importance fo lighting prior to that but looking at the pics definitely re-emphasized that in my mind. Next time, my real camera will be used and lighting will definitely be taken into account!
I really had high hope for these pancakes especially since I really wanted pancakes but the experience has actually caused me to look into recipes for crepes. Not only that I am determined to read about the science behind pancakes. Are eggs really that crucial to a successful result? Is vanilla extract the reverse kryptonite?(Think about it). I intend to re-try this recipe in the next month hopefully I will be more pleased with the result.
Lessons:
1) I’ve gotta step up my measuring game. (Although I must point out that I own a measuring ensemble, except it is on campus and I am at home! SMCH!)
2) Sometimes, you don’t get it right on the first try. So, try again.

1 recipe. 1 week. 1 me.

Whew! New blog! This should be fun. The old blog is still up and running, but access is restricted to only a few. *hehehe*. Anyway, it is a new year! 1 out of 3 people I know have made some sort of new year's resolution. I am not a fan of these because I always break them. However, while thinking about this whole resolution business, I got an idea! Tengo un idea! (Maya & Miguel anyone? No? SMCH) I know I love to cook and I love photography but I sensed that I might not do a great job of improving my expertise in both department because I alway get caught up with other things, thus I decided to challenge myself! *DRUMROLL FOR CHALLENGE ANNOUNCEMENT* I have to cook *at least* 1 recipe a week, and I have to document it with images (See the incorporation of food and photography? Yeah!) To keep a record of my adventure, I will also write up a blog about the experience! I am excited (terrified actually)! It will be great to see what successes and failures would have transpired by the end of the year.

Ground Rules are:

1) Recipes cannot be something I grew up eating (I pretty much already mastered all those meals)

2) Even if the end result is terrible, I still have to share about it (Pics Included)

3) I must complete the challenge between Sunday- SAturday  inclusive

So  ummmm... Let's go? :-D