CHEESY GRITS

One of the easy way to cook GRITS that my DH loves, is to cook it in the microwave, all we need are, 8 tsp of grits, 1 cup of milk,more or less depend on the thickness we like, 1 tbsp of butter, salt, black pepper, egg,  grated cheese and some herb for garnish.

- put grits in a microwave proof cup, add in milk and salt, cook for 4 to 5 minutes, better watch it, stir once or twice, before it set, add in butter, stir again, crack the egg in, cook for another 2 or 3 minutes until the is egg done, add in cheese and freshly ground black pepper, garnish with herbs, I used our homegrown onion chive.. voila.. a delish breakfast/brunch is done

SPAGHETTI SQUASH

One of my DH's favorite squashes.. I'm not a big fan though, my DH loves most of the squashes but I rarely cooked them.. the other day I bought one and cooked it the way he likes.. with Ragu sauce and meat sausage.. he likes it.. very much..

- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1/2 lbs of breakfast sausage
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 1 cup of favorite Ragu sauce, I used 4 cheeses
- herb, I used Rosemary, chopped

How:
- halve the squash, clean out the seeds
- cook in the microwave for 5 to 10 minutes, covered with damp paper towel
- when they are soft, take them out and let them cool to touch
- fluff them with a fork to become fine strings, set aside
- for the topping, brown sausage with onion, add in the sauce and Rosemary, cook and stir
- pour the meat sauce on the top of the squash, add some Parmesan cheese

Another way to cook Spaghetti Squash that I like.. add some grated carrots to the squash, squeeze them dry, add 1 egg, 1/2 cup of breadcrumb, crunch some fried onion, some garlic powder, some chopped green onion, salt and black pepper, form patties and fry them in a nonstick pan

BAKED GRITS WITH CHEESE AND BACON BITS

Here is another quick and easy recipe for breakfast/lunch, we are not a morning persons, so we ate it for brunch

I don't like eating corn products, my DH loves them, esp grits, polenta, corn meal, I like corns though, simply steamed or grilled.. we always have grits in our pantry, sometimes I cooked some easy grits for him, cooked in microwave, added in cheese and eggs, today I tried a new way in cooking it, and he loves it, I did too.. surprise, surprise :)

- 1 cup of grits
- 2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk
- 1 cup of bacon bits
- some chopped green onion
- 3 tbsp of butter
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1  cup of grated cheese
- salt and dash of tabasco

Method:
- boil water and milk, turn down the heat
- add in grits, stir and cook till thickened, about 5 minutes, turn off the heat
- add in butter, stir until smooth
- add in bacon bits, cheese, green onions, salt, tabasco and eggs
- mix well, pour in the prepared muffin tins ( paper and spray with cooking oil), about 2 dozens
- bake them in a preheated oven, 375'F for 20 minutes, sprinkle more cheese and bake again for another 5 minutes
- or simply pour the mixture in a greased casserole pan, spread evenly, bake for 30 minutes, sprinkle more cheese, bake again for 5 minutes, then set the oven to broil, broil for 3 minutes
- let cool down a bit before cut and serve

EASY PEASY BANANA PANCAKES

my 1st post on November, a very short and easy one, but delicious

We need 3 ripe bananas, mash with spoon or if you want it very smooth, blend with blender, add in 1 egg and 3 to 4 tbsp of flour, mix well till the batter is smooth, then heat a bit of butter in a nonstick pan, pour in a small ladle full of batter, cook for 3 minutes, flip carefully and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes

BRAIDED STROMBOLI

I fall in love with it.. I love making it more than eating it.. my DH loves it, so it's worth it.. I made it several times and yesterday I made the most beautiful one and I want to share it here

BRAIDED STROMBOLI

We need pizza dough, any kind of pizza dough, store bought is fine too...

My favorite pizza dough is:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 and 1/2 tsp of yeast
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 3 cups of flour

for brushing: egg white, beat with a bit of salt

as for filling, whatever you desire, I like hard salami or pepperoni, cheese and a bit of green veggies

- 16 slices hard salami
- 1 cup of mozzarella / Italian blend cheese
- 1 cup of chopped broccoli, I used frozen, thaw and squeeze dry
- jalapeno pepper, chopped
- chopped hard boiled egg

for pizza dough:


- dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water, stir until foaming, let it sit while preparing the others ingredients

- mix salt and flour, add olive oil, then add in the yeast mixture, mix and blend well

- place the wet dough on a floured surface, knead with hands until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 6 minutes, add flour if needed, little by little

- after we have a smooth dough, place it in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, let it rise for 1 hour

- deflate, then roll it on a floured surface, roll to form a thin rectangle, about 18" and 12"

- lay salami on the center of the dough, about 4" wide

- to form the braid, starting at the edge of the filling, cut horizontal toward the end of the dough, about 1"

- then start braid them, lay 1 strip from the right dough to the center, cover the filling, then overlap it with the strip from the left side, do it till the last strip

- gently pick the braid up and transfer it to a floured pan

- cover and let rise for 30 minutes

- brush the top of with beaten egg white mixture

- bake in a preheated oven, 350'F for 30 minutes until golden brown, take out from the oven, immediately brush the top with butter, lightly

STUFFED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

It's cooler here in AZ, much nicer and comfortable, we don't need to turn on the cooler all day now., and outdoor activities are much more fun.. we hiked some times, I don't get my routine morning walk though, my neighbor hurt her foot and can't walk too much, and that's my excuse for not going out for my walk as well :)

Today I cleaned my kitchen, scrubbed and scrubbed, by the time I finished, I was exhausted and did not want to do much.. so I rummaged my fridge, found some cooked sausage, some cooked orzo pasta.. I had cheese and I had some frozen chopped broccoli, on my counter I had a butternut squash I bought last weekend.. an idea got in my head, STUFFED BUTTERNUT SQUASH..

My DH loves squash most of them, I don't, I bought this squash for him only, and fortunately he liked the way I cooked it today, it's so easy as most of the ingredients have already been cooked..

We need:
- 1 butternut squash, wash, cut in half, clean out the seeds
- 1 cup of cooked sausage
- 1 cup of cooked orzo pasta, we can use cooked rice too
- 1 cup of chopped broccoli
- red jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
- garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
- chopped green onion or other favorite herbs
- cheese

Method:
- bake squash for 10 to 15 minutes  in a preheated oven, 350'F
- mix the rest of ingredients
- stuff in the squash, spray with cooking spray
- bake for another 15 - 20 minutes
- sprinkle more Parmesan cheese

BEEF BURGERS WITH CIABATTA BUNS

Today we had American favorite meal as our dinner.. one of my DH's favorite foods.. actually we just went to this cowboy place to have burgers last Friday, the burgers were huge, but too greasy, I could not finish mine.

My homemade burgers were not too much fat as most of the fat ran down the grill, they were juicy enough.. I baked some Ciabatta bread to go with,. and some frozen fries that I baked the oven

- 1 and 1/2 lbs of ground beef, 20% fat
- 1 small onion, minced and sauteed until caramelized
- 1 tsp of salt
- bunch of freshly ground black pepper
- some chili flakes
- 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
- some chopped green chili relish ( optional)

- mix all the ingredients, divide to 6 portion
- form medium size patties
- grill to the desired doneness
- cut the buns in halves, toast with a bit butter
 other toppings: sliced cheese, sliced tomato, dill pickles, and some lettuce wedges with my homemade dressing: 1 part of plain yogurt + 1 part of Mayo + salt + black pepper + a dash of chili sauce/Tabasco, a bit of sugar and some favorite herbs, I used cilantro, topped with bacon bits

KOREAN GRILLED PORK CHOPS.. my style

While I'm in my writing mood, here is another recipe I want to share, and I need it for my future reference

Korean foods are so popular now, I went to eat at Korean restaurants several times, not too often and I love them, esp the grilled and BBQ meat, I don't know for sure how the real authentic taste of them, all of the restaurants claim they have authentic taste.. I tried to cook some of them, in my way, yes I browsed the net to get the ideas and put them together, here is one of the delicious ones

I used pork chops as they are much cheaper than beef short ribs

- 4 bone in pork chops, I like them with fat and lots of marbling
- for the marinate: 1 Korean/Asian pear, pureed, add shallot, some Thai chilies, ginger, garlic, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar/honey, some rice wine, blend well
- marinate the chops for a few hours, covered in the fridge
- grill to perfection

serve with rice or lettuce leaves with shallots, garlic and whatever desired

EASY PEASY CHEESY EGG MUFFIN

It has been ages since my last post, I actually have so many ideas and pictures for recipes to post, but haven't got around to post them.. read.. I'm so lazy and not in my writing mood

Today I woke up with my stomach growling, demanded some foods, but I knew I did not have any good leftover for this purpose, I imagined myself dunked my nutter butter in my coffee like I usually did for my easy breakfast, no problem for me, but I was thinking about delicious breakfast for my DH, I've seen these egg muffin pics on the net and thought about making them. I had leftover sausage, I had plenty of eggs and cheese.. so here they are, easy, simple and yummy

for the ingredients, I used whatever I had handy
- 1 cup or more brown sausage, I used my leftover Jimmy Dean sausage, browned with shallots and red bell pepper ( I used them for my favorite pizza topping)
- 1 cup of shredded Mexican Blend cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup of milk ( I used 2% milk)
- 2 tbsp of potato flakes ( for instant mashed potato)
- salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes
- for 9 muffins

- generously greased the muffin tin with baking spray
- add 1 tbsp of sausage
- add bunch of cheese
- in a big measurement cup, mix milk with potato flakes, stir well, then pour in the milk, mix well, sprinkle with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes
- pour the milk mixture onto the meat/cheese
- bake in preheated 400'F for 12 to 15 minutes
- set the oven to broil, add another 2 minutes to brown the top
- let them cool a bit before taking them out of the pan

Enjoy those beauties

with a dash of Tabasco