Salmon Pasta

So this isn't entirely from scratch which makes me mad but thats all my host mom had in the fridge (sauf the champignons and the creme fraiche which I got from monoprix). This meal only serves two as opposed to four by the way.

Time to Prepare: ~20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 tbsp creme fraiche (sour cream if you're in America)
6-8 mushrooms (the really regular kind that are white in a usually blue container)
1/2 of a lemon
cold smoked salmon (this was what I had ready made. scroll to the bottom for instructions with real salmon)
2 cloves of garlic
spices: basil, pepper (thats all I had :( )
olive oil
macaroni (or spaghetti)

Cookware:
pot
skillet

Directions:
1. cut the musrooms into slices (each mushroom makes about 4-6 slices)
2. cut the fish into pieces a bit smaller than the mushroom pieces (or use your hands to piece the fish)
3. cut the garlic into tiny pieces
4. bring the pasta to a boil (add a bit of oil to the water)
5. while the pasta is boiling, saute the garlic and mushrooms in a bit of oil
6. when the mushrooms are brownish and have shrunk, lower the heat to medium and add the fish. take care not to burn your fish!
6. Add the creme fraiche to the fish and mushrooms, and squeeze the lemon into the sauce also.
7. lower the heat to medium/low, and add your spices. Leave to simmer until the pasta is done.
8. when your pasta is done, pour out the water and mix the pasta in with the sauce.
9. Eat.


simple recipe, not sumer yum yum yum yum, but also not bad for something to cook after you get home from work.

Using fresh salmon:
1. cut the salmon into a few chunks small enough to fit in a pot
2. bring pot of water to boil, and boil the salmon for about 5 minutes or so
3. take the skin off the salmon (if it doesnt just peel off your salmon is too raw)
4. follow the above recipe

Chicken Stir Fry/Stew

The idea was originally to make a chicken stir fry, but there was a change in plans and I ended up making food for five people, and my pan wasn't quite enough to make a stir fry with so much stuff in it... So experimental techniques were used, and I'm actually pretty happy with the result.
I served this dish with rice, and since I couldn't fit all the vegetables in my pan i just added some of them into the boiling water with the rice. I mean, it all ends up in the same place anyway :D


Time to Prepare: ~60 minutes

Ingredients:
Tomatoes
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Carrots
Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Scallions (long, onion type things. Also called green onions)
Baby corn (I used the canned variety)

Cookware:
Pan/skillet
Pot to cook rice
Large bowl
Aluminum foil

Directions:
1) Cut your chicken into small pieces and marinade. My marinade included olive oil, basil, tarragon, oregano, garlic powder and chives)
2) Chop up all vegetables into small pieces.
3) Heat up your pan and brown the chicken slightly on high heat
4) Turn the heat to medium/low (but still hot enough to boil water), and add about half an inch of water to the pan. Add the vegetables. If you've chopped enough vegetables, they will make a heaping pile on your pan and you cant really stir the food without having everything fall everywhere.
5) Take a piece of alumium foil and cover the vegetables and pan. This essentially steams the vegetables while your chicken is boiling below.
6) After 20 minutes, pour the contents of the pan into a large bowl so you can mix everything together. Eat.

The same ingredients also work for a stir fry, if your pan is big enough first add the carrots, then the chicken, then the broccoli and cauliflower, and finally the tomato, onions and baby corn. Keep stir frying until done :)

Potato Vegetable Quiche

The proportions in this recipe still need work. I sort of improvised as I went making this last night, so don't take these directions super verbatim... The proportions here make enough quiche to fill a 9x13 pan.

I stole this recipe off SmarterFitter Blog, and edited it a little. Here's the original: sweet potato quiche.

Time to Prepare: ~60 minutes
Time in Oven: ~45-60 minutes

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 bag grated cheese (I used a 4 cheese variety)
4-5 potatoes
1 onion
1-2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup canned corn
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
olive oil
2 tomatoes
3 Cups wheat/graham flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
9 tbsp margarine or butter
3/4 cups water
Spices (ex: garlic powder, oregano, tarragon, etc)

Cookware:
Skillet or pan to saute vegetables
Dish to bake quiche in oven
Knife
Cutting board
bowl

Directions:
1. Mix the flour, baking powder, butter, and 3/4 cup of cheese together in a bowl.
2. Add the water to the mixture. The dough should be firm, almost to the dry side.
3. Cover the dough and set it aside for later.
4. Set your oven to 350F.
5. Dice the tomato, peppers and onion, and chop the garlic into tiny pieces.
6. Slice the potatoes into thin slices.
7. Heat up your pan and add some olive oil; saute the onion, garlic and peppers until the onion becomes translucent. Mix in the corn and tomato, add spices (ex basil leaves, oregano), and set aside to cool.
8. Mix the eggs and the milk. Add spices to the mixture if desired (ex, tarragon, garlic powder).
9. Grease your baking dish.
10. Take your dough and spread it on the bottom and sides of your baking dish.
12. Spread half of the sauted vegetables on the crust, and then layer about half of the potato slices on top of that, spread about half the remaining cheese on top of the potatoes.
13. Make a second layer with the remaining vegetables, tomatoes and cheese.
14. Pour the egg/milk mixture on top of everything. Try and spread it evenly over the top.
15. Put your dish in the oven for 45-60 min. I think you will get a nice top and a good consistency for your quiche if you increase your oven temperature to 375F after 25/30 minutes or so.

This recipe is still kind of in the "experimental" stage, if you try it leave comments and tell me what happened!

Blue Cheese Chicken

While this food item isn't maybe quite as healthy as the other stuff I cook, its still not that unhealthy for you... And, it tastes good :)

Time to Prepare: ~30 minutes
Time in Oven: ~45 minutes

Ingredients:
4 potatoes
1 leek or a bunch of green onions
1 small bag of baby carrots
half of a head of cauliflower
REAL blue cheese (get it from the international/cheese section of your grocery store, not from the dairy section)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
olive oil
1 tbsp chives and onion flavored cream cheese (optional)
1/3 cup skim milk (optional)
Spices (I used oregano, tarragon, garlic powder,and chives on the chicken)

Cookware:
knife
cutting board
oven bag
dish to prepare food in

Directions:
1. set your oven to 375 F
2. open up the oven bag and lay it on the bottom of your baking dish
3. cut all your vegetables into small pieces and spread them along the bottom of the bag/dish
4. cut off all the non-meat off your chicken breats, and cut deep cuts into the meat
5. stuff the cuts with blue cheese, and spice the chicken
6. (optional) mix the cream cheese and skim milk together and pour evenly over the vegetables
7. spice vegetables (ex: garlic powder)
8. place the chicken over the vegetables
9. pour olive oil over both the chicken and vegetables
10. add a tiny bit of water to the bottom of the dish, this is to keep the vegetables and chicken from drying out
11. close the bag and cut a few slits into it to keep pressures even
12. place the dish into the oven for about 45 minutes.

I served this meal with rice and a salad, both of which you can make while your chicken is in the oven :)

Pancakes (From Scratch)

I'm still completely stuffed from breakfast this morning... ahh, good stuff!

Time to Prepare: ~1 hour

Ingredients:
1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat/graham flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, separate the whites and the yolks
2 cups skim milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
anything else you feel like you want to have in your pancakes (I did half a batch of chocolate chip and half a batch of blueberry pancakes this morning, adding orange also tastes good)

Cookware:
2 large bowls
1 small bowl
whisk
skillet
at least one spatula (I find pancakes are easier to flip with two, though)

Directions:
1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl
2. Mix the wet ingredients and the egg YOLKS together in a bowl
3. Pour the liquids into the solids, slowly and stirring constantly. The consistency should end up being smooth and rather thick. Add your additional flavorings, and if your mixture is too runny, some flour.
4. Beat the egg WHITES until fluffy (you should be able to tip the bowl upside down without the whites falling out)
5. Gently add the whites to the batter. Try for minimal agitation of the batter after this step, as that results in less fluffy pancakes.
6. Have your skillet on medium heat and put a dab of oil on it, pour on your batter, and flip the pancake once bubbles start forming on it. If your stove is on too hot, the pancake will be raw on the inside even though the outside will be done.
7. Enjoy with maple syrup, fresh fruit or the like!

Whole Wheat Bread

I ended up baking three loaves of bread today, and they were all consumed while warm :D

Time to Prepare: ~20 minutes active, 20 minutes passive
Time in Oven: ~30-50 minutes

Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups warm water
2 cups wheat/graham flour
2 cups white flour
2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons dry yeast
2 tablespoons molasses
spices (I used fennel and cumin today)

Cookware:
bread tin to bake your bread in
bowl
aluminium foil

Directions:
1) Put the warm water in a bowl and mix in the flour, yeast, and oil. Dough should be a consistency which does not stick to the sides or bottom of the bowl, and not too much to your hand either. Add flour or water to achieve this.
2) Cover the bowl and place it in a bath of warm/hot water to rise for 10 minutes
3) Set your oven to 350F
4) Once the dough has rizen just a bit, mix in molasses and spices.
5) Cover bowl again and leave in warm/hot water bath to rize for 20-25 minutes
6) Place in oven for 30-50 minutes, until top is a nice golden brown.

Creamy Garlic Potatoes and Tilapia

So, today for dinner I made Tilapia on the stove and some Creamy Garlic Potatoes in the oven as a side. Maybe it wasnt quite as AMAZING as last weeks salmon, but it still turned out pretty good :)

Potatoes first:

Time to Prepare: ~20-40 minutes
Time in the oven: ~60-90 minutes

Ingredients:
10-15 potatoes (either red or yellow, but not baked potato type potatoes)
one quart of half and half
one fresh garlic
garlic powder
olive oil
leek (optional)

Cookware Needed:
glass dish to put potatoes in oven in
knife to cut potatoes
knife to peel potatoes
cutting board

Directions:
1) wash and peel potatoes
2) set oven to 350F
3) cut potatoes into thin slices. you can either cut round slices ~2-3mm thick, or into long, thin rectangles with thickness ~2-3mm. It's not a big deal, the smaller they are, the more evenly they will cook and the nicer they are to eat.
4) if you have a leek, wash it and cut it into tiny pieces
5) cut all of your garlic into tiny pieces, or use a garlic crushing thing to reduce the cloves to small pieces.
4) make "layers" in your glass dish. each layer should include: potatoes, olive oil, garlic, garlic powder and leek.
5) pour the remaining half and half on top of the potatoes. The potatoes should be well covered, but not swimming in the half and half.
6) place in oven for 60-90 minutes. The tops of the potatoes may be brown, but the potatoes should be soft. (test with a spoon)


Now for the tilapia:

Time to Prepare: ~30 minutes

Ingredients:
tilapia fillets
olive oil
lemon
spices (I used chives, lemon pepper, oregano, tarragon)

Cookware:
Skillet or flat-bottomed pan
at least one spatula (two are easier for me)

Directions:
1) season your fillets. I used all but the "leafy" seasonings for this, as the leafy ones are more apt to burn on your pan.
2) put your stove on high heat and put olive oil on the bottom of your pan
3) put the fillets in the pan, and wait a while until the bottoms get a nice brownish color, then flip the fishes
4) when the tops of the fish get a nice brownish color, flip them again, turn your heat on medium, and add a tiny amount of water in your pan. This will keep your fish from drying out (it will evaporate out by the time you are done).
5) add more seasoning to your fish, if you like. I added the chives, oregano and tarragon leaves at this point.
6) let simmer on medium/low heat until the fish is done. (~5-10 minutes. it will break apart easily)


I served the food with a salad I made while the potatoes were in the oven before I prepared the fish.

Bon Apetit!

Salmon on a Bed of Leek

Living in the dorms means you either eat cafeteria food or eat out way too often. Sometimes you just crave food that's cooked just for you, and not industrially either. So you find a friend with an apartment and you make a deal with them that if they let you cook, they can eat the results. This series will feature stuff me and a friend cook over the weekends when the dining halls don't serve any food anyway. Oh and by the way, this is really written for everyone who has cooked to the extent of ramen noodles, which means DON'T BE AFRAID TO TRY IT OUT!!!!!

So this past Saturday, I was craving fish, so I made some salmon on a bed of leek (sounds fancy, but is easy and tastes good)

Time to prepare: ~10-20 minutes
Time in the oven: ~30-40 minutes, depending on the size of your fish.

Ingredients:
Fillet of salmon with skin still on
Sour Cream
Chives and Onion cream cheese (you can probably use any other flavor too)
Two Leeks
Dill
Garlic Powder
Lemon pepper
Lemon
Olive Oil (vegetable oil will do)

Cookware needed:
glass dish to put your fish on in the oven
small bowl to mix stuff
Tablespoon
Knife to cut leek with
Cutting board
scissors (for the dill, but optional)

Directions:
1) Set your oven to 375F.
2) Wash one leek, cut off the “rooty” part of it, and cut off any parts of the leaves that look dry or damaged. Then cut your leek into small rings, beginning from the white end.
3) Spread the cut leek onto the bottom of your dish. The rings usually stick together, use your fingers to spread them out.
4) Pour some olive oil on top of the leek. As far as how much is "enough", just go back and forth on top of the leeks, so that it looks like you've put some olive oil on.
5) Take your fish and put it on top of the leeks. To season the fish, pour a small amount of olive oil on it, then squeeze either half or both halves of a lemon on it. Sprinkle on garlic powder and lemon pepper, and then cut some dill on top of it all. If you've never used dill before, err on the side of caution with this herb.
6) Wash your second leek and cut it like the first one. Place it all on top of the fish. If you want, you can apply more olive oil on top of everything at this point.
7) Put the cream cheese in a bowl and mix it with 3-5 tablespoons of sour cream, in order to give the cream cheese a less dense texture.
8) Cover the leeks which are on top of your salmon with the cream cheese mixture. You want to cover it well enough so that no fish is showing. This will not spread in the oven, so make sure you have an even layer everywhere.
9) Put fish in the oven, and wait. When the leeks on the sides of the fish start browning your fish is about done. The cream cheese layer can get a slight brown tinge to it, but remove the fish promptly when it does. Let your fish sit for a couple of minutes before serving to “lock in the flavors”. ENJOY!

I cooked some rice to go along with this meal. Fairly simple and fail-safe, just follow the directions on the box and remember to stir so you don't burn your rice.

What to do with the leftover ingredients:
you can use any leftover leek and sour cream in pretty much anything, for me its kind of a cooking staple. So check back for more recipes incorporating it. I'm sure if you google dessert recipes with sour cream, you will probably find a good use for that.
As far as the dill goes, if you got fresh dill lay it on paper towels to dry. it will take a week or two to be dry, but then you can use it forever (or if not forever, as long as you will likely be in college for anyway).
squeeze the rest of the lemon in some water, to you know, make lemon water :D

That's about all for Saturday's meal, id say its one of the easier meals I know how to make. good luck!

Intro

Im too lazy to write an intro post, but im putting one up anyway as a placeholder in case I want to edit it.