Wednesday Night Dinners: Mexican

I stuffed my burrito a little too full so it didn't fold very well, but it was still very tasty. We prepared a huge feast of food, with homemade pico de gallo, sauteed chicken and veggies, black bean, cilantro lime rice, and guacamole. Next week, more Mexican food.

Vegetable Quesadillas

One of my favorite fast, easy and healthy meals are vegetable quesadillas. It's a simple, tasty meal that just can't go wrong. And they're quite tasty with this homemade salsa.

Recipe:
flour tortillas
shredded cheese
sliced brown mushrooms
sliced yellow onions
sliced bell peppers
black beans
olive oil
salt & pepper

Heat olive oil in skillet to saute veggies. Warm can of black beans in small saucepot on stove. Toss onions first, then bell peppers, then mushrooms till veggies are tender in skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Take off heat and set aside.

Keep skillet on low to medium heat to warm tortilla. Add veggies, black beans, and cheese on half of tortilla, being careful to not overstuff. Fold tortilla over filling and lightly press with spatula. The goal is to get the tortilla just crispy with light golden brown spots on each side and melt the cheese.

Serve by cutting into fourths with optional sides of salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

Salsa or pico de gallo

I'm a big fan of Mexican food. How can I not be living in Tucson? But I've never made my own salsa. It's not that it's hard or complicated, but I just never have. But my friend Helene is visiting from Chicago, and when planning our weekend menu, we decided to make our own salsa to go with our veggie quesadillas, which I'll be posting after this salsa entry. The salsa was delicious, and a lot fresher than the jarred stuff. I think I might have to start making my own salsa from now on.

Recipe:
diced tomatoes
diced yellow onions
minced garlic
jalapenos, to taste
cilantro
salt, optional
lime juice, optional

Blend together and season to taste.

Wednesday Night Dinners: Sushi

I apologize for the lack of updates. Sometimes, you just don't feel like cooking. Or I've cooked, but it's not anything special. But I feel bad about not updating so here we go. I am at least going to attempt to start posting my Wednesday Night Dinners. Sometimes there will be a recipe, sometimes just a photo of what we made and a quick commentary. But I thought that would add a fun element and then you'll hear from me at least once a week.

To introduce, Wednesday Night Dinners started a few weeks ago. A couple friends and I gathered for dinner one Wednesday night, then another Wednesday night, and then we realized we could do this every Wednesday. It's a pretty consistent cast of characters now. The photo below is from two weeks ago when we attempted to make our own sushi. Pretty amateur, but pretty fun.



For more detailed sushi instructions, try The Pioneer Woman's sushi how-tos.

Chicken, Sun-dried Tomato, and Broccoli Pizza

A few days ago I found this Rachael Ray pizza recipe on the Food Network website and decided immediately that I had to make it. So I had a few friends over for dinner tonight and we made the pizza, minus the basil and Parmigiano-Reggiano, mostly because I don't care for basil and I didn't realize the recipe called for Parmigiano-Reggiano. Don't worry, you won't miss it. I was incredibly satisfied with this pizza, everyone else liked it, and it even felt fairly healthy for you. The prep also went by really quickly.

My adapted recipe:
1 16-oz whole wheat pizza dough
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 chicken breast
handful of broccoli florets
handful of sliced sun-dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil
skim ricotta cheese
shredded mozzarella
minced garlic
salt and pepper

Preheat over to 500 degrees.
Bring small pot of water to a boil, salt the water, and cook broccoli florets for a couple minutes. Drain.
Heat olive oil in small frying pan, add garlic and chicken, season with salt and pepper, and brown.
Roll out pizza dough. Spread ricotta cheese, then top with broccoli, chicken, and sun dried tomatoes, then finish with mozzarella. Lower oven to 450 degrees and bake 12-14 minutes.

Snickerdoodles!

The first time I had ever a snickerdoodle was when a good friend of mine came to Tucson for a visit and brought cookies from her mom. Don't be shocked when I tell you that I was about 19 at the time. Apparently, snickerdoodles just weren't to be found in my childhood and that is a shame because they are delicious. And I don't even really care for cinnamon! I have got to stop baking cookies with ingredients I think I don't like. But here is a snickerdoodle recipe from my handy-dandy Better Homes & Gardens, 14th edition cookbook. Also, best cookie name. Ever.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (lacking this ingredient, a quick google search told me I could sub in three times the called for amount with lemon juice; that would be 3/4 teaspoons lemon juice)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

In a medium mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar (lemon juice). Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Cover and chill dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar mixture to coat. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

Peanut Butter Cookies

While this might be blasphemy to some, I don't actually care for peanut butter. I don't dislike it so much that I refuse to eat it, but it's also not a staple for me. In fact, I pretty much never buy peanut butter. But I've got a friend who loves peanut butter cookies, and as a thank you for a favor, I made him some. And oh my, they were so delicious. I'm not a peanut butter convert, but I think I could definitely enjoy a good peanut butter cookie every once in awhile now.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook, 14th edition:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. If necessary, cover and chill dough until easy to handle. (I don't find it necessary to chill the dough).

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by making crisscross marks with the tines of a fork. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes (I bake for about 7 1/2 minutes) or until bottoms are light brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.