Chey-no-cook tonight:)

Happy Friday night everyone!  Nope, no cooking today - husband out to dinner = me having a Wendy's salad (and small fries, oops), grocery shopping, and cleaning!  Tomorrow night we are having people over to celebrate my belated bday, and I want this place spick-and-span!  Is that how you say it?

Anyways, before that, my husband, myself, and many of his family members are riding in this to help raise money and awareness for leukemia - please think of all of us while we ride b/w 9am-3pm!  I'll be back Sunday with a new Sunday slow-cooker meal - until then, have a great weekend! 

I love this meal! Sausage, tuna, shrimp, and pasta alfredo! Keep reading!

Happy Thursday!  I made it thru the day without getting into a car accident again, so that was a plus;)  I was really looking forward to making tonight's dinner, as it's something very different than what I usually make/we usually eat!  10 10 10 10!  We both gave it a 10!  I got the inspiration from a tuna and pasta alfredo recipe in the Better Homes and Garden cookbook (yes same cookbook as last night), and I would make it again in a heartbeat!  It's quite filling and warm, so it was great comfort food for this snowy night:)

What you'll need:

• 1 lb hot and spicy sausage, in 6 separate links
• 1 box of rotini, cooked as directed on the package
• 1 tbsp butter or margarine
• 2 cups broccoli, fresh or frozen - I used frozen
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 15 ounce bottle of Alfredo pasta sauce
• 1 tbsp (or more) of fresh dill, chopped
• 1 can of tuna (packed in water, not oil), drained, and broken into chunks
• as many small, cooked, shrimp as you'd like - we had these leftover from the other night, so they were already prepared
• CRP

This is definitely a recipe more many pans are going at one time!  First, prepare the pasta as directed on the box.  As that is cooking, heat a large pan or skillet over medium heat, spraying with Pam when heated.  Add 3 tbsp of water, the sausage, and cover, cooking until cooked thru.  Once cooked thru, cut into bite-sized pieces.  So yes, that's 2 things going at the same time.  While this is all going on, heat a tbsp of margarine or butter in a medium sized skillet.  Once heated, add 1/4 cup water, the frozen broccoli, and pepper - cook until tender.

By now, your pasta should be done cooking, drained, and returned to the pot, with a smidge of olive oil, and covered to keep warm.  The sausage should still be cooking.  Once the broccoli/pepper mixture is tender, drain the water and add the alfredo sauce and chopped dill, mixing everything together.  Drain any grease from the large sausage skillet, and add veg/alfredo mixture to the sauce.  Add the pasta also into this large skillet, and then the chunked tuna as well (and shrimp or anything else you're adding that is extra) = everything ends up in the sausage skillet you started with b/c it's the largest!  Mix everything together, add the CRP, mix again, heat on medium for 7 minutes, and admire!  I couldn't believe how awesome it looked, and then to taste it, yay!  I was so excited!  I really went with my gut on this recipe and was so happy with how it came out.  It was a lot of pans and dishes, but well worth it!

 

  

 

I feel like I just babbled on for this recipe, so please let me know if there are any questions:)  I'm off to finish up some laundry, watch some HGTV, make our grocery list, ARUBA list, and read:)  Happy almost Friday!!

CheyCanCook...and Drive...unlike others...Spicy Turkey Stirfry still made, though:)

Hi world - today I started my day as I always do - up and at em, breakfast, warm my nice, damage-free car up, and drive the 35 minutes to work...oh wait, today I made it 10 minutes before another wonderful driver ran a stop sign and hit my car!   My car is damaged, my arm is a little sore because my body jerked when she hit my car so hard, but I'm overall a-ok.  But what the heck!  Not how I like to start my day.  But, I handle accident claims for my job, so I know how it goes, what to do, etc, so I'm just glad I'm okay.  Now I can tell all  my people that  hey you got in an accident, so didn't I!

I rested all day because of the arm soreness and headache (from stress I think), but luckily had planned a quick, Wicked  Cheap Wednesday meal that I still had the enthusiasm (well half enthusiasm) to make:)  I really really liked it, one of my fave recipes in awhile, and I can't wait to make it again...but then again, maybe this meal is bad luck...anyway...

What you'll need:

• 1 lb turkey breast meat, I bought mine in thin strips, like you'd use for a scallopini, and cut the pieces into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 oz frozen red, yellow, and green peppers
• Asian 5-spice (I had never heard of it, and couldn't find it in the grocery store), so I used my own 5 spices - dashes of CRP, cinnamon, poultry seasoning, ground ginger, and ground coriander
• salt and pepper
• 1 package of Knorr Asian sides teriyaki noodles, prepared as directed
• honey roasted peanuts, chopped or whole, whatever you prefer
  

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add one tbsp oil - when heated, add peppers and cook/stir for 3 minutes.  While those are cooking, place the bite-sized turkey pieces into a bowl and cover with all 5 seasonings and salt and pepper.  Stir to coat.

Once the 3 minutes are up, add the other tbsp of olive oil, then the turkey, cooking about 15 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked-thru.

While this is cooking, cook the teriyaki noodles as directed.  When both are finished, place the noodles on your plate, then the pepper/turkey mixture, and then the peanuts - sooooo good, and very light, a definite keeper!!

 

This recipe was adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook I received as a wedding shower gift last year = loved it, and loved that I could put my own spin on it:)  Here is the cost breakdown:

• turkey - around $5.00
• 1/2 package of 16 oz of peppers - .85 cents
• noodles - $1.50
• peanuts - $2.50

= $9.85!  I already had all the spices, or it would've cost a bit more, but I'll take it!

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for me!  Tomorrow I really need to get in the mindset for this that is on Saturday - keep us in your thoughts as my husband, myself, and a lot of his family members do this for a very worthy cause!

Enjoy your night:)

I caught myself a trout and made it Asian!

Okay, so I didn't catch a trout, I bought it at the market, but I did make an asian sauce for it!  This was a new type of fish for me to work with, and a new sauce, but per the husband, he gave it a 9!  Great for a new fish and sauce!  Too garlic-ky for him;) 
 

What you'll need:

• 1/2 lb - 1 1/2 lb of trout, or any flaky-type fish you like - depending on the amount of people - the husband ate about 3/4 lb of trout
• 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained
• 3 tbsp teriyaki sauce
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped very small, or garlic you buy in a jar in the produce section - my garlic happened to be in the teriyaki sauce
  
• Pam spray

Literally so quick and easy!  Pat your fish dry with paper towels.  Heat a fry pan on medium heat.  When heated, spray with Pam Spray.  Cook fish 4 minutes on each side, or until a bit browned.  While this is cooking, make your sauce.

To make the sauce, combine the drained beans, teriyaki sauce, and hoisin sauce into a food processor.  Pulse until the sauce is almost smooth. 

After the fish has cooked on both sides, pour sauce into the pan and bring to a boil. 

Yes, there is fish in there!

Once boiling, cover and let cook 8 more minutes, or until the fish is flaky (for me it was exactly 8 minutes).  Then, enjoy!  Sooo easy!  I paired it with a cheddar rice and salad, and yum!

This is bad, but me, CheyCanCook, was scared of the trout - not because it was bad, but just because I dont' really like...fish!  I wish I had tried it, and I planned to try a bite, but the husband ate it all up!  I had a lovely shrimp topped salad instead - all I did was use some small shrimp, and covered them with lemon juice, lime juice, and lemon pepper seasoning, and broiled them for about 10 minutes:)

 

Enjoy the rest of your night - I won't be so scared of trout next time;)   Sorry this post is so quick, but I can't wait to go keep reading Scarlett!!

GuacamOLE!

Remember I dreamt about making guacamole?  Well, tonight was taco night, so I decided to give my hand a try at it!  I reviewed a bunch of recipes and kinda just went with my own.  I'll tell you what I did and what I think I would do differently next time:)

Yum, right?  My favorite word on here!  We topped our tacos with them AND some nachos - we (the husband and I) both looked forward to taco night alllll day at work - helped us get through our Monday's:)

What you'll need/what I used:

• 3 very ripe avocados
• lime juice or juice of a fresh lime
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 chopped white onion
• chopped tomatoes, as much as you'd like
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• CRP!!!
• salt and pepper to taste
  

Cut and scoop out the avocado goodness and place into a container.  Cover with lime juice and mix in the olive oil ***Note - I used 2 tbsp, but I think I would only 1.5 tbsp next time b/c in one bite, yes just one bite, I could taste too much olive oil***

Now mush mush mush!  Mush these ingredients with a fork to the size/texture you'd like.  Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring after each addition.  Enjoy with your fave Mexican dish, with nachos, or just with a spoon like I did...about 4 times;) 

I'm very happy with how it came out - my only "complaint" was the one bite I had that I could taste the olive oil.  Overall, a success, and an easy one at that! 

 

 

 

Well, after a busy busy Monday I'm off to wrap up my night and prepare for tomorrow!  I hope you'll try this recipe or post some other variations - thank you to all who have posted so many guacamole recipe so far!

And PS:  has anyone ever made mole sauce for enchiladas - the kind with the chocolate??  How did that go for you??

Defining "me"

Taken from here, and she took it from here, I think this is one of those fun, end-of-the-weekend things to do that opens your own eyes up to things, and everyone else's:)  Enjoy my third post of the day!  I wish I could post this frequently all the time and not just on Sunday's;)

Defining "me"

Childhood:

riding bikes

barbies and making houses for her - or I should say all of them!  I think I still remember all their names!

reservoir

Roget

minigolf

birthday parties with homemade cakes

playing with my neighborhood friends

soccer star

Disney

Red Sox games

reading as much as I could - Sweet Valley Twins, Babysitter's Club, RL Stine, etc

High School and the best summer of my life:

student athlete

Europe

hanging out with friends

Dawson's Creek

Gymnastics at the Fleetcenter

Skating nationals in Providence

90210

band trips/flag twirler

the Minivan

loved Spanish

grad parties

Shaw's

first love

American Pie

collages - maybe that is where the scrapbooking thing came from!

movies all the time - Walmart to buy Titanic at midnight anyone!!

a few friends that would last a lifetime

China P

walks at the track and around town

College:

change

frightened

independence

finding my way

hard work in and outside of school

amazing internships

new friends that would last a lifetime

love of my life, the perfect people for eachother

fraternity parties and meeting amazing and brilliant people

bar hopping/dancing

Big Pun

the best white pant/black halter top outfit ever

English major by default

all things plaid

tulips

Now!!:

a good wife

avid reader of all things and types

hard work has paid off - job I love, most days;)

crazy blogger and reader of blogs

scrapbooking instead of collages

have finally figured makeup out

now, not only plaid, but argyle

planner

independent in a different way

dreaming of having a family - little Brinley and Theo anyone?

<3 the DVR

Tink

traveler

still obsessed with watching the Olympics;)

not afraid to try new things

not a chef, just enjoys cooking/baking

US Weekly

laptop lover - I could look up new things all day long

still Red Sox

Wrentham

real golf

my own person - whomever I want to be

and so much more I'm sure:)  this was fun!

Keep reading!  I have 2 other posts from today:)

A new beef stew recipe from Mom's Cafe Home Cooking - woohoo!

I'm back, and still am watching Titanic of course - I could watch this everyday!

I openly stole this next recipe for Friday night's meal - loved it!  It was even better when I had it re-heated for lunch today!  Check out my fave cooking website nowadays for this recipe and others!  We're going to play a game - guess ALL the ingredients!  You could check out the sight above and cheat, or you could try and guess - I'll post the full recipe later this week:)

 

 

 

 

Good luck - I hope you'll all play:)

Ribs! Need I say more??;)

Happy Sunday night, everyone!  I hope everyone has had a great weekend!  I sure have, and am so happy to have many other things to look forward to this week!   Next weekend, my husband and I are participating in this amazing and worthy event, so I'm really looking forward to staying rested and fully of energy this week leading up to that.  Then we have a fun night with friends to celebrate my 30th - all I know is people are coming to our house - I don't know who, I don't know what we're eating, drinking, etc...the husband has told me "he's got it"...well alright!  Also, Aruba soon, woohoo!!!!    Oh - and I'm already thinking of what to do for the husband for Valentine's Day - I always make him something and it's so fun to think of something new every year!

But, back to the ribs!  I think the husband loves ribs as much as I love Titanic;)  (I'm watching it as I type) - simple recipe, and I do love simple meals on Sundays.  Usually it's slow cooker Sundays, but the husband requested ribs and who am I to deny the man ribs?  Made with mashed potatoes, salad, and a different cornbread recipe than the other day (on the side of the Quaker cornmeal container = so much better than the other night), easy peasy!  Because of this, I was able to enjoy a wonderful wonderful wonderful Sunday:)   Can you tell how happy I am:)

What you'll need:

• 2-3 lb rack of ribs 
• salt and pepper
• brown sugar
• cumin
• paprika
• chili powder
• barbecue sauce

Preheat oven to 225.   Place a sheet of foil on a baking sheet and spray with Pam.  Place the ribs, meat side up, on the foil.  Mix together all ingredients BESIDES the barbecue sauce.  Rub the ingredients all over the ribs, deeply setting the rub in.   Bake for 3 hours.

At the 3 hour mark, pull pan from the oven and spread on any type barbecue sauce you'd like - homemade or store-bought, and return to the oven for another 30-45 minutes, until at it's tender-best.  Then enjoy!  I forgot to take a picture until they were almost gone!

Here's a picture of the successful cornbread - so yum I've packed some in my lunch for tomorrow:)

Stay tuned for another post about the stew I made Friday night - I hope you'll have a chance to read, comment, and give advice about each of these:)  Oh, and I'm a one of my fave parts in Titanic - when Jack goes to dinner with Rose's family:)