Best Sauce/Marinade ever!

John and I use this combination of ingredients for sauces and marinades all the time. It goes GREAT with chicken and shrimp, and I can only imagine that it would be awesome with steak as well! The proportions are kind of all over the place. Just adjust them to your own tastes/what you're making/how much you'll need!

Ingredients:

Soy Sauce
Olive Oil
Lemon juice
Lime juice
Crushed Red Pepper
Pepper


Add in these things too as you want them!:

Ginger
Green Onion
Scallions
White Wine Vinegar
Beer
Crushed Red Pepper
Dill
Oregano
Basil

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie!

...the kid at Food Lion didn't know what rhubarb was. Shameful. PS, this is my actual pie!!!

Ingredients:

2 pre-made pie crusts
2 c. sliced strawberries
3 stalks rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 c. sugar
3 tbsp. quick tapioca
1/2 tsp. vanilla


Directions:

1) Cook pie crust as directed on box.
2) Combine all remaining ingredients. Let sit for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3) Fill cooked pie crust. Cover sides with foil. Bake on 450 for 15 minutes. Reduce to 350 and cook for 50 minutes.
4) Let cool slightly and serve with whipped cream!

News Flash #2!

Remember that time I said I was allergic to white fish? False...I'm definitely allergic to ALL fish (except for shellfish, for some reason). Three allergic reactions is enough to keep me away from fish for the rest of my life, I think. I'm not really that upset...except that it seriously puts a damper on my sushi eating habits.

Charm City Cakes...

...sucks. Here's the thing. I hate Ace of Cakes. Sure, at first glance they seem pretty flashy and awesome, and I'm not saying that they aren't super talented and creative. Their cakes LOOK amazing, and for some people that's enough...but not me. Can I just say that I would LOVE to see them do the same thing minus fondant? Fondant is the nastiest type of frosting ever...hardly edible. Sure, it makes pretty shapes....but who can just look at a cake long enough to justify not eating it? I'd love to see Charm City Cakes do the same thing with buttercream frosting...then I would be impressed, because making those cakes out of fondant is a travesty. Unless the point is to not eat them...and then I guess it works.

My favorite (and least favorite) things!

Bored at work. Here we go!

Favorites:
-shrimp, lobster, scallops, crab (any kind...it's all the best)
-cupcakes (ditto)
-sushi (both real and fake)
-yum woo sen (AMAZING!)
-fried chicken and waffles w/ collard green
-bbq pork sandwiches with homemade cole slaw
-cheese pizza
-mixed greens salad w/ warm vinegrette
-baba ghanouj, baklava, falafel, hummus, dolmas, kibbeh, labneh, tabbouleh, za'atar, loubeih, pita
-cheese
-bbq ribs
-guacamole and fresh salsa
-pad thai
-real olives
-Dhall cabbage
-vanilla bean ice cream
-Mexican food...done.
-spicy italian sausage with sauteed onions and peppers w/ spicy brown mustard
-philedelphia cream cheese
-cinnamon bear's california bagel (cream cheese, spinach, avocado, red onion, egg, spicy thai sauce) on an egg bagel
-all beef hotdogs
-mcdonald's sweet tea
-qdoba naked taco salad with chicken, mild salsa, and cheese
-fish tacos
-strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, rhubarb, peaches, watermelon, kiwi, starfruit, pink lady apples, clementines, bananas, plantains, other melons....pretty much all fruit
-almost anything that's been marinated for over 24 hours
-french onion soup
-dip....just pretty much any kind of dip
-cannoli
-italian wedding soup
-my mom's chicken noodle soup
-papa john's, esp. w/ the garlic sauce
-jimmy john's beach club, hold the mayo
-my dad's BBQ

Not my Favorites:
-mango salsa
-American Cheese
-kibbeh nayye
-canned, black olives
-sherbet
-mcdonald's breakfast
-baked fish
-red delicious apples
-bean soups
-vegetable soup
-"cream of..." soups
-vegetable lasagna
-pizza hut
-red panda buffet sushi


....more to come.

Crock Pot Glory

Finally got around to using my crock pot at school!

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can sweet corn
1 can black beans
2 tbsp. chopped onion
1 c. chopped red bell pepper
1. tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. red chili powder


Directions: Put crock pot on low for 6 hours. Serve on top of cous cous. Enjoy!

Chicken and Waffles with Collard Greens

Let me preface this post by telling you a little story behind the making of this meal. OK, so my boyfriend, John, doesn't like fried food, let alone fried chicken, and he had never even heard of the Southern classic, chicken and waffles. So, since Southern food is my absolute favorite, I decided to make it for him! OK, so I had gone and gotten all of the ingredients, and was letting the chicken marinade when I decided to clean out my over, which I had set on fire about a week ago. Well...this took about 2 hours, and not the 1/2 hour that I was expecting. So by the time John came over I still had to go out and get a new fire extinguisher, since I had used mine. I was totally planning on having dinner ready for him when he came over so that we could have a nice, leisurely meal before Overtones rehearsal. Well, by the time we got back to my apartment from getting said fire extinguisher, we only had about 40 minutes to make a meal which should have taken about an hour and a half. I decided to go ahead with it anyways, since I was so frusterated with the entire situation. LET ME TELL YOU WHAT! This was the best tasting meal I had ever made in my entire life! It may have been the stress, but I don't care. It was delicious and successful and I'm making it again ASAP. Even John, the skeptical Southern eater, was convinced. SO PROUD! Ok, so there's the story, here's the recipe! Hope you enjoy as much as I did!

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp salt + 2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp black pepper
1 pint buttermilk
1 c. flour
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 c. corn oil
4 Eggos (I used buttermilk...or you could even get fancy and make your own waffles, but Eggos were just fine!)
1 package of frozen collard greens
2 cooked sausage patties
1 tsp. pepper flakes


Directions (Fried Chicken):

1) Cover chicken breast evenly with 1 tbsp. each salt and pepper. Place in dish just big enough to hold it, and cover with buttermilk. Chill in fridge for 4 hours before cooking.
2) After chicken has marinated remove from fridge.
3) Mix flour, 1 tbsp. salt and pepper, and chili powder and put on a flat plate.
4) Cover drained chicken evenly with flour mixture.
5) Heat oil in a deep pan until it reaches 325 F. DO NOT LET IT GET HOTTER THAN THIS!
6) Fry both chicken breasts in oil for 10 minutes per side (until 180 F inside)
7) Place chicken on wire rack over foil and let drain
8) Place over toasted waffles and enjoy!

Directions (Collard Greens):

1) Place frozen collard greens in pot and cover with water.
2) Bring to a boil.
3) Once water is at a boil, reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
4) Drain the greens.
5) Mix in salt, pepper flakes, and sausage, and enjoy!