Lemon & Basil Tilapia

I was planning on making Parmesan-crusted tilapia, but we didn't have any mayonnaise in the fridge. Which is strange, because I swore I bought some recently. Anyway, I had to use this fish somehow because I didn't want it to go to waste. So, I just baked it in a foil pouch with some sliced lemon, greens, and basil with some salt and pepper for seasoning. It was very simple, and surprisingly turned out tasty and very moist.

Baking Cake(s) for J's Birthday

Personal sized cakes and cupcakes:


Chocolate cake, buttercreame icing, topped with shredded milk chocolate:


Chocolate cake & icing:


Chocolate cake, chocolate icing, topped with shredded coconut and almonds:

Cheese Eggs with Pancetta

I used some pancetta to make some breakfast.
Eggs, pancetta, bell peppers, onions, mozzarella and asiago cheese.

Thanksgiving Leftovers #1

After a day and a half of eating heavy, starchy high carb food, I wanted something light for dinner. I put together a simple salad, using the leftover turkey, greens, bell peppers, and honey roasted almonds.

11/27 Organic Box / Thanksgiving Cooking

Today's Organic Delivery:
Chard (1 bunch)
Beets (1 bunch)
Collard Greens (1 bunch)
Jonagold Apples (2 lbs)
Cranberries (10 oz)
Meyer Lemons (2)

I decided to make Orange Cranberry Sauce since I got more cranberries in this delivery. I am usually not a fan of Cranberry Sauce, but I actually enjoyed it.

10 oz. cranberries (washed and picked through)
1/2 cup water boiled
Zest and juice of one orange
Sugar

1. Bring water, zest, juice, and sugar to boil - stirring until sugar is dissolved
2. Add cranberries into the boiling water until they explode
3. Lower heat and simmer







Delilah's 7 Cheese Mac & Cheese

I made home-made mac and cheese for the first time. This recipe had 7 cheeses

I was behind schedule (the turducken took much longer to cook), so I didn't take pictures of all the steps involved. The only photo I took was while it was in the oven. And yes, this was WAAAAAY more than enough for our party of 5.



Turkey Chili

I know chili isn't a traditional Thanksgiving dish, but the bro's gf requested it, so I made a pot.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 3/4 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth
1 cup Pace® Chunky Salsa
1 tablespoon sugar
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

Recipe Here



And for the star of the show:

Turducken

We ordered it frozen online and I baked it. The instructions said it would take 4.5 hours, but it ended up taking 6 hours. I didn't use the convection oven, I used the regular oven settings because I didn't want to mess it up. The last 30 degrees took 2 hours. We had dinner later than planned, but it was quite tasty and worth the hard work. heheh.


This is what the turducken looked like at 4.5 hours. It looked done and according to the instructions should have been done, but it had not reached the correct temperature of 165 degrees yet.


This is what the turducken looked like after 6 hours, at 165 degrees inside.


Brother's carving:



J taking a stab at carving:


K's turn

Cheese Plate

Fontina, Gouda, and Irish White Cheddar along with salami, olives, bread, and crackers.

Buffalo Wings

I made spicy buffalo wings for dinner.

1.5 lb chicken wing pieces
1/2 cup FRANK'S REDHOT Cayenne Pepper Sauce
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
Blue Cheese/Ranch Dressing (your preference)

1. Bake wings at 425 degrees
2. Combine hotsauce and butter
3. Coat wings with sauce
4. Dip in Blue Cheese/Ranch

First Time: Green Chard

Tonight, I cooked and ate green chard for the first time. I had no idea what to do with this leafy vegetable, so I searched online and chose a random recipe. I wouldn't even know it was edible if I saw it out in a field somewhere. To my surprise, it was a tasty leaf vegetable.


1 bunch of green chard


Washed and ready to cut. This was a medium sized leaf, there were others that were much bigger in the bunch. It took up all the space on my cutting board.


Cut and ready to go


Sauteing


Ready to eat

I ate this with a bowl of rice. It was a light dinner. I wasn't sure if I'd like the chard or not, but it turned out pretty good.

I sauteed it with olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar and then sprinkled a little salt & pepper to taste. J enjoyed it too :)

Sweet Potato Fries

I made sweet potato fries (for the first time). I seasoned it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and some red chili peppers. I kinda burned them. Oh well, trial and error. I still have more potatoes to work with :P


Washed and ready sweet potatoes


I don't like potato skins, so I peeled my potatoes


Ready to bake

I forgot to take the after pics, but like I said, I burned half of them. The ones that weren't burned had a spicy kick to them.

Yaki-soba Noodles w/ Snow Peas, Shrimp & Bell Peppers

I've never cooked yaki-soba noodles and did not plan to. J and I took a walk to Nijiya Market, which is a couple of blocks from our house. I found the noodles, and decided to try them out.


Excited about finding Yaki-soba noodles


Grabbing snow peas.


Reaching for the bell peppers.

(Why did we have a camera with us at the market? J and I took a walk to practice shooting with the DSLR camera. I'm supposed to learn how to take pictures for his upcoming 24-Hrs LeMons race.)

We used to go to this Japanese restaurant back in MD, and I would order a yaki-soba dish. But, that was the only restaurant that I've been to who served these yaki-soba noodles. So, I was pretty excited to find them at the market.


Cooking noodles. Yaki-soba are very similar to Lo Mein.


Peeled shrimp


Washed and cut snow peas and red & yellow bell peppers


Stir-frying


Done! I added a dash of Oyster Sauce for flavor. Nothing else. It was pretty delish, if I can say so myself...hehe.

11/13 Organic Box

Today's Organic Delivery consisted of:

Green Chard (1 bunch)
Pink Lady Apples (1 lb)
Cranberries (10 oz)
Sweet Potatoes (2 lbs)
Broccoli (1 lb)

I have no idea what to do with the chard, or how it tastes like. I'm also going to need to figure out what to do with the cranberries (I'm not a big fan).

Stay tuned...

Persimmon Crisps

I made persimmon crisps for the first time. They turned out pretty good. I especially liked the way they smelled in the oven. It was so easy - slice, sprinkle cinnamon, and bake.









J says that if you sprinkle cinnamon on anything, it'll taste good. What a fool...