Thanks to my awesome co-worker I am going to be a chopping fiend with my new Chop ‘n Prep Chef! If you think you’d like one, or maybe some other Tupperware product, you should check out her website!
Egg-cellent Egg Salad
Today’s conquest was egg salad. The recipe came from Gooseberry Patch’s Homestyle in a Hurry. I was excited to try this one because, a) I really like egg salad and b) how hard could it be to hard boil eggs? (Let’s ignore the fact that I’m 26 and had never hard-boiled an egg, shall we?)
So, first step was to figure out how to cook the eggs. I had the general idea…boil them, right? I consulted the resources. According to Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedia Cookbook (which has an astounding amount of information in it) and this website, you aren’t actually supposed to boil the eggs at all. Ok. I assume all of these people know what they’re talking about so I go with it. Maybe it’s me, or maybe it’s them, but not boiling the eggs didn’t work out so well. For starters, they were really difficult to peel. This could also be due to the fact that older eggs are easier to peel. Good to know for next time. Additionally, the yolk was definitely not done. I’d already cooled the eggs down by the time I discovered this so I began to wonder if I could re-cook the eggs I hadn’t yet peeled. According to Yahoo, yes. Well, that still didn’t work.
The hubby called to tell me he was on his way home and I informed him that there would be no egg salad. Not to be daunted, he picked up another dozen eggs so we could give it another go. His solution was to ignore the experts and boil the eggs for about 20 minutes. Good job, Hubby! It worked!
It took me forever to chop the eggs up, but that’s just me. After two dozen eggs, we came up with an excellent egg salad. Yum!
As a side note, this one’s dedicated to Grandma. The whole time I worked on this I kept thinking about all the Easters we spent coloring eggs at her house. I love you Grandma and hope the doctors can make you feel better.
Pigs in a Blanket - Tastier in childhood
I needed something easy and quick tonight. As a child, I always loved hot dogs rolled up in crescent rolls with cheese. Should be tasty and easy, right? While they looked good, they weren’t. I think the hot dog or the cheese prevented the roll from baking properly. Also, FYI, Kroger value cheese is not so great.
Mission failed.
Enchiladas!
I’ve decided to try making at least one new dish a week. This week’s new dish was enchiladas! The recipe came from Gooseberry Patch’s Comfort Foods.
I made my grocery list and headed off to the store. Produce is in the front of the store so I decided to get my onion first. There, I ran into my first problem. What’s the difference between white and yellow onions? I had no clue, so I chose a white onion. When I returned home I consulted the internet. If anyone is as clueless as I am, here’s your answer:
Yellow onions are usually used for cooking because when cooked they “add excellent flavor.” The article went on to say that when a recipe calls for an onion, it usually means yellow. …well, crud.
But wait! As I read farther the article also said, “White onions are commonly used in Mexican cuisines.” Score!
Here’s the link if you’d like to read about red onions as well.
I think the actual process of making the enchiladas still took me longer than necessary (I took forever to chop the onions. Maybe I need a slap chop.) but the outcome was good! According to the hubby it’s the best dish I’ve ever made…not that there have been many. Now on to bigger and better things!
Step 1: Pancakes
First admission: I used Bisquick. Why wouldn’t you?! It’s amazingly easy.
We received a griddle as a wedding gift back in July and decided last weekend that we needed to put it to use. To begin, we made regular pancakes. My husband started getting creative and Pancakula was born!
“But why settle for plain pancakes?” we asked. In goes some cinnamon. Delicious!
This weekend, we continued the creative pancake streak with pumpkin pancakes. (Don’t laugh at my use of “creative” here. For me it is!) The internet is a wonderful place. It told me how to add pumpkin to my Bisquick without messing up everything. Marvelous! They were delicious, and I’ll definitely be making them again.
http://www.food.com/recipe/spicy-pumpkin-pancakes-bisquick-142006
My first experiments in cooking may have been simple, but they were tasty and left me feeling satisfied. Not only that, but we really enjoyed spending the time making breakfast together. :-)
A Lack of Culinary Prowress
The facts are plain and simple. I’m 26 and I can’t cook. Why is this?
I think it’s a combination of things, really. To start with, I don’t know how to do a lot of things in the kitchen. It wasn’t something I was steeped in growing up. (Sorry, Mom. Love you!) I often find myself looking up the simplest tasks.
Second, it takes me forever! I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things I create. Everything must be just right. So, when I cook, I feel the need to recheck the recipe obsessively. I have to measure everything perfectly. It has to be right! Then I go to my friend’s house and watch her cook. Ah, how carefree she looks just throwing things into the mix. It always turns out deliciously.
Finally, it is so much easier to let someone else make the meal for me. The restaurant gets it right almost every time. It’s terrible, I know.
This blog is the start of something new! It’s time for me to get over my inhibitions, overcome my lack of skill, and learn to cook. I’m not saying that I’ll turn into Martha Stewart. I would just like to get to the point where I can cook something without the task feeling like a huge ordeal. I want to be able to make a nice meal for my husband, and eventually, my children. Maybe, somewhere out there, there is someone like me who might find themselves in the same situation. Let’s figure this out together, shall we?
