Hawaiian Haystacks

this is a fun meal. you have maybe heard of it if you live in utah. you have probably heard of it if you are mormon. and you have definitely heard of hawaiian haystacks if you've spent any time in the BYU dorms. they are a heritage halls staple. ryan has never heard of hawaiian haystacks. he kept calling them "hawaiian mystery haystacks" because he was at the grocery store with me as i listed the ingredients and he was interested in seeing the plot develop.

hawaiian haystacks ingredients:

- 1 cup rice per person

- sauce -- which in our case was 1 can cream of celery, half a can milk, and a spoonful of sour cream, heated up in a saucepan, but in your case may be cream of chicken and this is also where you add in the cooked chicken if you're into that

- shredded cheddar cheese

- chopped celery

- chopped green onion

- pineapple chunks

- chow mein noodles

other options include peas, olives, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc.

this was actually a lot more delicious than i remember it being. i really liked it and ryan liked it too, he took this meal into double overtime. that is the march madness term for thirds. on a side note, thank you to daylight savings time for providing daylight during dinner time. i will probably include more pictures of my actual food plates now.

Vegetable Korma Curry

i really want to learn how to make good curry. but the thing is, i never want to make a bad meal. and i already know that on the road to learning how to make a good curry, there are going to be at least 5 really bad curries. and then at least another 5 just ok curries. and then maybe they will start getting good. and at the rate of making one curry a month, that could easily be a year until good curries are in my brain! so. i'm just going to have to cheat a little bit. here is my cheat.

curry in a jar. i still cooked all the vegetables and tofu and basmati rice. and then i just poured this into my cooked and sauteed potatoes, carrots, and garbanzo beans and boiled for 5 minutes. it was pretty good. i wouldn't pay $35 for it but i think it's a pretty good substitute for having to pay $35.

Best Spaghetti

this is a variation on the spaghetti i made a few weeks ago, but this time i had to make some adjustments because i didn't have a yellow onion. what i did have is half a can leftover san marzano tomatoes from the mexican soup and i knew they couldn't go to waste. so based on the recipe i made before, i boiled half a can (14 oz) diced tomatoes with 2 tbsp unsalted butter. i added diced garlic, onion powder, thyme, oregano, brought to a boil and then simmered for about 20 minutes. added sea salt and pepper to taste, smash the tomatoes a bit. top over whole wheat noodles. um. good.

"this is the best spaghetti i've ever had"

that is a direct quote from ryan. that is a big deal. people have a lot of spaghetti by the time they are 29 years old. i think it is the tomatoes. did you know canned tomatoes could be mouth-watering? i also made asparagus. i love when local asparagus shows up in the store, that's how you know it's almost time for fresh local produce again!

Butternut Squash Pizza

i made a pizza from real simple magazine for ryan's dinner tonight. i couldn't find the recipe online but i found this recipe which is pretty similar. well, it looks similar, but it's made differently. the one i made... you toss together 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp fresh thyme, 1/4 cup pine nuts, half a thinly sliced red onion, and a butternut squash peeled and cut into quarter inch slices. spread over the pizza dough. put 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese over the top. bake at 400 for 30 minutes. it was delicious.

so, i don't know which one is better. the butternut squash was just delicious.

Weekend Waffles

this is the recipe from better homes and gardens that my dad always makes and now we always make. these are just the most light and delicious waffles. ryan is getting really good at making them but i think it will take a few more times until he gets the egg white thing down.

1 3/4 C. All Purpose flour

1 T. Baking Powder
1/4 t. Salt
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 C. Milk
1/2 C. cooking oil
2 egg whites

In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center. In another bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in milk and oil. Add egg yolk mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (should be lumpy).

In a small bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight up). Gently fold egg whites into flour and egg yolk mixture, leaving a few fluffs of egg white, DO NOT OVERMIX. And proceed to make your waffles, about a cup of mixture to make a waffle.

Mexican Vegetable Soup

oops i took a month break. not from cooking, completely. but i had this really nasty flu for like 10 days or so, and for a week straight all i wanted to eat was rice crispies with soy milk and cinnamon toast. seriously! but i'm getting back on the bandwagon.

oops i can't remember where i got this recipe from. which is a total bummer because it is long. and i hate recipes where there are so many ingredients. so i am going to write it out so it looks more like a novel than a recipe and it is not helpful at all. but seriously, half of these are straight of the can so it's not that biggadeal. and it is worth it. this is my favorite soup to eat. it is so good. the crockpot and i are taking a break and the crockpot is not needed here. it takes a while to make but most of that time is just the soup cooking on the stove. so you can MULTITASK while you're making this. in my mind, i said multitask like how oprah would say it. like how she kind of does that yell announce thing. IT'S LIZ LEMOOON

so, being as how this is soup, you can alter it however you like and it doesn't matter! and it's your fault if you don't make it how you like it!

- heat 2 tbs olive oil in a pot. saute 2-4 garlic minced garlic cloves with a small diced onion and 1 teas cumin. saute until onions are soft, stirring frequently.

- add 16 oz diced tomatoes (san marzano por favor!!) with their juice. add a can of vegetable broth. add some salt and pepper. bring to a boil

- add 2 thinly sliced carrots. slow boil for 15 minutes

- add one chopped zucchini. cook 5-10 minutes, or until zucc is tender.

- add a can or less of kidney beans and a can or less or corn. drain both of those beforehand. cook 2 minutes.

- remove one cup of the soup and blend it in the blender. then add it back in with the soup. this is the secret to legit looking homemade soup.

- adjust spice as needed. i put in more pepper, some garlic salt, and some chili powder

- put yummy things on top. like cheese, chips, fritos, sour cream, avacado, corn bread etc. yum!!!

and like any soup, it's great as leftovers. i would say this makes about four servings.