Taco Salad

what is better than a PBJ sandwich in your brown bag? basically anything. we decided to drive out to one of my favorite places in utah -- the spiral jetty. we'd be there around dinner time but i couldn't stand the thought of a sandwich for dinner or like a bagel. yuck. so i packed this little taco salad with fresh lettuce, cheese, guacamole, sour cream and salsa, tomatoes, and fritos for the crunch. delicious!
and a pretty awesome view:

Mushroom Stroganoff

we had ice cream at the school creamery last week. they also sell milk and cheese and yogurt in the creamery. and last week, for some reason, they sold mushrooms. so i bought a pound without any plans. mushroom stroganoff is how i decided to use my pound of mushrooms. the sauce was great and i love mushrooms so i was definitely on board with this meal. ryan was not as excited about it. i know this because he says things like "can i got to burger king?" maybe something about how it looks like upchuck.

Raspberry Muffins

i made these delicious raspberry muffins tonight with soft boiled eggs. i found out that ryan does not like rasberries that much but then where did all the muffins go?

Roasted Veggies and Couscous

i was going to make this recipe but then i didn't feel like some of the ingredients. specifically green stuff and chickpeas. so i took those out. the lemon was great. i also roasted tofu with the vegetables for some added protein. face it, this was a boring meal. but it wasn't bad tasting. it happens.

Crunchy French Toast

time to take your french toast to the next level. no that's not my floor. recipe here

Hashbrowns and Spicy Eggs

my secret trick for getting ryan up on a saturday morning is to make breakfast. ryan's secret trick for getting me to make breakfast saturday morning is probably sleeping in.

i buy frozen plain hashbrowns and fry them in a skillet, season with s&p. everyone has their special way or special ingredients to make scrambled eggs. mine is to put pepperjack cheese in them. i like the extra kick.

Grilled Portabello and Zucchini Tacos

well, it's cinco de mayo week so i'm allowed to make tacos twice in a week. i made this recipe for dinner. i knew when i read through the recipe i would love it because it has three of my favorite foods. mushroom, zucchini, and cheese. and i love red onion too. and i did love it.

Bean and Corn Tacos

i am happy with how this meal turned out because this was my "meal right before the grocery store". when i only have a random selection of ingredients leftover from whatever i made the week before, and nothing to do with them. i hate when food goes bad. i decided to:

saute a red onion and a red pepper in olive oil until tender and add taco seasoning and minced garlic. add a can of black beans and a can of corn to the skillet until it's heated. put in a warmed corn tortilla and top with pepper jack cheese and fresh tomatoes. i love all of these ingredients, especially corn, so A+. i tried to make it as spicy as possible for ryan. still not spicy enough.

Joy of Cooking Pancakes

these pancakes are so simple and delicious, perfect for the sunny saturday we're experiencing. when i make these, i don't understand why anyone uses mixes. it's only a few more steps and so much mo betta. i'll post the recipe here in case you don't have the book. i don't have the book either oops.

dry ingredients: 1.5 c flour, 1 tsp salt, 3 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp baking powder

wet ingredients: 2 eggs, 1.25 c milk, 3 tbsp veg oil

mix dry and wet ingredients separately, and then combine with a few quick strokes. batter should be real lumpy. let sit for 5 minutes. add frozen blueberries or chocolate chips or banana slices for an extra thrill. that's the batter. you can take it from there.

Eggplant Parmesan

i tried to make eggplant parmesan a few months ago, but when i sliced open the eggplant, it was brown and spotty inside. then i spent 30 minutes looking up pictures of what eggplant is supposed to look like inside. i don't have a lot of experience with eggplant. and no, they are not supposed to look like they're rotting, that means they're rotting.

so this time i used the eggplant within a day of buying them and had better results. the recipe i used is here and i think it turned out great. it was really easy, although it did take a long time to make. i "sweated" the eggplant first as per commenter's suggestions. ryan loved this and said it tasted like something from a restaurant. i guess it depends on the restaurant.

Greek Salad

i do not love salad, but i realize they are important. mostly i don't like lettuce or dressing, which in a lot of cases is 95% of a salad. it's also nice to take a break from "cooking" every once in a while. you know, just put it in a bowl and eat it.

but i do love greek salad. fits the build in being light on the dressing and high on the veggies. and it is one of the few salads at restaurants that typically doesn't have meat in it. here is what is in my greek salad: lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, greek olives, feta cheese. my dressing is 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar and salt and pepper, which i modified from here. that recipe really looks good too, but it goes against the whole "salad is good for not cooking" idea.

Linguine with Tomatoes and Tofu

this fresh recipe was a nice light pasta that ryan and i had for dinner. it was a little bland, but that is probably because my basil turned brown since i used it last so i didn't have a lot left over. i really need to start growing my own herbs.

Vegetable Enchiladas

searching for new vegetable enchilada recipe since the modified standby didn't get full marks. this recipe that i made tonight was really delicious. changes i made that worked: didn't put the water in the enchilada sauce, wilted fresh spinach in a frying pan instead of thawing out frozen spinach.

but i do have a problem with it. it used at least 15 unique cooking accessories. sauce pan, frying pan, mixing bowl, spatula, grater, measuring cup sand spoons, baking dish, whisker, etc. that may sound normal to you, but when you don't have a dishwasher, that is a lot of dishes. basically as much time doing dishes as cooking. not cool. which also resulted in decreased desire to make side dishes (rice), so this is all you get.

verdict. i would definitely make this again. if i had a dishwasher.

Pasta Pomodoro

well, i thought one lb. of pasta sounded like a lot, so i only made half of it. but i made all the sauce. so i put them together and then there was too much sauce. that is what i did wrong. other than that, it was great! here's the recipe, courtesy of friend sarah, who makes it way better than i do.

Cobb Salad

ryan is heading into 1L finals. last semester ryan made a lot of emergency burger king runs during finals so i am trying my best to not punish his diet or mine because he is busy. i am trying to find meals where i can cook them and eat them at a normal hour, and then at whatever hour ryan gets home, he can eat it straight out of the fridge or with a little reheating.

for dinner today i made cobb salad. iceburg lettuce and spinach, with a tomato, red onion, avocado, cheddar cheese, and a boiled egg.