Yummy food!

I really like to cook and bake and obviously EAT. I love having a sweet big kitchen to cook in and I also love not being in school so I have a little more time on my hands! Yay!

Anyway, kevinandamanda.com has a great recipe section with some awesome foods. I recently made this grilled chicken pasta in a tomato cream sauce and it was DELICIOUS! I loved it and I will definitely make it again. You can see how she made it here.

I have always wondered why cooks pound chicken to make it flat, but I realized why when I made this. It’s to make the chicken cook faster on the stove! It cooks much faster when it’s thin, so I would recommend pounding your chicken like Amanda says if you want to save some time :).

I also made some home made granola this weekend and it was amazing! We love it and it’s a great healthy snack. I will definitely be making it in bulk so we can have it to snack on and to eat with yogurt. Here is the recipe I used:

3 ¼ cups Oats (Old Fashioned or Quick—any combination)
1 ¼ cup white wheat flour-freshly ground if possible
¼ cup flax seed (optional)
1 cup or more coarsely chopped almonds and/or pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/3 cup water
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, flax seed, coconut and nuts. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, butter, and water and heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is bubbly. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture together until smooth, and then stir in the salt, vanilla and spices. Pour mixture over the oats mixture and stir well to coat. Let stand for about 10 minutes. Spread mixture on a large baking sheet, separating it into irregular clumps with your fingers, and allowing space between clumps for the hot air to circulate. Slide it into the middle of the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir to break up the mixture into medium sized clumps. Return to the oven and bake again for 15 minutes before stirring again. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the granola is uniform golden brown and completely dry—this usually takes me about 45 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack; store in an air tight container.

Here are a few other recipes I make a lot and absolutely LOVE:

Skillet Baked Ziti (recipe is here):

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas (recipe is here):

Homemade Mac & Cheese (recipe is here):

I love to bake and make treats and I will try any treat (as long as it doesn’t take all day to make!) I just love being in the kitchen and cooking up something yummy to eat. It’s such a great feeling and I never thought I would be the girl to enjoy cooking and baking.

When I studied abroad in the Netherlands, I really started cooking a lot because no one ate out there and there weren’t a lot of options. Plus I didn’t want to spend money! All the other international exchange students that I lived with whipped up these amazing meals every night. So I started finding new recipes and trying new things and by the time I came home, I was a bit of a food snob. I didn’t (and still don’t) like cheap fast food or hamburgers (gasp). I always had fresh bread, fruits and vegetables from the market and I loved it! When I got home and moved back to school, I started cooking a lot more. It was always simple but I was really in the habit of eating an “official” dinner almost every night. I like having a main course and veggie or fruit if I can. So since we’ve been married, I’ve really cooked a lot and I love it. It saves a lot of money (we still love to eat out!), and it’s delish!

I have a lot of recipes I still want to try including:

Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken (can you say fattening?)

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

Do you guys have any great recipes that you love and make a lot? Please share!! Post on your blog and let me know if you do…