The Undervalued Cheese...

So as much as I would love to be and should be sleeping after a crazy exhausting week- I'm not- and my lucky husband is. Instead I have decided to share my love affair with one particular cheese. If you have eaten any of my cooking you will know who I am talking about: yes its true... Cream cheese.

So many people say that cream cheese is so bad for us- and well for those of us who are lactose intolerant (like myself) it is even worse, but it cannot keep me away from this amazing ingredient, although soon enough I think I will be forced to cut ties altogether (Next blog).
Yes I'll admit, its not the healthiest of choices, but if added in moderation it can take your meal from "meh" to "Oh Yeah!", so here are a few fun ways to use it. Try them out, and pretty soon you will be making a special trip to Grand Forks to buy 24 bricks of cream cheese at Walmart yourself...
Hey it happens right?

Growing up a weird and warm memory of mine was  sitting in the kitchen with my family on a cold night and having tea and garlic bread. Really random combo- I know- but brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. I think it was Seb who told me to try cream cheese on my garlic bread when I was really little. Let me tell you- I did it- and I have NEVER looked back. I have eaten this in front of many people and they either 1 of two things: are completely intrigued or weirded out, but usually I can get them to try it and 9 times out of 10 they will tell you its great!

So there is idea 1. Idea 2: Great cheese bread comes from what you put into it. Here is a simple cheese paste to slap on some bread.
Mix together:

•  4 ounces of room temperature cream cheese- also known as half a stick of cream cheese, or 1/2 c (Leave it out over night or most of the day- trust me its worth it) 
• 1 tbsp room temperature butter
• 1/4 c cheese whiz... weird but true
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder or if you can some fresh roasted garlic
• 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
• Parsley for color- make it appealing! Don't just pull these steps out for company- you deserve it too!
• About 1 cup- could be a little less or a little more- of any kind of cheese that you have grated in your fridge. I like medium cheddar, or monterey jack, jalapeno havarti is nice for a change too, but anything you have will do
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper

Voila- this is your paste that you should spread on a loaf of french bread. Put this in the oven for fifteen minutes or until your cheesy mixture is brown and bubbly. You will soon regret this because you will eat the whole thing. Sorry!

Another hint- I sometimes do this with pizza dough that I have leftover- make the pizza dough really thin cover it with this paste- drizzle some olive oil overtop and bake it like a regular pizza and it is so much better! Warning: totally addicting!

Random thing to add it to #3:
Lasagna- yeah i know- but you could easily add it into the sauce with a couple of tablespoons. Or by itself on top of your last layer.
Layers would usually go something like: sauce (always on the bottom before noodles to keep them from sticking), pasta, sauce, cheese, pasta, sauce, cheese, pasta.. here is where you would STOP. Take 4-6 ounces ROOM TEMPERATURE depending on how big your lasagna is, and spread that bad boy out on top. Cover this with just a couple of random splashes of sauce and a LOAD of mozzarella. You will have amazing lasagna. No one will know- except those who read my blog- just what made it so amazing- but there you go- keep it between us!

Random use #4:
I use it in almost every pasta dish i make- Don't you want to come eat at my house now, knowing all this??
Lol- Kevin, my trainer- health nut- husband would shake his head if he ever read this, but its true and he knows it.

Add a couple tablespoons to any tomato sauce and you have a rose automatically- usually you would use cream for a rose but not for this easy one, and voila.

Easy fettucini: Boil your noodles and drain as usual. Cook chicken and chop. In a pan melt 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add a couple of chopped garlic cloves and saute until you can smell the garlic- keep stirring because it burns really easy- and don't let it brown too much because burnt garlic will RUIN your meal. Now when your ready add 4 oz or half a stick of cream cheese and slowly whisk this in your pan until melted. Add parsley for color, salt and pepper, and done. If you want add herb and garlic cream cheese and its even better-and faster- but use what you have. (Are you beginning to understand the need for 24 bricks of cream cheese yet??)
If you want a fresh twist- zest 1/2 a lemon and add that in, and done! A dish that can be complicated in its original form to some- is so easy!

I made a creamy balsamic veggie rigatoni the other day which is blog worthy:
On my cuisinart indoor grill (Thank you Art and Kathy) I grilled, one red onion, one red pepper, one zucchini, a couple of mushrooms, all cut in half to start, with some olive oil. Once I saw the yummy brown color on my vegetables I took them off the grill and chopped them up into bite size pieces. I tossed the hot veggies with a couple of tablespoons- maybe 2-3 of cream cheese, my hot noodles, and a squeeze of another amazing product: balsamic glaze of Modena from Presidents choice- AMAZING product- if you have questions about what to use it for- just email.
So again hot veggies, hot noodles, from the fridge cream cheese, balsamic glaze,  a bit of pasta water to thin the mixture out, some salt and pepper. Toss this altogether and put on a large plate. To finish with that extra wow factor- drizzle more of the balsamic glaze in a circular pattern and grate some fresh parmesan- the real stuff that costs way too much but is totally worth it, not the kraft JUNK that sits on the grocery shelf- and done. Really impressive and really easy!

You can literally put it on and in anything and it just makes the world a better place- kind of like my other love; the avocado. Let me know how it goes and remember to have fun! Happy cooking!!!

Why I am starting a blog...and the chicken that will feed you for a week...no jokes!

I guess I want to explain why I would start a blog...
at first I thought of blogs as time wasted- who would read it? And then when I really thought about my love of food and sharing that with the world in a small way- i realized..who cares?
If one person-even just one of my friends reads it- at least I know they may have learned one thing from an entry. People are always asking me for recipes and a lot of the time I just make it up- so here is a place where I plan to start recording my cooking adventures and mishaps (we all have them) even if it just for one person- whoever you are- thank you for reading and maybe I can entertain you on some level.
Cooking has always been more to me than a chore- how some people see it that way-I have no idea, cooking for me is a way of expressing myself, showing people I care about them, a stress reliever, and creative outlet. I LOVE TO COOK and if I could do anything for the rest of my life- it would be cooking. My husband has told people that I would feed the mail man if he was hungry or if he asked- and rightly so i probably would! I get such joy from feeding people its ridiculous- when someone tells me they don't want to impose on me for dinner- its not an imposition- its a treat. Of course don't get me wrong sometimes i just want to be alone we all have those days- but the majority of the time- I am ready to feed the world!

Cooking 24 hours a day 7 days a week does cause some obvious problems
a) If i cook- I eat- and I have zero self control with food- so not a good idea
- this is why I always want to feed people! To spread the wealth!
b) I need to make a living so some obvious time needs to be dedicated here

So instead: this will be the solution for a while- I know that in the near future I will have to take some sort of schooling in culinary arts but for right now I will settle for teaching my students as much as grade 1's and 2's can learn about cooking. What I really want to teach them- is that cooking is fun, its a way of learning, a way of communicating, a way to express yourself, and something to be enjoyed!

How good does it feel to eat something amazing and know that you put your love into that? How good is it to go to a friends house and know that they were thinking of you while they cooked you a meal? Those kinds of things are beyond words to me- I don't think many people understand it but that's the great thing about a blog- I can now tell them!

My earliest memories of cooking come from visiting my beloved auntie. She would bring a chair over to the oven for me (the oven was off don't worry) hand me a wooden spoon, fill a pan with water and let me dump in spices. It wasn't much but it was just imagining what I could create that thrilled me. When I got a bit older - she taught me how to chop vegetables which were added to my random concoctions, and slowly but surely it evolved to us cooking together, and shaped me into the crazy cook that I and many consider myself today.

If anything maybe I can ignite a love of cooking or experimenting in the kitchen for anyone who sees my blog- or reignite some one's passion for it, when life gets in the way. We have so many cook books- twenty minutes till dinner, five ingredients, blah blah blah- just have fun- cook with things you like- and you cant go wrong! Things in restaurants taste amazing but think about that chicken, pasta or sandwich you like to eat so much at _________(name of restaurant) and try to make it yourself! You might totally fail and it might taste like absolute junk- but you took a risk and you tried! Laugh at yourself- have fun- and along the way you might discover something great. Sharing that something great takes a recipe from simple to amazing!


So I'll tell you about my latest project: Cook a chicken on Sunday and eat all week!
It's so easy, you cant find an excuse not to!
All you do is take:

• a 5-6 pound chicken
• three or four russet potatoes
• 4 to five carrots
• 2 onions
• 3 garlic cloves

Chop the potatoes into bite size pieces (the smaller you cut them the faster they will cook), cut up the onions and carrots to roughly the same size. Take the skin off of the garlic and chop very roughly. Put them all in the bottom of a roasting pan or dutch oven, drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of oil, and season. My favorite seasoning mix is 1 tsp of salt, 1/2-3/4 tsp of pepper- depending on your love of pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, and 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning mix. The greatest thing about it is- you can add whatever you want to this mix! Do cinnamon if your looking for a warm and sweet chicken, do curry if your looking for something unusual- that's the fun in this- these recipes aren't exact- have fun and make them your own!
After you drizzle and season your veggies and use your best kitchen tools: your hands- and toss them!
Veggies= done!

Now take your chicken and pat it dry with a paper towel- make sure its defrosted at this point- if it is from frozen defrost it overnight in the refrigerator and you will be good to go!


Move your veggies to the sides of the roasting pan (surrounding the chicken) and put it in the middle. If you love onions i suggest sticking a whole onion inside the chicken- sound gross but its true- it will make a difference- or take a whole head of garlic chop off the top so the cloves are exposed and shove that on in there- the flavor will be crazy good!

I put that into a 425 degree oven, lid off, for about 25 minutes. The reason I do this is I am letting my skin crisp up- and yes i eat the chicken skin- its awesome- and if you don't your missing out -no joke. After the 25 minutes i turn the temperature down to 375, put the lid back on, and let it go for about an hour and a half.

Your house will smell amazing- your dinner is done with not a lot of effort- and you have the base for the next five meals on the menu. It really could not be easier- and this will start to be a favorite staple recipe- i guarantee it.

Day 1: Chicken with roasted vegetables

After dinner is all done and you have some time: you are going to use all of the parts of your chicken now- and they will benefit you later- take the chicken meat off the bones and chop roughly into bite size pieces, into a storage container and the fridge and done! Take your bones and put them into a labeled ziploc and stick them in the freezer for the one day that I tell you how to make chicken stock- its easy and will take more bones so start a collection bag- it takes no effort and there is no waste from this recipe so its a bonus!
Your pan drippings which are delicious and so many people get rid of- put them in a twist top ziploc container and let it sit till cool. At this point the fat - which will look white- will float to the top- just skim that off and throw that ziploc into the freezer. You can use that any time to add amazing flavor to chicken soup, stock, or make gravy instantly!

I bet you never thought you would be freezing bones- or pan drippings but people- the time has come - and the amazing food you will be making will all be worth it!

Now for Day 2 (Monday):
That was today- i came home sick sick sick- and wanted something FAST, tasty and comforting and this is what i came up with:
Creamy mushroom vegetables over rice.
One of the best things you can ever invest in gadget wise in the kitchen is a rice cooker- its always perfect- and so fast! It took me forever to learn to make rice- and sure now I can but this is just too easy- so I will probably never make rice on the stove top again-i put my rice in, 1 1/2 times water to rice and hit on- it doesn't get simpler than that...
What i mean is- if i need 1 cup of rice which will feed 2 people with 1 dish of leftovers, I will need to add in 1 1/2 c of water. I know the directions on the rice cooker say to do it evenly but I'm sorry- crunchy rice is not appetizing to me.

So the rice cooker was doing the work and I started on my creamy mushroom vegetables.
I finely minced one onion, added 1 whole carrot (chopped), and a couple of mushrooms, chopped, to a pan that was heated through with about a tablespoon of olive oil, ans a teaspoon of butter. (The butter is flavor, and the oil is to keep it all from burning.) I let these guys go on medium heat until my onions started turning clear, I then added about a cup of chopped chicken, half a cup of frozen peas, and a whole can of mushroom soup that i had mixed with three tablespoons of milk. (You can use any kind of condensed soup- celery, or broccoli- whatever you like really! And if you don't like mushrooms- don't use them! Try broccoli instead, or asparagus, try different things out!)
I seasoned with: 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon of cream cheese. (Yes cream cheese- it is the most undervalued of all cheeses in the kitchen- but I will save the rest of my rant for another entry.)
I kept this all going on medium heat until it bubbled and stirred constantly. Then literally after about ten minutes of everything going in one pot - the rice was done- my mixture was bubbling and in about 20 minutes I had a really comforting meal.
I put rice in bowls- covered it with a good spoon of my creamy chicken mixture and voila! Done!
I am happily writing this blog right now in bed- and there was not much effort in that! Yay for comforting meals that take no time. The Sunday chicken was so worth the effort!

The plan for the rest of the week is:
Day 3 Tuesday:  Chicken Caesar Salad
Day 4 Wednesday: Chicken quesadillas with peppers onions, chicken, and cheese.
Day 5 Thursday: Easy Chicken soup: Take 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 2 celery stalks. Chop them all small and around the same size and saute them till the onions are clear in a tablespoon of olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper, and add 1-2 cups of the chicken. Let the mixture go for one minute once you have added the chicken and then add 1 liter carton of reduced sodium chicken broth and two cups of water. Turn the heat down low and let this simmer. Finish with fresh herbs such as parsley- and you have chicken soup! We don't have enough bones to do it from scratch yet- and no one will know the difference so just roll with it!
I would also add some egg noodles when serving but cook these on their own- I find when people cook noodles in a soup, they get kind of "soggy" and each time you reheat the soup its almost like re cooking the noodles, and in my opinions- its kind of gross. But hey if you like it- no judgment! Just be happy!
Day 6 Friday: chicken sandwich or wrap! It doesn't get more basic than this people- mayo or ranch, tomato, lettuce, cheese, maybe some bacon, avocado, and sprouts, if your feeling up to it and you have a killer meal!
Cooking doesn't have to be complicated!
Enjoy it!!!:)

And that is how easily 1 chicken can mean six dinners- on Saturday go out for supper because you were so dedicated! I encourage you to!


Hope you enjoyed it! Next time: The undervalued cheese...;)

Ps this is based on the servings for two people- mind you- its kind of like three because Kevin eats so much so if you have a family it might not last you as long- but you get the idea!:)