Roasted Chickpeas

This is a quick and easy snack that doesn't cost much. You can munch on them just as you would with popcorn :) Beware... they are addicting!!

Ingredients:
1 can of Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)
Garlic salt
Paprika (or chili powder if you like it spicy!)
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Drain a the garbanzo beans in the can and rinse once with water. Dump the beans onto a baking tray lined with foil or parchment paper.

Spray the beans with cooking spray until they are coated. Roll them around so all sides are lightly oiled. Sprinkle garlic salt and paprika on top. Place in the oven for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, take the pan out and stir the beans. Spray once again with the cooking spray and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes.  They should come out darker in color and a bit crispy.

Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

After combining ideas that I found on the web, I decided to grill up some chicken tenders for my boyfriend and I tonight. Man, were they tasty! (I apologize for the lack of pictures)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. Chicken breast tenders
1/3 cup crushed pineapple or pineapple juice
2 Tbsp Soy sauce
2 Tbsp Soyaki (Teriyaki sauce)
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp garlic powder or 1 chopped garlic clove
1 tsp corn starch
1/4 cup White wine
Skewers!

Directions:
Pre-soak skewers in water. (I forgot to start with this step and my skewers burnt...opps!)
 
Create a marinate for the chicken breasts by combining pineapple, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic. Add to a bowl with the chicken tenders and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 min.

Place one skewer in each chicken breast tender (length-wise) and grill on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side.

Now, make the sauce: While the chicken is grilling, take the leftover marinade and pour into a pan. Add wine and corn starch to thicken the sauce. Cook over medium heat until it starts to boil or until it reaches a thick consistency. *It is important to cook the marinade because you had the raw chicken sitting in it earlier!*

Serve the chicken on a bed of white rice and top with the sauce!

Banana Nut Blueberry Cobbler

I had a guest cook for this one. Well, technically, I was the guest cook since I just did the stirring and adding of ingredients; but regardless, baking with Lindsey was a joy. (Not to mention, he has an amazing voice)

I decided to type the ingredients next to the pictures because we used a lot of ingredients. :)

1 1/2 cups blueberries (frozen)

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp water

Heat in a pan until the sugar has dissolved and the blueberries start to bubble.

In a separate bowl, combine:

1/2 stick butter (melted)

Tsp vanilla

Next, add:

1/2 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 banana (mashed)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a baking dish or in our case, an oven-proof pan. Take the pan out when the butter has melted (you don't want it to burn in there!)

Meanwhile, back to the batter....

In another bowl combine:

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

cinnamon (just a dash)

salt (just a dash)

Add to the wet ingredients from earlier and add water or milk until creamy. (We added water)

Pour the batter into the pan (or dish) with the melted butter and then pour the blueberry sauce on top. Slowly mix in the blueberries so that it gives a marbled look.  Place in the oven for about 25 minutes

While the cobbler is in the oven, combine these ingredients to make the topping:

3/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp oil

After the cobbler has baked for 25 minutes, pull it out of the oven and sprinkle on the topping.

Bake for another 20 min or until the topping has browned.

The end!

Teriyaki Macaroni Salad

Ok, now I can't take credit for this recipe because my old housemate showed me how to make it, but it is delicious and my boyfriend can't get enough of it :)

Ingredients (approximate):
1/2 lb of Macaroni (about half of a box)
1/4 cup Mayo
1/4 cup Crushed pineapple
3-4 Tbsp Teriyaki sauce

Cook the macaroni based on the box instructions, drain with a strainer, and run cold water over it to cool it down a bit.  In a bowl, add remaining ingredients with the Teriyaki sauce being the last, as you can add more or less depending on the taste. I usually use the Soyaki brand of Teriyaki sauce, but I think any brand would do well in the salad. Chill overnight or for at least 4-5 hours so that the salad can stiffen. (it will look melted together at first)

White Wine Cosmo

Since I love wine and I love cosmos, I figured...why not make a wine cosmo! Here's how I did it. (No vodka or triple sec added)

Ingredients:
4 oz of white wine
4 oz of cranberry juice
1 tbsp lime juice
ice!

It tasted somewhat like a blush wine with a kick of lime. I enjoyed it :)

Goat cheese and Sundried Tomato Pesto stuffed Chicken

My roommate and I cooked dinner together tonight because we are both turning 21 at midnight so we thought a nice home-cooked dinner was appropriate. Here's what you'll need to make this meal...

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast

2 tbsp goat cheese

2 tbsp sundried tomato pesto (I think you could easily make this by pureeing sundried tomatoes with pesto sauce)

1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

1/2 onion

1-2 tbsp olive oil

salt

Preheat the oven to 375

Cut a slit in the chicken breast so that you have made a pocket for the filling. Don't worry if you accidentally cut all the way through.

Combine goat cheese and sundried tomato pesto in a bowl and mix together.

Stuff the filling inside of the chicken breast slit.

Coat the whole breast in the breadcrumbs. If the breast isn't wet, try spraying some Pam on it so that the crumbs will stick.

Place the breaded breast in a greased baking pan. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Place in the oven for 25 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through.

Meanwhile, start the onions (an optional topping for the chicken). Place onion slices in a pan with the olive oil and saute on low heat. Add some salt which will help with the carmelizing.

By the time the chicken is done, the onions should look like this!

Here are some pictures of the finished product:

It sure was yummy!!

Home-made Mocha

Less than 24 hours...oh the freedom!

I love to start my morning with a cup of coffee...
This is probably the easiest way to jazz up your coffee at home without a fancy creamer.
Here's what I like to do:
I pour a cup of fresh brewed coffee and add milk and cream (fat free half & half) to my liking. Then, I stir in about half of a packed of hot cocoa powder. Whipped cream optional...but not really. :)

Deviled Eggs

So this is my first post to this blog. I'm hoping that I can keep it up because I really do believe it is a good idea.  My goal is to be able to document and share the food I make with everyone.  It's not only so I have a record of yummy dishes, but so that friends, family, and anyone else who takes a look can see what I'm cooking!  In two days, I'll be 21! So I also plan on posting a wine section to my blog where I can document the different wines I drink with my own personal critiques! Hope everyone enjoys!

My first recipe is a quite simple, yet delicious little appetizer...deviled eggs!

Here are the ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs (about 10 minutes boiled)
3-4 Tbsp light mayo
1/2 tsp yellow mustard
dash of turmeric
dash of dill
dash of salt
dash of paprika (for garnish)

First start out by slicing each hard boiled egg in half with a sharp knife. Carefully remove the yolks from each half and set aside in a bowl.

Arrange the egg white halves on a plate separately.

Next, add all the rest of the ingredients to the egg yolks. The dashes of spices can be altered to taste, but here's about how much I added:

Mash the yolks with a fork and stir in all the spices and mayo until you get a creamy consistency. You can add more mayo if your filling seems too dry.

You can either scoop the filling into the egg whites, or use the piping method like I did: Spoon the filling into a Ziploc sandwich bag and cut a hole in the bottom!

When you have finished filling each egg, sprinkle a bit of paprika on the top for a nice garnished look. Voila!