Channeling my Italian Roots.

Okay - I don't have any Italian roots. But I did marry into an Italian family, and I'm pretty sure frozen pizzas don't qualify as "real" Italian. I do make spaghetti fairly often - it's pretty straightforward, even for me! Last night I made spaghetti with ground chicken (and canned tomato sauce - I grew up on Hunt's Traditional. Ben and I both love it, and you can't really beat $1 a can). It turned out pretty good, but what I'm REALLY proud of is the broccoli. My father-in-law makes killer Italian broccoli, and even though I can't get it to taste just like his, last night it tasted pretty Italian-ish!




Steamed Italian Broccoli
-Place broccoli (frozen or fresh) into shallow bowl
-Put 1-2 T water (more if you are making more than 2 servings) into the bowl
-Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap
-Microwave for 5 minutes, or until water evaporates and broccoli is steamed (WARNING: when you take the plastic wrap off you will be inundated with steam)
-Add olive oil (we have a mister - we spray until lightly coated)
-Season away! We use garlic salt, Italian seasonings, Italian bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese.

Review: This is always hit or miss for me. I rarely get the right combination of seasonings, but it's really about preference. Ben still makes it a lot better than I do!

Po-ta-to.

Before this week, I had never baked a potato in my life. Seriously. I had to call and ask my mom how to do it. The other night when Ben was working late, I gave it a shot. And while most people probably don't need a recipe to bake a potato, I am going to post it, juuuust in case anyone out there is as clueless as I was. Don't worry, I won't tell. ;)



Easy Baked Potato
-Pre-heat oven to 350
-Rinse and scrub one large russet potato
- Coat the skin of the potato with oil (I used margarine)
-Wrap potato in aluminum foil; poke several holes in the foil and through the potato
-Bake at 350 for 60-75 minutes, or until soft
-Load it up with baked potato-ey goodness (I used salt and pepper, cheddar cheese, and reduced-fat sour cream)

Review: The potato turned out perfect - nice and crispy skin, soft and warm inside. I'm told potatoes can be baked in the microwave in about 5 mn, but my mom insisted that baking it in the oven would be well worth the wait. She was right!

Also pictured: tomato soup with some of the extra cheddar cheese mixed in. It's condensed soup from a can, so I won't post the recipe - if you can't figure it out, you're more helpless than I am!

First. Blog. Ever.

Last night was a huge step for me. I used a cookbook, I followed a recipe, and I made an awesome dinner without messing up! Okay. I didn't exactly make it all by myself. My college roommates and I made it together. And we didn't follow the recipe exactly. We made a few minor changes. STILL a big step! And here it is... my first blogged recipe!

Mexican Chicken Skillet
-Cooking spray
-1 (9 oz) package frozen Southwestern-flavored cook chicken breast strips
-1 3/4 cups water
-1 (14.5 oz) can Mexican style stewed tomatoes
-2 cups instant rice, uncooked
-1 (8.75 oz) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
-1 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken strips, and saute 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated. Remove chicken from skillet, and set aside.

Add water and tomatoes to skillet; bring to a boil. Stir in rice and corn; top with chicken strips and cheese. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes.

Prep/cook time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Review: This was awesome! We served it with a side of black beans and guacamole... and daiquiris, of course. We topped it with fat free sour cream. We added about half a chopped onion to add a bit more flavor. We also did not use the stewed tomatoes, because one of us doesn't like tomatoes. We instead used half a jar of salsa. It tasted great, and I think the liquid from the salsa helped the rice plump up better. Listen to me - I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about!!


Editor's note: hopefully my photography skills will improve along with my cooking skills!