Lauren and I were at the mall this weekend, doing a little shopping, when we came up on this adorable little shop that dips all kinds of fruits and other treats in chocolate. Naturally in a fashion only suitable for an 8 year old girl, Lauren insisted on stopping in for a look. Of course she tried to convince me to buy her chocolate covered strawberries. I seriously considered it for about two seconds and then told her that we could make those at home for a quarter of the price they were asking. She made me promise we would make them and so I did. I told her the very next trip to the store, we would buy all the ingredients to do it.
That trip to the store was last night for milk. We walked out with $150 worth of groceries that included strawberries and chocolate chips. Now I know this is not the correct way to make chocolate covered strawberries but in a tight time crunch with a promise to my daughter, it worked wonderfully and satisfied her perfectly. We were in the middle of watching "American Idol" and had to fit this in with the commercials.
So I took a small glass bowl, filled it with miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips. I popped it in the microwave long enough to get the chips soft. I then stirred them and popped them back in for a few more seconds. I stirred them up really good and gave my daughter the bowl. She then proceeded to dip strawberries in the chocolate, getting more on her fingers than the strawberries. She was having a blast and putting her claim on the best ones. After she was done dipping, I put the plate of strawberries in the fridge so the chocolate could harden again. A little while later, we were in chocolate and strawberry heaven.
If my sister was making these, she would have put in some shortening to make the chocolate softer. She also would have melted the chocolate using a double boiler method. I didn't have time for all that so this worked deliciously and solved two issues: my daughter got to make chocolate covered strawberries and we both got to eat them. YUM.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Omelets - It's what's for breakfast
I have taken to making omelets. These little egg creations seem like a pretty simple concept, right? RIGHT! hahaha. I have made egg white omelets almost every morning for the last two weeks and I have yet to have a successful one turn out. They are always tastey, just don't look like omelets.
On my first omelet, I threw the green peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms into my skillet with some olive oil at the same time I threw in my egg whites. I sprinkled cheddar on after the egg set up some. Believe it or not, this is the only omelet that actually resembled an omelet. Well sort of. BUT I realized my mistake upon that first crunchy bite. I should have sauteed the vegetables for a bit before putting in the egg & cheese. Lesson learned.
On my second omelet and everyone since then, I have sauteed those little vegetables first. I have found I like spinach and tomato the best. However, I have yet to figure out how to flip that concoction so that the finished product looks like an omelet. I usually end up just scrambling it all up and tossing it on my plate. I figure, who am I trying to impress? I am the only one eating it - usually. I made Cory an omelet last weekend. He was anxious to try one out. I made his with the whole egg versus just the egg whites and I threw in some sausage for him. I am not so sure he is too excited about trying another one though. He won't admit it but I don't think he cared for my omelet scramble! haha.
Now you may wonder what my daughter's part in this whole omelet making experience is. Well, she thinks they look disgusting and wants to no parts of it. She is a girl after my own heart though and has mastered the art of instant macaroni and cheese.
On my first omelet, I threw the green peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms into my skillet with some olive oil at the same time I threw in my egg whites. I sprinkled cheddar on after the egg set up some. Believe it or not, this is the only omelet that actually resembled an omelet. Well sort of. BUT I realized my mistake upon that first crunchy bite. I should have sauteed the vegetables for a bit before putting in the egg & cheese. Lesson learned.
On my second omelet and everyone since then, I have sauteed those little vegetables first. I have found I like spinach and tomato the best. However, I have yet to figure out how to flip that concoction so that the finished product looks like an omelet. I usually end up just scrambling it all up and tossing it on my plate. I figure, who am I trying to impress? I am the only one eating it - usually. I made Cory an omelet last weekend. He was anxious to try one out. I made his with the whole egg versus just the egg whites and I threw in some sausage for him. I am not so sure he is too excited about trying another one though. He won't admit it but I don't think he cared for my omelet scramble! haha.
Now you may wonder what my daughter's part in this whole omelet making experience is. Well, she thinks they look disgusting and wants to no parts of it. She is a girl after my own heart though and has mastered the art of instant macaroni and cheese.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Our First Cooking Assignment - It's going to be a doozy!
Our family is starting a new fitness and nutrition program together. One of the main factors in being successful with this program is following the nutrition guide. This means we will have to prepare meals on a daily basis that revolve around this core nutrition philosophy. Can you say difficult?? I am not very good in the kitchen, as I had mentioned earlier. The bulk of my cooking comes from cans, boxes & frozen foods. This is going to take serious planning and preparation.
Lauren mentioned her concerns about how this new program might affect our cooking adventure. I had been worried about that myself.....until..... I decided that we could be adventurous in both aspects. We can work on the food preparations for the program together and put that in our cooking adventure blog. We will be preparing foods that require specific recipes. Recipes that have ingredients I have never heard of before, much less know where to buy or how to cook. Two birds with one stone.
So this weekend we will begin. The first week of meals that need to be prepared are (listed in the order in which we will be eating them):
And of course various other foods that do not require much cooking.
CRAZY???? Absolutely. That is a HUGE list. My hope is to knock them out over the weekend with the help of Lauren and her dad. Then we can separate our servings out for the week ahead of time for quick meals on weekdays. Hold on tight because this is going to be a bumpy ride!
Lauren mentioned her concerns about how this new program might affect our cooking adventure. I had been worried about that myself.....until..... I decided that we could be adventurous in both aspects. We can work on the food preparations for the program together and put that in our cooking adventure blog. We will be preparing foods that require specific recipes. Recipes that have ingredients I have never heard of before, much less know where to buy or how to cook. Two birds with one stone.
So this weekend we will begin. The first week of meals that need to be prepared are (listed in the order in which we will be eating them):
- Mushroom Omelet
- Chef Salad
- Salmon with a Lemon Dill Sauce
- Red Pepper Soup
- Shrimp Stir Fry
- Turkey with Gravy
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Chicken Scramble
- Chicken Salad
- Vegetable Soup
- Halibut with a Pesto Sauce
- Steak & Arugula Salad with a Balsamic Dressing
- Chicken Breast with a Honey Chile Sauce
- Spinach Scramble
- Turkey Burgers with Coleslaw and Gazpacho
- Swordfish with a Mango Ginger Sauce
- Island Pork Tenderloin Salad with a Cumin Vinaigrette
- Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry
- Miso Soup
- Cheese Scramble
- Tuna Salad
- Chilled Cucumber Soup
- Lemon Garlic Chicken
- Asparagus Soup
And of course various other foods that do not require much cooking.
CRAZY???? Absolutely. That is a HUGE list. My hope is to knock them out over the weekend with the help of Lauren and her dad. Then we can separate our servings out for the week ahead of time for quick meals on weekdays. Hold on tight because this is going to be a bumpy ride!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Our Goal
My name is Rebecca and I am 36 years old. My daughter's name is Lauren and she is 8 years old. Together we will explore the crazy world of cooking and share all the fun we are having with you. It should be an interesting adventure as I am not that great in the kitchen and my daughter is just beginning to learn.
Our goal: To try a new meal and dessert recipe at least once a month. We may get brave and throw more in there but we don't want to overwhelm ourselves in the beginning.
Join us in this new adventure. It should be good for a few laughs at least.
Thanks for tuning in.
Rebecca & Lauren
Our goal: To try a new meal and dessert recipe at least once a month. We may get brave and throw more in there but we don't want to overwhelm ourselves in the beginning.
Join us in this new adventure. It should be good for a few laughs at least.
Thanks for tuning in.
Rebecca & Lauren
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