I saw a recipe once of pizza pockets, but they were made with just pepperoni and cheese, which I don’t like. So I decided to make my own pizza pockets (also called calzones), but with better ingredients. I used wheat flour for the dough and spruced up the insides. Then we grabbed the calzones and ate them at a picnic on the beach. Continue reading “Mini Grab-and-go Calzones”
I don’t remember how I got the idea to stuff eggplants, but I just wanted to try something creative with eggplants. I haven’t cooked with them in a while, so I was looking for something new. Add to that the requirement that it should be fairly easy to make, and the stuffed eggplant was born. Continue reading “Stuffed Eggplants”
I made this for a coworker and friend, who drank a lot of iced coffees from Starbucks, and it was the first time I ever knitted with multiple colors. I thought something small like this would be a great way to practice before starting larger pieces.
When we found out that my husband’s cousin and his wife were expecting a baby, I knew that I wanted to knit them something. At first my ambitious nature led to plan on a blanket, but as the baby’s due date approached and the amount of free time I had did not increase, I settled for a smaller project. I decided to make them the same sweater and booties that I made for my son, but as a set. I had this beautiful yellow yarn from Lion Brand Cupcake and thought it was perfect. Continue reading “Baby Sweater 2.0”
This cheesy rice came into existence after I inherited some white queso that my mom didn’t know what to do with. I never cooked with queso before either, so I had no idea how it would turn out, but it seemed like the best pairing would be rice. Of course, some veggies need to be thrown in and the delicate nature of white queso called for a delicate protein – shrimp. And this super simple dish made on a busy weeknight turned out to be a big hit. Continue reading “Cheesy Rice with Shrimp”
I came up with this during my first attempt to make risotto. I read that it has to be simmered slowly in a shallow pan, adding liquid every so often and stirring, so that was the basis of this dish. I also read somewhere about poaching in white wine, so I decided to use the same wine for the salmon and the risotto, using wine and water instead of broth. Continue reading “Poached Salmon and Spinach Risotto”
My favorite breakfast food on the weekends is scrambled eggs, but not the kind with bacon and sausage that you might get at a restaurant. I am talking about fancy scrambled eggs with all kinds of appetizing mix-ins. I love putting all kinds of vegetables and greens into this breakfast, and one of my favorite additions ever is potatoes – the kind that was boiled or baked the night before (or even microwaved that morning), cut into little pieces, and turned golden on the pan next to the eggs. Continue reading “Fancy Scrambled Eggs”
I have a slight tea obsession. I love trying new teas and always having something great to choose from. The problem with that is that I end up with boxes upon boxes of tea, some of them having only a few tea bags left, but the giant box is still taking up a lot of room. Recently, I stopped buying tea so I could get my collection under control. I finished up a few flavors so I wouldn’t have several almost empty boxes laying around. I even tried (unsuccessfully) to throw some away, later convincing myself that I needed more variety in case guests didn’t like my favorites. The bin I was using for my tea boxes was still overflowing, so I needed a new plan. Continue reading “How to Organize a Tea Collection”
These little guys were my first experiment with a muffin tin that I finally bought myself. I have been wanting to get one for a while and always had a hard time justifying the purchase because I can do without it, but seeing so many cooking ideas lately that use muffin tins for main courses finally convinced me. So I decided to try something new. Continue reading “Salmon Potato Cakes”
This spinach pie has become one of my signature dishes since everyone who has tried it loved it and my mom now makes it often for guests too. It’s incredibly simple to make and tastes amazing! I have modified my go-to recipe for the pie since the first few prototypes to make it even easier and more according to our tastes. Continue reading “Spinach Pie”