I have been growing green beans for a couple months now, and I have actually had a really good crop! I pick them weekly, so I am always trying to find ways to use them. Tonight I decided to make some shrimp with green beans and some almond rice. Yum!

Lemon & Soy Shrimp with Green Beans

1/2 pound of shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces

Combine lemon slices, soy, mirin, and sesame oil in a plastic bag. Wash shrimp and add it to the bag, shake it up to make sure shrimp is coated in marinade. Place in fridge and leave for at least an hour prior to cooking.

Put peanut oil in a skillet and heat a large skillet over medium heat. Using tongs, remove shrimp from the bag and place into the skillet, discard bag of marinade. Cook on medium heat for about two minutes on each side, remove shrimp from the skillet.

Add green beans and saute in the remaining peanut oil/soy mixture until they are cooked, about five minutes. Turn off heat, add the shrimp back to the skillet, and serve over rice – or whatever else sounds good to you.

This has to be the easiest thing I have ever made. I am posting this recipe for my girlfriends who say cooking is hard or confusing. Not this one. Ladies! You can make this!!

I came across this recipe in my Martha Stewart Living magazine and I thought to myself that it wouldn’t work. There is no way this could happen. I told my boyfriend about it and he also thought it wouldn’t work. But, I decided to try it.

What is this magic recipe I am talking about? You put dry pasta, veggies, herbs, spices, etc…in one pot at the same time, put some water in and boil it. In less than 20 minutes you will have perfectly cooked pasta, along with a light, flavorful, slightly spicy sauce. My boyfriend and I were blown away at how good dinner was, especially considering how little work was involved. I will be making this again and again!

I made a couple adjustments to the recipe, but for the most part, this is exactly how Martha says to do it. I would post a link to her recipe, but I can’t find it online. It’s in the June 2013 issue of Martha Stewart Living, called One Pan Pasta, if you wanted to check it out!

Just Add Water Pasta

1 box linguine
12 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
1 onion, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Handful basil leaves, julienned
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
Pepper, to taste
4 1/2 cups water
Fresh Parmesan cheese

Put all ingredients into a pot (except cheese),and add 4 1/2 cups water. Place pot on the stove and set to high heat.

Within about 10 minutes you should have boiling water. Let water continue to boil for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly so pasta doesn’t stick, and everything is cooked evenly.

After 10 minutes of boiling almost all of the water should be gone.

Remove from the heat, toss in some cheese, and serve!

This recipe is so simple, it’s ridiculous. There are very few ingredients, it’s a really yummy, light pasta dish, and reheats well the next day. It also should not take more than 30 minutes to make, including the prep time, which makes it a really easy meal to throw together when you are pressed for time!

Tonight I am using hot links, but I have also made this with chicken sausage, which I actually prefer. But I have hot links I need to use up, so no chicken tonight!

Spinach & Sausage with Penne

1 lb whole wheat penne pasta
1/3 cup olive oil
4 sausages, whatever kind you prefer, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, add sausage and saute for about five minutes, or until cooked through. Add garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet, stir and cook until garlic is golden.

Add spinach to the skillet, stir to combine all ingredients together. Lower the heat and cover the skillet. Within five minutes the spinach should be wilted.

Toss sausage mixture with pasta in a large bowl. Add the cheese, season with salt and pepper if you like, and serve!

So the other day I am in the kitchen, cooking something, tossing veggies to my dogs as I chop them up, and I notice I have like, five crumpled up paper towels in various stages of wetness, some soaked, others a little wet, some dry. And it hits me: I am my grandmother. Not only do I have way too many paper towels littering my countertop like she would have, but I am feeding my dogs while I cook. Except I am giving them vegetables instead of gravy or ground beef, lol.

My grandma, Jean, was an awesome cook. She made the best fried chicken in the world (which I am sooo thankful that she taught me how to make before she passed), killer toast and soft boiled eggs (i’m serious, her toast was perfect and I have yet to make an egg as good as hers), beef stew with okra (yum!), and the cake I am about to share with you, among other things. I loved staying at her house for many reasons, but one was definitely her cooking. She knew how to stuff you to the brim, always worried you hadn’t gotten enough. She would send me home with the leftovers, and even feed them to me for breakfast in the morning. I can’t tell you how many times as a child I had white bread smothered in her famous gravy for breakfast. She definitely was not a health nut.

Luckily I had a super hip grandma who had AOL and was down with emailing, so on July 11th, 1999 she emailed me the recipe for her cake. I printed the recipe out back then, when I was 15, and I have kept that printed out email ever since. She must have gotten this recipe from a friend or something, because Grandma would NEVER talk about sex, let alone a cake that tasted better than it. The only time she said anything remotely racy to me was the day I told her I was going to a Madonna concert and she told me that she didn’t approve, because “she is just a slut, there is no other way to put it.” Awww, Grandma. As she would have said, bless her little heart.

I can’t say this cake is better than sex, but it is damn good. So in honor of my grandma, I decided to make it today. I love her, I miss her more than anything, and I am so happy that I can keep her alive in my heart through cooking her meals.

Grandma’s Better Than Sex Cake

1 box of Yellow Cake Mix (and anything called for on the box to make the cake)
1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple
1/2 cup sugar
1 box vanilla instant pudding
2 cups milk
1 8oz container of frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 oz flaked coconut – optional, I leave this off as I personally don’t like the texture of coconut flakes
1 cup chopped nuts – I use pecans, she didn’t specify what type

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare cake mix as directed on box, bake in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish according to directions. Remove from oven and cool for 25 minutes.

Place pineapple and sugar in a saucepan and simmer on the stove for five minutes.

Poke holes in your cake using a fork, toothpick, skewer, whatever you have around. Pour the pineapple mixture over the cake and spread it out so it evenly covers the cake. Let the mixture cool.

Mix the pudding with the milk until it thickens. Spread the pudding mixture on top of the pineapple on the cake.

Spread the whipped topping over the pudding. Sprinkle nuts and/or coconut on the cake as the final layer.

Now, Grandma said to refrigerate the cake overnight, but I personally like to attack it right away. Yes, it’s still good cold, but I prefer it fresh.

I hope you love this cake as much as I do!!

I LOVE Brussels Sprouts. I usually make them a couple times a week, normally just roasted as a side for fish or chicken. But this is a more decadent recipe, very creamy and cheesy, slightly spicy, and smoky and salty from the bacon. You can use any kind of pasta that you want, but I like the shape of Campanelle. This is super easy and comes together pretty quickly.

Campanelle with Bacon & Brussels Sprouts

1 lb Campanelle pasta
8 pieces of bacon
1 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered – my sprouts were huge so I quartered them
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large skillet, cook bacon until it is crispy, in multiple batches if needed. Set bacon aside, allow to cool. Once cooled, break up into bite sized pieces.

Add garlic and red pepper flakes to bacon fat, saute for one minute on medium high heat, then add brussels sprouts to the skillet. Saute brussels for three minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the chicken stock to the skillet and stir. Lower heat to medium low, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.

While the brussels are cooking in the chicken stock, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

After the 15 minutes are up, the brussels should be easily pierced with a fork, if they are not, cook a few minutes longer until they are soft.

Add the heavy cream to the skillet and stir, allowing sauce to thicken a bit. Add bacon to the mixture so it can warm up. Taste sauce, season with salt and pepper to your liking. Once the sauce is how you like it, combine the cooked pasta, brussels sprouts mixture, and cheese in a large bowl and toss together. Serve immediately.

Wow! It’s been quite awhile since i’ve posted anything. I figured it’s time to get back on it since two people reminded me this week that I have a blog, lol.

I started making chicken and vegetable stock about six or so months ago. I love making my own stock! It’s so much healthier than store bought, and it tastes way better. It’s also very easy, but sort of time consuming. I’m fine with that though

I make A LOT of stock (about three or four quarts) and freeze it so I can always have it on hand. I will freeze it in ice cube trays and also in large freezer containers. I use the ice cubes for stir frys or sauces, and in the freezer containers I store four cups since that is typically the amount I use when I am making soup.

When I first started making it, I used the largest pot I had and would drain it in a colander. That worked just fine, but for Christmas, my lovely boyfriend got me this – http://tinyurl.com/awesome-pot – which I highly recommend if you want to start making stock. It’s also awesome for cooking pasta. I love the colander insert, it makes everything so much easier!

One last thing before I share my recipe. You can totally go out and buy the vegetables fresh for this recipe, but what I like to do is freeze scraps when I am cooking. Example, I buy a celery head, and I cut off the ends of the stalks. I would usually toss those, but now I save them. Same with onions and carrots. And for vegetable stock, I have a freezer bag filled with all sorts of veggie scraps that I use to make stock when the bag is full. You don’t have to do that though, but it does save money!

Chicken Stock

Half a chicken – bone in – buy a whole chicken and freeze the other half to make more stock later!
5 carrots
5 celery stalks
Half a large onion
About two inches of fresh ginger
2 tbsp peppercorns
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
6 sprigs of fresh Thyme
32 cups of water
Salt, to taste – to be added at the end

If you don’t have a pot large enough for that much water, just cut everything in the recipe in half and you’ll end up with about two quarts.

Place all ingredients (even if they are frozen, you do not need to defrost first) into your pot. Add the water, crank the heat to high on your stove and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce to a simmer and let cook for about three hours, stirring occasionally.

Once the stock is finished, you should season it with salt. The amount is totally up to you, you will want to season to taste. You are working with a lot of liquid, so be liberal. Or if you want to leave the stock as it is, and season it down the road when you use the stock in a recipe, that is fine too. I prefer to season when I make it though. Today I used two tbsps of salt, but I added it gradually and tasted it until it was how I liked it.

Drain the stock. I like to keep the chicken, shred it and use it for dinner, like tonight I am making enchiladas with the chicken. But you can toss it if you want. You will want to discard all of the vegetables/herbs/spices. Let the stock cool off, then move it to the containers you want to freeze them in. I don’t have enough containers, so I freeze half of it the first night, store the rest of the stock in the fridge overnight, and freeze the rest of it the next day.

If you don’t want to freeze it, you can use it right away for a soup, or store it in the refrigerator. I recommend using it within one week if you do store it in the fridge.

If you liked this recipe and you want to make more stock, play around with it next time! This is just a basic, no frills stock, but in the past I have made it with other spices like cumin, cayenne, oregano, etc…you can make it however you want!

I am not a huge breakfast person, but once in awhile I wake up hungry, and this is a super easy breakfast sandwich that I will make. I also make this for lunch sometimes too. It’s very easy, should not take you more than five minutes to do everything, and it’s way cheaper (and healthier) than going to a fast food restaurant and getting one of their egg sandwiches.

My friend Amanda taught me how to make this sandwich earlier this year and I am really glad she did! You can mix it up and use different spices or toppings. This recipe is just for a basic egg sandwich with cheddar cheese. I have made bacon with it before, or even put a slice of deli meat on it. Sometimes I season it with garlic powder and use feta or goat cheese in it, that’s usually for lunch though. I know my boyfriend enjoys this with lemon pepper as the seasoning. Play around with it and try different combos that suit you!

Coffee Cup Breakfast Sandwich

One English Muffin
One Egg
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
One tsp milk, heavy cream, or half and half – whatever you have on hand will work
Salt & Pepper
Cheddar Cheese

Toast English Muffin to your liking in the toaster. While it is cooking, start on the egg.

Get a microwave safe coffee cup and spray it lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

Crack egg into the cup and add one teaspoon of whatever you have on hand – milk, heavy cream, or half and half. Beat egg and cream together. Season lightly with salt and pepper (or garlic powder, lemon pepper, etc…)

If you want cheese in the egg itself, sprinkle some in and beat lightly – when I make my feta or goat cheese sandwiches I add the cheese before cooking.

Place coffee cup in the microwave and cook for 1 minute and 20 seconds.

By this point your English Muffin should be done, place the muffin on a plate. When the egg is done cooking, turn the cup over the bottom piece of muffin, the egg should slide out with no problem because of the cooking spray. If you need to shake or tap the cup to help it out, that is normal.

Once the egg is on the muffin, top it with a little bit of cheddar cheese. Place the top piece of muffin over the cheese, smash it down so the cheese will melt from the heat of the bread. Allow to sit for a few moments so the cheese melts and the egg cools to a temperature that won’t burn your mouth   Enjoy!

Last week my friend and I took a mini vacation to the beautiful state of Illinois. We spent one night in the crazy/busy/hectic city of Chicago, and the rest of the trip in relaxing Decatur, at the home of my friend’s “Aunt Bellini,” Linda.

The night we arrived, Linda brought out a dessert she called Linda’s Pumpkin Crunch. I thought it was her own creation, but it turns out that really is the name of the recipe online. I am not sure where it originated from, when you do a Google search for that recipe it turns up on countless websites. I read on one site that the recipe was published on a carton of eggs. Wherever it came from, it is fantastic. And as far as i’m concerned, this recipe is belongs to my new friend, Linda, aka Aunt Bellini.

Apparently this will keep for many days (refrigerated), as we were also served the same batch on Sunday morning for breakfast. I am not a huge fan of pumpkin, nor am I a huge fan of sweets in general, but this recipe is delicious. I love the texture, the richness, and the overall taste of it. This would make a great dessert for the holidays, or for anytime really. It was also a nice breakfast, if you are in the mood for something more sweet than savory. I made my own whipped cream to dollop on top, but you can feel free to use store bought whipped cream. Enjoy!

Linda’s Pumpkin Crunch

1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin pie filling
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 box yellow cake mix
2 cups pecan halves
1 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine cinnamon, salt, pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are blended together.

Pour mixture into the pre-greased pan. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture.

Top with the pecans.

Use a spoon to drizzle melted butter evenly over the pecans.

Place the dish in the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool before serving, top with whipped cream if desired.

Homemade Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

I use my KitchenAid standalone mixer to make whipped cream, it’s easier for me and requires less work than using a handheld mixer. If you only have a handheld mixer, that is fine. You will need to use one or the other though, as this would take forever to make by hand.

Before making whipped cream, place the bowl you will be making it in into the freezer for about 10 minutes prior to use. You want to make the whipped cream in a chilled bowl.

Whether using a standalone mixer or a handheld, pour all ingredients into the bowl of the mixer (or a large bowl), attach the whisk, turn on a medium speed (I turned my mixer to 6 out of 10) for about eight minutes or until the cream forms stiff peaks.

Use right away, or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

This is another one of my “cleaning out the fridge” recipes. It is loosely based on a chicken soup recipe I have, but I just continued adding things to it since I wanted to use up what I had in the fridge/pantry. Feel free to follow along, or steal bits and pieces and make your own creation!

Vegetable Soup with Bacon, Chicken, & Lentils

2 parsnips, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
6 small red potatoes, diced
1 turnip, peeled and diced
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
5 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
7 pieces of bacon, diced
1 leek, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 chicken bouillon cube, crumbled
1 cup shredded chicken (from a store bought rotisserie chicken is fine)
3 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 cup lentils
Salt & Pepper to season with

In a Dutch Oven, heat olive oil and butter over medium high heat. Once butter has melted add parsnips, carrots, potatoes, and the turnip. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add vegetable stock and water to the Dutch Oven. Stir soup, adjust heat to high and allow to come to a boil.

While the soup is waiting to boil, saute the bacon pieces in a skillet over medium heat. Once bacon begins to darken (it does not need to be crisp) add the leeks and garlic to the skillet. Cook for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the ten minutes are up, add the shredded chicken, crumbled bouillon, and soy sauce to the skillet. Stir together to combine, remove from heat and add mixture to the soup – which should be boiling at this point.

Stir everything together. Taste to see if the broth should be seasoned with salt and/or pepper, season at this time.

Add the dry lentils to the boiling soup, stir. Reduce heat to medium low so the soup is just simmering. Allow soup to simmer for 30 minutes, then serve.

I love this recipe! It is another one of the dishes I make that everybody who has tried loves it, and it makes a large enough portion that you can feed many people with it, or have lots of leftovers for lunch throughout the week. It is relatively healthy, aside from the cheese.

It’s pretty easy to make, but I will warn you that you will need to use a couple pots/pans and a few bowls to prep/cook with. At least everything is very easy to clean up!

I have made this mixture before, and instead of adding the breadcrumb topping and baking it, I refrigerated it and served it as a pasta salad. I think it’s very good that way as well.

Spicy Vegetable Macaroni

1 pound of small elbow macaroni
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 pound mushrooms, whatever type you like – I prefer to use Portabella, Chanterelle and Porcini
1 yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, do not drain the juice
1 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess liquid
1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup
1/4 cup grated Romano, plus 1/3 cup
12 oz Mozzarella Cheese, cubed
1/2 tsp fresh ground Nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.

Cook macaroni according to directions on package. Drain, place noodles in a large bowl, set aside.

In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup Romano. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and onions. Saute about 10 minutes, or until onions are softened and mushrooms are releasing their juices.

Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and spinach. Stir to combine and allow to cook for an additional five minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool about 10 minutes.

Once the mixture has cooled, combine it with the macaroni. Stir to combine. Add the Mozzarella, 1/3 cup Parmesan, 1/3 cup Romano, and half of the Nutmeg. Stir until everything is combined.

Pour macaroni into the pre-greased baking dish. Top macaroni with the remaining Nutmeg, then sprinkle the bread crumb mixture all over the top. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes prior to setting to help the macaroni set.