I almost gave up...

It's been too long.  And I think I need to refocus and try again.  I love pinterest.  I love wine.  And I love cooking!  So let's make this happen.

I just updated a few of my Successfully made Food pins.  https://www.pinterest.com/alexecht/food-made-by-me-success/

I'll go into more detail as I cook from now on.  But it gives a few recipes and pointers.

Next up: THANKSGIVING!  Trust me....I'm ready.


On a lighter note, I finally went to go see The Martian.  My book club read it and I would say most of us loved it.  Totally different and unexpected.  I even convinced my non-fiction reader brother to read it and he enjoyed it.  The movie was less extensive than the book, which is expected, but Matt Damon was great.  And we all agreed the movie ending was slightly more satisfactory than the book ending.  But I still prefer the total story of the book.

And...I've lost 12 pounds in the last 8 weeks,  So many things to be excited for.  Rekindling this blog needs to be up on the list.

Week 2: Honey Salmon and Brussel Sprouts

Honey Salmon In Foil

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/20829217000857279/

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Red Onion, and Avocado

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/20829217000771864/

Two Recipes at once!  I know….it’s getting a little crazy up in here.

But the Salmon caught my eye and the Brussels Sprouts was only a few Pins below it.  Seemed like fate!  And they both have pretty simple recipes.

 

For the Salmon I needed to pick up:

Fresh Thyme, I really need an herb garden which is in the works.

And Salmon.  The recipe calls for two pounds, but it’s expensive.  I got four cuts which equaled about 1.5 pounds and it looked like plenty.

For the Brussels Sprouts I picked up:

One pound of Brussels sprouts

One red onion

A package of tick cut bacon

One avocado

And chicken stock

I also grabbed a box of Mushroom Risotto because it sounded good.

I started on the boxed risotto first because it takes the longest.  And then started cooking the bacon.

 

I mixed together honey, minced garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar and minced thyme with a dash of salt and pepper for the sauce for the salmon.  I didn't particularly abide by the exact recipe amounts, mostly because I’m not cooking in my own house and I didn't want to dirty too many dishes.  So I went by feel and taste.  The salmon went on a baking sheet covered in foil and the mixture on top.  I’m letting it sit until the Brussels sprouts go in the pan.

At this point the risotto needs stirring every once in a while, the salmon is marinating, and the bacon is cooking….and cooking.  It’s taking longer than the 5-7 minutes suggestion in the recipes.  But once they are cooked and most of the fat rendered, out they go onto a paper towel and in go the sliced red onions.  Holy moly do they smell delicious.  Red onion and bacon fat….mmmmmmmm.  I may of forgotten to mention I used 6 slices instead of the called for 4 slices of bacon J

The red onions take about 6 minutes to get to the desired carmelization that I like and get put to the side in a bowl.  By this time the risotto is already done (whoops! But hopefully it’ll stay hot) and I’m preheating the oven to 375 for the salmon.  Thank goodness it goes quick and the salmon is in the oven cooking for 14 minutes.

Olive oil and Brussels sprouts into the pan and the heat goes up to high.  About 3 minutes and they are nice and brown and the chicken stock gets added.  Now I've just gotta wait until the stock cooks off and add back in the red onions, salt and pepper.  I transfer everything over to a dish and crumble the bacon and diced avocado over it.

Delicious!  Seriously the Brussels sprouts may be my new favorite dish and the salmon came out perfect.  I would not recommend buying the risotto though.  It was way too salty and took away from how great everything else tasted.

Honey Salmon in Foil: SUCCESS 4/5 Stars

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Red Onion, and Avocado: SUCCESS 5/5 Stars

The original recipes:

Hone Salmon in Foil

http://damndelicious.net/2014/02/07/honey-salmon-foil/#_a5y_p=1260717

HONEY SALMON IN FOIL

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time15 minutes

Total Time25 minutes

Yield4 servings

A no-fuss, super easy salmon dish that's baked in foil for the most tender, most flavorful salmon ever!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 pounds salmon

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
• In a small bowl, whisk together honey, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper, to taste.
• Place salmon onto prepared baking sheet and fold up all 4 sides of the foil. Spoon the honey mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the salmon, covering completely and sealing the packet closed.
• Place into oven and bake until cooked through, about 13-15 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Red Onion, Avocado

http://easy-cookbook-recipes.com/brussels-sprouts-with-bacon-red-onion-and-avocado/

Ingredients:

4 strips thick cut bacon
½ red onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and halved
½ cup chicken stock
1 medium avocado, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large nonstick saucepan, cook the bacon over medium heat, turning until crispy and the fat has rendered, about 5-7 minutes. Set the bacon aside to drain and keep the pan on the heat.
2. Add the red onion to the bacon fat and sprinkle with kosher salt. Cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, keeping the pan on the heat.
3. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil and the Brussels sprouts. Cook the sprouts on high heat for about 2 minutes until starting to brown and the pan is drying up. Add the chicken stock.
4. Cook the Brussels Sprouts about 5 minutes until just tender and the broth has cooked off. Add the onions back in and toss together. Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper.
5. Transfer to a serving dish. Crumble the bacon over the sprouts. Add the chunks of avocado.
6. Mix together the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar and drizzle over the top of the dish. Serve warm.

Week One: Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/20829216996711218/

Two posts in one week???  Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.  My goal is to post at least post once a week.

But this afternoon I turned to my boyfriend and asked "Whatcha want for dinner?"  He responded "White Meat."  Chicken ?!?  Now here's where I tell you a little bit about myself.....I HATE cooking chicken.  I hate cutting it, touching it, buying it, everything about it.  It's a weird phobia I have that I'm just not going to cook it right and therefore I end up over-cooking.  That being said, I decided to be a nice girlfriend and go for it.  We looked through my recipe Pins and while he's not a huge fan of nuts, we both agreed on Cashew Chicken (the most acceptable nut, he says).

I head to the gym and on the way home, head to Fresh and Easy (seriously, get used to it!).  Thanks to having a pretty stocked pantry, I have 4 things on my list:
2 chicken breasts - ended up buying pre-cut super lean chicken strips (no cutting!!)
1 onion - while you can buy diced onion, I went for the whole onion to dice myself
Lettuce - stayed away from Iceberg Lettuce and bought Boston Lettuce
Cashews - bought the most natural ones I could find - not roasted, no extra salt, etc

I also ended up buying Exotic Stir-Fry Mix Veggies so that I could add some more vegetables to the dish besides lettuce.

Other things you need that I grabbed out of the pantry: Brown sugar, red pepper, canola oil, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic cloves, ground ginger.

Step One:  I got everything set up.  I find it's easier to cut everything before I start cooking so I don't have to worry about anything once I get going, in case anything cooks faster than expected.  Not much prep for this dish.  Chopped the onion and diced the garlic and left the together on the cutting board since they go into the dish together.  Make the stir-fry sauce.  I doubled the recipe so I could put some on the Stir-Fry Veggies too.

Step Two: Heat a pan with Canola Oil.  Once it's nice and hot, start cooking the chicken.  The chicken needs to get fully cooked and start browning.  Once it's brown, put it on a plate, leaving the oil in the pan.

Step Three: Throw the onions, garlic, and soy sauce in the pan and start cooking and browning.  At this point, I heated a little sesame oil in another pan and began cooking the Stir-Fry Veggies.  ***This is where the wine started coming in

Step Four: Once the onions are brown, toss the chicken back in, half the stir-fry sauce, and the cashews.  I then put sauce on the Stir Fry Veggies that were nice and cooked by now.  I didn't quite need half so I put the rest in with the chicken.  Now I just let things simmer for a little.  The veggies only took about 2 minutes and I let the chicken go until a cashew was warm and soft.

At this point, I'm done!  I took both pans to to table and set out the Boston Lettuce and called my boyfriend to dinner.  So simple and totally passed the taste test.  There are probably a few tweaks I would do next time I made this (like not cook the chicken quite as long and toss the cashews in earlier) but all in all a pretty successful meal.

Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wrap: SUCCESS 3.75/5 Stars

The original recipe came from Amy at She Wears Many Hats

http://shewearsmanyhats.com/2009/09/chicken-cashew-lettuce-wraps/

CHICKEN CASHEW LETTUCE WRAPS

 

Serves: Makes 6-8 lettuce wraps.

INGREDIENTS

For stir fry sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

For Cashew Chicken:

• 2 chicken breasts (about ¾ lb. total), diced
• 8 leaves of greenleaf or iceburg lettuce
• 3 tablespoons canola oil (or oil of choice)
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ¼ cup cashews, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

For stir fry sauce:

1. Mix all stir fry sauce ingredients making sure to dissolve brown sugar. Set aside.

For Cashew Chicken:

1. Heat canola oil in pan over medium to medium high heat. Add diced chicken and brown (about 4-5 minutes). Remove chicken from oil. Add onions, garlic and 1 teaspoon soy sauce to pan; brown. When onions and garlic are brown and tender, add stir fry sauce, browned chicken, and cashews. Saute mixture for a few minutes and remove from heat.
2. Spoon chicken mixture into individual lettuce leaves. Add your favorite hot sauce, more cashews or basil.

Week One: One-Pan Pasta

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/20829217000198264/

One Pot Pasta

I saw this pin and thought WHAT? that sounds awesome!  So easy! Sounds delicious!  What could be better??

Well today, I finally decided to try it out.  

I was rushing home from the hairstylist and I still had hours of work ahead of me so I needed something quick (and I'm working towards healthy!).  I remembered this pin.  So since I scrolled back through Pinterest on my phone, found it, and decided why not?

First off I was excited that I could pick up everything at Fresh and Easy.  Much better for me since it's right next to my house.

Grabbed: 

12 oz dry F&E Organic Linguinni

12 oz package of grape tomatoes

1 yellow onion

1 bunch garlic

And a fresh basil plant (going to be working on a Pinterest Herb Garden Project...more on that later)

No seriously...that's it!  I spent about 5 minutes in the store and my total was $8.50.  You might need to pick up some fresh Parmesan cheese (F&E has some great fresh shredded or grated options, but I'm sure Kraft would be just fine.  I can't live without cheese so I already have it in my fridge)

My kitchen is incredibly tiny, so sometimes I have to fudge things a bit, but I got a Ninja Cooking System for Christmas and seriously I wonder what I ever did without it.  My brother feels the same way.  Today's blg is not about this, but if you don't have one, I recommend it.  It's so easy to use and has so many different functions.

Alright enough about that, a pot and your stove will work just fine!

Out of your pantry you need red-pepper flakes, EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil for the non Rachael Ray fans), salt and pepper.  Again...that's it!!!

First step: Slice the grape(or cherry) tomatoes in half, slice the onion, and garlic.  The recipe calls for 4 cloves, but I tend to over-do garlic whenever I can, so I used about 6.

Second step: Threw the pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red-pepper flakes, basil, EVOO, salt, pepper, and 4 1/2 cups of water into the Ninja.  I also had about half a package of pre-sliced mushrooms and tossed those in there as well.

Third Step: Turned it on Stovetop high.  And then waited.  Stirred occasionally while the water was getting warm and more once the water started boiling so the pasta wouldn't stick.  Once the water started boiling it took about 10 minutes for the water to evaporate, but I didn't time it so much as go by gut feeling as when I thought the water had mostly evaporated.

Fourth Step: Served a helping into a bowl, shredded Parmesan on top.....and here comes in the glass of wine.  And enjoy!

And I did!

So, for my first official  Pinterest Recipe try.....I approve!  It was as simple and as good as it looked in the Pin.  I was a little skeptical as there was no actually sauce, but since the pasta was soaking with everything in took in all the flavor and was moist and juicy.  One note: I would use only 1/4 teaspoon of red-pepper flakes.  I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to spice and it was ok, but a little over-powering for me.  But the addition of the mushrooms was delicious but would be just as good without.

One-Pot Pasta: SUCCESS 4.5/5 Stars

The original recipe came from Martha Stewart

http://www.marthastewart.com/978784/one-pan-pasta?xsc=soc_pin_onepotpasta_06_06_2013&crlt.pid=camp.2cci2qUEyjtv

One-Pan Pasta

Martha made this recipe from Martha Stewart Living magazine, on Cooking School episode 304.

• PREP: 15 MINS
  TOTAL TIME: 20 MINS
• SERVINGS:4

PHOTOGRAPHY: MARCUS NILSSON

INGREDIENTS

• 12 ounces linguine
• 12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
• 1 onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 2 sprigs basil, plus torn leaves for garnish
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 1/2 cups water
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. STEP 1

   Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red-pepper flakes, basil, oil, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and water in a large straight-sided skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil mixture, stirring and turning pasta frequently with tongs, until pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 9 minutes.

2. STEP 2

   Season to taste with salt and pepper, divide among 4 bowls, and garnish with basil. Serve with oil and Parmesan.

Welcome to Wine and Pinterest!

Welcome to Wine and Pinterest!

I think I joined Pinterest 2 years ago and I've pinned so many things in so many categories...just like everyone else.  And I've tried quite a few things, some successful, some not so much.  So I'm going to let you guys all know how my pinning goes and how the recipes, crafts etc go.  And I'll probably be drinking a glass of wine while I do it.  Let the weekly posts begin!

http://www.pinterest.com/alexecht/

Just in case you'd like to follow my pins