Wheat Berry & Bean Salad

1/2 cup wheat berries, dry
1 cup frozen edamame
1 can black beans
1/2 finely chopped red onion
2 roma tomatos, chopped
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp spicy mustard
salt and pepper, to taste

Mm Chicken Fried Rice

Okay- this is one of my favorite things to make but I don't use a recipe! It's super delicious and healthy.
This is very similar to fried rice one would get a Chinese restaurant, however I make a few key substitutions. First, I use brown rice instead of white. Aside from being healthier, I like the texture much better. Brown rice is especially nice when tossed in a frying pan, so it is ideal for this dish. I also substitute edamame (soy beans) for the typical peas. I love peas, but edamame are bigger, tastier, and much more nutritious! One thing I add not ordinarily used at restaurants is red pepper. It adds crunch, color, and a tiny hint of flavor. Nom nom!





So here's an ingredient list, the amounts are not exact!


brown rice (1 cup dry)
shelled edamame (about a cup)
1 small baked chicken breast
2 eggs, scrambled
green onion (one bunch?)
baby carrots (small handful)
bean sprouts (big handful)
soy sauce
splash vegetable oil
SRI RACHA!!!



1. I make the rice in a rice cooker. (Its foolproof...) However, there is ALSO a "foolproof" recipe for brown rice from Cooks Illustrated. This is the one my mom makes all the time, it works perfectly and is MUCH easier than stovetop rice! The recipe can be found here.

2. Prepare! Put the rice on to cook and the chicken breast in the oven. Then, chop the carrots and green onion. Prepare the edamame by the instructions on the bag. Also, scramble your egg slightly undercooked and set it to the side.

3. Sautee them veggies! Get the oil in the pan hot first. I start with the carrots because they need the longest amount of time to soften, and then everything else is up to your preference. I add the bean sprouts last, as I like them to be freshest. Sautee the veggies with a bit of soy sauce and sriracha (if you like your food HOT! Be careful, this stuff is powerful.) Chop the chicken add the egg very last.

4. Add the egg and finally, the rice. Lower heat and stir fry all ingredients together for a few minutes, with soy sauce to taste.

5. Nom, nom, nom nom nom.

Blood Orange Jello Shots

So I've realised there is an unintentional theme running on this blog. Most the foods I make, are my childhood favorites, with some healthier, grown-up revisions. This one is definitely no exception! We all loved jello as a kid-- I mean, it jiggles & it wiggles and Bill Cosby had a funny voice to go along with it. Here, you'll see I added some, ahem, very grown-up additions, and also a little bit of flair.

It basically goes like this: jello shots in tiny plastic cups= trashy. Jello shots in orange slices= awesome AND eco-friendly.





Use MORE jello than the recipe calls for. Instead of a single-serve box (3oz) gelatin, I used more like 4 oz. You don't want to exactly double it, but if you don't put a bit extra Jello mix, the final product will be a bit gooey and not as firm. The flavor doesn't matter- use whatever color you want.

Follow the recipe on the box, first adding jello to 1 cup boiling water, then stirring in 1 cup freezing vodka. (I used Grey Goose).

Pour the mixture into halved oranges. (The trickiest part is emptying out the orange and keeping the peel in a sphere. Helpful hint= use a grapefruit spoon.)

To keep them from spilling, I set the orange cups in a muffin pan so they would stay upright while chilling in the fridge.

AFTER they are done cooling for 4-6 hours (but preferably overnight), you can take a knife to the excess orange peel, then cut the half into quarters or thirds.

Easy! Delicious! Drunkenness!!

Beef Stew

Ingredients
1 (14oz) Can Diced tomatoes
1 (10oz) Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Cup Water
1/4 Cup dry White Wine (save the rest for happy hour)
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 Pepper
1 Bay Leaf
1 1/2 Lbs Beef Stew Meat
6 Carrots
4 ribs Celery
1 Large Potato (I use 2-3 red)
1 Onion Chopped


Mix all ingredients together, cover and bake at 350 for 3 hours.
**or** in a slow cooker on high (5 hours) or low (8 hours)

Lentil Bean Stew

Yum! Delicous! Double this recipe and freeze some, because you will want lots and lots of this yummy, thick, vegetarian soup.




Ingredients
1 bag lentil beans
8 cups water
handful of chopped carrots
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
splash olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 block (280 grams) frozen chopped spinach


1. First, rinse the lentis good to remove all dirt, make sure there are no rocks in them!
2. Put lentils in water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue to cook for about 30 minutes, meanwhile preparing vegetables.
3. Chop onion and carrots, saute in oil for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and remove from heat.
4. After the lentils and water have cooked for about 20-30 minutes, add the veggies
5. Add block of frozen spinach and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Salt and pepper to taste. Yum! Healthy! Soup! Serve with cornbread :-D

Miniature Blueberry Cheesecake Bites

YUM.

Okay, I've never made cheesecake before. I don't think I've ever even considered what's in it. There's no flour or anything, so I think its more like a pie than a cake. But I digress. I asked my friend what to make him for his birthday (which was three days ago, oh well) and he said he'd rather have blueberry cheesecake over a traditional birthday cake. So, here I am making cheesecake for the first time.

& It is SUPER easy to make. I decided to make them in cupcake liners because, well, cheesecake (cheesepie?) is very rich, and a bite or two is all you really need. Plus, they cook and cool quicker, so for those of you who are impatient to sample your baked goods- this is the recipe for you.

Ingredients

For The Crust
100 grams of graham crackers (grams of grahams!)
half a stick of butter, melted
tablespoon sugar

For The Cheesecake
16 ounces of cream cheese
4 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

How To Do It
1. Crush the graham crackers until finely crumbled. Add sugar and melted butter and stir. Mixture should be chunky but still pretty crumbly.

2. Spoon tablespoonfuls of crust mixture into cupcake paper-lined muffin tin. Use your thumbs to press the mix down into a solid pat. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

3. To make the cheesecake mixture, start with cream cheese at room temperature. Blend well with sour cream and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and the vanilla, mixing well after each addition.

4. Spoon cheese mixture into the cupcake liners, only about 3/4 from the top.

5. Dot the top with blueberries, or another berry if you prefer. I also sprinkled some of the leftover graham cracker mix on the top for a little extra garnish and crunch.

6. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until cheesecakes puff up slightly and start to color.

7. Let cool IN BAKING PAN for 15 minutes or so, then remove and let cool in the refrigerator for a few hours.

THE Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

... & I'm VERY picky with chocolate chip cookies!

They were probably the first thing I learned to bake "from scratch"-- following the ingredient list on the back of a bag of TollHouse milk chocolate chips. This is just a variation of those same ingredients (minus any baking powder), yet the ratio makes a much more perfect cookie.

Perfect, to me means they get that good molasses flavor, and turn out slightly crispy on the outside yet still soft in the middle.

These are the perfect cookies.

ingredients:

1 cup flour
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (the real stuff)
1 egg
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips




1. whisk together dry ingredients in small bowl; set aside.

2. cream butter for two minutes. add sugars and cream until well blended. add vanilla and egg.

3. slowly blend whisked flour mixture into the butter mixture.

4. stir in chocolate chips, refrigerate for half an hour.

5. place in rounded balls on parchment paper or a well greased cookie sheet.

6. bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.