Garden Greek Appetizer

Mmm I absolutely love feta cheese and garlic! This appetizer is always a big hit. I think I made it three times over winter break for family gatherings + such.



8 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 medium seedless cucumber, chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped

Combine the cream cheese, feta cheese, yogurt, garlic, and pepper in a large mixer bowl. Beat at high speed until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture in a round 10-inch dish. Chill, covered, until firm. Top with the tomatoes, cucumber, and green onions. Serve with assorted crackers!

Bleu-Browns 'n Eggs

Okay, so this is a pretty delicious invention I cooked up today. I had a hankerin' for some eggs and hashbrowns, but it seemed too boring to me. Fortunately, I found some leftover bleu cheese crumbles in our fridge from the day before when we made Buffalo Celery Sticks (delicious), and I decided to put them up on top of the hashbrowns I was making. By the way, I totally flipped these hashbrowns over like a pancake. It was the coolest thing I've ever done. Anyway, it looked like this:



Eggs on one side (I broke the yolk on one of the eggs, whoops), and Bleu-Browns on the other. But how do you plate this?



Like this! Eggs go on top, and melt the cheese more. Delicious. I was a little skeptical about the taste of bleu cheese and eggs and hashbrowns, but I think it turned out pretty good!

Breakfie of Champs

If you do not already know, breakfast is my favorite meal. I believe it should be enjoyed at any time of the day, because it is always delicious. This morning, I made a pretty classic breakfast: Eggs, Bacon, Hashbrowns, and Toast:




Nothin' too special about it, but I sure can tell you how I made it!

+ For the eggs (fried): Just fry an egg! Simple as that. Add some salt and pepper, and you got yourself some good eatin'.

+ For the eggs (scrambled edition): In a medium sized bowl, beat together 4 eggs (2 eggs per person), a handfull of (halved) grape tomatoes, and an equal sized handfull of chopped onions. Cook 'em all together in a fry pan like you would with normal scrambled eggs, add a bit of salt and pepper, and enjoy.

+ For the bacon: I just followed the directions on the back of the bacon bag, but I baked them as opposed to frying them. Mostly, this was to save room on the stovetop since we don't have the largest of cooking ranges, but baking bacon turns out some really nice, evenly cooked, crispy bacon. I was pleasantly surprised.

+ For the hashbrowns: I used Roundy's frozen hashbrowns, which are amazing. In a medium sized skillet, heat up about 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Not too hot, otherwise the hashbrowns will burn on the outside, and be soggy on the inside. We want a nice golden brown crust to hold it all together. To the heated oil, add 1 chopped shallot, flip it around in there for a couple minutes, and then add the hashbrowns. I used three big handfulls for two people. Flatten the hashbrowns into a thin layer, and leave 'em alone for about 8 minutes. I threw another handfull of halved grape tomatoes on top, just for fun. After the bottom is nice and golden, flip that guy over and let it cook for another 5 minutes to get a nice crust on the other side, too. The tomatoes get nice and roasted, and a little wilted, and they add a nice sweet flavor to the hashbrowns.

+ For the toast: it's just toast. Put some butter on that shit and eat it up with an egg on top. YUM

COMMENCE DELICIOSITY!

Creamy Potato Soup

Okay, so. As much as I love recipes from cute little books that show you lovely pictures of impeccably-prepared foodlings, I HAVE TO SAY... that usually I just end up preparing ready-made things for lunch and then "dressing them up." So I thought it might be just perfect for my first post to be of something like that!

















Today I made Creamy Potato Soup from a can but then I added:
. appx. 1 Clove of Garlic, finely chopped
. a tsp. of Parmesan Cheese
. some finely chopped Onions (a handful?)
. a pinch of Thyme (and then on top for garnigh!)
. salt and paper to taste

















Yummy!

birthday soup

I got this "deck" of soup recipe cards with a birthday barnes & noble gift cards. I love chickpeas. Thus, on my birthday, I made Chickpea soup.




YOU NEED
+2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
+1 coarsely chopped yellow onion
+3 cloves minced garlic
+8 small plum tomatoes (we used cans, the large size)
+1 bunch swiss chard
+1 can chickpeas
+6 cups water
+salt, pepper, basil, and other spices you like.

TO DO:

+In a heavy soup pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, until wilted but not browned (3-4 minutes). Add the garlic, stir briefly. Add the tomatoes, raise the heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally (or, if you are me, all the time). The tomatoes should start to break down to form a sauce in about 10 minutes. If you use canned tomatoes like me, it's already pretty saucey, but just let 'em stew for 10 minutes anywho.

+While the tomatoes are cooking, cut off and discard the bottom third of the chard stems. Cut the remaining stem portions crosswise into quater inch thick pieces. Now comes the fun part: stack several leaves, roll them up lengthwise, and then crosswise to form 1/4 inch wide ribbons.

+Add the chard (it will be a ton), the chickpeas, and water to the soup pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook uncovered, adjusting the heat as neccessary to maintain a simmer, until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have blended - this took about 40 minutes. The soup's going to be brothy, chunky, and kind of without much intense flavor at this point. Now's when you add all those good spices, toast some bread, and CHOW DOWN!

Quick Chili:

This recipe is a revised version (revised by my mother dearest to be extra delicious) of the "quick chili" recipe on the back of Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit (available at most grocery stores). Tortilla chips crumbled into the chili right before eating in addition to a side of cornbread (the Betty Crocker mix is my favorite) complete the meal, yummmmm.



+ Brown 1 lb. lean ground beef and 1 lb. ground turkey (or ground chicken) in a large skillet or saucepan. Drain fat.

+ Dump in two 8oz. can tomato sauce (or 1 can diced tomatoes in lieu of 1 can tomato sauce) and two 8oz. cans of water.

+ Add the Large Spice Packet, salt, and cayenne pepper to taste.

+ Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

+ Add 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well. Add 1 can corn, drained. Simmer for 5 more minutes.

+ For thicker chili, mix Masa flour (White Packet) with 1/3 cup water, stir in, and let simmer for 5 more minutes. Makes six 1-cup servings.