mindless in a worthwile way

“Oh, I adore to cook. It makes me feel so mindless in a worthwhile way.”

 -Truman Capote, Summer Crossing

i do not know who Truman Capote is nor what Summer Crossing is, but i do know that this quote came up on some page the claimed to to have the best quotes about cooking. instead of creating a clever story (i'm in the middle of turning in all my final projects for the end of the semester) i decided i would take the time to find a meaningful quote. if there is one thing that college has taught me, it is that everything appears to be five times better when you begin with a meaningful quote. (don't worry, i am learning a lot more worthwhile lessons). i think one of the reasons why i love cooking is that it does provide an avenue to craft something that requires just enough focus to enter into a 'zone' but little enough focus to where i am able to clear my mind, think, and meditate. sometimes i cook to think through a particular problem, sometimes i cook to avoid thinking about said problem, sometimes i cook to collect my thoughts, sometimes i cook meditate on scripture and truths, and then sometimes i cook just because i do need something to eat. 

here's a good recipe for Parmesan Crusted Chicken. i ate it a top of spaghetti and a marinara sauce. i wish i could say the pasta and sauce were homemade, but sadly no time for that in the midst of these last few weeks, or should i say days, of school. summer is coming. just have to keep reminding myself that.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup flour
1 egg beaten
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and seasonings together, place in shallow dish. 
2. Cut chicken in half horizontally. Pound each piece until 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet
5. Dredge chicken in flour, dip into egg, and coat in bread crumbs. Add to skillet.
6. Cook chicken 2-3 minutes on each side or until gold brown and cooked all the way through.
7. Serve on top of your favorite pasta and sauce, or serve alone.

déjà vu

remember several tuesday night adventures ago when my roommate, kristy, and i had the grand idea of bringing the story of Stone Soup to life? well, last night was like déjà vu back to that night. i don't know if it was the fact that it involved kristy, or beef stew meat, or maybe just the combination of both. but, here we were again in one of those moments where we had a great idea on whim, went through with it, and then remembered that ideas made on whims are not always successful.

how did we end up here again? 
well first of all, confession, we may have not put in as much beef stew meat in the stone soup as our 'recipe' called for. it was just so expensive (okay not really, but comparing it to our college budget it was) so we decided to keep out 1 pound of meat and freeze it for another time. fast-forward to a couple weeks ago when we bumped into each other at Aldi's (you would have thought we would have communicated better and planned or trips together) and had the grand idea of "hey, lets make beef stroganoff with that stew meat we have." the genius in me googled a recipe and found that we only needed to buy a package of gravy mix and egg noodles. the genius in me did not save the recipe.

fast forward again to last night when we spontaneously decided to make our stroganoff. we went to find my hand dandy recipe, searched the whole web, and could not find it anywhere. that is when the déjà vu feeling began to hit. not only could we not find the recipe, all the other recipes for beef stroganoff we found called for a whole list of ingredients we didn't have.

so, there we were, do we chance it and either it works or we are stuck eating something gross for the next week? or do we fast and save the meat for another day? we chose the former. 

déjà vu feelings can also be good feelings sometimes. i am happy to say this second whim happened to be just as successful as the first. i'm learning that ideas made on whim sometimes turn out to be small miracles. i don't know how it happened, but the few things we did have on hand turned out to make a delicious stroganoff. this whim represents a significant moment in my cooking adventures. the creating of my first truly original recipe. (my being kristy and i's) i know stroganoff is a pretty basic thing to make, but hey it starts somewhere right?

adaptions made to original recipe:
-swapped out beef stew meat for round steak, as the stew meat was a bit tough
-added mushrooms

Beef Stroganoff  
Yields: 4 Servings

Ingredients:
1 pound cubed round steak, cut into thin strips
Salt
Pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
1 small onion thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves
8 ounces mushrooms thinly sliced
1 package brown gravy mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup sour cream
Cooked egg noodles

Directions:
1. Season meat with salt and pepper to taste. Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet and brown steak. Remove steak from pan.
2. Meanwhile, add onions, garlic, and mushrooms to the pan drippings and saute until crisp tender.
3. Add brown gravy mix to pan and combine.
4. Slowly whisk in water. Stir frequently until gravy comes to a slow boil. 
5. Add steak. Reduce heat and allow gravy to thicken stirring occasionally.
6. Add sour cream, heat through.
7. Salt and pepper to taste as needed and serve over cooked egg noodles.
 

better than take out

what is better than take-out fried rice? cheaper, tastier, and homemade fried rice.

i wish i could come to you this week with an riveting or at least somewhat interesting story, but i don't have one. my cooking adventure today went like this: it was 2pm. i hadn't eaten lunch. i was hungry. i wanted fried rice. i made fried rice. i ate fried rice. i now give to you my fried rice recipe that is better than fried rice. fun side note, the chopsticks pictured are on of my souvenirs from Japan.

Fried Rice

Yield: 4-6 Servings 

Adapted from: Gimmie Some Oven

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons butter, divided

2 eggs, whisked

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 small white onion, diced

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup frozen peas
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
4 cups cooked and chilled rice
3 green onions, thinly sliced
3-4 Tbsp. soy sauce, or more to taste
1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Directions: 
1. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Add egg, and cook until scrambled, stirring occasionally. Remove egg, and transfer to a separate plate.

2. Add an additional 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and heat until melted. Add carrots, onion, peas, corn and garlic, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes or until the onion and carrots are soft. 
3. Increase heat to high, add in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, and stir until melted. Immediately add the rice, green onions, soy sauce and stir until combined. Continue stirring for an additional 3 minutes to fry the rice. 
4. Add in the eggs and stir to combine. 
5. Add the sesame oil, stir to combine, and remove from heat.
Serve warm.