Good News and Bad News

I have some good news and I have some bad news. Let's do the bad news first...

My camera broke. It's a really old Canon Elph and the mode switch hasn't worked for quite some time. It always kept switching into video mode right as I would try to snap a photo which has been really annoying, but manageable. Finally, the mode switch just broke off. I even tried to take the camera apart and fix the switch with a tiny screwdriver and some gum eraser but that didn't work. It did, however, make Chris notice and feel kind of sorry for me. Here enters the good news.

A new camera is on its way! A belated thank you to our families for all the wonderful Amazon gift cards that really come in handy at a time like this. I am hopeful that this new camera will motivate me to improve the photos on my blog so that's why it's good news for you too. I've been doing some research and am learning some tricks slowly but surely. Now, all of this does take some time and since I don't have photos of the meals I've been making in the last two weeks, I'll need to take a little break to catch up. I hope to be back up and running in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, check out my Facebook page and/or leave your recipe requests and comments below.

R.I.P...

Grilled Green Chile Chicken Kabobs

This is a family recipe that I adapted a little in honor of the Hatch Chile festival at Central Market. My mom usually makes these with jalapenos so you could easily do that if you don't have Hatch chiles available. The marinade for the chicken is great for other preparations like chicken fajitas or grilled chicken for a salad or anything else so hang on to this one. I served these with Hatch chile cheese grits and grilled zucchini.

Grilled Zucchini

We love zucchini. It's easy to find year round and adaptable to many different preparations. These take almost no time to cook so they're a great side dish for anything else you might be grilling. My mother-in-law did these recently and added some parmesan cheese to the top just after grilling so I'd suggest that as an add-on if it sounds good with your meal. This recipe is my own.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

I don't make desserts very much but when I do, these cookies are one of my go-to recipes. I like them because they cook relatively quickly since you can do 2 pans at a time. I also love the kosher salt in the dough. These cookies are on the crisper side of the chocolate chip cookie spectrum but they're definitely still soft too. We like to zap them in the microwave for 10 seconds before eating to make them chewy again. I've adapted this recipe from one I saw on Joy the Baker.

Red Chile Salsa

I make salsa 2-3 times a month I'd guess. It's Chris's favorite thing to have around the house to snack on and it's super easy. There are 2 different kinds of salsa I make. This one is my favorite but I think Chris might like the other kind better. I'll post that recipe soon too. I usually just do a little of this, a little of that with both of my salsa recipes but I finally made a point to do some measuring as I made this one. This recipe is one of my own.

Taco Meat

This is probably one of the first things I learned how to make on my own. Taco seasoning packets are generally pretty good but it somehow zaps the creativity out of the cooking for me. I'd also suggest making more of this than you'll eat since taco meat freezes wonderfully and thaws quickly making an easy filling for quesadillas, or topping for nachos when you need a quick "no grocery store" meal. Per the picture here, we used it to make taco salads. I like to do crushed tortilla chips, lettuce and tomato, chopped avocado, cilantro and queso as the "dressing". Not the healthiest salad but really yummy! This recipe is my own.

Grilled Veggie Sandwiches

This is a great way to use up leftover veggies. Once grilled, the veggies will keep for several days in the fridge and can be used for sandwiches, pizza, pasta, frittatas or omelets. These sandwiches were the first thing I made from our grilled veggies and we had enough leftover to make some yummy veggie pizzas (see pic below). I went all out and made some slow-roasted tomatoes and caramelized onions to go with mine but you could easily cut down on the cooking time by just doing the grilled veggies. This recipe is one of my own.

Cheesesteaks

I've actually never had a real Philly cheesesteak. Chris has though and he was underwhelmed. He still really likes the idea of cheesesteaks though and it's one of the few meals he requests. We used to love the chicken cheesesteaks from Delaware Sub Shop in Austin and I'm constantly trying to recreate theirs. This rendition is done with beef and it was quite good. Also a good summer time meal since there is limited stove time and no oven required. This recipe is one of my own.

Honey Soy Stir Fried Chicken

Like I mentioned in the Fried Rice post, we don't make Asian food a lot. One of the reasons is that I've tried a lot of really bad Asian recipes. Chris and I still have bad memories about Orange Slushy Chicken. One of those meals that was so bad that we made grilled cheeses and called it a night. This recipe, however, is a great one. (otherwise I wouldn't have posted it!) The chicken was really flavorful, spicy, and nicely browned. The trick I think is to let the chicken and sauce cook for several minutes until the sauce reduces and caramelizes around the chicken. I think I'm going to try this technique with some other stir-fry sauces too. I'll be sure to report back on how that goes. I adapted this recipe from one on Week of Menus and hers looks so much prettier than mine. Oh well, it was really yummy.

Cooking Rice

It took me so long to learn to cook rice. It seems so simple - just follow the package directions, right? Well, not so much for me. I can't tell you how many times my rice was overcooked, undercooked or just not any good. I tried that boil-in-a-bag stuff for a while but it was always mushy for me too. The most helpful tip I got for figuring this out was from my brother. He told me that when the rice package says, "cover and lower the heat to simmer", you should turn down your burner almost all the way. I think my interpretation of "simmer" was more like a slow boil. Anyway, here are some step-by-step instructions that will hopefully be helpful to someone else. Do check your package directions too though - the rice to liquid ratio may be a little different than what I recommend here depending on your brand.

Fried Rice

We don't eat Asian food very often but when we do, I like to make fried rice. I use brown rice for this, which is healthier, more filling and maybe even tastes better. The trick to really good fried rice is to use leftover rice, which I accomplish by cooking the rice during the day and sticking it in the fridge until I'm ready to use it. Something about giving the rice a chance to firm up and chill makes it get nice and crispy. This recipe is very adaptable to leftovers too - don't limit yourself to what I put in mine. Fried Rice is a great way to serve leftover chicken, pork, beef or veggies. This recipe is one of my own. Hope you enjoy.