Favorite Chompz.

Gyoza
Recipe by Lillian Wilkins...

It was probably the first dinner I ever attempted that 1) Tasted good, 2) Had us going back for second and third helpings, 3) has become one of our favorite things to have for dinner.
Coming soon, a video on how to make sushi by yours truly..

Yuuuummmmm

It Tastes Good!

I'm not sure what this dish is called.

But my Madre makes it all the time! It's SUPER easy to make. It usually only takes me about 30 minutes to make. 

What you'll need: 

Bacon (cut up into small bits)

Onion (I only use just a little bit, you can use however much you want)

A pinch of garlic powder

Heavy whipping cream

Can of peas

Can of mushrooms

Parsley

Salt to taste.

In a sauce pan, on medium to high heat, throw in the bacon until cooked

then brown your onions in the bacon fat. When the onions are transparent,

add the whipping cream (as much as needed). Here, you season with salt 

and garlic powder (careful not to go too crazy with the salt.. it can get too salty

really quick). Add mushrooms, peas, and parsley. 

If you want your sauce a little thicker, add flour & stir.

To thin, add milk. 

And Voila! Ladle it onto your favorite pasta and done. 

...okay, not the greatest picture..

This. 

Our very own homemade deep dish pizza. 

Not to toot my own horn (or OUR own horn)

but David and I have the best pizza crust recipe.

Other pizza's don't even come close. 

Writing about pizza right now is not helping my pizza craving. 

Mmm...

 GET IN MA BELLY!

Homemade Chicken & Dumpling Soup

So I don't have the BEST track record when it comes to cooking. David never fails to tell our guests about times where our dinners looked more like vomit than it looked like food (this has happened multiple times). And we laugh at my failed attempts. Hardy, har, har.

But recently I've been making a HUGE effort to do better with cooking. And thanks in part to Martha Stewart (she's like, my home maker idol), I've learned a lot about proper cooking technique and ideas. I can now proudly say that my cooking has greatly improved. I can now look at a recipe and feel confident that I can make it.

One of my favorite new recipes:
Chicken and Dumpling Soup.

I forgot to put the garnish on it before I took the picture. Oops.

Chicken & Dumplings Recipe: 

 Broth: 

 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Boob Halves cut into three pieces

4 Medium Carrots, cut diagonally into slices

1 Onion, chopped

1 Garlic Clove, minced

 1 Bay Leaf

2 Celery Stalks, chopped

1 1/2 c. Chicken Stock

Salt to taste 

1tsp Fresh Thyme

Dough:

1/4 C. plus 2 T. Yellow Cornmeal

3/4 C. All Purpose Flour

1 t. Baking Powder

1 T. Lemon Zest

3/4 C. Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley

2 T. Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 1/2 T. Unsalted Butter, in small pieces

1/2 C. Milk

Directions: 

1. Bring 2 quarts water (with chicken boobs, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and stock and 1/8 tsp. salt to a boil in medium pot. Skim froth. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 20 mins. Add thyme. 

2. Meanwhile, mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, zest, parsley and cheese in a bowl. Add butter  and blend with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk and stir until dough forms.

3.  Roll dough into 1-inch balls (I just used a small spoon to scoop it). Add all at once to simmering broth. Cover, simmer until dumplings are cooked through. I tested them with toothpicks. If I stabbed them and the toothpick came out clean, they were done (usually about 20 minutes). Serves 6.

Fattening Treats.

Sorry I'm late in posting this, ladies.

Last Thursday, I and some of my favorite girls from the former Los Hermanos crew got together for a small reunion. I had a ball chatting it up, reminiscing and talking about what's new in our lives. At the end of our visit, we enjoyed our delicious cookies. I'm not 100% sure what this recipe is or even what the name of this cookie is. But it was GOOOOODDD.

Dear Pearl and Janeal, 

Lets not take forever til our next get-together? 

Love, Ang.

Learning To Cook!

I have finally learned how to make Arepas! I've been craving them for so long and my mom's good friend Marta makes some amazing ones. Luckily, I found out Marta and her family were making their way down from Layton to spend dinner with us. I packed up Baby Calvin and got myself out of my sweatpants and drove to my parents' house. 

And Marta agreed to show me how to make them! It is much easier than I thought it would be for sure, it just takes a lot of multitasking and meat preparation that takes about a whole day. Anyway, they turned out delicious! Buttery, flaky, and so tasty! YUMMMM!

Step by Step

I'm slowly learning the ins and outs of being a housewife. 

I successfully made a pizza. ALL by myself. :) 

I know it sounds very silly. But I feel so satisfied when I make something that tastes good.. but more importantly that David thinks tastes good. I think next time, I'll stick with David's recipe next time I try pizza- though this recipe was pretty good. :) 

Going to try something new.

Calvin loves foooood! 
I've only been giving him the usual for right now. I have been slow in introducing new things into his menu (Allergies!) but I really want to try something new. He's a huge fan of yellow & orange veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, etc.) My mom has tons of it in her freezer and helps me out by boiling it all together with organic chicken, blending it all up with a little bit of the broth, and done.

 Other than that, Cal hasn't really branched out very much outside of oatmeal, bananas and the aforementioned veggies. 
Anyway, I figure it's probably safe now to venture into giving him different foods. Some people have given me a hard time for introducing him to such bland foods as rice cereal. Come on, now. 
I got online and searched around a little bit for different ideas of what to give a little baby. I want to stay away from store bought food seeing as it's all probably full of thickening agents, stripped of all its nutrients, and all preservatives. Thanks. But no thanks. And in some of the blogs I creep on, I found an article at Honest Fare specifically about making baby food!


SCORE! 

I found recipes for things like: 
1. Baked Cinnamon Apples with Prunes (and yogurt, optional)
2. Zucchini Potato
3. Peas with Mint
4. Baked Apple and Carrot


I love the idea! And she stored it in ice trays/muffin tins in the freezer so she could thaw them as she needed them. Such a good idea. Anyway, when we go shopping tonight, I definitely want to try making some of these things and seeing how Cal reacts to them. Wee!!! 

And here's the finished product. ↑↑↑