"this is a keeper"

mom and I were watching tv

the other night and she got all 

obsessed with this seafood chowder

I have accepted the fact that

I have to make my own dinner cause

I am the pickiest eater ever

but things have changed with

scrambler and critic moving in

[which by the way, they think they're here

for an "extended visit"]

critic has to watch her salt intake

because of her heart, so that rules out a lot,

and she can't stand peas

scrambler can't stand fish,

among other things

so with every meal mom makes

critic and scrambler tell her if she should keep making it

like they're the bosses around here,

don't even get me started

mom made a seafood chowder

which i could smell by 11am

upstairs, in my room, with the door closed

[I can't stand the smell of seafood]

and at the end of the meal

scrambler says "this is a keeper"

and critic says "it was okay, it could have been warmer"

which is a whole other story, for another day

but trust me the irony of him

liking a SEAFOOD chowder is not lost on me

for the recipe head over to 

the bearfoot contessa's page on HGTV

shepard's pie

this is one of my favorite meals

my mom made while i was a kid

pound of meat

mixed veggies

and i kinda messed up the next part

what your supposed to do is

mix a can of cream of mushroom and half a can of milk

and then pour it over the first two layers

then mashed potatoes

when it's like half done 

throw some cheese on it and let it be

i could be wrong but if the meat is warm, and the potatoes

then it's 350 degrees for 30 minutes

taco salad and fireworks!

i have been craving a taco salad

for like the past month

and finally i made it for GGm and GGp

i had a problem though

how to make the tortilla bowl

i'd fried tortillas before

but to get them into bowl shape

i was stumped!

and then i saw these rubbermaid bowls i have

so i fried the tortillas and then

gently put them into the bowls

about 20 minutes later they were cooled and retained their shape

unless you tore them apart

but i just took some lettuce from the fridge

and cut some bigger cherry tomatoes

into quarters

take a pound of ground beef

and mix in a packet of taco seasoning 

according to directions

that's where the fireworks come in

as i was doing it i moved it to the back burner

and was just barely moving it back

i hear a crack

and white sparks EVERYWHERE

and a scream coming from somewhere

i have no idea where it came from

[okay, it was me]

yes, i broke the coil

but if it happens to you

grab it, head to your local home depot

or lowe's [what's the difference anyways?]

and you can get them for about $10

or at least that's what my dad says

so here's how i did it

lettuce

tomatoes

meat

and then cheese

although in retrospect

i would do meat and then tomatoes

my bowl

GGp's bowl

GGm's bowl

i don't try to give her smaller portions

but i have this germ thing

and if she doesn't finish her dinner

she puts it back in

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

i love pumpkin chcolate chip cookies

i beg my mom to make them all the time

well mom got a new recipe for them

awhile ago, and i seriously could make them anytime

three ingredients

spice cake mix

canned pumpkin

chocolate chip cookies

seriously could not be easier

bake at 350 degrees

and for how long changes for how moist you want them

and how big each cookie is

but start at 20 minutes

when you put them on the cookie sheet

you can put them really close together

because they grow up, not out

so push them out to how large you want them

grilled sandwiches

so i might be addicted to grilled cheese

not kidding!

a friend of mine used to have grilled cheese parties

and then right before i moved out of my favorite apt

i was making them like 3 times a week

i've gotten better though

but GGm and GGp sure love them

i think they may like the tuna fish ones better though

grilled cheese is pretty much self-explainatory

but here are the basics if you have never

heard of them before

butter one side of each piece of bread

i put the butter side up and let it melt

so that as it browns it's already warm inside

and melting the cheese

but that's probably how you do it too though

don't make fun of me

i make tuna fish sandwiches

the same way my mom has made them

although due to my limited supplies i substituted 

i ususally use miracle whip, cause i can't stand mayo but that's all i had

i usually use dill pickles, cut them into quarters from circles

[i don't know to explain it, sorry]

but i do the same thing with the bread

so that it warms to tuna

and for the record i know i made this

way more complicated than it needed to be

chicken alfredo

so i love fettuccine alfredo,

freaking love it!

but i have a hard time with people putting chicken in

because some people screw it up

but bird's eye does it just right

it's got some kick

but not too much

and there are veggies too

although i am trying to get GGm and GGp

away from frozen food

because seriously 99% of it is so bad for you

but this is something i will get cause 

it has a ton of food groups!

if you want to make this,

you can find it in the freezer section of your grocery store

stroganoff

this has always been one of my favorites

i remember begging mom to make it all the time

so i suggest buying a good chunk of ground beef

cook it and then freeze it in pound increments

which by the way

1 pound of ground beef is

2 and 1/2 cups cooked

thank you google!

also something else you might like

springpadit.com

it's freaking amazing!

it's also where i keep recipes my mom gives me

i'll give you the recipe

remember to follow the instructions

stroganoff

• 1/2 c minced onion
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 cup IMO or sour cream
• 2 TBLS flour
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• dash of salt and pepper
• Noodles
• 1 TBLS parsley (optional)

Cook hamburger. When done, part in center and saute onions. Add flour, salt and pepper, and mushroom soup. Cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken soup. Simmer uncovered for 10 mins. Just before serving stir in sour cream and heat thoroughly. Stir in noodles, sprinkle parsley over top. Serve

it's super good!

although IMO makes it taste way funny

i didn't have minced onion or parsley 

but they are not essential so if you don't have them

don't freak out

this does constitute as heaven in your mouth

baked seasoned chicken and rice

Last week I bought chicken breasts

and was needing to use them

so last friday i made chicken noodle soup

with three chicken breasts

and with the other four i baked them

super easy baked chicken

salt

pepper

montreal chicken spice/rub

water

**preheat the oven to 350 degrees

i pour salt onto my hand and then rub the chicken

i do the same with pepper

then i sprinkle the montreal chicken stuff just on the top of the chicken

pour just a tiny bit of water into the bottom of the pan you are going to use

for the small pan i used i put in less than a fourth a cup

cover the pan with tin foil

and cook for 20-25 minutes

then 5-10 minutes with the tin foil off for the chicken to brown

now for the rice

i admit i didn't know how to make rice on the stove

so i youtubed it!

if you want to make it in the microwave

i suggest this one

but leave out the salt

if you want to make it on the stove

i suggest this one

just follow that and you'll be fine

it's a little blurry, blame the iPhone

add some veggies and you are good to go!