Sweet Potato Casserole!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I thought that this week I would make something in honor of my favorite holiday, THANKSGIVING!  This is also my brother, Craig's, favorite dish (besides my Granny's apple pie).  I absolutely love Thanksgiving because it is a time where you can get together with friends and family and have a wonderful time together!  This sweet potato casserole is extremely easy to make and tastes delicious, but then again how could something topped with marshmallows not taste delicious!

2 large cans yams (drained) approx. 40 oz. each

1 small can crushed pineapple

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

nutmeg or allspice to taste

1/2 stick butter or margarine (cut into small pieces)  may use less

Marshmallows

Mash yams with potato masher, if you don't have one of these you can use a fork or a wooden spoon.  You just need something that will mash the yams .  Add pineapple to the mashed yams and mix.  Stir in the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice.  Spray a 13x9 baking dish or other casserole dish and spoon the yam mixture into the dish.  Make sure that the yams are even distributed in the dish or the yams will cook unevenly.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes until heated through and slightly bubbly. Uncover the dish and top with marshmallows.  Turn your oven to "broil" put the dish back in the oven until the marshmallows are golden (approx. 1 minute) but watch closely--the marshmallows will burn quickly!  This can cause a lot of problems, which my Mother can attest to!  I really hope that you enjoy the casserole and I hope that everyone had a fabulous THANKSGIVING!

Stuffed Shells

Hey Ya'll, I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween and is ready for NOVEMBER!  I can't believe that it is already November 10th!  Time is going by too fast.  Just yesterday I signed up for classes for the last time in my undergraduate career, scary... Anyways, I decided that this week I would make one of my absolute favorite dishes.  My mom always makes these for special occasions.  The awesome thing about Stuffed Shells is that after you make them, you can simply cover them and freeze them and they will last for a really long time!  Ok, enough of my blabbering, here is the recipe:
1-15 oz. container ricotta (whole or part skim)
2 cups shredded mozzarella or italian blend cheese
1/4 cup parmesean--grated
2-3 Tablespoons parsley flakes (dried or fresh) or italian seasoning
1-12 oz. box jumbo shells
2 jars (26 oz. each) Prego Pasta Sauce (meat flavored is best for this)

Combine the ricotta, mozzarella or italian, parmesean, and parsley flakes/italian seasoning (I like to use both) and mix well. Stuff shells with cheese mixture.  You will probably get about 20-25 stuffed shells out of all of the mixture.   Grease or spray a 13x9 pan and spread approximately 1/2 jar of sauce in pan.  Place uncooked stuffed shells on the sauce.  This size pan should be perfect for the amount of shells and cheese mixture that we have.  Cover the shells with the remaining sauce.  Add a little water (about 1/2 cup each) to each of the sauce jars and pour over the shells to dilute the sauce and to completely cover the shells.  I know that sounds kind of strange, but it helps to make sure the spaghetti sauce is evenly distributed over all of the shells.  Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Finally, uncover the shells and bake another 15 minutes until bubbly.  And now you are done.  I like to let the shells sit for a little bit to cool off and to coagulate (shout out to you Dad!) a little bit before I eat them.  Viola, you have amazingly delicious stuffed shells!

FAJITAS!

So for this week I decided to make some chicken fajitas.  All of my roommates are loving this blog and they hope that I will keep it going indefinitely because they like all of the free food I make them!  So shout out to apartments 4 and 6!  OK, so back to the fajitas.  They are pretty easy to make and they make a pretty large quantity.  They are good to make if you are going to be cooking for a few people, or, if you are like me, you want some leftovers.  These fajitas taste really good reheated which is awesome.  Some foods don't reheat well (macaroni and cheese anyone?)  Here are the ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breast (cut into thin strips)
2 Tbl. Lemon juice
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. pepper
Combine these first five ingredients and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3 medium to large peppers (any assortment green, red, yellow) cut into thin strips
½ small onion (cut into rings)
½ cup sour cream
2 Tbl. Vegetable oil
6 inch flour tortilla shells
Optional—shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese, salsa

Saute marinated chicken in oil over medium heat until almost done (approximately 5 minutes).  Then add peppers strips and onions and sauté till veggies are crisp tender. I am not a very big onion fan, so I like to use vidalia onions because they are fairly mild and don't make you cry when you cut them!  I also like to use all different color peppers!  It makes the fajitas look so colorful and is super delicious.  Add sour cream, stir and cook until heated.  I like to stick the tortillas in the microwave for about 10 seconds so that they are soft and warm.  Then, spoon chicken, peppers, onions mixture onto the tortilla. Top with shredded cheese and salsa if you want to (why wouldn't you want to!)  Roll up and serve.  Enjoy!

Hot Seafood Dip

I would like to dedicate this post to my Dad.  Last week I went home for Fall Break and it was the first time that I had seen my family since August.  Every time I go home I always try to make this dip for my Dad.  He really likes it and I like doing something special for him!  This dip is really good and one of my favorites, but it is probably one of the more expensive things that I make.  So it might not be something that you make regularly, but it can DEFINITELY be made to impress someone!  Ok, so here are the ingredients:

8 oz. frozen cocktail shrimp (thawed and drained)

8 oz. flaked or chopped crab meat (I always buy imitation crab meat that is packaged in the refrigerator section)

8 oz. cream cheese (light or regular)

½ cup mayonnaise

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon chopped parsley (dried is fine)

1 teaspoon onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine and mix the above ingredients. It is easiest if you let the cream cheese sit out for about thirty minutes because it is hard to mix it with all of the other ingredients.  It is also helpful to cut the cream cheese up into little cubes to make it easier to mix.  Then, coat an 11 X 7 baking dish with non-stick spray and spread mixture into pan. Make sure that you have spread out the dip evenly in the pan or it will not cook correctly.  Finally, put the pan in the oven and bake it uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve warm with TRISCUITS!  Personally, my Dad and I prefer the "Rosemary and Olive Oil" Triscuits the best!

Mexican Dip

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So, I was inspired by our recent football game to make a dish that could be used for parties or tailgates or really any kind of social gathering.  If only the football game would have turned out as well as my dip!  The dip is honestly one of the easiest things to make.  It actually requires ZERO cooking!  All you have to be able to do is mix things and chop a few tomatoes.  


1 can refried beans
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ package taco seasoning mix
½ cup salsa
8 oz. grated cheddar or Mexican cheese
1 large (or more to taste) tomato—chopped
Optional—sliced olives, chopped onions, diced avocado


Make sure you mix the beans, sour cream, lemon juice, taco seasoning, and salsa together in a mixing bowl.  You want to make sure that the mixture has an even consistency and everything is mixed up well.  It is ok if there are a few chunks or bumps, the beans and the salsa could be the reason for that.  Then spread that mixture in a 12x9 baking dish.  I like to use the aluminum dishes from the grocery store because you can just throw it out afterwards and you don't have to clean!  Then layer grated cheese on top of the mixture that you put in the baking dish.  I prefer the "Mexican cheese" or "Taco cheese" that comes in a package at the grocery store, but you can use whatever kind of cheese you like.  Finally layer chopped tomatoes over the whole thing.  You can also add avocado, olives, green chilies, jalapeños, etc. the possibilities are endless!  

I personally like to serve this with those Tostitos Scoops.  They make it super easy to get the perfect amount of dip on every chip.  Now my mom, who also likes the scoops, prefers the baked ones, as a more healthy option. Honestly, it is up to you so let your tortilla chip imagination run wild!

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

As someone who has Italian roots I can't deny my love for pasta.  Although I do despise rotini, I pretty much love everything else.  Today I thought it would be a good idea to cook a pasta dish that is SUPER easy, but will look very impressive to everyone who eats it!  The ingredients are fairly simple and the only "cooking" that is involved is boiling water and cooking pasta on the stove and a little bit of simmering.  Easy enough right?  And see, you can tell everyone that you know how to "simmer" something and they will be extremely impressed!  So here are the ingredients that you will need to make the alfredo sauce:

1 pint heavy cream

½ stick margarine or butter

4 oz. cream cheese

½-3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

½-1 tsp .garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

1-16 oz. box Fettuccine

If you are health conscious or whatever the case and you want the sauce to have less calories then all you have to do is replace the heavy cream with fat free half and half or light cream and instead of regular cream cheese use fat-free or light cream cheese.  Also, with the cream cheese, it is best if you purchase the sticks of cream cheese instead of the tubs for this.  It is just too hard to measure out 4 oz of cream cheese from a tub!

First, in a saucepan, combine margarine, heavy cream, and cream cheese. Simmer on low to low-medium heat slowly until melted and mixed well. Although simmering might sound intense for a newbie, it is actually very easy.  All you want to do is use a lower heat setting and make sure the ingredients have been mixed and melted together.  P.S. Fun Fact: Food that is simmered in milk or cream instead of water is referred to as creamed.  Add parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Simmer on low for 15-20 minutes stirring frequently. This does take a pretty good amount of time, but just grab a beer or a glass of Chianti (Italian wine) and relax.  Cooking doesn't have to be stressful!  Finally, add salt and pepper to taste and serve the sauce over fettuccine.

A good rule of thumb is when you add the parmesan cheese and the garlic powder to your mixture that is being simmered, that is a good time to start boiling the water for your fettuccine.  Cooking pasta is easy.  Simply add about 6 cups of water to a pot and put it on the stove to boil.  You can add a little salt and olive oil to the water if you would like.  Once the water has started to boil, add in the fettuccine.  Just make sure that you stir the noodles in the pot.  After about 6-8 minutes check a noodle to see if it is done.  If you have trouble, you can always check on the pasta box.  It will have instructions as well!

My VERY FIRST Blog Post!

So, this is my very first blog post and I am super excited about it.  I started this blog for an assignment for my Sociology class.  We are supposed to explore different types of new media.  I thought that this blog would be really helpful and really fun.  I know when I first left the comfort of my own home (my mommy did all of my laundry and cooked all of my meals -- I know I was spoiled!) I wasn't sure how to cook anything!  I would go online and look up recipes on the internet and try to replicate them.  I figured this blog could become a helpful tool to people who are struggling with what to make for dinner, or for that football tailgate.  If you are sick of living off of Lean Cuisines and frozen pizza then you have come to the right place!  


For my first recipe I wanted to make an oldie but goodie, drum roll please... FRIED ZUCCHINI!  Here is the recipe:

2-3 medium to large zucchini.
¼-1/2  inch thick.
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk or water—beat into egg mixture
1 cup flour
1 cup bread crumbs (seasoned or Italian)
1 tsp. salt—or to taste (mix in flour)
½ tsp. pepper—or to taste (mix in flour)
Vegetable, olive or canola oil
Non-stick cooking spray
Cookie sheet or large baking dish

First, make sure you wash your hands! I know that sounds stupid but trust me you will be surprised how many people don't! Now preheat the oven to 350 degrees, wash and cut the zucchini into 1/2 inch medallions and 1. coat in flour (on both sides) 2. dip in egg mixture (on both sides) 3. dip in bread crumbs (on both sides). OK, I usually don't care too much about the brands of the ingredients that I use, (I'm a college student on a fixed income, I can't afford to be too picky!) however, PROGRESSO ITALIAN STYLE BREAD CRUMBS are BEST! Make sure you coat the baking sheet with cooking spray and then drizzle a little bit of either vegetable/canola/olive oil on the sheet. Finally, put the dipped zucchinis on the baking sheet and bake them for about 20 minutes, flipping them over half way through (you want them to be light brown).

Well there you go! Fried Zucchini is one of my favorite foods, and it is so easy to make!