New Place, First Meal

Yes, we've moved since I last posted here. And last night, I got the kitchen unpacked, so tonight, I cooked dinner!

I've recently started using Ibotta and Cartwheel to save some money. (I mean very recently... so far I've saved a little over $5 with Cartwheel and before the receipt for this meal I had $2.50 on Ibotta.)

So today when I went grocery shopping on my lunch break, I tried to buy exclusively things that were on one app or both. Out of the whole receipt, the only things not on either app were potatoes, which I thought I would use in tonight's dinner but decided to go with pasta instead.

Which means this meal was made exclusively from items purchased cheaper or with rebates using those two apps. And I totally winged the whole meal. And it was pretty delicious.

To ease myself back into the food blogging thing, I'm not going to do formatted recipes, just a narrative of what I did.

Boneless Pork Chops, Onions, and Italian-Parmesan Pasta

First, I started the water boiling for the pasta, to give myself some time to figure out what else I wanted to do. Once it started boiling, I put in the pasta and cooked it about 7 minutes (I didn't use much). While that was boiling, I put Italian breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and shallot-pepper seasoning in a bowl and mixed it up, and whisked an egg in another bowl. I also chopped up about half an onion. Once the pasta was done, I drained it in a colander and rinsed it with cold water. Then I put a skillet on the hot burner and melted about 1 Tbsp butter in it. I dredged the boneless center cut pork chops in the egg, then the breadcrumb mixture, coating them evenly, and put them in the skillet. I didn't time them, but a few minutes on each side? Part of the time it was covered, and part of the time it wasn't. Like I said, I winged it all. Once I cut into one and they were done, I moved them to a plate and put the pan lid over them to keep them warm. Then I put another 1/2 Tbsp or so of butter in the pan and put in the onions and maybe 1 tsp of minced garlic. I stirred them up to get the bits up from the pork in the pan mixed in with the onions, and I salted them a little. While they cooked, I put some zesty Italian dressing in the pasta and mixed it thoroughly, then did the same with some Parmesan.

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti

Ingredients

pasta (I used penne rigate, making this actually "baked penne")

pasta sauce (whatever you like)

ricotta cheese

shredded mozzarella

Equipment

pot, oven, stove, baking dish

Instructions

Prepare the pasta according to package instructions. Preheat oven to 350F. Drain it and put it in the baking dish. Add sauce to your liking and stir until evenly coated. Add ricotta and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Top with mozzarella. Bake for about 30 minutes (until cheese is melted and bubbly).

Yields

as much as you make

Total time

about 45 minutes

Cleanup rating 3/10

If you stir the sauce and cheese in with everything already in the baking dish, you only have one thing to really clean. And if you wait too long to do it (or keep leftovers in the dish) it'll be harder to clean.

Difficulty rating 3/10

Other than just boiling pasta and adding sauce, this is almost the easiest pasta dish you could possibly make.

Flavor rating 8/10

Classic, simple, and delicious. I think of baked ziti as a wintry comfort food.

Adjustability: medium

Use whatever kind of pasta you want. Obviously it's intended to be ziti, but like I said in the "ingredients" section, I used penne rigate. I was looking for rigatoni, but couldn't find any. We also had rotini, which would work just fine. It only gets weird if you use long pasta like spaghetti or vermicelli, or small pasta like orzo. You can also use whatever sauce you like (I imagine it would be interesting to try an alfredo sauce or something) and any cheese. You could put veggies or meats in it, too.

Make it with...

I went super simple and just microwaved some frozen peas, but any green veggie goes really well with pasta. Salad is a good choice too. To make a more robust meal, you could make chicken or steak or pork chops or something like that with it.

Chicken Lazone

I had never heard of chicken lazone before, but I ran across a recipe here and thought it sounded too easy and delicious not to try. It was good, but I think I need to make it again and let the sauce thicken a little longer and it would be perfect.

Chicken Lazone

Ingredients
2 thin boneless, skinless chicken breasts (either cut in half lengthwise or pounded flat)
garlic powder
onion powder
chili powder (I didn't have this, so I used taco seasoning... close enough!)
1 cup heavy cream
2 T and 2 T butter

Equipment
skillet, stove

Instructions
Season your chicken breasts on both sides with the three spices. Melt 2 T of butter in the pan and cook the chicken on both sides until done. Melt the remaining 2 T of butter around the chicken and pour in the cream. (If necessary, scrape up any seasoning that has stuck to your pan and incorporate it.) Cook for about 8 minutes until sauce thickens.

Yields
2 servings (two chicken breasts)

Total time
about 20 minutes

Cleanup rating 4/10
This rating was arrived at because I was a responsible adult and cleaned the pan immediately after eating dinner. Don't let this one sit. My sauce was thin enough that the little bit left in the pan just went down the sink drain, and it's only one pan so it's not too bad.

Flavor rating 6/10
Birk liked it more than I did, but it did grow on me the more I ate. Like I said at the top, I think I should have let the sauce thicken more.

Difficulty rating 5/10
It doesn't take a very long time, it's almost the same as my basic chicken recipe but with a sauce component added to the end, and the skills necessary are pretty simple (recognizing when chicken is done and when sauce is thickened).

Adjustability: medium
You can switch up the spices and maybe add vegetables or cheese or something. It's hard to say with this one.

Make it with...
I made this with garlic mashed potatoes (the sauce was delicious on them) and a recipe I'm about to post, kale and onion saute. Everything went really well together. The original recipe showed the chicken and sauce being served over a long noodle like spaghetti, which would probably be really good too.

Cost
Chicken, heavy cream, butter, and the spices all belong in my kitchenventory, so the garlic mashed potatoes (about $2) were the only thing I bought that I don't normally have on hand.

Pineapple & Soy Sauce Chicken

Pineapple Soy Sauce Chicken

Ingredients

two boneless, skinless chicken breasts

can of pineapple juice (a little less than a cup)

1/2 cup of soy sauce

1/3 cup of brown sugar

Equipment

slow cooker

Instructions

Put it all in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours (6 for fresh, 8 for frozen).

Yields

two servings

Total time

6-8 hours (negligible prep time)

Cleanup rating 4/5

Sticky juices in a slow cooker? Yuck. But there aren't little pieces of things to scrape off the slow cooker, so that's a plus.

Flavor rating 5/10

It was okay. The chicken was a little dry because it had to cook longer than was ideal due to our work/school schedules yesterday, and I think the sauce needed something. Maybe a little orange? I don't know. But it was edible and we ate it. Adding some of the sauce to the rice made it a little better.

Difficulty rating 1/10

You saw the instructions section, right? Stupid easy.

Adjustability: low

If you change this much, it will be a different recipe. But like I said, it needs something to fix it.

Make it with...

We had white rice with it, which went really well. I planned on sauteeing some bell pepper to add a veggie to the mix but I was hungry when I got home so we just ate without the veggie.

Kitchenventory
Everything in this recipe belongs in my kitchenventory. Chicken breasts are a common staple of our diet, soy sauce and brown sugar are always in the cabinet, and we almost always have pineapple juice on hand for mixing drinks.

Egg Sandwich and Toasted Edamame

It's time for a two-fer!

Egg Sandwich

Ingredients

bread (we used the same everything French bread from last night's grilled cheeses)

eggs (about two per sandwich)

salt and pepper

cheese (I had white cheddar)

butter

Equipment

skillet, pan, stove

Instructions

Mix up eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper like you're making scrambled eggs (because you totally are). Butter a skillet and start the bread toasting. Cut your cheese into tiny cubes. Butter a pan and heat it up. Add the eggs. When they just start to cook, add the cheese. Keep stirring it and chopping it with the spoon until you have scrambled eggs. Keep an eye on your toast (flip it over when one side is toasted). Once everything's done, make sandwiches.

Yields

I made three sandwiches out of four eggs.

Total time

About 15 minutes

Cleanup rating 2/5

All you have to deal with is a buttery skillet, an eggy pan, and a raw eggy bowl.

Flavor rating 8/10

Yum! Simple but delicious. Hard to go wrong with butter, bread, eggs, and cheese.

Difficulty rating 2/10

Super easy. Unless you're terrible at cracking eggs. Then it's like a 3. Or like 5 if you're really, really bad at it.

Adjustability: high

It's a sandwich... add whatever you want! Use different cheeses, mix in vegetables or meats, add stuff like lettuce or tomato or whatever you want. That's what I love about sandwiches.

Make it with...

I made it with the recipe below, toasted edamame. But again... it's a sandwich. Chips, pretzels, veggies, whatever floats your boat.

Cost

Half a dozen eggs: about $2

Everything French bread from Walmart: $1

Butter from kitchenventory

Brick of white cheddar cheese from Target: about $3

Cost for all ingredients: $6

Toasted Edamame

Ingredients

bag of frozen edamame

vegetable oil

a few Tbsp Parmesan cheese

about 1 tsp minced garlic

salt and pepper

Equipment

baking sheet, oven

Instructions

Rinse/thaw your edamame. Toss it in vegetable oil. Add minced garlic and toss again. Spread it on the baking sheet and sprinkle with Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes.

Yields

a bag's worth of edamame

Total time

about 15 minutes

Cleanup rating 1/5

You have an oily bowl (or colander if you're like me and get tired of being told there's too much oil in your vegetables, so you added oil while the vegetables were still in the colander) and, if you line your baking sheet with foil, a piece of foil to throw away.

Flavor rating 7/10

I think this is an excellent vegetable side dish, personally. Our edamame had been sitting in the freezer for about a year, so it was a tiny bit tough, but it was still tasty.

Difficulty rating 1/10

The hardest part was opening the jar of minced garlic.

Adjustability: medium

You could use other spices or herbs or something, but that's about it.

Make it with...

Anything! It's a side dish. Goes with any meat, any non-meat, any sandwich, whatever.

Cost

Bag of edamame: about $2

Parmesan cheese from the kitchenventory

Minced garlic from the kitchenventory

Cost for all ingredients: $2

Cost for this recipe: $2

Grilled Cheese

No, I'm not going to just tell you how to turn loaf bread and American cheese into grilled cheese. I hope you know how to do that. This is a grown-up grilled cheese, and it's delicious.

Grilled Cheese (Grown-Up)

Ingredients

half a loaf of French bread (ours is "everything" pre-sliced from Walmart)

brick of Monterey jack cheese

butter

half an onion

Equipment

skillet, stove

Instructions

Slice the onion into half-rings and saute in butter. I added a little garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Remove from pan and allow to cool. Melt butter in skillet and place four pieces of bread on skillet. Cover each piece in slices of cheese, then layer onions on top, covered with more slices of cheese, then topped with bread. Wait until bottom piece browns and cheese is starting to get melty, and flip sandwiches over. (I used this time to work on making guacamole so the sandwiches wouldn't get underdone thanks to my impatience. Also Birk took over the sandwiches at this point.) Once the cheese is all melted and the bread is toasted on each side, boom, done.

Yields

four little sandwiches (2 servings)

Total time

about 15 minutes

Cleanup rating 2/5

You have a greasy buttery pan and an oniony cutting board to deal with, but that's pretty great. And your plates don't get messy either. They're sandwiches.

Flavor rating 9/10

Mmmmm yummy. Caramelized onions are totally the way to go with grilled cheese.

Difficulty rating 2/10

Children could make this. This used to be a thing I asked Birk to make for me. Now I can do it myself. So easy.

Adjustability: high

I couldn't decide what to put on these... onion? peppers? bacon? green apple? Expect to see more grilled cheeses for grown-ups here in the future. There will definitely be experiments.

Make it with...

As you can see in the second picture above, I made guacamole (smoosh up an avocado, squeeze a lime into it, sprinkle it with kosher salt) and threw on some tortilla chips. But it's a sandwich... have whatever side you like with sandwiches. Chips, pretzels, veggies, whatever.

Cost

The recipe (sandwiches only):

Bread for $1 at Walmart and still have half a loaf.

Cheese for $2.50 at Walmart and we used the whole brick.

Onion for $0.61 at Walmart and still have half left.

Butter is part of the kitchenventory.

Total cost to buy ingredients: $4.11. Total cost used: $3.31.

The meal:

Avocados: 2 for $2.78 at Farm Fresh.

Limes: free because my friend Missi brought a bag to the New Year's party.

Salt: part of the kitchenventory.

Total cost to buy ingredients for guacamole: $2.78. Total cost used: $2.78.

Total cost to buy ingredients for whole meal minus drinks: $6.89.

Total cost used for whole meal minus drinks: $6.09.

Chicken and Onions

I didn't take a picture of this dinner, but I've made it several times before. In fact, I was surprised to find that I hadn't posted it here before.

Chicken and Onions

Ingredients
two boneless, skinless chicken breasts
one large onion, sliced
olive oil
salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder

Equipment
oven

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450F. Line a baking dish with foil (this recipe can stick to a pan and hold on for dear life). Put the chicken and the sliced onions in the dish and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice (I like garlic on everything, and paprika gives it a nice color). Bake for about 30 minutes.

Yields
2 servings

Total time
30 minutes

Cleanup rating 3/5 if you use foil
If you don't use foil, have fun scrubbing onion bits off your dish. Been there; done that. Now I only make this dish with foil.

Flavor rating 7/10
Sometimes I overcook this. Sometimes I undercook it. When I get it right, it's a 7/10. When I don't, it's like a 3.

Difficulty rating 2/10
So simple. Surprising, considering I just admitted to screwing it up sometimes.

Adjustability: medium
You can add other veggies, or use different seasonings, but that's about all there is to it.

Make it with...
This time I made it with rice in the rice cooker that I added shredded gouda to (try it, it's great). You can make it with mashed potatoes, or noodles, or any veggie side dish... it's really versatile, because it really just boils down to being chicken, seasoned however you want.

Kitchenventory
Cabinet: nothing
Fridge: chicken breasts
Countertop: onion, olive oil
Spice rack: seasonings
Miscellaneous: foil

Chicken Noodle Soup

One of my dad's favorite pastimes is to try making dinner without going grocery shopping. He likes the challenge of using what is already in the kitchen to make a meal. I don't have quite the knack for it that he does, but he has several years' worth of experience on me, so I don't mind.

However... I have to admit that I did a pretty amazing job yesterday.

I was cleaning out one of the cabinets (as part of the kitchenventory) and found an old can of chicken noodle soup... old enough that I didn't want to eat it. But it sounded good. So I thought, "Oh, I'll go to Panera on my way to work and get some soup for lunch." But then I thought, "There's chicken in the fridge, and I just pulled half a bag of egg noodles out of this cabinet." Lo and behold, I had the stuff to make an actual chicken noodle soup in the Crockpot.

This is a recipe where I'm listing what I had and used, but it's very versatile, so make substitutes all over the place.

Chicken Noodle Soup (Slow Cooker)

Ingredients

two boneless, skinless chicken breasts

about 3 cups of chicken broth

about 3 cups of water

half a packet of onion soup mix

half a bag of baby carrots

half a bag of frozen peas

half a bag of frozen green beans

salt, pepper, shallot-pepper seasoning

half a bag of egg noodles

Equipment

slow cooker

Instructions

Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. Cover with the veggies and liquids. Cook on low for 6-7 hours (mine went about 8 because of work schedule). Take out the chicken and shred it with a fork (this should be really easy, it'll just fall apart) and put it back in. Add the noodles and let it cook for another 20-30 minutes. Add more liquid if you feel like it needs it.

Yields
5-6 servings... I'm working my way through the leftovers now.

Total time
7-8 hours (prep time about 5 minutes)

Cleanup rating 4/5
If you don't use a slow cooker liner, slow cookers can be a pain to clean. But at least it's only one dish. Still, this has lots of little bits of things and if you don't lick the pot clean, you have to clean little bits of things off of it.

Difficulty rating 2/10
Make sure you remember to pull out the chicken and shred it and put in the noodles on time, but otherwise, this is super easy.

Flavor rating 8/10
It might be because this was exactly what I wanted or because I skipped lunch, but this was DELICIOUS.

Adjustability: high
Since this was an on-the-fly recipe, that kind of defines it as an adjustable recipe. Use whatever vegetables and seasonings you have on hand. Have more chicken broth? Use it; I had about three cups, so that's what I used. Have vegetable broth instead? Go for it.

Make it with...
Nothing or anything. This was a hearty meal on its own and didn't need anything to go with it.

Beer Mushrooms

You know what's awesome? Beer. You know what else is awesome? Mushrooms. But guess what wasn't double-awesome? These beer mushrooms. They were okay.

Beer + mushrooms = beer mushrooms

That's them, on the right, with beer brats and potatoes.

Ingredients

8 oz mushrooms

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup beer

salt and pepper

Equipment

skillet, stove

Instructions

Melt butter in a skillet. Add mushrooms. Add beer. Cook for about 30 minutes, letting the mushrooms absorb all the beer. Salt and pepper to taste.

Yields

3-4 servings

Total Time
about 30 minutes

Cleanup rating 2/5
The thing about making something with a lot of butter and leaving it in the pan while you eat dinner is that it gets that fatty stuff all over the pan. I think it's kind of gross, but it's easy to clean up.

Difficulty rating 2/10
Patience factors into difficulty, which is the only reason this isn't a 1/10.

Flavor rating 3/10
Meh. I like mushrooms. I like beer. (At least, I like the beer I used for this.) I didn't really like this.

Adjustability: low
Use a different beer (the original recipe recommended a stout, maybe that was part of my problem) or use different mushrooms, maybe add some other herbs/seasonings, but that's about all you can do.

Make it with...
I made this to go along with French onion soup, sauteed beer brats with garlic, and potatoes (they were sliced this time to make them cook a little faster). You could make them with just about anything... chicken, pork, beef, vegetarian meals, whatever.

Caesar Salad

You may be saying, "Alex, you haven't posted in a couple weeks, and here you bring us a salad? That's not cooking." To that, I say: I can't hear you, and calm your face, because this salad was delicious.

Birk picked up Ken's Steakhouse creamy caesar dressing a while back, and it's now my favorite Caesar dressing in a bottle. (The best Caesar anywhere is the one at The Melting Pot, but I don't dare try to copy it... I just eat it once a year and love it.) It's a pretty big bottle, so you might see Caesar show up again sometime on here.

Caesar Salad

Ingredients
romaine lettuce
croutons (ours are Parmesan Caesar)
bacon
chicken (got a rotisserie chicken, rosemary & garlic)
Parmesan cheese
Caesar dressing

Equipment
colander or salad spinner, cutting board and knife, microwave if your bacon isn't cooked, bowls

Instructions
You've made a salad before, right? Wash and pat dry your lettuce (I hate a watery Caesar, and it can make your croutons soggy, which is just the worst) and divide it into bowls. Cut up your chicken into bite-size pieces. Microwave your bacon according to package instructions. Assemble salads. Smile.

Yields
Depends on how much of each ingredient you use, of course.

Total time
10 minutes

Cleanup rating 1/5
You aren't even cooking. Absolute maximum of dishes to clean is your colander or salad spinner, cutting board, knife, maybe a plate you cooked bacon on, and your bowls/forks.

Difficulty rating 1/10
Even with the required skill of knowing how to efficiently dissect a rotisserie chicken (which I left up to Birk while I did the other prep), it doesn't get much easier than this.

Flavor rating 7/10
It's a classic dish. Chicken Caesar salad. Can't go wrong.

Adjustability: high
Use steak, shrimp, turkey, tofu, or nothing instead of chicken and bacon. Use a different type of lettuce. Instead of croutons, use nuts or Parmesan crisps or some other crunchy little thing. Try different dressings (although then I guess it's not so much a Caesar...)

Make it with...
Everything. With the chicken in it, it's a fine entree on its own. If it hadn't been so quick and I hadn't been so hungry, I would have roasted some potatoes and onions with it, or sauteed chicken breasts to go alongside it instead of cutting up rotisserie chicken to put on top of it. Go nuts.

Cheesesteaks

I'm pretty sure I've never been to Philadelphia (therefore, if I have, I don't remember it) so go easy on me here, okay? I just like sandwiches. Don't try to tell me this isn't a proper cheesesteak... I'm from the south; I'm not expected to get these things right.

Cheesesteaks

Ingredients
green pepper
onion
mushrooms
ground beef
sliced provolone
bolillo rolls
about 2 Tbsp butter

Equipment
pan, foil, baking sheet, stove, oven

Instructions
Cut up your veggies into pieces that are an appropriate size to put on a sandwich. (I mention this specifically because I made mine a little big... they shrink a little while they cook, but not that much.) Melt butter in a pan and cook the veggies on medium-high until they start to get little char marks on them. Move the veggies to a bowl to wait while you cook the ground beef thoroughly in the pan. Drain your ground beef (I set out a paper plate covered in paper towels and pour the meat onto it, pat it down with a couple more paper towels) and put it back in the pan. Add the veggies back to the pan and mix thoroughly. Turn the heat to low. Once the veggies are heated through, spread the mixture evenly in the pan and cover with slices of provolone. Preheat the oven to 250F. Once the cheese is melted, scoop the mixture into sliced bolillo rolls. Wrap each sandwich very very tightly in foil and set on the baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Yields 
I got 5 sandwiches out of one package of ground beef, one pepper, one onion, and a few button mushrooms. If we had used bigger rolls, it would have been 4.

Total time
about 30 minutes

Cleanup rating 1/5
Using one pan for the veggies and the meat makes cleanup even easier. Since the sandwiches are wrapped tight in foil, they don't leak onto the pan, so that doesn't even need to be cleaned.

Difficulty rating 2/10
These are not hard... they're just a little more time-consuming than a sandwich usually is. I was playing on hard-mode because my thumb hurt (have you ever cut your thumb by opening shampoo? I have) but still... not hard.

Flavor rating 6/10
Pretty good. I feel like there's something missing, or maybe I just should have used actual steak, but they were good.

Adjustability: high
Switch up your veggies! Change your cheese! Use steak instead of ground beef! Try chicken or pork or turkey instead! Use a different bread! Season your meat with something crazy! Every ingredient can be changed, removed, or switched out for something else. You could even go against everything Philly stands for and just put the mixture on top of rice or mashed potatoes or something, I don't know.

Make it with...
I made potatoes, and I had some green beans on stand-by to make sauteed green beans if the timing was a little off (but it wasn't). I thought about potato chips, potato salad, something with avocado (I just couldn't decide what)... it's a sandwich! Make whatever you want with it.

Bonus photos:

Veggies should look pretty much like this when they're done sauteeing.
Look at the little brown bits on some of them! YUM.

Cheese is just about melted over the meat-and-veggie mixture.
Almost time to transfer to the rolls.

Steamed Chicken Dumplings

No, not chicken and dumplings... chicken dumplings. Like, Chinese food. I got a bamboo steamer! And I was very, very excited to use it. I got it so I could make steamed buns, but I thought I should start with something a little easier to get the hang of how the steamer works, since I've never used one before.

Steamed Chicken Dumplings

Ingredients
1 lb ground chicken
4 green onions, minced
4 Tbsp minced garlic
about 1" of fresh ginger, peeled & minced
4 Tbsp soy sauce
1 package wonton wrappers
optional: cabbage or lettuce leaves instead of parchment paper

Equipment
mixing bowl, wok, bamboo steamer, stove, parchment paper

Instructions
In a large bowl, mix the ground chicken, green onions, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce by hand until thoroughly combined. Line your bamboo steamer with cabbage or lettuce leaves or with parchment paper. Spoon a little bit of chicken mixture into the middle of each wonton wrapper, wet the edges and fold together into a triangle, pressing out the air and sealing it. Set the dumplings into the paper-lined steamer trays in a single layer. Steam according to your steamer's directions for about 10-12 minutes. (Mine calls for putting about 2" of water in the wok, setting the steamer in, waiting until it boils, and then starting the timer for how long to cook.)

Yields
We made about three dozen dumplings and had a little chicken mixture left over.

Total time
Since we made ours in three batches, it took about 45 minutes, what with the 10 minutes per batch, and figuring out how to work the steamer and putting together the first batch of dumplings (I made the others while the previous batch was cooking).

Cleanup rating 2/5
For so much work, it's surprising how easy it is to clean up. We used parchment paper, so I don't know if lining with leaves makes a difference, but the steamer just needed a quick clean, and other than that, there's just a mixing bowl and spoon to deal with.

Difficulty rating 7/10
In future dumplings recipes, I'm sure I'll rate this a lot lower, but with it being our first time using the steamer (and not realizing that you can leave at least the bottom tray in the wok while you remove cooked dumplings) and getting the hang of making dumplings that don't make big air pockets... it was a little more difficult than it probably will be in the future.

Flavor rating 7/10
YUM. We made dumplings, you guys. Real, honest-to-goodness, dumplings. Like the ones in restaurants. It's kind of amazing. We used a little bit too much ginger (my fault) but they were delicious. Birk threatened to eat all of them so I had to pack up leftovers for lunch before he could do that.

Adjustability: high
You can put pretty much whatever you want in your dumplings. The original recipe actually called for ground pork, but I couldn't find any at the store, so I used chicken instead. You can add minced veggies or other spices or whatever! You could also pan-fry them after they're steamed, which I plan to do next, as far as dumplings are concerned.

Make it with...
Well, there's a dipping sauce recipe here that I loved with these. You could make some rice, steam some vegetables in another tray of the steamer, make tempura... whatever!

Bonus photos:

Pre-steaming

Chicken mixture

Bamboo steamer in the wok, starting to heat up

We cut open the first one to make sure it got cooked thoroughly

BIG pile of dumplings!

BBQ Pizza

I was planning a really epic dinner of dumplings with dipping sauce and a soy-honey pork, but the store was missing a few key ingredients. So I had to improvise. And I made pizza!

No, the color isn't off on your monitor (well... it could be, but if it weren't, this still might look a little odd) and I didn't burn it. It's bbq pizza!

BBQ Pizza

Ingredients
Boboli pizza crust
Jack Daniel's honey barbecue sauce
pepperoni
black olives
four-cheese blend (the same one I used on the avocado chicken parm last night)

Equipment
cookie sheet or pizza stone, oven, pizza cutter

Instructions
The instructions are actually on the Boboli crust package. Preheat the oven to 450F, put sauce, cheese, and toppings on the crust, bake for 8-10 minutes. I put the cheese on top of my toppings in the hopes that it would keep the pepperoni from sliding around when I tried to cut the pizza (like they've done in the past) but it didn't help.

Yields
an 8" pizza (which I cut into 6ths)

Total time
15 minutes (waiting for the oven to heat up takes half the time; baking the pizza takes the other half)

Cleanup rating 1/5
It hardly gets easier. No dishes involved, except the pan (which, unless you're just the worst at spreading sauce, will be almost clean anyway) and the plate I ate off of.

Difficulty rating 2/10
I had to fight with the olive can because I had a mishap with the can opener, but that isn't really the recipe's fault. There's a reason people use "make your own pizza night" as a family event... kids can do this.

Flavor rating 5/10
Not bad. I used a little bit too much sauce.

Adjustability: high
You can put ANYTHING on your pizza. Any sauce, any cheese, any toppings... whatever you want.

Make it with...
I made a big huge salad to go with mine, because I usually associate pizza and salad with Italian dressing. Probably from going to the Pizza Hut lunch buffet so much as a kid, I guess.

Avocado Chicken Parmesan

I sent a photo of this one to my dad to tell him it's okay for him to be jealous of my dinner. That's a pretty good sign that this was amazing, because my dad is an excellent cook so I have to do a really great job to think I can impress him.

Avocado Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

Chicken breasts

Flour

Egg

1 Tbsp milk

Bread crumbs

Tomato sauce*

Avocado, sliced

Cheese (mine was a 4-cheese blend with Parmesan in it)

Equipment

Cookie sheet, foil, oven, a bunch of bowls

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F. Set up your bowls: one for flour, one for an egg beaten with the milk, one for bread crumbs. Do one chicken breast at a time: lightly bread it with flour, dip in the egg, thoroughly coat with breadcrumbs, and lay on greased foil lined pan. Bake for about 4 minutes, flip them over, bake another 4 minutes. Take them out of the oven and spoon sauce over the top of each one. Lay slices of avocado on top of each, and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven for about 5 minutes, unless cheese is all melted.

Yields

As many chicken breasts as you make. For every two chicken breasts, use one egg and one avocado.

Total time

About 20 minutes

Cleanup rating 1/5

Don't spill sauce everywhere and you're fine. You've got foil on the pan, so you've got a few bowls to rinse out and toss in the dishwasher and that's about it.

Difficulty rating 3/10

I almost gave this a 2 but then I remembered that a lot of people have difficulty slicing avocados for some reason. I had what I'm pretty sure was the world's most perfect avocado so that kind of helps I guess. But all the other steps are really easy.

Flavor rating 8/10

YUM. Remember how I said up there at the top all that stuff about how amazing this was? Just refer back to that.

Adjustability: medium

Use seasonings in your flour and/or breadcrumbs! Switch up your sauces (see the asterisk below)! Try different cheeses!

Make it with...

Original recipe told me to serve it with a green salad. I made peas with garlic butter. Pretty much any vegetable will be friends with this chicken. It doesn't really call for much else. You could make a little spaghetti and add some of your sauce to that too.

*I "made" my own tomato sauce too. I use the sarcastiquotes because it wasn't hard, so it doesn't really feel like I "made" anything. Target had a tiny little can of tomato sauce for $0.39 so I got that instead of buying a giant jar of shmancy sauce that I'll barely use any of. Then I added basil, oregano, shallot-pepper seasoning, LOTS of garlic powder, and some Brady Street cheese sprinkle. So this part is super adaptable.

Bonus photos!

My sauce and avocados, waiting for the chicken to bake.

Adding the avocados

 

Beautifully done!

Mmmm, dinner.

Cheesy Sausage Bake

I actually made this a while ago... I just forgot to post it. So here it is!

Cheesy Sausage Bake

Ingredients
smoked sausage, 1 package
1 large onion
1 potato
1/2 bag of baby carrots
olive oil
salt, pepper
paprika
sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Equipment
oven, foil, roasting pan

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F. Slice the sausage (about the thickness you see in the photo) and dice your onion and potato. Line a roasting pan with foil and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, spreading it evenly. Put the sausage, onions, and potatoes into the pan and drizzle with olive oil; mix thoroughly with your hands. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and paprika, and toss again to evenly coat. Spread it evenly in the pan. Bake for 45 minutes (stir every 15 minutes) until potatoes are forkable and golden-brown. Turn off the oven. Sprinkle the cheese evenly across the top and return pan to the oven for a few minutes to melt it.

Yields
about 4 servings

Total time
About an hour (about 15 minutes prep time with chopping and tossing, 45 minutes bake time)

Cleanup rating 2/5
The foil lining makes it easy to clean your pan. If you shred your own cheese, you have to clean the grater, which I see as a bit of a pain, but otherwise there isn't much to it.

Difficulty rating 4/10
You have to be present and paying attention the whole hour, because you need to check in and stir it every 15 minutes.

Flavor rating 6/10
It was good. I wasn't blown away by it, but it was very good.

Adjustability: high
You can add or replace ingredients pretty easily (make sure you don't use something that will devolve to mush unless you add it later in the baking process) and you can add whatever spices you want. I think I actually added garlic... I put garlic in everything.

Make it with
...nothing, unless you want to. You've got your veggies, starch, meat, even some cheese in there. I might make a green veggie on the side (peas, broccoli, a green salad) but I didn't this time.

Avocado Chicken

As is often the case, this is from a recipe online that I adapted to suit my own abilities/tastes/preferences/available ingredients.

Avocado Chicken

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1 Tbsp olive oil
seasoning (I used sate from Penzey's)
2 avocados
about 1 Tbsp minced garlic
about 1 Tbsp lime juice
about 1 tsp cilantro
rice, to serve with

Equipment
stove (2 burners)

Instructions
Make your rice (I used the 2 cups of water, 1 cup of rice, 1 Tbsp of butter in a saucepan method). While that's going on, make your chicken (like this) with your seasoning of choice. While you're waiting on both of those, cut and scoop your avocados and put them into a bowl. Run a knife through them a few times to approximately dice them. Add the garlic, cilantro, and lime juice (and some salt) and mix it up. (Don't mix too much or it will turn to a paste instead of a relish-like consistency.) Once everything is done cooking, serve the avocado on top of the chicken on top of the rice.

Yields
2 servings (easily scalable)

Total time
about 30 minutes (rice took 20 minutes, everything else happened while that was cooking)

Cleanup rating 2/5
You just have the chicken pan, avocado bowl, and rice pan to clean.

Difficulty rating 3/10
The chicken is easy, the rice is stupidly easy, and the avocado is easy. And you don't have to get the timing exactly perfect either!

Flavor rating 8.5/10
YUMMMMMMMMM. I loved this. The only change Birk suggested was to add beans (which I'm not a big fan of unless they're baked beans served with hot dogs). I thought maybe adding some cumin to the chicken or making Mexican saffron rice instead of the plain white rice would be good too.

So, happy pre-Cinco-de-Mayo, everyone! I had mine with a Cuba Libre; I highly recommend that.