Tuna Pasta Salad

You cannot measure ingredients for pasta salad, you have to taste it to make sure it's just right. This is my "recipe" for pasta salad.

Ingredients:
Rotini Noodles, I prefer the different color ones cause they are pretty.
1/4 Large Onion, diced
3 Celery stalks, diced
Shredded Carrots
Parsley
Paprika
Pepper
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Sweet Relish
3 Hard boiled eggs
2 cans tuna

1.) Cook Rotini.
2.) Hard Boil Eggs.
3.) Add shredded carrots, diced onion, and diced celery stalk to bowl.

4.) Add pepper, paprika, and parsley.

5.) Add Mustard and two spoonfuls of relish.

6.) Add 3 spoonfuls of Mayonnaise.

7.) Drain tuna and add to bowl and mix.

8.) Peel and dice hard boiled eggs, add to bowl and mix.

9.) Drain and cold rinse pasta.

10.) Mix in pasta and stir to coat.

11.) Serve and to make it look like you give a damn, sprinkle parsley on it.

Easy Sesame Chicken

The craving for Chinese Food hit about a day ago.  After a quick battle in my head about ordering from the "just ok" local Chinese food joint; I decided to try a recipe first.  If you need an easy Chinese recipe, this is highly recommended.  The chicken has a nice mix of crunchy, sticky and sweet. First time making it and the consensus is it's a hit!

At first with the amount of ingredients it needed I was afraid this Chinese chicken recipe would not be easy.  Most of the ingredients I already had in the house, the only thing I had to pick up was the sesame. 

Ingredients for sauce:

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons white vinegar

4 tablespoons ketchup

6 tablespoons honey

Put ingredients in a bowl and whisk with a fork until mixed. Set off to the side for later.

Remaining ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts

Olive oil

6 tablespoons flour

2 eggs beaten

3 tablespoons corn starch

Sesame Seeds

1.) Chop chicken into chunks removing fat as you go.

2.) Put two eggs into a bowl and lightly beat.

3.) Put 6 tablespoons flour into a gallon bag.

4.) Put 3 tablespoons cornstarch into a sandwich bag.

5.) Dip Chicken in the egg.

6.) After coating the chicken in the egg, put the chicken in the bag of flour. Seal tight and shake to coat the chicken.

7.) Take the chicken out of the flour and put in the bag with cornstarch.  Seal tight and shake to coat.

8.) Coat frying pan or wok with olive oil (vegetable oil will work as well) and heat.

9.) Once the oil is heated remove chicken from bag and drop in the skillet (be careful).

10.) Cover and cook over medium-high heat stirring occasionally.

Thickening Sauce Mix:

2 tablespoons corn starch

2 tablespoons cold water

11.) While the chicken is cooking mix the 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water into a bowl. Liquid should be milky.

12.) Once the chicken is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes, add sauce and thickening sauce to the pan and let thicken.

13.) Serve over rice and sprinkle a couple pinches of sesame seeds over the chicken.

This dish took about 30 minutes to make and fed a family of 3 while still leaving leftovers for the next day.  For anyone who is a vegetarian I'm fairly certain this sauce will work well with fried tofu.  I'll be sure to try it and post a review when I do.

Chili-Cheeseburger Mac

Are you looking for a quick and easy meal to make tonight? Look no further, because I've got it. A recipe so easy and packed full of flavor, I guarantee you will be making it often.  As an extra bonus clean up afterwards is a breeze because you only use one wok or large non stick skillet to make this.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies (I get mild and it provides a little bit of kick.)

2 cups beef broth

1 cup elbow macaroni

Cilantro to taste

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese or shredded Colby jack cheese

Directions:

1.) Place ground beef in skillet and brown, drain if necessary.

2.) Add taco seasoning and stir to coat the meat.

3.) Do not drain the can of Rotel add it to skillet and stir.

4.) Pour in beef broth and macaroni, stir.

5.) Heat to boiling, reduce heat to medium and cover pan.

6.) Simmer 12-15 minutes or until macaroni is tender. If liquid is getting too low and the macaroni is not tender add water as needed.

7.) Once Macaroni is tender reduce heat to low or off if serving immediately, add Cheese and stir until cheese is melted.

Of course I am the cheese queen so I always bring extra shredded cheese to the table for people to add extra if they would like.  I have yet to have leftovers in this house of three and I even added a extra noodles and a cup of water in my last batch to try to leave leftovers. 

Fruit & Oatmeal Bars

Well we've not posted to this blog for a while ... life has a way of going in unexpected directions at times.  I decided that since I was going to be baking these today that I may as well throw up a blog post about them for everyone to share / enjoy.

How many times have you seen a recipe on an image shared on social media?  How many times have you wondered if it actually turns out well or not?  This recipe started out just that way, but in the form of cookies.  I'm not one that likes to drop cookies though.  I prefer to slice my baked goods into whatever size I prefer once it's done.  I've experimented with it in various ways since - there's a lot of room with this one for personalize it to your own tastes or ingredients available.

The original recipe is designed to be dairy free, gluten free, etc etc etc ... simply put, it's suitable for pretty much anyone!

Ingredients:

3 ripe mashed bananas
2 cups oats
1/2 cup raisins (though I tend to use more)
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup almond milk (whole or 2% milk will work fine too)
1 tsp cinnamon (or more if you prefer - like I do)
1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Preparation:

Start with the bananas, applesauce, milk, cinnamon, raisins, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Mash the bananas with a hand masher, mixing the ingredients in the process. Once the bananas are thoroughly mashed, pour in your oats and mix well.  Spread your oat mixture evenly across a glass baking dish and bake for 23-25 minutes at 375 degrees.  Once removed from the oven, slice the bars and let cool for a few minutes.  Remove with a spatula and serve.

When finished you get an interesting mix of fruit and oats with a firm almost crunchy texture on top and a chewy texture on the bottom.  I think of them as my zero guilt way to snack on something awesome ... which is good because these don't have a tendency to last very long once they're done!

Apple / Cherry Oatmeal Crisp

Greetings fellow foodies!  I'm excited to be here sharing with you today!  My thanks to Crystal for inviting me to contribute to this blog (and for the flattery).

If you missed her last post introducing me, my name is Robert Partridge.  I obviously enjoy cooking & baking.  My food philosophy, if you will, is that I like foods that are easy to prepare.  I'm a huge fan of slow cookers and my toaster oven - I try to use them as often as possible.

I thought I'd start out by sharing a favorite desert in my house - Apple / Cherry Oatmeal Crisp - a small variation on an old favorite.  It's easy to prepare and disappears quickly!

Shaking Things Up

Hello everyone!  It is a beautiful day here in the Falls where I find myself reading and writing many different things. I have noticed this blog has seen a boost in readership over the past week or so and I have been trying to find more content to share with all of my wonderful readers.  This prompted me to make some changes.

As my schedule has recently changed,  I will have a bit more time to dedicate towards trying new recipes and blogging about them.  I'm looking forward to all the goodies I will be making. This blog originally started out as sort of a journal to keep track of new recipes that I have tried and liked.  With the added viewership I decided to make some changes and turn this journal into a full on blog.

With that decision, I have decided that it would be best to add another author as well.  Robert Partridge will be posting recipes he has made that have turned out successful.  Like me, Robert shares my views on cooking and baking trying new and easy recipes, as well as experimenting or changing recipes up. He is a talented writer and I believe you all will enjoy his writing style. I'm sure he will introduce himself to all of you as well.

I hope that this will bring more valuable content to all of my readers as well as bring some new readers in.  I'm grateful to everyone who is supporting this blog, readers and those promoting alike.  A big thank-you to my Google Plus friends as well!  As always, if there is a recipe you would like to see us try please leave a comment letting us know what you would like to see.  May your day be productive and your bacon plentiful.

Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are delicious, can be altered easily and stay soft for days.  They are easy and everyone will ask, "What is your secret?"  I promise you don't have to tell anyone.  The person that came up with these is a life saver and a genius because in a crunch these can be made quickly for those days when your kids need something to take into school or an event, they are great for the office, I've even made a variety and handed them out as Christmas Cookies.  My mom was the first person to introduce me to these cookies and it's been my favorite way to make cookies since.

Ingredients
1 Box Yellow Cake Mix
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well blended.
3.) Roll into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet.
4.) Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges start to brown.
5.) Remove from pan immediately and place on cooling rack.

You can change up this recipe easily.  Here are two more of my favorite varieties of this recipe, as I remember and try more I will update and add them to this post.

Chocolate Munchie Cookies:
Use Devils Food Cake Mix
Replace Chocolate chips with sugar.
Roll the balls of cookie dough in the sugar before baking.

Peanut Butter Cookies:
Replace chips with 1 cup peanut butter.

Easiest Beer Bread

Beer Bread is the cake of all breads.  This is the easiest recipe and makes for a wonderful bread at any table for any time of year.  There are a couple ways of making this recipe and I will explain how to change it up after the instructions.  This bread is great for those mornings where you wake up late and have little to no time to eat before running out the door to work.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1 12oz bottle/can of beer

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.) Mix all dry ingredients then half of the total melted butter.

3.) Add beer and mix well.

4.) Put dough into a grease bread pan.

5.) Pour remaining butter over the top.

6.) Bake for 55-60 minutes.

Tips:

For a crunchy crust you can pour all the melted butter over the top of the bread, however I feel like this takes away some of the moisture from the inside of the bread.  This is why I do about half and half of the butter inside and on top.