Tex-Mex Rice and Black Eyed Peas

This recipe is so easy, I can hardly really call it a recipe. It's more like, a bowl full of delicious things that happen to be warmed.



You may recognize this recipe from my New Years Resolution post. It's one of the many low-fat, low-cal, high-taste, and high-ease recipes that I recommended for newly blossoming cooks. But for those of you who are still skeptical of beginning your culinary journey, I figured a little step-by-step photo essay of the process could nudge you along.

This recipe comes from Food Network Magazine's Weeknight Dinners section, so you know it's quick and tasty.

To make this dish, grab these simple ingredients:

1 cup white rice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh salsa, plus more for topping
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 14-oz cans black-eyed peas (1 undrained, 1 drained and rinsed)
1/4 cup water
3 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 avocado, halved, pitted, and sliced
1 cup shredded cheese for topping (if desired)

Start by cooking your rice. You can use easy minute rice, but I preferred to whip out the rice cooker to make the good stuff.

Next, heat your olive oil in a medium-sized pan. Toss in the salsa and your cumin.

You'll want to heat the salsa, stirring every now and then, until it's smooth and soft.
Next, add in your two cans of peas. 

Drain and rinse the first one...

Then just dump the second one in the pan undrained, along with the 1/4 cup water.

Cook the mixture for 12 minutes or so, allowing the peas to get creamy and mushy.

Finally, add your spinach and cilantro to the pan. Cook for 1 minute until spinach is wilted.

The last part is just layering everything together.
Start with putting some rice in a bowl..

Scoop on some beans..

Then top off with some extra salsa and sliced avocado..

The final product is tasty and healthy, a great combination. AND SO EASY TO MAKE!

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Movie Night Menu

There's an underlying idea that when college students want to get together with friends, they throw a violent alcohol-fueled rager with Popov and Diet Coke. Or, if they're over 21, they storm the bars until they can barely balance in their 5-inch heels anymore.
While I believe we've all had those nights, there are some days where you're just not in the mood, and snuggling up with a blanket and a warm drink sounds better than stumbling across the blurry pavement. Fortunately, you don't have to choose between raging and sitting at home by yourself. Plan a small menu and invite some friends over for a movie night! Low-key and simple, but fun.
For my movie night, I invited Matt and Maria, some of my old high-school friends over for dinner and drinks.

Say hello to Matt and Maria.
I love having Maria over when I cook, because she grabs my camera and snaps more shots than the paparazzi. Hence, the numerous number of pictures for my recipes.
Which brings me to the menu: 

For my movie night, I went with simple, filling, and delicious. Cherry cola-glazed chicken wings, 4-bean relish, cheese and crackers, and a mulled red wine with brownies for dessert.
And now, the recipe breakdown:

The 4-bean relish is a simple dish that involves throwing the following ingredients together into a bowl:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onions
3/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup jarred roasted red peppers
3 tablespoons honey
1 12-oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 12-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 12-oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 12-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

This Guy Fieri recipe is super easy and reliably delicious - just BE SURE TO DRAIN AND RINSE THE BEANS. It takes extra time, but if you don't, you'll end up with a soupy mess.

Next up, the chicken wings:

These cola-glazed wings are a Virginia Willis' recipe I stumbled upon a couple years ago. Her method of crisping wings under the broiler makes them extra-juicy and super-quick to make.

For the wings, grab these ingredients:
1 cup cola
Juice of 2 limes1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar1 jalapeño, finely minced (discard the seeds)2 pounds chicken wings1/4 teaspoon coarse saltFreshly ground black pepper

Start by cutting up your wings. Slice the tips off, then break them at the joint. Place on a foil-covered baking sheet as you finish.

For your glaze, place the cola, lime juice, brown sugar, and jalapeño into a pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes until the mixture becomes syrupy.

Next, salt and pepper your wings. Drizzle the glaze over them.

Turn on your broiler and place the wings 4 inches underneath it. Cook for 10 minutes. Then, turn the wings and coat with more glaze. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with brown sugar.

After gorging ourselves on wings, cheese, crackers, and relish, my friends and I settled down to watch a movie while I put together our dessert drink - mulled wine. This super-easy drink came from the Food Network magazine, and it's the perfect balance of sweet and tangy.

To make the mulled wine, grab:
4 wide strips orange zest
1/2 cup sugar
1 bottle red wine
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
3 star anise pods
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf

Let the orange zest sit in the sugar for 1 hour before making the wine. Then, combine he wine, sugar, zest, cloves, anise, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf into a large pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the wine is warm and fragrant. Ladle into cups and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

The perfect wind-down drink to enjoy while watching Marvel's The Avengers.
If your plan on having a movie night yourself, I highly recommend these recipes! Even one or two of them can spice up the night a bit. 

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New Years Resolutions

I'm not personally one for New Year's Resolutions. When I was in grade school and high school, I had plenty of "new school year resolutions" in the beginning of August, but since the new year actually fell in the middle of classes, schools, and other activities, there wasn't much I could 'resolve.'
As I've gotten older however, I've seen more and more people making resolutions every January. And most tend to do with losing weight.

The gyms get fuller, Special K runs ads on every channel, and my friends squirm when they're offered a chocolatey dessert and peep out a quick "no thanks." 
I hear of new fad diets every year. No flour, no carbs, no sugar, no processed food, etc. 
People prohibit themselves from indulging in any form of fatty, sugary, or oily food. And most can hold out for nearly 2-3 weeks until everything comes crashing down in a moment of weakness. 

And all the weight they lost comes back immediately. 
Ironically, in all the years I've heard weight-loss resolutions, every single plan involves prohibiting yourself from eating something. No one ever tries introducing new things into their diet to help them lose weight.
And no one resolves to learn how to COOK.
Seriously, learning how to cook things from scratch is one of the surest ways to cut calories and improve your overall health. Obviously, you can't loose weight from constantly eating homemade burgers and mac & cheese, but even those typically fatty foods can be made healthier when you put them together at home.
Take for example a classic and easy dish: chicken parmesan
You can grab this box from Stouffers for around 410 calories and a lot of sodium:

Or, you can make your own. Dip a chicken breast in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs with parmesan cheese. Pan fry it in olive oil while you bake tomatoes in the oven. When your chicken's done, top it with your tomatoes and a circle of fresh mozzarella. Less calories, les preservatives, and less salt. All-around healthier.
Furthermore, learning to cook ends up cutting costs, so if one of your other resolutions is to save money, the two can go hand in hand.

If you're nervous about teaching yourself to cook, or just someone who's looking for some tasty and healthy recipes, take a look at some of my favorites from around the web. I assure you, they're easy, delicious, and full of nutrition.

Tender & Crisp Chicken Legs with Sweet Tomatoes

Avocado Spaghetti

Caramelized Mushrooms and Dumplings

Tex-Mex Rice and Black-Eyed Peas

Parmesan Fish Sticks

Slow-Cooker Pork With Noodles

And, of course, be sure to check my recipe's list for some of my less indulgent recipes!

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Hot Chocolate Pot

After the holidays, all the stores decide to clear out their pre-wrapped novelty gift-ready goodies for half price, or even less. For fashionistas, this means big deals on their favorite sweaters, handbags, and jewelry. For foodies, this means chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate.

Sometimes, foodies can find deals on novelty cooking equipment, generally the type that makes something to do with chocolate.
This year, my find was a Hot Chocolate Pot from William Sonoma.

I saw it sitting on one of the sale tables when I went to the mall after Christmas. It was the last one, and I figured it was kind of unnecessary. But when I was about to put it down and walk away, several other women came up and started looking at it, so I made a quick decision that I wanted it and needed it and ran to the register.

I actually wouldn't be surprised if stores hire people to pretend to be interested in last-one sale items to push real customers to buy them. I'm not ashamed to admit that it worked on me. Or that I'm seven years old and love hot chocolate enough to buy a special pot for frothing it.

The idea of the pot is that the frothing attachment on the lid creates a foamy texture in the hot chocolate, so that it's lighter and more restaurant-esque.
Thankfully, I'd already received hot chocolate mix and peppermint marshmallows, so I have all the ingredients for the perfect cup of hot chocolate.

The only problem is that I can't stop making hot chocolate now!

I just add the milk to the microwavable pot, along with the chocolate shavings.

Pop it into the microwave, then add the lid, and push down for 60 seconds.

The result? Foamy, frothy, restaurant-style hot chocolate.

Don't forget the marshmallows...

Full price, $29.95, the hot chocolate pot isn't worth it. BUT, thanks to post-holiday sales, this hot chocolate pot is only $9.99 online here. DEFINITELY WORTH IT. 

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New Years Pastry Egg Bake

Happy 2013!!

If you rang in the New Year with bottles of champagne and wine, this morning might be considerably rough for you.

Fortunately, a delicious breakfast is an easy solution to re-start the New Year.

My suggestion is to whip up an easy pastry egg bake.

Simple, salty, buttery, and delicious. With a cup of black coffee, it's an easy wake-up.

I use the pre-made frozen puff pastry, because I'm way too hungry in the mornings to spend the time making the stuff from scratch. But, if you're a domestic brunch Queen, feel free to make your own pastry for this recipe.

If you're feeling lazy like me, grab these ingredients:

1 package frozen puff pastry (I use Pepperidge Farm)

1 handful of your favorite shredded cheese (I use provolone)

1 egg

2 strips bacon

1 teaspoon chopped chives

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Start out by chunking off some of the pastry and rolling it out. Shape into a small square. Pinch the dough on its edges, raising them up and making an indented center (that way the egg won't roll off the pastry).

Cook your pastry for 8-10 minutes, pricking it with a toothpick to deflate.

While your pastry is cooking, toss your strips of bacon into the microwave for 1-2 minutes until crispy.

Pull your pastry out and sprinkle your cheese across it. Crack your egg in the center. Top with chopped chives and bacon.

Cook the pastry for another 5-10 minutes, or until egg has desired gooeyness.

As for how you eat it, that's all up to you. Pick it up, use a fork and knife, whatever you feel! Just celebrate 2013 with deliciousness.

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