The Puppy Chow has landed!

I don't know about you, but for the last week or so I've been craving Puppy Chow like a goddamn crack hoe! It's been nearly debilitating. Really. So, to remedy this, I've finally broken down and made it. I followed the Chex recipe from their site (Muddy Buddies?). However, the next time I make it, I'll let the mix cool for a bit before adding the powedered sugar and perhaps add more of it. Mine didn't get a very good coating.



Anyone up for a diabetic coma?

My Life With Noodles

If you haven't noticed, I love them. Like, crazy love.

However, if you ever make organic round udon noodles, compare them to tapeworms as you cook them. Think about the unnatural whiteness of them and how they writhe in the pot of boiling water. Think of this right up to when you slurp the slick little buggers up into your mouth and feel them settle uneasily in your stomach. Trust me, makes it super tasty. Also, you may not want to cook with me.

With cheese

With soy sauce and dressing

The last of them also with more soy sauce

See? At least I ate them all.

Also, had no food in the house and it was raining. What's a girl to do? Well, if you're lucky, you'll have some hard cheese still left in the refrigerator with a miraculously long life that will weave its way into macaroni and cheese. I tend to use the baked mac recipe from the New York Times, but found this one as I was searching the Simply Recipes blog. SR never lets me down. Apparently, she made this for kids to "broaden their Mac-Cheese horizons". Just an FYI, if you ever want to broaden my Mac-Cheese horizons I will be your slave for the rest of the day. You know, just for extra incentive. And here it is on the same plate I grated the cheese on.

I was hungry.

UnRamen Noodles

Alright. Again, I've been remiss in posting. In my defense, I wasn't cooking, followed by lots of cleaning, followed by a last minute vacation. Since I've been back- a few days- I haven't made anything to be proud of. In fact, I've tried everything in my power to not cook. Why? Because I don't wanna! I am also aggressively stamping my foot. However, I'm slowly starting to accept the fact that it's not so bad and that I've missed it lately.

Once I got home, I ate nothing but fast food, frozen pizza, and ramen noodles. Until yesterday. Oh yes. Actually, I surfed the Kraft food website. I hate even admitting that because it feels like cheating. I don't consider combining a box of this and a bag of that cooking. Of course, I am a snob that can't live up to my own standards. Oh well. I made a close approximation of this recipe and added steamed broccoli and a small can of water chestnuts. I am not impressed with the recipe. But OH MY GOD. Have you tried the salad dressing? I bought the pre-made and it is heaven. It's almost exactly the dressing they used on the mandarin chicken salads at Wendy's. I may end up buying a lettuce farm just for this dressing.



But this counts right? This is cooking? What with the boiling of noodles and steaming of broccoli? Please say it is. I mean, it's not doctored Ramen...

but it'll do.

Where's My Camera?

Really, I have no clue. It's around here somewhere. I spent the weekend with my friend and now it's hiding. So for now, I don't think I'll have any new recipes up here, but I'll find it as fast as possible.

Oh. I do have to tell you about one thing. I had a package of cream of chicken soup from the Mexican section sitting on my shelf. Add a rice-a-roni creamy herb box. I wasn't expecting much. Actually, I expected soup, but got risotto. Seriously good risotto too. I just scraped the last of it out of my tupperware and wolfed it down. So good. I'll have to try it with a can of soup next time.

Chocolate Chips Cookies with Espresso and Cinnamon

Pre-post: I made stroganoff.

Post: I made cookies. More specifically, thank you cookies to the boyfriend's mom and grandmother. The dough for these cookies tasted AMAZING. Like, the best cookie dough I've ever had amazing. Seriously. The cookies themselves are also good. I'm partial to thicker cookies that are crispy on the edges and soft in the center. These flattened out like crazy and are really crispy. They'd be great for ice cream sandwhiches. Aside from my cookie snobbery, still amazing. I just hope they stand up in the mail.

I found that somehow my espresso powder had molded, so I used instant coffee instead. Just put it through a coffee grinder for a minute and add an extra teaspoon or so. Also, I used bittersweet 60% cacao Ghiradelli chips that were huge mixed with store brand semi-sweet. Next to the Ghiradelli, the sweet chips were the suck. If I make these again, I'll try to play around with the flat texture and use only the good dark chocolate chips chopped a bit smaller. I substituted almonds for walnuts too. I had a bag that needed to be used and walnuts are usually stupid. If you try the almonds, toast them first for more flavor. I was just lazy.



Chocolate Chips Cookies with Espresso and Cinnamon
From the Bon Appetit Cookbook

Nonstick spray
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 T ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c (packed) golden brown sugar
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 large egg
4 tsp instant espresso powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c semisweet chocolate chips (about 6 oz)
1 c milk chocolate chips (6 oz)
1 c walnuts, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, egg, espresso powder, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in all chocolate chips and walnuts.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart (do not flatten dough). Bake cookies until brown on top but still slightly soft to touch in center, about 14 minutes. Cool on baking sheets.

Pesto

Okay, so I was going to start filling you in on old recipes or perhaps fill you in on the ones that I was going to make today. That was until I looked over at the window- "Holy Hell, that's a lot of basil"- and decided pesto was in order. I've never made it before and didn't bother to follow a set recipe. Actually, I don't think I've even had it before. All I needed was my good olive oil, sea salt, home grown basil, garlic, pepper, and the dregs of my parmesan cheese. If this is what pesto is supposed to be, then I am so all about this shit.



What's better, I slathered it on homemade bread. I was going to make the infamous no-knead bread from NYTimes, but couldn't find my yeast. Maybe I threw it out because I wasn't using it. No bother. I switched to a nice soda bread. Not enough kneading and too much flour later, a slice of heaven that tastes suspiciously like a Triscuit. I love the smell of cooked flour though. Plus, my butter glaze mixed with flour to look like frosting.



You have to know how European this makes me feel. I am thoroughly convinced that Europeans are just these accomplished yet sophistocated people who do nothing but enjoy fresh food and sumptuous apartments. If you are European, do not correct me on this. I need something more than faith to live on. Otherwise, oogle my food.

Catch-Up

As of this afternoon, my new man is officially gone. This is incredibly bittersweet. On one hand, less distractions. On the other, Wyoming is WAY too far away.

I have a lot to catch you up on though. I don't think I blogged about my bread pudding, did I? Or the baked mac and cheese recipe? Gah! I can't even remember half of the stuff I wanted to blog about because I've been so distracted. Pleasantly so, but still. The next few days will be full of that, plus a new cookie recipe that I plan to make soon for Texas Ranger's mom and grandma. Expect something tomorrow if not later today.

Dazed and Confused

Man. The days are starting to slip by so quickly that I'm forgetting what I've wanted to post and the things I've actually made as opposed to what I planned to make. I've got a friend leaving in less than two weeks who I'm trying to spend as much time as possible around, plus regular chores and special summer projects. However, know that he is taking care of me. Remember the Heartattack Sandwhich? Well, how does BBQ chicken with bacon and pineapple kabobs sound?



Thought you'd like that.

Look forward to more posts on a regular basis after he leaves. I've got a frige-full of stuff that needs to be cooked.