Roasted Brussel Sprouts

This is one of my favorites. Roasted brussel sprouts are definitely the way to go - steaming them will create a completely different experience.

1. Cut brussel sprouts in half
2. Preheat 400 degrees
3. Mix with olive oil and spices (garlic salt or powder, pepper, thyme/rosemary, basil & oregano)
4. Roast at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes
5. Add cheese at the end (end of baking or after baking) - shredded parmesan or whatever type you like. Note that these are very tasty without cheese as well, the cheese can just add to the *yum.* 

Roasted Asparagus

I roast asparagus on a foil-covered pan in the oven most of the time. It's a tasty, quick, and simple addition to pretty much any meal. Let's get to it!

Asparagus should be washed and can be cut depending on what you prefer. I always cut or snap off the bottom (about an inch) - it should snap easily if you do it with your hands.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Sprinkle asparagus with olive oil and sea salt (you can also add pepper or garlic powder).
3. Roast in preheated oven until fork easily punctures thickest part of stem, about 12-15 minutes.

Blackened Tilapia

I found this gem on Naive Cook Cooks. I made a few modifications, but I've already decided that it's a new favorite - mostly because of how delicious and simple it is! This is a great recipe that can make 1 serving to probably 6-8 (the recipe says 4, but there is a lot of the seasoning mix there, so I think it will stretch).

In order to make 1 serving, I used a frozen tilapia fillet and about a teaspoon of the seasoning sprinkled on the fillet (about 1/2 teas. on each side was plenty). I think that fish is always better freshly made and not as good left over, so I like to make only as many as I'll eat, and throw a new one in when I'm ready for more fish - this recipe makes that so easy!

Also, in case you're planning to use some of the mix now, and would like to use some later - I mixed the seasonings in a small plastic bag. It was easy to mix, and will be sealed until I need it again.

Blackened Spice Mix:
3 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp thyme
2 - 3 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp oregano

Other ingredients:
4 Tilapia fillet, washed and cleaned
2 tbsp butter, melted OR olive oil / cooking spray
Salt & pepper to taste*

Instructions:

1. Pre heat oven to 400F.
2. Add all the spices in a bowl and mix. Taste and adjust anything if needed as per taste and keep aside.
3. On a parchment paper or foil lined baking sheet / sheet pan, lay all 4 pieces of tilapia (or as many as you plan to use), Brush them with butter or olive oil on both sides OR spray them with cooking spray. 
4. Rub or sprinkle the seasoning on both the sides of the fish.
5. Bake in oven for 7 mins.
6. Flip tilapia after 7 minutes and bake for another 7 minutes. (additional time as needed)

*The spice mix has plenty of flavor, so it is likely that you'll need to add any salt and pepper - but I won't judge if you do! 

**I paired this with asparagus - it cooks for about the same amount of time as the fish, depending on the size of the stalks. 

Pecan Pie Bottomed Cheesecake

I love making good cheesecake for special occasions. Thanksgiving is here, as is a new cheesecake. My dad loves pecan pie, so I thought I'd try a play on that traditional dessert.

Pecan Pie-Bottomed Cheesecake

Crust

• 1 & 3/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Pecan Filling

• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 & 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cheesecake Filling

• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 & 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. For the crust: Preheat oven to 350°. Combine wafer crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a greased and parchment paper lined 9″ cake pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. For the Pecan pie filling: Combine all pecan filling ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into crust and set aside.
3. Reduce oven to 325°. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in cream and vanilla. Pour over pecan filling. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 1 hour. Remove from oven and run a knife along the outside edges to loosen cheesecake from sides of pan. Let cool. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving. When ready to serve, dip the sides of the pan in hot water to losen the cake from the pan. Next, flip the cheesecake out of the pan onto a cling-wrap lined plate. Next, slip right side up onto a cute and festive plate.

This recipe was found here. I'm hoping it's as good as I'm expecting, and as good as she's saying it is! [Edit: It's definitely as good as she said it was. And, while my photos are nothing to rival hers, this cheesecake was the start of the show.]

-Happy Thanksgiving!

Thai Red Curry

Several weeks ago, I attempted to make a red curry that did not go quite as planned - I was pretty disappointed in it. So, I asked a friend for some advice (she makes curry frequently), and then tweaked a little bit based on some research. So, the following is my version of red curry.

Ingredients:
*chicken (optional)
*veggies (this time I used broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, zucchini)
*1 jar Red Curry Paste
*2 cans coconut milk
*3 T brown sugar
*2 T Thai Chili Sauce

Instructions:
Cut and cook the meat and veggies. I heated EVOO and cooked the chicken first, then added the veggies.

Once the veggies are mostly cooked, add the curry paste and stir well. Then add in the coconut milk (shake the cans first - I forgot to read that part of the can on the first one...), brown sugar and Thai chili sauce. Stir and let simmer for a few minutes so that all of the flavors mix well.

Serve over rice.

Iced Coffee - [cold brew coffee]

So, I'm very into trying new things. And I'm also a Starbucks addict. I love it and I go there way to often... I may have some "friends" at Starbucks who know my name... That being said, I spend way too much money there, and should probably just buy stock in the company (is that how that works? I know nothing about this), and I just need to find a more economical solution.

So, last year, when I was saving for a trip abroad, I had to cut WAY back, but wanted a good solution. This has become a part of my day, my routine, so I needed a replacement of sorts. So, I had a friend with an espresso machine who gave/sold it to me for free or some very reasonable price. I bought some coffee and got it ground finely, bought a bottle of my favorite syrup - cinnamon dulce - and decided to try making my own espressos. I even have a Starbucks barista friend who walked me through how to use the machine and everything. This solution was ok, but was not the real thing, and the machine would get clogged, so I need to rethink that and see if I can figure out how to give that another go...

But for now, it's SPRING! and it feels like spring, so we're in the season for iced coffee. I have been seeing things about this for a while. I've been looking up how to make your own coffee concentrate, and whatnot, and I have finally tried it. I used the Pioneer Woman's instructions to make my own. This is what resulted:

This lovely-looking drink is the start of something that could be very good. I need to perfect it, and I have some ideas on how to do that... but I think it's definitely a good start. And, I have 2 GALLONS of cold brew coffee now to experiment with. Yikes! My refrigerator is not huge. I think I'm going to just use half of a bag of coffee and one gallon of water next time... The first time I made it, I used:

*a medium roast coffee
*coconut milk (it's what I have at he moment - I get my drinks at Starbucks with soy milk now, thank you lactose intolerance, so I'm thinking about getting a vanilla soy or almond milk to try...)
*SF cinnamon dulce syrup

Again, I say it was pretty good. My friend liked it. I'm just trying to decide what to try next to see if I can really make this something that I can replace at least some of my Starbucks runs with... Because they are taking all of my money. No, I give it to them. But I shouldn't. As I work through this 2 GALLONS of coffee, and try some different things, I'll let you know if I come up with any better solutions too...

Happy drinking!

Red Curry

Recently, I made my first attempt at curry. I fell in love with Red Curry from the Thai restaurant across the street, and have been wanting to try to make it ever since. However, I have to say that, while it looked fairly similar, and my friend (who had never had curry) thought it was pretty good, I was pretty disappointed. It just didn't have the flavor that I was looking for. I'm not sure what was missing or how to improve on it, because most of the recipes I've found have very similar ingredients... So, I've decided to share the link for the curry that I made in case you're interested. I'll make some notes about the changes I made - which could have caused some of the change in flavor from what I'm used to (if you know more about this - please let me know what I'm doing wrong), and let you try at your own volition.

What I did...

Ingredients
1½ Pounds Boneless Chicken Thighs breasts
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
8 Tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste
14 Ounces Coconut Milk
2 Cups Hot Water
4 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
3 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger, minced
½ Whole Red Onion, sliced
3-4 Thai Bird Chilies, minced (optional)
1 Whole Red Bell Pepper, cored and sliced
1 Cup Grape Tomatoes
1 Cup Fresh Thai Basil, chopped
½ Cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
½ Cup Scallions, chopped

I really made a lot of changes... many of which I didn't mean to make. I bought the cilantro, but forgot to put it in. I couldn't find the Thai Basil... I think fish sauce sounds disgusting... but maybe those were the key ingredients!?

For veggies, I used red pepper, onion, carrots, and bamboo shoots - these are the main veggies in the curry that I normally order.

I prepared it basically like she said to on the blog, so I'll let you use the link if you're really interested. I don't know that I'll make it again, mainly because I can go across the street and get some REALLY GOOD stuff... and if I try again, I'll probably try a different recipe or change this recipe. I will update you if I find something that I love :)