It's National Vegetarian Week!

This is new to me!

And here's my thoughts:

~ I tried giving up "meats" aka CHICKEN, since it's the main meat I eat, for Lent this year... I have to say that it was a bit hard. Hard, especially when my friends and I went to Mad Mex on late nights for half-off, and everyone else was having Los Wingos aka Mad Mex wings. Ugh!!!! Then I found out that during Lent there was a free day, Sundays, only to find out from my friend that she "lied" to me, because that only works if you're like Catholic! And this was after eating chicken on like two Sundays, I felt bad then I didn't, I guess, cause it wasn't like I just indulged on chicken and totally pigged out, cause I didn't!

~ That being said! I'm not sure if I could truly become a vegetarian! My same friend who became a veg after Lent two years ago, has gone back to eating chicken WINGS... Yeah my sister's veg, but idk... It's a whole lifestyle change I think, I'm not so sure if I'm ready for it...

~ BUT! I am willing to do it for this week! Without cheating! [Yep, in fact my dinner consisted of poached tilapia and spinach and corn. Oh and some noodles *guilty] #MeatlessMondays [I've gotta get back to that!]


And for anyone who's interested in participating, join from today till Sunday! And if you're really contemplating goin vegetarian, there's this free vegetarian/vegan starter courtesy of PETA I believe, check it here.

Happy Vegging! : D

http://www.nationalvegetarianweek.org/

Sweet Corn Salsa

The other night I had to scour my fridge for something to eat! I ended up making together a lil' meal of broiled tilapia, yellow rice, a biscuit and a side of corn.

I had to spice up the corn in some kinda way so, I whipped up what I call 'Sweet Corn Salsa' :)

Ingredients:

• about 1c corn (I used frozen)
• 3tbsp sugar
• 3 strips of bacon
• 1 spring onion
• 1tbsp butter

1. Set oven broiler to 350 degrees. Place bacon on a shallow pan and put in oven when warm.

2. Boil 1c of water, then add the corn.

3. Chop spring onion.

4. Add sugar and butter to corn, and stir.

5. Remove bacon, 5mins after it starts popping. Chop, and add to corn, along with spring onion.

6. Stir and remove from heat.

Tada!

*Feel free to use fresh corn off the cob! You can also add more butter and sugar, as you like, I just prefer not to overdo it ;D

ENJOY!

Recipe: Peppermint Marshmallows

I stumbled upon this recipe while catching up on blogs via Google Reader [I am WAY behind! I probably have over 2000 posts to read!].

It's on Cupcakes and Cashmere, I blog I do enjoy. Try it out and tell me how it goes! Click here.

Diner A La Tour Eiffel

so this past week, as part of my orietation program, we had dinner at the Eiffel Tower!!


And lemme tell you, IT WAS GOOD ;)

and of course, me enjoying my meal  =)

sigh.

Recipe Box: Cheese Streusel Muffins

so on Sunday, on my way back to school, iHad the most scrumptious muffin! it was an Otis Spunkmeyer Cheese Streusel Muffin. omg. it was divine iTell ya.

so i've decided that iWant to try'n make my own muffins, Otis-style.

this recipe is a cream cheese muffin recipe, however the muffin iHad was made w Neufchatel cheese. And it was a streusel.

CREAM CHEESE MUFFINS
3 c. flour 3/4 c. sugar 4 tsp. baking powder A pinch of salt 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 c. melted butter 1 c. milk Sift first four ingredients together into a large mixing bowl. In blender mix cream cheese, eggs, vanilla and milk. Slowly add melted butter and continue blending until mixture is smooth. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add wet mixture and stir with a fork just until moistened. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Makes 1 dozen.

Im thinkin that the cream cheese shld be replaced w Neufchatel, and a streusel to be added on top of the muffins before baked.

For the streusel topping:

½ cup sugar

¼ cup and 1 tsp. flour

4 tbsp. butter, cubed

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

To make the streusel topping, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix together with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly.

Idk how soon I'll make these, but anyone that does, pls share on how successful it was ;)

best i ever had

so iBeen thinkin iHavent done a food/recipe post in the longest! probly since like the summertime...

well iThought i'd do a couple.

iLove cornbread! it is JUST SO delicious!!!! at home, we can make cornbread at least once a week! that and we usually make enough for each person in our house to have like 2/3 servings [thats 7/8 ppl and about 18 servings] before my mom started buying the mix, she wld get cornbread from Giant sometimes, this was when we didnt eat cornbread that much. sometimes it'd be from Boston Market. then sometime last yr, while iWas at school, she started buying Penguin Natural Foods cornbread mix from Costco.

since i've been back to school last fall, i've been obsessed w/ having cornbread every now and then. i've even put my friends on! they weren't serious cornbread eaters, but now when one of us says cornbread, we all want some!

while i'm at school iDont have access to Penguin brand mix, so iStarted using Krusteaz Natural Honey cornbread mix [iBelieve you can use the fat free one too] after a failed try w/ the traditional Jiffy brand mix. iRemember my mom used to use Jiffy WAY back in the day, but iDont remember it like that. iUsed the mix last semester and it was soooooo dry! iWas like NEVER again.

SO so far my best cornbread mixes go to:

1. Penguin Natural Foods


2. Krusteaz


3. Jiffy, ie if you cant find these other two, or MUST just use Jiffy brand. on one try to make it moist, i've used a can of sweet creamed corn. iWld suggest you find the smallest can, or dont use all of w/e can you do find. my mistake was that it was TOO moist, iPersonally didnt like it, but my friend and roomies did.

and you can better your cornbread "experience" by drizzling honey on it straight out of the oven! YUMMM. enjoy!

for more cornbread recipes see the ones on the Penguin site, here.

im yet to make a cornbread mix from scratch!!! iWanna try and see if iCan perfect the "cornbread experience" lol

yummy in ya tummy

ok, so iHad to make a couple dishes for an event iHad two sundays ago, and iThought i'd share the recipe fot the pasta salad iMade!

RANCH PASTA SALAD

1 lb. pkg. pasta 1 bottle Ranch salad dressing (or a preffered dressing) 2 tomatoes 1 green pepper 6 green onions OR 1 small onion 1 cucumber Parmesan cheese Seasoning 1. Cook the pasta, then drain and cool . Be sure to add a dash of salt while it boiling. 2. Dice the vegeatables, and place in a large bowl. 3. Mix the drained pasta into the vegetables, and pour the dressing over it while mixing. 4. Then mix in the parmesan cheese and seasoning. 5. Serve immediately, or it can be put in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

pasta type: iWld recommend rotini, shells, macaroni [iUsed a mix of these 3] or any other short pastas: penne, farfalle [bowtie], fusilli, gemelli, etc. you can even use tortellini [just be sure that the flavor of filling wont clash with your salad dressing]

variations: you dont have to use salad dressing. you can use maybe like a vinegar and seasoning or flavored vinegar, or even like olive oil.

Bon Appétit

Yummy in ya tummy

thought i'd start sharing some recipes with y'all. this one is simple, and can be made within 10 minutes.

HOT COLLARD SLAW

Ingredients [Conversion chart]
1/4 cup(s) olive oil
2 tablespoon(s) cider vinegar
2 tablespoon(s) whole-grain mustard
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 teaspoon(s) fresh-ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon(s) pepper
1 clove(s) garlic, crushed
16 cup(s) collard greens, washed, dried, and cut horizontally into 3/4-inch strips
1/2 pound(s) thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch strips, cooked


Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and sugar and set aside. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, heat remaining olive oil.
2. Add garlic clove and the greens and sauté until tender--5 to 6 minutes. Add the vinegar mixture and toss to distribute evenly.
3. Transfer to a serving dish, top with bacon pieces, and serve immediately.

Kudos!

for more info: Hot collard slaw