Marinated Salmon and Brown Rice!

Awhile ago I made myself a delicious piece of salmon with a side of brown rice. It was very tasty. Doesn't it look good? I'm looking at the picture now, the rice was kinda dull...I should have added some steamed broccoli or something to brighten it up...so...I will next time. Anyways, a fairly healthy meal, so yay for me!








Ok, ok, I'm coming clean. I did not buy the salmon fillet fresh. I did not make my own marinade. This was actually what I will call a "fake out" meal. The salmon was frozen and already marinated...I just placed it in the oven...and it had this little timer thing that popped out when it was done. Let me tell you...I LOVED that little timer thing. As Josh can confirm...I have this fear of undercooking meats and fish...so I usually overcook them...so the timer thing...loved it. Wish I could have something like that for everything I cook/bake.





And the rice...I used a special cooking method from good ol' Uncle Ben...90 seconds in the microwave was all it needed.

Not my proudest moment in the kitchen...but I'll take it. Actually, Josh was the one that wanted to buy the salmon in the first place. I didn't event want it. But, it was really yummy and easy to make! Don't worry, Josh...there are still 3 fillets left...IF you're lucky...I MIGHT make you one for dinner this weekend.

Monster Cookies & S'mores Muffins

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. I have been cooking and baking a bit...I just haven't been updating as much as I should!


Ok, so before Thanksgiving, I had the "yummy jar" for work. I wanted to bake as my treat for the meeting and I wanted something different than my usual chocolate chip...so, I tried a new recipe for Monster Cookies. This is the second time I baked for co-workers. I get really nervous when other people try my food...so that was a big day for me!


As I was making the recipe, the batter completely filled the bowl...it was almost overflowing. And, halfway through I kind of lost measurement of the oats as I was trying to measure 4.5 cups with a 3/4 cup measuring cup...but it worked out. I can't really remember why I wasn't using the 1 cup and 1/2 cup measuring cup...





I halved the recipe, and still ended up with a LOT of cookies. Good thing I didn't make the full recipe...as I defintiely would not have had a big enough mixing bowl! Since I had so many, I gave some to our awesome facilities staff, too. Overall (unless my co-workers were lying to me, haha) they turned out pretty good I think. :)






And, for another "blast from the past" since I'm blogging about baking for staff meetings. Earlier this fall (before the blog was even thought of) I made S'mores muffins for a work meeting, too. This was only for my "area" so not the whole Res. Life staff. This was the first time trying this recipe, too. They had a graham cracker batter, with chocolate chips, and then the marshmallow puff in the middle. They were a PAIN to make to be honest, but they looked fun as the marshmallow spilled out from the middle of the muffin, and they were pretty tasty, too!

Sweet Potatoes!!!

So, I'm that girl who always thought she hated sweet potatoes... Why did I hate them? Not sure...I think it was just one of those things where I always told myself I didn't like them. Well, something possessed me to give them another try (probably the upcoming holiday). So...I picked a couple up at the grocery store. I decided I would bake one and make baked sweet potato fries out of the other one.

Ok, I'm no chef...but I do know how to bake a potato. After it baked, I split it in half and topped one half with just some butter spray, salt, and pepper - the "savory" half, and then I topped the other half with a bit of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon - the "sweet" half. I wanted to try both flavorings/toppings...and I thought I'd like the sweet half better (if I liked either at all). And, my overall thoughts...drum roll, please...well, to my surprise...I actually LOVED the "savory" version. I didn't care much for the "sweet" version. But overall, a very yummy side dish that I can add to my food/cooking options!

The next day, I attempted to make sweet potato fries. I sliced a sweet potato so they were "fry-like", and then tossed the fries in a bag with olive oil, salt, and pepper and then baked them (flipping once half way). The fries were really good, too! Even though I did burn them (oops). And, when I make them again I will slice them more uniform I think too so the small ones don't burn so much.

So, thumbs up for sweet potatoes!!!

My First Lasagna!

So, I was REALLY ambitious this last weekend. I made a meatloaf Saturday, and a lasagna Sunday. The lasagna was a "healthier" version made with whole wheat pasta, fat free/low fat cheese, turkey, and spinach. Overall, it was...well, we'll call it a good learning experience I suppose. I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked because I was kinda messy a lot. So, on to what I learned...

Lesson 1: How do you boil lasagna noodles? I guess I need one of those long pasta pots. Whatev. Some of them broke and I think I overcooked them a bit. Oh well.



Lesson 2: Make sure the skillet/pan is big enough for what I'm cooking. I cut it a bit close for the turkey/sauce mixture. Plus, when is started simmering it definitely kinda spurted and went all over the stove top a bit. I'm a neat freak...so that bothered me, but again, oh well.



Lesson 3: I used too much spinach. The recipe called for fresh spinach, I used frozen...I wasn't sure how/if that coverted...but whatever...there was a lot. It was mixed with the ricotta and supposed to be "spreadable." Well, it wasn't, or I didn't have the patience to mess with it, so I just kind clumped it around evenly. Oops. Still...a lot of spinach...probably a bit too much.


Lesson 4: I should have added more tomato sauce. I didn't really have room in the pan...but in the future, I'll use a bigger pan...with more room for sauce so the lasagna is "saucy-er"


Lesson 5: Lasagna takes a long time to make.





The actual lasagna was definitely edible, and I'm eating leftovers this week. There is NO way Josh would have eaten this. However, I think with some slight additions, it could be much tastier. Will I make this again? Not anytime soon...but I haven't written off lasagna forever...

Turkey Meatloaf and Roasted Potatoes

So, I'm on my own this weekend and I decided to make a turkey meatloaf and roasted potatoes for dinner. (Josh doesn't like meatloaf, so this was the perfect time!) This is the first time I've ever made either. The recipe for the turkey meatloaf is from Ellie. K. from FoodNetwork.

The first picture is the meatloaf before it went into the oven.

Next, my plate once everything was done.

Overall, the turkey meatloaf was pretty good. Very moist. I would make it again, except I would probably add some garlic powder, and maybe some grated carrot, too. I felt like it needed just a bit more flavor. But, overall, good for a "healthy" meatloaf. I love potatoes, so these were good. I just tossed them with evoo, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Not rocket science. Mmmm. Mmmm. I have three more portions left to eat this week.

And, I am thinking about making a lasagna tomorrow...we'll see.