Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Over the weekend I attempted to make a homemade spaghetti sauce using ground turkey instead of ground beef. It turned out fairly well, although I think it could have been better. I came up with the recipe on my own in my head so I was pretty proud of doing it myself. I sauteed onions, green peppers, oregano, basil, and ground turkey until cooked and the onions were translucent. Afterwards, I added diced tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, and tomato paste plus a can of water. I let it simmer for two hours to make sure all the flavors were absorbed. I wish I could remember the measurements I used but I didn't use any! I just played with it until I thought it tasted right. It turned out well, but I ended up having way too much leftover so I ended up freezing it for later!

Deviled Eggs

The other night, I was hanging out with some friends and I was proposing we have a "Jersey Shore Style" family dinner. Out of all the things to cook, my friend Matt demanded that I make deviled eggs and almost cried tears of joy when I agreed. I tried to explain how easy they were to make and he just could not believe I was actually going to make them for him. Deviled eggs is something we always have at our family gatherings on holidays, especially Easter. All you do is boil eggs for twenty minutes. You start by adding the eggs to the pot and cover them with cold water. You bring the water to a boil and cover the eggs and turn the heat off for twenty minutes. Afterwards, you need to remove the shell and cut the egg in half and remove the yolks into a small bowl. To the yolks, add mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, and relish if you like. Then you scoop the mixture into the egg cups and sprinkle with paprika. Store in the refrigerator and you are ready to go!

Stuffed Peppers

One of my guilty pleasures is reality tv. Along with that, one of my favorite reality tv stars is Bethenny Frankel who started on the Real Housewives of New York. She now has her own show and website. She is quickly becoming famous for her "skinny" recipes. On her website are a ton of delicious modified recipes that are super easy and super delicious. A few of my favorites are the stuffed peppers, the turkey reuben, the baked chicken wings, and the skinny girl margarita (of course). The stuffed peppers are my absolute favorite because even though they look hard to make they are so easy and will wow just about anyone! Below is the recipe for stuffed peppers.

http://www.bethenny.com/2010/08/10/stuffed-peppers-recipe/

Skinny Taste

Over the past couple weeks, I have began searching the web for lighter recipes and ran across a great one. The name of the website is Gina's Skinny Taste (the URL is www.skinnytaste.com). On this website, a woman named Gina has created and reinvented many favorite recipes to be "lighter" and healthier. One of my favorites is her lightened chicken parmesan that is baked and only 220 calories per serving! Another of my favorites is her chicken quesadilla recipes which is super easy to add and remove whatever you like or don't like. She has a large variety of different types of food and especially some great comfort foods! If you like to cook, but are looking for a lighter option you should definitely check out this site!

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

In order to get my body prepared for spring break (along with almost every other college student over the last few months) I have started making healthier recipes. Recently, my sister sent me a new weight watchers recipe I really wanted to try. It's for spinach lasagna rolls and they were delicious. They were also extremely filling and not that bad for you! I invited my friend Jenn over to be a taste tester and she also really enjoyed it. Below is the recipe if anyone wants to give it a shot! I used fresh spinach and welted it in a skillet instead of frozen spinach (highly recommend).

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

9 lasagna noodles, cooked

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained

15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I like Polly-o)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

salt and fresh pepper

32 oz tomato sauce

9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

Omelets

I like to consider myself a pretty good cook. I can make a lot of different entrees and I certainly know how to make most basic items. However, for some reason I cannot for the life of me make an omelet. The cooks in Harcombe freshman year were absolute pros at making omelets, but not me. This week, I decided to look up an instructional video and found one on YouTube. In this particular video, the man explaining how to create an omelet uses a stove and an oven (which is just too much for a couple of eggs). He begins by cooking the omelet over the stove and once the bottom has solidified, he puts the filling on top and sticks it in the broiler to keep cooking. In my opinion that is just too much trouble. No one wants to take that much time cooking breakfast, let alone eggs. I tried this recipe and technique myself and still had no luck. I guess omelets are just not for me. From now on, I will be sticking to the normal scrambled eggs. Below is a link to the video I looked at:

How To Make the Perfect Omelet

My Cooking Background

As a kid, I always enjoyed being in the kitchen and helping my mom cook. No matter what she was making for dinner, I wanted to be her "helper". As I've grown up some, I have started to cook more on my own. I recently realized it is something I really love to do. In college I have had the opportunity to learn more on my own and try different recipes. Most of the skills I have I learned from my mom, grandma, and of course the Food Network. Whether I'm cooking for myself or family and friends I found that cooking truly makes me happy.