Oh Giada..kitchen skills and beauty!
Let me rephrase that...I don't even try to cook. You see, I grew up in a house with a father who was an amazing cook. And while he whipped up his masterpieces in the kitchen my mother and I set the table, lit candles and made the house pretty. So I can make my house look appetizing...just not a meal. Then I married a man who is an amazing chef. His father was a chef and taught him all his tricks of the trade. So once again I am lighting candles and creating playlists for dinner parties, but never contributing anything significant to the calorie index besides my microwave cheese dip. (It's pretty damn good cheese dip)
I have cooked amazing dishes twice. I cooked Grillades and Grits for my cousin's day after wedding brunch, and I have cooked my Dad's Red Beans & Rice recipe..but that's it. So my issue is not with cooking itself but where to begin?
My husband is out of town (again) and I am left staring at the kitchen. I am embarrassed to say I don't know how to use the grill and have no idea where to begin to cook for myself.
Do you have easy recipes I could start with? I would like to be able to cook 10 meals by Christmas. And not 10 Rachel Ray meals...10 good meals.
Until he returns I will have Knorr pasta in a bag meals (or the frosty I found in the freezer last night)
xoxo
oh girl, just spend an afternoon with me I will get you right!
ReplyDeleteMy most tasty and easy recipe:
ReplyDeleteChicken Fajita/Quesadillas
1 package of boneless, skinless chicken (which is usually about a pound)
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1/4 cup of yellow onion
1 chopped tomato (don't worry if you mutilate it... i put mine in the food processor because I am too lazy to cut it up)
1/4-ish cup of Lime Juice
1 packet of taco seasoning
Garlic powder
Mrs. Dash original (salt free)
Salt and Pepper
1 Decent puddle of olive oil (maybe 6 inches across in the bottom of a pan)
tortillas, cheese, salsa, sour cream
Okay now the fun part, cut your chicken into bite-size cubes (for a grown up, not Ford). Throw that into a BIG frying pan over the puddle of olive oil, on slightly more than medium heat. You will need to stir it to let all sides of the chicken get white. Usually I just give it a good stir in between every step.
Cut your peppers into finger strips. (stir) Chop onion and tomato. (stir)
Now your chicken should be almost all white. Sprinkle all the spices I mentioned over the top, give it a stir, then add the rest. This should give everything a pretty decent coat.
Add onions (stir 1 minute ish) pepper fingers (again 1 min) then tomatoes. Give everything a 5-missisipi squirt of lime juice (which should be about 1/4 cup)
Let it cook for a few more minutes while you taste your masterpiece and decide if it needs more of any spices. The best way to tell is to smell each spice and decide... I like how this smells, I want more of that!
Okay now you can take your years of Mexican restaurant experience and make the most beautiful looking fajitas in the world! (cheese, sour cream, salsa... whatever)
Takes maybe 20 minutes top to bottom :)