Mini Lasagna Cups

We are always in need of something quick and easy for dinner or lunch. At my school we have a microwave so we can take leftovers to heat up at lunch. Today I made baked lasagna cups. They're perfect for a snack or for a lunch item. Please click on this link for the recipe for the mini lasagna cups!

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/mini-lasagna-cups.html

Here is an image of the baked mini lasagna cups:

          

My younger sister Maren LOVED them too!

Benihana Fried Rice

Eating at Benihana is a family favorite. We absolutely love their chicken fried rice. It's a delicious buttery, salty flavor with lots of cholesterol. As much butter as it might have, we love it and we have it every once in a while to eat up the extra veggies. Today I decided to make the copy-cat recipe for my family it was delicious! Please click on this link to make the fried rice

http://www.copykat.com/2009/05/12/benihana-fried-rice/

Orzo Salad

Everyone has their favorite dish they like to bring to a summer barbecue. My personal favorite is one that we don't actually normally bring, but it's definitely one of my summer favorites. Today, I tried making my Aunt Angie's orzo salad. It is absolutely delicious and requires very little prep time. This dish is perfect for a snack, barbecue, or a lunch dish. For this salad I used the J-Alexanders copycat recipe. Please click on the link below for the complete list of ingredients and instructions.

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/977/J-Alexanders-Orzo-and-Wild-R94454.shtml

Here is an image of the finished orzo salad:

Baked Macaroni and Cheese Cups

Macaroni and cheese is one of my all time favorite meals, so today I decided to make a homemade recipe for baked macaroni and cheese cups. These were one of my favorite things I've created so far and my family liked them a lot too! To make this delicious treat I used this recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-mac-and-cheese-muffins/

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

My family loves pickles and my mom makes them all the time. So, today I attempted to make them myself. They're perfect for a snack or side dish and they're absolutely delicious! I can't wait to see what they taste like when they're finished and what my family members think of them. I hope they taste half as good as they look! To make this easy recipe click on this link:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/refrigerator-dill-pickles/detail.aspx

These pickles look so good! I can't wait to taste them!

Baked Oatmeal

Today I made another breakfast meal, baked oatmeal. This is one of our easy go-to meals for breakfast. We make it for our Mom on Mother's Day and on the weekends. My favorite variation of it is chocolate peanut butter. It tastes like cake for breakfast! You can also make it with berries, apples, nuts, or whatever your favorite combination is. Here is the recipe for the peanut butter baked oatmeal that I made. http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2009/05/peanut-butter-baked-oatmeal.html

I love to sprinkle chocolate chips on top of my baked oatmeal before it's done baking.

Fruit Parfaits

My family is very hard to feed when it comes to breakfast. Either we don't have time to make something in the morning, or we don't feel like making something new. So, I decided to make something quick and easy for breakfast, so today I made fruit parfaits. These are so easy to make and are oh, so delicious! To make these I followed this simple easy recipe:

Ingredients:

-lowfat greek yogurt

-your favorite fall fruits

-granola (I made my own)

Instructions:

1. Put a layer of greek yogurt in a cup.

2. Put a layer of fruit on top of the yogurt.

3. Put a layer of granola on top of the fruit.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 as many times as you would like.

5. Top it off with a star shaped piece of kiwi.

These were a delicious treat for breakfast!

This is the homemade granola recipe from 100 Days of Real Food: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/04/04/recipe-granola-bars-cereal/

Salsa and Guacamole

In my family, we're usually really busy during the week especally on Tuesdays. One of our go to grab and go meals for those days are the better than chipotle burrito bowls http://damndelicious.net/2014/09/10/easy-burrito-bowls/.

So, since I have always loved homemade, fresh salsa I decided to make homemade salsa and guacamole to top off the burrito bowls. To make the salsa I used the following recipe:

 Ingredients:

-3 cups of tomatoes

-1/2 cup of chopped green bell pepper

-1 cup of onion diced

-2 tbs of fresh lime juice

-4 tsp of jalapeño pepper seeds included

-1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin

-1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper 

-2 cloves of garlic 

-a dash of chili powder

-salt and pepper to your taste

Instructions:

Stir all ingredients in a bowl, chill for about an hour and serve.

Here is an image of the finished salsa

For the guacamole, I followed these instructions: 

Ingredients:

-1 whole avocado pit removed and skin peeled

-a dash of ground cumin 

-1 pressed clove of garlic

-quarter teaspoon of chili powder

-dash of cayenne pepper

-half of squeezed lime

-salt and pepper

*adjust seasonings to your taste level*

Here is an image of the finished guacamole

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Out of request of some of my best friends, I made my favorite Halloween desert today. Pumpkin muffins. Well, I guess you could probably call them cupcakes because they do have frosting... To make this delicious treat I used the following recipe:

Instructions:
-1 package (18.25 ounces) of spice cake mix
-1 can (15 ounces) of 100% pure pumpkin
-3 grade A large eggs
-1/3 cup of vegetable oil
-1/3 cup of water
-1 container (16 ounce) prepared cream cheese or vanilla frosting
-assorted sprinkles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Paper-line or grease 24 muffin cups. Blend cake mix, pumpkin, eggs,vegetable oil, and water in a large mixer bowl until moistened. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. pour batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 18 to 23 minutes or until wooden pick in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. spread cupcakes with frosting and decorate with sprinkles.

*most importantly, enjoy them with friends or family*

I shared mine with my friends when they came over to make our Halloween costumes!!!

Turkey Stock

Today I made my first recipe! I started with something a little more simplistic, chicken stock. On sunday my family got together for a fun holiday meal, and believe it or not, we brought home the turkey carcass. Many times before my mom had made broth from the bones of the chicken so I tried it on my own. I started with the turkey carcass and put it in the crockpot. Then, I added water all the way to the rim of the crockpot. After that, I added a teaspoon of Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute(or any other seasoning blend), a teaspoon of salt,  just under a teaspoon of pepper, and finally three bay leaves these amounts can vary based upon your taste level. Next, I turned the crockpot on low and let it sit overnight for about ten hours and in the morning I removed the bay leaves and drained out the rest of the carcass. I plan on using this broth later on for some tasty Fall soup! please click on the link to find the recipe I used for the broth.

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/01/24/recipe-overnight-chicken-stock-in-the-crock-pot/

This is a picture of the chicken stock in the crockpot:

After 12 hours in the crockpot, this is what the broth looked like:

We used the stock to make an Olive Garden pasta e fagioli soup

 *it was delicious*

Click on this link to find the soup recipe I used.

http://www.cookingclassy.com/2012/10/olive-garden-pasta-e-fagioli-soup-copycat-recipe/

Introduction

My mom spends a lot of time and energy preparing healthy, delicious home cooked meals for our family. For my 30 day challenge I decided to contribute one thing (meal, side dish etc...)for our family every day. For example say my mom was making a holiday style meal, I would contribute by making the stuffing. This challenge is going to benefit specifically my mom because, by not having all the stress of making a meal for our family she will have more time to spend on her own relaxing, or doing other things she would like to do. It is also going to benefit me because when I leave my parents' home and live on my own, I want to be able to cook healthy meals for myself.  According to Michael Pollen, "It is no coincidence that the rise in obesity closely tracks the decline in home cooking." After this challenge, I will know how to make 30 dishes!  Today I kicked of my 3o day challenge by figuring out the recipes I would like to make and creating a grocery list and making a meal chart. this is going to be one big challenge but it will be a lot of fun!