CHICKEN!

Rebecca had work tonight, so Sarah was on her own for dinner. As such, she decided to make a chicken dinner (since Rebecca does not eat chicken, and it is not usually part of our culinary repertoire). GOOD CHOICE. She also invited her lovely friend Chaz to be treated to a home-cooked meal.

Tonight's meal consisted of:
Jamaican chicken curry
Cookie dough ice cream
Blue raspberry mixed drink

*Recipes and/or sites that we used will be at the end of the meal's post.*

Earlier today, Sarah donated a musical performance to Healing Hooves, the fund-raiser Chaz helped organized to benefit local therapeutic riding organizations. She knew Chaz had been working hard all day, and thought it would be nice to offer to cook dinner for her. So Chaz came shopping for ingredients, ended up having fun assisting with the cooking, and along with Sarah, very much enjoyed the eating part.

Okay, first of all, the onion we got had super powers. Sarah started chopping it first, but when her eyes started smarting, Chaz offered to take over. She said she usually doesn't tear up with onions. But she did. And then Sarah tried again. She ended up putting on SUNGLASSES to try to block the oniony fumes from getting to her, but it was too much. We are not sure how we managed to chop it up enough.

You probz can't see it, but she's cryin' like crazy.

Also, while Sarah prepared the rice, Chaz chopped carrots. We swear, those carrots knew they were going to be eaten, because they kept flying off the cutting board. With practice, perhaps Chaz can perfect the art of chopping carrots so that they jump right into the pot!

Anyway, we made a boo-boo. The recipe called for skinless and boneless chicken thighs. We guess Sarah was so excited to see "thighs" on the package that she failed to notice that it was a skin-on, bone-in package amongst the skinless and boneless. When we got back to school and opened it, Sarah wailed, "Oh no, it's not boneless!!!" Oh well. We were reassured by the fact that chefs everywhere (all over the interwebz) swear by the better flavor in bone-in chicken.

They look like blob monsters!

We prepared the chicken and then got the curry sauce going.

Soup of Great, in Chaz's words.

While it was all coming to a boil and then simmering, Sarah opened up the package of frozen peas...

Dear Sarah's Mom and Dad, we know you're reading this. Yes, Sarah began eating frozen peas by the bunch. Chaz had to stop her, reminding her we needed to save some for the food. Sarah pointed out it was a 12-oz bag and we only needed 10 oz... She even caught a handful as Chaz was pouring them into the pot. What a goofball.

HAHAHAHAHA ohhh Sarah...

When it was finally ready (and we were thoroughly hungry), we put a layer of rice on our plates and then spooned the curry chicken on top of it. It was soooo delicious. Okay, first, a picture of how beautiful it looked on the plate:

So yummy.

And now, please, take a look at that tender, juicy, moist inside:

Look at that!

Mmmm.... Holy guacamole! Seriously, this was wicked good.

And we accompanied dinner with a yummy mixed drink of sprite and blue raspberry vodka. Chaz's treat. Sarah was a big fan of the name of the bottle: Blue Bombsicle.

You da bombsicle!

It looked so pretty!

We have no "pics to prove it," but we polished off dinner with (too much) yummy cookie dough ice cream. Om nom nom...

And that's all for this week. Sarah is so proud of herself for cooking for a friend! Even though Chaz was very helpful. It was all very exciting.

Time to get our beauty rest - tomorrow is Goucher's Gala (like prom for college). Sarah is so happy to be going to a formal for the first time! And she's lucky to be borrowing a dress from Chaz too. We can't wait!

Tootles,
Sarah and Chaz

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Recipes and sites
Thank you to FoodGawker for helping us find recipes!

Jamaican Chicken Curry

Site:
http://onehungrymama.com/2011/04/recipe-jamaican-chicken-curry/

*Notes:
As said, we accidentally used skin-on and bone-in chicken thighs. Still turned out delicious.
Our curry powder was regular, as opposed to Jamaican. The recipe said any curry would work, and this is what Sarah had (thanks, Sarah's mom!).
We used oregano instead of thyme.
Chaz is allergic to coconut, so we substituted skim milk for the coconut milk.
Even with these changes, the meal was fantastic.

Matzah, Pasta, same thing...

Sarah definitely tried to read the word "matzah" at one point this evening, and "pasta" came out instead. Freudian slip? Secret desire for chametz? Probably...

Happy Passover!

Tonight's meal consisted of:
Spinach and feta mina (a mina is a layered matzah pie)
Matzah apple kugel
Peppermint hot chocolate

*Recipes and/or sites that we used will be at the end of the meal's post.*

Sara-without-an-h joined us again! (That would be Sara S, Rebecca's future roommate, from three weeks ago.) And she helped prepare the dishes with us which was delightful, as was her company.

Hard at work. Look at that blurry mixing!

So after we got the mina filling done, we set it aside in the fridge to chill while we prepared the kugel. Rebecca asserts that Gala apples are great for baking, and they certainly were. She had to sauté them half at a time though, since Sarah's pan hasn't grown since the pancakes.

Sizzly sizzly sizzly.

While she did that, Sarah prepared all the matzah-stuff. For the kugel, she soaked the five slices in a bowl with the orange juice and water (it's not as crazy as it sounds - check the recipe), and for the pie, she held each slice under the faucet and then stuck it under a towel. Then they could soften.

MATZAH IS THE BEST FOOD EVARRRR.

The kugel mixture ended up going into Sarah's pie tin twice, since it was supposed to cook in a casserole dish and the pie tin was half that size. We layered the mina filling and matzah slices into a baking pan, but didn't use the whole space.

We also were a liiiiittle short on matzah slices.

We cooked the first half of the kugel, then the mina, and then the second half of the kugel, which went right into our tupperware containers. :) ALL OF IT WAS SOOOO DELICIOUS!

They came out looking like this:

Matzah apple kugel.

Spinach and feta mina.

Dsijflkasdjfiskndfvsiojv!!!! Passover food can taste good????

Well, this is seconds, so it must taste pretty good.

After dinner and clean up, Rebecca and Sara S went to a Doctor Who new season party. When they returned to Sarah's room, Rebecca brought a happy little bottle of hot chocolate mix with a "hint of mint."

Just a hint.

Mixed with some skim milk and some leftover cream from the soup, this was really good. For an added kick, you might wanna try adding some peppermint schnapps...

"Now this is contentment..." - Sarah

Just sayin'...

That's all for this week.
Love, hugs, and deliciousness,
Rebecca, Sarah, and Sara

---
Recipes and Sites
Thank you to FoodGawker for helping us find recipes!

Spinach and feta mina

Site:
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/13/135345886/a-passover-recipe-as-easy-as-matzo-pie?sc=fb&cc=fp
(The mina template is the first recipe, and there are several filling options below it. Spinach and feta is the FOURTH FILLING recipe.)

*Notes:
We skipped the dill because we didn't see any at the supermarket. Was still crazy yummy. Also, we got a bag of baby spinach (6 ounces) instead of a small bunch. Was a good amount, in our opinion. And we used 5 slice of matzah in the template - but 6 would have been better.

Matzah apple kugel

Site:
http://www.honeyneverspoils.com/2010/04/matzo-kugel.html

*Notes:
Again, we used 5 slices instead of 6, but this time it didn't seem to matter. We omitted raisins from the recipe since Sarah doesn't like them. And as we said before, we cooked it in two halves, each for about 30-35 minutes.

Peppermint hot chocolate

A 3/4 filled mug with a milk of your choice. We added a little cream to our skim milk.
Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes on high. (Times may vary depending on your microwave.)
Mix in your favorite chocolate syrup/powder.
Add a dollop of peppermint schnapps for an optional kick.

"White Wine in the Sun"

That would be the name of the song by Tim Minchin that we're listening to right now. It's in honor of Sarah opening up her very own first bottle of white wine. It was pretty silly since she couldn't get the cork out by herself.

Pull, Sarah, PULL!!!

And here's Tim Minchin's "White Wine in the Sun." You might want to grab a box of tissues...




Anyway, tonight's meal consisted of:
Cream of asparagus soup
Tuna stir fry
White wine!

*Recipes and/or sites that we used will be at the end of the meal's post.*

It has been raining all day, and a hot soup was just perfect. This recipe had been sitting in our stockpile for a few weeks, and we decided that it was time to try it out as an appetizer. We almost made a tuna noodle casserole to go with it, but we're holding off on that until after Passover (starts Monday!). Instead, we're using up some more of our rice by doing an old favorite - tuna stir fry!

We started by chopping veggies and trimming our mountain of asparagus. And I do mean mountain.

Mount Sparagus.

So we go through the directions, one step at a time, and then we got to the step about blending the ingredients until it was smooth... Oops. We don't have a blender! No matter, we just skipped that step and continued to the end, and we had a cream soup base with chopped asparagus in it. It was still delicious!

I swear it tastes amazing.

Before we could eat it though, we got the stir fry done. Then while the rice was cooking we enjoyed our soup - two cups each! We had to go back for seconds. And since we had used the white wine in the soup, it obviously went with the meal. Yum!

Yay!

PS... We got our wine glasses at the dollar store today. Rebecca chose a fine CocaCola green-tinted glace and Sarah was taken with a cactus glass. The wine was René Barbier, Mediterranean White - a Spanish table wine. It was sweet and delicious and worked really well in the soup too.

After we finished our appetizer, our rice was ready, so we served up some tuna stir fry on hot rice! Mm mm good. Best meal ever? We had seconds again.

We agreed that this may quite possibly be our favorite
meal of the semester.

We both had food coma. Rebecca even took a short nap before cleaning began. Sarah is excited for kosher-for-Passover leftovers!

Also, we realized how much we're going to miss the mess we make in our common room every weekend.

We shall miss you, dear Kitchen.

We'll make messes in other kitchens!

Next weekend will be a Passover friendly meal. We're looking forward to it!
Love,
Us

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Recipes and Sites
Thank you to FoodGawker for helping us find recipes!

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Site:
http://www.citrusandcandy.com/2010/09/cream-of-asparagus-soup.html

*Notes:
We used vegetable oil. Also, the recipe says 800 grams (4-5 bunches) of asparagus. We thought that was a ridiculous amount, so we bought two bunches. We also skipped the blending, so we have no idea how 4-5 bunches would turn out. The unblended soup was still really freaking fantastic! Sarah may try it blended at home next year and blog about it.

Tuna Stir Fry

See previous post:
Yummy Cuddlefest

*Notes:
We doubled it, but forgot to double the tuna. Still tasted great. We also skipped the lemon again.

Naner naner naner naner BATMAN!

'Cause Batman rocks.
And so do 'naners. Bananers.

Today's meal consisted of:
Banana-oat whole wheat pancakes and syrup

*Recipes and/or sites we used will be at the end of the meal's post.*

Since both Chicas are going to see Pizzazz's Showcase tonight, we decided to make more pancakes.

By the way, here is that awkwardly the same sized spatula-frying pan duo we mentioned before.

They go together a little TOO well.

So we don't need to go through everything we did, since we made these pancakes before. We made a couple of changes this time though. Rebecca's milk unfortunately smelled awful when we opened it, so we used water in place of milk. Didn't seem to detract from the goodness.

Also, we ran out of walnuts, so we used a quarter-cup of oats instead. And since oats absorb water, we reduced the pancake mix by a quarter-cup.

Sarah had a really, really, REALLY overripe banana just waiting for pancakes part dos, and it was super easy to mash up.

Naner naner naner naner...

Oh, by the way, since we didn't go out to buy stuff today, Sarah just stayed in her pjs.

Finally, since we had already had some practice flipping last time, this time we got the hang of it really quickly. Rebecca made sure the heat was on medium-low, and we were patient while waiting for the first side to cook. We also used a 1/3 cup scoop instead of a 1/2 cup. Rebecca's first pancake came out superb!

Look at that beauty.

YEAH!

Yay deliciousness!

Aunt Jemima would be proud.

And a reminder: As the end of the year approaches, please don't hate us if we don't post one week or if we post on some day other than Saturday. Schedules are about to get erratic.

Love,
The Chicas

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Recipes and Sites
Thank you to FoodGawker for helping us find recipes!

Whole Wheat Pancakes

See previous post:
We're baaaaack!

*Notes: We replaced 1/4 cup of pancake mix with 1/4 cup of oats, instead of walnuts. We used one overripe banana, mashed. We used a 1/3 cup scoop instead of a 1/4 cup scoop.

Cheese cheese cheese

This update is coming two days later... We apologize, since we know you have just been gripping your seat with anticipation for the last 48 hours!

Our meal on Saturday consisted of:
Tortellini with blue cheese and walnuts
Stir fry vegetables

*Recipes and/or sites that we used will be at the end of the meal's post.*

The original recipe was called "Gnocchi with Gorgonzola and Walnuts." However, we checked TWO supermarkets, and neither had gnocchi, so we chose a tri-color tortellini instead. Also, we went with a blue cheese that was small and within our price range, not minding exactly what kind it was.

We had two lovely guests for dinner - Sarah L and Sara S, for a total of three Sara(h)s and a Rebecca. They were awesome company during food prep, as well as very helpful when we needed extra hands. Such as when we needed a photographer!

Teamwork!

This meal was not difficult to prepare at all. However, that does not mean there were no bumps along the way. We have only one cooking pot, and the pasta called for two, so we had to cook the pasta first, drain it and put it in a bowl, then use the pot to make the sauce, then put the pasta BACK into the pot, put it all BACK into the bowl, wash the pot, and make the stir fry. That was one busy pot.

Also, Sarah pretty much dumped all the pasta into the sink while she was draining it. She'll improve. :)

The stir fry was easy, as we'd done it before on our first night. We chose it because with our carb'n'cheese filled main dish, we wanted some veggies. Also, we still have half a jar of soy sauce. Also also, we love stir fry. (Clearly, as this was our third time making it.)

Yay!

The table was set for four, and food was placed in the center. We were like a little family!

Four's a family.

The four of us had a delicious dinner, and the company was so pleasant that we continued to socialize even as we were bringing things back up to our rooms. And for several hours into the night/early morning. Which is why we forgot to update the blog... Sorry...

So pretty.

We - the Chicas - are making plans to continue the blog next year. Sarah will be graduating, but will update the blog from time to time when she cooks at home. Rebecca will be roommates with Sara S (and might be suitemates with Sarah L!), and they will update the blog from Goucher with meals from school.

Additionally, April is a very busy month, and the end of the semester is approaching. Blog posts may or may not be on Saturday nights... If neither of us have a final one day during finals week, we may decide to cook on a weeknight instead. Just a heads up.

Happy April!
The Chicas

---
Recipes and Sites
Thank you to FoodGawker for helping us find recipes!

Tortellini with Blue Cheese and Walnuts

Site:
http://simply-delicious.co.za/2011/03/07/gnocchi-with-gorgonzola-and-walnuts/

*Notes:
As we said, we replaced the gnocchi with tortellini and the gorgonzola cheese with store brand blue cheese. Additionally, we doubled the recipe to serve four instead of two. Except for the walnuts - we forgot to double the walnuts. There was plenty for everyone, and there was even enough leftover for Sarah to pack a dinner for work the next day.

Stir fry

See previous posts:
First Meal!! - regular stir fry
Yummy Cuddlefest - tuna stir fry (wicked good)

We're baaaaack!

Welcome back!

Sorry there was no update last night. Sarah had a show. So instead, we decided to cook brunch today! (We are very excited about this.)

This afternoon our meal consisted of:
Banana nut pancakes!

*Recipes and/or sites that we used will be at the end of the meal's post.*

Sarah had brought up the idea of pancakes for dinner once. Well, since we could not make dinner last night, pancakes for brunch seemed like the perfect plan.

We wanted whole wheat pancakes, so we got some whole wheat pancake mix (Eating Right brand) from the supermarket. We also did not have a skillet, so Sarah picked one up at the dollar store. Cheap, but it did the trick. Besides, we're poor college students, remember?

Unfortunately, the skillet was just the right small size, but Sarah's spatula is a little too long. It made flipping the flapjacks difficult, but we didn't mind goofy-looking pancakes.

Then we thought about what to put in the pancakes. Chocolate chips with whipped cream was Sarah's favorite, but Rebecca didn't want to mix chocolate with pancakes. Sarah agreed that she could pass up on the unnecessary calories. We decided on bananas and walnuts. Mmm!

Rebecca chopped the walnuts, and we both took turns mashing the bananas.

HULK SMASH!

We mixed everything all together and heated the skillet. Then we got flipping!

She managed not to flip the pancakes onto the ceiling.

We started out making pancakes with about half a cup of batter. The center wasn't cooking all the way through by the time we needed to flip it, so most of the pancakes had holes in them. Rebecca said it was because the pancakes wanted to be beaded on necklaces and carried around everywhere! Finally we tried making them with a fourth-cup of batter, and the smaller pancakes, while still not flawless, cooked a little better in the middle.

We certainly got better at the art of flipping with time.

Practice makes... closer to perfect.

We ended up making about 10 pancakes, although the recipe said it would yield 20-24. It was not a surprise, since our pancakes were bigger than the recipe directed.

Rebecca sliced up half a banana for garnish. Drizzle some Aunt Jemima syrup on top, and we have a beautiful breakfast!

Delicious!

Seriously, these were so super good. AND this was the fastest we've ever been in and out of the kitchen: less than 2 hours! (Yeah, the lasagna had us there for something like 6 hours... We didn't want to do that again.)

All in all, it was a great start to our Sunday.
Until next weekend,
The Chicas

---
Recipes and Sites
Thank you to FoodGawker for helping us find recipes!

Whole Wheat Pancakes
(from the Eating Right whole wheat pancake mix package)

Ingredients:
2 cups pancake mix
1 1/2 cups milk (we used skim)
2 eggs
2 Tbsp oil
1 1/2 bananas, mashed (our addition)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (our addition)

Garnish (optional):
1/2 banana, sliced
Maple syrup

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients except sliced banana; stir just until large lumps disappear. For thicker pancakes, use a little less milk; for thinner pancakes, use a little more milk.
Heat skillet over MEDIUM-LOW heat or electric griddle to 375 degrees F. Skillet is ready when drips of water sizzle, then evaporate.
Lightly grease skillet with butter or oil.
Pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto skillet.
Flip when pancakes bubble and bottoms are golden brown.

*Optional: top with three slices of banana and drizzle with syrup. Enjoy!

Volcanic Lasagna

Happy Ides of March!

Tonight our meal consisted of:
Lasagna Primavera
Chocolate-chip cookie ice cream sandwiches

*Recipes and/or sites that we used will be at the end of the meal's post.*

This was our last Saturday before Spring Break, so we won't be cooking the next two weekends. Sadface. Therefore, we couldn't make anything that required lots of little ingredients that would have to sit in our dorms over break and possibly go bad.

Lasagna was a delicious answer to that problem! And since Rebecca had invited three people to join us, the recipe to feed 6-7 people was perfect! Unfortunately, one of our guests was not able to make it; however, at the last minute, Sarah's friend Raya joined us. But we still only managed to eat half of it, so we've got lots of yummy leftovers for mid-terms week. Rebecca is super excited that she has three days' worth of food!

Can we just say... this lasagna is HUGE. The sauce was ready to spill over the sides of the pan. (Like a volcano... Get it??? Teehee...) The recipe warned us that it would be tall, but HOLAY GUACAMOLE!

"I can't eat all that!"

The recipe assured us that it would settle into the pan while it cooked, but ours did not. In fact, Rebecca thinks it grew a bit... The veggies were piled high in this dish. And except for the frozen spinach, they were all fresh - bought and chopped by yours trulies this very day!

And when it came out...

Mmm... Delicious volcanic lazagnuh.

Oh my, did you ever see such a beautiful creation. And our tastebuds were in full agreement with our eyes. SO TASTY. Sarah said she thought it could have cooked a little longer - the veggies were still pretty crunchy - but confirmed its goodness nonetheless.

After chowing down on our dinner - it was Sarah's first time making lasagna! - it was time to prepare dessert. Homemade ice cream sandwiches? Yes please.

We decided to go with Nestle's cookie dough. Last semester we tried a different brand that came in a square package, and it wasn't good. We really wanted to make it from scratch, but we knew the lasagna would take a while. So we gave Nestle a shot.

It's pretty good raw too. :)

The cookies, of course, came out looking scrumptious. But we refrained from eating them until the very end.

Scrum-diddly-umptious.

And since we weren't making the cookies, but we wanted the "homemade" feel, we got some vanilla ice cream and made our own ice cream sandwiches. SUCH A GOOD IDEA.

Warm on the outside, cold on the inside.

We had way more sandwiches than people, so we wrapped them up individually to store in the freezer. We can give them to our friends and friendly passers-by! (Suggested donation of 75 cents.)

Our stash... Come and get some.

It is now rather late, and we realized we should have started prepping around 3:00 instead of 4:30. Why does cooking take such a long time?? Sarah admitted, "I always learn the hard way." But we do learn, and now we know for next time.

Have a great two weeks! We'll see you the week after break.
R+S

Miranda and Lindsay enjoying the lasagna.

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Recipes and Sites
Thank you to FoodGawker for helping us find recipes!

Lasagna Primavera

Site:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/09/lasagna-primavera.html

Notes:
When we got to the supermarket, we found that there were only three zucchini left, and they were scrawny and icky looking. But unlike our first week, the eggplant looked fantastic. Switcheroo! We also swapped out the squash for a yummy red bell pepper. Additionally, the ricotta cheese came in little tubs that measured a bit more than called for, but we used it all up anyway. And due to our shared love of mushrooms, we chose sauce with mushrooms in it. (We are very glad we did that.) Aaaaand we saved some of the two shredded cheeses to sprinkle on the very top.

Chocolate-chip Cookies
(from the Nestle cookie dough package)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spoon heaping teaspoons of dough about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
-Can bake frozen dough in preheated oven: Add 1-2 minutes of bake time.

*To turn into sandwiches, simply scoop a generous spoonful of vanilla (or flavor of your choice) ice cream onto an upside-down cookie. Press a second cookie on top of the ice cream. Eat before the ice cream melts!