Green grilled cheese

Apparently I missed National Grilled Cheese month (how could I??), so I made up for it tonight with a grilled cheese recipe similar to this one. It was sooooo good I can't even tell you, you just really have to try it yourself. 

Whole wheat bread

Mozzarella cheese (sliced)

Baby spinach leaves

Avocado (sliced)

Goat cheese (crumbled)

Salt & pepper

Fry on a stove or use a counter-top grill til the bread is toasty and the ingredients are warm and melted :)

Chocolate rolls

Mmmm... study food!

Pillsbury Crescent rolls with a warm gooey chocolate center!

I unrolled a few rolls, added a strip of chocolate chips, rolled them up, baked them at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes, then I devoured!

Made studying calculus a bit more bearable :)

Green apple and brie sandwiches

Yummy snack tonight! Brown sugar, green apple, and brie open-faced sandwiches. 

I sliced a loaf of French bread, sprinkled some brown sugar on it, placed a few green apple slices on each piece, and topped it off with a bit of brie cheese. I broiled them for about five minutes until the bread and the cheese turned golden brown. 

These sandwiches were one of my favorite meals when my mama still cooked for me on a regular basis (those were the days), but if I had really had my act together I would have added caramelized onions too :)

Blueberry cream cheese rolls

Tried out a new recipe tonight, from here. All I needed was Pillsbury Crescent rolls, cream cheese, and blueberries. 

I unrolled the Crescent rolls and spread them out on a baking sheet, adding a small spoonful of cream cheese to the center.

I placed a few blueberries on each mound of cream cheese (in an unnecessary, obsessive-compulsive pattern).

I rolled up the Crescent rolls and pinched shut the seams.

I baked them at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 9 minutes (until they were golden brown).

They weren't as sweet as I was expecting (the rolls were somewhat salty and the blueberries didn't do much to counteract that), but they would be perfect for a breakfast when I wouldn't be able to handle anything very sweet.

Lemon butter shrimp

Made a simple, delicious dinner tonight with my Mama. We were searching Pinterest for an easy, summery recipe for dinner, and stumbled across one for lemon butter shrimp. I found the pin here, but it doesn't lead to any source when clicked on so I don't know who to give credit to. Anyway, we changed the recipe a tiny bit to make it our own.

We melted a stick of butter on a baking sheet (the recipe said to use a sheet lined with foil but we didn't and it turned out fine), added slices from one and a half lemons, and added de-veined and shelled shrimp. We seasoned this with salt, black pepper, and a bit cayenne pepper.

It baked at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, and then we ate! It was that simple!

Very pleased with the results, I was able to fool myself into thinking I was eating crab (for way cheaper) and  the flavor was light and fresh. Great summer recipe.

Banana milk

Early to bed, early to rise... Enjoying an early bedtime with a yummy treat. Remember the 'Tree House'? They have an amazing banana milk recipe that I tried to replicate tonight. From taste, I decided to use:

2 cups of milk

1 ripe banana

2 tablespoons of coconut water

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Blended in my Magic Bullet, it was a tasty, comforting drink to sip on before bed. Night!

Gnocchi galore

I love gnocchi. Love it. It seems a food's texture is just as important to me as it's flavor because gnocchi falls into the category of foods I have a weird obsession with, along with tapioca (in pudding and as bobas), water chesnuts, and mochi. 

Anyways, I had gnocchi for dinner with the boyfriend. We used a sundried tomato pesto (ohmygoshyum), goat cheese, and sauteed onions and spinach (he added Italian sausage as well because he isn't a vegetarian like me).  

(Mine)

(His)

If I haven't already convinced you with my previous post, you really must try gnocchi (it's usually in with the pasta in the grocery store). Really.

Portobello pizza

I'm sick of the lunches I usually take to school. I have limited options at my disposal though (usually just a microwave), so the selection isn't always the best. But the recipe I found here inspired me to try something new. 

Portobello pizza! With a portobello (portabella??) mushroom, diced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil sprinkled on top.

I made mine slightly differently than in the recipe I found, I cooked everything separately. I roasted the mushroom at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about ten minutes, sauteed the tomatoes with a little bit of olive oil, and the grated parmesan just melted on top. 

Tomorrow I will just pop it in the microwave to warm it up, and I will enjoy a delicious lunch!

Pear-gruyère pizza

So if you read my blog even infrequently you probably know that I love naan pizza! It's become a family favorite and it's so easy to use. Tonight, I wanted to imitate a pizza that I have had at a CPK (yum yum!). I have ordered their pear and gorgonzola pizza multiple times because I find it delicious. With an extra piece of naan, some left-over gruyère, and a few pears lying around I decided to get to work. Although the pizza I was trying to imitate had gorgonzola and arugula on it, I figured I could substitute with gruyère and call it good. When looking around for a third topping, I decided to use some cooked onion and I'm glad I did. 

I toasted the naan for a few minutes with a bit of olive oil spread on top. Meanwhile, I cooked the sliced onion on medium in butter until browned, and added that to the naan on top of sliced pear. On top, I grated a generous amount of gruyère. I then baked this creation at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about five minutes (nothing had to cook, just the general warming of the toppings). Super pleased with how it turned out, I'm not ashamed to say I wolfed it down in less than ten minutes! (To be fair, I had just returned from a strenuous yoga class :) )

Fancy kid food

So I was babysitting and the kids asked for quesadillas (naturally) but instead of making a third one for myself, I decided to eat like a grown-up. Therefore, I made a fancy quesadilla: whole wheat tortilla, monterey-jack cheese, spinach, feta cheese, salt and pepper, and a yogurt-dill sauce to dip in. I enjoyed it, but the kids were in no way jealous :)

Zucchini orzo

Mmmm....orzo! I love love love orzo, so when I found this recipe, I had to try it. I modified it though, and ate it warm not chilled, so here is how it went:

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3/4 cup orzo
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons feta cheese

I cooked the orzo, which only took about nine minutes. Then I cooked the zucchini and onions on medium heat with the tablespoon of oil, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Once browned, I added this to the orzo (still warm), and added the feta cheese. I topped it all with more salt and pepper, and olive oil and vinegar. This may be one of my favorite recipes so far!

{Sorry about the crappy cell phone pic!}

Wonton Soup

is easy to make, who knew? Admittedly, these were simple wontons, but this tasted like the real deal so it definitely will be a repeat at my house!

 I bought wonton wrappers at my local grocery store (nothing special, pretty much the most basic grocery store around) and, having cream cheese and chives on hand, decided to roll up my sleeves and make wontons!

I mixed the cream cheese and fresh chives (sliced) and put about a tablespoon of this mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper.

Wetting the corners, I pressed the wrapper into a wonton shape. Later on, I would discover that this doesn't hold the wrapper together very well and the cream cheese mixture leaks out and then you just have an empty wonton in cream cheesy water (gross). To prevent this from happening, wetting down all four edges works better.

I submerged the filled wontons in a mixture of lightly boiling water, chives, and vegetable stock for about a minute or so, until the cream cheese mixture inside was warm. Doesn't take long at all. Then I removed the water from the stove and poured it, wontons and all, into a bowl. 

Voila! Wonton soup!

Peppermint bark

Also made peppermint bark for Christmas. Super easy, super quick festive dessert. Credit to my friend Gracy for the recipe.

Here is how I made it:

I also made white chocolate peppermint bark :)

Finals Friday

Hardly any fun on this Friday night as my finals begin tomorrow (eek!). Rather than socializing and relaxing like on any other Friday, I spent the night like this:

Terrifying, I know. I haven't even reached my breaking point yet, but I can tell it's coming. 

It made the evening a little better that my roommate and I made brownies from this recipe, and though they turned out a tad bit too moist (I know, hard to imagine a brownie too moist but these were) I was definitely in need of chocolate at that point!

Breakfast smoothies

I've gotten bored lately with the same old piece of toast and slice of cheese (I'm hypoglycemic so I eat TONS of protein) in the morning. In order to change it up, I have started making smoothies for breakfast. I buy frozen fruit and vanilla or plain fat-free yogurt and either just combine them or add a little protein powder if I feel like I need it. This feels like a much better breakfast than what I ordinarily eat, and is light enough that I enjoy it after working out in the mornings. 

 This morning my smoothie (strawberries, peaches, and vanilla yogurt) was especially thick, so I poured it into a bowl and added some granola. Extra yum! 

Cream cheese squares

Tonight my roommate made this...

...and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Absolutely amazing. She found the recipe here. So easy, so delicious, and the perfect way to celebrate the first night of a whole week off of school!

She used:

• 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup margarine, melted
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

She spread a layer of crescent roll dough on the bottom of the pan and covered it with the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla mixture.

This was followed by another layer of crescent roll dough, topped with the melted margarine, white sugar, and cinnamon. She baked it at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, and then we devoured it before I could even take a picture of it cut into squares. Oh well!

Tomato tart

Tomato tart for dinner!

My modified recipe:

1 piece of whole wheat naan 

1 tbsp minced garlic

1tbsp olive oil

2 slices Swiss cheese

1 large tomato

1 tsp Italian seasoning herbs

I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and heated some the garlic and olive oil on the stove until the garlic started to brown. I spread the garlic and olive oil mixture on the naan.

I chopped the tomato into 1/8 inch thick slices,

which I layered on top of two slices of Swiss cheese on the naan.

Finally, I sprinkled some Italian seasoning on top,

and baked it for 25 minutes (until the tomatoes had cooked).

Then I ate it very quickly!