Turkey Neck Soup

Invest in a Crockpot! It's the best!

Ingredients:
Turkey necks
green beans
onions
white beans
salt
pepper
garlic
cumin

Directions:
Heat it in a crockpot for as long as you can!

Turkey Leg and Sweet Potato salad

Turkey Ingredients:
Turkey Leg
Cherry tomatoes
Fresh Rosemary
Garlic
Onion

Sweet Potato Salad Ingredients:
Sweet Potato
Red Onions
Can of Black Beans
Red Bell Pepper
Cilantro

Brown the Turkey Leg (salt it) on a pan And stick it in the oven with all the ingredients laid out on and around it at about 50 Degrees for about 45 minutes. Done!

Bake Sweet potatoes and Onions until Tender (in a firm way) and mix all the ingredients together. Then make a dressing in the food processor with:

Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Serrano Pepper
Garlic
Salt

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Pomegranade

Its a very simple a delicious recipe! Cook some bacon and set aside, in the same pan, cook Brussel sprouts. Add the pomegranate right at the end, sprinkle with bacon and dress with a bit of balsamic vinegar.

Yums!

Figs instead of pomegranate would work well too!

Chicken w/ Salsa Verde

Ingredients:
Chicken
pureed tomatillos
chopped poblano peppers
chopped onions
garlic
roasted pumpkin seeds
salt
lime
avocado
cilantro

Directions:
Brown some chicken and set aside. Then cook onions, later add garlic and poblano peppers. Then add the tomatillos, pumpkin seeds. Add the chicken and simmer until everything is perfectly cooked. Dress with Lime, avocado and cilantro.

Enjoy!

The Best Hummus anyone has ever made. EVER.

Ingredients:
Canned Chickpeas
thyme
garlic
olive oil
yogurt
salt

Directions:
Blend chickpeas, thyme, garlic, olive oil, salt. Then cook the mixture, adding yogurt. Cool. SO GOOD.

Turkey Keema with Peas

Ingredients:
Ground turkey (or any ground meat- ground lamb is traditional)
1 Onion
garlic
Ginger
peas
yogurt
green chilies
chili powder
turmeric powder
salt
garam masala
lime
cilantro

Directions:
Chop and saute the onions, add garlic, meat, green chilies, chili powder, salt and turmeric. Then let it sort of cook through and add the rest of the stuff and let it cook. Garnish with Garam masala, lime and cilantro. Enjoy with rice!

Lettuce, Pea, Bacon Pasta

Ingredients:

Lettuce (Butter or Boston. Please don't use iceberg. PLEASE.)
Peas
Butter
Parmesan Cheese (the good kind)
Bacon or Prosciutto
Pasta

Directions:
Boil some pasta. Cut up some bacon or prosciutto and fry until crispy. Then remove it from the pan. Use the same pan and melt some butter, add chopped lettuce and peas and let them soften. Sometimes I add some chicken broth and let it get absorbed but you don't have to. But you should because it tastes good. Then add the pasta to the lettuce and peas, add some fresh Parmesan cheese and mix it all up. The parmesan will bind everything together. That's it. Serve and sprinkle some crispy bacon on it. YUMs

World's Fanciest Porkchops

Ingredients:

Pork chops
Potatoes
Onions
Spices: lotsa cumin, black pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamons (grind coarsely)
Brown Sugar
Vinegar
Olive Oil

Directions:
Marinate Pork chops with all the salt+ spices + olive oil (be sure to grind cloves and cinnamon coarsely) maybe for like an hour or so.

Sear the Porkchops on Med High, add sliced onions and pre-boiled potatoes. Sprinkle with Vinegar and after both sides of the chop is browned, sprinkle some brown sugar over everything, extra brown sugar for the onions. Cover and simmer until cooked through. Enjoy!

Fish with Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:
some sort of White Fish
some sort of spice: perhaps red chili, garlic, cumin, with salt
olive oil
yogurt
ground cumin
cilantro
mint (optional)
limes

Directions:
marinate the fish in some spices and sear it on a pan. Then prepare a sauce with yogurt, cumin, salt, lime and cilantro (in a blender). Pour on the fish and enjoy! Fry some yucca to go along.

Not your mama's fried rice

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice
Leeks
Egg
ginger
garlic
soy sauce
sesame oil

Directions:

chop a whole bunch of garlic and ginger (1:1 ratio) and fry them in some oil until golden and crispy. Then in a separate, rather large, pan, saute the Leeks and later add the cooked rice. Use the leftover oil from the ginger-garlic to fry an egg. That's it. Place the rice/ leeks into a plate, top with the egg. Sprinkle lots of ginger and garlic (make sure that they are crunchy). Then Dress it up with a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil.

Enjoy!

Chicken Curry

Yes, I am Indian, so I thought I should raid my mom's spice rack and try this out:

Contrary to belief, it's really not that complicated to make real Indian food. It's just that there are a million ingredients that you need to gather and organize before hand.


Ingredients:

5-6 pieces of Chicken. With bone. No skin. I like legs and thighs. Salt it.

Insane amount of onions, sliced

Whole Spices:
a spoonful of Cumin seeds,
1-2 black cardamom,
2" of cinnamon,
4-5 cloves,
1-2 Bay leaves,
5-6 whole peppercorns,
a few coriander seeds (optional)

Ground Spices:
1-2 tsp Turmeric,
1-2 tsp red chili (ground, not crushed!)
Salt

Paste:
Tomatoes from a can (can be tomato paste, sauce, diced, whatever)
3-4 cloves garlic
1" cube ginger

Garam (Hot) Masala
You can get it at any Indian store (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garam_masala)

Cilantro


Directions:

In a pan, add a little bit of oil, roast all the dried spices, add chicken and onions. Brown them. add the ground spices, the tomato-garlic-ginger paste and cover and let everything cook through. Then add however much water for the amount of curry that you like and bring to a boil. I dont like too much curry as you can see in the picture. Sprinkle with garam masala and cilantro.

Enjoy! That wasn't really that hard was it?

P.S. There is no such thing as curry powder in India.
PP.S. Garam Masala can be used as spice rub for many sorts of meats. I'd say it's a good investment.

prosciutto chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken breast
Prosciutto
Parmesan Cheese
Herbs (sage? dill? you decide.)
Salt

Directions:
Sprinkle salt on the chicken, then, sprinkle one side with herbs and Parmesan. Then lay prosciutto on top of the chicken. Cover with some saran wrap and tenderize! Yes take a pan and beat the crap out of the chicken. Then cook it on a pan (medium high is good)!

DELICIOUS!!

Pimp my Udon

Sometimes I dont have time, But I still want a nice(ish) meal. So I add stuff to my udon (or ramen) noodles.

I found canned octopus (yes ma'am) to be great with ramen. Try some sea weed and mushrooms as well. Maybe some green onions.

Dress up a Pork Chop

I know this probably looks kind of gross, but it tasted alright.

SO whenever in doubt, I grill/ saute/ bake a pork chop (salt + pepper it first) and top it with some sort of sauce:

-(orange or whatever) marmalade, mustard, cider vinegar (shown above)
-soy sauce, TEA, onion, garlic (use some flour or cornstarch to thicken the sauce)
-sauerkraut, broth, caraway and paprika
-ketchup + cola + brown sugar

be creative!

ground Beef and Zucchini with Polenta

Ok I finally have a picture of polenta. I made this mix of Onions, tomatoes, ground beef and zucchini to go with it. Just saute everything on a pan and sprinkle some salt. I like to add a little bit of extra cheese (muenster) on top of my polenta. I know it looks a little bit dry, but you wouldn't make the same mistakes as I would right?

here's the polenta recipe :

http://dailydinnerforone.blogspot.com/2010/09/polenta-and-sausage.html

The Best Salsa anyone has ever made. EVER.

OK guys, this is a big deal. You must follow this EXACTLY. Here goes:

Ingredients:
1/4 white or yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 can of DICED tomatoes MEXICAN Style.
3 Limes
1/2 Bunch cilantro
1/2 Fresh Jalapeno pepper.
alotta salt.

Directions:
Put it all in a blender, and blend.

EAT WITH CHIPS. Also, you can pour it on top of bean burritos which I will make someday and post it here.

P.S. Don't be afraid of cilantro. If you skip the cilantro this will taste like shit.

Lettuce Wraps (beef+rice) asian style

This is super delicious. and easy.

Ingredients
Ground beef (or ground whatever)
COOKED Rice
Green onions or real onions
garlic
soy sauce
whatever vegetable you want to add, I'd go with celery or cabbage and chop it really fine.
Lettuce!

Directions:
Brown the onion on a skillet, add beef. Then brown that. garlic. then add all the vegetables until cooked. I do everything on medium high and keep stirring. Then I add soy sauce, and rice and cook it for like 3 minutes or so. constantly stirring it. All done. I try to wrap it in a lettuce leaf but it usually falls apart. But it always tastes delicious!

PS. Don't buy cheap lettuce

Lime Chicken and Broccoli

Sorry i havent been posting. I HAVE been cooking though.

Ok this is probably my favorite dish to make. It's the perfect combination of fast + home cooked (goodness)

Ingredients:
Chicken (skin off, bone-in, preferably dark)
broccoli (you can also use potatoes)
Lime
garlic
salt

Directions:
Sprinkle lime and garlic and salt onto the chicken and marinate. Later, brown the chicken all around on a skillet. then add broccoli, more lime, salt and cover and simmer until it's edible (no longer pink inside) Probably like 10-15 minutes? I have no idea.
Serve with rice!

PS. don't be shy with the lime!

Bacon Wrapped sweet potatoes

Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes
Bacon (or prosciutto)
fresh herbs, like sage or basil

Directions:
Cut sweet potatoes into long wedges and boil them. But don't boil them too much. Make sure they are still firm. Place fresh herbs on the sweet potato wedges and then wrap a strip of bacon around it! Bake in it the oven at 425F for 10-15 minutes. This tastes damn good.

Special thanks to Isis for being the best bacon wrapper!

To go along, saute some asparagus and walnuts in chicken broth.

Tilapia with Mango Salsa

MMMhm! Doesn't that look good? Just sear some tilapia with salt, lime, red crushed pepper if you like a little spice.

Then top it with Mango salsa:

Diced Onions, tomatoes, mangoes, cilantro, (peppers, and avocado if you'd like) marinated in salt and lime.

Try some blanched spinach and garlic with lime. (Thanks Evan!)

Yes, we like our lime.

Polenta and Sausage

Sorry I don't have a picture for this. It was just so good I couldn't wait. To make this, do exactly what this guy did: Mark Bittman (The Minimalist, NYT).

Breakfast Taco

here's a taco made from leftover potatoes and asparagus sprinkled with cheese. When in doubt, add cheese! Have a breakfast taco! Enjoy!

Fish Fried... everything

Try and fry some calamari, okra, even avocado using fish fry. Dip your main ingredient in egg, and then coat with fish fry. Then fry it till it looks good. Pair with marinara sauce or dill, lemon and sour cream sauce.

PS. Fried avocados are amazing in tacos.

Asparagus, walnuts and artichoke pasta

Ingredients:
Asparagus
walnuts (or not)
marinated artichoke hearts (or not)
garlic
chicken broth
pasta

Directions:
Cook some garlic in oil, and add asparagus and walnuts. Saute them until soft-ish. Then add chicken broth until soft-er.
Cook some pasta.
Add the pasta to the asparagus mixture and top with artichokes.
Serve!
Eat!

Grilled aubergine (that's fancy for eggplant) with veggies

Here's a recipe from our special guest and friend Vishal Pattni!

Ingredients:
Brown Rice
Slice of eggplant
Asparagus
Broccoli
Tomatoes

Directions:
Saute broccoli and asparagus on a pan. Grill a slice of eggplant. Be careful because you don't want it to become too soft. Salt and pepper.
To go along, cook some brown rice and add some tomatoes! You can't mess that up.


Tip from Vishal: Don't overcook the broccoli and asparagus. They are delicate! Pierce with a fork to check them!

Everybody loves Nutella

Craving dessert? Try this instead:

Smear some Nutella on a croissant and top with berries!
For something extra, marinate the berries in some sangria. MMHM!

Shrimp and Eggs

Skip Bacon and Eggs and try Shrimp and Eggs!

Ingredients:
Shrimp
Eggs

Mayo or Ranch
Hot Sauce

Boil some shrimp, scramble some eggs. The best part is the sauce: Combine Ranch or Mayonnaise with some hot sauce.

Special thanks to Chanelle for this simple and delicious recipe!

Bacon and Veggies

Thanks to my roommate Chanelle, I've been eating more vegetables. Adding bacon to them was the trick. It's totally okay to have some bacon if you can balance it out with vegetables. OR not.

Shown above:
Asparagus with bacon, Broccoli with bacon, Bok Choy with bacon. No salt needed!

To go along, try a fancy piece of bread with tomatoes, basil and parmesean.

Pimp my Pizza

Try these toppings on any oven-ready or leftover cheese pizza:
(Heat in the oven @ 400F)

-Potato (with herbs), asparagus, marinated artichokes
-Prosciutto and arugula
-Sun dried tomatoes and sausage
-corn, black beans, tomatoes
-goat cheese, spinach, basil

Experiment!

Tip: Remember to pre-cook meat and hard to cook veggies

Egg Salad with English Muffins

It's important to have a delicious breakfast. It's a perfect start to a good day!



Ingredients:

boiled egg
mayonnaise
mustard
salt
pepper
english muffins
optional: onions, bell peppers, tomatoes


Directions:
Chop the boiled egg into little pieces, and add mayo, mustard, salt and pepper to it. You can also add other veggies like onions and bell peppers, even dill. Put the mixture on top of a toasted english muffin. You can also use regular bread.

Have some plain yogurt with berries to go along. Yum!

Chicken tacos

Ingredients:

chicken
salt, pepper, garlic
tortillas
lime
cilantro
onions

Directions
Very simple. add salt, pepper and garlic to your chicken. You can even add CUMIN for some extra Mexican flavor. Cook it on a stove! That's it. Add to tortillas, and garnish with onions, cilantro and lime. You can add taco sauce if you please.

prosciutto wrapped asparagus

Ingredients:

prosciutto
asparagus
parmesan cheese

Directions:

Lay out some prosciutto, sprinkle cheese, add asparagus and wrap the prosciutto around the asparagus! Cook it on a stove!
Have some bread and olive oil to go along.
Maybe some lemonade.

Can it be any easier?

Tip: If you aren't sure what setting to use on your stove, always be safe and go with medium. The food will cook at some point.

Welcome!

I don't know about you, but sometimes I tend to disregard cooking a nice dinner when I'm by myself. So I am starting this blog to make a commitment to myself. I will cook nice things because I deserve them and not settle for ramen noodles or microwavable garbage!