Blog Email

I want to say hello and thank you to everyone who has read my blog! I now have an email address that you can use to ask me questions or send me recipe ideas. Some of you already get an email when I update my blog, but if you haven't yet, send me an email asking for updates. That way I can add your email address to the list.

someoneinthekitchenwithdinah@yahoo.com

Eat, drink, and be Merry!

~Dinah

Caprese Salad Kabobs

Caprese salad is traditionally tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Sometimes they are made into stacks or fanned out alternating on a plate . I decided to make mine into kabobs. This makes them easy to prepare ahead of time for guests, does not require utensils, and they are pretty.

What to use:
wooden skewers
marinated fresh mozzarella cheese
grape tomatoes
fresh basil


What to do:
1. Prep the tomatoes and basil by washing them both. Pat dry the basil leaves with a towel so get the moisture off it it. Pick some of the small leaves and put aside for the kabobs or tear the larger leaves into smaller pieces. I also dumped the cheese into a strainer to drain them of the marinade.
2. Decide on a pattern for your kabobs, or just make them random. But a pattern helps with an assembly line. I started with 2 tomatoes on each one, then basil, cheese, basil, and 2 more tomatoes.

3. I made about 20-22 skewers from the one container of cheese, so I did have basil and tomatoes left over. When I was finished I chopped off the pointy end of the skewer, or you can use kitchen scissors.
4. Arrange them on a platter, and before serving drizzle with a bit of balsamic vinegar if you'd like. It adds a great flavor!

Tips:
*I used the mini mozzarella balls, since they are easy to skewer and less work. You could easily buy a larger piece of fresh mozzarella in water and cut in into cubes.

Birds in a Nest (Eggs in Toast)

This is one of my favorite things to make for dinner. Yes, I said dinner, but breakfast for dinner is quick, easy, and delicious! It also looks cool.

What you need for 2 servings...or one if you are me:

2 eggs
2 pieces of wheat toast
butter
seasoning (I used one with everything in it, but salt and pepper are fine too)

What you do:

1. Heat a pan on medium heat. Add a pat of butter to melt while you are preparing the bread.
2. To prepare the bread, use a round biscuit cutter or a glass to cut a hole out of the center of each piece of bread.
3. Butter the bread on both sides then place inside the pan.
4. Crack one egg into each hole in the bread. Let cook a few minutes on each side, depending how runny you want the yokes. Be careful when you flip them, sometimes they stick to the pan.
5. Season to your liking and enjoy!

Tips:
*If you are cooking bacon or sausage too, use a bit of the grease from that instead of butter in the egg pan. This adds a bit more flavor.
*The circles of bread that are left over make a good small sandwich for little ones, or toast.
*If you are nervous about cracking the egg directly into the middle of the bread, crack the egg into a bowl first then slowly pour it into the middle of the bread.

Taco Soup

This dish was inspired by my friend Vicky at work. Her husband made this great lunch one day which she called Taco Soup. It was delicious, so I couldn't resist trying it myself, knowing that I had most of the ingredients at home. It didn't taste the same, but sure was tasty. So here is my try at Taco Soup (although its more like a taco chili, but Taco Soup is more fun to say.)

What I used:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 palm full each of chili powder and cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can each of corn and pinto beans, drained

2 cans stewed tomatoes - one was Mexican style with chilies in it

Tortilla chips

Sour cream

Shredded cheese

What I did:

1. I started by heating a skillet on high heat and then browned the beef, crumbling it up as it cooked.

2. I then added the chopped onion and garlic and let it cook to soften. When the meat was almost done, I drained out some of the grease with a spoon.

3. The chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper were added next, stirring to combine.

4. Once the meat was cooked through, I added all of the cans. Everything was mixed together and simmered for a few minutes until heated through. Make sure you taste it at this point. Add more spices if needed.

5. To serve, I ladled some of the soup into a bowl and mixed in the cheese and sour cream. Then it was topped off with chips. Yummy!

Margarita Cupcakes

I wish I could take credit for these, but I can't. I can however say that they were delicious!! And people loved them. I decorated mine with a lime slice and green sugar on the rim. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture at the time but will be making them again soon so I'll do it them. In the meantime, enjoy the recipe from Good Things Catered.

Bruschetta Pasta

If you can make bruschetta, you can easily make this pasta dish. All you do is make the bruschetta and cook the pasta. When the pasta is done toss it with the bruschetta and top with Parmesan cheese. So simple and so fresh on hot summery days.

The bruschetta recipe can be found under Bruschetta Burger here. I've included some pictures with some tips on how to prepare this and for general knowledge of tomatoes and basil.

I cut the tomatoes in half first and seed them by pushing my thumb into the tomato and scraping out the seeds. This gets some of the extra liquid out too

With Roma tomatoes, I like to slice them lengthwise first, them turn them sideways and dice them. Really, it doesn't matter, just make sure you have a nice sharp knife.As a side note, that knife is my all-time favorite. It's a 7-in Hollow edge Wusthof Santoku knife which allows air to get in between the food and blade so you can cut thin slices. It is also very easy to hold, even though it can look intimidating to a novice chef.

Wash the fresh basil and pat dry with a towel. Then start by rolling it into a log. If you have big leaves its easier to pile them all on top of each other before rolling. Unfortunately I did not, so I just took the pile and rolled. Once it's rolled, start chopping the basil and making thin strips to cut. When you are finished you will have little ribbons of basil.

As far as cooking pasta...always put a lid on the water while you wait for it to boil and always turn the heat ALL the way up. It does boil faster!! Once it is boiling rapidly, take the lid off and add a good amount of salt--more than a pinch. You are flavoring the pasta while it cooks, so just a dash won't do much. Italians like their pasta al dente, which means there is a slight bite to the pasta and it's never mushy. If you follow the time on the box, its usually right. My rule of thumb is that I always start with 8 minutes (6 for angel hair or anything tiny). Then I taste it and decide to drain it or leave it for another minute or two.

To finish the dish, ladle a couple spoonfuls of the starchy pasta water into the bruschetta and stir. This helps the sauce attach to the pasta. Then toss in the drained pasta and mix together. I always top my pasta with Parmesan cheese. That's it, pasta and sauce in no time!

Top 20 at Trader Joe's

Ok, so some of you may know I LOVE Trader Joe's! But for those who don't, I would shop there everyday if I could. I think some people are mislead with the idea that Trader Joe's is expensive. Well I want to let those people know that it's not, mostly. Yes, some of the completely natural/organic items, especially the meats, will be pricier but you are getting a different quality than say something of a similar type from WinCo. And yes, I love WinCo, too! Each store has different things I buy at each so I must frequent both.


So back to Trader Joe's. I am learning that I do eat pretty healthy most of the time, especially when I am cooking myself. If I don't buy the cookies/cakes/fattening foods for my home, I don't eat them at home. Most of the food at Trader Joe's is healthy. I did say MOST not ALL. Everything in moderation right? And healthy food can be tasty food when you add herbs and spices to them.

So here is a list of things I buy at Trader Joe's almost every time I go:

1. Bananas-always 19cents per banana, but my son and I eat one almost every day, so I always need them

2. Flax Seed plus Pumpkin Granola-the best ever! less than $3/box, its great on its own with milk, but I also like to make a parfait with Greek yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit.

3. Grated Parmesan/Romano Cheese blend-usually between $3.50-$4.50/container depending on the size, great blend of both cheeses for pasta or to mix into ingredients. It is a lot, so I keep mine in the freezer to prevent it from molding, and you don't even have to put it into another container.

4. Mache (said like "mosh")- usually $2.99 in the lettuce section, makes great salads! Way cheaper than buying it at Raley's or Safeway. It is great with a vinaigrette dressing since it is a delicate leaf.

5. Hummus-Original flavor is my favorite, but others are yummy too! Makes a great dip for veggies, pitas, crackers, root vegetables chips (see below), or a spread on a sandwich instead of mayo. Easy to use as an appetizer too.

6. No Pudge Brownie Mix-has a pink pig on the front-excellent for a low fat brownie mix because it has a recipe on the side to make 1 serving! Perfect for those late-night chocolate cravings!

7. Creamy Tomato Soup-less than $3/carton. Great texture and flavor, makes an easy dinner with grilled cheese!

8. Dried mangoes-unsweetened and unsulfered, so yummy that I usually buy 2 bags. There is a sweetened one too which is good if you want more sugar.

9. Nuts-chopped, sliced, roasted. Whatever kind you need, they have them cheaper than most stores. Store in the freezer so you always have them on hand.

10. Milk-cheaper than the regular grocery stores, and I always need it.

11. Trader Joe's Whole Milk Yogurt-6 individual sizes. I buy these for my son who needs the fat and calories. It's $2.99/6 servings, much cheaper than the baby brands at the grocery stores.

12. Trader Joe's jarred Tomato and Basil Marinara Sauce-again less than $2/jar and tastes homemade. It's a great base too for adding your own ingredients like ground beef.

13. Pomegranate Green Tea-very refreshing and only 80 calories a serving, plus the green tea is good for you!

14. Chocolate Covered Orange sticks...I have no idea what the real name is, but they are on the shelves above the frozen food. Such a great treat, the dark chocolate and the orange flavored jelly inside. YUM! However, I cannot buy these all the time, I'll eat them too quickly!

15. J.W.Morris Wine-all $2.99/bottle. Forget 2 buck Chuck, this is much better in my mind. They make every kind you can think of but my two favorites are the Riesling (very sweet white wine) and the Gewurztraminer(a nice white wine sweeter than Chardonnay but not too sweet)

16. Pumpkin Butter (now found year round!) - this is delicious! It's almost like a jam or spread. I would eat it for a snack or breakfast. First I would spread some Cheve cheese (goat cheese) onto toast and then top with the Pumpkin Butter. It's heaven. This would be a good appetizer also.

17. Basil plant - for about $3 there are enough leaves on this plant to make 2-3 jars of fresh pesto. You can find a recipe for pesto sauce at an older post for "Bruschetta Burgers." This is also a seasonal item, mostly summertime.

18. Frozen food- there is not one specific thing I religiously buy in this section, but it's always worth a look. There are lots of pre-made frozen meals, for one, or in a bag, that taste great and are not as processed. When cooking for 1 or 2, these make it a lot easier. Some good ones to try - fried rice, mini pizzas, pot stickers, eggplant Parmesan cutlets, teriyaki chicken, gnocchi, vegetable bird nests...the list could go on. Newest one I found is a Thai soup...so yummy and flavorful! I can't remember what it actually is though, I'll keep you posted.

19. Heirloom Tomatoes- during the summer mostly, these tomatoes are delicious. Usually come in a variety box of different sizes and colors including green, orange, and yellow. I like to slice them and top them with balsamic vinegar.

20. Flowers - I'd be waiting a long time if I waited for someone else to buy me flowers, so I buy them for myself! And Trader Joe's has a great selection all year long. Most of the time there is some pretty bouquet for under or around $5. Perfect to brighten up your home.