A broke woman's blog.

This night here my dad waited until 6 o'clock to decide what he wanted to eat. Oh gosh my wheels were spinning lol. I hate it when somebody decides when it's almost time for bed to want me to cook. Well anyway, I went a head and played the polite hostess and fixed him spaghetti and garlic bread like he wanted. If you are ready I am ready!

Mise En Place

Hamburger meat
Spaghetti sauce
Onions
Bell peppers
Mushrooms
Spaghetti
Butter
Garlic powder
Bread
Shredded cheese
Seasoning


1. Put hamburger meat in skillet and let it brown.
2. Cut onion and bell pepper in half. Clean the seeds out of bell pepper. Wash off onion and bell pepper, dice them up and put them in the hamburger meat.
3. Add seasoning and mushrooms.
4. While the hamburger meat is cooking boil some water for the spaghetti. Once it starts to boil add the spaghetti and cook it for about 12 - 15 minutes. You don't want you spaghetti mushy.
5. Once the spaghetti and meat is done strain them both. Leave just a little bit of water at the bottom of the pot so the spaghetti won't get dry. Or put in a little bit of oil. Now preheat the oven to 350.
6. Open the spaghetti sauce and pour it over the meat and let it simmer.
7. Get some butter and sprinkle some garlic powder in it.
8. Get your bread and paint the butter sauce on it. Add some cheese!
9. Put it in the oven until the cheese melts.
10. Serve it up and eat!

My dad and sister came to town yesterday. I fixed them dinner today. I made oven bbq chicken, mostaccioli, and baked beans. Oh lawd it was so good. Well are you ready? On your mark. Get set. Go!!!!!!!!!

Mise en place!

Bbq chicken

Chicken (of your choice)
Medium diced onion
Seasoning
Bbq sauce of your choice

1. Wash off chicken and get fat off you don't need.
2. Season up your chicken, sprinkle onions on chicken and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes.
3. Take chicken out and drain off fat.
4. Pour bbq sauce over chicken and baked it for about 15 or 20 minutes to let bbq bake on chicken.


Mostaccioli

1 bag of mostaccioli pasta
Seasoning

1. Boil water for pasta and add seasoning.
2. Once water is boiling add pasta.
3. Let pasta come to a boil for about 13 - 17 minutes.
4. Once finished drain water off.
5. Put on a plate and top it with cheese or sauce.

Baked beans

Can baked beans
Diced onion
Brown sugar

1. Mix beans, onion and brown sugar in a baking pan.
2. Put in oven and bake for 30 - 40 minutes.
3. Once done you may eat!

Source: Bree

Here is a simple recipe for you to follow. It's easy as 1 2 3!

Mise en place

4 chicken breast (or according to your needs)
1 or 2 onions (whatever size you like)
1 or 2 bell peppers (whatever size you like)
shredded cheese
french bread loaf(or whatever you prefer)
Seasoning

1. Wash your chicken.
2. Cut chicken breast into half inch strips long ways and put them in a bowl.
3. Cut your onion in half on the ends. Lay the onion flat and cut it on the sides as thick as you want them and put in a bowl.
4. Cut the bell pepper the thickness you like put them in the bowl with the onions.
5. Rinse onions and bell pepper.
6. Pour enough oil to coat the bottom of your skillet and let it get hot.
7. Put your seasoning on your meat, onions and bell peppers.
8. Once your skillet is hot sautee the onions and bell peppers. Don't put them all in the skillet if you have a bunch.
9. After you get your onions and bell peppers sauteed put your bread in the oven and let it toast for about 5 or 7 minutes then take it out.
10. Once you have sauteed all of your onions and bell peppers put some chicken in the skillet and stir it around so it won't stick.
11. Add more oil if needed.
12. When you turn your chicken over add some onions and bell peppers. Continue until you are done.
13. Take your bread plate it and put some cheese on the bottom bun. Then add your chicken, onions, bell peppers, more cheese on top and close the bread top.
14. Now enjoy!

Source: Bree

Tuesday we had our knife skills test. I was nervous as I don't know what. Before we went to the lab we sat in class for lecture. I love the class but I hate lectures. I feel like a kid in class. I can't be still! But anyway, Chef D. split us up into three groups. He gave us one hour to complete our 10 cuts. Everybody was trying to get their things together in my group. In class, I had decided what order I was going to do my cuts in. Carrots I don't like to cut them ugh. They were first on my list.

For some reason my back started to hurt like I was having spasms. I got really nervous and I started to mess up. I forgot some things that I needed to cut. All I kept saying to myself was to be calm. That didn't work at all. I guess I felt out of place because my lab partner was not in my group. J and I always work side by side. We've been partners since the beginning of the semester.

We all tried to finish our test in the hour. I finished mine with about 10 minutes to spare and I tried to weed out the messed up cuts and fix them. I did good I guess. I made a 92 so yes that was good. I just need to focus more. After we finished, Chef D showed us how to cut up a chicken. He told everybody to get a chicken and go to work. Boy was I happy because J and I worked by each other. We have so much fun together.

My poor chicken......they made fun of it because it's legs were crossed. I told them that's what ladies do while they are sitting down! I had to put her down and cut her. I loved that chicken! After we cut them up we got the breast and cooked. Everybody cooked what they wanted. There was some good looking food up in there we did. The presentations were marvelous of the ones I saw. I cooked for J and I.

So here is what I did. I fried chicken breast and potatoes. Yes I will share with you.

Potatoes small dice 1/4 inch cubed
Onions (small dice)
Parsley
Seasoning

1. Put onions and potatoes in hot oil. Season them and put in parsley.
2. Cook them to your liking.
3. Once done plate them!

Chicken breast
Onions (Julienne)
Chopped parsley
Flour
Seasoning


1. Wash chicken and season it up the way you want it.
2. Sprinkle flour over the chicken lightly.
3. Once oil is heated in pan, put chicken in and let it fry.
4. It should take no more than 5 minutes to fry a thin piece of chicken breast.
5. While your chicken is frying, put some onions in there and let them sautee.
6. Once chicken is done, plate it, place the sauteed onions on top going the same direction and sprinkle some parsley on top. Just enough to give it some color.

Source: Bree

Sunday dinner again! Let’s see what do we have here! Hamburger casserole. Hmmm hmmm hmmm. This was my first time making it and it was delicious! It started off with my dad wanting some lasagna. Well, he always gets what he wants so I cooked what I wanted lol. For dessert I made a cake. That was good too! Let’s get this party started shall we?

Hamburger casserole

Hamburger meat
Noodles
Sour cream
Cottage cheese
Chopped basil
Chopped chives
Chopped onions
Cheese
Can of sweet peas
Can of corn
Seasoning

1. Brown hamburger meat and add in onions, chives, basil and seasoning.
2. Boil water for noodles while hamburger meat is cooking.
3. Add noodles when water starts to boil.
4. Once hamburger and noodles are done drain them.
5. Dump hamburger meat in a pan and top it with cheese.
6. Pour peas, corn, sour cream, and cottage cheese on top of hamburger meat.
7. Pour noodles on top and add more cheese.
8. Mix all together and then add the chives.
9. Put in oven and bake it for about 20 minutes and let stand for 10 minutes.
10. Now you may eat!

Source: Bree

Quesadilla? Nope! Breadsadilla? Yes! So I ran out of tortilla shells! Even the store was out of them. So what was I to do? I did the next best thing. I had to use bread! I had to use what I had to make what I wanted. There is nothing wrong with that! They turned out good too. Oh wait! Yea, I made some breadsadillas lol. They were better with bread than with the tortilla shell. My family loved them. Are you ready to get started on the breadsadillas? Remember cook accordingly to your household! I used a griddle to cook everything on instead of the stove. You can cook everything at the same time on it! Here we go!

Breadsadilla

Eggs
Hash browns
Bacon
Cheese (I used shredded)
Chopped chives
Chopped onions
Seasoning
Bread

1. Cook bacon until crispy and drain the grease off.
2. Use some bacon grease to cook the hash browns and onions in. Add some seasoning.
3. Once they are done take them out put them in a bowl.
4. Take your bread and lightly toast it on both sides.
5. Add cheese on the tops of both pieces.
6. Cook your eggs while the cheese is melting on bread.
7. Put some hash browns on a piece of bread and top it with the egg, bacon and chive.
8. Put the other piece of bread on top and gently mash it down.
9. Flip it over and let the cheese continue to melt through everything.
10. Now you may eat!

Source: Bree

Since I go to school on Monday’s and Tuesday’s, I spend the night over to my sister’s since she lives about a mile away from school. The first night I stayed I made a homemade pizza. I didn’t even take a picture of it like I usually do. Ugh! But hey, I did cook Monday night! I made some lemon pepper chicken and some veggies. Oh gosh it was so goooooood. Yes I did take a picture and I will share it with you. So are you ready to get to cooking? Well let’s go!

Chicken

Any type chicken breast, legs, wings, or thighs

Veggies

Broccoli & cauliflower (frozen mix…..cuts down time!)
Carrots (baby carrots already cut!)
Onions
Potatoes

Seasoning you like
Lemon pepper

Green scouring pad (to scrub your potato skin) Hey I learned it in lab! I actually did it on these potatoes.

1. Wash your chicken and season it real good with the lemon pepper.
2. Scrub your potato skins with the scouring pad.
3. Cut them about ¼ inch thick so they can cook all the way through.
4. Cut the ends off the onions and cut the onion in half though the ends.
5. Cut the onions vertically.
6. Put the potatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower in a plastic bowl and rinse off.
7. Season the veggies with whatever season you chose but not the lemon pepper. Why? You want a mixture of flavor.
8. Put veggies at the bottom of a roasting pan and put chicken on top.
9. Bake at 350 until done.
10. Plate it up and eat!

Source: Bree

Howdy, howdy, howdy! I’m back! Well, I haven’t been gone really. I’ve been swamped with reading in my Food Production I (Douglas) and Healthy Foods/Nutrition (Blackmon) class. I love my classes. Chef Blackmon and Chef Douglas are pretty cool. We have a lot of fun in class. It’s kind of hard to be me in class because I’m trying to take my classes serious. We’ve been in school for six weeks and I really haven’t opened up. Ugh! I know, I know. There is a time and place for everything including laughter and cutting up. My ears and eyes are open in class. Wait! Sometimes they flutter when we watch the videos. Okay, okay, okay! They are pretty interesting but sometimes sitting so long makes me restless. BUT………..I have learned a lot of stuff in my Nutrition class. If you are not big on Nutrition, I suggest you go do some research on the web or go buy a Nutrition book. You will be surprised at what you learn!
So far in my Food Pro. I class we have learned how to do Juliene, Batonett, Brunoise, Small dice, dice onions, and do diagonal cuts on carrots. For the love of Marty Moose! It is hard trying to cut the way we were should how to cut. It drives me insane! I have to pretend I’m a virgin cutter. That is hard to do! It’s so funny. I’m in the kitchen and Chef Douglas will tell me to straighten my knife when I cut. The first lab we had to do Juliene, Batonett, Brunoise, and Small dice cuts on potatoes. That was terrible. He said I did good but……..Okay I did do good for my first time. I think I cut up about 40 potatoes that day! Just kidding. I did about four. Now the carrots…….that’s another subject. 1/8 inch diagonal cuts. I think I maybe have had one that was perfect. Not one carrot but one diagonal cut perfect lol. Oh well! I’m working on it. Oh well enough of my rambling. See you next blog!

6 cans of baked beans (all different kind is how I do it)
1 onion
1 bell pepper
Half cup of brown sugar
1 lb of hamburger meat
Seasoning

1. Cut up onions and bell peppers. Rinse them off.
2. Brown hamburger meat, onions and bell peppers together. Add seasoning to taste.
3. Rinse off hamburger meat and let it drain.
4. Pour beans in a roasting pan with hamburger meat.
5. Add brown sugar and pop in the oven.
6. Let cook until the top is brown.
7. Now you can eat!

Source: Bree

2 lbs of sausage (turkey even)
1 onion
1 can of cranberry sauce
1 bottle of chili sauce
1 ½ cup of Jiffy baking mix

1. Chop onion and rinse them off.
2. Put meat in a big bowl. Mix in onions and baking mix.
3. Once mixed together, make balls about the size of a golden dollar.
4. Put them in a baking pan.
5. About every 15 minute, shake the pan to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom.
6. Let them cook until they get dark brown. Not burnt. Drain grease when they are done.
7. In a small sauce pan, mix the chili sauce and cranberry sauce together.
8. Stir and let it come to a boil. Keep stir so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of pan.
9. Take a pick and dip them in the sauce and plate them. Or you can use a spoon with holes in the bottom to drain the sauce off and plate them.
10. You can even eat them without the sauce.
11. Now you can eat!

Source: Some Magazine…I forgot!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Everybody knows on Sunday you have a big feast. Have you notice that you tend to throw down on Sundays better than you do during the week? I love Sundays. A good Sunday dinner will make you shout. Can I get an Amen?

Today I made Sunday dinner. I made a pot roast mixed with carrots and potatoes, cabbage with Cajun turkey and smoked sausage, and cornbread. For dessert I made a marble cake with chocolate frosting and a strawberry delight. This one turned out better than the last one I made. So let’s see what ingredients I used today. Remember to buy and cook according to your family size!

Roast

1 roast
1 bag of baby carrots
3 or 4 potatoes (cut in quarters)
1 whole onion (cut vertically)
Seasoning

Cabbage

1 cabbage
1 package of Cajun turkey meat
1 smoked sausage link

Cornbread

Jiffy (gotta have my Jiffy!)

Roast
1. Cut up your potatoes and onion. Rinse them and your carrots off. Let them drain. Season them.
2. WASH YOUR MEAT OFF!!!!!!!!!!! Season it to your liking on all sides.
3. Layer the bottom of your roasting pan with half the onion, carrots, and potatoes.
4. Put your meat on top of the bottom layer.
5. Top the meat with the rest of the onions, carrots, and potatoes.
6. Put in over for about 350-375 for about 2-3 hrs. Don’t over cook it or under cook it.

Cabbage
1. Cut up your cabbage and rinse it.
2. Cut up smokes sausage and Cajun turkey.
3. Put some oil in the bottom of a pot just to cover it. The cabbage produces water.
4. Throw in your cabbage, sausage, and Cajun turkey.
5. Season to taste.
6. Cook it to your liking. Wilted or crunchy.

Cornbread
1. Follow the directions on the box!
2. When it’s done you may eat!

Source: Bree, and Jiffys

So let me let you in on a little secret........I love to cook. Basically, the majority of my blogs will be about cooking. To me cooking is a key to the soul. A meal can make your stomach happy. That's what I love to do is make people happy.

At my job we used to have potlucks on Fridays. I would always cook something good. One day I made some stir fry. Man oh man was it good. I love to cook and now I take pictures of what I cook. I'm a sucker for short cuts on some things. I don't buy any special seasoning. Whatever seasoning I have in the cabinet goes in my food. Not one, but all. Here is what I made and what it consisted of.

Stir fry

2 medium onion
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
5 polish sausages

Seasoning

Rice (use how much you need)

1. Cut up your bell peppers and onion up into ¼ inch vertical strips.

2. Cut up your polish sausage ¼ inch horizontal strips.

3. In a skillet add enough oil to coat the bottom of it.

4. Let oil get warm place your veggies and meat in pan.

5. Add seasoning.

6. Stir veggies so they dont get wilted.

7. Boil rice and rinse it off when it done.

8. Plate your rice and scoop some stir fry on top.

9. Now you can eat!

I never cook the veggies all the way. I like them crispy. But you can cook it however you want. Hope you enjoy!

Source: Bree