Cooking my Way with Rachael Ray

Two posts in 1 day after nothing for months...I know, I tend to shock myself as well. Dinner last night was terrific. Hell's Kitchen is one of my favorite shows on T.V. right now, so I told Greg to act like Gordon Ramsey and give me constructive criticism. I honestly think that everyone can benefit from constructive criticism regardless of what they are doing. Because I am not a steak person, I made a Chicken Version and a Steak Version of the traditional Caprese Salad that you may see in Italian restaurants. Typically tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and basil drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar and some S&P to taste. For the Chicken: I used very thin chicken breasts. Really you could use any type of chicken. A full size breast could be used and pounded out to make it thinner or just butterflied or even chicken breast tenders and lay them out together almost connecting them. I laid the chicken on the board and dusted with S&P. I then cut up some tomatoes - any kind are fine - basi...

Yes, I know. Don't remind me...I STINK at keep my blog updated. I guess on Julie and Julia is was much easier since the actors were being paid millions of dollars to do what I am attempting to do. So last night, Greg came home from work and since Mother Nature feels 100 degree temperatures are appropriate in July, we took a dip in the pool. We got to talking about my blog and cook book and I have gotten back on track and have committed once again to blog about my cooking. Despite not blogging, that doesnt mean I haven't been cooking. I would say at LEAST 5-6 nights per week I cook and it ain't no pb and j. So back to the grind...Last night's meal - A chicken caprese (for me) and steak caprese (for Greg) paired with a grilled veggie salad and BBQ creamed corn...

I cheated. I did! I think it takes a strong to person to admit that they cheated. I made this dish in the afternoon on Wednesday, not in the evening. Who doesn't have the hussle and bussle of their daily life? I can thank my mother for my obsession with scheduling! Greg on the other hand thinks it's funny to suggest planning to take a shower three weeks in advance because he's so not a planner. It's his way of telling me I am anal with my scheduling. So, I knew that I had to work all day and then go to Parker's basketball game from which I would not be home until after 7pm. Now don't get me wrong, I have cooked much later 7pm before, but it is nice to not have to worry about cooking, cleaning up, eating so late. So I made these noodles. They were DELISH! They are made with whole wheat pasta, only a bit of peanut butter and then soy sauce, veggies, chicken. IT was great. I added green peppers and instead of shredding the carrots, I just cut up some bab...

Well this was a hit. I learned somethings not to do with the recipe that you all might find interesting. So Rachael's recipe uses chicken cutlets that are breaded. For figure friendly readers, I decided shrimp was a better option. The Tropical Sauce was phenomenal. It's like pico de gallo with mango. I advise you to use some EVOO just to get the ingrediants dancing together. So for the shrimp: I use frozen, medium sized shrimp (no need to get fresh prawns or spend a fortune). The marinade I used was lemon juice, EVOO, white wine vinegar, cilantro, garlic, hot sauce (eyeball it to your heat satisfaction), and of course, just for my Maryland Boy, Old Bay Seasoning. I put the shrimp in the marinade for about 20 minutes while I finished the tropical sauce and got started on the smashed potatoes. I cooked the shrimp for about 5 mintues total. If you cook them too long, the garlic will burn, the cilantro will lose its color and the shrimp will get even smaller. About 1 mi...

So, have you ever thought that you were destined to do something and from the time you were little you knew it? Think of some famous singers and actors like Mariah Carey and Dakota Fanning (despite only being a teen now)...don't you think that by singing, dancing and/or acting at such a young age made it inevitable that they would become famous? I think that most people in the world fall into their destiny. With the normal facets of life, people gravitate towards what is comfortable via consistency around them, family, friends, etc. When I was barely old enough to talk, my mom decided it was time for me to learn how to go around the room and address everyone by name. Well to the normal 1 year old that would be mom, dad, Lindsay, etc. I went around the room and said "Ma-Ma, Da-Da," and pointed to myself and said, "Ra-Ra." Being that my name is Lindsay I am sure my parents wondered (and we are all still wondering) where I came up with and why I called myself ...