The dorm favorite: Jumbalaya!

This recipe is dedicated to my #1 Jumbalaya fan, Michelle Knopf. But more importantly to my new fans Nicaela & Steve, who are going to start trying to cook. Bravo kids! Try this one first!!! (And don't worry Nicaela, no seasoning necessary. I know you only have salt & pepper!)


Let me give everyone a quick background on this recipe. I first started cooking this in the dorms at UH. I loved it so much (and so did Michelle), that we would cook it just about every week. It's probably not the most nutritious recipe, so over the years it evolved to include the mushrooms and broccoli. I can't take all of the credit, it's mostly the boxed rice that is oh so tasty. When I put this in the cookbook, I guess I'm going to have to make the rice from scratch. For now though, I'll give you the easy, dorm style version!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Box Zatari's Jumbalaya
1 package hot italian sausage
1 boneless/skinless chicken breast
1 head brocolli- chopped into bite sizes
4-5 mushrooms- Finely chopped
salt & pepper


Cooking:


First fill a large pot and a large skillet 3/4ths of the way up with water, bring to a boil. When the water is boiling, through the whole package of rice and chopped mushrooms & broccoli into the large pot. Stir around, cover and bring the heat back down to low. Set the timer for 26 minutes.

The quickest & easiest way to cook the chicken for this recipe would be on a Foreman Grill. If you have one, spray it with cooking spray and then cook the chicken about 10 minutes & season with seasoned salt and pepper. If you don't have one, no worries, just bake the chicken on 325 degrees for 26 minutes.

Take out your sausage and poke holes with a fork, three times on each side of all of the sausages. When done, throw the sausage into the large skillet once the water has began to boil and turn the heat down to medium high- still allowing the water to keep it's boil. Cook 20 minutes.


The chicken, rice and sausage should all be done around the same time. When they are, dump the water out from the sausage skillet and then return to medium heat and brown the sausage for a few minutes.

Chop up the sausage and chicken into bite sized pieces, throw it in the rice pot, and serve! Nicaela, Steve: cook it!!

And then there were two..

I was watching the Food Network yesterday, and Barefoot Contessa was on. She had a special guest on the show. This special guest, Phoebe, has her own blog called, "Big girls small kitchen." And of course, she has the same idea I do, a blog about cooking in your 20's.

The moral of this story is, I don't care. And also, she got a book deal. Which means, good news, I could get a book deal. I'm still going to write a book about cooking in your 20's, and it's going to be better than hers. Really.

Oh yeah, I also realized that she blogs like 3 times a week... so I think I should get on it. Get excited!


P.S. I love you. -Frank

Island Style Ahi Poke (Po-key)

Ding, ding, ding.. we have a winner!



Let me start off by explaining the name: POKE

Literally meaning "small piece" in Hawaiian, poke is the Hawaiian version of Japanese sashimi. The difference is that Poke is bite-size cubed pieces of fresh fish, rather than thin slices. Every Sunday in Hawaii, family and friends gather for bbq's in the park, at the neighbor's house, or at the beach. And at each of these bbq's there is bound to be two things: meat and poke. They even serve freshly prepared poke at the fish counter in the grocery store.


Alright, so now that you are familiar with the terminology, let me teach you how to make it! Now I know that it looks fancy, but actually this recipe is even easier than the chicken recipe.


Ingredients:

1 pound fresh ahi fillet
1/4 white onion
3-4 pieces of green onion
soy sauce (or "shoyu" as they call it in Hawaii)
Sriracha hot sauce (Rooster sauce)

TIP: Go to a nice grocery store or fish market in your area. The quality of this dish really depends on the quality of the fish, even if it is a little more pricey. Also- try to buy the piece with the least amount of fat, or those thin white lines in between in the fish.


Instructions:

Cut the ahi into bite-size cubes. Throw into a large bowl for mixing. Add thinly sliced green and white onions then add enough soy sauce to coat the ahi- pouring in a circle about four times around the bowl. Then add 10 plus drops of Sriracha, depending on how hot you want it. I can handle about 50 drops, but I tend to over do it on the heat!

Toss all of these together, and serve on a nice platter with some chop sticks.


This is my favorite thing in the world to eat. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

I'm kind of a big deal

I'm sponsored!! Score!!!

Check it out:

http://blog.killerdana.com/?p=4615



I heart you KD,
Steph


PS I hope you are taking notes Food Network, I'm coming for you next.

Mama's classic: chicken, broccoli & salad

This has to be the simplest recipe in the book...so easy my mom can do it. And she has, every night of my life since I can remember. I'm pretty sure this is what inspired my creativity in the kitchen, I wanted something new for once! And once I realized cooking can be fun and exciting, I was hooked.


Here's how she did it...

Ingredients:


2 boneless/ skinless (one per person) chicken breasts
1 head of broccoli
1/2 head of romaine lettuce
2 tomatoes
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper
Shredded parmesan cheese
Seasoned salt

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cover a baking sheet with tin foil. Place the chicken breasts on the baking sheet and season evenly with seasoned salt & pepper. Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 26 minutes.

Chop the broccoli into bite sized pieces. If you are reading my posts, you will have read previously how to steam veggies (That's you, Heather). So steam the broccoli for about 10 minutes.

For the salad: chop the lettuce and tomatoes and place in a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar & toss.


See, even the directions are simple.

Happy eating!

Steph

Seriously though..

On a more serious note. There is a reason for this blog. And Oprah and Rachel Ray, I hope you are listening. It's for you to discover me as an amazing, self-taught cook, and maybe even sponsor my cookbook that is in the works.

I can't tell you the name of the book just yet, but just know that's it's amazing and so am I.

So what I've discovered over these past years in my 20's, four to be exact, is that people my age don't even know how to steam vegetables.


This blog is meant to save those people by offering cooking tips, recipes, and also some fun tid bits about my oh so exciting fun-employed life just for the hell of it.

Since we are on topic of steaming vegetables. That will be my tip of today.

Let me preface this by telling you what I'm sure your mom has told you every day that you decided to listen to her: Eat your vegetables! Fresh ones! They are good for your body!

Ok, steaming vegetables is just about as easy as microwaving them, just using different equipment. Any vegetable can be steamed and it is impossible to mess it up!

Here's what you need:
1. Any pot that is large enough to hold the desired vegetable inside of it.
2. A vegetable steamer (which is cheap, very necessary and can be found at any kitchen store)
3. water!

So what you do is fill the pot with enough water to hit the brim of the steamer, about an inch or so. Place the pot over high heat until the water starts to boil, then throw in your vegetables and put the cover on.

That's it! Now depending on what you are steaming it could take anywhere from 10 minutes (broccoli) to an hour (Artichoke). Vegetables can be eaten raw, cooked, and over cooked, so don't be afraid. Cook it until it is the way YOU like it!

Dear non-followers,
Thanks for reading.

Cheers,

Steph

Talking to myself

Since I have no followers, and this is my first blog, and I have told no one that I am a closet blogger, I am officially talking to myself. It's kind of fun though. I like it.

Cheers,

Steph