A first recipe from the Steamy Kitchen -

I am a fan of the Steamy Kitchen website. Jaden Hair (@steamykitchen on Twitter) makes good food. She makes amazing food. The girl can cook. So when her cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, came out last year - I wanted it. In a big way. My mother happily obliged my want by gifting it to me at Christmas. I was ecstatic when I opened it. For those of you who don't know, I love cookbooks. Not just to cook from - I love to read them. I will lay in bed at night and read a cookbook as if it was John Grisham's latest novel. I know, I know, I'm odd. But I'm pretty sure we established that many, many posts ago.

So here's the thing - I swear that in another life I was Asian. I love Asian food of all kinds and am quite ambitious when trying new things. Don't ask me to try something in an Indian restaurant - I just won't. But in an Asian restaurant I'll try anything. So when I got the Steamy Kitchen Cookbook - I was excited. But I was also terrified. You see, I'm an okay cook. Give me a recipe and I can generally follow it. But every Asian recipe I've tried.....FAIL. Big time.

I.can't.cook.Asian.food.

I don't know why. Maybe it's stage fright? Maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophesy at this point. Whatever it is....it is. And now I had this new shiny, pretty cookbook and I was scared.

So it took me a little while to get the courage up to try anything. And when I finally decided last week to cook from it, I thought I should start with a simple thing. I should start with Fried Rice. So I did. And here's what happened....

So I like crustaceans, we know this, so the peel and devein shrimp thing was familiar territory and helped me get over my gametime nerves. Plus, I like the creepy slimy feel of raw shrimp. YES! I know I'm odd.

Cooking Shrimpfor Fried Rice - I can do this...I can do this...I can do this...I can do this....

Scrambling eggs? Okay...I'm getting into a groove now! What's so scary about cooking Asian food???

I didn't have leftover, refrigerated rice...uh oh. What if that is key? What if the trick is all about the leftover rice? What if fresh rice is a dealbreaker? I'm going to need a lot of Vodka if I'm going to cook my way through this book!

You put 'em all together and you shake it all around - that's what it's all about! Recipes that I can sing to are good. See, I told you I could do this! And you doubted me? Silly people.

Seeing is believing! Tasting is....well, believing! I did it! This was scrumptious! The weeone loved it, so did I. Not to mention, that I'm thoroughly impressed with my mad Asian cooking skillz now! cheers!

Perfect Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe

The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

Serves 4

8 ounces small uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined 1/4 teaspoon salt (or 1/2 tsp kosher salt) freshly ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch 2 tablespoons cooking oil (divided) 3 eggs, beaten in a small bowl 2 stalks scallion or green onion, minced 4 cups previously cooked leftover rice, grains separated well 3/4 cup frozen carrots and peas, defrosted 1 tablespoon soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if you are making a gluten-free version) 1 teaspoon sesame oil

In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the salt, pepper and cornstarch. Let the shrimp marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature. Heat a wok or large sauté pan on high heat. When the pan is hot enough for a bead of water to instantly sizzle and evaporate, add only 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat pan.

Now add the shrimp, quickly spreading out around the pan so that they are not overlapping. Let the shrimp fry, untouched for 30 seconds. Flip over and let the other side fry for 30 seconds, or until about 80% cooked through. Remove the shrimp from the pan onto a plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

Turn the heat to medium and let the pan heat up again. Pour in the eggs, stirring in a quick motion to break up and scramble the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked through (they should still be slightly runny in the middle), dish out of the frying pan onto the same plate as the cooked shrimp.

Use a paper towel to wipe the same wok or sauté pan clean (no need to wash) and return to high heat with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, swirling to coat. When the oil is very hot, add the green onions and stir fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add in the rice and stir well to mix in the green onions throughout. Spread the rice all around the wok surface area and let the rice heat up, untouched until you hear the bottoms of the grains sizzle, about 1-2 minutes. Use the spatula to toss the rice, again spreading the rice out over the surface of wok or pan

Drizzle the soy sauce all around the rice and toss. Add the peas and carrots, the cooked eggs, shrimp and sesame oil, tossing to mix the rice evenly with all of the ingredients. Let everything heat back up again, until the rice grains are so hot they practically dance! Taste and add an additional 1 teaspoon of soy sauce if needed.

The Lost Art of the Menu -

I think that women used to plan out menus for the week. I think they made a menu and from that sprung a grocery list. And once they had a menu and list, they could make several different things for dinner each night. They had choices. I don't think this is a process that happens very often anymore. I don't think we plan menus - at least not most of my friends.

It seems that it's easier to go to the store and get the "regular" list of things....laundry detergent, peanut butter, grapes, milk, vodka...oh, wait, you can't get that at the grocery store! Anyway, you probably know exactly what I'm talking about. Then each afternoon there's a panic - "What shoudl I make for dinner?!?! What do I have to make for dinner?!?!" I did the very same thing.

When I started blogging about new recipes and food we liked, I got a bit more organized about menu planning AND grocery shopping. And guess what? I spend less money when I plan it all out in advance. Amazing, huh?

So, I thought I'd share what I do. When I first started menu planning I thought it would take forever and be a pain in the arse. However, what I've found is that even though I need 30 minutes to plan the week's menu and make the grocery list - it saves me the time hassle involved in the "what's for dinner" panic and saves me from falling back on eating out so much!

I have about 6 cookbooks that I like to find recipes from. You may prefer to find them online, or from magazines, or from blogs (which I think is a great source as well)! I sit down at the kitchen table with all the resources that I want to use and spend about 15 minutes flipping, turning, surfing - looking for 5 recipes. Once I find the 5, I write them on an index card that I put on my refrigerator - that way I have an easy list to refer to each day as to what I have the ingredients to make.

After I have my recipes, I make my list. I make my grocery list in my iPhone using the GroceryIQ app - it's fabu!- but you can make your list in whatever way you're comfortable, but I scan the recipes for dulplicate ingredients and list out everything I need to make my 5 meals (don't forget side items if you didn't put them on your menu). After the menu ingredients are on my list, I walk the house once to see what else I need (kitchen staples, bathroom stuff, snacks, lunch items for the weeone, etc) and I'm ready to hit the grocery store.

Now I have the list of dinner possibilities AND the ingredients all ready to simplify my weekday nights. It takes some time to get into the groove of menu planning, but I think you'll love it once you do it and hopefully it will make your life a little, itsy-bit easier during your chaotic week!

A food tracking app that might just be all that!

I've been searching (along with Sarah G.) for quite some time for what we deem "the perfect food app" for the iPhone. Sarah's a dietician by training and in her heart and is the one responsible for finally getting me to drink water as well as me not gaining any weight through the holidays this past year. The next step is to get the scale to start to inch backwards. Part of that process is me tracking what I eat each day, hence the food tracker app quest.

I call it a quest because it's been like looking for the Holy Grail. You'd think that a food tracking app that allowed the user to set Calorie budgets as well as Fat, Carb and Protein Budgets, was something of a mythical creature. We had found one that was so very close to perfect in Tap & Track - a $4.99 investment got you the ability to set Calorie, Fat and Carb budgets, but no Protein (although it would track your protein). But Tap & Track's food database was a bit cumbersome, even though it was quite thorough.

But last night, I believe I found the Holy Grail! MyNetDiary.com - that's what I stumbled upon. It's an online food tracker that has apps for both the iPhone as well as Blackberry. It's free for basic services, but if you want the online version to talk to your iPhone app and you want to be able to set budgets for all the nutrients your little heart desires, it costs a few dollars a month. I felt it was well worth a trial investment to give it a test run. So today was day one using MyNetDiary. So far, so good. Is it the Holy Grail of Food Tracker Apps? I'm not 100% sure yet, but it's looking good so far!

If you live in Houston...you gotta have Mexican!

When you live in Houston you eat a lot of Mexican food. A LOT! Tex-Mex to be exact. The weeone and I probably eat Mexican food at least once each week. (well, she says twice, but that may just be her sneaking out or something). Our favorite place to go is a little dive in NW Houston called Don Jose's. It's been there since God was a child, or at least since I was a child. My family used to eat there every Friday night when I was a kid. I have the best memories of ordering a Shirley Temple, eating chips and salsa and a Number 8. For the record, the Number 8 is exactly the same meal it was when I was a little girl. I love that!

Mexican food is one of those things that I prefer to eat in a restaurant. There's usually lots of ingredients and there's some sort of magic that happens in the kitchen in a Mexican restaurant that makes food taste better. I don't know what it is, but it's definitely magical. And then there's the margaritas....frozen, on the rocks, with salt, without salt, lime, strawberry...oh the joy in those little glasses.....um, what were we talking about? Oh yeah, dinner....

When we eat Mexican food at home it's usually fajitas or tacos. But tonight...we tried something new. I made a Chicken Tortilla Stack. It was layers of flavor. Literally. =)

One of the best parts about cooking anything Mexican is the reliance on fresh ingredients. Fresh ingredients make for yummier food. It's a fact, jack! There's something about starting with a piece of produce that grew from the the ground that makes everything taste a lot better. So, out of the ground = good. out of a can = not as good.

So here you go - easy, peasy. Quick. Yummy. A little cheesy. Definitely Mexican. And did I mention yummy?

Chicken Tortilla Stack

from me =)

Serves 4

4, 8" flour tortillas ( I like to use whole wheat )

1 cup spicy black bean dip (or use reduced fat or fat free refried black beans)

1/2 cup spur-of-the-moment salsa ( diced tomatoes, diced onions, chopped cilantro, a little lime juice and 2-3 shakes of cumin)

2 cups shredded cooked Chicken Breast ( I season it with Penzey's fajita seasoning)

1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded Monterrey Jack cheese ( or any cheese you'd like!)

Cooking Spray

Preheat the oven to about 450 degrees. Spray the bottom of a springform pan with cooking spray. In a bowl, mix the shredded chicken with your spur-of-the-moment salsa. Spread 1/4 cup black beans on a tortilla, top with 1/4 of the chicken mixture then 2 tablespoons cheese. Continue with the remaining 3 tortillas to layer and stack. Back at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the stack is hot and the cheesy is gooey and melted. Cut into 4 pieces and serve right away.

Nutritional Information: Per 1/4 of stack

Calories 306, Fat 9.5g (sat fat 4.5g), Carbs 32.25g, Protein 25g, Sodium 802mg, Fiber 11g

Things I love - the 2nd Edition

So, there are soooo many things that I truly love, aside from friends and family and I really like to share, so here you go - another 10 things that I truly love! You can see a few things I listed last summer at THIS post. ( I should say that I do NOT get free products or payment from anyone, this is really just a list of things that I'm lovin' in life right now and want to share!)

1. Boots Hand Cream - Apparently it's a UK thing. I was introduced by my friend Rhiannon and now I think I have to keep a tube with me at ALL times! You can find it at Target and it's inexpensive, smells divine and feels amazing!

2. Aquaphor Ointment - I discovered this after my last foot surgery. It was an amazing moisturizer for skin that had lived in a cast for far too long. I still use it on my feet with socks at night to keep a pedicured foot nice and smooth and I was just given the tip the other day to use it in place of chapstick or carmex for smooth and supple lips as well! This one you can find at any drugstore.

3. Sweatshirt Blanket - Now, the picture is not the one I have, but I love, love, love a sweatshirt blanket and suggest you RUN to get yourself one. the one I have was a promotional giveaway for a product that I sell, so I'm not sure where you can get them, but they're so comfy and cozy and perfect for curling up on the couch. Search your heart and soul out for this - it'll be worth it, I promise!

4. Water Mix-ins - I hated drinking water and I'm trying so hard to get more into me each day. I used to think these flavor packets were a pretty stupid idea and then I started using them. I have to say that I use about 1/2 the amount they say to use per bottle of water and that's plenty of flavor for me, but they truly help me get all the water down each day. And yes, I know that I'm slow and the rest of America was already in love with these! =)

5. Huggable Hangers- What's not to love about this hanger? It's covered in velvet so even a spaghetti strap top will not slide off. It's thin and I SWEAR makes your closet bigger. You can buy clips to turn any of them into a skirt hanger. They're really lightweight but have no problem with a heavy winter coat. I'm a complete convert and love, love, love these hangers! You can buy these at Target or at the Container Store as well as many places online.

6. Tazo Chai Concentrate - Okay, I have NOT, repeat NOT abandoned Starbucks. However, every now and then I like to make a Chai Latte at home and this Tazo Chai Concentrate makes it a snap and sooooo close to a Starbucks one that I am rendered speechless and happy. I buy it at the super cool HEB that is not near my house, but I venture out to from time to time.

7. Maybelline Colossal Volume Mascara - Oh My Goodness!!! I really can have full eyelashes with the help of this Mascara. It does clump a little, so you have to be careful putting it on, but OH MY, it's worth the effort because the results are divine! I buy it at Target, like most things I own!

8. Grocery IQ App for iPhone or iTouch - So it's the app I probably use the most of everything I have (other than twitterific!). This is the grocery list app to beat all grocery list apps. It let's you have lists for different stores ( I have grocery, Target, penzey's and Spec's on mine!). It categorizes your list by aisles and lets you organize the aisles in the order they are in the store YOU shop in! Makes a grocery trip easy-peasy! Find it in the app store for $0.99 - best buck you'll spend this year!

9. Amazon.com's Kindle 2 - I know it was one of the hottest gifts for Christmas this year. It's got some more competition now, with the Barnes and Noble Nook, but I still love, love, love my Kindle. I got it last summer and find that I read more. I read faster. I enjoy reading more (if that's even possible!). Download the Classics for free. Download a newly released best seller for about $9.99 or download a book that's been around for a while even less. It's my friend. It goes with me everywhere. It also communicate with Kindle software on your iPhone or Computer to keep your last read location in a book up to date! Buy it from Amazon.com.

10. iSymphony Wireless Micro Speaker System with built-in iPod Dock - I bought this for myself at Costco, but it's available on Amazon.com as well. It's a little stereo that has an iPod dock, slot for cds as well as usb connection and sd card slots. The speakers are wireless - that's the best part, so you can easily move them based on what you're doing. It comes with 2 speakers but you can buy additional pairs of speakers and one system can have up to 20 speakers connected to it. For someone like me that doesn't like to run wires and figure all that out - it's perfect. Plus, it sounds great!!!

So, there you have it. There are about 10 other things that I'm loving right now, but I'll save those for another time...

Feeling Crabby?

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I've never met a crustacean that I didn't love. Lobster, shrimp, crab, clams, oysters...you name it, and I'll eat it! Crab, however, is probably my favorite of all the crustaceans.

Growing up, I remember spending weekends at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Maryland and having Crab Feasts! We'd sit around in the sun all day eating bushels of crabs - going between the tables of food and the swimming pool in my childhood version of heaven!

So, crab is a delight that I adore. I don't cook with crab particularly often at home, mainly because it can be pricey, but when I find lump crabmeat on sale, I jump at the chance to spend some quality time in the kitchen with my favorite crustacean.

So, the next time you find crab on sale - try out the crab cake below...put it on a bun as a sandwich, or on a salad like I did, or as an entree with a some yummy side dishes!

Crab Cakes

My own recipe -

1 pound of crab

1 egg, beaten

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp Old Bay (or other seafood or cajun seasoning)

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

2 scallions, diced

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup breadcrumbs ( divided into 1/2 cup increments )

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with cooking spray. Mix all ingredients other than 1/2 cup of the breadcrumbs gently in a bowl. Form into 8 balls. Flatten each ball into a patty and press each side of the patty into the remaining 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs. Spray each side with cooking spray. Bake for about 12 minutes, turn over and bake another 5-10 minutes or until the crab cakes are golden brown.

Serving = 2 crab cakes

So, I know I JUST came back, but...

...there's a little thing that might keep me from cooking for a few days. =)

Do you remember THIS? It was icky and painful and awful and involved crutches and wheelchairs and .... ick. It makes me nauseous to think about it!

Anyway...when I had that surgery, they put 2 screws in my foot. Most normal people would live happily ever after at that point. Well, my life hasn't resembled Cinderella before, so is it really so surprising that there wasn't a happily ever after for me and the screws?

So, tomorrow morning my orthopedic surgeon will go back in, remove the screws, stitch me up and shove me out the door. Fortunately, I already have the pain pills ready and waiting. =) My momma didn't raise no fool!

This should be easy-peasy in comparison to last time, but if its a couple of days before you hear from me, that's why...I promise it won't be a long hiatus again -