Italia at Home [Inspired by Gordon Ramsey]

 So lately I've been on a cooking kick. And because of this I have successfully devoured the 10 seasons of Hell's Kitchen I previous had not seen ( I watched 11 as it aired this year), and I also watched all of MasterChef this year. The one thing that Gordon seems to spend more time yelling about than anything else is Risotto.

Seriously, the man screams about it constantly. And I thought to myself "well, if he's so hell bent on everybody knowing how to make the shit, I will learn!"

Having NEVER attempted risotto in my life, and having only the brief knowledge of what I'd watched people cook on tv (and a glance at a few online recipes) I embarked on my risotto quest.

With this image firmly implanted in my mind:

I began

Mushroom Risotto with Caprese Salad

What you need:

Basmati Rice

Stock (chicken, vegetable, whatever)

Butter

Olive Oil

Mushrooms

Onions

Scallions

White Wine

Garlic

Salt

So I started with two pans the first with Basmati Rice (washed) and two ladles worth of vegetable stock. I then proceeded to add another ladle every time it didn't look 'wet' anymore while stirring.

In the other pan I sautéed olive oil, minced garlic, chopped onions, and scallions until they were caramelized.

I then put them in a separate container to the side.

In that same pan I then added 1/2 stick of butter, mushrooms (chopped) and sautéed

After they were cooked I then threw the onion/garlic/scallion mix back into the pan and stirred. I then topped it off with half a cup of white wine.

By this time my risotto finally looked fluffy (and didn't taste crunchy) 

I poured the contents of one pan into the other.

Stirred.

Vwallah!

It turned out PRETTY DAMN GOOD. I was proud.

Yes chef!

Fake-a-mole!

So normally if I were making guacamole where I'd go to the store and buy everything I needed it would include:
2-3 avocados
a jar of mild salsa (wouldn't use the whole jar, but you can't buy 1/4 jar)
lowfat sour cream
a lime
minced garlic
tube of cilantro paste
baked scoops

However, as I had two avocados in my fridge that I needed to use and was looking for a snack option I decided to take a stab at what i'm lovingly calling fake-a-mole.

2 Avocados peeled, sliced, and smashed with a potato smasher
1/2 cup of nonfat greek yogurt
1 lime (squeezed then pulp added to mix)
2 small onions (diced, sweated with garlic, and added to mixture)
1 tbsp minced garlic (which I cooked down with the onions)
a hearty sprinkle of seasoning salt
wheat thins

Without adding pre-made salsa it keeps that nice green color. The texture is amazing. The bite from the greek yogurt is exactly what the very mild avocados need. And guys, I've gotta be honest, this may be my new recipe for how I make guac. And I may never eat it with anything but wheat thins again.

This is SO much healthier than the way I normally make it. Everything is whole ingredients. Most of it is fresh. And it was SO easy. So, hooray for fake-a-mole!

Halloween Fruit-O-Lantern

So I'm sure that everyone has all sorts of Halloween ideas circling. I threw a party two years ago where I made Halloween Fruit-O-Lanterns. It was super easy, cute, and I wish people had actually come to my party to enjoy them.


FRUIT O LANTERNS (supplies)
Clementines or Oranges
An X-acto knife
Green spoons or forks (plastic)
Whatever other fruit you'd like in a fruit cup


STEP ONE

Cut! Get clementines (or standard oranges), cut off the tops. By tops I mean just a tiny section at one of the ends of the fruit. It should look like you have a little hat on top of it. So like 3/4-7/8 of the fruit, and then cut off 1/4-1/8 to make a little hat.

STEP TWO

Scoop! Scoop all of the orangey goodness out of the orange / clementine. Put that in a bowl to the side. Mix it with whatever other fruit you'd like to be in your fruit cups.


STEP THREE

Carve! You want to take an x-acto knife and carve little adorable faces into your oranges. White you've got that knife out, remove the little pit end from the "hat" you cut off. So there's now a hole in the top.

STEP FOUR

Fill!  Take that orange goo and whatever other fruit you have on hand (chopped up tiny) and fill the orange rinds to make little fruit cups.


STEP FIVE

Push! Push a green spoon or fork through that hole you made so that the handle is now sticking out

STEP SIX

Finish! Just push the spoon or fork down into the little cup so that the "hat" now sits back where it originally came from. You have a cute mini jack-o-lantern made out of an orange, filled with a healthy snack, with a green plastic spoon for a stem.

Home Sweet Home

Pinterest DIY Home Board
http://pinterest.com/marlipaige/diy-home/


Bread
http://pinterest.com/pin/141089400797199938/

I used the "Amish White Bread" recipe. Super easy. But instead of using bread pans I used my baking stone I got for Christmas. They turned out as beautiful round white loaves.

Clean Microwave
http://pinterest.com/pin/141089400797137982/

So I did not take before and after pictures with mine, but I wasn't that impressed anyway. It was...a little dirty before. Some stuck on stuff because I had recently scrubbed it. And afterward it was...still a little dirty. I mean..it cleaned off SOME things, but not everything. And it certainly wasn't the MIRACULOUS solution pictured.



Clean House
http://pinterest.com/pin/141089400797128878/

I did indeed boil orange peels for an hour and the house did indeed smell pretty good. I harvested all the leftover juice and peels for cleaners.



DIY Pam / Cooking Spray
http://pinterest.com/pin/141089400797413489/

This absolutely works exactly the same. It's a 5:1 ratio. 5 water: 1 oil. Works JUST as well.