Allrecipes.com My Favorite!

This is my all-time favorite website for looking for recipes. You can type in a key word, or you can click on the link at the top that says "Ingredients" and look for recipes with the ingredients you have, and even ones that you don't want. But remember less, is more, the less keywords you put the more recipes your search will give you. Too specific might not give you any recipes at all.

This website has other features if you're a member too, you can save the recipes you like in your "Recipes box", add pictures of your own; or even review the recipe. But my favorite part of all is being able to read the reviews, this part is available to you whether you are a member or not. Reading the reviews gives you great ideas on what worked for people in the recipe and what didn't, or even tricks that they used to make the whole cooking process much easier. Whenever reading the reviews however make sure you read more than one. There's no accounting for taste, so balance out a 5 star review with a 1 star review, because chances are you will want to know what both of these people had to say, even if they might not share your same tastes.

Good luck, and happy cooking!

Green Bean Pasta Bechamel with Arugula Salad

Level: Intermediate

Pasta Ingredients:

-Sauce

-Green Beans

-Shell Pasta (preferably whole wheat)

-Gouda

Salad Ingredients:

-Arrugula

-Grape tomatoes

-Rice vinegar

-Salt and Pepper

-Olive oil

Directions:

1. Chop all arrugula.

2. Mix all ingredients together.

Our Lunch! (Doesn't that look fancy?)

Our lunch for tomorrow is composed of the following:

-Brown rice (left overs), with Parmesan and Romano cheese from Rice-a-Roni (left overs), with frozen peas (washed), and Parmesan cheese.

-Half a tomato basil veggie patty.

- Bread, alfalfa, and Ranch dip to make an alfalfa sandwich tomorrow.

-Grapes to dip into the left over ranch.

-And finally this little fruit called "Kumquats" which I tried at the local market and then proceeded to buy. They are citrus and you are supposed to roll them in your hand to release the sweetness from the skin. Then you eat them skin and all. Here's a link to a close up: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Quinotos.jpg Oh yeah, and they are called Quinotos or naranja china in Spanish. Hmmm, go figure!

Sauced Tofu

Level: Beginner

Ingredients:

-Tofu

-Asian sauce

-3 tbsp Vegetable oil

-Scallions (optional)

-Sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. In a non-stick pan add oil and slices of tofu. Fry for about 2 minutes.

2. Add favorite Asian sauce and continue flipping tofu until lightly fried (and you are scared to burn it. I know these are not the best instructions, but believe me, it was more like trying an error for us. Our sauce came in a frozen package and Vane couldn't stop laughing at how the blob of sauce looked in the pan, and how I had to struggle with it to rub it on the tofu. LOL.)

For this meal we had left over Asian noodles which I made a ton of. :( Then we complimented the dish with alfalfa and tofu. The alfalfa might not have been the best combination, but the tofu was perfect and came out really good.

Asian Thread Noodles with Peanut Sauce

Level: Beginner

Ingredients:

-1/2 package of rice thread noodles

-1/2-1 bottle of Asian peanut sauce

-Soy sauce

-Frozen peas and frozen peppers stir-fry or frozen vegetable stir-fry

-Vegetable oil / sesame oil is best

-Peanuts (optional)

I was trying to do this recipe based on something I ate that our friend Danny-Lu made. But I didn't really know the recipe so it was sort of improvised.

Directions:

1. Stir-fry the vegetables with a little bit of oil and a little bit of sauce just for taste.

2. Cook the noodles in boiling water. They only take a few minutes to cook so take them out fast. Look at the package for instructions (I had to drain them in a piece of cloth because my strainer's holes were to large.) Make sure to add a little bit of oil or sauce right away or they will all clump up into a big mess.

3. In a separate large bowl, mix the vegetables with the noodles and add the peanut sauce. Add soy sauce to taste.

(In this sample I used the whole package and then some, which turned out too be waaaayyy too much. Don't make the same mistake. Good luck!)

Vegetarian Chilli

Level: Challenging
Ingredients: *To be filled by Mauro

Meal Idea #2

Yes, today we went all out!
Dishes:
-Squash cream soup (squash, broth, butter, milk, salt/pepper, parsley, pinch of Complete seasoning)
-Veggie patty with egg on top (patty seasoned with soy sauce, egg with paprika and Parmesan; all in butter)
-Whole grain rice
-Arugula with balsamic vinegar (we bought the fresh arugula at the farmer's market for $2!!!)

Meal Idea #1

Doesn't this dinner look great?!
Dishes:
-Fish sticks (with a wonderful sauce I bought at my local farmer's market)
-Green beans (garlic, butter, salt/pepper, cooking wine)
-Whole grain rice
-Arugula with tomato (dressing: olive oil, salt, lemon, Parmesan cheese)

Sweet potato slaw

Level: Beginner
Ingredients and directions:http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-Potato-Slaw/Detail.aspx

**This was amazing and it felt so healthy. I didn't add the sour cream and I substituted walnuts for the pecans. I made the whole recipe with one medium-large sweet potato. I don't even like sweet potatoes that much, but in this recipe they tasted more like how you would expect from carrots (since it was raw). Give it a try, you will be gladly surprised!

Criollo red kidney beans

Level: Beginner
Ingredients:
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced tomatoes (we used roasted canned tomatoes)
4 cloves of garlic
Cubed chicken stock to taste (we used 1/2 Sazon Goya package)
1 can red kidney beans
Water
2 tbsp oil

1. In oil fry onion, garlic, tomatoes, and stock until onions are translucent.
2. Add can of beans un-drained and add half a can of water using the same can from the beans. Mix.
3. Let it boil for 5 minutes or until beans are cooked thoroughly. Taste for flavor.

** These beans are very simple and filling. We ate them with whole grain rice and fried green plantains. If using whole grain rice you don't have to add oil to the rice, this then becomes an even healthier option. :)

Pizza Snack

Level: Beginner
Ingredients:
Sliced bread
Sliced tomato
Italian herbs blend
Salt & Pepper
Basil infused olive oil (or regular olive oil)

1. On a slice of bread put slices of tomato. Sprinkle herbs, salt and pepper and olive oil . Toast in toaster over for less than 10 minutes.

I usually have these for dinner when I'm really, really lazy (or busy with stats homework). I've tried the cheese variation, but this is really how I like them best.

**You can also top these with your choice of cheese. And I sometimes add sliced hot dog and ketchup.**

Don't let the recipe be the boss

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about good cooking is that it follows the recipe word for word. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Good cooking is about making the recipe yours, adding the spices you like to enjoy, and substituting ingredients and their amounts depending on your tastes and what you have in the kitchen.

For example, here's the inspirational recipe for my Italian hummus:

1 cup non-fat cottage cheese

1 (15.5 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained

1 bunch fresh basil, chopped

1 pint grape tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian-Hummus/Detail.aspx

The comments for the recipe said that it was too watery and more like a soup, and that it had too much basil. I wouldn't know if these are true or not, for I just took inspiration from the combination of ingredients and started adding things together until I came up with my own recipe. Even in my recipe the measurements are just an approximation, you have to add or subtract what tastes right to YOU. Here's my version again so you can compare them:

1 can cannellini beans
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (loosely packed)
1/3 cup of canned tomatoes
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons of sour cream (or more to taste)
1 garlic clove
Olive oil
Water
Salt and pepper

One simple substitution for this recipe, was the sour cream for the cottage cheese. We didn't have cottage cheese, and that wasn't going to stop us, so we decided sour cream would taste better anyways. We also added canned tomatoes instead of grape tomatoes, fresh ingredients are great, but we're on a college budget here, so let's get real.

Conclusion: A cook using recipes is like an architect using blueprints, it's a guide but the building is not set in stone yet. Use your creative freedom. Remember, cooking is an art.

Grapes and cottage cheese dessert

Level: Beginner
Ingredients:
Red seedless grapes
Cottage cheese
Light brown sugar (or light)
Walnuts (optional)

1. Mix all together, amounts to taste.

**For some reason I like to add salt to this recipe, I think it goes nicely with the cheese. BTW, I didn't think I liked cottage cheese, but I gave it a second try recently and it was thoroughly good! Cottage cheese also has a lot of protein, this is good for our vegetarian friends. :}**

Italian hummus with tuna meddley

Italian hummus

Level: Intermediate
Ingredients:
1 can cannellini beans
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (loosely packed)
1/3 cup of canned tomatoes
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons of sour cream (or more to taste)
1 garlic clove
Olive oil
Water
Salt and pepper

1. Blend all ingredients in blender. Add water if needed to help the hummus blend properly. Consistency should be thick.
2. Serve with toasted pita bread, crackers, or just by itself. (Don't limit yourself! Work with your kitchen.)

**This was just simply delicious! I like this hummus a lot better than the regular kind. Maybe because it has sun dried tomatoes. In this recipe they are a must. I also quite enjoyed the cannellini beans, and not having to worry about the Tahini(or sesame 'peanut' butter). From the inspired recipe I read that you can make this into more or less a soup if you add more tomatoes, and I think a little bit more of everything else, except the beans.**

Tuna meddley

Level: Challenging

Green fried tomatoes with ponzu sauce and apple couscous

Green fried tomatoes

Level: Challenging

Apple couscous

Level: Beginner
Ingredients:
1 cup couscous
1 cup vegetable stock (in place of the water)
1 teaspoon of butter
1 medium apple (red is actually better)
1/4 cup oven roasted almonds (we roast the almonds ourselves in a small toaster oven, keep an eye on them, they roast really fast!)

1. Follow the package instructions.

**We tried the green apple but it was a little bitter. Most couscous cooks in 5 minutes.**

Curry vegetables with tofu

Level: Intermediate

Curry cream fried gabanzos with Tzatziki (cucumber-yogurt) salad

Curry cream fried garbanzos

Level: Challenging
Ingredients:
Half large onion
3 large cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon caraway seeds (cumin seeds will also work but they are both optional)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
2 cups largely chopped cabbage
1 can garbanzo beans
1/2 can of roasted tomatoes
1/4 cup of chopped red bell peppers
1/4 sour cream
1/4 heavy cream
1 1/2 cup of cooked cubed potatoes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. In olive oil fry the onions, garlic, caraway seeds, curry powder, pepper flakes, and add salt and pepper.
2. After 2 minutes add cabbage.
3. When cabbage is translucent add the garbanzo beans, tomatoes, red bell peppers (we used ones in a jar).
4. Mix sour cream and heavy cream separately (this is our version of Central American cream :}). Add to mixture and cubed potatoes. Toss everything together.
5. Let everything simmer for 5 minutes and continue adding salt and pepper to taste.

**Our wonderful cook of a mom did not like the idea, but we sure showed her because it really was great! We had it with plain white rice. My sister probably added more curry than the amount on the recipe. We don't really measure things so its hard to know. Always taste and trust your tastes buds since after all they are the ones that will be the final judges.**

Tzatziki salad

Level: Beginner
Ingredients:
1 garlic clove
1 large cucumber
1/2- 1 cup plain yogurt
Dried mint
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Spinach (to serve the salad on, optional)

1. Mince the garlic and cut the cucumber in small squares.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and drizzle olive old and add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Serve on spinach leaves.

**We usually have this salad right on the plate, but we decided to put it on top of fresh spinach which is a staple in our meals. Believe me, once you start eating the stuff to just combine it with the rest of your meal you won't be able to stop! The spinach was great in containing the yogurt from getting all over the other food on the plate.**

Fish with dill sauce and vegetable couscous

Dill sauce

Level: Challenging
Ingredients:
Sour cream
Celery salt
Dried dill

1. Mix ingredients in slowly to taste.

**This little dip came as a last resource while my sister was trying to find something to put on top of her fish fillet. Think about the flavors in the ingredients, if you think they will go well together, chances are you'll probably like it.**

Tomato-basil egg burrito

Level: Beginner

1 whole wheat flour tortilla
2 scrambled eggs with green onions and garlic
Tomato-basil bruschetta (the picture was pre- olive oil, salt and pepper)
Cheddar cheese
Spinach

1. Fold and eat!
**Great quick dinner, breakfast, lunch, whatever!**

Caramelized red peppers dip

Level: Intermediate
Ingredients:
1/2 bell red pepper (in small cubes)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup vinegar (in this red wine was used)
8 oz. Cream cheese (one package)

1. Simmer the peppers, the sugar and the vinegar together until thick.
2. Pour over cream cheese while mixture is still hot.
3. Serve with choice of crackers.

**This recipe was really easy to make, except you have to watch for the mixture not to overcook because then it becomes too caramelized. We just love the sweet and sour taste of the sugar and the vinegar. In this picture we made only half of the recipe as we thought it would be too much for us to eat the whole cream cheese block ourselves. LOL!**