Quesadillas, Burritos, Whatever You Call Them ( W/Black Beans and Peppers)

 My mother was making bar-b-qued potatoes tonight, thus leaving me on my own. I didn't really mind at all however, because I was in the mood for something a bit more festive and was eager to cook anyways. Therefore I dug through the pantry and refrigerator to find a few peppers, black beans, and whole wheat tortillas. So obviously mexican came to mind, and this is what I came up with. I threw whatever I found and thought would taste good together in what was originally going to be a quesadilla. However, I ended up eating most of the "quesadilla" with a fork, for if I were to recreate this dish again, I would make it more of a burrito style considering the quesadillas weren't really holding up too well.  

 So below I have prepared a recipe with two different ways of creating it. My suggestion is to go with the burrito-wrap style in order to keep most of the goodness inside the tortilla rather than on an unnecessary fork. Either way, it was absolutely delicious and I don't think I have ever tasted such plump and flavorful peppers before. They were juicy and completely made the entire meal. As many of you know by now I am a vegetarian, so I am constantly having to keeping protein in mind, therefore the beans were added. So to all those vegetarians out there, this makes for a great meal with the many colors of vegetables and proteins added.
Ingredients: (made for about one)
1 whole wheat tortilla
baby spinach leaves
1/4 red pepper thinly sliced
1/4 orange pepper thinly sliced
4 teaspoons black beans
1/3 cup white cheddar, grated
LETS COOK!
For quesadilla style:
cut tortilla in half and place both halves on frying pan over medium-high heat. add cheese, peppers, and beans onto one of the halves. Let cheese melt before adding the other half on top (sandwich style). Remove from heat, cut in half, add spinach, serve and enjoy!
For burrito style:
Place tortilla on frying pan over medium-high heat. Mash up with a fork the beans and add to tortilla. Sprinkle cheese and peppers on top. Remove from heat and add spinach. Wrap up to make a burrito, serve and enjoy!

Light And Mini Farfalle Pasta For Spring

Tonight it was just me and my mother for dinner, and I was desperately in the mood to cook up something yummy. I originally planned to surprise my dad with home-made beer bread, but he was working late so his loss. Therefore, I made dinner for my mother instead, and I knew what made her most happy was a simple pasta with fresh herbs from the garden and anything that included mouth watering tomatoes. So I came up with a light and springy pasta dish that included just that. The sauce is nothing more than some olive oil and cooking water (okay, I did add a little bit of butter), and the flavors of fresh rosemary and grape tomatoes really shine through this simple yet delectable pasta dish. The asparagus and parsley also add a nice spring touch to the mini farfalle and well. . . parsley goes good with almost anything cheesy, Italian, and fresh. The dish was prepared in about ten minutes, so to those who live on a "busy schedule", you now have no excuse as to not cook this good!

Ingredients:
1/8 cup olive oil (plus more)
1/2 pound mini farfalle pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup grated white cheddar cheese (plus more)
freshly ground black pepper
freshly ground salt
1 cup steamed and cooled asparagus
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 stalk fresh rosemary, finely chopped
3 or so "stems" parsley, coarsely chopped/torn (leave some whole to garnish)
LETS COOK!
cook pasta in well-salted water with some olive oil until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 3/4 cups of the pasta cooking water. Dry out pot and leave on high heat and then add olive oil until almost starts to boil it. Then add pasta and pasta water. Add butter, cheese, pepper, tomatoes, asparagus, parsley, and rosemary. Toss together and serve in shallow bowls or plates. Garnish with pepper, parsley, and cheese. May also need to add more salt. Serve warm and enjoy!

Leftover Makeover (Spinach and Pasta Salad)

Alright I am dedicating this post to Ky and LB for their patience and dedication toward my blog. I apologize deeply for not posting as often as I usually have in the past, but the school year is finally coming to an end (well technically three weeks left!) and I have simply just been so busy! I have three more posts that I have been desperately needing to publish (plus this one) which I promise to have them all up by the end of this month. . . by the end of this week. With that said, here is a little something that I threw together about a week ago with a few leftovers found in my kitchen. As this recipe is very easy, simple, and can obviously be made with leftovers; I absolutely loved the fresh and pure taste each ingredient gave.

This is a cold pasta salad, yet it is not the typical pasta salad one would think of. (Because quite frankly I have never been a fan of cold pasta salad.) However this one is different because there is actually lettuce to the salad and is so simple yet delicious! Everything is cold and is covered with fresh parmesan cheese to combine each flavor together. It is also extremely easy, and if you are thinking right now of popping in a frozen meal or pouring a bowl of cereal, well think again because this recipe probably takes just as much or even less time and is not only healthier but tastes fresh and like real food.

Ingredients:

already cooked and prepared ziti pasta (leftover work) about 1/2 pound

one cup frozen peas

1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

one sliced hard boiled egg

couple large handfuls baby spinach (about as much or more compared to ziti)

fresh herb and Parmesan dressing

LETS COOK!

defrost peas and add to salad bowl. toss with cold pasta, cheese, lettuce and egg. Before serving add dressing. Enjoy!

MS150 Breakfast (Whole Wheat Blueberry Pecan Pancakes)

Last weekend was the annual BPMS150 which my dad and I participated in. It was my first time to ever ride such a distance from Houston to Austin and my dad's third time to fulfill the two day trip. However, I managed to beat his "thirty years older" legs by a near hour leaving him in the dust after the lunch break. (funny how it is called the "lunch" stop when I got there around nine in the morning!) I crossed the finish line, turning into the heart of downtown ATX at approximately noon, fifteen minutes before my mother (who had driven up that day) even arrived! And almost an hour before my dad crossed the same line. So bittersweet I felt when no one was there to greet me at the finish line, yet giddiness when I realized I finished so early that I beat my own mother's car! (Which I guess isn't saying much when she drives SO SO SO SLOW. . . ha! I still love you mom!)

But anyways back to the Whole Wheat Blueberry Pecan Pancakes, because a post will soon follow with in depth details on the BPMS150 Houston-Austin ride. So these pancakes were made the night before the big day, because I knew that there was no way I was going to get up at five in the morning to cook a gourmet breakfast that I would be craving. So plan B: make the pancakes ahead of time and freeze them! (Which I still have a few frozen that are waiting to be eaten. . . thus saying, they freeze quite well for weeks.) These pancakes are healthy with the whole wheat flower, juicy with the flavorful blueberries, and have a slight crunch affect with the finely chopped pecans. All of these which add to the whole affect of an absolutely amazing grand breakfast pancake.
Ingredients:
one cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
3/4 cups milk (PLUS MORE)
1 tablespoon melted and cooled butter
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
LETS COOK!
In a bowl mix dry ingredients and in separate bowl beat egg, milk, and butter together. Gently stir mixture into dry ingredients and then add in blueberries and pecans. If thick, add some more milk (which you will most likely be adding LOTS MORE!). Lightly spray skillet and heat over medium-high. Ladle batter onto skillet to make pancakes. Adjust heat and flip pancakes after bubbles rise to surface and bottoms are brown and golden. Cook until the second side is slightly browned and serve warm. Enjoy!

For My Parents (Classic Blueberry Pancakes)

And tomorrow we are off! The day that my dad and I have been waiting for has finally arrived, and in less that nine hours we will be well on our way to Austin, Texas for the annual BPMS150 bike ride raising money for multiple sclerosis. Excitingly I have raised a near 900 while my has raised a whopping 1400, and added up together our team Gardere raised a total of 140,000 dollars! We will begin the race at my back door and will ride to La Grange by Saturday evening ending at the University of Texas in Austin mid-evening Sunday. So with this 180 mile bike ride, I thought it only necessary to have a good and healthy start. That is why the night before I decided to make pancakes for that morning!

 Now I originally had made whole wheat pancakes filled with fresh blueberries and chopped pecans, but sadly my parents (well my mom more than my dad) were a bit iffy on the fact that the flour was whole wheat making the pancakes no longer traditional. Honestly, I think they are just scared to try something fresh and different (as well as something that so easily qualifies under the Food Revolution Movement that has recently sparked up across the world.) Therefore, the nice daughter that I am, I made a new batch with white flour which calls for a bit of a different recipe. They still make for a great before-a-long-two-day-bike-ride-breakfast, but are just not quite as healthy as my whole wheat ones (which will be posted within a few days). This pancake recipe originated from the New York times, but was fixed up by me to make the flavors more fulfilling and tasty.
Ingredients:
one cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
3/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon melted and cooled butter
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
LETS COOK!
 In a bowl mix dry ingredients and in separate bowl beat egg, milk, and butter together. Gently stir mixture into dry ingredients and then add in blueberries. If thick, add some more milk. Lightly spray skillet and heat over medium-high. Ladle batter onto skillet to make pancakes. Adjust heat and flip pancakes after bubbles rise to surface and bottoms are brown and golden. Cook until the second side is slightly browned and serve warm. Enjoy!

Another One Of Giada's (Pasta Ponza)

Mmmm Giada De Laurentis does not dissapoint once again. And this time it is with a cheesy, savory, Italian dinner entree known as Pasta Ponza. As Giada so fluently explains, Ponza is a little Island off the west coast of Italy where her and her aunt first experienced this sweet and savory dish. As I have recently promised to post all of Giada's newest recipes as I make them, this one is a bit different because the original calls for capers (bleh!) and two times the ingredients. So the recipe below is almost line for line Giada's except made without capers (because honestly, something about them just grosses me out!) and the amount is cut in half because I was only cooking for me, my mother, and my father, rather than a party of six.

 I was so thrilled to make the pasta ponza, because it was only another excuse for me to go to my little herb garden and use the freshly grown parsley. It made the Italian cooking experience that much more authentic as well as filling my home with a wonderful, fresh aroma! This recipe parallels very similar to an older post, the baked tomato sauce, however the pasta ponza tops it one hundred percent. Pasta Ponza is so delectable with the fresh parmesan cheese, flavor popping grape tomatoes, and has now been ranked as a top pasta dish under my pasta favorites lists. (Don't worry I am not that much of a cooking geek, because all lists are kept inside my little head and have yet to be stored and sealed with a pen and some ink.)
Ingredients:
unsalted butter, for greasing
2 cups red cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup Italian-style seasoned dried bread crumbs
1/2 pound ziti
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated plus extra to top
few leaves freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
LETS COOK!
Preheat oven to 375 and butter an 8 by 8 inch glass baking dish and set aside. Combing tomatoes, olive oil, salt, and pepper in the baking dish and toss to coat. Sprinkle bread crumbs over mixture and drizzle again with olive oil. Bake about 20 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden. Allow to cool. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally until tender and al dente. Drain the pasta, and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add in tomato mixture and cheese. Toss well. Serve onto plate and sprinkle pepper if wanted as well as parsley and cheese on top for garnish. Serve, and enjoy!

From The Garden (Herb and Springtime Salad)

Are you getting sick of all the salads I keep posting? Well I hope not, because my love for salads is far from dead. In fact, my salad exploration continues to grow as I find new ingredients to mix with a few green leaves to create a spectacular, exotic tasting salad. This is by far my best and favorite salad yet, because the flavors are an absolute juiced explosion. The corn and peppers make this salad bright, colorful, and extremely flavorful livening up any spring salad. On top of everything, I even added a few fresh herbs from my herb garden to add a slight texture and give the salad a hint of extra pizazz, which I believe, tops the dish off quite beautifully. (And might I add how excited I have been lately as I watch my garden continue to grow and grow and grow! It makes me so happy!)

Ingredients:
handful fresh spring mix lettuce
hadful fresh romaine lettuce coarsely chopped to bite size pieces
half cup cherry tomatoes halved
one fourth cup thinly sliced almonds
one third cup cold, cooked corn
half orange (or any color really) thinly sliced pepper (seeds not included...unless you would like)
few leaves Finley chopped parsley
handful leaves finely chopped chives
parmesan cheese, grated
a basil and herb dressing
LETS COOK!
in a salad bowl toss everything together and then add dressing right before serving. Serve, and enjoy! (UM WOW CAN YOU SAY EASY?!)

Spring Time is Here (Poached Egg Garden Salad)

 This is probably the easiest, fastest, simplest salads I have ever made. It is perfect for a quick fix dinner or lunch, beautiful enough to serve for guests, and fresh enough to be a wonderful salad idea for an enjoyed spring time picnic. The salad may appear extremely bland with the very few ingredients that are added, but sometimes clear and precise balances taste buds better than overdosing on jumbling mixtures of ideas. There is an egg to add protein which is poached yet "broken" to give the regular hard boiled egg a break, the almonds are all natural to save time from having to preheat and grease an oven, the lettuce consists of only two different types which keeps the hassle of handling multiple lettuces to a minimum, and the seasoning is purely simple with a light vinaigrette and freshly ground pepper bringing the salad together as whole. This salad may appear quite easy and one that possibly wouldn't classify under a chef's specialty, but that is because it is precisely that! This salad is quite easy and it is a recipe that absolutely anyone can achieve! So the short and simple recipe shall follow. . .

Ingredients:handful baby organic spring time lettuce
one stalk romaine lettuce
plain almonds
freshly ground pepper
basil and parmesan vinaigrette
one egg
LETS COOK! 
 add spring time lettuce to salad bowl and tear into bite size pieces the romaine lettuce and add to same bowl. Slice almonds and add to salad. In a small saucepan with inch thick high in water allow water to come to a boil. Crack egg into water and keep egg together as a whole and kind of slightly break the center yolk. But keep egg together! When thoroughly cooked through turn heat off. Pour vinaigrette into salad and toss. One placed on plate, add egg on top and garnish with pepper. Serve, and enjoy!

Craving To Cook (Vegetable and Whole Wheat Pasta)

All day I was just craving to leave school and enter into my happy little kitchen and cook up something fresh, new, and exciting as well as something that symbolized the pure beginning that Spring had finally sprung. (Well it did a few days ago until the rain showed up. . . but I am positive within a few more days the sun will clear up everything and Spring will jump right back into it's place.) So I came up with any and every lousy excuse just so my mother would hand over her apron and measuring cups and allow me to prepare dinner for the family. And out of my fabulous vegetarian mags, I stopped upon a moderately easy recipe that called for vegetables and lots of them! I mean it only makes sense to add vegetables into a vegetarian magazine, right? I added a few of my favorite vegetables and mixed the recipe up a tad to make it an absolutely outstanding and wonderful dinner.

Well at least I loved this dinner! (And I am most certain any other vegetarian would love it as well.) But lets just say. . . my father is nearly a carnivore and my mother well . . . she pushes all her veggies aside and picks at her plate like a three year old! (Hm who would have thought a teenage girl would have to nearly beg her parents to eat their daily greens!) Regardless of their taste buds, this dinner was successful because the sauce was nothing more than salted water and a splash of wine, the linguine was one hundred percent whole wheat, and the dish consisted of lots and lots of plump, juicy tomatoes, freshly grown basil, green asparagus and zucchini, as well as organic mushrooms. All the flavors collided together to add spice and flavor to an ordinary pasta dish. After making so many fresh vegetables to add to my pasta, it is safe to say that Spring is right around the corner if not already knocking at my door.
Ingredients:
half of green zucchini thinly sliced
2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 cup fresh asparagus cut into one inch pieces
1 small onion coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
whole-wheat linguine
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
grated parmesan cheese
LETS COOK!
Preheat oven to 450 F and toss together mushrooms, asparagus onion, zucchini, oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large cooking pan. Roast about 20 minutes, stirring half way through. While cooking, over medium high heat in a pan cook tomatoes until soft and starting to shrivel (about ten minutes). Then transfer all vegetables to a large serving bowl. Boil salt water with some olive oil and cook pasta for about 8 to 10 minutes. In the same pan (that veggies were in before) pour wine and put back into oven for five minutes. Drain pasta but reserve half a cup of cooking water and add it into the wine in the pan and mix all together. Add pasta and basil and water/wine to bowl of veggies and stir together. Serve and add basil for garnish with cheese. Enjoy! (add salt and pepper if desired)

Fourth Way, Fourth Sandwich

Remember the other day when I blogged about three sandwiches that can all be made together because they are so similar? Well I have also created a fourth that is similar yet very unique on its own. The difference: I did not toast the sandwich and added even more delicious ingredients than before. I sauteed the tomatoes so the juices oozed out around the entire sandwich and added an avocado spread to bring spice and pazazz to the sandwich as a whole. This sandwich is so versatile as well as my other three and so extremely easy that it definitely tops a plain PB&J. (Which in fact I believe might even take longer to make than this wonderful vegetarian sandwich!) Therefore, I believe it is time to step up a typical sandwich and say heck with the norm! It is time to add whatever one's desire to the center of bread and call it a day. The goal is to please one's mouth, and why not do it their way? So here on this sandwich I have put whatever my creative mind desired, finished it off with a top slice of bread and now call it my own version of some type of vegetarian sandwich. And it is GOOD!

Ingredients:
Thinly sliced sharp cheddar cheese
baby romaine lettuce
thinly sliced tomato
pinch of sea salt
thinly sliced cucumbers
tablespoon olive oil
avocado
light caesar dressing
whole wheat flat bread
LETS COOK!
Over medium heat add olive oil to frying pan and saute the tomatoes only until they become soft and juices are about to ooze. Sprinkle with salt and turn off heat. Mash up a bit of avocado and spread onto bottom slice of bread and then spread a little dressing on top of that. Add cheese, cucumbers, lettuce and the tomatoes. Cover with other slice of bread, serve and enjoy! (Or add whatever your little heard desires and enjoy!)

Three Sandwiches, Three Ways

Spring Break may have started over half a week ago, but today is the first day I feel that I am actually on vacation to enjoy the lovely spring time. The sun has finally decided to awaken behind the dark and dreary clouds and shine down upon the beach blankets and herb gardens. Today is such a beautiful day out that I feel I am back in Paris with my family walking along the endless numbers of parks enjoying the outdoors and fresh produce markets. Yet, surprisingly I am right here in my suburban home in Houston, Texas planting flowers with my mother and sister as well as adding a new member to my own little garden; parsley. We are three similar people, yet three very different people when it comes to life as well as food. Today I was in the mood to make a fresh and delightful lunch that I knew all three of us would enjoy, so I made lovely little sandwiches. However, our taste buds are not identical so I made three similar sandwiches yet three very different sandwiches. And here I am to share three different recipes that all correspond and are very easy to make all together: one for a vegetarian, one classic sandwich, and one with a little something added.

Ingredients: (to make all three)

thinly sliced sharp cheddar cheese

thinly sliced white cheddar cheese

freshly ground pepper

thinly sliced cucumber

light caesar dressing

thinly sliced mushroom

thinly sliced and grilled chicken breast

whole wheat flat bread

LETS COOK! (we are making three sandwiches the way I made them, but they are so versatile you can make them however you want!)

Put oven on a broil. Open up three flat breads and place insides up on a cooking sheet. On all three place cheeses and on two add chicken and on one with chicken add mushroom. Broil in oven only for about five minutes or less or until cheese melted and bread lightly toasted. Remove from oven and on all three add cucumbers and on the opposite ends of the bread spread a little bit of dressing and place on top to make a sandwhich! Goes great with a fruit salad, serve and enjoy!

Cooking For a Vegetarian (Vegetables and Rice)

Now what vegetarian doesn't like a good meal filled with lots and lots of colorful veggies topped with simple white rice? Because sometimes simplicity is the key to a good meal. Sometimes less ingredients is all that is needed to create something so pure and so subtle that one can really take the time to enjoy the true tastes of a vegetable. Even if cheese is added or a dressing or lots of spices are added, then the real taste of an asparagus or broccoli can be taken away instantly. Therefore, this extremely easy where anyone can make recipe is probably one of my favorites, because I am constantly just craving that raw, pure taste of vegetables. The taste is everlasting and has a spice all on its own that many do not get to experience if other substitutes are added. Therefore, this recipe is simple, to the point, and absolutely real and delicious.

Ingredients:
broccoli
asparagus
sliced red pepper
thinly sliced tomato
long grain white rice
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon butter
dash of extra butter and garlic salt
LETS COOK!
For the Rice: combine rice and water in a 3 qt. saucepan and bring to a boil and stir once. Cover with tight fitting lid and reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5-10 min. longer. For the Veggies: while the rice is sitting, put all veggies on foil and lightly sprinkle with garlic salt and a tab of butter. Grill on medium heat for about ten minutes and then remove. Mix all the vegetables together on top of the rice, serve and enjoy!

Vegetarian Pizza (Arugula, Basil, and Tomato Pizza)

CONFESION: the pizza crust is Pillsbury. I know this comes as a shocker to most as it does me and I am almost ashamed to be putting this recipe into my blog because I feel that I did not one hundred percent make it but I have a good reason! And before I explain my very good reason as to why I was forced to buy the crust, let me add that I am a good bread baker and I know for a fact would I have more time I would have made an excellent pizza crust. But this is what happened. . . I was following a recipe for pizza crust ingredient by ingredient, yet some how there must have been a glitch (because something like this has never happened to me before) and the bread would simply not rise! Therefore my brilliant mother (Ha! I am sorry mom but it was not completely all my fault!) told me to put the dough into the oven to warm up letting the dough rise faster. I worried that the bread might bake. So thirty minutes late I asked my mother, yet she calmly responded assuring me that nothing would happen and the dough would not be hurt. So I left it there. And I left it there. And I left it there for maybe two hours. And I checked it. And . . . not to my surprise, the dough was hard. It crumbled in my hands as the outer layer had baked its way to pieces. I should have known! But my mother was so assuring and is way more experienced than I am, so I trusted her. Anyways, a few minutes of sadness later, I was forced to go to the grocery store and buy dough because it was near eight o'clock and I knew I would not have time to search up a new recipe and start fresh.

Now that I have explained my terrible crust fiasco, Pillsbury dough actually did make for an excellent crust and balanced well with all my other fresh ingredients. I would like to introduce that this pizza is one of my many to come fresh from the garden recipes, because I garnished the top with fresh basil strait out of my new herb garden. And the smell is just divine. Might I add. . . notice I said new herb garden because as we have all learned earlier how my old herbs were sadly murdered, my mother and grandmother were nice enough to surprise me with a whole new set of herbs that I could easily plant right away in the garden making sure nothing could go wrong second time around. So this pizza is topped with fresh, home-grown basil, freshly sliced tomatoes, baby arugula, and lots and lots of freshly grated mozzarella cheese. All the flavors combined are mouth watering and liven up a regular ol' pizza any day!
Ingredients: (makes for half a pizza)
Pillsbury original pizza dough
one Roma tomato, thinly sliced
tomato sauce (recipe on my website)
handful of baby arugula
couple leaves of basil, torn
1/4 pound freshly grated mozzarella
1/3 cup four Italian cheese, grated
olive oil
LETS COOK!
Preheat oven to 450 or as high as oven will go and grease with olive oil a pizza stone. Roll dough out into circle and place onto stone. Apply tomato sauce evenly on top and then sprinkle cheeses on top. Place the tomato next and then the basil. Then add the next half of the pizza with same ingredients or anything else you would like! Bake for about 15 to 20 minute or until crust is golden and pizza is ready. Take out of oven and garnish with baby arugula. Serve warm and enjoy!

Pizza Fridays (Supreme Pizza)

There is a tradition here at my cozy suburban hose; to order in pizza or hit the town for Russo's Italian Grille almost every Friday night with the fam. I live with a smaller family of three girls and my dad, therefore we are not ones to order in pounds and pounds of pizza. So we usually agree on one size pizza going half and half style to please everyone. But this Friday, my sister, LB, was coming in town from Alabama and I wanted to cook up something special for her knowing that when living the college life, home cooking is not usually an option. So to keep up with our Friday night tradition, I made a home-made pizza! It was a perfect and brilliant idea, and this way I was able to put exactly whatever I wanted as well as exactly what anyone else wanted onto the pizza. (This made it easier than having to pick off this and that like I most often do when a pizza is delivered.)

This specific post is the recipe of a supreme and meaty pizza. So I do have to admit, I myself, did not get the chance to try it, but my father ate every last bite and absolutely loved it. Therefore, I am safe to blog all about it considering I am most sure that the pizza was a success. I topped the pizza with all of my dad's faves such as black olives (something that I am not a fan of), green and red peppers, and lots and lots of deadly pepperoni. Ha! Okay so maybe it isn't deadly to us. . . but it sure is to those poor, poor little animals who are no longer with us living high up in animal heaven. Tear. I am aware however, that the majority of people enjoy a little pepperoni or meat on their pizza, so I respect that completely and went ahead and added some to this recipe.

Ingredients: (makes for half a pizza)

1/4 green pepper thinly sliced

1/4 red pepper thinly sliced

handful black olives

handful sliced pepperonis

1/4 pound freshly grated mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup freshly grated four-Italian cheese

pizza dough

tomato sauce (a recipe will soon follow)

LETS COOK!

Preheat oven to about 450 or as high as possible and with olive oil, grease pizza stone. Roll out dough to circle leaving "crust" a little thicker than inside center. Spread with tomato sauce evenly over entire pizza. On half of the pizza sprinkle all the cheeses and then place pepperoni on top. Finally add olives and peppers. Fill the other half of pizza with same recipe or anything else you would like! Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until golden, but NOT BURNT! Serve hot and enjoy!

Mixed Everything Salad

I love salads. And it is as simple as that. I can not go for more than three days without craving fresh lettuce and simple ingredients that somehow all correspond with one another to create something so simple yet so delicious; a salad. Salads are so versatile for they can be a main dish or simply a side. They can become a picnic fave with bright fruits, or a mexican fiesta with tortillas and beans. Salads are formal beginnings or casual endings. I just love how salads can never be over rated for the varieties are endless that new creations of such are ordinary. So yes, I think I have made my self clear that salads are one of my favorite things to throw together as well as eat!

So as long as I can remember (or as long as I have been watching Food Network and discovered such thing as arugula), my mother and I have been on a quest for arugula everywhere and anywhere in our neighborhood. For months this hidden little treasure could not be found. . . until my mother entered a local grocer's and finally spotted Ms. Arugula! She may have been hard to find, but now that she was captured she was then brought back to the Brown household to be used in many ways. We first off started by mixing arugula up with other lettuces to create this absolutely amazing salad, and she then moved on to bigger positions in life such as the prime topping on a vegetarian pizza (which the posting will soon follow). Therefore, thanks to Arugula, this is probably one of my most prized salads that is for sure an award winner! (That is if it were ever to be entered in such contest. (I can see it now. . . the "Who Can Make Arugula Taste The Best Contest")Yes, sounds fabulous!)
Ingredients:
pinch of fresh ground pepper
1.5 cups organic baby spinach
1.5 cups organic arugula
1 cup hearts of romaine lettuce
.5 cup dried cranberries
2 hard boiled eggs sliced
4 tablespoons black organic beans
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
basil herb dressing
LETS COOK!
In a salad bowl add all ingredients, mix together, serve and enjoy! (um..can you say salads are the easiest dinners to make?!. . . SO SIMPLE on a busy-running-around kind of night!)

Mexican Night! (Vegetarian Cheese Enchiladas)

It was fiesta night at the Brown's house as we celebrated well...nothing in particular! But my grandparents were over and so of course lots and lots of food was involved in the process upon their arrival.! Therefore, it is completely safe to say how lucky of a granddaughter I am to have spent my Sunday night in the kitchen with some of the best San Antonian cooks in all of San Antonio, my grandma and my grandpa.

Things began to heat up as we all were in to impress one another and make a spectacular dinner for the whole family to enjoy. Three generations of women were cooking aways on the enchiladas while I was also making a fabulous, six star dessert with my grandfather, all while my dad and his lawful dog kicked back against the couch for ABC's evening news with a beer and salted peanuts. (typical weeknights. . . hah! :)

Not only do I love these enchiladas because everything always taste better when made over a few laughs and lots of love, but because my mother and grandmother showed their love for me by making sure that all ingredients were vegetarian friendly. (And I truly do thank them for that!) These cheesy enchiladas were truly delightful with all the cheeses, sauce, and corn tortillas. (Which corn tortillas aren't just better for you, but taste better than flour too!) They may have come out a bit messy when served, but that is why I love cooking for family over friends to impress. . . they don't care about the looks as long as it taste good! And the enchiladas were no disappointment.
Ingredients:
can of vegetarian re fried beans
can of mild, chopped green chilies
bag of corn tortillas
pack of cream cheese
about half cup or more grated white cheddar cheese
large can mild enchilada sauce
mexican style four cheese (comes in a bag grated)
LETS COOK!
preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a small frying pan, heat small amount of canola oil and add tortilla frying each side for a few seconds. Once both sides are slightly fried, place on paper towel and add a small amount of cream cheese, white cheddar cheese, 1/2 tablespoon of the beans, about a teaspoon of the chilies, and wrap tightly up. Place wrapped tortilla inside a serving dish. Repeat until serving dish is filled. Pour enchilada sauce on top of tortillas (as much as desired) and cover the top with the mexican cheese. Bake about 15 min, serve and enjoy!

Figuring Out Things As I Go. . . (Baked Eggs with Potatoes)

First off, I would like(scratch that) LOVE to say thank you to all my devoted online readers who take the time out of their schedules to read such a blog about an amateur's life through food and simple enjoyments. To my giddy surprise Little Blue Box has reached the triple zeros in a mere four months. It blows my mind that somehow this blog has reached the ends of New York, across the sea to England, Australia and the United Kingdom, up to Michigan, Washington D.C., back down to my home state Texas, and who even knows where else my little blue box has been shipped off to. I feel that I am finally beginning to live my dream of simply getting my voice heard across the world wide web, and proving to my self that all dreams can be reached and goals are set for reasons. So to this I clink my glass and say cheers, and to challenge those reading;  to pass the box around the table continuing the cycle of sharing the little pleasures in life.

And now to what I love to do most; write on and on and on about the joys of food until my fingers go numb and the play list on itunes has repeated its self nearly five times. As I listen to Ingrid Michaelson and Matt White, I can't help but just feeling so happy about life. Their music is pure and blissful, and maybe I shall just write about them rather than my latest dinner dish? This is almost truly a hard decision to make, but for now I shall stick with my first and foremost favorite passion- food. I found this recipe through a blog site while viewing endless blogs on a slow and dreary day. Somehow, this particular recipe caught my eye and forced me to read on about it. Maybe it was the fact that eggs were to be eaten with potatoes, or the fact that I was going to bake an egg in an oven for the first time if I chose to forgo this splendid recipe. I thank my eyes for gazing at the site now, for this was such a simple yet absolutely outstanding and delicious recipe that I know for a fact I will be making more in the near future. However, I did not have many of the ingredients that it called for and MEAT (yes, MEAT!. . . GASP!) was involved in the original recipe, therefor substitutes had to be made and ingredients had to be changed up to make it my own version. So below is a recipe that I created, yet was formed around another food junkie blog which was only intended to be shared with other world wide web food junkies such as myself, and know to my faithful followers.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

3 tablespoons of skim milk
5 cooked new potatoes

3 tablespoons of freshly grated white cheddar cheese

A small handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley

LETS COOK!

Preheat your oven to 400F. Take out a small serving dish. Dice the potatoes into bite-size pieces.

Neatly place the potatoes into the pan and pour milk over. Crack an egg into a small bowl and pour over one side of  the potatoes. Do the same for the other end of the pan. Season with a little salt and pepper and top with the cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the egg is just set. Wrap foil over the pan and bake for about 5 to 10 more minutes or until eggs are thoroughly cooked through. Serve, and enjoy! (Serves about 2 to 3 people)

Cheerful Lunches (Citrus Garden Salad)

Today I stayed home from school for unexplainable reasons, but that is far besides the point. The point is I was able to prepare a fabulous lunch for my most fabulous mother while she was away gaining another victory for her tennis team. She was delighted to see I have been somewhat productive on my day off as I folded the laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, ran a few errands, and now indulged in a little something for my self as well as her; in which I made a deelishis citrusy salad with these new extra citrus oranges that my mother had recently found at our grocery store.

It is very hard for me to explain these oranges, because they are not typical oranges. They are way better! Yesterday my mother came home from the local grocery store, and inside our go-green bags I was delighted to see loads and loads of colorful fruit. It made me smile at the fact she was thinking about me and made me smile even more to see she had bought oranges, life's happy little fruit. However, when I cut one open the other day, I noticed they looked more like grapefruits. But when I bit into one, it tasted quite like an orange but juicier, fresher, and all around better! Therefore, it was settled that I must add this fruit to my next salad to spruce up a typical garden salad. The salad was fresh, tangy, and looked so much happier, for it was now mixed with a sweetly sensational fruit.
Ingredients:
Mixed baby greens and baby spinach lettuce
One Orange (Or any citrus fruit)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
basil herb salad dressing
LETS COOK!
Place lettuce in a bowl and grate cheese over lettuce. Pour dressing and toss. Add salad to plates and sprinkle almonds on top. Place orange on top of salad, serve and enjoy! (How simple and easy was that?!)

Vegan Corn Chowder

t is the peak of 2 AM and somehow I am still awake after a long day of dreadful school, cycling, and baking. I am starting to wonder if I have taken after my mother...Well any who, here I am blogging about corn chowder while eating my lightly sweetened honey nut cheerios with the computer screen being a bit blurred because really I am tired, yet simply can not sleep therefore I am unable to function properly. My mind is quite the buzz as of now, jumping from one thing to the next. I can not stop thinking of the deadly incident during the first day of the Vancouver Olympics with Nodar Kumaritashvili, nor can not help but wonder how I will manage to squeeze by in a core class for school, and all at the same time, keep thinking how giddy I am for within fourteen hours I will be long on my way with Mr. Handsome to see the Stomp Concert in a new little dress from my favorite store, Urban Outfitters. (yay!)

So I don't really know where I am going with this post...and I should be writing about how wonderful this chowder was. But I am not in the mood to write about food, however I have been wanting to post up this recipe for a number of days now. The time is now 2:22 and as I have been flipping through some recent pictures, I found this one of me and Blake to be quite humorous and worth posting on my blog. The weather here in Texas (yes, who would have thought!) has been extremely cold and breath chilling. Yet still, I trudged along with Blake as he video taped an entire soccer game for his Video Tech class. Luckily, we came prepared with my sister's double snuggie! (Thanks sis for leaving your snuggie here, it has come in great use...Mom has even worn it to one of my tennis tournaments! Hah!) Okay.. now I am really beginning to babble on so before this blog becomes more of an essay... I am just going to post the recipe up and say that it was DELISHIS!!
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 1 cup celery, chopped 1 cup carrots, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 2 1/2 cups water 2 cubes vegetable bouillon 2 cups corn 2 cups soy milk 1 tablespoon flour 1 teaspoon dried parsley 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper
LETS COOK!
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions and celery; cook until just slightly golden. Stir in carrots and garlic; cook until garlic is slightly golden. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil over high heat. Stir in bouillon, and reduce heat to medium. When bouillon cubes have dissolved, add corn and the vegetables from the skillet. Cook until vegetables are tender. Add water, if necessary. Also if soup may seem a bit liquidy, add a little flour or some instant mashed potato mix. Reduce heat to low, and pour in 1 cup soy milk. Stir soup well, then stir in remaining 1 cup soy milk. Quickly whisk in flour. Stir in parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until chowder thickens, about 15 to 20 minutes. Take about half of the soup and puree in food processor to thicken and make creamy. Add back to pot of soup and stir all together. Serve, and enjoy!

Poached Egg Garden Salad

Many of you know that I have recently become a vegetarian, therefore I have begun reading and researching about vegetarian recipes through websites and magazines. I came to find that many recipes were quite intricate and required at least an entire circle around the clock in the kitchen. But some days there are not enough hours for me to fulfill what I hope to complete. And letting alone all the strenuous hours of homework and studying, I barley have time during the week to cook a gourmet meal. Therefore I realized salads are easy, quick, and extremely simple to make in a short amount of time, but I was getting tired of the same ol' same ol' house salad with tomatoes and boiled eggs. So I decided to add a bit of a twist to my new and improved favorite salad, known as the Poached Egg Garden Salad.

The reason I absolutely love and adore this salad is because well... the egg is poached!! When my mother first made a poached egg one morning for breakfast, I fell in love right away. The fact that the egg is half boiling yet still gooey and oozy in the middle, fascinates me and still puts me in awe! I never would of thought of adding this soft egg on top of a salad, but when I read about it from a cook book and then saw it on the Food Network station the next day, I knew it must be a success...and indeed it was. The soft, yellow insides of the egg ooze out ever so gently and blend with the salad dressing to create a whole new dressing of its own. This salad is refreshing, mouth watering, and just so good! (I also think it is so wonderfully amazing because who knew someone could put together such a decedent looking dinner in under ten minutes?!)

Ingredients:

1/4 bag of baby spinach
handful of small carrots
fresh parmesan cheese
light, oily caesar dressing
one egg
LETS COOK!

Tear off all stems of spinach and clean spinach before putting into bowl. In a small frying pan, boil about a quarter full of water. Once boiling, slowly add egg to water and bring to a simmer. With a slotted spoon, gently fold the whites of the egg over the top to keep the egg as a whole. Leave alone for a few minutes white thinly and coarsely slicing the carrots and slicing thin, thin slice of cheese. Add too lettuce and toss with dressing. After about 6 or so minutes (will know when egg is ready when the yellow middle has turned a translucent white) add the egg on top of the salad, serve, and enjoy!