Leftovers: Breakfast Steak Quesdilla

With a very busy day ahead and  no idea when I was going to be able to eat lunch, this morning I decided to make a very substancial breakfast so lunch wouldn't be such a pressing issue.  I had a little less than half of my steak left from Sunday and obviously tortillas, ding ding - Breakfast Quesdilla round two!  It was simple and now 3 hours later I am still quite full.

For a crowd: Breakfast Burritos with Caramelized Onions

From previous posts, you can most likely tell I have been on a tortilla kick lately and it didn’t die down this weekend, something about the limitless possibilities to put inside of a wrap makes me excited. I was lucky enough to be invited to attend a beautiful wedding in the mountains along with many of my good friends. We rented two cabins that held 8 people each, the week before as I volunteered to make breakfast for the 16 of us plus the very important groom on the day of the wedding; I was informed that the kitchen had a range, but no oven, a toaster, microwave, fridge and a few pots/pans and dishes. (More on the strategy of packing and preparing for these limited conditions to come later in the week). Let’s face it the key part of a burrito or taco is the toppings; the meat and cheese is important but a constant, what you have to jazz up those constants are what sets the tortilla wrapped goodness over the top.

For 2: Steak, Potatoes, Veggies: Simple and Delicious!

From time to time I am hit with a red meat craving, and nothing satisfies it like a steak cooked medium rare right off the grill. Yesterday afternoon a friend of mine was telling me how she had pulled a steak out of the freezer the night before and was going to have it for dinner. In an instant the craving was there, after a great weekend attending a beautiful wedding and partaking in multiple wine and champagne toasts then playing tennis while slightly hung over I knew I also had to have steak for dinner. There was no food in my house since I had been out of town over the weekend so when I walked into the grocery I was looking for inspiration and since I was so hungry I was hoping to find some short cuts…lucky for me it all worked out…

Kitchen Staples : Published

Sorry no recipe today, but I would like to share my new Kitchen Staples page with you.  Obviously, it is about ingredients to always have around and some dynamic ones to spice it up!  I am spending the weekend out of town with some great friends and upon my return I hope to have some tips and a recipe about building a breakfast burrito bar for a crowd!  Happy Weekend Everyone!

Learning Experience : Collard Greens

For me cooking is the most fun when done in preparation for a big gathering of friends. I don’t think there is anything more satisfying than cooking for people that you love and enjoying the food with them. Most of the time when I cook for a large group I do it with my good friend Marcus. He is a great cook and is well known for his macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and grill skills. Lucky for me Marcus isn’t only a friend but also my boyfriend’s roommate so we get to hang out a good bit and usually plan parties together; we work together seamlessly and always kid that we should have a television show. Along with the big get togethers we also make week night meals and share them with each other quite frequently. Marcus and I cook and the boyfriend supplies the beverages (at least in theory). Over the weekend I harvested some collard greens out of the garden and obviously asked Marcus to cook them for dinner one night during the week. We were very excited about our “farm to table” experience, but Marcus is getting ready for a big business trip and has been working late all week long and in knowing that he would be working late again he gave me instructions to prepare the collard greens and we figured I would take a stab at it so we could eat before 10pm…

For 2: "Fancy Dinner" - Rosemary Roasted Pork Loin

I love cooking pork tenderloins because they are usually tender, juicy and delicious! Also they are quite affordable, but if cooked right they give the impression of being a "fancy cut of meat." I buy the large package of 2 tenderloins when the grocer marks them down or they are on sale. Once I get home I cut the tenderloins into the size I will need, which is usually feeding 2 people, so about 5-6 inches long, wrap in aluminum foil and freeze. This way you get about 4 or 5 tenderloins out of the big package, save money by buying in bulk and have a go to protein in your freezer. This past Saturday I defrosted one of these tenderloins for Sunday dinner and paired it with some rosemary fresh from the garden.

For 2: Breakfast Quesdillas

If you haven't figured it out yet, when I bought the tortillas for the Cilantro-lime Shrimp Tacos I purchased way to many; why I got the 20 pack instead of the 8 pack I may never know...However, breakfast is one of my favorite meals to prepare so more tortillas lead to Sunday Morning Breakfast Quesdillas!

Leftovers: Chicken Roll-ups

After our Saturday morning activities the boyfriend and I were meeting up to go to the Atlanta Dogwood Festival in the early evening.  I wanted to make us a little snack that I could throw in my tote bag to sustain us while walking through all the great art.  I looked through the fridge at a hodge podge of ingredients from the weeks meals and I came up with a chicken roll up. 

Cooking for a Crowd - Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This year, just like many years passed I got a group of friends together and purchased a block of tickets to OPENING DAY 2010 - BRAVES v. CUBS.  Game time was 4:10pm so we planned to arrive in the parking lot around noon so we would have ample time to tailgate before game time.  There were about 20 friends attending the "party" all brining chips, beer, cookies, coleslaw, etc and I was in charge of the BBQ sandwiches.  All in all the day was a HUGE SUCCESS: a Monday off, beautiful weather, lots of fun friends, and the Braves won 16-5.  Here is how I made and transported the pork, and even if I do say so myself it was delicious!

Cilantro-Lime Shrimp Tacos

After a full day of work and a stop at the American Red Cross to donate blood I was ready for a satisfying, healthy meal. Luckily my craving also filled another need, I was asked by the "Quarter Life Cooks" to submit my receipe to them to be published on their blog http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/ I love reading their blog and was thrilled of the compliment of being asked; I wanted to make the tacos one more time and make sure the recipe was perfect. So as a teaser here is the recipe, and I will let you know when it will be published on their site.

Old Chicken, New Tricks: Sweet and Spicey Chicken, Mac and Cheese Grill Style, and Chopped Veggie Salad

Before leaving for tennis Sunday, I was faced with a package of chicken cutlets purchased on sale Friday afternoon. I thought to myself, it is the beginning of the grilling season I don't want to start out with boring chicken - after looking through all the spices I thought sweet and spicey sounds like the way to go. I proceeded to rub the following on the chicken and let it sit in a ziploc in the fridge for what I thought would be a couple of hours...