Why So Long?

Ok, as much as I love to cook, having to pay the bills is slightly more important. I apologize for not updating any sooner, but I have been astronomically busy the past few weeks. Between juggling my two jobs and my endeavor into blogging, unfortunately somethings have been pushed to the back burner. Hopefully, I will get to update some posts on Thursday with pictures. I am super excited, I have a couple of meals that did not turn out so well, and others that turned out so delicious, I couldn't keep my hands out of it! I'm really excited about those articles and hope that you hang in here with me over the course of the next few months while I try to end working those long and tiring 17 hour days!

My Favorite from Grandma

My grandma introduced this meal to me when I was little. It was cheesy, saucy and meaty and it was on a bun. She called them pizza burgers. They are quick and easy. It takes 20 minutes tops, if you have thawed hamburger meat ready to cook.

Last night we decided that after trying all this new food, we just wanted something that was low-key and brings a smile to your heart, so Pizza Burgers it was! I really wish I would have taken a picture of them, we were just too hungry to wait! Below is the recipe, I'll also provide somethings you can add to it that I omit on our version just because we're not big fans of some other ingredients. We're pretty simple when it comes to this meal. When I make them again, I'll post some pictures. Enough about us, here's the recipe!

Pizza Burgers            (Serves 6)

1 pkg.           Sub Rolls (Package of 6)
3 lbs.            Ground Hamburger Meat
1 8 0z can    Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp.          Italian Seasoning
2 cups           Mozzarella Cheese
2 tbsp.          Butter / Margarine
1 tbsp.          Garlic Powder
3 tsp.            Black Pepper
2 tsp.            Salt

Directions:

Hamburger Patty Portion
Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Take the 3 pounds of hamburger meat and thoroughly mix in the black pepper and salt. Once mixed, form long hamburger patties, the length of the sub rolls, and place on a cookie sheet. Place in the oven and bake until done. About 15 minutes.

Preparing the Sub Rolls
Combine the can of tomato sauce with the Italian Seasoning. After you have done this, take the sub rolls and slice them in half. Coat one half of the sub roll with the sauce and the other half with mozzarella cheese. If you want, you can add mushrooms, onions and other vegetables to the rolls and bake with the mozzarella cheese on top of those ingredients.

Combine butter and garlic and set aside.

After the hamburger patties are cooked, put the sub rolls on a baking pan and melt the mozzarella. Once this is done, take the rolls out of the oven and place the cooked hamburger patty on one side of the roll. Put the other side of the roll on top of the other and coat the top of the sandwich with the garlic butter.

Now you are ready to eat!!!
Enjoy your Pizza Burgers!

Brownies, Oreo's and Chocolate Chip Cookies

This week a co-worker showed me the website www.pintrest.com. All I can say is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! Well, we found this picture of Oreo's on top of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough with Brownie mix being poured on it, and thought, this would be amazing and we had to try it, so below are pictures and the recipe!!! This is so sinful and oh so good! It's a must try and definitely one to keep in my cookbook!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour

2 cups milk chocolate chips (I used swirl chocolate chips, white chocolate and milk chocolate mixed)

1 package Double Stuffed Oreos

1 Family Size Brownie Mix

1/4 cup hot fudge topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well to thoroughly combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, then slowly incorporate into the mixer until the flour is just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish that’s been lined with wax paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Top with a layer of Oreos. Mix together brownie mix, adding an optional 1/4 cup of hot fudge topping to the mix. Pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes.

Read More http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/new-recipes/ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookie-n-oreo-fudge-brownie-bar.html#ixzz1U7SFIoLL

The First Meal in my New Kitchen

Recently I moved to a smaller place with a smaller kitchen much to my disappointment, but I do not see this as a problem as much as I do a challenge. I will have to learn to adapt to this small kitchen and learn how to make it my own.

Yesterday, I was perusing the internet while I was at work and remembered that I had some steak filets in the freezer and I should thaw them out and make them. So I looked up recipes on www.food.com, a place where I find a lot of inspiration, and I found a recipe for Balsamic and Goat Cheese Filet Mignon. I decided to make some bacon wrapped corn on the cob too. Sounded good, but I couldn't wait to get home and get in my kitchen and start going to work.

It was absolutely delicious! I changed it up a bit, instead of using salt and pepper I used a cajun seasoning, but it was fantastic! The flavors were sweet, spicy and a little salty. The flavors kept your taste buds on their toes, ready and willing for the next bite! The bacon wrapped corn on the cob was tender, moist and flavorful. Most of all, it was super easy.

Below is the link to the recipe for the Balsamic and Goat Cheese Filet Mignon:
http://www.food.com/recipe/balsamic-and-goat-cheese-filet-mignon-360159?scaleto=4&mode=null&st=true

Bacon Wrapped Corn on the Cob

4     Ears of Corn
8     Slices of Bacon
Kitchen String

Directions:
Soak ears of corn in water for 30 minutes.
Peel back husks of corn and remove corn silk
Wrap two pieces of bacon around the ear of corn
Put the corn husks back around the ear of corn and tie with kitchen string

You can either grill or cook in the oven at 425 degrees for 40 minutes.

After this you'll have AMAZING corn on the cob ready to enjoy with any meal!

A Starting Point

Growing up the kitchen was the center of our family. Everything revolved around food. We might not have had much, but the one thing we had in plenty was food. The kitchen was the place where our family lived. Our family started and ended the day at the kitchen table which resided in the kitchen. From a very early age, I have helped my mother in the kitchen. When I was three, I helped her by getting the cheese out of the refrigerator or getting her a stirring spoon. The older I got the more involved I was in the cooking process. I was never responsible for cooking meals, but I understood what it meant to cook in our household. In our house, cooking equals love.

My father worked a job that required him to get up at 4:00 a.m. and go to work. My mother, out of love for my father, woke up and cooked him breakfast. By breakfast, I mean homemade biscuits, gravy, bacon and eggs at 3:30 a.m. My mother carried a full-time job and was raising two children at the time, but somehow managed to stay a pretty cool and carefree mom. Every morning we had breakfast, our lunches were made for school and every day at 5:30, dinner was on the table. Her food was made with love. As I grew up, food became even more crucial. With busy schedules and being highly involved, we had little time together. Dinner at the table was always a priority. Even during these busy times, my mother never switched her homemade from scratch cooking for a bag of food thrown into a skillet. Little did I know how much this would mean to me.

Any holiday gathering rather it be for four or 40, food was always the center of our meetings. Cooking was something that the women in the household did to bond. It never failed that at any given time during the holiday’s there would be three or four women in the kitchen, talking and getting to know one another.

Soon, the kitchen began to be my safe place. It is the place that I go and hide. It is my home away from home. It is the place I find my solitude after a long day. It is a never-ending place of comfort. Often in new places or even at friend’s houses, I always wind up in the kitchen. The kitchen is the place I go when I am uncomfortable. I know that at the end of every day my kitchen is my safe place and what I produce from that kitchen is love. Love that I cannot express in any other way; be it love for my family, friends or even strangers. My kitchen is the only place where I can express things I cannot say.

The whole reasoning behind this blog is that maybe, just maybe, the food I cook and the feelings and emotions behind my meals transcend to someone else and that the love for a community and a feeling of belonging goes well past my kitchen and into the kitchen of others. Today I am opening up my safe haven to others in hopes that people realize just how important a kitchen is to their family and friends.