Thursday, December 4, 2014

Cooking ALL THE THINGS.

*I started this post about a month ago.*

Hi. My name is Alex. I am a fast food and restaurant addict. It has been 2 days since I last ate out. Which may not seem like a big deal. But it is for me. Because I'm FINALLY cooking, and I'm actually doing it quite successfully.

It's just Dave and I right now. We don't have kids. We don't even have a dog. It's been really easy, convenient, simple, and expensive for us to eat out all the time. In the time that we lived in our apartment I probably cooked for us less than 10 times...in a year and a half!!! Why am I being so brutally honest? I'm really sick of eating out, to be honest. It isn't special and fun anymore, it's just a place to go get food. I decided that I was done. My body can't handle any more of that kind of food. Even if the stuff I make isn't necessarily low calorie, I have a little more control of what goes into it. We still maintain a date night every week, because I think it's important to keep that special. Even if it's on a Tuesday! (:

 I was at work and decided to make a menu for the week. I scoured the internet for recipes that would fit my fancy. By far, my favorite food blog is damndelicious.net. She creates delicious recipes, that ANYONE can make.


Ingredients for the Chicken and Potato Chowder!!!


Here is my menu for the week 1:

Tuesday: Chicken and Dumplings
Dave loved it. I liked it okay. I cooked the chicken in the crockpot too long. I hated the texture of the meat.

Wednesday: Chicken and Potato Chowder
This was good! A nice variation of chicken noodle soup.

Thursday: Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
We've made these before. They are our favorite.

Friday: Butter Chicken
I had to look all across Utah Valley to find Garum Masala, but I did find it! At the Asian Market on 500 W and Center St. in Provo! They are the greatest store ever. They have everything. This recipe was delicious. Dave and I prepared the sauce in the morning, and our house smelled like Indian the whole day. I LOVE Indian food!!!

Saturday: DATE NIGHT!!!
Chili's!!!!

Sunday: Family Dinner (Shuey Family. Cindy cooks a wonderful meal for us each sunday night.)


Week 2:
Monday: Herb Crusted Cod
I actively searched for this recipe. I had made it for my mom and me a while back when I had found it on pinterest. It was SO GOOD. (Especially if you are a fish fan like Dave and me)

Tuesday: DATE NIGHT
Chili's!!!
 
This has been debatably Dave's favorite thing I have made. I LOVED it too. The cornbread is TO DIE FOR!! I licked out the bowl! Of cornbread!!! Add more cheese to the top than the recipe calls for. I promise, you won't regret it.
These were somewhat of a failure. I haven't done much frying in oil. The coconut wouldn't stick. Everything got dark and messy really fast. But I'm quick on my feet. The chicken was cooked to perfection, just the breading tasted funky. So I found the simplest recipe for orange chicken sauce I could, and made orange chicken and rice instead. It was awesome!!
I used the Pioneer Woman's orange chicken sauce. It was simple, and delicious.
 
This sauce melted in my mouth! It was creamy and delicious. And the shrimp was cooked to perfection. We used thin spaghetti noodles. Next time we're going to use angel hair!

Saturday: Pot Roast Sliders
Six Sisters Stuff Cook Book - page 46-
I used a different roast recipe because this roast is moist and flavorful, which is ideal for delightful sliders. I personally didn't like the horsey sauce that went with it, but I hate spices that add heat. I put a little ranch on mine, and they were great.


This week:

Monday: Honey Walnut Shrimp
These. Were. AMAZING. Holy smokes! I love honey walnut everything at Chinese restaurants, it was even better making it myself! Dave and I enjoyed the evening cooking together. Helpful hint: Don't take the walnuts out until the sugar crystalizes all over the walnuts. They are SOOOO much better that way. I also made a

Tuesday: DATE NIGHT
Chili's! We're addicted. Stop judging us!!!!

Wednesdsay: Chicken Alfredo BakeYou know those yummy chicken bakes at Costco? They are crap compared to these! And these little rolls actually refrigerate really well, and make great lunches!!! The recipe calls for 1 can of the crescent rolls. You need 2. Trust me.
I threw this all in the crocky during my lunch. It was super easy, and it smells so good. I'm excited to see how it turns out.
I don't love chili. When I worked at Café Zupas, I loved the Chicken Tortilla Soup. It was a simple brothy soup that had a slightly spicy flavor. I'm really hoping this is similar.
I'm really excited to make this. It's super healthy! Quinoa breading!! Whaaa? PLUS homemade marinara sauce!!! I'll let you know how this goes!!!
 
 
 
That's all my recipes for now!!
 
 
All my love,
 
Alex Shuey
XOXO
 










4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. ^^ Hahaha! I don't know why, but that's really funny to me. I start posts all the time and then don't finish them for like a month. It's the worst. I hope you keep doing posts like this! I love seeing what recipes work for other people in real life, because sometimes I make a recipe from a food blog and it turns out like crap. I am having the opposite problem of you. Last year I loved cooking. I cooked almost every night, and I loved looking for healthy recipes. In Grenada, though, it has been a struggle. We don't have any appliances. We don't have a dishwasher. Groceries are expensive, and often not available, and I have had to take a bus to get them. I'm hoping now that we have a car I'll get better at getting fresh food to cook, though. Also, I am obsessed with the Costco chicken bakes, so I'm going to try out that recipe. It better live up to your hype!!

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    2. They most certainly will. They are so tasty. I'm having more for lunch today! But that's because I made about 100 of them when I made the recipe. The recipe calls for 1 can of crescent rolls. You need 2.

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