Mexican Omelettes & Italian Wedding Soup!

So, this entire weekend is themed "International" food, dance and music! Pretty much my favorite things on this earth. This morning dad and I made Mexican omelets. What makes these omelets Mexican? The Chihuahua cheese! Yes, I look a good melting cheese, and this particular cheese is fantastic in quesadillas, enchiladas, and...omelets! We also sauteed mushrooms, green onions and fresh flat leaf Italian parsley in some EVOO. And the two special ingredients, the chihuahua cheese and red pepper flakes for some spice. So good! I suppose if you like meat for breakfast you could add chorizo, but i prefer meatless breakfasts.

Giada has inspired me to make Italian Wedding soup for dinner tonight. I used to get the stuff all the time at the dining courts in college b/c it was my favorite soup and perfect for a cold winter's day. The only change I plan to make to Giada's recipe is to use ground turkey in place of ground pork and beef. The soup will be served with crusty Vienna bread from Meijer bakery.

Tonight Aaron and I are going Swing dancing! It's been a long time since i've swing danced but it should be a total blast. Last night I went with mom, dad, and Tirzah to the GHDT (Gregory Hancock Dance Theater) production of "Fiesta" which is was in the actual dance studio. We sat at tables and were served Mexican wedding cookies, enchiladas, chips w/salsa, and beverages. The dance choreography was very interesting and intricate--mostly modern with some ballet and character in the mix. Mr. Hancock even wrote the music to "La Casa Azul" which is about the story of Frida Kahlo. The story is very sad, but the dancing, singing, and acting were very good. The night ended with Ravel's "Bolero" with the entire company wearing flamenco costumes and character shoes.

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend, praise God for His abundant grace!

2 New Recipes

Tonight my mom asked me to make dinner (she's brave!). The challenge was to find a dish that contained shitake mushrooms, broccoli, and chicken. Since my dad made a fantastic stir fry over the weekend, I didn't want to do another one, so I decided to make a rice and chicken casserole instead. First I found a recipe that looked good from Taste of Home. It called for water chestnuts (which we didn't have on hand) so I steamed the broccoli and added some sauteed shitake mushroom wedges (with onions and garlic...oh, and some red pepper flakes). Also, I decided to use long grain brown rice since it would add a nice nutty consistency and complement the texture of the shitake mushrooms. just put it in the oven and it smells amazing already. hmmm, comfort food.

Tomorrow Aaron and I are celebrating Valentine's Day (finally!) by making Beef Fillets with Portobello mushrooms and a red wine sauce (also from tasteofhome.com). I'm planning to stick to the recipe this time because beef is certainly not my strong suite. Aaron and his dad really like beef so i figured it would be a good opportunity to learn a simple and delicious beef dish. The meal will include freshly baked french bread (from the Meijer bakery) and a side salad. Aaron is going to take care of dessert. Not sure what it's going to be, but if it involves raspberries it's gotta be good in my book. After dinner we will probably watch a pixar movie of some sort.

1st Cor. 13:7 "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."

BCTC conference week!

Very excited about the Biblical Counseling Training Conference this coming week. We are housing a missionary couple from El Salvador and a missionary woman from Colombia whose husband is in seminary at Baptist Bible College. Looking forward to serving them and learning about their missions work in Latin America. Michelle is also going to be staying with us next week! I can hardly wait for all the girls' nights and cooking time together. Tomorrow I get to introduce her to Taco Rico, my favorite Mexican restaurant in Lafayette. My parents are going to the Indy airport to pickup Karina (sp?) and then we'll make some yummy white chili to have as we cozy up inside and watch the Superbowl.

Kitchen Adventures

Over the past year or so I've taken up a new hobby. I've discovered the art of cooking. Even in college Emily and I would have random cooking adventures, but since I've moved back in with the parents I've had lots of time to experiment in the kitchen and of course be inspired by the food network. God has truly given me a passion for cooking and it's a great way to share God's love with others as well. I remember back in 4th grade when I had to make the perfect cookies for 4-H. Needless to say, I really did not enjoy baking in the least bit. It's strange how one's likes and dislikes change over the years.

So I've decided to use this blog as a way of documenting my adventures cooking & baking. Being a forgetful person, this blog is mainly intended for my own memory sake. However, I always enjoy hearing what adventures ya'll are having as well.

What I've been working on lately/goal for this Spring:

1. Perfecting the French omelette--I've already made a traditional cheese omelette, and turkey bacon, tomato, and provolone omelette. I've discovered that adding a Tbsp of milk or cream to the eggs is important in the overall texture and structure of the eggs.

2. Knife skills- going to take a knife skills class in April. Who doesn't enjoy chopping, slicing, dicing, and julienning fruits and veggies?

3. Pesto- pesto is so very healthy and delish. Arugula, basil, pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, jalapenos, EVOO, cheese, mmmm.

4. Hummus- it's fun to make, and even more fun to jazz up with sweet bell peppers or spicy hot ones.

5. Red pepper flakes & ginger are my new favorite seasonings

6. Seviche- seafood, and all things fresh and wonderful

That's it for now..i'm sure there will be plenty to update soon :)