recently.

(ellie and her favorite toy - super pig from the target dollar bin)

*this picture is completely irrelevant to this post

a few weeks ago my wonderful aunt sent me a ton of her old cooking magazines. they have really inspired me to cook more and try new things. for the past two weeks i have had meals planned for every weeknight. it has been amazing how helpful that has been. it made grocery shopping easier and making dinner WAY less stressful. 

here are some things i've made:

chili

butternut squash orzo

layered zucchini parmesan

bread

and i'm itching to make these little goodies soon.

i'm off to work on a paper for my psych class. did you know that most people don't develop schizophrenia until they're between 25 and 35? just a random nursing fact for your monday : )

-kelsie.

kelsie cooks.

{image via here because i could never make meatloaf look nice}

i like meatloaf. even though i think it's weird. ryan's not crazy about it. i think that is understandable. but this week we had turkey meatloaf. i know that ground turkey has zeroooo flavor and a ton of spices are needed. therefore, i tried to add a lot and add flavors that ryan might like. 

i added a lot of whatever i found in my spice rack. i also included some chipotle tabasco sauce. the end result was ok. still kind of bland even though i felt i was being very generous with the spices.

i didn't measure what i used but here's a list of ingredients:

1 lb ground lean turkey

garlic

onion

chili powder

a pinch of cayenne

pepper

worcestershire sauce

chipotle tabasco sauce

1 egg

a handful of regular breadcrumbs 

i also made a glaze for the top which included:

ketchup

chipotle tabasco sauce

worcestershire sauce

i mixed all of the ingredients together (except for the glaze) and formed a loaf. i then mixed the glazed ingredients and poured half over the loaf. i baked it at 350 for 40 minutes, then poured the remaining half of the glaze on the loaf and continued baking for 20 minutes.

we had some lovely green beans as a side. 

we're making progress. 

-kelsie.

kelsie cooks.

as promised, i attempted a new recipe. these are zucchini parmesan crisps i found here. ryan loved them! 

here's the recipe:

cooking spray
2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan (3/4-ounce)
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper

 

preheat the oven to 450 degrees. coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch thick rounds. in a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the oil. in a small bowl, combine the parmesan, bread crumbs, salt, and a few turns of pepper. dip each round into the parmesan mixture, coating it evenly on both sides, pressing the coating on to stick, and place in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
bake the zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. remove with spatula. serve immediately.

*i added a bit of cayenne pepper to the parmesan mixture, it gave the zucchini a little bit of heat and extra flavor.

we had ours with angel hair pasta and marinara sauce. yum!

-kelsie.

 

fern friday.

due to the busyness of nursing school, i did not do a great job of preparing healthy, delicious homemade meals for ryan and i. SO, this summer i am hoping to change that. however, i think i need some accountability. therefore...

i am going to post one meal a week that i made - something i've never made before.

finding recipes is the hardest part for me... apparently ryan and i are fairly picky and in opposite ways. what i don't care for, he loves, and what i love, he doesn't care for. thus, finding something we both enjoy is a bit tough.

where do you find your recipes???

have a good weekend my friends. it's beautiful here in dc. i hope it's beautiful where you are!

-kelsie.