O-R-E-O Truffles
January 20, 2008 at 5:15 pm | In Candy | Leave a CommentI’ve been reading all these recipe raves about Oreo truffles and decided I had to try them for myself. The recipe is from Kraft Foods, which means it is super easy and quick, but incredibly delicious. I took them to school and to my mentor group meeting and got SO many complements on them…I even got offered $5 for the recipe (of course I didn’t take it!). The only thing I would do different next time is work on my decorating skills for them.
Oreo Truffles
Ingredients:
1 pkg 8 oz. Cream Cheese
30 oreos
2 pkg. 8 oz each Bakers Semisweet Chocolate, melted
For the decorations I used:
-melted white chocolate chips
-coconut shavings (I really don’t know the correct term for this)
-sprinkles
-powdered sugar
Mix 30 Oreos (crushed) and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 1 inch balls. Freeze for 30 minutes. Dip the balls in melted chocolate and place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Decorate (all but powdered sugar…I did these after they were refrigerated at the very end). Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
…Because I’m Russian…
January 20, 2008 at 5:00 pm | In Pasta | Leave a CommentIt’s a pretty basic sterotype that Russians enjoy Vodka. Well, based on this, I could assume that being Russian, I would enjoy Vodka Penne. This is actually one of my favorite ways to make pasta, and Francis loves it. It’s really easy to make as well and doesn’t take more than 15 min.
Penne with Vodka Sauce 
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup vegetable stock (I use the vegetable bullion cubes and a little bit, maybe 1/3 cup water)
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Coarse salt and pepper
16 ounces penne
1/2 cup heavy cream
Basil leaves
Oregano
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasoning
Parmesan cheese
Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter and garlic. Sautee for a couple minutes. Add vodka to the pan and reduce by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add vegetable stock, tomatoes and spices (oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, pretty much, anything you want). Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water.
Stir heavy cream into sauce along with Parmesan cheese. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves.
Recipe adapted from Foodtv.com
A Fish With a Nose like a Swoooord
January 15, 2008 at 4:38 pm | In Fish | Leave a CommentThere’s a restaurant that Francis always takes me to on special occasions called Mitchell’s Fish Market, and I always get the Blackened Swordfish. I’ve never made it myself before, but I was very intrigued when Meijer (our local grocery store) started selling it for $5/lb. Though I knew I couldn’t replicate the Fish Market’s Swordfish, I found a recipe on the Food Network website that seemed pretty good and modified it a bit. As for the potatoes, I’ve been making these for years and I don’t think they’ve ever come out bad. I always put cheese on 1/2 of the potatoes (Francis’s half) and leave mine cheese-less.
Grilled Marinated Swordfish & Herb Roasted Potatoes
FOR THE SWORDFISH:
Ingredients:
1 lb swordfish (2 steaks)
1 lime (juiced)
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. ginger, chopped
salt and pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
just a cap-full of soy sauce
In a bowl, mix together lime juice, ginger and garlic. Add olive oil and salt and pepper. Put swordfish steaks in baking pan and pour the marinade over it so that it coats entire steaks. Marinate in refrigerator for approx 45 min. Remove fish from pan and grill on a grill-pan about 4-5 min per side. While grilling, pour about a cap-full of soy sauce on the swordfish…it gives it a pretty color and good flavor.
FOR THE POTATOES:
Ingredients:
About 5-6 Red potatoes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Oregano
Basil
Garlic Powder
Minced Garlic
Crushed Red Pepper
Mozzarella cheese
Cut up potatoes and in a bowl, toss them with Extra Virgin Olive oil and spices. Throw in a glass baking dish and cook at 400 degrees for 30 min. Turn them and cook for 15 more min. At this point, you can put mozzarella cheese on top of the potatoes and cook for 15 more min so the cheese melts.
My MIL’S Super-Easy Lasagna
January 15, 2008 at 3:52 pm | In Pasta | Leave a CommentI think this post needs a disclaimer: I am not a photographer, nor have I ever taken a photography class…aka…this picture is pretty bad…but the lasagna is amazing!
My Mother-in-law came up with a 10min prep-time lasagna recipe that doesn’t include Ricotta cheese (crazy I know!!!) and still tastes amazing. Also, this lasagna doesn’t have any meat, which is great for me because I’ve been a vegetarian for 10 years. I make meat for Francis, and veggie dishes for myself, but this is an awesome vegetarian lasagna that is filling enough for my carnivore.
My MIL’S Super-East Lasagna
-2 big containers (I can’t remember how many oz! Sorry!!! I think it’s like 28 maybe?) Low fat-Small curd cottage cheese
-2 eggs
-3/4 of one of those cylinder things of Parmesan Cheese
-About 1/2 bag of mozzarella cheese
-Jar of spaghetti sauce
-Box of lasagna noodles Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together cottage cheese, eggs and Parmesan. Then, (most important step here!!!) spread a thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 glass baking dish. Take RAW noodles and start layering:
noodles, followed by 1/2 the cheese mixture, then 1/2 the jar of sauce, another layer of noodles, the other 1/2 the cheese mixture, a layer of mozzarella, and the last layer is the other 1/2 the jar of pasta sauce.
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hr 15 min. Remove the aluminum and bake an additional 15 min. LET IT SIT for approx. 30 min (or else it will be too soupy) and enjoy!
*You can also halve the recipe, which is what I did this time, or make the whole thing and it’s great re-heated as leftovers*
I <3 Tomatoes!
January 7, 2008 at 12:48 am | In Soup | 1 CommentMy mom has had the flu for a while now, and I went to visit her last week. Of course me, the one who is going to be a doctor, has the weakest immune system in the whole family, and now feel like I’m coming down with something. I decided to make home-made tomato soup, and Francis made grilled cheese (his is truly the best ever) last night. Nothing like soup and a sandwich to make a person feel better! I got this recipe from MrsPresley http://good-eats-n-sweet-treats.blogspot.com and altered it a bit. It came out a bit thick, but that’s how I like my soup (and did I mention delicious?!).
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
28 oz can crushed tomatoes + juice
28 oz can diced tomatoes + juice
Hand bunch (approx 15) basil leaves
1 cup heavy cream
1/4-1/2 cup skim milk
1 stick sweet unsalted butter
4 Tbs Grated Parmesan Cheese
black pepper to taste
oregano to taste
salt to taste
garlic powder to taste
Bring tomatoes and juice to a boil over med-high heat. Simmer uncovered approx. 30 min to let it thicken. Combine the tomatoes, juice and basil in a food processor (in batches) and process until smooth. Return the mixture to the saucepan at low heat and add cream, milk (enough so that the mixture is not too thick) spices, butter, and Parmesan while constantly stirring. Serve with a basil leaf as a garnish.
Bon Appetite!
Do You Know the Muffin Man?
January 7, 2008 at 12:31 am | In Breakfast | Leave a CommentSince I’m on Winter Break until tomorrow, I’ve been making Francis breakfast (whether he wants it or not) a lot. Last week, my grandma brought me all these yellow cake mixes she had lying around that she wasn’t using and, as luck happens to have it, I have a “101 Things to do with a Cake Mix” book on my shelf. Now Francis is a very picky eater, so I went through 100 recipes and couldn’t find anything to make. I finally settled on this recipe, and it actually turned out pretty good. I don’t think the picture turned out as the muffins themselves.
Oatmeal-Raisin Muffins
Ingredients
1 yellow cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 cups quick oats
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper muffin cups. Mix together cake mix, water, oil, eggs, and quick oats in a large bowl until well blended. Stir in raisins, nuts, and cinnamon. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. bake 20-25 minutes.
First Post!
January 6, 2008 at 4:31 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentMy name is Inna (pronounced E-na) and Welcome to my blog! I kept seeing these wonderful recipe blogs online from people on The Nest message-board (www.thenest.com) and getting great recipes from them, so I decided to finally make my own blog and share borrowed recipes as well as old family recipes and my own culinary inventions.
Here’s a little information about myself: I’m a Midwest gal and have been married to my husband Francis for a little over a year and a half. I’m also a medical student, which means a lot of the recipes I post in here will be VERY easy and quick! Francis and I LOVE tomatoes, and he LOVES cheese, so almost everything I make will have one of those two. That’s pretty much it! I look forward to organizing my recipes!
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
