Friday, June 29, 2012

Facebook Page

Hello everyone! I recently created a Facebook Page  for my cooking blog! Some people use Facebook more than blogger so I thought this would be a quicker way for everyone to receive updates. Be sure to hit the "like" to stay in the loop: https://www.facebook.com/CookingWithLitaB

Deviled Eggs and Tuna Sandwiches

Ok, ok. So I know that this is kind of a repeat recipe (http://senorita-lita.blogspot.com/2012/03/litas-deviled-eggs.html) but as you all know I'm constantly updating and adding new spins on my recipes. That's the joy of cooking in my opinion! Tonight I decided I was going to make deviled eggs and tuna sandwiches for the boyfriend and I. I had a lot of the egg mix leftover and I figured that I use the same ingredients for  tuna sandwiches anyway (minus the eggs), so why waste it!


Deviled Eggs/Leftover Egg Mix:
2-3 big spoonfuls of mayo or Miracle Whip
1 tablespoon of spicy brown mustard
3-4 twists/shakes of black pepper
3 teaspoons of crushed garlic
3 teaspoons of minced onion
2 pinches of cayenne pepper
5 eggs, hard-boiled
pinches of paprika for decor


Tuna Sandwiches for two:
2 (5oz) cans of tuna
2 slices of Heidelberg Sourdough Bread, halved and lightly toasted
Leftover egg mix


In a small pot of water, place eggs and bring to boil. Boil the eggs for about 20 minutes.
In a small bowl combine mayo, mustard, and spices. Once eggs are fully cooked, slice each egg in half longways; gently, pop out the yolks into the small bowl with the mayo mix.* Use a fork to break the yolks into smaller chunks, then stir until well blended. Scoop out portions that are suited for each egg half. There should be plenty leftover after (about 1/3 of cups worth). Refrigerate for about half an hour or eat right away!


Open and drain both cans of tuna. Combine tuna and egg mixture. Toast bread and then spread tuna on. Voila! Done, easy as it gets!


*Tip: When popping out the yolk, hold the egg with both hands. Gently press on the back of the egg opposite of the yolk with your thumb. Should pop right out. If some of the yolk gets stuck to the inside, use your forefinger to gently scrape it out.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Sesame-Ginger Stir-Fry

Yes I know, another stir-fry recipe. I didn't realize how many different combinations you could do with stir-fry!


1 1/2 cups of Newman's Own Low-Fat Sesame-Ginger Dressing
2 boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups of rice
Stir-fry vegetables


Marinate frozen chicken breasts in a small bowl of dressing overnight in the refrigerator. 


The next day when you're ready to start cooking, cube the chicken. In a medium-size frying pan over medium heat, throw in chicken and all the dressing.


In a large soup pot, fill pot half way with water. Add rice and stir-fry then start the boiling process. Once rice is tender, strain rice and veggies with a colander and place back inside the pot. Set aside.


When all the chicken turns white on the inside and is easy to cut with a fork, use a slotted spoon to take the chicken out of the pan and place it in a bowl on the side. Continue to cook down the sauce so that it becomes thicker and less watery (takes about 10 minutes). Once sauce is cooked down enough, throw it into the rice-veggie mix, along with the chicken. Stir until rice and veggies are evenly coated then you're ready to serve!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Apple Bake

I made a delicious discovery this afternoon! I decided to try something a little different than my normal apple crisp recipe. Instead of using butter and brown sugar like I normally do, I did vanilla and brown sugar. Also, instead of heating up the conventional oven, I used my boyfriend's little toaster oven which works just as well!

4 Macintosh Apples, chopped
1 very ripe banana (almost banana bread ready)
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of dark vanilla
2 shakes of ground cinnamon

Chop all fruit and place a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add brown sugar, vanilla, and ground cinnamon. Stir until evenly coated. Bake in oven at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. Once cooked, let stand for about 10 minutes then serve!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Revamped Lasagna Recipe!

12 lasagna noodles (enough to make 4 layers with three noodles across)
2 cups of cottage cheese
2 cups of ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning
2-3 large pinches of minced onion
2-3 large pinches of garlic chips
3 pinches of parsley flakes
2 small spoons of crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
Rinaldi's Three Cheese Sauce or Original (add as needed)
1/4 lb of ground chicken or ground beef
1 small package of Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven at 375.
Fill a Soup/Stock Pot about halfway with water and bring to a hard boil. Then place Lasagna noodles into the pot (Add a little olive oil to help the noodles from sticking to each other).

In a large bowl, combine your cottage cheese, ricotta, 1/2 of your mozzarella and all your spices spices. Stir so that everything is evenly distributed throughout the mix. Add a small portion of the Rinaldi's (about 1/8-1/4 of a cup worth) to the cheese mixture and stir. Set aside.

While noodles are boiling, spray cooking spray onto a frying pan and place meat inside to start browning and breaking off into smaller chunks (so it can be spread out throughout the dish). Feel free to add additional spices (black pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, etc.). The meat doesn’t have to be completely brown because it’ll cook more in the oven. Remove from heat and set aside.

Once noodles are done, drain with a colander. Spray with cooking spray an 8x12 glassware pan.Using a spoon spread a thin layer of Rinaldi’s sauce in the bottom of the pan. Put three noodles in the bottom of the pan (long ways). Take a small amount of your cheese mixture and spread it along each noodle (doesn’t have to be even. The cheese mix is hard to work with so do the best you can. Add a small amount of sauce then cover with three more noodles. Press gently down onto the noodles. Add a thin layer of sauce. Then add your meat. Continue alternating the layers until you have three noodles left for the top.

For topping your lasagna, cover with leftover sauce and if there's more meat leftover use that then coat with leftover mozzarella. Shake some parmesan cheese on top as well. Wrap dish with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for about 35-45 minutes. 

*Goes great with a Romaine Salad Mixture! For dessert I recommend something of the chocolate variety!*

                           **This dish also freezes beautifully if you have a lot of leftovers**



Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Ginger Sesame Chicken Stir fry with Rice

Here's another infamous stir-fry recipe. When I was with my boyfriend this weekend we didn't have a lot of dinner options so I scrapped up some stir-fry.

1-2 chicken breasts, cubed
2-3 tablespoons Organic Full Circle Ginger-Sesame Sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup of rice
1 bag of Peking Stir-Fry Blend
olive oil for pan

In a small pot, bring water to a boil then throw in rice. Meanwhile, in a medium size frying pan, heat olive oil for a couple of minutes before throwing in chicken. Once pan is heated, throw in chicken and pour in ginger-sesame sauce with soy sauce. Stir constantly. Once chicken is white, throw in frozen stir fry veggies (preferably frozen so that way the water will add to the sauce. Once rice and veggies are fully cooked you're all set!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Cajun Spiced (BBQ) Chicken

This is originally a BBQ recipe that my boyfriend found on Food.com but because of the poor weather we decided to cook inside instead. This is a recipe for two but there was a lot of spice leftover when we were done. Instead of a marinade (the original recipe called for soy sauce and apple cider vinegar), my boyfriend turned it into a dry-rub recipe. Instead of cayenne pepper, we used a homemade chili powder; plus instead of using vegetable oil, we used olive oil.

1/2 tablespoon of chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1/2 tablespoon ground thyme
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoons of black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup olive oil
2 boneless chicken breasts

Combine all spices in a bowl and whisk. Once combined, use a little olive oil to coat each chicken breast. Rub the olive oil all over so that the chicken is fully coated. Take large pinches of spice and sprinkle it on the chicken. Rub it into the chicken with your hands. Repeat until chicken fully seasoned (It took about 3-4 sprinklings for us).

Once chicken is seasoned, preheat a medium size pan over medium heat. Coat the pan with olive oil. Cook chicken until juices are clear. Be sure to continually flip the chicken so it doesn't burn.

Tip: this recipe is good the next day if you want to cut up the chicken and serve it over a salad. Also it works well with either rice or a broccoli medley.

Here's the original recipe if you want to try their version: http://www.food.com/recipe/cajun-spiced-bbq-chicken-437904