My First Go At Empanadas!!!

I am SO proud of how AMAZING my empanadas came out!!!!! But FIRST, I have a HUGE secret to confess. I did NOT make this dough. I bought it frozen in the grocery store and it's SO MUCH EASIER. It looks like I made them because of this picture, but it's because you have to roll them out just a little bit before you use them.

For the filling, I cooked ground beef and put it in the food processor with green spanish olives (stuffed with pimientos) and a little bit of tomato sauce that I had on hand. You can also add cayenne or crushed red pepper and other spices (like nutmeg, etc). But i went pretty basic on this filling and it was delish!!! But you can also go very nontraditional and fill it with chicken/turkey/ham and cheese. Anything you want! 

Just scoop the filling into the dough and fold it over!

I put a little bit of water along the edges. Then use a fork to crimp the edges on BOTH sides. 

THEN FRY THOSE BABIES UP!!!!!

YUMMMM!!! They came out so delicious!!!!!!

Risotto

One of the first dishes I really mastered is Risotto. No one else in my family makes it much (if ever) so when I come to town, they rely on me to do it. But I don't mind because it is a delicious dish! You need time and patience to make risotto. There is an old Italian joke that women always have their mother-in-laws make the risotto so that they stay by the stove and out of everyone's hair. I hope that's not why my family has ME make risotto! haha. I don't think that's the case. But here's the recipe. You can definitely play around with it and customize it for what you are looking to eat.

Start by boiling 2 pints of chicken stock. You can really use anything for this- fish stock, beef stock, veggie stock. OR in the past I have wanted risotto and did not have any stock so I boiled water with different spices and seasonings in it. And I PROMISE you, it came out delicious. In fact, the last time I made this, I used water seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and celery salt. And it was honestly one of my best batches of risotto.

Let that come to a boil and saute an onion in in a big pan. You can also add any veggies that you plan to add at this point. I usually do mushrooms- any kind and sometimes a mixture of mushrooms. Traditionally, people add carrots and celery, but I don't bother to be honest.

By the time the liquid is boiling, the veggies should be done. Add about 1.5 cups of arborio rice. This is the ONLY kind of risotto rice. Let the rice cook for about a minute to get translucent.

Then pour a nice splash of white wine to loosen everything off the bottom of the pan. Then scoop one ladle of liquid into the rice and let it absorb. Do not add any more ladles until everything has been absorbed. Continue this until it's done. Then when it is, make sure to add a little bit of butter to make it shiny and some parmesan cheese for more flavor. It's so yummy and creamy and you will definitely see why you ask your mother-in-law to make it.

NOW USE THAT SPOON TO TAKE A BIG BITE!!!

My In-Laws Visit

This coming weekend my in-laws are visiting and I always like to have a great supply of food on hand for all of my out-of-town guests. So here goes...

EGGPLANT PARM:

For a big part of our main course, I am making garlic bread, pasta, and eggplant parm!!

I start by making the sauce. You can use a jar, but it's more expensive and NOT as delicious. 

For my sauce, I start by putting olive oil in the bottom of a pot. I saute some minced garlic. I add two or three cans of crushed or pureed tomatoes, depending on how I want my sauce. And you can choose however you want as well. You can also get canned whole tomatoes and puree them yourself. Then I season to taste with salt and pepper. Feel free to add any and all spices and herbs you make like. If I'm feeling like spicy, I put a little bit of crushed red pepper or if I want a different taste, I put fresh basil. 

Then take some eggplant and slice them THIN. If you don't like the skin, you can peel it off. I keep it on.

Then dredge the slices in egg and flour and FRY BABY FRY!!

Get a rectangular pan and layer it with sauce, cooked eggplant, sauce, mozzarella cheese. And just keep layering it! You can freeze eggplant parm for a while and it defrost great. You can also make it a few days ahead of time and it stays fantastic in the fridge!!

RED VELVET CAKE BALLS:

And now for dessert, we are having something that, I personally think, will be one of the next biggest crazes along with the Loli Pop Cake Ball. But anyway... 

 Make a red velvet cake, cool it, crumble the entire cake, and mix it with cream cheese. Then roll it into balls using a small ice cream scooper, which will help make the balls uniform. 

Then dip them in chocolate. DONE!

I haven't tried these before, but they seem pretty good. They will be easy to eat- no forks or plates, just a napkin (and some MILK!)! This is a very rich and delicious dessert. I hope everyone enjoys it!!

My Shopping Routine

THE GROCERY STORE

I hate the idea of going to the grocery store and pacing back and forth across the whole store trying to find something you are looking for, while trying to dodge running into people in the slim isles. And usually once you left the freezer section and make it all the way across to the other side where the produce is, you realized you forgot to get something in that isle. It's tiring sometimes! But... I get to grocery shop at Wegmans...

My idea of grocery stores will NEVER be the same again. And no other grocery store can be compared! I...LOVE...WEGMANS! It's not just a grocery store; it's a way of life. If you have been to one, you know. If not, you think I am crazy, but trust me... I am only crazy for Wegmans! Since it's only my husband and I, I have the luxury of only having to do a big grocery shopping about every two weeks. But when I go, I go hard. I STOCK UP! But, it's easy to go to the store and come home with $200 worth of food and not feel like you have anything to eat the following day. Take a few tips from me..

SNACKING:
Keep healthy snacks out on the counter in plain sight. It's easy to forget about the gorgeous fruit you left in the back of fridge or the mixed nuts in the pantry. Put them in bowls and make them accent pieces!

Usually I keep just plain nuts, but this time I decided to splurge and go for a yummy trail mix!

PRODUCE:
Take your produce out the bag before you put it in the drawer!! The food is so much easier to see and will inspire you to cook/eat it! It will also help you to see if it's about to go bad and needs to be cooked/eaten right away. It always seems that we end up throwing away SO much produce.

ON THE GO FOOD:
This is some great healthy food and good stuff for on the go! Greek yogurt? Such a good thing to bring to work and eat at your desk. A can of soda if you're being bad or a bottle of water for the other 99% of the time.