Rainy day off..

And I just made an eggroll salad!!

Ignore the fantastically gnawed fingernail polish and gaze at the beautiful salad that I invented take credit for.

There's one thing you need to know about me. I love eggrolls. I love them so much. I got a box from the store and I wanted to eat them all for dinner. As it turns out, these are not the best for you... So I made two eggrolls and then made a salad to go around them!

The dressing is the part that makes it all come together. I didn't really measure, but I will give you the best estimates I can.

Take 1/4 cup rice vinegar mix it with 2 TB sugar. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Then add a teaspoon of soy sauce, some red pepper flakes, and 2 TB of sesame oil. The toasted kind would be best here. Then add a 1/4 cup if mayo. (I used vegan mayo because I love it.) Whisk that all together and then add olive or canola oil until it is the consistency you would like. Mine was pretty thick. 

I took spinach (I didn't have any other greens) and sliced up a red bell pepper, grated some carrots and some mushrooms and put them in my bowl. Then I drizzled the dressing on top. I had some "Chinese Noodles" (That's what it said on the package...it's ramen..) so I broke them up into little pieces and sprinkled them on top. I love crunch on my salads. Then slice up your egg roll and you're set!! 

I've had quite a few of these in the past couple of days. It makes me feel better about eating eggrolls...

Hey, it's the little things, right? :)

Oh. And exciting news... I got my cap and gown today!!!! yay!

Love,

B

Grilling out!

Since we are vegetarians, grilling out is a bit different for us. We have to be a little creative, and we usually make a couple meals on the day we decide to grill for other days of the week.

Salm made potato packets. These consist of potatoes, sliced onions, and minced garlic. You split them up into portions, and fold them into foil packets! If you have ever seen a Reynold's Wrap commercial, then you know how to fold a packet. I'm pretty sure you could even find it on their website. TA DA! I found it. So there you go. (btw....Reynold's Wrap does not know I exist...I used the off brand foil...)

But BEFORE the potato packets happened, I marinaded the portobello caps. In a baking dish I whisked together, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 TB soy sauce, a bunch of chopped parsley, and dried rosemary. I added a bit of water at the end so that it would cover the caps. I also added a bit of red wine vinegar because I ran out of balsamic... You can marinade them for however long you would like, just realize that the longer you marinade the stronger the flavor will be. Because of the hiking adventure we  went on, these babies marinaded for a LONG time. Like two days. That might be a little long... But whatever you do, be sure you flip them over half way through.

So Salm put the potato packets on the grill and then put his red pepper on there as well to let it blacken and get smokey and wonderful.
While we were waiting we decided to put the two acorn squash we've had for about a month on the grill too. I halved them and Salm took the seeds so we could plant them later. :) Then I put a pad of butter in the middle of each. Butter is so good with squash. Then on 2 of them I put brown sugar and then on the other two I put salt and pepper. I wrapped them up with foil as well and put them on the grill.

For the portobellos, I grilled them on foil instead of right on the grill rack. In my experience, portobello caps ALWAYS stick... So I just use foil. They only take like 5 minutes on each side.

We put the caps on sandwiches with some provolone and mayo. They were good. Everything was good. While we were eating I let the acorn squash finish. They were on there for about 45 minutes to an hour. You know they are done when you squeeze them and they squish. :)

Sorry there are no pictures. I forgot. I'm bad at taking pictures.

Off to study for a developmental exam!!

Mac and Cheese with leeks

Alright. So the mac and cheese was a complete success.

Over the snow week I watched some Food Network on Hulu because I don't have cable, and I saw Giada and Ina make their own mac and cheeses. So I decided to try my own. Oh, and on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives there was this restaurant that made a kick-ass mac and cheese. Ina and the guy on DDD made a white sauce first and then added cheese to that. Those both looked the most fattening, so of course that is the route I chose.

I had a huge leek that I needed to use, so I added that as well. You could use an onion, shallots, or completely leave it out.  I don't really measure well...So these are guesstimates.


1 large leek, white and light green parts only, sliced thinly
3 TB oil (canola or olive)
1 TB butter
2/3 cup flour
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
3/4 tsp nutmeg
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 oz parmigiana cheese, grated
4 oz romano cheese, grated
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup bread crumbs (italian, wheat, or any kind)
1/4 cup parmigiana cheese, grated
2 TB butter
salt
pepper
1 box penne or similar pasta

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Take the sliced leek and put it in a colander. Run water over the leeks and break them up with your fingers. Leeks can have sand or dirt stuck in them so be sure you wash them well.
Bring water to boil for your pasta. Usually the directions on the side of the box will tell you how much water you need to add. When the water comes to a boil add a teaspoonish of salt and then add the pasta.

Pour the oil into a large pot over medium-high heat. (I used a soup pot) Add the leeks. Saute until soft.
Add the butter and saute until it melts. Add the flour and stir around until all the flour is mixed with the oil. Stir around for one more minute. Now whisk in your milk. You want to whisk it around until there are no clumps. Turn down the heat to medium-low. Stir the mixture constantly until it starts to thicken. Turn down the heat to low and add all your cheeses, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir until all the cheese is melted.

While all this is going on be sure you cook your pasta until al dente. Usually it takes about 2 minutes less than what it says on the package. Drain the pasta. Add it to the cheesy sauce.

Spray a 13 X 9 pan with non-stick cooking spray and then add your noodles and sauce.
In a small bowl mix your bread crumbs and cheese. Sprinkle cheese and crumbs over the top of the pasta. Dot the butter over the top. (By dot, I mean take small pinches or dices of the butter and put them over the whole dish in random spots. This will help the bread crumbs form a crispy crust)

Put the dish in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top.

I forgot to get a picture before Salm and I dug into it. 

Salm put a bag of peas in the microwave because we love peas . They were fantastic with the mac and cheese. I would recommend it. 

You can play with this and change cheeses, add mushrooms or other vegetables. 

We don't eat meat, but I bet bacon would work well if you're into that sort of thing.

I hope this works out for you!