Recipe Sources Investigations

Due to an overload of work and a racking cough, I have not cooked anything yet this week, figuring I should save that for when I can do so without infecting everyone who eats it. ;] However, I have been spending some time finding new recipes to add to my already long list. But, I have been finding all of my recipes from magazines or bettycrocker.com and I wanted to see who else out there is blogging about food just like I am. Maybe they will have ideas for me, or recipes, or suggestions for how to make cooking posts engaging and entertaining, rather than just posting pictures and a detail of what I did.

Guilty Kitchen has been a fantastic find. The layout is so appealing, right from the beginning - her photography is amazing and I love the header font. But her posts are what really capture me. Each post has at least one, though usually two or three, recipes with only one picture of the final product. But each post also has a story behind what she has made and why she has made it. There are pictures of her husband and child, stories of life with them, and personal connections to the food she has made for or with them. This is by far the most endearing blog I have found, and though her recipes sometimes (okay . . mostly) outstrip my budget (and sometimes my taste - she is super fancy sometimes!), I know I will continue reading it just for the connection her outside of her cooking.

Simple Daily Recipes has been another great read, and not only because the layout is similar (though far more sophisticated and appealing) to mine. ;] It is very clearly laid out in terms of categorizing and how to find specific types of recipes, and plus soooo many of them look absolutely delicious. Lastly, I think what I love the most about this blog are the comments. Prof. Groom has been talking to us a lot about commenting on other people's posts, and I can see the positive effects of that right in this blog. One post about blueberry muffins has 46 comments alone, some with general feedback but others have changes they made to the recipe, and a few have entire variation recipes posted for others to try as well. So not only does each post give you a recipe, but also all the responders add new ones as well. Obviously, a sound reader/comment base takes time and a series of legitimate posts to acquire, but she really shows what hard work can lead to.

Plum and Radish was the third site I found that I have particularly enjoyed, but not so much for the recipes. Joanne, the poster, encompasses the entire kitchen in her posts, not just the food, and I find it so helpful. She has very detailed posts about different cooking utensils and their uses, different kinds of dishes and their pros and cons, different styles of cooking (like gluten free and their choices/limitations), all sorts of things that are actually important aspects of cooking that I have yet to see on blogs related to cooking. It's just a simple blogspot blog with ads from other places, but what she has to say is very helpful to those of us who don't have a lot of guidance other than the internet. She uses videos from youtube of famous chefs and posts about fun pop culture like food in the shape of faces. It's a blog about cooking in its entirety, not just the actual act of making food.

Also, there was one last blog that I didn't like as much, but at the bottom of each post there were links to other posts that were related and if you liked that post, then you might like these other recipes. I thought that was very clever and reader friendly, and would be interesting to see how much people that like the original post actually like the related ones.

Clearly, I have found new sources for recipes to cook for class, and a lot of guidance on how to make a good, reader friendly, entertaining food blog that also helps show my personality. As such, the attached picture is of the 75 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I had to make last summer when I was in charge of food organization at a summer camp. It should be noted that I cannot STAND even the smell of peanut butter and therefore I chose to focus on the jelly aspect of these sandwiches. haah.

Recipe 4 - Marbled Stuffed Potatoes

First, I ignored the directions to put the potatoes in the oven and instead microwaved them until they were quite warm and cooked through. This meant a little longer for the russet potatoes than the sweet potato.


Then I peeled the sweet potato and squished it up in a small bowl.


The russet potatoes had a slice taken off the top, and then were shelled out with a spoon. The insides were scooped into a bowl, where the cheese, nutmeg, sour cream, and butter were all added and mixed. The sweet potato was also added here and stirred some more.




I personally do not really like sweet potatoes, so we had one with and one without. The mix of potatoes and other ingredients were scooped back into the shelled russet potatoes, then rubbed down with EVOO, and put in a pan into the oven at 400* for about 15 minutes.




then . . YOU EAT!!! Clearly, they were absolutely delicious, and gargantuan, and probably could have been a meal in of themselves. The potatoes took about an hour and a half to make and the original recipe is here, from a food network magazine. Again, I don't think I changed too much in the recipe except mine didn't have the sweet potato, but the other one did. Also, I halved this recipe as well and still had way too much food.

Recipe 3 - Chicken Parm

Go from to

First, I opened the chicken and rinsed it off. I broke up and whisked an egg in a small bowl. The chicken was then dipped in the egg, and then rolled in a mix of the italian seasoning, garlic powder, and 3/4 cup of bread crumbs. I used Progresso Panko lemon pepper and it turned out wonderfully.


The chicken then went in a greased pan and stuck in the oven at 400* for about twenty minutes. I then took the chicken out, poured half a jar of Ragu Old World Style marinara sauce in the pan and covered the chicken in mozerella cheese.


The chicken then went back in the oven at 400* for another 15ish minutes. The cheese then came out a little overcooked, but I just added more mozzarella cheese on top that melted and then I couldn't tell at all. I had meanwhile also made a half a box of angel hair pasta. Once it was all done, I got some pasta, added a piece of chicken and cheese, and scooped up some extra sauce. Delicious!




This meal was absolutely delicious both the first time and also reheated as leftovers. The original recipe (here) is from a food network magazine and I actually just halved it since I was cooking for two people. It made so much food, but I have had many tasty meals this week and so it was definitely okay! The chicken was a little dry, but that may have been just my preference - I like dark meat more anyway. My boyfriend likes white meat and he said he thought it was just fine. In the future, I would probably try to have smaller breasts so they don't have to cook as long and therefore overcook the cheese. But I couldn't really tell anyway. The lemon pepper coating was brilliantly delicious, especially mixed with the mozzarella. It did take about an hour and a half to make the chicken and the baked potatoes (see next post) and so it was a time intensive meal, but it was totally worth it.

As to the recipe, I didn't change too much, except halving the recipe. Word! To see all the pictures I took while cooking, go here.

Recipe 2 - Fresh Peach Salsa

This recipe was really simple, but I changed quite a few of the ingredients. I chopped some green onion, one yellow pepper (instead of red. It was prettier! =D), and about three and a half peaches (one was half squishy and yuck).




I then poured in some Mango Twist Welch Juice, instead of grapefruit juice - I couldn't find a small container at the store, and put it in the refridgerator covered for about 2 1/2 hours. Then, viola! Peach Salsa!


I couldn't decide if I really liked it at first. It was sweet, which was good because I don't like spicy, but it also seemed to be missing something. I didn't add the cilantro, but I don't think that would have added much. Some girls on my hall have said they like it, and I think Tostitos with Lime helped. I think adding some lime juice would be good too. Overall though, I think it's pretty good. I'd make it again and change a few more things.

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Original Recipe: can be found here too
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen (thawed) peaches
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons grapefruit juice
4 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 medium green onions, chopped (2 tablespoons)
Dash of salt

1. Mix all ingredients in glass or plastic bowl.


2. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to blend flavors.

Recipe 1 – Mexican Shepherds Pie

From to


I started by chopping the green onions and adding them to the skillet with the beef and some butter. I didn’t really measure the onions though, I just did until I felt like there was enough. I let them cook/sauté on mid-high until there was no more pink.


Meanwhile, the potatoes were made by following the directions on the box – “in 2-quart saucepan, heat water and butter to boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in milk and 1 pouch potatoes with seasoning just until bended. Let stand about 1 minute or until liquid is absorbed; beat with fork until smooth.”


Once the beef was cooked, I drained it, then added cheesy taco seasoning instead of cumin and chili powder because I don’t really like spicy. The directions on that packet called for a little milk, so I added that as well. I turned the stove down to about 3 or 4 here. Then I added the salsa and mexicorn to the skillet. I bought Pace Super Chunky salsa rather than Old El Paso because I couldn’t find it in Walmart.


The directions said to layer the corn over the beef, but I ran out of room in my skillet, so I just mixed them all up. Then, instead of spooning the mashed potatoes over the already too full skillet, I added the beef/corn/salsa mixture into the saucepan on top of the mashed potatoes, with the stove still on about 4. I did not add any more green onions like the recipe called for.


I then put a heavy layer of mozzarella cheese on top (not cheddar like the recipe said. I am a mozzarella cheese addict. NOMS!) and let it sit for a few minutes until the cheese was melted.


I lastly cut up the tomato and arranged it on top, and then added more cheese because it is so yummy.


Then, I feasted. It was delicious. =D I also added Tostitos with Lime because the recipe said tortillas were optional, and I love Tostitos with Lime. It worked very well.





I changed several things about this recipe as I cooked it, and I think I did so well. I added and subtracted ingredients based on my own tastes. Betty Crocker said the timing should only be about 30 minutes, but I found it closer to an hour. And, it definitely made more than four servings - more like 6. It was very filling. To see all the pictures I took while cooking, go here. My next dish will be peach salsa, sometime later this week. Also, thanks to Christopher for potato-making, some picture taking, and taste testing. =D


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Original Recipe:
1 lb extra lean (at least 93%) ground beef
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 cup Old El Paso® Thick ‘n Chunky Salsa
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1 can (11 oz) Green Giant® Mexicorn® corn, drained
1 pouch Betty Crocker® loaded mashed potatoes (from 6.1 oz box)
1 1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)
1 medium tomato, sliced into thin wedges
Tortilla chips, if desired

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

1. In 10-inch skillet, cook ground beef and 1/4 cup of the green onions over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in salsa, chili powder and cumin. Spoon corn evenly over beef mixture in skillet. Cover and cook over low heat until mixture is thoroughly heated.


2. Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat water and butter to boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in milk and 1 pouch potatoes with seasoning just until bended. Let stand about 1 minute or until liquid is absorbed; beat with fork until smooth.


3. Spoon potatoes over corn in skillet; spread evenly. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining 1/4 cup green onions. Cover; cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Arrange tomato wedges in spoke fashion over potatoes. Garnish with tortilla chips around outside edge of skillet.