The first time I had a chicken teriyaki bowl was at Whole Foods.  It became one of my favorite lunches to get there, as it was wholesome, healthy and not to mention, delicious!  Because the Whole Foods that I go to that makes it fresh to order is far from I live, I decided to make it myself, and it’s become a favorite dish in our household.

It’s so simple, and its so filling!

Ingredients I Used:

Brown rice
Chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Steamed Brown Rice
Scallions
Teriyaki Sauce
Sesame seeds

How I Made It:

Brown rice takes a long time to cook, so I started that first.  Thank goodness for a rice cooker.  I followed the directions on the package.

Then, I spiced the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Then, I heated a pan and put some EVOO on it to prevent the chicken from sticking.  I cooked the chicken for about 15-20 minutes and then cut the cooked chicken into strips.

While the chicken was cooking I cut up the scallions. Depending on how much you like scallions you can use one or two. I used two since it was a dish for me and Glen.

Once the rice was cooked, I put the rice in separate bowls, followed by the chicken, teriyaki sauce, scallions and topped with sesame seeds. That’s it!

End Result:

A simple, dinner that can be cooked in less than an hour, and delicious too!

Tomorrow’s Glen’s birthday, but since his birthday is on a work day, we thought it would be nice to celebrate today.  Sundays are usually when football is on, and sometimes I watch, but mostly I think about what I should cook, or bake.  I had planned to make a cake for him, and I even asked him what kind of cake he wanted, and he wanted a chocolate cake with strawberries.  So I went and looked for a chocolate cake recipe with chocolate frosting.  I found a recipe I figured I couldn’t go wrong with, since Hershey’s is pretty much the ultimate when it comes to chocolate, right??  And following it to the tee, I now understand why this cake is called “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate cake!

I also got to use my Kitchenaid stand mixer that I got for my birthday for the first time, and I was pretty excited about it.  I was so mesmerized that I didn’t have to hand stir I made a short video on my iPhone.

Here was the end result:

For someone who’s never made cake from scratch (and mostly using those ready made boxes by Pillsbury) it was pretty easy.  I realized I need more cake tools such as a cake cutter and one of those cake stands with the cover.  And I’m sure you’re probably wondering what the gibberish on the cake is, well, all couples have their inside jokes, right?  Even made up words only they can understand.  Hahaha.

And here’s Glen blowing out the candles!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! <3

Glen’s parents and brother came by and brought dinner from Smokey Bones BBQ, a barbecue place nearby.  I swear, this weekend was really all about FOOD.  Just how I like it. 

I love fall, and today was just a beautiful, cool, fall day.  Actually, today is probably the only day that the weather will hold up this way, as a cold front has hit the east coast, but something is definitely better than nothing!  I had to take advantage of the day and go for a run at the nearby park.  I discovered a fit trail which is pretty cool.  A fit trail is pretty much a trail where you can walk or run and along the trail there are exercise stations.

Afterwards, I went to get groceries for the week and I had been craving pumpkin pie.  I found this recipe online from VeryBestBaking.com and found that the only can of pumpkin they sell is Libby’s which was convenient, since the recipe is straight from there!  This is probably the easiest pumpkin pie to put together, not to mention really good.  This is going to be the only pumpkin pie recipe I’ll probably ever make!

Ingredients I Used:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
• Whipped cream (optional)

How I Made It:
I put together the sugar, ground cinnamon, salt, ground ginger and ground cloves together in a small bowl – the “dry ingredients.”  Let me just say that ground ginger is really potent!  Wow.  Then I beat 2 eggs in a large bowl and added the “dry ingredients.”  I then added the can of pumpkin and mixed all of that together.  Gradually, I added the evaporated milk.  Mix that well, and pour the mix into a deep dish pie shell.  I actually had a lot of mix extra that I ended up saving, and put that in a container in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and when ready, place the pie in the oven for 15 minutes.  Then, lower the oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 40-45 minutes.  You’ll know when the pie is “done” when you can place a knife into the pie and none of the pumpkin mix sticks to the knife.  Once done, place it on a cooling rack for about 2 hours.  That, is really it!  Super easy.

End Result:

Unfortunately, my digital camera card reader is busted so I had to use my iPhone to take the picture.  Better than nothing, I guess!  Add a dollop of whipped cream for even more yumminess! 

For some odd reason, I was craving hot dogs today.  I used to live in NYC and you really couldn’t go wrong with a $2 hot dog, which you could pretty much find on any NYC street corner, and they were quite tasty!  Since NYC is now far far away, I had to settle with just buying some hot dogs at the grocery store with buns, but then my fiance, Glen suggested we make chili cheese hot dogs with chopped onion.  Definitely made the hot dog a bit more, sophisticated than your plain dog.

Ingredients I Used:

• 4 Beef Jumbo Hot Dogs
• 1 Can of Hormel Chili with Beans
• Chopped Onion
• Shredded Cheese
• Hot Dog Buns

This is considered a pretty budget friendly meal, since everything above cost under $10 altogether!

How I Made It:
First, I boiled the 4 beef hot dogs in water for about 10-15 minutes. Then, in another small pot, I heat up the chili, and while that was heating up, I chopped half of an onion, toasted hot dog buns and that was it. Brought the hot dogs, chili, chopped onions altogether, with cheese on top and done!

End Result:

This is a totally simple recipe which just consists of boiling, cutting and putting ingredients together… so it really didn’t take a long time, and all that food definitely gets you full fast! We both had 2 hot dogs each and I got only 1 and 1/2 eaten. LOL.

I also made some oven fries as a side, but by the time they were done, I was too full to eat them… I guess I can save them for lunch tomorrow!

Ah, Monday.  The weekend goes by so fast!  I braved the work day, and got home and got right to cooking dinner.  I was thinking shrimp because it’s been a while since I had shrimp, and I’ve been wanting to try this recipe by Melissa d’Arabian of Ten Dollar Dinners.  I watched an episode of her show and was instantly a fan of the concept of low cost, easy dinners that seem like gourmet meals!

I made the Lemony Shrimp Scampi pasta dish and thankfully I had most ingredients.

Lemony Shrimp Scampi Pasta (from Melissa d’Arabian) – Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 garlic cloves, pressed or grated
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 pound medium shrimp (21 to 25), peeled, deveined and butterflied (reserve shells)
• 1/4 onion
• 3/4 pound thin linguini
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small bunch parsley, leaves chopped (unfortunately, I didn’t have any of this on hand)

How I Made It:

First, I took out the shrimp from the freezer and put it in a bowl of water to defrost.  While that was defrosting, I cut up 6 garlic cloves, since I don’t have a grater.  It took me a while to peel and chop, which made me come to the conclusion I need to pick up a garlic press or grater.  I then put together the marinade which consists of the garlic, 1 lemon – add juice and zest (which I also didn’t add either), olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

I went back to the bowl of defrosting shrimp and peeled them, placing them into the bowl of marinade.  I took the peels and put them into another small pot, added some water and the onion to make shrimp stock.  While that was simmering, I added water to another pot for the pasta to cook in.  When the water  started to boil, I added some salt, followed by the pasta.  I used vermicelli since that was the only thin pasta I had.

By then, the shrimp stock should’ve been done, and the pasta needs to boil for about 4-5 minutes.  I then turned the stove off, and took a 1/2 cup of pasta water and 1 cup of shrimp stock, and set it aside.  By this time, it’s time to cook the shrimp.  I heated another pan and once it was heated, I put the shrimp into the pan and cooked until pink and carmelized.  I added in the rest of the marinade from the bowl and let it cook for a minute.  Then I added the pasta water and shrimp stock and let it cook altogether until it becomes it thickened.  Then I added the butter and lemon juice.  And finally, I added the shrimp and pasta and let it cook together for a few more minutes.  Yay!  Food is done, and can be served immediately in a bowl.

End Result:

If you like lemony, shrimp combined with pasta, you’ll definitely love this dish.  It even has a spicy kick to it because of the red pepper flakes which makes the dish even more divine.  The best part is, most ingredients are usually on hand if you have a fully stocked kitchen!

I was never really into potato salad when I was growing up, but now that I’m older, I find myself more open minded about food. Food to me, is a way to bring people together, taste different flavors and just the joy of making something yourself.

This potato salad is my mom’s recipe, and it’s actually very easy to make.

To make this potato salad, I used 2 baking potatoes, 5 strips of turkey bacon, about 4-5 tablespoons of mayo, salt, pepper and scallions.

I boiled the potatoes in a pot of water until they were soft, which took about 30 minutes. In the meantime, I cooked the turkey bacon for about 10 minutes, then cut the strips into little bits. I then washed and cut the scallions into small pieces. After the potatoes were soft, I drained the water and mashed the potatoes, added salt and pepper (to taste) and the mayo, followed by the turkey bacon and scallions. I then put the potato salad in the fridge to cool off.

This potato salad pairs well with grilled chicken or a thin cut grilled steak. Or even alone.

Dessert alert! Had the best chocolate mousse from Publix Greenwise. This place makes really yummy pastries!