January 3rd, 2012: nothing

My New Years resolution was to stop lying to myself about how things are. It's hard to put that together with things I read about "friends" on facebook.

I guess it really should have been "stop being such a depressive fuck!" but, that's too esoteric. I'll try to get cooking more. Thursday, I'll try to put something delicious together for my parents.

Living at home has helped me greatly, but I feel like I've really pushed myself out of the location of general malaise that I suffered from in the past. New Years puts me in a bad spot, given my plans I made with Blair. Hearing about people getting engaged during the holidays sent me spiraling.

But, on the other side of things, work and my parents have kept me from spiraling the way I had in the past. So, I'm putting up this insane post about nothing for... what reason? Well, to keep this blog going. So... hope for something fun on Friday.

PS: a meal I missed on here I wish I didn't was homemade General Tso's Chicken. Wish I got that one on here.

December 16th, 2011: Onion Ring Burger Friday!

It's burger... FRIDAY! YAY!

Anyway, here's a quick break down of this burger friday: I cooked the onions in miller light and gave them a bear batter taste that made them taste like onion rings. I mcguyvered my way into melting the cheese on the burgers. I served Miejer brand Kraft Dinner and frozen french fries. I made delicious burgers.

December 19th, 2011: Provolone stuffed chicken, fettucine in

So, here I sit, waiting in a 300 person qeue for my Level 16 Smuggler in The Old Republic on the Jedi Covenant server. How am I waiting in cue for a level 16 character if the game came out today? Well, I was in the early game access for a week. Unfortunately, I've been working a lot, so my Old Republic time has been suffering just as much as my cooking. But, I'm trying to get better about both.

Last night (the 19th) I made a dinner for my parents. I didn't do anything too crazy or elaborate, just something kind of simple and homey. Something to ease me back into the idea of cooking and it was a delicious meal. It was complicated enough to invoke the idea of eating and cooking food on a higher level, again, but simple enough to allow me to prevail whole heartedly.

It's been really tough for me this holiday season (full disclosure, heart on sleeve alert), as it's my first holiday season alone since... probably some time in high-school. I don't mean holidays away from my family or anything, but in the sense that I'm not "spending" the holidays with "someone." You know? It's been getting harder and harder for me to get out of bed, and as such: do the things I love.

Well, I'm'a try and turn that around. How many times have I said that?

Anyway, I started the meal by butterflying a couple of chicken breasts, filling them with sliced provolone cheese and then breading them in panko, basil, salt and pepper and popped them in the oven. I threw a loaf of frozen bread I got at costco in with them.

The pasta was really what I focused on. I made a sauce using three cloves of garlic, 1-1/2 cup half&half, 1/2 cup water a dash of garlic powder and about two strips worth of bacon. I fried the bacon and minced garlic together while I boiled the water and garlic powder down. Once the water boiled down, in the bacon, half&half and garlic cloves went. I boiled up some of that AWESOME Al Dente premium fettuccine and then tossed it into the sauce with a tablespoon of flour and it thickened up real nicely. It was extremely creamy and just... heavenly.

The garlic bread? I pulled out the loaf when it was done, let it cool and then sliced it. Each slice was then rubbed with a crushed clove of garlic and then placed in a pan of hot olive oil. It... was... delicious!

The meal, like I said, is surprisingly elegant for such a simple meal, probably something that I can impress a girl with at some point... maybe... we'll see how that all goes.

Well, I'm gonna try to be back. We'll see how it works out.

Some food I've made lately

That last picture is a sandwich at bass pro in Bolingbrook. Very good meal.

It's literally been more than a month since I last updated. A little nuts. I've cooked a couple of times, but work and a social life are really interfering with it. So, sorry about this. I'll try to stay on top of things with Thanksgiving dinner.

October 12th, 2011: Chili Lime Pork Fillet, Corn Pudding and Potato Hash

Well, I cooked for my family. I, once again, drew from Beth over at Budget Bytes. I used her Corn & Cheddar Pudding recipe and her Chili Lime Pork Tenderloin recipe.

My meal didn't turn out quite as beautiful as hers, but it was a delicious and hearty meal. The potato hash was a recreation of the hash I made with the Chicken Courdon Blue that my mother liked so much. It was a great meal that was greatly enjoyed by all. Big thanks to Beth for so many awesome recipes.

Hopefully, once my life is calmed down, I'll be back to posting meaningful posts with more content than "wah! I cooked! YAY!"

We'll see.

October 5th, 2011: Beer Bread

Damn! I have been busy with work and haven't had the energy to update for a while. On the 5th I made beer bread, which was whole heartidly enjoyed by the family. So, here it is.