Michaels Minestrone Soup

About Michael: This is his third time making yummy treats for my blog. I decided to let him cook again for me after all the talk about his mother's Minestrone soup, which he has been raving about for three months now. I decided it would be a good addition to the blog. Hope you all enjoy it, I surely did!

For fun facts about Minestrone soup, click here. It's an italian favorite!

Want some protein? Try this recipe for a spin on the normal Minestrone soup.

Ingredients:

1/2 large onion (diced)

1 & 1/2 zucchini (diced)

5-7 skinned tomatoes (diced)

salt and pepper to your liking

5 cloves of garlic (chopped chunky)

3 potatoes (diced)

1/2 bag of pasta (he used bow tie pasta)

1 can of chicken broth plus 3 cups of water

basil seasoning

1/2 can white beans

1/2 can kidney beans

1 can corn

Note:

I made a mistake in the video (oops!). I forgot to film the tomatoes, noodles, beans and corn. Add these after the soup comes to a boil, just before you let the soup sit for 30 minutes.

Syd's Fried Rice

About Syd: Syd started cooking out of necessity when he moved to college. He did grow up around cooking though. He said his mother often made fried rice with whatever was left over in the house and his grandmother makes "the best fried rice."

For a little fried rice history visit here. It turns out this dish originated from leftovers, yum!

For a recipe & directions from the Food Network for fried rice visit here.

Syd followed his mother's lead and made this fried rice with whatever he could find in the kitchen (also great for college students). Here is what he used:

1/4 large onion

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup corn

1/2 cup peas

1/2 cup soy beans

2 links of chinese sausage

1/2 cup ham

6 cups of white rice (already made)

3 eggs

1 tbsp sesame oil

dash of salt

dash of pepper

2 tbsp soy sauce

Michael's Breakfast with Special Potatoes

About Michael: This is his second time cooking for me. Last time he made a delicious pasta dish! He said he always enjoyed cooking with his mother from the time he was about 15. His mother taught him how to cook early on and the skill never wore off. His interest in cooking grew when he began to watch No Reservations on the Travel Channel. Here he is now, cooking up some good eats!

Michael didn't use a recipe for his potatoes but this is what he used in them:

2 tbsp olive oil

tsp of salt

a few grinds of pepper

tsp of garlic powder

His tips? Use water while cooking the potatoes in the skillet to help speed up the process of cooking. Adding rosemary gives the potatoes a more earthy taste.

You can click here for an actual recipe. This is a blog that has great home-cooked dishes. However, I recommend trying Michael's; they are delicious!

Also, if you want some interesting information on potatoes, other than what the Irish say, you can click here. No, really, it's cool. Did you know that scientists have found potato remains that date back to 500 B.C? It's true! Read away.

Ian's Tortillas

So, I got a lot of wonderful feedback about the photos on Nicole's King Cake, so I think I'm going to rotate between photos and video. There seems to be something, I don't know what, special about both of them; in their own, little unique way.

For this week, I photographed Ian making tortillas. I've often seen him making them in a friends dorm and decided they would be a good, homemade recipe to add to the blog. It turns out, they are extremely easy to make. Really, it's almost impossible to mess these up! They turn out a little think though, almost like a flat bread (perfect for breakfast burritos).

For a little history on tortillas click here.

The ingredients and directions are here, as well, there is a video tutorial!

Ian Suggests: Use 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil instead of 2. The tortillas will be softer then! Also, don't wear dark colors, you WILL get flour on you.

Daulton's Spicy Eggplant

For this week I shot Daulton who shared his mothers spicy eggplant dish with us. He said that this is kind of the college version of this dish, claiming his mothers is much better. For a taste of what the real dish is supposed to be like, click here (the directions and ingredients are listed as well). Basically, the college version is less seasonings and no meat. However, both Daulton's recipe and the one above are easy, both only taking about 15 minutes to cook!

Daulton's Tips

Use Asian Eggplant- it's smaller and the skin isn't as tough.

Pressed Garlic- you can buy it already pressed in a can, much easier for college students!

Choose a chili pace that you'll enjoy. Not everyone can handle the heat!

This recipe is really about what you like; the amounts of ingredients aren't exact because everyone is different. So, all those non-cookers, it's OK, don't be afraid to steer from the recipe above.

Nicole's King Cake

I had more than a little difficulty this week with my video camera, so instead, I thought some nice step-by-step photos would do the trick.

In light of Mardi Gras, Nicole made a King Cake, yummy! She got the recipe here, off of the Judicial Peach blog.

For exact instructions go here.

Nicole took some liberties while making this King Cake. She braided the dough and cut the recipe in half after braiding, in order to make two cakes small enough to fit into her toaster oven! Instead of making her own glaze, she bought frosting.

As well, in order to keep the tradition of the King Cake alive, she shoved an almond in the cake. The person that finds the almond, makes the cake next year!

The verdict? They taste like big, delicious cinnamon rolls!

PREP TIME: 30 minutes
DOWN TIME: 2 hours
COOK TIME: 25 minutes
YIELD: 1 King Cake (Serves 10 to 14)

WHAT TO GRAB:
KING CAKE
4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packages) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105-115° F)
2 teaspoons plus 1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter softened
1/2 cup 1% milk at room temperature
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 1/4 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 candied almond or plastic baby (the almond is admittedly safer)
1 tablespoon melted butter

GLAZE
1 cup Confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 to 3 tablespoons water
Green, Yellow, and Purple Sugar

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1/2 cup sugar, butter, milk, egg yolks, salt, lemon peel, nutmeg and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 16-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over dough to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet; pinch ends together to form a ring. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Brush with egg.
• Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. For glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and enough water to achieve desired consistency. Spread over cake. Sprinkle with colored sugars. Yield: 1 cake (12 slices).

I tried this crepe recipe with a friend last weekend. It's easy to make and they taste delicious. I would recommend using a spatula to flatten the batter in the pan, it will get rid of little bumps that appear while cooking!

Some combinations we tried on our crepes were:

vanilla ice cream, strawberries (with Splenda-let sit for 1 hour for syrupy goodness), whip cream

sugar and lemon juice

you can also put cream cheese and fruit in as well (one of my favorites) for a sweet/salty/cheesey combo

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/basic-crepes/Detail.aspx