Simply put, I love blogging here but don’t have time to run all of my businesses, get myself moved to Australia, blog here as well as I’d like and the feedback, commenting and ad return so far don’t justify the time I’m putting into the work.  So I’m closing the blog for now.  I don’t know if or when it will return.  It’s been fun food blogging but I need to focus on food shooting and getting moved, visa approved, and my new wedding & portrait business started in Melbourne.

Thanks for reading!

The post Blogging suspended appeared first on Starting to Cook.

I don’t remember where I first saw a recipe for tilapia parmesan but at this point I’ve changed it a few times, made it probably 20 times in 15 different ways and have adjusted everything about it so … no link, just recipe and photos today.

Now, I’m all for fresh ingredients.  Get some fresh tilapia and do this.  However, I’m going to show you in photos a 15 minute meal that doesn’t have to be defrosted.  You can have this plate of food in 15 minutes or less. And on those hot summer nights, a light fish, quick rice and veggie can make the perfect meal.

Ingredients

• Tilapia filets (fresh taste slightly better, frozen are more convenient .. both work)
• 1 tbsp light mayonnaise per filet
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice per filet
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic or
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan per filet
• couple dashes of pepper

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to broil.  Move the oven rack near the broiler.
2. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil on a cookie tray.  Spread the tilapia filets on the foil with the “top” side up.
3. Broil the filets for 3 minutes (fresh) or 5 minutes (frozen).
4. While the filets broil, mix the mayonnaisse, lemon juice, garlic and pepper together in a small mixing bowl.
5. Remove the cookie tray from the oven and carefully flip the filets.
6. Broil another 4-6 minutes on the “bottom” side.  While they broil heat your vegetables and some 90 second Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice in the microwave.
7. Remove the cookie tray from the oven and flip the filets again.  Broil until the fish is white and cooked.
8. Cover each filet with some of the mayo mixture and top with parmesan.
9. Broil until the parmesan is browned and melted.
10. Devour.

The post Tilapia Parmesan appeared first on Starting to Cook.

For recipe tracking I use LivingCookbook because it’s *perfection* in recipe form.  I have about 52,000 recipes in my LivingCookbook from all sorts of places.  You can import (and export) Mealmaster format, a LivingCookbook format, plaintext and more.  I use the RecipeFox plugin for Firefox to grab and save recipes off the major sites.  It comes with a list of 100s of recipe sites.  These are some of my favorites, many of which use RecipeFox.

Usual Suspects

1) Food Network

Great for finding recipes from your favorite FN stars (such as the ever-hot Giada).  A dedicated Healthy Eating section, full episodes of your favorite shows and recipes that easily export to MealMaster, LivingCookbook or plain text format.  A large database of great recipes makes this a no-brainer at #1.

2) AllRecipes

A HUGE database of fantastic recipes along with the best ingredient search tool makes this my go-to site.  Easily export any recipe to MealMaster, LivingCookbook or plain text with RecipeFox.

3) Saveur

A little higher-end fare (read: fancy) makes Saveur a keeper.  While not being as culinarily challenging as Epicurious, many of Saveur’s recipes are accessible, tasty and excellent.  RecipeFox integration makes this my 3rd favorite recipe site.  RecipeFox friendly.

4) Epicurious

You will be more likely to find a Roasted Vegetable and Prosciutto Lasagna with Alfredo Sauce than a traditional chicken alfredo but that’s why I love Epicurious.  This site is advanced and typically not what the home cook makes.  (The first recipe under Christmas is a Prosecco-Raspberry Gelee)  If you have orange-flower water and Prosecco in your pantry, this is the site for you.  (If you have no idea what those are, this site may be overwhelming at first.)  RecipeFox friendly as well.

Under the Radar

5) DrinksMixer

Quite possibly the only mixed drink site you need.  I have never really had much trouble finding anything on here. Recipes for everything from A Berry Breakfast Drink to the Zipper.  Search by ingredient, drink name, etc.  Terminology, a glossary and drinking games.  RecipeFox friendly!

6) VisualRecipes

Step-by-step photographic how-to of each recipe.  This site is a MUST for new cooks.

7) Cooking Light

This is my favorite healthy-only site. With a healthy cooking 101 section and my favorite – recipe makeovers, and one of my favorite magazines, this was a must-include on my favorite recipe sites.

Personal Faves

8) Recipe Goldmine

Another *huge* recipe site with all sorts of great and simple foods. This is my go-to site when I just need something I can make tonight.

9) Jamie Oliver’s site

I’ll admit it – I’m a sucker for Jamie’s cooking. I am the only American I know who watches Oliver’s Twist. I don’t understand his temps or half the ingredients he says until I see them.  I don’t care.  I would watch Jamie cook all day (and sometimes do!)  My mini shell pea pasta and smoky bacon sauce is a Jamie food.  They are homecooked goodness and rich, high quality skill.  Does he cook 89-star food?  Not usually.  Is he amazing in a kitchen?  Absolutely.

The post 9 Great Recipe Sites appeared first on Starting to Cook.

This meal takes 45 minutes or so but the effort is so minimal that it’s not a “real” 45 minutes.  Trust me. (Or read ahead…it’s there, I swear.)  It’s a very simple meal I’ve had in my back pocket for awhile now.  Think about the incredible number of chicken and rice variations on this dish, too.

How many boxes does this tick?  Healthy? Check. Easy? Check. Quick? Check. Light cleanup? Check. You knew you read this blog for a reason.

Effortless Chicken & Rice

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
• 1 cup white or basmati rice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can of mixed vegetables
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• Italian dressing

Directions

1. Cube the chicken breast into bite sized bits and marinate in italian dressing.
2. Place all ingredients except chicken in a microwaveable bowl.  Mix well.
3. Cover and cook 20 minutes in the microwave.
4. Add chicken to bowl. Stir thoroughly.
5. Microwave 5-7 more minutes until rice is completely done and chicken has warmed back up but not dried out.

I swear that’s all there is to it.  When you pull it out just give it a stir, season it with a bit of salt & pepper and you’re done.  Home cooked taste with very little effort and almost no dishes to clean. (Hint: in the 20 minutes this thing cooks you can help a kid with  homework, send another to get a bath and pour yourself a drink. Just sayin’.)

Leave me a comment on how you modified this! (Think: different veggies, other broth, meats, more seasoning, garlic & herbs…)

The post Effortless chicken and rice dinner appeared first on Starting to Cook.

It has been so long since I made this beef stroganoff that I’ve MOVED in the meantime and have no idea where the original ideas came from.

The post Easy Beef Stroganoff recipe appeared first on Starting to Cook.

Once I made this recipe, I was even more of a fan of Jamie Oliver.  This is a very “home cooking” meal.  Make it on a cold night, sit back with a bowl and enjoy! (And it has bacon – call it good!)

The post Mini shell pasta with creamy smoked bacon sauce appeared first on Starting to Cook.

These don’t look as pretty as I’d like (soft, wet bread) but tasted great!  I will definitely make these again.

My suggestion for eating vegetarian?  How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman.

The post Vegetarian Zucchini Grinders appeared first on Starting to Cook.

The Seafood Splash was a phenomenal tasting event.  Some of what we got to taste included: seafood jambalaya by Cabot Creamery (amazing! One of my favorites!), two different lobster soups, an amazing lobster sandwich from the Brass Compass Cafe, sushi, taquitos with grilled Atlantic Salmon (by *far* my favorite!), kelp, and even gelato from Gelato Fiasco.  Steamed muscles, wine, live music … ahhhh!!  Definitely one of my favorite days in all of 2010!

It’s hard to even decide what to post for photos!  I think they came out great and I’m definitely going to post way too many.  Sorry about that!  Thanks to the organizers, Angie Helton for helping me get into the event, Bob from Portland Magazine for giving me the idea to go and all the chefs who prepared these great foods!  I hope to see you all again soon!

The post Harvest on the Harbor 2010, Portland Maine food event appeared first on Starting to Cook.

The recipe for these charred tomato chicken tacos.

These chicken tacos came out really well.  They have very little spice so they’re easy to feed kids who are against spicy foods but they’re very healthy and loaded with big taste.  I love these!

The post Charred Tomato Chicken Tacos appeared first on Starting to Cook.

My family is not vegetarian.  They are meatatarians, in fact.  When I told them I was going veg for a week they all rolled their eyes and wished my luck.  They know it’s not permanent – I  have a BIG JUICY BURGER waiting for me on Monday.  I can already taste it.

So last night when I made the pot pie I didn’t know if they’d try it.  You already know where this is going.  We all loved LOVED it – and raved about it.  My mom bragged about it.  It was a hit!  If you never mentioned it was vegetarian, nobody would know!

The photos for this are a bit weak.  Sorry about that – I wanted to test the recipe first (since it was hard to follow) and I wanted to see what it looked like.  The photos on Chubby Vegetarian’s site didn’t look anything like I had at any point in the process so I can only assume that’s a setup.  The photos are a few quick ones to get the job done.  I’ll upload more to this post when I reshoot the pot pie.  HUGE raves for this – highly recommended this fall/winter.

Photos, then recipe on “Read more” as always!

Crust ingredients

• 1.5 cups flour
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2/3 cup of cold water (you won’t use it all)

Filling ingredients

• 2 medium carrots, peeled & chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 can of peas or 1 bag of frozen peas
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, diced or minced
• 2 chik’n cutlets (or 6-8 oz of chicken substitute), chopped into bites
• 1 chicken-taste bouillon cube
• 2 potatos, cut into bites
• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 egg

Procedure

1. Put all crust ingredients except the water into your mixer and add water slowly until the dough comes together – it will not be sticky and not be ‘too wet’ so go slow.  Remove from the mixer and refrigerate in clingwrap for 20 minutes.
2. While that refrigerates preheat your oven to 375º and put a large pot on the stovetop.
3. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, onion, potato, chik’n and a large pinch of pepper into the pot and heat over medium for 5 minutes.
4. Create a well in the middle of your mix and melt the butter in the well.  When it is melted, add the 4 tbsps of flour and stir thoroughly.  Once the flour and butter are mixed, add the milk and peas and mix well.  The filling will thicken very quickly.
5. Remove the pot from the heat and remove the crust dough from the refrigerator.  Split the dough in half and line the bottom of a pie pan with half the crust.
6. Fill the bottom half of the crust and then flatten the other half of the dough and place it over the top of the mix.  Tuck the edges down so the crust meets.
7. Bake for 15 minutes.
8. While baking, scramble one egg.  Add a splash of water and mix well.  When the pot pie comes out at 15 mins, lightly coat the top of the pot pie in the egg wash.  (The easiest way to do this is to dab a clean papertowel in the egg mix and “wipe” it on the pot pie – be gentle!)  If you have a brush for this, even better!
9. Bake another 15 minutes.

It’s not as complicated as it sounds.  It’s actually *very* easy.  I have only made this once and was unsure about it but now I’m 100% sure I can rock it next time for the real photos.  I’ll add more veggies next time – another carrot, another stalk of celery…it’s delicious!  Enjoy!

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