This summer has been highly enjoyable. After years with no break (seriously, I'm not kidding), I decided to give myself some room to breathe to refresh before beginning the official data collection. I still taught a course this summer (June), prepared a manuscript for publication, and proposals for conferences, but have spent a lot of time relaxing and catching up on life.
So, what exactly have I been up to? First and foremost, working on my cooking and baking skills!
I love to eat but don't have a love for cooking. Moreover, I don't have a wealth of recipes to try and quickly get tired of the same old thing. I have slowly been building my store of recipes so I have different options. This summer, I've tried quite a few new recipes, some I loved and some that were lackluster.
1. Lasagna. I have to admit, I had a misconception about lasagna - I always avoided it because I assumed it was really hard to make. Um. I was wrong. It's very easy and not even that time consuming! I got this recipe from the Pioneer Woman and loved it! It freezes easily and was super easy to make. Plus, it's so tasty! :)
2. Spring Green Casserole. I was so disappointed in this recipe. It's basically a lasagna recipe with green vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, and asparagus) mixed in. However, once the dish was completed, I found it didn't have enough flavor for me. I think a nice cream sauce would really enhance the casserole and that is what I plan to add next time.
3. Peach-BBQ Chicken. Oh my goodness is this stuff good! Again, the chicken freezes really well once it is cooked. To make the sauce, choose your favorite BBQ sauce (I like Jack Daniels #7). Mix the BBQ sauce with peach preserves and a bit of garlic over the stove until it boils and mixes beautifully. Roast the chicken for about 15 minutes. Then, take out and coat with BBQ sauce about every 7 minutes for about an hour. Once the chicken is fully cooked, it's done and tasty so yummy!
4. Chicken spaghetti. This is a classic recipe, but I use rotini noodles instead of spaghetti. I find that the spaghetti noodles are too stringy and long in a casserole-type dish. I love this stuff and can't get enough of it.
5. Banana Bread. A few weeks ago, I got really interested in perfecting sweet bread recipes. I love sweet breads in the morning with my coffee or as an afternoon snack while I'm writing. I started with banana bread and it was heavenly! I cut the sugar to 3/4 cup instead of a whole cup and it was still a little too sweet, so I would cut that a little more if I made it again. The whole family loved it just the same.
6. Apple-Cinnamon Bread. I made this bread last week. It was tasty, but the recipe I used called for layering the ingredients. I've learned that I'm not really a fan of layering anything and prefer for it to all be mixed up together. When I make the bread again, I will mix apples and cinnamon into the bread and layer some in the middle and on top. I think it will make for a more flavorful complete product (although the bread itself was still yummy).
More recipes are sure to come! :)
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