Finals Week & Stir Fry

Well I'm not going to lie, thank whatever gods there may be that it is the end of the semester! I mean who DOESN'T want to be done with University!? Although it's not over till it's over! Two finals to go and a Term paper. So what am I doing at 2:30am during finals week when I should be studying and or writing my Term Paper?

Blogging of course! Because It's less stressful than writing 12 pages of GRAH. Yes GRAH the new form of hell that professors like to toss on to you when they don't explain what they want in their long papers. 

ANYWAY, besides procrastinating and crafting (I think I'm going to do a mini blog post on my crazy crafting I've been doing to spruce up my living space in the tiny apartment.) I've been cooking! Now I've also been eating a lot of take-out.... and my stomach has been rebelling from it all. I'm back to late night yoga to make my body feel not like it wants to destroy itself. (Late night yoga is amazing by the way)

So a really simple but yummy dinner is Stir Fry! 

 I like how everything fits nice and handy into the Wok!

That's thin sliced ribeye! In my opinion the best stir fry meat.

 Ok so you don't have to use this but its AMAZING. It's Korean BBQ sauce for beef called Bulgogi, I got it at a store back home called H-Mart.

 We had this strange rice that you boil in a bag... Personally I want normal rice in a pot but beggars can't be choosers I suppose. 

 This is my super fancy Wok I bought from Williams-Sonoma, I didn't buy the cover for it and I need to go back and pick it up. Whoops.

 Start by browning the meat first in the Wok with a little of the sauce as a marinade.

 Thin sliced carrots, Bean sprouts, broccoli and snow peas.

 The broccoli will take the longest so toss it in first and then the carrots and then the snow peas.

 Add more sauce to the mix!

 When the rice is done we drained the bags and poured them into a bowl. Then I tought the boy how to fluff rice. 

 The last thing I put in was the bean sprouts, they cook quickly and no one wants them to be cooked the death. 

 Mmmmmm It's finished! Remember a slotted spoon!

 Table set for three and the girl and the boy about to dig in before I can take photos. (I stopped them)

 Now the RIGHT way to do this is the rice on the bottom and the stir fry on top, then you pour extra sauce over it so it seeps into the rice. This is non negotiable people. (not really)

Delicious! Easy! And completely GONE!

Well back to trying to work on my term paper. I hope you enjoyed this quick break (because I did) 

Remember, don't stress out (Like I did today at some people when I couldn't get a moment of silence to work on my term paper.) It's just not worth it and nothing good comes from it. DO stress out when you run out of soy milk at 10pm and run to the store! Then drink from the carton like a boss... (You don't have to but it made me happy... So sue me I'm the only one who drinks it in my apartment!)

Songs of the Meal: Snow Patrol's: Shut Your Eyes, and Give Me Strength

My new thing is Pandora The greatest thing... ever? Seriously I hate radio but this is personalized and I love it. I get to listen to all of my country music! (You didn't read that) 

By the way would anyone want to lend me $6000? 

This is Sweetie, the reigning horse I practice on at my stable, and the Jerk (My friend that helps to run the stable and owns her) is selling her... and I want her... REALL BAD. 

I'll cook for money!

Oddly enough thats the exact price the boyfriend payed for his car... *Weighs car against horse* 

I feel like I'd more use out of the horse...Sad but true!

Ha ha ha!

ANYWAY, do yoga, drink soy milk and read my blog, but not at the same time! (It ends badly I swear)

A Mostly Veggie Meal

Well this whole meal started out because I really wanted some veggies, to be more specific I really wanted some of the cauliflower and broccoli bake I make with roasted garlic and olive oil. (It's to DIE for)

But the friends wanted some meat to so I decided to improvise some chicken with whatever we had lying around. 

This is all my organic vegetables by the way from the farmers market and they were absolutely wonderful!

Chop up your cauliflower!

And chop your broccoli!

I roughly diced an entire bulb of german garlic. You want the pieces big, it tastes better I swear!

Mix it all together in a shallow pan so it bakes even, try not to have too much of one vegetable in one area. Add a generous amount of olive oil while you mix.

Defrost boneless, skinless chicken breast ( :P I know it looks weird)

Made the guy take a few photos of me cooking today, I wasn't quite sure where I was going with the chicken yet so I cut it into medallion sized pieces. 

Extra virgin olive oil, black pepper corn, garlic powder and some dried oregano were my arsenal of seasonings. 

And doesn't it look as yummy all mixed up!

Toss the vegetable medley into the over at around 400 degrees and wait until everything is golden brown and to taste. (I like mine a bit crispy and the garlic roasted.) Every 10 minutes or so turn the veggies to make sure there is optimal cooking on every side 

Tossed the chicken in my cast iron and decided why not put some fresh basil leaves in as well. Those plants might as well not go to waste. (Just picking basil smells AMAZING) 

I kept the heat low so the chicken wouldn't burn. I wanted it to cook slowly as I added some more spices onto it. 

Golden brown is the color we are looking for! Make sure most of the liquid is cooked out of the cast iron. 

This is how I like it, soft and golden brown with the garlic and broccoli tops crispy!

This is all i really wanted, I don't need the chicken. Just give me a bowl of this and I'm SET. (It became by lunch the next day too)

Table set for three tonight, and see! Definitely mostly vegetables! 

I really love this meal and it was a big hit. I've made the cauliflower & broccoli mix a few times before and it's a great way to get people to eat their vegetables. Plus the fact they are all organic from the farmers market is kudos points. The garlic gets sweet and everything just tastes very light. 

I admit, the chicken was really good too. It's such a simple meal that I threw together in less than an hour. 

Baking time on the vegetables will vary due to how shallow your pan is. Sometimes it can take 30 min or sometimes 40. Just remember to turn them! 

The consensus was that this one was to be made again, and that the fresh basil leaves were a must!

What I would change:

I'm not sure I even would have made the chicken at all.

Music of the meal: 

The General, By: Dispatch 

Bake on people, bake on!

Something Fishy

When I got back this past weekend from my cousins wedding I was greeted with a wonderful text message. "Guess what I got us!!" and curiously I wondered and guessed. (all wrong) until finally my tormented gave up. "I got us salmon!" and instantly I remembered why I love her so much.

So thus dinner was a few days ago but I was very busy writing a paper as well had a little accident where I pulled a muscle in my back/neck picking up some heavy boxes at work. Health services was FUN. (NOT) So this post is a bit late, sorry!

This is my friends FAVORITE rice, she makes it all the time and it's wonderful!

Read the directions! Cup and a fourth of water.

                  Add the packet of the rice into the water and turn it up to high. 

 Add the seasoning packet to the water as well and give it a good stir. The secret to good rice is actually doing nothing at all. Just leave it and turn the heat down until the water sinks below the rice and then give it a bit of a stir. 

 It smelled heavenly!

 This is a salmon steak for one or two, my friend and I split it. Add salt, pepper, a dash of soy sauce and a little brown sugar. (Lemon doesn't hurt at all either.)

Bake for about 10 minutes in the over on about 350

 Ok, I admit it, I love broccoli! Even if its frozen :P

 Add water and toss it in the microwave.

 When it's half done just add a little bit of butter and put it back in the microwave. When it's done drain the water and excess melted butter and add some salt and pepper.

Arrange it all nice and pretty on the plate. My friend and I split the salmon, which was more than enough for the both of us since it was so thick. 

I really loved this, it was healthy, delicious, and devoured. 

What I would do different:

Um, not much. 

Fresh broccoli would have been nice. 

Band of the meal:

Maroon 5

Enjoy!