Pantry Party April Round Up

Though I usually spend more time putting together my round ups, I am in my last bout of final exams ever and will be through the first week of May. I wanted to get the cookie party up before I forget to actually do it, so sorry there isn’t any commentary on each cookie recipe!

Lori of A Bright And Beautiful Life shared these Fully Loaded Oatmeal Cookies.

Kristen of Baby Giveaways Galore shared Molasses Cookies.

Barbara of The Big Giant Food Basket shared The Best Sugar Cookie Ever!!

Cathy from A Peek Into My Paradise shared her Lemonhead Cookies.

Marlys from This and That shares Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies.

I shared Sweet and Salty Popcorn Cookies.

Raven from True Blue Baking shared two cookies this month, the first is the A Little Bit of Everything Cookie.

Raven also shared these Classic Peanut Butter Cookies.

Sorry I couldn’t write more! I need to study and get to bed.

Pantry Party March Round Up

For March Pantry Party made the request to share breaded dishes. There weren’t as many participants as usual this month, but there was still a wide variety of dishes shared utilizing those trusty pantries. This theme was really broad – breaded essentially could cover a ton of things. So what did the participants this month bread?

The next theme will be posted April 1st, so be looking for it! I’m excited for it.

Our first dish this month comes from Summaiyah Hyder of From My Perspective: Life Through My Eyes. These Homemade [Baked] Chicken Nuggets remind me a lot of nuggets I used to make in college and has made me want to make them for dinner again. This easy recipe is a great way to show off breaded food.

Let’s not stop there though! There needs to be more in life than just breaded chicken. What about Baked [and crusted] Tilapia? Summaiyah Hyder knows how to bread things, that’s for sure! These fish pieces look delightful.

Chicken is a prime source of breaded meals. This Oven Fried Chicken made by Summaiyah Hyder shows how crispy breaded chicken can be.

Besides baking breaded dishes Summaiyah Hyder shows how easy it is to fry chicken nuggets with her Homemade Chicken Nuggets.

I got nuts here at the Law Student’s Cookbook this month and made two dishes suited for this month’s theme. My first creation was a Cracker Crusted Pork Chop. I had used a garden veggie chip for a fun variation on a breading.

Over at Lovefoodies, a different take on breaded food was approached. This Cantonese Sweet and Sour Chicken shows how breading can be used on different cuisines – everything isn’t always southern fried chicken! I love sweet and sour chicken myself and want to give this one a try.

Michelle over at Ms. enPlace made a yummy sauce that she served over pork. These Pan Fried Pork Chops with Parsley Mustard Sauce look delicious to me. I like the idea of a sauce on a breaded dish so much! With my pesto kick as of late, I’m going to have to give this a shot.

Shannon from Giraffe Days shared two dishes this month. First Shannon shared the Parmesan Sesame Chicken Strips. Shannon made these during a review of Six Sisters’ Stuff cookbook. Despite it not being her favorite cookbook, Shannon made wonders with these breaded pieces of chicken.

Shannon also shared a recipe for Chicken Nuggets from Top 100 Finger Foods: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy, Happy Child. For as many nuggets as we got this month, each kind has its own appeal. Shannon’s son seems eager to get this one into his mouth!

 

My final recipe (and the last recipe of this month’s round up) was Breaded Tomato Pasta. I knew there would be a lot of breaded chicken, so I opted for something incredibly different. The fried tomatoes were delicious paired with this pasta.

I love all the breaded dishes! It’s nice to see the variety even between different types of breaded chicken. Next month’s theme will be announced on April 1st. Thanks for participating and I hope to see you again next month!

 

Pantry Party February Round Up

This month at Pantry Party we shared our noodle recipes which utilized not only noodles, but also at least ingredient found in our pantries. There are so many ways you can eat noodles – and in fact, there’s a ton of ways you can interpret ‘noodles,’ as you’ll see from some of our entries! This month’s Pantry Party brought out some hearty looking noodle dishes.

The next theme will be posted March 1st, so be looking!

Our first dish this month came from Jeni at I Got This Martha. For Italian night at Jeni’s she had a fabulous dish of sausage, mozzarella, basil, and a homemade tomato sauce baked with penne pasta. I love pasta bakes and this combination does seem fabulous!

Janet from The Taste Space showed that “noodles” can be defined loosely – that noodles don’t need to be pasta. Janet shared Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Chickpeas. When I had made the theme ‘noodles’ I hadn’t even considered spaghetti squash – but of course, the insides of it do in fact create noodles! I love the creativity of this dish.

Speaking of creativity, Simona from Briciole made her noodles from scratch. I’ve always wanted to do this, but I’m so intimidated. Not only do her gnocchetti alla farina di castagne look delicious, they also look adorable!

Melissa shared her Crock Pot Lasagna Soup. Unfortunately Melissa’s website seems to be down for the time being, but hopefully it reappears so we can snatch this recipe!

Melissa also shared her Chicken Picatta. I love chicken picatta generally, I’m sure her’s tasted wonderfully.

Michelle from Ms. enPlace made a delicious dish: Spare Ribs in Smoky Tomato Gravy. I love ribs and I love pasta, so this combination seems to be the epitome of that. Michelle made good use of her pantry with this dish, using the pasta, onions, garlic, tomato paste, Ro-tel, and the spices in the dish. Perfect use of the pantry!

Shelby from Diabetic Foodie shared Soba Noodles with Roasted Eggplant. This dish is served at either room temperature of from the fridge. I love Asian dishes and I love noodle dishes – this looks great!

My noodle dish this month involved pesto. In the last few days I’ve been on a pesto kick, so this Macadamia Tomato Pesto Pasta fit right into this obsession. I had some macadamia nuts in my pantry that were begging to be used this month. This was a great way to use them.

The last noodle dish this month comes from Kim of Mo’Betta. This is one of the many creative takes on noodles that came about this month. Kim’s Macaroni n’ Cheese Pizza was inspired by a sample that her daughter tried at Fresh Market. Kim made it at home and I’m sure it was even better than the pizza in the store!

I love all the creativity this month with this noodle theme! Next month’s theme will be announced on March 1st. Thanks for participating and hope to see you again next month!

 

 

 

 

 

Pantry Party January Round Up

This month at Pantry Party we shared soup recipes. Soups come in a vast array of variety. Vegetables, noodles, lentils.. The list could go on and on. This month’s Pantry Party brought out some great looking soups. It’s been pretty cold here lately, but the pictures of these soups warms me right up.

The next theme will be posted February 1st, so keep your eyes peeled!

Corina at Searching For Spice shared her Green Lentil and Coriander Soup. The vegetables add a nice pop of color to this lentil soup.

Michelle from Ms. enPlace shared with us her French Onion Roasted Cauliflower Soup, aka Freebie Soup, aka Fart Soup (named lovingly by her son.) This soup meets the challenge so well. Besides Michelle using ingredients on hand in her pantry, she made do with what she had in the house to make this soup for everything! Sometimes those are the best dishes.

I made a weird dish this month: Green Tea Soup. This Asian-inspired fish and rice soup utilizes green tea as the broth. The soy sauce in with the tea broth added a nice salty, green tea flavor. It was definitely different than any other soup recipe I’ve made.

The next dish is from Shelby from Diabetic Foodie. Shelby’s soup is a Quick Chinese Chicken and Rice Soup. This soup makes use of leftover chicken and leftover rice. Soups can be a great way to use up leftover ingredients!

Next, June from Inspired By… stopped by with a bowl of Crockpot Enchilada Soup. This soup is made up of a lot of ingredients I could find in my pantry. It looks like an easy soup to keep you warm!

Janet from The Taste Space brought a bowl of Lemon-Ginger Split Pea Soup with Toasted Coriander. Janet not only shares this soup, but she also recommends that everyone read Vegan For Life.

Last but not least, Jeni from I Got This Martha shared a bowl (or a tortilla bowl!) of Crock Pot Taco Soup. Jeni shares her love of the crock pot (I have a mutual love) and pours this yummy looking soup into a tortilla bowl.

What a wide variety of soups this month! Next month’s theme will be announced on the 1st of February! Thanks for participating and I hope to see you again next month!

Pantry Party December Round Up

This month I introduced Pantry Party and I’m hoping it has success. All you need to do is cook something based on the theme of the challenge using some ingredients found in your pantry. To kick things off this month and get the concept introduced, the theme was anything goes. I wanted to see what cooking out of your pantry means to you with this theme. And boy! There was a vast array of dishes submitted this month. I hope the participation continues from all of you and that more people join in as well!

The next theme will be posted on the 1st of January, the 1st day of 2013! How exciting!

Now onto the recipes shared this month!

 

Janet at The Taste Space shared a hearty looking bowl of Red Lentil Dal with Zucchini. This thick soup is perfect for the cold months and looks like it’s full of flavors. Janet obviously grabbed some lentils out of her pantry to make this dish!

Linda at Recipes and Ramblings with Tumbleweed Contessa shared some beautiful Pink Peppermint Christmas Chip Cookies. Now, let me fill you in on these cookies. Linda sent me the recipe for these cookies for a virtual cookie swap we both participated in. My version of the cookies are here. These pink peppermint cookies are perfect for the holiday season! For this challenge Linda found her baking supplies in her pantry!

Christian at Cooking Around The World shared Moussaka with us. Christian has a very cool blog, where he has gone around the world in food. I attempted a similar project and didn’t make it very far. But Christian clearly persevered much longer than I did with such challenge. This moussaka dish, made with eggplant, feta, and other ingredients focuses mainly on fresh ingredients. But this dish also calls for Greek noodles and tinned tomatoes – things found in the pantry! Just because you rely on your pantry doesn’t mean your food can’t be fresh and delicious also!

 

My contribution this month was a chicken recipe, Bridgeport Saltine Crusted Chicken. I had originally intended to make a Ritz crusted chicken, but because of my busy schedule I was unable to get to the store and buy the crackers, so I made the crust for the chicken with saltine crackers and Bridgeport seasoning – hiding in my pantry.

 

Michelle over at Ms. enPlace made Stuffed Shells. The combination of flavors in this sounds great: Italian sausage, poblano, leek, garlic, cheese . . . I need to make this too! Michelle wrote that she always has partial boxes of pasta shells in her pantry. I’m glad she had the opportunity to use that partial box on these!

Cornia from Searching For Spice contributed with a recipe for Tomato and Chorizo Pasta. Corina always has pasta, onions, and tinned tomatoes  in the cupboard which provided a great base for this recipe. The addition of the chorizo to the sauce sounds so good to me right now.

Last, but definitely not least, Simona of Bricole shared Risotto al Gorgonzola. Simona gives a description on what risotto is (besides delicious) as well as some information about herself and her own introduction to this beautiful dish. My favorite part of her blog post though was the audio recordings of her saying the Italian words.

I love that so many distinct and beautiful dishes came with the contents of our cabinets.
Next month there will be a theme, so be on the lookout! Like I said, it will be announced on the 1st and I am very excited. Thanks everyone for participating and I hope to see you again next month!

 

 

 

 

 

Food n’ Flix: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Roundup

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is everything perfect for a foodie movie for October – the month of spooks! Rather than watch a traditional foodie movie, I opted for something sort of different this month. While this movie is far from extraordinary and actually leans much farther towards the tacky-end of the scale, it inspired some beautiful dishes this month.

I’m glad no one’s tomatoes attacked them! Looks like we all managed to attack first!

Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla made a special type of ketchup – “Please Pass the (Homemade) Ketchup”! For as humorless as Camilla claims to be, she definitely imparted some humor into this ketchup, based on a scene where disguise expert Sam Smith dresses as a huge tomato and asks, “Can somebody please pass the ketchup?” of the killer tomatoes. This ketchup seems like it would definitely surpass any of the bottled stuff and it doesn’t even look too hard! I may need to try my hand at this killer ketchup.

This month Heather from girlichef shares an alcoholic concoction, Spicy Crystal Head Bloody Mary.  Heather made sure to eliminate the threat of killer tomatoes from her home by mashing them and then mixing it with toxins . . . or you know, vodka. Heather’s post about her drink and the movie made me chuckle. The Crystal Head Vodka is a great choice of vodka for an October movie!

Glennis from Can’t Believe We Ate… did a great job killing her killer tomatoes too. With 35 pounds of killer tomatoes attacking her home, Glennis canned them, making Killer Canned Tomato Halves. I feel like she should send all of us a jar, because clearly she has plenty!

Deb from Kahakai Kitchen made a delicious Bread-Tomato-Garlic Soup. I am dying at the killer tomato in her photo – boy does he look scared! And he should be scared, because his killer abilities are ending and he’s getting made into soup. I really want a bowl of this soup. It looks so hearty and with fall looming (at least it’s still only looming here in Sacramento,) it would be a great way to bring in the season.

Lastly, I made a Killer BLT. This is a little fancier than just a standard bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwich – with chipotle mayonnaise and avocado added to the mix to make a killer sandwich!

And that’s a wrap! I’m glad such a silly movie inspired such delicious dishes. I’m sure there will never be another killer tomato attack after showing those tomatoes that we mean business! Good job everyone and have a Happy Halloween!

The upcoming movie for November is Julie & Julia which is going to be hosted at La Cocina de Leslie. This is one of my favorite movies, so I hope you join us for another month of food!

Presto Pasta Nights Roundup

I sprained my ankle last week and was essentially banished from the kitchen. My boyfriend ended up making dinner and there was no pasta involved. It appears most people this week also had reasons to not participate in Presto Pasta Nights.

I did get one entry though.

Janet from The Taste Space shared Spicy Peanut Udon Noodles with Tofu and Broccoli.Though Janet didn’t make this dish, Rob did, she devoured it. Peanut sauce? Sriacha? I’d like a bowl too!

 

I hope next week there’s more pasta to go around, because I’m feeling carb-hungry right now. Share your pasta dishes with Ruth by Thursday to be included in the next roundup.

 

Presto Pasta Nights

For the second time, The Law Student’s Cookbook will be hosting Presto Pasta Nights! I am very excited about doing this and seeing all the delicious pasta dishes that you guys share.

What types of noodle dishes are on your menus? I hope you share them this week with me so we can have a great pasta roundup!

 

Share your pasta dish with Presto Pasta Nights!
Write a blog post about it, mention Presto Pasta Nights, and email me your URL to elizabeth@crabtech.net by Thursday September 27 to be included in next Friday’s roundup. If you don’t have a blog but have a pasta dish to share, you’re still welcome to join. Just send me an email!

Presto Pasta Nights Roundup

How sad is it that the one week I decide to host PPN I don’t cook a pasta dish? This week has gotten ahead of me. For a little bit of non-pasta-related information, I’m interning this summer in a law office. It’s actually the same office I’ve been working in all year, but this summer is full-time and it’s intense. It’s looking like I might go to trial in a case on the 26th and I’m extremely nervous and have been spending a lot of time prepping for it. Because of that, I just haven’t been cooking as much as I usually do. But I’m disappointed because I was going to make this tomatillo cream sauce pasta and I just never got to it.

I’m glad the rest of you found time for your pasta dishes! They looked great!

Sarah from What Smells So Good? submitted One Day at a Time Lasagnettes with Dark and Rich Sundried Tomato Sauce. These mini lasagnas, or lasgnettes, look delicious. Sarah made the lasagnettes for an easy to warm up dinner, to help keep her family balanced during a rough time. Sarah, I hope things work out for the best with everything and keep up your spirits!

Graziana from Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with Herbs) shared Baked Pasta with Peppers and Cinnamon Basil. When I first saw this recipe I was overcome with intrigue.. What is cinnamon basil?! I wonder if I can find any in my neck of the woods, because Graziana’s description of it sounds delicious.

Katerina from Culinary Flavors shared her Pasta Alfredo with Jack Daniels Chicken this week. Katerina first had this dish when a Fridays opened in Athens, Greece. She decided that delicious as it was, she needed something healthier. Instead of opting out of the dish entirely, Katerina developed her own version of the dish. Jack Daniels chicken sounds delicious! This recipe is getting added to my bookmarks.

Last but not least in our small roundup this week, Joanne from Eats Well With Others shared her Coriander and Nori Pesto Soba with Wok Seared Greens. After returning home from BlogHer Food, Joanne felt the need to detox and eat very green! This Asian inspired dish sounds like the perfect detox with green foods, as well as being full of flavor!

Clearly I am scattered this week, because I forgot to post Ruth from Once Upon a Feast’s submission! Ruth shared her Shrimp & Fiddlehead Pasta with Garlicscape & Pistachio Pesto. Once again, I am intrigued by the ingredients in this dish. Fiddlehead must be something I should try! The combination of the shrimp and the pesto looks absolutely delicious as well.

Thanks everyone for sharing this week. I wish I had participated myself, but we all know how life works sometimes. The next Presto Pasta Nights announcement is already up! Check it out at Bricole!

Presto Pasta Nights

For the first time, The Law Student’s Cookbook will be hosting Presto Pasta Nights! I am very excited about doing this and seeing all the delicious pasta dishes that you guys share!

With the mass amount of tomatillos I currently have in my refrigerator, I will be finding a way to make some dish incorporating them with noodles. We’ll see how it turns out! I’m hoping it’ll taste good.

What types of noodle dishes are on your menus?

Share your pasta dish with Presto Pasta Nights!
Write a blog post about it, mention Presto Pasta Nights, and email me your URL to elizabeth@crabtech.net by Thursday June 14th to be included in next Friday’s roundup. If you don’t have a blog but have a pasta dish to share, you’re still welcome to join. Just send me an email!