Rigatoni Positano

Ok, Ryan, here it is. I promised I'd put this on here for you! When I bought the romano cheese, I figured I should post this as well. I actually have a lot left over, so maybe you'd want this again?! hehe

Ryan loves this stuff & I made it for him over Christmas. Mom & I personally think it smells, so I refer to it as "the stinky" but everyone's different...if you're big on eggplant, this is the dish for you.

This dish sounds difficult BUT IT'S NOT! All you have to do is prioritize and you'll be fine. Just follow my directions and you won't mess it up.

Rigatoni Positano

2 jars Prego Marinara Sauce
3/4 c. mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. romano cheese
1 lb. chicken breast, cubed
1-1 1/2 T. freshly minced garlic
1 large fresh eggplant
1/4 c. olive oil
16 oz. box rigatoni pasta
Basil-fresh or dried.

Use a BIG skillet for this!! If you don't have a big HUGE skillet that can handle all this food, you'll have a big HUGE mess.

Cook chicken until done and juices run clear and the inside is no longer pink. Keep warm.

Boil rigatoni pasta until done. Drain.

(You can cook the chicken at pasta at the same time)

Heat olive oil in skillet on medium-low heat. Keep a good eye on it as olive oil has a low smoke point. (TIP: to check if your oil is hot enough, wet your fingers a little bit and splash some water in the skillet. If it pops-it's ready. Don't splash too much water or the oil will splatter everywhere, make a mess, & stain your clothes).

Cube up your eggplant at this point. Don't worry about peeling it. Don't do it before you get started or it will brown and get yucky while you're waiting the above ingredients to cook (kind of like apples do). Add it into the olive oil along with the garlic and sautee until done. It should be nicely browned.

Add chicken and one jar of marinara sauce to the eggplant mixture. Mix together well. Toss pasta in with the mixture. Add in your cheeses...SLOWLY & tossing until they are nicely melted. (TIP: This is where the 2nd jar of marinara comes in handy-you may find you need to add more...this is a lot of food! I didn't have 2 jars the first time I made it. You'll need two. You'll probably have leftover sauce-that's OK...use it for something else). You may also find you prefer a little more cheese than what the recipe calls for. Add it in as you wish. Be careful not to add too much. Easy does it.

Sprinkle with basil and a little extra mozzarella cheese.

CONFUSED ABOUT HOW TO CUT UP THE EGGPLANT?


I posted a really great link that shows you step-by-step how to cube an eggplant. This is exactly the way I did it for this dish and it turned out great!

http://www.cookthink.com/reference/314/How_to_cube_an_eggplant

WHAT ABOUT SEASONING?

I didn't add any seasoning to this dish, except for maybe a little salt & pepper to my chicken while I was cooking it. There's plenty of seasoning in the Prego sauce. You don't need it! See, I said it was easy! :)

Quiche Lorraine

We're having salmon for dinner tonight. Yum! I'm so excited. And I made this to go along with our salmon. I used romano cheese in it. It's made from sheep's milk, so it's a lot easier on your tummy and it's really tangy. I love it! This came from my ratatouille cookbook from Ryan! I've been so excited about making this!



Quiche Lorraine

1 9 inch pie crust
3 eggs
1 1/3 c. half & half
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3-4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
2 c. grated romano cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

Whisk together eggs, half & half, salt & pepper.

Sprinkle bacon into the bottom of the pie shell. Sprinkle about half the cheese in as well.

Pour the egg mixture over the bacon & cheese. Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.

Bake until slightly puffy & golden brown. About 45 minutes.

You can serve hot, cold, or in between. Enjoy!

Something Funny

He's such a little piggy that he chases you down when you have junk food out. (I only wish he was this way with GOOD stuff...) I had a friend over recently, who happened to bring ice cream to eat, and he would not leave her alone!! He's even so bad that he sneaks food up into his Happy Hut in the middle of the night! I find the crumbs in the morning! Well, I guess he even recognizes pictures of food too...and no, I don't give him cheeseburgers! haha

My last night in Terre Haute

Hi everyone! I'm leaving to go home tomorrow. I had a huge workday today but I still left plenty of time to update today. I've already figured out some food I'm really excited about making when I get home. So I'll keep you posted.

TO MY READERS WITH FIDS:
I'm going to post that birdie bread recipe with the new bird treats when I get home...Maverick loved them and ate every bit out of his forage box. Can't wait to see if Cheeko does...I have to treat him like a 2 year old when it comes to trying new food.

In the meantime, here's one from Ryan.

Ryan's Spicy Southwest Sandwiches (another great one for leftover chicken!)

2 slices sourdough bread
Precooked chicken, sliced into strips & reheated
4-5 pinches of Colby/Monterey Cheese
Bacon (crumbled)
Spicy/southwest mustard

Toast 2 slices of sourdough bread

Assemble your sandwich with the chicken, cheese, bacon, and apply a strip of the hot mustard. Microwave for about 30 seconds or until cheese is melted. Enjoy. Also, if you want, you can cook this like a grilled cheese. Ryan just does it this way-quickie meal before work!

Ryan's Screwdriver with a Twist

Ryan bought some of that Simply Orange Mango and has another cocktail recipe to share.

1 1/2 shots Vodka
2 parts Simply Orange Mango
Lemon wheel

Pour vodka & juice over ice & mix well. Squeeze in a little lemon juice and garnish with a lemon wheel. Enjoy.

Ryan's BBQ Chicken Pizza

The smell of these pizzas bring back good memories!! I'd always stop at Java Haute for a cup of coffee after ATC class and then head to Ryan's house to do my homework during my last semester of college. When I got there, he'd usually be making one of these before his night class or work. Makes me smile!


BBQ Chicken Pizza for one or two (These are great to make with any leftover chicken)

1 premade pizza crust
2 heaping tablespoons of each-Honey BBQ sauce & Original BBQ sauce
About a half a chicken breast (precooked), cut up into small bite-size pieces
1 c. pizza blend cheese (half mozzarella, half cheddar)
Red onion slices
1 T. bacon bits
Cilantro

Preheat oven to 375.

Assemble your pizza:

Spread BBQ sauces on crust. Distribute chicken evenly on crust.

Sprinkle on cheese.

Add onions & bacon bits.

Sprinkle with cilantro (fresh or dried, doesn't matter).

Bake for 13-15 minutes. Cool for about 5 minutes, cut, and enjoy. Makes about 6 slices.

Ryan's Cocktail & Chicken

I lucked out and I have a man that likes to cook. He's learning well and I'm so proud of him! Here's the meal he made tonight.



Ryan's Semi-Homemade Chicken Wraps

2 precooked fried chicken breast strips (reheated)
2 flour tortillas
Fresh lettuce
Sliced tomato
Honey Mustard

Assemble your wraps by layers lettuce, tomato, & 1 breast strip per tortilla. Squeeze a stripe of honey mustard on your chicken breast strip. Wrap up. Enjoy!



Ryan's Ginger Ale Cocktail

1 part Vodka
2 parts ginger ale
1 lime wedge

Mix vodka & ginger ale. Squeeze in the juice of a lime wedge. Pour into a funky martini glass & enjoy responsibly.

New Bird Treat

We were at PetSmart yesterday and decided to get some treats for Maverick. I think I might use a little in a birdie bread recipe for Cheeko since he's so finicky about trying new food. I'll post that recipe later. Have you tried it? It's got pineapple, corn, banana chips, peas, peppers, pumpkin seeds, beans, and nuts. I'll let ya know if they like it.

New Cookbook!

I am so excited!! Ryan got me a new cookbook! I love Ratatouille and this was my late Valentine's Day present. I can't wait to try out some of the recipes when I get home, especially the Quiche! I'll let you know how it goes.

Maverick's Melon Skewers

These really work with any fruit, but Maverick is such a melon nut that we always use it for these.

I always order stuff from Foster & Smith for the boys and they sell these skewer toys for food, however, Ryan's come up with a more cost-effective way to get the same effect. I wouldn't use these on a larger parrot though, because I would be worried they could chew through the plastic and get choked. But for the conures, it works just fine.

What you'll need:

Fresh fruit
1 plastic zip tie
An extra pair of hands!



First, slide one piece of fruit onto the zip tie. You need to keep these smaller pieces or they'll fall right off.



Continue doing this until you have about 3 pieces on the zip tie.



Hook through 2 bars in the cage. This is where the extra pair of hands comes in. You need someone to distract the bird if he's impatient!



Be sure to remove all pieces out of the cage when done. You don't want fruit flies! Cut the zip tie out ASAP when Birdie is done eating the fruit. Enjoy!!

Ryan's Limey Rum n Coke

Ryan loves cocktails and wants to share some of his recipes.

1 part Bacardi (clear)
2 parts Coke
1 lime wedge
Ice cubes

Pour rum & coke in a glass over ice. Squeeze the juice out of the lime wedge. Enjoy!

Frosty Strawberry Salad

Picture to come soon ;)

This came from one of my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks! Yum yum! AND...you can even substitute a different flavor Jell-o if you don't like strawberry. Then it can be peach frosty salad, lime frosty salad, etc. I totally didn't plan to make this today either, I was just flipping through this cookbook and opened up to this page and thought, hey, I should try this stuff!

3 c. cold water
1/2 c. minute rice
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. sugar
1 package sugar-free strawberry Jell-o (You can use the real stuff, however, I thought it might be WAY too sweet to use the stuff with sugar in it since you're already adding sugar and fruit)
8 oz. can crushed pineapple
8 oz. container Cool Whip

Combine water, rice & salt. Cover and cook on high until steaming. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add in sugar & Jell-o, stirring until dissolved. Add the pineapple WITH juice. Mix well. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hrs. or so until set. Fold in Cool Whip.

New

I am now going to be adding BIRDIE recipes on my blog!

I hope all my fellow parrot parents will enjoy!

Don't worry, I'm not getting rid of my human recipes either!! :)


Maverick-Nanday Conure

Coffee Cake Muffins

You don't even need a mixer for these muffins! Just a couple forks & a wooden spoon. They came from that red & white plaid Better Homes & Gardens cookbook my mom gave me when I went to college.

Muffin batter
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. butter flavor Crisco
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. milk

Crumb topping
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans
2 T. all purpose flour
2 t. ground cinnamon
2 T. melted butter

Sift together dry ingredients. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix egg and milk together and add to flour mixture. Stir until moistened.

In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans, flour, cinnamon, & melted butter. Stir until well combined.

Line 12 muffin tins. Add a little bit of batter to each muffin tin, topping with the crumb mixture. Again, add some more batter, and top with crumb mixture, it alternates. Only fill about 2/3 the way full. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Ok...I made these without chocolate chips, however, I think if were to make these again, I'd definitely add them (maybe 6 oz). I got this from one of my Gooseberry patch cookbooks :)

1/2 c. butter flavor Crisco
1 2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla extract
5 T. unsweetened cocoa
2 c. all purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
1/3 c. milk

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in cocoa until well combined. Sift together flour, baking powder, & salt. Add the dry mixture into the cocoa mixture alternately with milk. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Quick n Easy Lemon Blueberry Pie

Sorry I didn't have a pic of the last two posts. My lazy self forgot about it! I will add pics next time!

Ok, so I made this kind of by using the same stuff as for the lime pie I made a while back. Once again, I made it sugar free, but you can certainly use the real stuff.

Lemon Blueberry Pie

1 graham cracker crust
16 oz. cool whip
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 box lemon Jell-o
1 1/2 c. blueberries
2 tsp. lemon zest

Combine cream cheese and Jell-o. Add 2/3 of the cool whip to the cream cheese mixture. Blend well. Fold in blueberries. If you buy a whole package of them, don't use the entire package because the juices will run and your pie will be blue. Add the lemon zest...it will bring out the lemon flavor of the Jell-o. Pour into pie shell. Top with remaining cool whip. Refrigerate several hours until firm.

Yeast Rolls

These do take some time, so be sure to do it when you've got some time to kill. It doesn't take long at all to make the dough, you just have to be patient while it rises.

1 package active dry yeast
1 1/4 c. warm water (if you turn the faucet on and let it run on the hottest setting you can, that water will be about 120F, which is about what you need to soften the yeast)

1 c. scalded milk
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. shortening (Crisco butter flavor works great)
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 egg

Soften yeast in water. Combine milk, sugar, shortening,& salt. Let cool to room temperature. Add 1 1/2 c. of flour and beat well. Beat in yeast and egg. Gradually beat in remaining flour until a soft dough forms. Put your dough in a greased bowl, also greasing the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until the dough is double in size.

Turn dough out on a LIGHTLY floured surface...you certainly don't want rolls covered in flour. Roll out dough. With a large biscuit cutter, (flour that as well so it won't stick), cut out little biscuits. Brush the tops with melted butter. Make an off center crease and fold. Brush again with some melted butter. Place on a greased cookie sheet and cover with a damp towel and let rise for another hour or until rolls are nice and big. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

Bacon Explosion

I can't believe my mom actually made this...I'm kind of afraid to try it...one bite and you might have a heart attack...

It's the Bacon Explosion...it's been going around in the internet.

I don't even have the recipe...just google it. It's sausage wrapped in bacon and smothered with BBQ