Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps

There’s nothing I crave more than spicy food. Used to not like it, and by some miracle, now I love it. AKA the best discovery ever. Maybe fish is next…? hmmm not yet! Anyways, the first time I had lettuce wraps was amaze-balls and it was the first meal I made when I started seriously cooking around a year ago. It was fitting that I finally make a blog post about it as well as remake it spicier! I’ve decided to add some cool awesome *chilis* to designate how spicy a dish. 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 okay I’m done.

Pulled Pork Philly Sandwich

Even though I enjoy cooking, sometimes I get pretty lazy. Nothing like a combo of slow cooker & quick recipes to allow me the most time to binge watch Friends. I decided to make pulled pork in the slow cooker which left me with lots of options to make for meals – and 6 hours of downtime! Rather than the usual and predictable BBQ pulled pork sandwich, I took to Pinterest/Buzzfeed for some inspiration. Found this recipe in casserole form and made it into a quick sandwich with the leftover pulled pork. Pancetta is a sleeper ingredient and elevates the sandwich – bacon always makes everything better!!

Marinated Flank Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce

Well I wasn’t planning on making a complicated meal tonight… but it turned into one of the best dinners I’ve made since I’ve started cooking! It involved a last minute trip to the grocery store, a quick marinade and prep, and some careful timing to get everything ready at the same time — something I’m still perfecting! Definitely a meal I’ll make to impress friends with in the future and it earned a place in my top 10 favorite meals. Enjoy!

 

Lighter General Tso’s Chicken

My Mother’s Day present was simple: “Hey mom, pick a recipe and I will cook it for you!” My mom has recently informed me that she actually hates cooking… which makes sense since all she really does is microwave things. I’ve gotten into cooking seriously the last six months (hence the new blog) and she hasn’t tried too much of my food but here was my chance to wow her with my skills!

(Ryan/sous chef/boyfriend extraordinaire covering the chicken in corn flakes)

She decided on something asian inspired from Damn Delicious (it is probably 100% my favorite food blog/recipe site) and the best part is not feeling guilty for getting Chinese takeout! Another health plus?? The chicken isn’t fried!

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

It is important to mention how much I LOVE buffalo chicken anything. Ever since I really started cooking almost a year ago, my taste buds have grown to appreciate and now crave spicy food. Franks Red Hot is my buffalo sauce of choice.. and its worth the purchase. If you love buffalo chicken AND cheese then this will knock your socks off!

Side note… Buzzfeed has the most bomb list of buffalo chicken recipes — more will definitely make an appearance on here http://www.buzzfeed.com/melissaharrison/buffalo-chicken-recipes#.msoNP7brk

First food post! Gordon’s Chicken Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

I am OBSESSED with Gordon Ramsay, so its only fitting that my first post is one of his recipes. It’s easy, healthy, and stir fry aka all of my favorite things.

Here’s the video I used and basically followed to a T. It’s hard to remember everything he does since he goes so quick — the written recipe is below so you don’t constantly need to pause and rewind like I did. I also probably kept rewinding since his accent is just so delightful!

Gordon Ramsay’s Chicken Stir Fry with Rice Noodles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCknnSo6djI

Cooking the garlic, broccoli and chicken:

Big thanks to Brittany (best friend/sous chef extraordinaire) for chopping the broccoli as I cooked the chicken. We ate almost all of it and thankfully I had some left over for lunch the next day! Definitely on my list of quick weeknight meals especially after the gym.