Showing posts with label easy recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label easy recipe. Show all posts

June 14, 2012

Not Blessed Mama Cooks, Sometimes: Roasted Artichokes

You guys know I hate cooking. Hate is a strong word- but it's totally accurate. I've been cleaning all day, feeding children, dragging them places and doing errands and shopping and EVERYTHING and at the end of the day, slaving over a hot stove is not what I'm looking forward to. If I had the money, we'd be eating out all the time. I can't even lie and say I'm cooking at home to be healthier- it would be take-out every night if I could afford that shit.

WHEW! Anyway, I do cook, because my family needs to eat. Simple is best- tasty is good too. Not too long ago, I saw people mentioning roasted artichokes on Twitter. I googled a few recipes and tried it out- and oh my goodness, those things are freaking delicious. We've had them every week for about a month now. My daughter loves them- she loves them so much, she asked if we could make them and put them on my blog. She's such a sweetheart. Here they are!

These taste better if you have a little girl with dirty fingernails helping you- just FYI.

Grab some artichokes- chop off the top (about an inch) and then the stem, so they sit flat.

Drizzle some olive oil on a square of foil and put your artichoke on it. Peel the leaves open a bit if you can. The artichokes in the picture have flat leaves instead of being curled and pokey at the tip- these do not work as well, in my opinion. It's hard to get the leaves open, and the leaves were still tough and the heart was mushy at the end of the cooking time.


Drizzle some olive oil over the top of the artichoke. Then do the same with lemon juice.


Then spoon a bunch of crushed garlic over the top. Stick it down in between the leaves. Some recipes call for whole garlic cloves. I much prefer the crushed garlic because then you can eat the tasty bits with your artichoke leaves.


Throw on some salt and pepper, wrap 'em up tight, then stick those babies in a 425 degree over for about an hour and fifteen minutes. You can test one by pulling a leaf off and checking if it's tender enough. I haven't tried these on the barbecue yet, but I think they'd do great. 



Then eat! This is what the roasted artichoke looks like- nice and dark green and oh so tasty. (And this is the one with the pokey leaves.)


My husband, daughter and I have all fallen in love with these artichokes. Spawn#2 ate 3 the other night! I let her eat the leaves, and she gives me the hearts. I hope you give these a try- they're so easy to make and cannot be messed up (obviously, or I wouldn't be making them). 


And here's the little Chef making Hello Kitty waffles. I love that girl!

October 11, 2010

Not Blessed Mama Cooks! (sometimes)

Mamas, let me be honest with you- cooking isn't my thing. I do cook- we try and eat at home as much as possible, and only eat out on the weekends once or twice. But I really don't enjoy it. At the end of the day I'm getting tired, the house is getting messy (or already is a disaster), Not Blessed Daddy's home and things are generally just chaotic and busy. The last thing I want to do is slave in a hot kitchen over a meal that will be either inhaled in 30 seconds or picked and prodded and rejected. Needless to say, simple meals are generally preferred. One pot? Excellent.  Few ingredients? Yahoo! So in that spirit, I would like to share one of my favorite recipes. It's simple, easy, tasty and the ingredients are probably already in your cupboard. AND it's Filipino. You see, N.B. Dad is Filipino, and I figured it would be nice for him to eat some food from his childhood. I knew I would never stack up to his Mama, but I was okay with that- until he asked me to make this dish to take to the in-laws the other day. As I told my brother-in-law, "Do you have any idea how intimidating it is to make Filipino food for your in-laws when you're white?!" They all raved over my Chicken Adobo,  and I hope it lived up to their stringent standards. 
it doesn't look like much, but you'll love it!


CHICKEN ADOBO
ingredients: 1 cup soy sauce, 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, 2 Tbs brown sugar, 
1 Tbs chopped garlic, 3 bay leaves, black pepper, chicken thighs
  1. In a pot, combine soy sauce (low sodium is good), vinegar (I use white distilled), water, brown sugar, chopped garlic (I use canned!), bay leaves, a dash of black pepper, and as many chicken thighs as you like. I used about 3 lbs. the other day- the leftovers are excellent, so don't worry about making too much. I prefer boneless/skinless, but that is not the Pinoy way- we compromise with skinless, bone-in.
  2. Boil like crazy for 30 minutes and don't turn the heat down until you hear the pot boil over. Frantically hope dinner is not ruined
  3. Okay, okay, number 2 was a joke. Well, it's what I do- but do as I say, not as I do. Gently simmer for about 40 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. You want it bubbling, but not a rolling boil. Check broth after about 25 minutes. Add water if it's too strong- but it should be tangy. It will be soupy.
  4. Eat! Ladle the sauce over rice. 

This recipe is super easy and hard to mess up. I don't even measure the ingredients anymore, just dump it in and cook away. I hope you try it and enjoy it!
And if you have any quick, easy recipes (especially for the crock pot), comment below! My family will thank you for it. 

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