a milestone for cody cakes

I just wanted to share a proud moment.

codycakes.com is officially LIVE!!

...and [gasp with excitement] I have a LOGO!!

How COOL...  [quietly in awe and having a moment]

...just wanted to share!! [all smiles]

sesame shrimp

Oh YUM!  This sesame shrimp recipe is a keeper!  I'd say we eat very healthy in our household and shrimp is hardly on the menu because Eric has ingrained in my brain that "shrimp is high in cholesterol, it isn't healthy."  Needless to say, our dinners have become very mundane because there's only so much one can cook when we don't eat red meat, chicken, pork...  Just veggies and seafood (we do this by choice if you're wondering).  So I figured I'd change things up a bit, shrimp is 'okay' every once-in-a-blue-moon.

My blue moon has risen and I found a sesame shrimp recipe on allrecipes.com.  I've deviated a little from the recipe and my additions are italicized below.  If you want a little more sauce to pour over your rice, you might want to double, or triple the recipe.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided 

2 teaspoons lemon juice 

2 tablespoons sushi vinegar 

2 tablespoons mirin

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 dash lemon-pepper seasoning

1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Hot cooked rice

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

I also added veggies (because I had them on hand):

cabbage

carrots

broccoli 

mushrooms

pineapple chunks - optional

green onion for garnish

Directions

In a re-sealable plastic bag, combine the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, lemon juice, garlic powder and lemon-pepper; add shrimp. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 30 minutes.  I doubled the recipe and let the shrimp soak overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. I cooked the veggies and shrimp IN the sauce. In a skillet, sauté shrimp in remaining sesame oil until shrimp turn pink, about 3 minutes. Serve with rice if desired. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Yum!

mashed potatoes with a spinach twist

I wanted to make some seasoned potatoes for dinner and noticed a 10 pound bag of potatoes for $1.99.  It was cheaper than buying two individual potatoes, so I went for the bulk purchase.  In light of trying to use up 8 pounds of potatoes I found a Potato Spinach Casserole recipe on allrecipes.com.  OK so I didn't follow the recipe exactly and ended up with mashed potatoes with spinach in it- but it tasted super yum and my tummy was satisfied!  My additions are italicized below.

Ingredients

7 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

6 cloves garlic

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. I didn't do this part

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and garlic and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash.

In a large bowl combine mashed potatoes, spinach, sour cream, butter, green onions, salt and pepper. Spoon into prepared dish.

Bake for 15 minutes. Top with cheese and bake 5 minutes longer. I didn't do this part either, I was hungry


I should also note that I gifted myself a Canon 60D and this is my first food photo!  Better quality photos to come shortly...I hope!! 


Smile and say Cheese!!

curried quinoa

I've been on the hunt for tasty quinoa recipes.  I LOVE the stuff but Eric isn't so fond of it, so I'm trying to find more ways to cook it so it's a little more enjoyable for him.  He doesn't ever complain but it pushes me to research and find more ways to be creative in the kitchen.

I added a few veggies to the dish to give it some texture and added a little more chicken broth to cook the quinoa.  Other than that, I didn't deviate from the recipe and it was good.  It doesn't taste like a strong curry and it's not too spicy, however I did dilute the spices when I added the extra broth.

curried quinoa

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed

• 1 small onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 cup quinoa

• 2 cups chicken broth

• 1 tablespoon curry powder, or to taste

• 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook and stir for 2 minutes; add quinoa and cook and stir until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes.

1. Pour broth into the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add curry and chile powders; cover and simmer until tender, about 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Happy Healthy Eating!! xoxo

LARGE chocolate chip cookies

Lately I've been on a junk food rampage, rummaging through my pantry for something sweet, something else salty, something crunchy, anything that isn't my normal healthy veggies.  I've exhausted my searching (and indulging in a candy binge) and resorted to baking with whatever ingredients I had on hand- cookies!!  

[seriously I'm hoping this nasty craving that's taken over me passes soon or my waistline will be unforgiving]

My eyes are probably larger than my stomach and I made them HUGE!!  ...so huge that it takes 20 minutes to bake AND you can only bake 6 per batch! ...sighhh, soooo, it took longer than a normal batch of cookies to bake.

BUT, they are SO delicious!  Totally hit the spot and subsided my junk food craving...for now.

[I should also side-bar here to tell you that I made a major baking NO-NO and answered the phone while putting my ingredients together and added more butter than the recipe called for... so my cookies flattened out more than they should have...lesson learned. No multi-tasking while baking.]

I found the recipe here: The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies - but they won't let you see the recipe without membership

     [but mine weren't thick because of my butter error]

I'm afraid I can't publish the recipe because of copyright stuff but you can purchase the book USED from Amazon for $9.00 ... Trust me, you'll get your money's worth from this book, it's phenomenal.  AND if you can catch them on PBS, this show is so captivating and you can actually learn a thing or two from them!!

...I just ate THREE of them.  

Happy Eating: oink oink!

Zucchini Bites

Simple Ingredients for a yummy and tasty appetizer!  Thank you to The Curious Country Cook for your Zucchini Tots recipe (adopted by The Naptime Chef)!  Straight out of the oven, it actually has a meat texture (for the carnivores out there) and doesn't really taste much like zucchini (for the veggie haters out there) which equates to a very well-rounded food dish that appeals to all!!

I doubled the recipe so I'd have a little more.

Zucchini BitesVia The Curious Country Cook & Recipe adapted: The Naptime Chefyields: 
12 mini muffins

Ingredients
1 cups zucchini, grated
1 egg
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup cheese (cheddar or Parmesan work the best)
1/4 cup bread crumbs - I used Italian style
Salt and Pepper

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a mini-muffin tin with non-stick spray, set aside.
2. Grate the zucchini and then place in a dish towel to squeeze out the excess water- like when using frozen spinach.
3. In a bowl combine, the egg, onion, cheese, bread crumbs, zucchini, salt and pepper.
4. Using a spoon or a cookie scoop, fill the muffin cups to the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the top is browned and set.


And here's the end result!!  This is definitely staying on our dinner menu!!

Happy healthy eating!! xoxo

Williams-Sonoma "New Flavors for Vegetables"

At the Nevada and California border there is my favorite outlet mall.  It's my favorite outlet because there is a Williams-Sonoma outlet.  There are always great sales and deals going on, so I like to stop by, ohhhhh once a month...

I decided to get this recipe book because it was half off.  $11!!  Go get the book!

I've never purchased a recipe book that

1. I didn't have to purchase special ingredients
2. Each recipe is so quick and easy; no complicated utensils or cooking apparatus's 
3. I've actually made more than half the recipes
4. I've actually made more than half the recipes AND liked it!!

Being a part-time vegetarian (I eat seafood) it's often hard to find TASTY vegetable recipes.  It's always the same stir-fry...  Additionally, I'm always curious about all of those vegetables at Trader Joe's and not have any recipes or the know-how to make it.  This entire book has Trader Joe's written all over it- it's all of those vegetables!!

I made wok seared baby bok choy with chili oil and garlic. 

I added mushrooms...because I LOOOOOOVEEE mushrooms!!!  I add mushrooms to EVERYTHING, I love them so much.  And it was deeeelicious!