Tag: simple

Spring Breakfast Bagel

Spring Breakfast Bagel

I’m always on the search for the perfect bagel. Something that’s not too crazy, you don’t have to be in the kitchen for too long making it, and it’s just plain satisfying. I don’t eat a bagel the same way twice, but this one made me think 

Maleeya’s First Birthday Celebration and Catering

Maleeya’s First Birthday Celebration and Catering

My niece, Maleeya, just recently turned one on Easter, which was April 8th, so we decided that it would be a good idea to celebrate Easter with our family, including a small birthday celebration for her and then, the following Sunday, have her huge birthday 

Snowy Trip to the Eastern Sierras; Mammoth Mountain and Hawaiian Bread French Toast

Snowy Trip to the Eastern Sierras; Mammoth Mountain and Hawaiian Bread French Toast

I recently took a four day trip to the beautiful Eastern Sierras, wherein lies Mammoth Mountain.  Normally my family and I have a traditional summer vacation to this area around my birthday; we enjoy eachother’s company in the breathtaking surroundings of fresh clean air, high altitude, and fishing in the sunshine. This trip was exceptionally different. I’m not much of a snow person–growing up my whole life in the sunshine makes the snow a very unusual experience for me. As we found ourselves in the biggest storm of the season so far, I found myself taken aback with interesting  incidents such as digging the car out of a couple feet of snow, putting chains on tires, layering clothes until the point of suffocation and also, just being too warm and comfy inside to even want to venture outside.  I enjoyed the beautiful snow escape wonderland for the time that we were there: cooking, laughing, and enjoying company with my brother and sister-in-law.
Hawaiian Bread French Toast
4 large eggs, beaten
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
10-15 Hawaiian Sweet Rolls cut in half
Butter for cooking
Crack eggs in one bowl and beat together well.
Combine water and milk together in separate bowl. Then dissolve brown sugar in mixture until there are no large clumps.
Combine water/milk mixture to eggs and incorporate well.
In a medium-sized non-stick pan, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat, making sure not to scorch the butter.
Dip bread into mixture, coating on both sides. Do not let the bread sit in the egg wash, otherwise they will be too soggy.
Place bread in one by one and into warmed pan and cook about 3-4 minutes per side until golden.
Repeat with the rest of the rolls.
Keep French toast in the oven at 350 degrees to keep warm until all are ready to serve.
Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top and serve.
 
Sometimes the simplest things are the ones we remember best. Stay tuned for more Mammoth snow adventures.
Cheers
-Unrivaledkitch
Tuna Salad Sandwich with Fuji Apple, Cucumber, Red Onion and Hummus Greek Yogurt Sauce

Tuna Salad Sandwich with Fuji Apple, Cucumber, Red Onion and Hummus Greek Yogurt Sauce

Sometimes we just need something to eat on the go, but with our crazy lives it gets a little tough. I understand–it happens to me too–the days when I can’t get four hours in the kitchen for all the insane ideas I’d love to commit to, but just can’t. 

Mashed Cumin Black Bean Quesadillas with Extra-Sharp Cheddar and Cilantro

Mashed Cumin Black Bean Quesadillas with Extra-Sharp Cheddar and Cilantro

often find myself checking out the fridge because I’ve forgotten that I should eat something. I know most people don’t do that, but I think it’s the reminisce of chefdom which occasionally peak it’s head out of the shadows and stops me from eating even 

Banana Vanilla Creme Wafer Pie

Banana Vanilla Creme Wafer Pie

I hope everyone’s having a marvelous weekend. I’m at my volunteer yoga studio gig trying to speed up time till I get in the car and am headed for Sin City. I haven’t been to Vegas in maybe 9 months or something like that but that city sparks something in me that can only be felt not said. More than anything the amount of culinary genius set in such a small strip of land of course delights my chef mind. I’ll probably sneak away to a fancy dinner on my own. My co partners in crime aren’t the foodie type.  But here i’d like to leave you with a sweet treat and the promise of so many culinary adventures upon my return. I have some really amazing content that I’ve just been so busy with visitors and my niece to be able to write about but I will soon. So here it is.

Banana Vanilla Creme Wafer Pie

I don’t like Banana, a taste so inherited from my dad who doesn’t like banana either. So why would I make this pie? Well I make it because my family adores it. My grandmother used to make this banana pudding from which this pie was so imagined. Its part of my family pudding pies such as the pistachio pie it wrote about here. This pie is a couple of simple ingredients and a lot of beautiful wow factor for a quick sweet treat to an elegant dinner party I’m pretty sure you can get away with this pie. I love pudding pies just for that reason. Simple and ready to go. Layers of waffer cookies, fresh slices of bananas, and vanilla pudding as well as whipped cream line a simple graham cracker crust thats sure to please the pallet of any banana lover. I hope you will enjoy this.

1 graham cracker crust either prepared or store bought
1 large box of vanilla pudding either instant or cook and serve (I think instant is much easier then you don’t have to wait for the pudding to cool and you don’t run the risk of getting a lot of lumps)
2 3/4 cups of milk
5-6 ripe bananas
about 1 cup of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
1 box of vanilla wafers

Prepare pudding by mixing 2 3/4 cups of milk with pudding mix if using cook and serve like pictured here whisk over medium heat continuously till the pudding comes to a boil take off of flame and mix for two minutes then transfer into a bowl whisk to get excess heat out of the pudding then line with plastic and place in the fridge for about 1 or 2 hours till cool

Instant

Cook n Serve kind

If using instant pudding just mix the milk in until its completely incorporated and chill

Mean while Add heavy cream and powdered sugar using a hand blender or a mixer till the cream becomes whipped and stiff about 6-7 minutes depending. Make sure your cream has not been sitting out or it will not mix up also that there is no water in the bowl your mixed your creme in as this too will fail your creamy whipped topping

After the pudding has chilled  place 1/4 of the pudding in to the whipped cream you just made fold in with a spatula and set in the fridge

with the other 3/4 of the pudding place about 1 1/2 bananas sliced into the pudding and mix in preserving the banana by mashing only gently. There will still be large chunks of banana in the pudding mixture

Line the bottom of the graham cracker curst with sliced bananas all the way around

then line with vanilla wafers up the side along the crust

add 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the top and smooth out

Repeat this process using bananas in a flat layer and then the cookies in a flat layer then cover with the rest of the pudding mixture


Smooth out the pudding over the top of the pie

Finally remove the whipped cream from the fridge place the whipped cream and pudding on the pie to form a mound and smooth over. If your whipped cream looks too runny you will risk a big runny mess of a pie so make sure its whipped enough to stay in place.

Lastly gently press cookies and bananas on final top layer alternating and you’ve got your pie refrigerate for and hour and serve

You can also make little individual pies as well.

I hope you love this pie as much as my family does. This pie is best eaten quickly so the cookies don’t get too soggy.

Cheers- Kimberly

Unrivaledkitch
Chicken Spinach Salad Spicy Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Spinach Salad Spicy Lettuce Wraps

Lets just make this quick and dirty. well not too dirty I made these with the absolute intention of making space in the fridge. I used to make “Fuji wraps” which is what my co workers would ask me for when Italian wasn’t cutting it 

Birthday celebrations, food, friends and good beets

Birthday celebrations, food, friends and good beets

I love food as a celebration. Large parties, huge spreads of tons of food that have peoples eyes opening wide and mouths salivating and pleasant aromas and sights to only be quieted by the shoveling of food in to mouths. Those are the times I 

Because you can make pasta too! Farfalle with tomato poached chicken and broccoli

Because you can make pasta too! Farfalle with tomato poached chicken and broccoli

Cheers…Here’s to the most unconventional of recipes where I’m talking a lot instead of only showing you how to make something… ahahaha

Easy pasta in case one day you’re a little hungry

just cause it says poached don’t get scared
its just tactics for fancy cooking
tell someone you poached something for them
their gonna be like holy hell this kid can
cook!

plus it eliminates use of a lot of oil and I’m trying to not be 1000 pounds before the end of my life

Farfalle with Tomato Poached Chicken and Broccoli

one box of whatever short kinda pasta you like
i used farfalle… i mean just look at that name… it sounds… delicious

anyway i digress like always
this is why i don’t write recipes
geezus get going…

The Stuff

4 Roma tomatoes chopped
1/2 medium white onion minced
3 cloves of garlic
about 1/2 bunch of basil chopped
2 cups of broccoli washed cleaned and chopped into bit sized pieces my bits are pretty big i don’t like the broccoli to get lost or too smushy!
2 chicken breasts sliced into small pieces now when you do this make sure you go against the gain of the chicken so the pieces remain tender and try and make them as similar in size as possible otherwise you’ll have some dry pieces and some raw ones
1 tablespoon of oregano
2 small cans of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
black pepper to taste
a little smoked paprika if you got it
and a dab of cayenne pepper for kicks
salt

large pot of salted boiling water
1 box of you choose it

The Way

okay so now

I add the olive oil to the pan… heat it up
then add the onions
cook them for about 4 minutes
then add the tomatoes
sir em a bit till their good and warm
add the garlic
let that cook some more till everything smells pretty good about 3-4 minutes making sure the fire isn’t too high so your not burning anything
there’s nothing worse than burnt garlic so if you burn it throw it away or else your whole dish is gonna be disgusting
okay so now that’s look in good
pour in the broccoli
mix mix mix
add to this the tomato sauce
and mix it all about
simmer a couple of minutes
then add milk and seasonings
good news is were almost done

okay now that the sauce is bubbling away lower the heat and bubble some more for about 5 minutes
add the chopped chicken to the liquid
mix mix mix again
i know but cooking is repetitive just do it
okay so by this time you can stop mixing
put a lid on the sauce and let it cook
about 6-7 minutes
chicken is quick don’t over cook it
and your not gonna die if you get a tiny little piece of raw chicken so don’t be so paranoid your house isn’t the health department and I’m sure your cleaner then your average taco stand so don’t worry plus everything cooks a little longer when you toss it in. Best bet is make sure the pieces of chicken are the same size for even cooking.
anyway the chickens gonna let go of a lot of nice juices into your sauce
so after you got all that cooked up
your gonna cook your pasta in the water
nice and al dente now
none of this over cooked pasta bullshit
that’s disgusting
my none existent Italian grandmother would be rolling over in her grave
anyway
drain the pasta
add a little good extra virgin olive oil to it
i know i said not too much oil but i don’t even think of olive oil as fat really cause its so good for your skin and your life honestly

you need more olive oil in your life

add the pasta to the sauce
mix mix and let all those juices stick to that yummy goodness
adjust for seasoning
always always always taste and put freaking salt in your food!
lesson number one if you got through all this fucking taste your food
it will help
you know what you like
if you want it spicy
if you want it more tomatoey
if you want it to have candies inside i don’t care your gonna eat it fix it the way you like
At the very end put in the basil
because fresh herbs have the most power when fresh meaning at the end always
and sprinkle with a little parmigiano reggiano or maybe you just have a little packet of cheese from take out pizza the other night
whatever floats your boat
and you got it homies

pasta

enjoy


ps I’m down to vegetarianize… veganize this
get rid of the chicken and milk add an extra can of tomato sauce and a little bit of veggie stock or water 1/2 cup instead of milk
chop up some extra broccoli maybe even some peppers or eggplant would be awesome
cook it in the sauce like you would the chicken
and you got the veggie pasta of your dreams