An Afternoon in Chelsea

Stony Brook is super close to New York City, why don't I go more?  Because I don't have time!  Nor funds, however, I spent less than $40 there Friday afternoon between the train, subway and food.  Good deal, right?  Natalie and I went to Chelsea to The Highline which is this cool park set on top of old train tracks.   The Highline's Website   Here are some of my photos! 

West 22nd St. and 10th Avenue

It's like a jungle in the jungle.

And we're excited that we found it!

The Highline Zoo

Such a beautiful day!  Even if it was 90 and humid.

Hello, Everyone!

You can see the tracks throughout the whole thing.

They change the art periodically.  

Hey, little guy!

Beyond is the Hudson River and New Jersey.

the most amazing calzone in Little Italy

lemon Italian ice in Little Italy

Overall, really awesome day!  Unfortunately, my camera's battery didn't last the night into Little Italy and Canal Street.  Just have to go back I guess.

Pork Loin Chops and the Leftovers

Wow, I have not posted in a while!  This post is about what I ate this weekend, which actually was a lot of pork.  In case you hadn't noticed, I'd been sticking to beef and chicken thinking it'd be a cost saver.  And it has been, but I finally looked at the pork section at the store and found thinly sliced pork loin chops were reasonably priced.  I called my momma to ask how I should dress/cook them.  This is what we came up with for Saturday's lunch.

Pork Loin Chops with Honey Mustard

5 thinly sliced pork loin chops
2 T. honey mustard
4 T. water
salt and pepper to taste

Now we all know I go to Stop'nShop.

Yep, going to keep using honey mustard salad dressing for everything.  I combined the mustard and water to 
thin it down care of mom's suggestion.  I added salt and pepper to taste.

Looks like ham for now...

Then, I heated a pan and poured the liquid in.  I placed the chops in, covered the pan and sort of steam cooked them.  Since they were thin, they only took 8 minutes on each side.

And now it's cooked!

I cooked up a little pasta, poured alfredo sauce over it and stirred in frozen peas for my side dish.  Voila, easy Saturday lunch.

Quite the gourmet!

I was inspired by this recipe for a Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Crescent Braid (Click for Mel's Recipe) and attempted my own version for today's lunch.  I undid a roll of Pilsbury Crescent Rolls onto a baking sheet and tried to pinch together the perforations.

I should have bought two rolls just to bake.

I diced up the leftover loins, combined it with a cup of cheddar cheese, and whatever was left of my frozen green beans.  I also put in 2 spoonfuls of alfredo sauce; I admit I was skeptical myself, but it worked.

I put everything onto the crescent roll dough and pulled the sides over to create a pork crescent pocket.

Mel's looked much prettier.  Oh well.

I baked the whole thing for about 1/2 an hour, and it tasted amazing!  Thanks to Mel for the inspiration.

Seriously so yummy!

Mexi-Chicken Bake

I've always known that spicy foods help clear your sinuses and aid your digestion; so in honor of our health, have a Happy Spicy Sunday!  I have to say this is one of the quickest dishes I've made in a while!  It is definitely a one pan meal.

Mexi-Chicken Bake

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of corn
4 medium tomatoes
1 packet of taco seasoning mix

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

I rinsed and trimmed up the chicken.  Note: You can definitely thrown in more chicken because there will be plenty of veggies and seasoning in the pan without needing to adjust the recipe.  I placed the chicken in the pan first, and then rubbed it with about half of the taco mix.  I used my new favorite chipotle flavored one.

Rub-a-dub-dub!

I rinsed the beans really well and drained the corn before adding them in as well.  I roughly diced the tomatoes and threw them in too.  I tossed in the rest of the seasoning and mixed everything together.

Black beans would work as well.

I baked everything for about 35 minutes and had rice with it.  And I know that my mom is going to question that I really ate the beans.  I usually never eat beans like this.  College has changed me.

I peaked to see if the chicken was done.

Now my mouth is on fire and I am going to brush my teeth again.

I think my camera lens needs cleaning.

Things to also throw in if you have them:
green chiles
onions
cheese
sour cream on top!


Shucks this sounds better already!  Guess I'll have to do this again sometime.

Turkey Burgers and Fries

It rained ALL day today!  I gave tours this morning and it was not the most enjoyable experience.  On the bright side, even if there was no sun today, my friend Natalie and I made turkey burgers and fries tonight.  You see, Natalie is on the women's basketball team here at Stony Brook, and she eats very healthy so we did turkey and baked fries.  Aren't I cool for knowing a basketball player?

Baked French Fries

2 medium russet potatoes

oil for drizzling

salt to taste

Turkey Burgers

1 lb. ground turkey

1/2 c. bread crumbs

1/4 c. teriyaki sauce

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 t. salt

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees for both the burgers and fries.

Natalie was in charge of the fries, and thanks to Natalie's mom for helping us tonight!  She washed our potatoes and cut them very nicely I must say.

Hi, Natalie!  She's #15 so watch her!

She then soaked the fries in a big bowl of water for about half an hour.  Natalie then drained and dried them before putting them on the baking sheet.

I have one of those cool pop up colanders.

We spread the fries out, and next, we drizzled oil over them and salted them.  They went into the oven for about 40 minutes to really crisp up.

They look like the fries from the fair back home!

Now for the burgers!

Combine all of the ingredients above!  Easy, right?

Turkey: it's what's for dinner.

Form patties and put them on a baking sheet.

To the oven!

These went in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.  Now, hopefully you have timed your baking better than we did so everything is done at the same time.  Oh well, it all tasted great!

All done and no grease!

When you don't have a toaster, use your stove!

Hooray!  So professional too!

I put a slice of cheese on mine.  I do not have ketchup so Natalie used a little spaghetti sauce on her fries and burger.  We should count to see how many times I've used spaghetti sauce for something other than pasta.

Almost Lasagna

I had just put my dinner concoction in the oven when  my mom called me.  I explained to her what I had made, and she was helping me name it.  I'm going to call it Almost Lasagna.  I made a casserole that is like lasagna sans any ricotta cheese or those long lasagna noodles.  And I will have everyone know that I only have two servings left in the giant bag of noodles I have!  Here goes:

Almost Lasagna

5 c. noodles, cooked
1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 c. Alfredo sauce
1 c. spaghetti sauce
1 medium zucchini
2 c. shredded mozzarella
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Note: I did not cook my noodles all the way because they finished in the oven.

I started my layering with a greased pan because I did indeed get more Pam this week.  Whew.  I combined the sauces into one bowl.  For anyone who is skeptical of this, trust me it's amazing.  If you don't want to or don't have one of the sauces around, just use double of the one you do have.  I poured a little bit of my new sauce on the bottom of the pan.

Next, I did a layer of noodles.

I had sliced my zucchini up into thinner pieces and made them the next layer.

Then, came a cup of cheese and more sauce.

Another noodle layer and then the beef came next.  I put teaspoons of salt and pepper into the meat.  I also had a quarter of an onion that I threw in too.

The last of the noodles went in as well as the last of the sauce.  I topped it with the last cup of cheese and sprinkling of the parm.

It went into the oven for about 40 minutes and came out beautifully if I do say so myself.  I literally just ate it and now I still have a stupid grin on my face because it was so good.  Hello, lunch and dinner for the rest of the week!  

Oh, and can I just say I was very disappointed when I went on Hulu today to watch the season finale of The Bachelorette and learned it's not airing till next week.  I am in such suspense!

Peaches' Peach Muffins

It is a well known fact that my mom calls me Peaches so in honor of my own nickname and the new character from Ice Age 4 named Peaches, I have come up with a peach muffin recipe!  Summer is a good time for peaches anyway.  However, I used canned peaches because the peaches at my grocery store didn't look the greatest.

Peaches' Peach Muffins

1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 can peaches, diced

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

I started by just putting the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, eggs and oil into a bowl.  I carefully stirred everything together.  I really using the nutmeg along with the cinnamon because then these muffins taste like spiced peaches.

The batter will look darker.

Next, I added the flour and baking soda.  I only added about 1/4 c. of the flour at a time.

Mix thoroughly, don't just leave it like this.

I diced up my peaches into pieces.  If you are using fresh peaches, peel and pit them before you start dicing.

I think this is the first time I've ever needed to use my can opener.

I folded the peaches into the batter gently.  I didn't want the peaches to be mushed up into it.

Maybe I should just make a cake...

I poured the batter into my greased muffin tin, filling each only about halfway before popping them into the oven.

I may have filled these a little too much.

I baked mine for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The last three looked pretty...

Let them rest in the tin for a minute before removing them to a cooling rack.  Mine did not want to cooperate and come out of the tin.  They don't look the prettiest, but they taste really awesome.  And I'm going to pick up another bottle of PAM soon.  Enjoy your summery muffins and don't forget your laundry in the washing machine.

These not so much...still taste great!

The Patty Melt

Tonight's dinner was probably a tad more American than my Patriotic Chicken Strips.  I recreated on of my all time favorite meals: The Patty Melt!  Now, I have not found a restaurant out here that does them.  And some people I've talked to have know clue what patty melts are.  Such a shame.

The Patty Melt

1 lb. ground beef
1 T. garlic powder
1 1/2 t. pepper
1 t. salt
1/4 c. teriyaki or soy sauce
1/4 c. bread crumbs
1 egg

bread
butter
slices of cheese
sliced onions

To start, I made the patty part.  I mixed the beef, seasonings, sauce, crumbs and egg all together in a bowl.  

I use my hands to mix and really scrub after.

A formed the patties and put them on the pan.  

You can definitely do this on a proper grill.

I had them on a medium heat and cooked them for about 15 minutes.  I like my burgers with some pink the middle.  I slide the patties onto a baking sheet and into the oven to keep warm.

Still got a decent crisp.

Moving on, I poured off most of the grease from the pan.  I then sauteed the onions in the same pan on a low heat.

These didn't make me cry!

Next, I removed the onions.  

Grilled cheese?  What?

I buttered the bread like I was going to make grilled cheese, and then, I toasted the bread in the very same pan.  

Toasting 

I have wheat bread, but a traditional patty melts go on rye bread.  I put the sliced cheese on.  I used cheddar, but swiss or provolone is always good.

Going to be so great!

 I fetched a patty out of the oven and assembled my sandwich.  

Picture perfect.

So greasy and yummy!  I tried to take a picture of how satisfying it was, but my hands were too messy.