Chef Marie: Baking and Cooking

Another recipe I found this week involved zucchini, meat, and vegetables. Zucchini Boats are easy to make and taste delicious. Here's what you'll need (serves 2): - 2 zucchinis - 1/4 cup salsa - 1 lb. turkey or any meat (I used steak) - a pinch of each: garlic powder, cumin, salt, chili powder, paprika, oregano - 2 cloves of garlic - 1/2 of a bell pepper (cut into small pieces) - 1 cup of a medley of vegetables (I used a frozen bag medley with onions, peppers, etc.) - 1/4 cup tomato sauce - less than 1/4 cup water - 1/4 cup shredded cheese (as topping) Directions: 1. Bring a big pot of water to boil, add in the salt. 2. Cut the zucchinis in half, and use a spoon to scrape out the middle. 3. Place the zucchinis in the boiling water, cook for 1 minute. 4. Chop the removed zucchini and set aside. 5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 6. Spread salsa in bottom of baking dish. 7.  Brown your meat and add in the spices. 8. Add the water, tomato sauce, garlic, bell p

What are Cauliflower Breadsticks? Well, they taste just like real breadsticks, but they are a healthier version. When I was first making these, I was thinking, "How does cauliflower turn into a crust-like substance?" Well, after baking, these taste crispy and are just like breadsticks! Indulge in this flavorful recipe. Ingredients: -  1 head of cauliflower (I used purple cauliflower) - 2 cups of any shredded cheese - 4 eggs - 2-3 tsp. oregano - 2-3 cloves of garlic (chopped) - a dash of pepper and salt Directions: 1. Chop the cauliflower and put into a food processor so that the result is small and fluffy pieces of cauliflower. 2. Cook the cauliflower in the microwave (cover it) for about 10 minutes. 3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 4. In a large bowl, combine the cauliflower, eggs, cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano. Mix well. 5. Find a large cookie sheet and put a piece of parchment paper on top. 6. Flatten the mixture onto the cookie sheet and ba

I have seen different quinoa fritter recipes floating all over the Internet. At first I thought these would taste weird, especially since quinoa isn't my favorite food. But, these are great! They aren't too difficult to make, but they are filling. I recommend only eating 2 at a time, because you will be full in no time. I also did not have any onion, so I just used garlic instead. The recipe that I based my recipe on can be found here: Crispy Quinoa Fritters. Ingredients: - 1 cup of uncooked quinoa - 3/4 tsp. salt - a pinch of black pepper - 1/2 cup shredded cheese - 2 eggs - 1/2 tsp. paprika - 1 small onion (or you can use garlic instead) - 3/4 cup flour - vegetable oil to use when frying the fritters Directions: 1. Rinse the quinoa in cold water and place it in a pot with 2 cups of water 2. Add salt to the pot, bring to a boil, lower down to a simmer, uncovered, and cook for 12-15 minutes 3. In a large bowl, mix together the cooked quinoa, cheese, eggs,

I love tomatoes, and I had a whole bunch left over for this week, so I made Baked Tomatoes. These are so easy to make! All you need is a few tomatoes, salt, cheese, and oregano. I also bought a Stuffed Mushroom at the grocery store. This is also easy to make at home. All you need is a large mushroom, feta, spinach, onion and tomatoes. Cook at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. This is a fast and tasty meal! Also, since these are vegetables, this meal is pretty healthy. This serves about 2 people as a light meal or appetizer. Ingredients: Baked Tomatoes - 4-6 tomatoes - cheese (Parmesan is probably the best cheese to use) - a few dashes of seasoning salt - dashes of oregano Stuffed Mushrooms - 1 large mushroom - 3 Tbs. feta cheese - 1/2 cup spinach to fill it - a few handfuls of chopped onions and tomatoes to put on top Enjoy! These will make great appetizers.

One of my sister's coworkers at World Market, Louisa, created this recipe. These Triple Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are to die for! They are easy to make and deliciously sweet. The recipe above lists everything you need (sugar, butter, egg, water, vanilla, flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, oats, white chocolate chips and chocolate chips). Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 2. Mix together the sugar, butter, egg, water and vanilla 3. Stir in the cocoa, flour, baking soda, salt, white chocolate chips, chocolate chips and oats 4. Drop the dough on an ungreased baking sheet (about 1 teaspoon each) 5. Bake for 10-12 minutes (or longer if they are still a little doughy) This recipe makes about 60 cookies, depending on how big of a teaspoon you put on the pan for each cookie. These cookies are chocolatey and just a tad bit salty. These are perfect for holiday occasions and housewarming parties! Mixing the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla Cocoa, oats, salt M

This past week I have been craving Chinese food. My favorite dish is Cashew Chicken. I love nuts, and the cashews create a salty and crunchy flavor. I found a good recipe online, at Food.com . I didn't follow it exactly, since I didn't have red pepper sauce or green onions. I also had tons of brown rice, so I used that instead of plain white rice. This recipe serves about 6 people, and it doesn't take very long to make (about 35-40 minutes)! Here's what you'll need: - 1/2 cup chicken broth - 1 Tbs. cornstarch - 3 Tbs. soy sauce - 1/2 tsp. ground ginger - 1/2 tsp. red pepper sauce (I used a spice mix that had red pepper flakes) - 2 Tbs. oil - 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into 1 inch pieces) -  1 red onion (cut into 1 inch pieces, or smaller) - 1 green bell pepper (cut into 1 inch pieces) - 1 8 oz. can water chestnuts - 1 can mushrooms (I used about 6 small mushrooms instead) - 1 cup cashews - 2 green onions (optional) Directions: 1

The other day I was trying to think of something healthy to make for dinner, but I wanted it to have cheese. I love cheese. Then it hit me, a quesadilla!! Quesadillas are so delicious! After some web browsing, I decided to make a Spinach Tomato Pesto Quesadilla. Here is what you'll need: - 1 cup of spinach - 1/2 of a tomato - 1/4 cup shredded cheese - 1 tsp. pesto - 1 whole grain tortilla Directions: 1. Spread the pesto on one side of the tortilla. 2. Place the chopped tomato, spinach leafs, and cheese inside. 3. Fold the tortilla and place in a frying pan. Cook on each side for a few minutes.  Enjoy!! These are tasty and so easy to make!