Simple Stir-Fry

I've been cooking a lot lately, and figured I'd share a really easy dish I just threw together that was pretty tasty (a rare occurrence for me, but thankfully becoming less rare). Basically, I just put some oil in a pan and stir fried some finely chopped garlic, water chestnuts, thinly sliced carrots, broccoli, and diced onion for about five minutes, adding some salt, pepper, and soy sauce. Then I just served it over some rice. Yum!

Fall Themed Party

So the fall themed party for my church went really well! A lot of people came, and we served some really great food. We had games of cornhole and trackball, beer and wine, fall themed foods, and of course pumpkin pie milkshake! Anyway, it was a lot of fun to design and to attend.

Lentil Soup & Pumpkin Shakes

After a failed attempt at a lentil soup (...I didn't know what lentils were...) I made a second attempt with this Martha Steward recipe. It is fantastic—I used chicken broth, and a little extra garlic. Just figured I'd share it because I tried it and give it two thumbs up! :)

So for the fall party this weekend, I wanted to make something pumpkin themed. I Googled a pumpkin milkshake and this recipe was the first thing that came up. Little did I know I had stumbled upon the best dessert ever. Liquid awesomeness. :P (Pumpkin pie is my favorite dessert.) If you like pumpkin pie, you will love this milkshake. It's quick and simple and so delicious. All you need is canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, milk, vanilla ice cream, brown sugar, and whipped cream.

Salad with Chicken, Homemade Croutons and Buttermilk Dressing

For a long time now, I've been meaning to learn how to cook and eat better. So when I saw this book "Twenty Dollar, Twenty Minute Meals" and drooled as I flipped through the fresh, mouthwatering photography, I decided to give it a shot. Below is the very first recipe in the book, which I am proud to say actually turned out quite well! I even tried radishes for the first time...and though I can't admit to liking them still, at least I can say I tried! Radishes aside however (literally) this dish turned out delicious, and I definitely recommend!

You will need:

• 1/2 baguette 
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 sliced lemon
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• fresh thyme
• 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 2 tbsp. sour cream
• 1 tbsp. cider vinegar
• 3 scallions
• 12 c. salad greens
• 1 c. halved radishes 

Preheat oven to 350F. Tear baguette into pieces and toss on baking sheet with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake, tossing once until golden and crisp (~10 min). Simmer the chicken in medium skillet with lemon, rosemary, a small bunch of thyme, and enough water to cover (~10 min). Then cut into pieces. In a small bowl, stir together buttermilk, sour cream, (1 tbsp.) thyme leaves, vinegar, scallions, and salt/pepper. Top your salad greens with the chicken, croutons, radishes, scallion greens, and dressing.

Credit: Twenty Dollar Twenty Minute Meals, by Caroline Wright