Holidays Are Coming. Recipes Are Coming.

So Thanksgiving came and went and Halloween too and I totally neglected to put any recipes or anything up as I have in a while. I'm working on so many other projects in my personal life and I've totally negated this site which is sad because in my day to day personal life I'm cooking up a storm at all times. I'm going to try to post some Christmas and seasonal recipes over the next few days and I think I'm going to throw in some "festive" :) drink recipes too! If anyone has any requests or ideas or even their own recipes feel free to throw them out there and share. In the meantime look forward to some fun recipes like Italian braised rabbit, Panna Cotta, and of course some regular non-Italian recipes too!

StockHowTo.Net

So, I recently decided to make a small little webpage with information on the stock market and forex and include some how tos and I plan on trying to add a lot of content to it. I don't know how many people still subscribe to my blog anymore or even see it as I haven't even posted on here in forever. But the website will be really informative and I'll try my best to keep the content fresh and exciting. http://www.stockhowto.net Check it out!

Secret Coca-Cola Recipe

The Secret Recipe for Coca-Cola

I found this link while looking online and I needed to share. I doubt anyone will attempt to make soda but I do think it'd be cool if any of you guys tried this and added your own flavors and made a customized soda! This is the original recipe and it's obviously been changed and tweaked but you can still use it. I myself might even try it later on this week and post my results. In the meantime enjoy!

The recipe:

Fluid extract of Coca: 3 drams USP
Citric acid: 3 oz
Caffeine: 1 oz
Sugar: 30 (unclear quantity)
Water: 2.5 gal
Lime juice: 2 pints, 1 quart
Vanilla: 1 oz
Caramel: 1.5 oz or more for color

The secret 7X flavor (use 2 oz of flavor to 5 gals syrup):
Alcohol: 8 oz
Orange oil: 20 drops
Lemon oil: 30 drops
Nutmeg oil: 10 drops
Coriander: 5 drops
Neroli: 10 drops
Cinnamon: 10 drops

More Easy College/Quick Recipes

Quick and Easy Recipes Anyone Can Make - Quick Pasta Sauce, Egg Omelet, Yogurt Kabab Chicken



I figured I'd dump some more quick recipes on you guys because I've been cooking for a lot of people lately. These are more recipes that I used when I was in school and anyone can make them. Impress your friends/family and yourself and master the art of the kitchen.




-Quick Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 green/red pepper chopped
400g can of chopped tomatoes
Fresh basil or dried Italian herbs to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper.



Directions
1) Simply cut onion and garlic into small pieces and fry until browned in olive oil. Then add pepper if desired.
2) Reduce heat and add chopped tomatoes then simmer
3) When it starts looking like a sauce (usually about 4-5 few mins) add salt pepper and herbs, stir and taste
4) Adjust seasoning to taste if necessary and serve over cooked pasta.


-Quick Omelet 
Ingredients
3 Eggs
Salt and Pepper
Butter
Onion/Green Pepper - amounts desired

Grated cheese (optional)
Mixed herbs (optional)

Directions
1) Mix the eggs in any sort of bowl or jug you like with salt, pepper and onion/green pepper/herbs if desired.
2) Heat the butter (or oil) in a reasonably large frying pan.
3) Pour in the egg mixture slowly and swirl the pan a little to even it out.
4) After 30 seconds or so the top should firm up, at this point add grated cheese if you like.

-Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use 1/2 boneless thighs, half breasts)

1 T minced garlic or garlic minced to a paste

1/4 cup finely chopped garlic chives, regular chives or scallions

1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 cup cup plain yogurt


Directions

Cut chicken into 1 inch chunks and put into wide shallow bowl.
Mix garlic, greens, salt, pepper and oil into the yogurt.
Add to chicken and stir, cover and marinate for 1-2 hours - turn over once.
Broil 12 - 15 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.

PIzza Hut Sucks in Everett Massachusetts.

I'm not one to order out and yet more often than not a delivery driver is knocking on my door. See, that's the problem when you have a lot of friends to entertain, they get hungry and you need to feed them or they feed themselves by ordering food. In the past two weeks Dominos has probably been to my house 11 out of those 14 days. Last night was the last straw, I couldn't take it anymore the same food, the same choices, the same delivery guy and boxes! Finally someone suggested Pizza Hut instead. I don't even like Pizza Hut personally but for a change of scenery I was game. In the back of my head I was a little "trepadatious" because the only two times I've ever ordered from Pizza Hut massive problems have arisen.

My friend placed a simple order a large pepperoni pizza, side of boneless buffalo wings and a 2 liter of Pepsi. Now the fun starts: the driver got lost in my apartment building, they delivered the wrong pizza and they forgot the dipping sauce for the wings. I ran out of my apartment after we realized all this but I couldn't find the driver. The problem was when the food came we put it in the kitchen, grabbed plates and cups, cleared off the table and got situated to eat. That was more than enough time for the delivery guy to escape unscathed. The store closed at 9:45pm, the pizza was delivered at 9:56pm and I surely thought all hope was lost. I called the store for the hell of it and to my surprise a heavenly voice answered the phone. this sweet angel gave me hope and faith as she told me hastily a new pizza would be coming and then quickly hung up. I smiled and told my friends all was good, I saved the day. I sat down with my victorious grin when it hit me; she never asked my address or phone number. My phone has a restricted number so surely the computer didn't recognize it and how would she know where to bring the pizza? I called back and the phone rang and rang and rang to no avail. I still kept that glimmer of hope for my friends sake even though I had known Pizza Hut had forsaken us and not for the first time. We waited but the bell never rang there was no saving us from this situation. On top of that, in the meantime while we waited, I tried a slice of pizza that they did bring and it was ice cold.

When I Was in School...

College can be rough.. Living alone and having a smaller area than being back home with no one coking for you and limited funds can start to hurt your stomach. But you can make some decent meals on a limited budget using your small dorm or apartment with just a little creativity. Here are a couple recipes you can use that are quick, easy and cheap


-Wine:
2 cups sugar
balloon
1 package active dry yeast
fruit juice concentrate/crushed fresh fruit
3 quart water
coffee filter

Directions
Make simple syrup with sugar and water (boil water add sugar while boiling let sit and cool)
Make sure water is cold add yeast and concentrate
Poke hole in balloon and put on the opening of the container
Let sit 7 weeks
filter the junk out with a coffee filter


-Quick Garlic Pasta
½ lb pasta (half box)
garlic salt
butter
black pepper
parmesan cheese
red pepper flake (optional)

Directions
-Cook half lb of pasta, drain, add 1 tablespoon garlic salt, 2 tablespoons of butter and cheese and pepper(s) to please.



-Quick Chicken Soup (use quantities according to taste)
Garlic
Onion
Carrot
Celery
3 chicken breasts cubed
salt
pepper
bullion cube

Directions
Sauté garlic in pan with butter until translucent on low, add in onions, carrots, celery and cook until bright in color,
Then add in chicken darken on all sides
Add in 2 cups water with 2 bullion cubes, bring to boil for 2 minutes let simmer for 10 minutes salt pepper as desired.


-Turkey Burgers

Ground Turkey
Salt
Pepper
BBQ sauce

Turkey is leaner and cheaper by the lb than ground beef

Marinade turkey with dash of salt pepper to taste in BBQ sauce over night or 20 minutes in fridge.

Secret Sauce? Maybe Not

I'm not here to promote fast food in the least bit but we've all been there, whether it be drunk in the middle of the night, nursing a hangover the next day, on a long road trip or maybe even just in the mood for it but we've all had it. America's most popular sandwich - The Big Mac. You've heard the jingle: two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun and maybe you've wondered what that "special sauce" is? Most of us have justified it as Thousand Island dressing but it's a little more complex than that. Now this may not be the official recipe but it's damn sure close. Try it.. I implore you, even if you don't want to put it on a sandwich :)


Ingredients
1/4 cup miracle whip
1/4 cup mayonaise
3 tablespoons french salad dressing
1/2 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
11/2 tablespoon dill pickle relish
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon ketchup
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions
Mix all ingredients together
Put in microwave for 25 seconds
cover put in refrigerator for an hour

A Great, Easy, Simple Lasagna

I've decided to make this blog all inclusive for food. That means, reviews, critiques, ideas, grumbles, and recipes.

So this is a recipe my Ex who I'm still very amicable with made me for my birthday - feel free to follow her here! It was a great tasting simple lasagna and being Italian that means a lot. So enjoy! If you guys have any questions feel free to ask!

Remember you can substitue the meat with ground beef if you want and you can use lowfat/nofat ricotta and mozzarella. (be warned I can taste the difference with no-fat mozzarella and no-fat riccotta, skim is perfectly fine though)

Ingredients

• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 2/3 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2/3 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
• 3 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1 pound part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 (10 ounce) package chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze dried
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. In skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage with the onions, garlic and 1/2 the parsley; drain. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, Italian seasoning, oregano, and basil; mix well. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes; stirring occasionally.
4. In a bowl, combine remaining parsley and Ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, eggs, garlic salt, and pepper; mix well.
5. In lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish, spread 2 cups sauce mix. Begin layering with 4 noodles, 1/2 cheese mix, 1/3 remaining sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat this layer again and the last layer will be noodles, sauce and mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake covered in a preheated oven at for 45 minutes. Bake uncovered an additional 10 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Girl Scout Cookies Cheap!

Girl Scout Cookies cheap and All Year!
Never a bad thing when you start to hear the familiar names Samoas, Do-Si-Dos, Tagalongs, or more commonly caramel delights, peanut-butter sandwich, and peanut butter patties. I probably could have just said "Thin Mints" and everyone would instantly know what I was talking about. It's that time, they're back. Girl Scout Cookies are everywhere in sight and what everyone is talking about. Seems you can't go to a local store and not see a troop of girls in uniform screaming for you to buy these little boxes of joy but at what cost. I'll tell you at what cost. $4 bucks a box! That's so absurd to me because the boxes are small as anything and they're running a strict cash only business in my parts.

Rest assured fellow hungry bloggers I have a solution. KEEBLER.. yes yes.. The little elves we all grew up with. You want Samoas (caramel delights) Keebler has you covered with their Coconut Dream's cookie, you want Thin Mints BOOM Grasshopper Fudge etc etc. Keebler pretty much has a response to every Girl Scout cookie kind and for WAY cheaper. For example this evening I bought 4 boxes for $10 and the boxes are gigantic compared to the Girl Scout Cookie ones. $6 savings for a bigger amount.

Oh ya.. Almost forgot the most important aspect of this quick post.. You know the yummy Girl Scout Cookies I'm trying to persuade you not to buy? You know the one's that are your favorite and that you don't mind spending the extra money on? Ya, those?  KEEBLER MAKES THEM. That's right, KEEBLER makes the actual Girl Scout Cookies you buy from the Girl Scouts as well as the same recipe packaged in their own wrappings. =]