Cooking

I have always loved cooking. Something about it just makes me happy. The fact that I can make people smile by taking the time to make wholesome delicious meals, is amazing. So tonight for dinner, I made a chicken pasta primavera and crepes.

The journey to dinner was a long and rather interesting one. I couldn't sleep last night so I ended up looking at hundreds of recipes for what I wanted to make tonight and I figured I'd make a pasta dish and I was hoping to make flan, but I couldn't find the appropriate dishes for it in time, so I settled on crepes.

I walked to the grocery store, got the necessary ingredients, walked back home and crashed. By that point I had been up for 23 hours straight and I needed sleep before I could possibly take on cooking. I started the dinner and it turned out amazing! Without futher ado, here are the recipes I used.




Chicken Pasta Primavera

4 Tbs olive oil
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
½ cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
salt to taste
3 medium tomatoes, diced
1 lb pasta, cooked to package directions (whole wheat angel hair pasta works amazingly!)
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add broccoli, onion, garlic and carrot. Stir frequently, until broccoli is crisp and tender (about 10 min.)

2. Stir in chicken, salt and tomatoes. Heat for 3 minutes or until chicken is heated.

3. Spoon chicken mixture over drained pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley. Serve hot.

Crepes

2 large eggs 
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan (optional - I just use a non-stick pan and they come out fine)

1. In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the
crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.
2. Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.

3. Cut up whatever fruit is in season, use whip cream, nutella, or whatever else sounds good and place inside then fold over and enjoy!

I hope you all try out these recipes and truly enjoy them :)

Graduation and beyond

First things first. I graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Photography on May 14, 2010.

The entire day is a blur. I remember I couldn't sleep well the night before and I woke up super early on graduation day to get ready. I got dressed and met my parents outside of my apartment. They got some breakfast and I ran to the gym to get my seating placement and then went back to them for pictures.

I met up with one of my very close friends and we found our seats. It was so surreal.

Graduation ceremony number 1. It started at 12:30pm and ended at around 1:20pm. So many graduates and their parents and the faculty. The speaker was talking about modern day slavery and the student speaker, I'm convinced, wants to be the next Obama. The ceremony ended and we had refreshments and pictures at the multi-million dollar Information Commons. Time for lunch!

We headed up to Noodles and Company in Evanston and then to Argo Tea and back to the campus for round 2. The next ceremony started at 7:00pm and ended around 7:45pm. This ceremony was so much more fun because it was a smaller school within the university and the professors know the students by name. Back to that multi-million dollar building for more refreshments and pictures with professors and friends. Then it was time for dinner at Grand Lux Cafe. It's like the Cheesecake Factory but a bit cheaper. By the time all was said and done, it was midnight by the time I got back and I was finally able to go to sleep.

After two whirlwind days of packing, my family and I started the long road home from Chicago to San Antonio, Texas where I have started my post-grad journey.
I have been back in Texas for a week and a half now. I have no job and no prospects, but, I must say, having all of this free time is a gift that I will be thankful for having once I start my career.

I'll be using this blog to discuss the trials and tribulations of being post grad in the worst economy since the Great Depression trying to go into a field (journalism) that has faced massive cut backs during the past few days. So, join me as I find new passions, continue to follow others, and try to find a job.