I did it!

It's official, people! I cooked my very first meal, all by myself. Now to some of you, this may sound absolutely pathetic, but I'm used to that reaction. My parents have always told me that they would rather do things for me, instead of me trying because "it's too painful to watch." Thus, I will be twenty years old at the end of the month and I can't do my own laundry, nor can I make anything other than Ramen noodles.

Anyway, back to the meal. So my last post was about jumbalaya. Something that I absolutely love. I'm originally from Virginia Beach and you can get a mean gumbo or jumbalya down there. Stocked full of seafood and fresh veggies. Therefore, I decided to try to bring the South to the North, for just a little while.

As my dad lingered around the kitchen, trying to check on me, I prepped all my vegetable. Washed them, cut them up and put them to the side. Next was the chicken. Okay, I have never in my life touched uncooked chicken. I cut the squishy mass into strips and then into cubes. Sick! But, I did it. Next was the polish sausage, not nearly as bad. And then, to add a little bit of seafood, I used some shrimp!

I browned the chicken, with some oil, then put in the polish sausage. Next came the vegetables, the chopped tomatoes and the rest of the veggies. Water and rice completed the mixture. Because I purchased frozen shrimp, that was pre cooked, I threw them in at the end so they could just get warmed up.

After about 45 minutes it was ready, and I couldn't have been more pumped. I made my entire family try it, and was even able to bring it to some friends, it makes a lot! It was a hit. And, the best part was, I did it, all by myself!

Jambalaya!

I've been looking through all my dad's cooking magazines, trying to find something that maybe I would be able to pull off. After consulting with my master chef of a father we came up with this!

Jambalaya, duh!
Yield: 8 Servings

1 lb smoked kielbasa, or smoked Polish sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can, 28 oz, diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups uncooked rice
2 cups water
1/2 lb fresh or frozen uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. In a dutch oven, saute sausage for 1 minute. Add chicken; saute 2 minutes longer. Add the celery, onion, green pepper and garlic; saute for 2 minutes or until vegetable are crisp-tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes of until chicken juices run clear. Stir to fluff the rice. Let stand for 5 minutes to absorb any remaining liquid before serving.

We'll see how it goes! :D

Starting off little..

Since my dad told me that I was on my own I decided that before I jump into anything wild and crazy, that I'd start off simple. I have never cooked a thing from scratch, ever. Therefore, I wanted to make something fool proof. What better than pizza? I know, I know. It's not fear factor food, but for me, it's the first true, real meal that I have cooked and completed from scratch.

I found this recipe online and it turned out really good.

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

Prep time: 2 hours Cook time: 30 minutes
Pizza Dough: Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups bread flour)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar

In a large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer, add the warm water. Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes. Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand. If the dough seems a little too wet, sprinkle on a bit more flour.

These are the instructions from online. I don't have an electric mixer, I got to do it by hand. Fun at first, but got annoying really fast.

Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When my dough was ready I put it on a cookie sheet. I sprayed the cookie sheet with Pam so it didn't get stuck. I just used a tomato/pizza sauce you can buy at your local grocery store, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. I baked the pizza at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes. You can bake it for 20 minutes, or check on it to see when it turns golden brown.

The only problem I ran into was that the dough was uneven in some places, leaving it under cooked it some areas. It was the best pizza in the world but, I like it. I had a sense of accomplishment because I did it, all by myself! :)