BEST FOOD EVER AT BEST RESTAURANT EVER

My favorite meal is breakfast, and my favorite breakfast item is an omelette. Tonight i went out to the best restaurant in the world, BANNINGS and ordered a California omelette. The people at bannings are so nice, they have so many options on their menu, and their food is always always good. I would definitely recommend you eat there sometime, its in Tigard. Anyway the California omelette was delicious! It came with cheddar cheese, bacon, olives and tomatoes. But I don't like cooked tomatoes so I asked them to take those out. Also you can request anything you want to be added to your omelette, i added mushrooms and onions and it was perfecto~! And instead of putting ketchup on it, this omelette came with sour cream, guacamole, and salsa that you could spread on top. It was so freaking unbelievably good. I love eggs. OINK

Gooey BUTTER cake. :P

I decided to make Gooey Butter Cake, I got the idea from the dessert at Montage when we went on our field trip sophomore year. It is so good and full of fat and calories. I found the recipe for this specific gooey butter cake online, it is supposedly the "best recipe in St.Louis". In addition to making this DELICIOUS cake I also made some homemade whip cream to go along with it. 

http://www.cakespy.com/blog-old/2009/8/27/butter-me-up-the-famous-st-louis-gooey-butter-cake.html

Below are the Ingredients and the Directions for preparing it: 

• 1 box yellow cake mix with pudding in the mix (Pillsbury works best) 

• 4 extra large eggs 

• 1 stick melted butter 

• Pure vanilla extract 

• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese 

• 1 box powdered sugar (3 1/2 cups)

• Crisco or pam for greasing pan

BUTTER CAKE MIXTURE:

1. Get 9 x13 pan and grease with Crisco on the bottom and all sides. 
2. Put yellow cake mix in mixing bowl. DO NOT FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE CAKE BOX. Add 2 extra large eggs, 1 stick of melted butter in microwave about 35 seconds, and 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract. Mix together in mixer. Batter will have a very most feel to it. Take cake batter and spread evenly through 9 x 13 pan so it evenly covers the bottom of the pan. 
3. Clean off mixers and mixing bowl. 

GOOEY MIXTURE:

1. Melt cream cheese in microwave about 45-50 seconds. 
2. Put 3/4 of the powdered sugar in mixing bowl setting aside about 1/4 of the box for topping to sprinkle on after the cake is baked and cooled. In mixer add 3/4 powdered sugar, melted cream cheese, and 2 extra large eggs. Mix together in mixer. This will have a very GOOEY consistency as this is the gooey part of the cake. Take the Gooey mixture and layer on top of the cake batter mixture in pan. 

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Bake it at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until the top of the cake is browned. You want to make sure the gooey mixture on top of the cake is not too gooey otherwise it will be like a liquid. It is okay if the edges are brown and the top of the cake is lightly browned as well. 
2. Once cooked remove from oven and let cool about two hours before cutting and adding remaining powdered sugar. Add remaining powdered sugar to coat/cover top of cake, cut like brownies and serve. 

OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK

<< Seafood >>

The Scallops were sooo good! Scallops are my favorite food but I have never had the small scallops before, I usually eat the BIG ones. Anyway, I liked the combination of the spices with the noodles, and the scallops. During the demo I thought it was interesting how fast and easy it was to prepare such a delicious dish! OINK

The tuna appetizer was also delicious! I was hesitant because of the wasabi mayonnaise, which is very unique. I had never had seared tuna before but it looked like it wasn't very cooked which is why I was so hesitant in eating it. After I finally found the courage to eat the appetizer I was glad I did because it was amazing. I ate like four of them. So good! OINK

Finally the shrimp was probably the most flavorful of the three dishes. The tarragon added a lot of "sweet" flavor to the shrimp and it is what ultimately made it taste so good. I didn't see the demo but I was shocked at how fast it could be cooked. Delicioso! OINK

Wheat Berry Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

- 1 cup dry wheat berries 

- 3 cups water

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped 

- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped 

- 4 tsp chili powder 

- 1/8 tsp black pepper

- One 8 ounce can tomato sauce 

- One 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (strained) 

- One 15 ounce can kidney beans 

- One 15 ounce can white beans 

- Salt to taste 

Preparation: 

Cook wheat berries in 3 cups of water for approximately 1 hour, or until tender. Rinse wheat berries with cool water and drain throughly. 

In the microwave cook chopped onion, green and yellow peppers for about 1 minute to soften.

In a pot combine remaining ingredients with microwaved vegetables. On the stovetop, bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. 

Nutritional Information: 

This dish makes about 8 servings. 

Each serving provides approximately: 220 calories, 13g protein, 45g carbohydrates, 11g fiber, 1g fat (0g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 19mg folate, 4mg iron, 845mg sodium.

OMG QUICHE!

For dinner tonight I had this homemade quiche my moms assistant, Janine, made for us. It is sooo good! It definitely ranks in my top 10 for most delicious things I have ever eaten! I don't have any idea how she made it but it was just so creamy and had the best flavors. It had egg (obviously) , broccoli, onions and ham in it and the crust was even good too. The best part however is the melted, baked cheese that tops off the whole thing. This quiche is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and even though I didn't make it ,and I have no idea how it was made, it was so tasty that I thought it deserved to be put on my blog. Thanks Janine! OINK

Pesto Pasta!

Last night for dinner I made myself some Pesto Pasta! I boiled some water and made sure to wait until it started boiling to add the penne pasta. It took about 8 mins until my noodles were cooked and I wanted to make them al dente. I love al dente pasta! After I strained my noodles I put them into a small bowl and then added some delicious basil pesto sauce that I got at Whole Foods. I kinda put a lot on..... After that I got some freshly sliced parmesan cheese from my fridge, also bought at Whole Foods, and mixed that into my pesto pasta! It was fantastic and really easy to make! I could eat it all the time! OINK

Barbecue Chopped Chicken Salad Recipe (CPK)

GRILLED GARLIC BBQ CHICKEN     
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons salt
20 oz pre cooked chicken 
1/4 cup sweet-&-spicy barbecue sauce
In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients, make sure to throughly mix the barbecue sauce around with the chicken and other ingredients. After that put the chicken in the fridge for a while to "marinate" in the sauce. 

GARDEN HERB RANCH DRESSING
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cold water
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup buttermilk
8 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon thinly-sliced scallion top, and whites
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced fresh Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon minced dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh basil
In a mixing bowl, use a fork to stir together the mustard and cold water, forming a paste. Set aside for 10 minutes. Add the remaining dressing ingredients to the bowl and, using a handheld electric mixer at low speed or a whisk, blend together just until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

SALAD1/2 head iceberg lettuce 
1/2 head romaine lettuce leaf 
12 large fresh basil leaves
1 lb jicama
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 cup canned black bean, rinsed drained
1 cup canned sweet white corn kernels, drained
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 lbs fresh ripe tomatoes

1 cup of fried tortilla strips (or just chips) 
In a large mixing bowl, toss together all of the ingredients including the dressing and chicken. 

Teriyaki!

For dinner tonight I went to a little restaurant called Teriyaki Express. I used to go there a lot but i hadn't been in a while. My favorite thing to get there is the Bento. The Bento comes in a little box with a bed of white, sticky rice at the bottom. On top they have teriyaki chicken with a really thick and delicious teriyaki sauce and next to the chicken they have vegetables, which includes carrots and broccoli. Finally,they add three fried chicken pot stickers, this is my favorite part of the whole thing. The pot stickers are the best ever and I dip them in sweet chili sauce. I also pour sweet chili sauce on top of the rice, chicken, and vegetables. The whole meal ended up being delicious as always! The only negative comment is that the chicken kinda had a bad aftertaste, but whatever! OINK

Salads Day 2

Today the salads were all very different and each had their own unique flavor. The noodle salad had a very distinct flavor and the sesame seed dressing tasted delicious. The noodles seemed to be cooked very well. The vegetable salad with beans, edamame, white corn and tomatoes was really really good as well. I don't know what dressing was used in the salad but it seemed to make all the vegetables taste even better. Finally the spinach salad, which was also very tasty, had a lot of interesting ingredients. I had never had eggplant in a a salad before but i thought it tasted really really good with the feta cheese and spinach. OINK

Salads Day 1

All of the salads today were delicious!! The macaroni salad was very very tasty but still pretty simple. Also, I really like the freshness of the lettuce salad and the balsamic vinaigrette was delicious. Finally, the green bean salad was another very tasty, healthy salad which i have never heard of before. I really like the taste of the champagne dressing. Perfecto! OINK

Snack Time!

This is what i ate before my dinner tonight. Although my Mom made it this time, I love to make anything that combines mozzarella with tomatoes and avocado. Usually I chop the ingredients up and throw it together in a bowl with some balsamic vinaigrette to make a salad. This night however my mom stacked thick, large slices of tomato and mozzarella on top of each other like a sandwich and put sliced avocado on the side. It was super douper tasty! We poured balsamic vinaigrette on top of the "stack" and then she sprinkled on some basil seasoning stuff, which made it even more delicious! It was a very good pre-dinner appetizer! OINK

Mama's Salad

Last night my Mama made me a yummy salad. It had croutons, cranberries, carrots, chicken, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and avocado. Avocado is my favorite must-have ingredient to put in a salad, its very delicioso! While my Mom did most of the "cooking"  I contributed to this creation by choosing a dressing and pouring it on the salad. For my dressing I chose Balsamic Vinaigrette, yuuummm. <3 Overall, the salad was very tasty. However if i were to remake the salad again I would leave out the cranberries and maybe try a different dressing.....something stronger like Caesar. Then it would be near perfection!  OINK