Fishy business

Ceviche...
Dude.... I was a bit nervous about trying this bc cooking fish in lime juice sounds like a magic trick, but I love cevicher and I think I executed okay for my first time. I will definitely try it again.

My journey began with eating a fantastic mango ceviche at bodega (aka the rest.)
Since then I've Been wanting to take on the challenge of making this risky dish. After doing a little research on a time limit of how long to leave the fish, what fish to use, how big to cut it. How much lime juice so on and so forth took me abt 2 days to get an idea of ingredients and things that Ivwanted to try. I chose a simple version of this fishy dish. Here are my chosen ingredients:
Red and green onions, minced
1large garlic clove, minced
Cilantro, chopped
Mango (mostly green)chopped
Red, green and yellow bell peppers chopped 3 slices each
1 cucumber, chopped
10 limes, squeezed
6 large pieces of tilapia cubed small
The night before I juiced my limes, that reamer thingy is a God send bc my hand would've been dead if I did it any other way. I was tired but wasn't hating myself after. Lol. The next day in the afternoon I ch then got everything else ready. I placed my tilapia in a glass case role dish bc I didn't want my fish swimming in it I wanted each piece even submerge d in the lime juice. Once I got the lime juice in I left it in the fridge for an hour and a half. I read online that you can leave it a minimum of 20 minutes. O felt that it wasn't enough. I took it out of the fridge and salted and peppered my "cooked" fish I dumped out the time juice in a separate bowl, I didn't want to throw it out just yet. I threw all,the remaining ingredients in,with a little more salt and pepper bc I was retarded and put it in before I took out the lime juice. I tasted it  with a tortilla chip after given it agood toss and decided the mango didn't give it a sweet taste att least I couldn't even tell so I sprinkled a half ts of sugar (weird but it worked) and 3tbs of the lime juice I reserved bc it was dry. Needed a little bit of juice to moisten it. It was great with the tortilla chips bit it was great with just plain white rice.  I definitely want to try a different take on cevixhe . I've heard of ppl using clamato (clam and tomato juice) maybe I'll attempt that  next time.

Thanks for taking a gander at my fishy adventure. Lol.
Ask questions or leave a comment gracias!

A lil bit of encouragement

I know mostly no one reads my silly Lil "food blog" but it makes me feel cool so to all the people (foodies) that read my lil wanna-be blog thank you for that! I will try to keep posting my kitchen adventures. Butif you can  do me a favor, let me know what you think, comment and let me know if you've tried the recipe ive attempted or restuarant that I've gone to. Good, bad, boring, even funny. I like to know that some one is listening ( reading in this case.)  You guys will definitely brighten my day.  I'll,see if I,can do videos to make it more interesting. Also post more pictures.

Thanks again to my Lil circle of foodie  friends!

Not too bad

My whole grain diet isn't terrible but I won't lie.... I do have chest days.   There is noooo way im given up my hummus and chips!  But i do habe an ich for celery now and then.
I've really been trying. I found (more like i snoop through what customers buy and if I see something good I take a mental picture. Lol.) These little bags of #UncleBen  minute rice thingys called whole grain medleys.  They come in different flavors but I went the safe route and just grabbed chicken. They're little microwaveable packages I think it serves abt 2 ppl. I didn't feel to comfortable in cooking it in the microwave so I chopped and sauteed some onions and yellow peppers in butter (unsalted) salt to taste and pepper with some powder chicken bouillon (not the cube.) Then I poured 1/2 a cup of water then just left the lid on. Obviously I stirred it so it won't stick. I nice once the water was absorbed I resorted to my "risotto" and threw in a handful of shredded Parmesan.

It was gooey, warm and delicious. I wish I had a piece if grilled chicken to go with it but it was late and I was hungry. So I just made something in minutes. I say try it and put your own spin on it.

Get on the good foot

I officially don't want to go to a doctor ever again. Unless I'm dying

This means I will definitely have to change my diet and the insulin I take and how I take it. Go back to "basics" , how It was when I was a kid.

Poop. This is gonna be hard. I figure if I do pre-planned/prepared meals maybe it can be a little easier. I really don't know if I can do this buy I will try and stick to it or literally die trying.

Yep...

Whole grains, where art thou?

I can eat whole grains!!! ������(in case you're reading this with a questioning thought I was told I shouldn't eat any or at least a very small amount of starches.)  but it has to be "for real" whole grains, I guess sometimes it says whole grains but its only half grains...*shrugs* I don't know what to say about that.

So I was walking around work after my shift. (I work at Walmart.) trying to get ideas of how not to suffer with out rice and pasta and all those wonderdul things called starch . mmmm potatoes *whimpers* And I came upon a wonderful, magical place. The Breakfast aisle and I found whole grain... EVERYTHING as amazing as this was for me it was also a let down! they say whole grains but no where does it go into details if its all whole grains or not. When I start seeing this I figure if it says whole grain it has to be more whole grain than not, right? At this point I was annoyed and said "screw it" I'm going to trust the fact that it say  "whole grain" and eat it like  I've never eaten Whole grains before!

I think I will do an all cereal diet or eat my salads and my proteins like normal but if I get hungry again, which we all know I will eat cereal or those Belvita crackers. OMG! They even have whole grain pancake mix.  Ooooohhh how I love pancakes!!! ��theres cookies and crackers and of course there is bread so I'm good. I was happy to remember that its starting to get cold so I can make soup but I'm on The fences about whole grain noodles if you have thoughts about them let me know. I've already tried brown rice so yea I think I can probably work with it on some occasions but it's still not my favorite.

The sacrifices we have to make for our health.   *sigh*

Well that's all friends I'll try to entertain you with more later. ������

#Wtf, no starch diet?

Okay...
So I finally went to the doctors and there is A LOT I need to take care of  like lowering my a1c and fixing my insulin corrections and then theres my diet whish is the part that I think is hilarious and almost impossible is the fact that she wants me to cut out if not all, most of the starches in my diet.
This is when I look at her like she's crazy! Not only did she not know what carb counting is, which is pretty self explanatory. But she is asking a Hispanic girl that likes to eat, to remove starches from her diet. (Cuckoo. Cuckoo.) Yea... I'm sure this is gonna be a challenge bc the first thing I eat when I get home is rice beans and some carne.

Wow... I'm in some serious doo doo. ��

So this is my grocery list.
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Baby carrots
Greens
Cabbage
Bacon
Eggplant
Zucchini
Beets

So far that's what I've come up with. So the nice thing is that I can eat whole grains. So I'm gonna try oatmeal and a lot of whole grain breads to substitute tortilla chips Lol  I don't think I can cut our hummus tho.... Just saying

Give me some ideas if you have any.�� I'm in serious need!

Im thinking cevicher or gazpacho, suggestions?

At the #Bodega (SLC,Utah) we had several different plates like heirloom tomato caprese salad, Spanish seafood paella OMG and pork BellY with grits and a fried egg we didnt stop there we also had sweet spicy chicken wings and whitefish ceviche our last plate was beignet with a cream sauce and a raspberry sauce, to dip  (happy sigh) Amazeballs! But one of my favorites (beside the pork belly.) Was the ceviche so I've been wanting to make a fish dish.

Then I saw something about gazpacho on my pinterest, so I've been wanting to make that too. I love tomstoey soups.my problem is that I'm very indesive and they seem to take me out of my comfort zone of  what im used to making so I figured why not ask you guys! Make it easier on my self Lol.

Shoot me a DM on twitter @Aliamonster tell me what,you think would be fun to here me talk about. 

Who needs arborio? Not me!

So. I had this amazing risotto at world famous in San Diego about a year ago and I've been wanting some since then. Of course I want to try and make it myself.  The risotto was so creamy but not too rich and they served it with meduim shrimp so perfect! And a small cabbage salad that was crisp and clean that was a amazing combo with the risottocand shrimp.

And here goes!

I looked in at the Walmart grocery store by my house and 2 different super centers and they ran out or no arborio rice  I even looked for this other rice that I can't remember that starts with a C. So I obviously got frustrated and bought the grated Parmesan and chicken broth I DIDNT EVEN BUY THE SHRIMP! Lol.

I was really nervous and afraid that it would turn out Crappy, I  even googled "first time risotto" because I really wanted to get this right. The grest and a bit liberating thing was it seems that I am not the only one that couldn't find arborio rice or just didnt want to use it .lol.  I was happy knowing that I could do it with regular long grain rice or any other rice for that matter.

My cooking adventure began with turning the stove to a low medium heat then mincing the onions, garlic and mushrooms and unsalted butter also  some veg oil. Get thst all merried together. Once the onions are translucent. I threw the cup of rice in coated the rice with the butter and oil, I did not take the mushrooms or onions out some recipes asked the person to do that  ( too much work.Lol.) Before I did all that I heated up 6 cups of chicken broth, I didn't boil it just warmed it up. I ladled a bit at a time before I would pour another ladle in I would wait til it absorbed the one before, I ladled another. I then would take a handful of the parmesan and start to sprinkle it after the ladleful of
broth. The worst part is that you NEED to keep stirring while you do all this , DO NOT LET IT SIT! the 6 cups for me wasn't enough so I did 2 more cups of water, just plain old warm water and a small bit of milk.  My parents ACTUALLY liked it!!! So thayxwas a relief for me bc they're who I cook for therefore my biggest critics. On the other hand my dad did call it "freaky rice" (whatever that means.). Lol  Hopefully you enjoy too.

I love how easy it is also that it didnt take more than 20 min.and it can be eaten by its self or a small portion of fish. I ate it with tilapia. ��

I used:
3 cups rice (long grain)
6 cuos chicken broth
1 1/2 cups of grated Parmesan
1/2 cup of mushrooms minced
1/2 cup of yellow onion minced
(Use a whole shallot if possible)
3tbs of unsalted butter
Slat and pepper to taste
1tbs veg oil
2 cups of warm water
1/3 cup of milk

I felt so cool making it like I was a real chef Lol I know I'm lame but I think I'm gonna try doing more complicated and different dishes. Something more out of my comfort zone. Woop! Try my version see if it works out for you!

����������

What I have to work with

<p dir="ltr">Chicken... <br>
Its get boring after a while, so I'm trying to get creative or just plain different than what I usually make.</p>
<p dir="ltr">My moms friend makes a rosemary chicken, She was ranting and raving how easy it was (you know how I like easy.) <br>
She said she used a whole chicken rosemary, lemon, garlic and a sea salt. She said it had a funky name, I think it was fluer de sel </u></p>

Is everything good fried?...

Yes but let's try something different.

<p dir="ltr">I wanted to make something easy so I asked Elias, he said he wanted fried chicken (not easy, well I really just didn't want to be stuck in the house while its cold out and I can't open the door in a small kitchen. And suffer with that fried smell in the middle  of the day.) so I had to think of something that's at least resembled fried chicken and I remembered "oven fried" chicken sounds not so good but it was a hit! It wasn't dry perfectly moist and the coating was easy!!! Which is my favorite. ;)</p>
<p dir="ltr">Boneless skinless chicken breast <br>
Soy sauce (instead of salt)<br>
Black pepper<br>
Ground garlic<br>
Ground onion<br>
Oregano <br>
Sour orange juice<br>
Olive oil<br>
Vinegar<br>
Sugar ( a tsp. It helps it brown and gives it a different layer of flavor.)<br>
I ground up soda crackers and chex corn cereal with oregano salt pepper and garlic with a Lil bit of sugar

I let the chicken get all happy in the seasonings for abt 30 minutes. Then after I  took each piece and covered with a mixture of hot sauce and mayonnaise  then rolled in corn cereal mix placed on baking tray sprayed a Lil oil on tray and on chicken. Pieces, in the ovencit went for 20 min on 350. I let the chicken get brown on top.

Elias wanted it served with a green salad and yellow rice. Lol. I think I'll ask him more often what to cook bc grandma loved the chicken and so did grandpa!

Let me know if you have questions or suggestions!</p>

Discovered America

Shredding onions in mashed potatoes! And sprinkling sugar on meat before placing on hot pan to brown it a Lil quicker. Gives it a great flavor because it caramelizes. *drools*

I've been thinking....

My mom and me have been wanting to go to the farmers market for a while and I've been. Wanting a way to break out into the food business. So she said to look into having a booth at the farmers market b/c its once a week and it won't be an everyday thing so I have plenty of time to see how i feel about owning a restaurant or food truck or even a catering business.  I'm writing this to see what you guys think. What would you want me to make or what do you think would be popular. Any feedback would be great.

Let me know whats on you mind.

Breakfast biscuits cups

One morning I was craving biscuits but I didn't want to cook the eggs and sausage on the side. Lazy I know (blah blah blah).

Soo, I decided to create something new. Me and my dad love breakfast foods anything really hearty. I was thinking how can I make it something filling and easy to make. Many ideas flew thru my head but I knew that we didn't have a lot to work with. then starts the process of elimination...

This is what I did:   the nice thing about this recipe its always up for interpretation :)

I used a box of biscuits, not the frozen can kind which you can use, but i didn't this time. i made the biscuits per the instructions on the box. I wish I could've made it with pancake batter. (bloop bloop, we didn't have any.) I pressed  and packed the biscuit in to the muffin tin, like you would do with pie crust. 

then the eggs. I thinly sliced up some red onions and pressed some garlic in a pan with butter and salt placed about a table spoon of that mixture in the biscuits I beat eggs with some green peppers diced small did NOT cook either of them (I like the crunch of the peppers and the eggs cook in the oven) 

I cooked some sausage, but use whatever meats you want. I love kielbasa... we didn't have any :( I chopped it up and sprinkled it on top of the biscuits. I but it in the oven at 375 degrees and left it for 10 minutes or until eggs were firm. 

It was a huge success with my dad and brothers! I was very happy to see that they ate all 12 of them! I only ate 1!! not bad huh?!

if you guys have any great breakfast ideas send them my way! I always love to try new things!

I need inspiration!

What would you stuff a pork chop with?... Think out of the box please!

Actually, what would you stuff and what with?

Give me some ideas! Or just send Me a challenge...

 My dad and me want to do a weekly menu to make dinner a lot easier. We always  have a hard time deciding what to make and it seems so half ass sometimes and it annoys me b/c I have a lot of different ideas that I want to try in the kitchen. so give me something to try!

ANYTHING!