Food For Thought...

I love to cook. Plain. And. Simple.

I learned to really cook from scratch when we were in full-time language school 3.5 years ago. I thought... I need something that I can succeed at and also see progress, meaning a start and finish all in one day. So Cooking was my thing! It helped that our town that we lived in didn't have any Western Restaurants in it and very small grocery stores... So if we wanted something specific or had cravings... I had to cook it! But its become part of me now and I'll admit that I love sitting down at the computer and browsing through recipes, reading the comments and seeing how other people tweaked their food. I know, its kindof nerdy... but that's relaxing and fun for me!

And one of the most common questions that I get from living overseas is "What do you guys eat?" 

So, to share a few of the food items that I have made recently, let me start by Black Bean Burgers. Never would have thought Randall would have eaten and enjoyed one of these, seeing as there is NO meat, But he loved it! It also helps that Beef is expensive over here. But a friend told me about this burger that she and her husband made and she gave me some Quinoa and I made it! Black Bean Burger

So one of my favorite places I like to eat in the States is Boston Market... Its kindof a thing my Mom and I do after we get our haircuts together... Stop by a Boston Market and get Chicken Carver Sandwiches, a Lemonade and split a small order of Creamy Spinach Dip... Love these memories.

Anyways, I had a craving for something different the other week and since I knew we were moving soon, I thought I could use up my frozen spinach and re-create one of my favorite dips! And of course, I had to make my own pita chips for dipping. It was delish!!!

 Boston Market Spinach Dip

We recently had a Mango Mania in our small town so of course I took advantage of the amazing low prices on Mangos!!! Something like $2.23 per Kilo!! or $2.23 for 2.3 lbs

And of course, we added mango to everything for the next several days... One of our favorite and daily snacks is Plain Yogurt... Its so interesting because 4 years ago (before living overseas), I had to have a flavored yogurt... And now Plain Yogurt is all we eat! This was actually one of my most frustrating things while in the States last summer was the lack of choices of Plain Yogurt. I actually had my 1st melt down on the yogurt asile as I found every kind of Greek Yogurt which is way over priced in my opinion, and tons of flavored yogurts... But we managed!

Another favorite is Chinese Food But that's a hard one to find over in our part of the world... Good Chinese that is. So, I attempt to make my own stir-fry... and again, since we are moving soon, cleaning out the freezer has become a push to make this yummy dish. I use the following recipe as a base and of course add other veggies that we like.  Chicken Stir Fry

I also make my own Fried Rice... I take leftover rice or make a new pot and cook as normal. Then I take a skillet and melt butter and scramble 2-3 eggs. I then add the rice to the butter/egg mix and add soy sauce, thai sauce, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. 

The kids love Rise Krispy Treats! But I decided to get a little "crazy" on them and add Nutella to the mix. Nutella makes everything 10x more tastey! 

1/4 c butter (melted) 

6 cups of marshmallows (I used the minis)

1 tsp vanilla (I always add vanilla to all my sweets)

Add 1/3 c PB, 1/3 c Nutella to the mix

Stir in 6 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal 

Press into a dish and serve... Yum!

Fruit is a staple in our part of the world. Its served on nearly every visit we make to our local friends. Its super cheap and really fresh! Apples, Oranges and Bananas are year around and the other fruits come in season and are cheap to buy too. 

Did I mention that we're moving? haha. We are.. actually tomorrow! But in the midst of packing and more packing, I decided to make one last "hot breakfast" before we boxed up the pans and sold our oven. The kids were super happy about that.. especially since they had leftovers for 2 days after!

Waffles from Scratch I also add 3 TBS of Sugar and 2 tsp vanilla; Use Buttermilk instead of regular milk (1TB of White Vinegar to 1 c Milk= Buttermilk)

These are only a few dishes that I've made recently. I'll try to post more recipes that we love or are fun for special occasions..Soon! Please let me know if you try any of these recipes and how they turned out for you. (just curious)  For now, off to more packing... But check back again in a few days as I will soon be posting pics of our New House!