Oh. My. Goodness.
I FINALLY HAVE INTERNET NOW!
So, first off, I apologize for the insanely long absence! We have finally moved into our duplex, and I for one didn't realize we didn't have internet included with the property. So, we called to get it set up as soon as we could. Understandably though, the internet providers were SO BUSY this week with students moving back to the area, so it took until yesterday evening for them to have the time to come by.
So, lesson number two for college living. If you are living off campus, MAKE SURE you have access to an internet source! Very important! In our case, we called the internet company ASAP, and in the meantime, used the Wifi on the A&M campus, or went to coffee shops in the evenings. One of my roommates even set up a hotspot on her phone.
Basically, my best suggestion is to call ahead of your move-in date, and set up and appointment to have the internet set up soon after you move in. Maybe not the first day, since you'll have boxes upon boxes everywhere, but maybe the second or third day, after you've had time to tidy the place up and find some organization.
If you don't, it's not the end of the world. Just know that there is a LOT of preparation you have to do to get ready for classes, such as making sure there haven't been any last minute changes to your schedule, professors haven't made any weird last minute changes, that you have all the books you need, and in general just that you're good to go.
Anywho. Enough of that.
MY PLACE IS AWESOME.
Chinchillas, Gizmo and Mogwai, have both settled in pretty well.
Gizmo (top) has gotten used to having another chinchilla in the house, but he's still a jealous little turd. When I had to take Mogwai (bottom) to the vet, he threw a fit that I was giving Mogwai so much attention and not him. What a butt head. But he's always been a butt head. Haha. On the other hand, Mogwai has got to be one of the sweetest chins I've ever met. He's just extremely lovable. (: And it's a good thing he's cute, because is vet bill was THROUGH THE ROOF (for a college student, anyway).
On another note, I have finally gotten the hang of our kitchen, and let me tell you, I've been having the BEST time trying new things out! I bought a Crock Pot, which I've never used one of those before, and I was very pleased with how my first Crock Pot recipe turned out! So, naturally, I'm gonna share the recipe. :D
Excuse the pictures. They're not as high quality as I would like.
Okay. So this soup was the PERFECT thing for dinner the other night. The weather was really overcast all day, and by the time it was ready to eat, it had started to storm outside. I LOVE soup on stormy nights! And it was literally one of the easiest meals I've ever made.
So, here's how it goes:
Ingredients:
For the first step-
- 2 (14 oz) cans of diced tomatoes, with the juice
- 1 cup finely diced celery
- 1 cup finely diced carrots
- 1 cup finely diced onions
- 1 tsp dried oregano, or one T fresh oregano
- 1 T dried basil, or 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 a bay leaf
For the second step-
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese (shredded)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 cups half and half, warmed up (or you can use skim milk if you want it to be a little healthier)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
[Step One - Prep and Cooking Time]
Okay, here goes! SUPER easy!
Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and the bay leaf to your crock pot. Put the lid on the top of the crock pot and set it to cook on low for any time between 5 and 7 hours. I put mine in the crock pot while I had a few hours between classes, and left it to cook while I was gone. Perfect for when you don't have the time to sit there and work on a meal for an hour. You'll know when it's done because the vegetables will be cooked down (I prefer them to not be soft, but cooked well) and the flavors will be blended throughout. FYI, it smells SO GOOD while it's cooking!
[Step Two - Last Minute Prep and Putting it All Together]
About thirty minutes before you're planning on serving, prepare a roux. I honestly had no idea what that even meant before I made this recipe... So, never be afraid to look things up if you don't know what they are!
So, melt the butter over LOW heat in a skillet and add the flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for about 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup of the soup from the crock pot. After that's stirred in, add in another two or three cups of the soup and stir it until it's smooth. After, add it all back into the slow cooker. Stir in the parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Definitely add extra oregano and basil, because the crock pot does some serious damage to the flavor of spices and they get pretty bland. So season to taste. Now, after you've added these in to the crock pot, put the lid back on and let it cook for another 30 minutes. Then, dish it out and eat up!
My roommates both seemed to really enjoy this recipe, and I did too! It's also nice because you can save the leftovers in a tupperware container and eat it for dinner another night! Or breakfast...or lunch.....or for a snack.....whenever.
That's what we did... haha.
Also another really good thing to have with this soup, copy-cat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. (:
Tried to make these the other night to have with the soup, but it was an utter fail... I found a recipe that called for vanilla and sugar in the mix, and it did not sound right AT ALL, but I went for it anyway since they said it tasted JUST LIKE THEM. But they came out as this awkward quiche-like substance. Not what I was aiming for..
So today I decided I'd try Cheddar Biscuits Round 2!
Also super easy.
Ingredients:
For the actual biscuits-
- 2 1/2 cups Bisquick bakings mix
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, finely grated
- 3/4 cup Whole milk (I used about 1/4 cup buttermilk and the rest just 2%, since I don't like whole milk and it would be pointless to go buy it for one thing)
- 2 tablespoons butter (melted)
- 1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder**
For the "glaze"-
- 1/4 cup butter (melted)
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder**
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes**
- 1 dash of salt
**I used the garlic powder that already has parsley in it, and that seemed to work out just fine. I also used a LOT more than what the recipe called for, and I think it could have used even more. That's just me though...
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the ingredients for the biscuits into a medium sized bowl. Mix it up until everything is pretty well distributed. If the Bisquick isn't sticking into the mix (like some is still on the bottom of the bowl) you can add a dash more milk. Just don't put too much in, or it'll get runny and gross.
Drop spoonfuls of the mix onto an ungreased cookie sheet. I dropped HUGE spoonfuls, so adjust accordingly to what size you'd like. Feel free to use mine as a reference. (:
Combine the "glaze" mix together and use a basting brush to brush the glaze over the uncooked biscuits.
Now, pop em in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes, give or take depending on the size of the biscuits you're making. They're done when they're an awesome golden-brown.
They're delicious warm, but taste good warmed up or at room temperature too!
So.Dang.Good.
Well, there's my latest delicious college meal! Not to expensive to make, and both of these can last a few days and still taste great! That is, if it lasts that long without being scarfed down. (:
Hope ya'll have a great night, and let me know if you ever try these recipes out! I want to know how they turned out for you!
Thanks and Gig 'Em!
No comments:
Post a Comment