Posts Tagged: recipes

Make This Tonight: Veggie Chili

You know how in romantic comedies, the lady always falls for the “bad” guy? The one who makes her feel terrible about herself, isn’t good for her at all, and is a real jerk? And, meanwhile, the good guy has been there all along and she’s just never noticed him?

That’s kind of what this veggie chili is like. Sometimes I think I want fast food that’s going to make me feel disgusting and greasy and awful, but what I really want is this chili. I tend to forget about it, but the ingredients are always there, waiting for me, in the cupboard. I’m not saying you have a perfect boyfriend in your cupboard. I’m hoping, for all our sakes, that you don’t. But, basically, am I saying this veggie chili is just as satisfying as the ending of a great romcom, when the main characters are kissing and there’s some sort of romantic, retro music playing? Yes. I am saying that.

Adam Sandler IS veggie chili.

I got the idea to make veggie chili one night after reading about it on A Beautiful Mess, but I modified the recipe to use what I had at my place. Originally, I saw this as a sneaky way to get some vegetables into my boyfriend’s diet, as I’m always afraid his body is going to fall apart because of his poor, Pop-Tart-centric eating habits. But, as it turns out, he absolutely loves this veggie chili and I didn’t even have to be sneaky about it. So now we have it about once a week and it’s great.

Here’s how I make it. It’s super, super easy and I’m sure you could make it “fancier” if you so choose, but why? I mean, really, why? It’s almost winter, we’re all tired, let’s just enjoy some easy veggie chili.

Veggie Chili That Will Love You Forever (Just Like Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer)

an onion
1 can of black beans
1 can of whatever other kind of beans you want (the sky’s the limit! As long as the sky is full of beans!)
1 can of corn
1 can of petite diced tomatoes (with jalepenos or not)
spices to taste: chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cinnamon if you’re into that

Sautee the onion for a few minutes, then add in the spices and stir those around for a bit. Dump in the tomatoes, with juice, and cook for a few minutes. Then add in the (drained) beans and corn. Cook it for at least 20 minutes to let things really meld together, but if you have less time than that, fine. I mean, I’m not going to track you down and make you cook it longer.

That’s it! The world’s easiest veggie chili! H. will only eat this on or under a bed of Fritos, as you can see in the picture. Honestly, it’s pretty great that way, even if it does remind me of my high school cafeteria and their concoction called a “Frito Flip.”

Make This Tonight: Coconut Chicken


One of the best things about switching jobs is that now I have time to cook (turns out it’s hard to cook when you’re always in a car; who knew?). Gone are the days of just eating a fried egg sandwich because it’s late and I’m tired. Just kidding. Fried egg sandwiches for life! But, lucky for me, now I can focus on cooking more meals that are actually relatively healthy. While there’s nothing I love more than going out to dinner, I’m gonna end up with an empty wallet and also sodium bloat if I don’t cook at home most of the time.

So I’m planning on sharing some of the things I’ve been making here on Welcome to Ladyville. Most of the time, I’m also cooking for my boyfriend. This presents a challenge, as he is a) lactose intolerant and allergic to shrimp and b) averse to a wide variety of foods (onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, probably more). I would prefer to make at least half my meals vegetarian/fish, while he could eat meat for every meal and think nothing of it. Sometimes when I see a recipe that looks good, I just have to bookmark it for a night when he won’t be around because dude’s picky. Or I can always just cook whatever I want and be like, “SORRY BRO, looks like you’re picking those red peppers out.” While I’m really understanding about allergies, I tend to be a little less forgiving of picky eaters. I can’t help it!

Last weekend, I finally tried a recipe I’d found on good old Pinterest a long time ago: coconut chicken! No dairy, relatively healthy, easy, and cheap…everything I want in a recipe.

I did make a few changes. I used chicken strips instead of chicken breasts, because strips cook faster and have you seen how huge chicken breasts are? Instead of flour I used panko, because my motto is “When in doubt, use panko.” I used significantly less butter (like, less than half that amount) because that is so much. I’m not afraid of butter. I love butter. But that is so much butter. And finally, instead of using apricot preserves I used apple preserves, because I had some that Mama W. canned. I’d think you could use lots of different jellies/jams, like peach, but maybe stay away from strawberry and grape because this isn’t a peanut butter sandwich.

This is the apple jelly. I think jars of preserves always look so gorgeous.

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce

Recipe from Pennies on a Platter

Yield: 4 servings

1 egg
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup flour (or panko)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts (or chicken strips)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (I used about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup apricot (or apple, or peach!) preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl; set aside. Mix the coconut, flour/panko, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the bowl with the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture. Place on the baking sheet. Once all chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (less if you’re using strips), flipping once halfway.

To prepare the sauce, mix the preserves and the Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. When you’re ready to eat, pour it on the chicken or use it as a dipping sauce…whatever you want! Go crazy.

I promise this is super-delicious, and I hope you’ll love it as much as I did! I served it with rice and all the broccoli, because you can never have enough vegetables. You just can’t.

Spring Forward Green Smoothie


I’m gonna be honest with you guys…Daylight Savings Time has really done a number on me. It’s been almost a week and I’m still feeling groggy. What’s a girl to do? Make a green smoothie, obviously!

This smoothie was inspired by Shutterbean’s Green Energy Shake. That girl knows her kale! This smoothie offers you the goodness of greens, the refreshment of OJ, the doctor-repelling powers of apples, and a little spicy kick from ginger. And a banana, of course, because what good is a smoothie without a banana?

Spring Forward Green Smoothie
inspired by Shutterbean

A couple of large kale leaves, washed and torn into pieces, stem removed
1 cup OJ (maybe more or less, depending on your smoothie style)
1 frozen banana, in chunks
1 small apple, cut into chunks
a half-inch piece of ginger, diced

Blend the OJ and kale together until there aren’t any big kale chunks swirling around in there. Add in the frozen banana chunks, apple chunks, and ginger. Blend it, drink it, enjoy it!

I really need to stop using the word chunks, huh?

Conquering My Fears (With Yeast)

I have a lot of fears. Knitting, for one. Do you know how many years I’ve had “learn to knit something other than a scarf” on my goal list? I don’t know either. I’ve lost track, and yet I still only know garter stitch. Remember that time I was afraid of pie crust? Similarly, I have a longstanding fear of yeast. So many times in my life, I’ve attempted to make french bread, rolls, or a pizza crust, only to have the dough remain a tiny, tough lump. For the life of me, I could not get that damn yeast to activate. In general, I don’t like any food that’s fickle; I stay away from desserts that can’t be made on humid days, or anything you need a candy themometer to make. So even though I’ve been craving cinnamon rolls for weeks, making them never even crossed my mind. I looked up places to buy them. I found recipes that didn’t involve yeast. And then, finally, it hit me like a ton of flour, sugar, and butter: why didn’t I just make them myself? What was I afraid of? A fear of yeast, just like a fear of knitting or pie crust, isn’t a real fear. I mean, it’s not like cults or serial killers, both of which pose a real and persistent danger to all of us daily. The worst that can happen with a pie crust is that it turns out to be not so good, and it would take a real effort to harm yourself with a blunt knitting needle. So what was I so afraid of when it came to cinnamon rolls? Was I afraid of failure? Was I afraid of trying? Was I just afraid of hard work?

Probably the latter.

So this morning, armed with my trusted Betty Crocker recipe, I tackled cinnamon rolls. The recipe in my book was very similar to this one, although the filling involved brown sugar instead of regular sugar. Also, I did not include raisins or nuts.
Guess what, guys? They actually turned into cinnamon rolls! When I saw that the dough had risen, meaning that the yeast activated, I gasped.

They were delicious, but truthfully, they were also a pain in the ass. Cinnamon rolls are time consuming and involve two rising sessions. Cinnamon rolls: the divas of baked goods. Also, you do not need to add near that much flour. I think, in total, I had less than 3 cups in there. I’d recommend making them, but save them for a morning you have a lot of time on your hands. Or maybe just make them when you’re stressed out, because kneading was surprisingly cathartic. These cinnamon rolls absorbed my frustrations.

H. ate two! They got his seal of approval, but that’s coming from a guy who once told me he prefers Pillsbury cinnamon rolls from a tube to homemade, so I’m not sure what that means.