Saturday, October 5, 2013

Anthony's Favorite Chinese Food- Baozi!!!

Tonight was my second attempt at Baozi. They turned out amazing thanks to a YouTube video that Anthony and I watched last night on how to prepare them. It is called "China Cooks! Baozi by Tang Hua." You should check it out here.


I substituted a few ingredients here and there from the YouTube video. These are the ingredients I ended up using:

2 Cups Self-rising Flour
Water

1 lb. Ground Beef
1/2 Sweet Onion
1 Head Romaine Lettuce
Vegetable Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Soy Sauce
Ground Ginger
Salt

I steamed the Baozi for 25 minutes.

























Second Batch




Eating the first batch!





Waiting for the second batch.


Very tasty with vinegar.







Mexican Fiesta Stew

I asked Anthony what he wanted for lunch. He said Baozi. I have to thaw some meat for those though so we are going to have them for dinner instead. I looked through the cupboards and pulled a can of black beans with jalapenos, a can of diced tomatoes, and some pasta shells. I dumped the can of tomatoes with the juice in a pot, added pasta, water, oil, and salt, put it on the stove, and turned the front burner on high. After it came to a boil I added the beans, leftover garlic & onion tomato sauce from pizza making last night, and cumin. I cooked my stew until the shells were done, emptying the dishwasher, and loading it all the while. I added yogurt and black pepper to my personal bowl of soup, yum yum, while Anthony added yogurt and tortilla chips to his.




 

Friday, October 4, 2013

Homemade Pizza Dough with the Bread Machine

For tonight's homemade pizza dough with the bread machine I used one of my old pizza cookbooks that my brother gave me for my birthday one year. I just used the traditional dough recipe, adjusted it to my bread machine, and added some extra sugar because I like my dough a little sweeter. I also just used vegetable oil instead of olive oil because that is what I had on hand. I used my favorite brand sauce, Hunts, the garlic & onion variety. For toppings I cut up sweet mini peppers, half of a bell pepper, and some smoked ham. In addition to these I also scattered grated mozzarella and bacon pieces over my pie. I put a dusting of cornmeal on the bottom for some texture. I also turned my oven temperature higher than most recipes call for. I just like it that way. You better believe the pizza shops have hot and toasty ovens! My pizza was an amazing success. We were so happy to have some leftovers despite the fact that the pizza was so tasty. Now we can save some of this delicious pizza in our freezer so we will have some good food after baby Garland arrives and I'm recuperating.













Mini Shells Alfredo

I was pretty hungry by the time I realized we needed to have lunch. This morning we had slept in, had a late breakfast, and a late lunch was what could be expected after that. I decided to make a nice satisfying, filling lunch. I got the mini shells out, a pot and a pan, and set to work.


Mini Shells Alfredo

Oil
Salt
Water
Mini Shells

Butter
Milk
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Ground Nutmeg
Onion Powder
Salt & Pepper
Oregano









The Lily Pad Game

Anthony and I did some more Python programming this evening. Anthony wanted to write a computer game. I thought it would be cool to plan a special computer game for our little daughter on the way. I came up with a lily pad game. I sketched a picture of my idea on a small scale, a prototype complete with lily pads, a lotus blossom, and a frog. To win the game, the frog has to reach the lily pad with the lotus blossom. To lose, he merely does not make it to the lily pad with the lotus in time, or worse he falls in the water and is disqualified.


Anthony and I started working on code for The Lily Pad Game. I learned two things about coding tonight: 1) if statements, 2) for loops. We didn't use the if statements in The Lily Pad Game but we did use the for loops. For loops is a function that allows you to repeat the execution of a section of code while moving an index over a sequence. We did two loops so that we could have the first index move over the sequence 1-10, and the second index move through the sequence small, medium, and large lily pads. Our next step will be to plot the lily pads on a x,y point graph/ Cartesian coordinates like you would see on a graphing calculator/ Cartesian plane. Below you will find some screen shots of our Python Lily Pad Game code, and our terminal output of it.





Thursday, October 3, 2013

Fast & Easy Vegetable Lo Mein

This afternoon I went walking with a friend. When I got home, it was time to make dinner! I needed to think of something fast because it was already 4:30 p.m. I remembered seeing a picture of vegetable lo mein on Pinterest sometime recently. I could do that easy, no problem, had all the ingredients on hand. I love lo mein, and tonight's lo mein by no means disappointed.


Fast & Easy Vegetable Lo Mein

Whole Wheat Thin Spaghetti
Soy Sauce
Minced Garlic
Water

1/2 Sweet Onion
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
2 Thick Carrots
Celery Stalk & Leaves
Vegetable Oil
Pepper & Salt
Ground Nutmeg
Cayenne Pepper






Chunky Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

I thought about having cold quiche for breakfast this morning, but I am stuck in a rut I suppose having oatmeal for breakfast! I should open a gourmet oatmeal shop! I could serve 25 flavors. Now, to come up with them. I know that won't be a problem. Lol. Gingerbread Peppermint Oatmeal, Carrot Raisin Oatmeal, Avocado Walnut Lime Oatmeal, etc. No, I have not yet tried any of those. The possibilities are endless. Pickled Chicken Foot Soy Oatmeal. I rabbit trail. This morning I made a classic, apple cinnamon oatmeal. Quaker Oats would be proud.


Chunky Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Quick Oats
Honey Crisp Apple
Milk
Cinnamon
Brown Sugar



Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Strawberry Jello Frozen Yogurt

I saw a picture for jello frozen yogurt on Pinterest and determined to give it a try. I googled some random jello frozen yogurt recipes for reference, and then made up my own version. I did two parts yogurt to one part jello. The end result was delicious, but it wasn't frozen yogurt. It reminded me more of jello with cream cheese in it. Yum.