Roma Tomatoes, a must in my salad!

The weather's been warm, and I've been preparing many quick dishes in the kitchen. Salad are great year-round, and a vegetable salad can be thrown together in minutes. I prepared a simple salad with Romaine lettuce and my favorite tomatoes, Roma. They're sweet, flavorful, and perfect in any salad. I enjoy them by themselves, too, sliced with no dressing or seasonings, as a snack or side dish. And, when they're on sale for $0.79 cent a pound or less, I stock up!

Cheesy Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese is a great side dish with any meat. I served it with some baked chicken and green beans. I usually use a few cheeses whenever I make it, primarily with sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack. Sometimes, I'll spoon in a few tablespoons of sour cream, too. And, I always sprinkle in a little cayenne pepper, along with salt and pepper. You can find my macaroni and cheese recipe in my cookbook, "Everyday Comfort Foods with Family and Friends", $8.95 available at IUniverse.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Amazon.com.

Sunday dinner: Chicken & Shrimp Fettuccini

After it cooled down this evening, I made one of my favorite dishes: chicken and shrimp fettuccini. It's a quick, flavorful dish that's perfect on a warm day, along with a glass of your favorite white wine. Look for this recipe in my cookbook, "Everyday Comfort Foods with Family and Friends" $8.95 available at IUniverse.com, Barnew&Noble.com, and Amazon.com.

A hot & hearty breakfast

Yes, the weather's been warm lately, but a hot, hearty breakfast is a great way to start the weekend. So, after hours doing work on my computer, and two cups of coffee and a slice of toast, I fixed myself a real breakfast: grits, scrambled eggs, and turkey sausage. It's a simple, delicious breakfast that's suitable any day.

Easy Chicken Parmesan

This is a quick, delicious Chicken Parmesan recipe I found from Allrecipes.com. It uses just four ingredients and is ready in minutes. I wasn't sure if I should serve red or white wine, but I had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc that went well with this dish.

Easy Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

1 (700 ml) jar pasta sauce
6 tablespoons KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups KRAFT Mozzarella Shredded Cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Pour sauce into 13x9-inch baking dish. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan. Add chicken; turn to envely coat both sides with sauce. Cover
3. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is done.
4. Top with remaining cheeses; bake 5 minutes or until mozzarella is melted.

Serving Suggestion: Serve over hot cooked spaghetti.

Note: I used one of my favorite marinara sauces: Trader Giotto's Tomato Basil Marinara from Trader Joe's. I suggest letting the dish cool about 15 minutes after it's done to allow the sauce to thicken.

Fun, Fun, Fun at SJSU Alumni Event

I recently signed up on the email list for the San Jose State Alumni Association. It's a great organization to be a part of, and they host a variety of events. This evening, the Alumni association hosted a free event at San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose, with a variety of hors d' oeuvres. Alumni members, and guests were in attendance, as well as a career coach who offered one-on-one advice to individuals looking for career advice. I had my resume critiqued, and this was the highlight of my evening. I sold one of my cookbooks, too, to someone who loves good, down home, family recipes like me. It was definitely time well spent! And, I won a gold-colored San Jose State Alumni license frame in a raffle, something I've always wanted. I'll definitely be going to more alumni events in the future.

Comfort Food for Cinco de Mayo

I celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a nice Mexican meal of homemade tacos and Spanish rice! It was a delicious meal and simple to make.
I browned a mixture of ground beef and ground turkey (about a pound) in a skillet and drained the excess fat. I returned the meat to the skillet and added a package of taco seasoning and 3/4 cup of water and let it simmer til the sauce thickened.
While I was browning the meat, I fried some corn tortillas for a few seconds on each side in a pan of hot vegetable oil, then let then rest on paper towels.
I filled each tortilla with re-fried beans, meat, and a Mexican cheese blend.
For the Spanish rice, I sauteed 1 cup of white rice, 1/2 cup of onions, 1/2 cup of celery, and three teaspoons of garlic in two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Then, I added about 2 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon, 8 ounces of tomato sauce, (1) 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, and (1) 15 1/4 ounce can of corn. I seasoned the rice with about 1/4 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, and chili pepper, brought the mixture to a boil, then lowered it a simmer for about 20 minutes.
Delicious, yes! Difficult to make - not at all!
Look for all my comfort food recipes in my cookbook, "Everyday Comfort Foods with Family and Friends," $8.95 available at IUniverse.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and Amazon.com.