These were the cookies that I baked for the boyfriend’s second care package (the first care package included the Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies). It was such a quick and simple recipe, which is just what I needed since I’ve been absolutely swamped with schoolwork. Also, this was the perfect recipe to use up my leftover Oreos from the Oreo Stuffed White Chocolate Chip Cookies. I baked several batches and as I was waiting for them to cool, I took a glorious bite out of one of the piping hot cookies and they tasted just as I imagined. It was just chunks of Oreo pieces throughout a crisp yet soft thin cookie complemented by a cold glass of milk. Mmmmmm.

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I have this new 750 muffin recipe cookbook, which I absolutely love, and I’m trying to knock out one recipe at a time to ultimately complete all 750 muffins. I think I’m off to a good start as these muffins are #2 of 750 (the first was the Banana Brickle Muffins).

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This dish is kind of like the Penne with Thai-Style Pesto, a quick simple meal where the food processor does all the work. These kinds of recipes have become really handy, especially because the boyfriend left for SF and I’ve been cooking for one. I especially liked this recipe because the pesto wasn’t that strong of an oil-base as other pestos and I loved the tomato chunks throughout along with the crunch from the chopped almonds. But the best part about this dish was that it took just minutes to prep and by the time the pasta was done cooking, the pesto was done as well. So there you have it, a nice, sophisticated dinner in less than 20 minutes.

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So I’m not the biggest cookie-eating fan but I decided to make these cookies because A) I had some leftover canned pumpkin to use up and B) I wanted to send a small cookie care package to the boyfriend in SF. He’s the ultimate cookie lover and he loves butterscotch chips in his cookies so I knew that he would really enjoy these. It cost about $25 to overnight them, which I wasn’t too thrilled about, but when he told me how much he loved these cookies the next day, it didn’t matter how much I spent. As long as he got some freshly baked homemade cookies, I was happy.

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Remember that dinner party I had with the Roast Pork Loin with Bacon and Brown Sugar Glaze? Well this is also one of the dishes that I served for the dinner party, which was absolutely perfect for an enjoyable finger food appetizer. It burst with Mexican flavor along with the creaminess from the enchilada mix, and since they were cut in miniature pieces, I was ready to eat a hundred of these! This recipe is also a plus because you could make it beforehand and have it chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them, giving you more time to focus on your other dishes. But the best part of these roll-ups is that you could munch on the end pieces before your guests arrive!

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There are some food items that combine two good things to form something unbelievably amazing, like bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers. Jalapeno poppers taste amazing as is, but when you wrap a slice of bacon on it, it becomes just heavenly, melt-in-your mouth-out-of-this-world delicious! But I digress. The point that I’m trying to make is that I’ve just discovered another amazing combination food item: mozzarella-stuffed meatballs.

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I was selected to create an original recipe with six ingredients or less by the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program with American Express as part of their Dinner@6 program. I was initially ecstatic when I found out that I had been chosen but then that quickly transformed into brainstorming stress. I had so many ideas on what to make but who knew 6 ingredients could be so limiting! But then I remembered those Cheesy Bacon Biscuits I made several months ago and that’s when it hit me. Why not make a pizza using a biscuit base instead of a pizza dough base? Sounds brilliant, no?

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Thanks to the invention of the food processor, pesto making has become such a simple task, transforming a ten minute dinner into something amazing. The intriguing combination of basil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, jalapenos, and olive oil tossed in penne pasta created a unique Italian-Asian Fusion dish. It had such a simplicity to it, yet it burst with spiciness from the jalapenos and such freshness from the lime juice. I added some Sriracha for that extra spicy kick and it served as a wonderful complement to the pasta. I enjoyed it very much for dinner and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it just as much when I eat this during class tomorrow!

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The boyfriend was getting ready to head back to SF to start his fall semester so we had a small dinner party with some of our close friends right before he left. I wanted to make millions of dishes but I reluctantly narrowed it down to four, which included bacon-wrapped asparagus, mozzarella-stuffed meatballs, chicken enchilada rolls up, and a roasted pork loin as the main dish. Our friends were nice enough to bring an Armenian potato salad, a baby spring mix with strawberries, goat cheese, and pomegranate-vinaigrette dressing, and strawberry cupcakes. It was a fun night as we were surrounded by delicious food, good friends, and great tasting wine.

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Believe it or not but I’ve never had risotto before. I’ve definitely heard of it but I had no idea what it was! But then I was watching 30-Minutes Meals with Rachel Ray and she talked about how a risotto is simply a creamy rice dish that can be made very inexpensively with some white wine and some kind of broth. In this case, we used a nice corn broth with fresh kernels, giving it that extra corn oomph. There’s also some shiitake mushrooms, which I absolutely love, and my favorite ingredient of all, pancetta. These are all then beautifully blended in a nice creamy consistency that tasted absolutely amazing. It was definitely a bit more difficult than I had imagined, especially because I have no patience, but I stuck it out and the boyfriend and I enjoyed this wonderful dinner. They also tasted great as leftovers.

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In all the times that I’ve made a breakfast hash, this has become one of my favorites. It’s a perfect summer recipe with so many fresh vegetables like bell peppers, zucchini squash, and corn, that’s sauteed in bacon fat along with carb-filled potatoes (sounds like heaven, no?). I actually bought fresh corn for this recipe but it dried up by the time I wanted to make this so I had to make some adjustments and use up the frozen corn that I had in the freezer. I was really bummed about it at first but it still tasted amazing! There was so much going on in each bite, especially with the variety of textures. And I just loved how each spoonful of hot potatoes burst with vegetable freshness. Once it was topped with some ketchup and Tapatio, it was golden.

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I thought this was more of a pork dish but it turned out to be an amazing spin on spaghetti hungarian-style! It was so creamy with tender pork chunks throughout and I just loved the egg noodles that were drenched in this rich sauce. The boyfriend loved this especially because it was so spicy. I think it was a little too spicy for me because I began to hyperventilate after the 8th bite or so but he devoured this with no hesitation. We had some leftovers and I was excited to have a second serving the next day but the boyfriend ate it all before I came home!

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It never ceases to amaze me as to how a pasta dish with just some olive oil and fresh herbs can be so simple yet so flavorful. Back when I was younger, my mom would make baked ziti and spaghetti and I used to love it when she piled on all that cheesy marinara goodness but now, I’ve really grown to love these marinara-less dishes.

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I decided to make meatball subs because the boyfriend had been craving them ever since he watched the episode of Friends where Joey protects his meatball sub in the ride-along with Gary. I really liked this Rachel Ray recipe because not only did the meatballs come out to be so tender and flavorful but she also provided such a quick and easy homemade marinara sauce that cooks while the meatballs are in the oven!

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I hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend. I went to my first USC tailgate, actually my first tailgate ever, on Saturday before the game with Minnesota. It was nice to have some school spirit, wear our Trojan gear, play some beer pong and flip cup, and stuff my face with junk food.

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I absolutely love pancakes so I was really excited to make these pumpkin pancakes when I came across this recipe. Pancakes can be so fattening but I just can’t seem to turn down piping hot, fluffy pancakes smothered in ooey, gooey syrup and butter, which is exactly how these turned out, except they were sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, giving it that extra special kick to it. I loved how the pumpkin taste wasn’t too strong but strong enough to balance itself with the base of the pancake. The cinnamon sugar was definitely my favorite part about these and they barely needed any syrup, which helped to reduce some calories, if any. It was the just the perfect breakfast to start my day.

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My vacation in San Francisco finally came to an end. My second and final year at USC just started last week and I’ve already been swamped with tons of readings and homework. But it’s been nice to have the boyfriend back home with me for a couple of weeks before he starts his fall semester at CalArts.

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