I Got it from my Mamma

I always joke that as the middle child, I am a mix of my parents’ bad qualities – their high cholesterol (times two!); my dad’s impatience and competitiveness and sometimes unsportsmanlike conduct; as well as his fair Irish, burn-prone skin; my mom’s love for chocolate, dessert and anything containing a carb; her loud Italian family side; and her fine, thin hair.

But some of the best parts of me are also from them— my unique greenish eyes are a mix of my dad’s crystal blue peepers and my mom’s stubborn brown-eyed genes.  I also inherited my dad’s quick wit and love of sports and my mom’s ability to cook a delicious meal without following a recipe.

Although my dad used to work in a restaurant, I have yet to witness him cook anything more gourmet than hot dogs or microwaveable chicken wings (aside from his wicked grilling skills – which I did NOT inherit). So, I credit my mom and her Italian heritage for knowing my way around the kitchen.

Last week, I created some pretty sweet dinners using some Pinterest recipes as a base, and my inherited improvised cooking skills to make them my own.  The fact that I can’t eat dairy products also forces me to be creative when cooking – until you can’t have dairy, you have no idea how many things it is really in! 

Here are a few I'm pretty proud of: 

1. Homemade pulled pork in the crock pot and coleslaw from scratch

Last Thursday I took a mental health day and made the most of it by making some homemade pulled pork in the crock pot.  Most recipes call for a rump roast or a loin, but I only had boneless pork chops. I used this recipe, but improvised. I used four pieces of pork, half an onion and probably a quarter of a bottle of a sweet BBQ sauce. After seven hours, I pulled the pork and then let it cook in the juices for another hour. Definitely worth the wait!  I also used this recipe for coleslaw, which tastes so yummy! I slapped them both between two pieces of bread and had the best sandwich ever. 

2. Eggplant bake 

I had an eggplant to use up before it went bad so I decided to make an eggplant bake, without the cheese.  I found this recipe on Pinterest, but changed it around. I subtracted the cheese, and replaced it with a few sprinkles of grated Parmesan cheese in between the layers. Instead of following the directions of dipping it in flour and then egg, I dipped it in egg and then crushed up croutons and breadcrumbs mixed (I got that idea genius from my mother!) and then baked them until golden brown. I then layered them in a pie plate with homemade sauce mixture using tomato puree (the red pepper flakes really add an awesome kick so don't skip them). I didn't have all of the spices so I improvised a little (without measuring.. whoops).  It might be my new favorite way to make sauce. I don't know if it was this new sauce or the fact that it was missing cheese, but it really tasted like a nice, light eggplant dinner. I didn't take a picture of this, but it looked just as good as it tasted!

3.  Pizza with peppers and vegan cheese

I have been craving pizza so bad lately I couldn't take it anymore. I walked to the store, got the Pillsbury pizza crust and had at it. I cut up a green pepper and onion I needed to use before it went bad (I sauteed them in a pan with a bit of oil beforehand, another idea from my mom!), some leftover jar sauce and covered it with vegan cheese from Trader Joe's (soy cheese is gross and vegan cheese actually has the consistency of real cheese, but it's a little too liquid-y when it melts, but beggars can't be choosers). It did the trick.

4. Double chocolate chip cookies from scratch

Now this one I am especially proud of-- I've never made cookies from scratch on my own until last night when I whipped these up while watching my favorite TV show.  MY friend asked me to bring a dessert over to our "Bachelorette" finale party tonight and I wouldn't be caught dead bringing a store-bought dessert (thanks again, mom). I made half a batch and managed to make them without a hand mixer. I used a masher and some elbow grease to combine the butter and sugar and the rest of the ingredients. Of course, I added extra chocolate chips and rolled the dough balls in Christmas sprinkles (because I didn't have other ones and wanted to use these up). I made them smaller than recommended and cooked them for 16 minutes.  I managed to burn myself on the over, but the cookies tasted so good they were worth it! If you make these, don't be alarmed by how sticky they are. I baked them on a cookie sheet with some cooking spray (no parchment paper in the house) and they did not stick!

Hope I made you drool! I didn't write this post to brag, I just wanted to share some awesome recipes that are pretty easy to make and totally worth the investment! And if you know my parents, you know I've inherited their ability to pinpoint a good value :)