Easy Pork Quesadillas

Sometimes after working on my dissertation all day, I do not want an involved meal. Everyone likes quesadillas, right? Well anything that involves cheese is golden in my husband's eyes. Mixing the sour cream with the meat gives it a nice tang. If you like, feel free to add a dash of Frank's Hot Sauce to the mixture. It will give it a nice kick. I served this with a fresh tomato salad and bottled taco sauce. Simply mix quartered small tomatoes, a few slices of cucumber, 1 tsp. olive oil, splash of sherry vinegar, salt, pepper and a pinch of dried basil together. Makes for a great quickie meal.

3/4 Pound Ground Pork

1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
1/3 Cup Light Sour Cream
3/4 Cup Shredded Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
8 Corn Tortillas

Vegetable Oil

Frank's Hot Sauce (Optional)

Kosher Salt

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until soften. Add pork and a pinch of salt to taste stirring to break up the meat until it is browned and cooked through. Drain and move to a bowl. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Stir in sour cream and cheese and gently mix. Brush one side of each tortilla with oil. Divide mixture among half the tortillas. Place the remaining tortillas on top.

Wipe out your skillet and heat a Tbs. vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Place tortillas, two at a time, in the pan. Cover with a panini press (as shown above) or any heavy flat bottomed pan. Grill for 2 1/2 minutes on each side. Cut up and serve!

Vegetable Soup

When I returned from a road trip this summer, I decided to be a vegetarian for a week. Reason? Well, I ate quite a few diner French fries and Kansas City BBQ. I haven't done anything like this since high school. Knowing I need to save for school supplies, this would be a way to save a few dollars for the week. This soup is great with fresh summer vegetables. While on the road trip, I visited my friend Nick. He had a great garden - best one I've seen in a long time. So, the zucchini in this one - were from him! This does call for chicken broth - so, I guess I cheated a little...

4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, Diced
1 Red Bell Pepper, Seeded, Cut into 1"x 1/2" Slices
5 Plum Tomatoes, Halved and then Thickly Sliced
1 Beefsteak Tomato, Halved and then Thickly Sliced
1 Very Large Zucchini or 3 Small Ones, Sliced 1/4" and Halved
5 Large Garlic Cloves, Minced
2 Potatoes, Peeled and Diced
3 Cups Chicken Broth (I use Better Than Bullion)
Kosher Salt, Ground Pepper

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Basil Leaves
Salt, Pepper

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium, heat 1 Tbs. olive oil. Cook onion and pepper about 10 minutes. Remove and place in a large bowl. In same pot, heat 1 more Tbs. olive oil. Cook tomatoes for 8 minutes. Move to the onion and pepper bowl. In same pot, heat 1 more Tbs. olive oil. Cook zucchini 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in cooked onions, peppers and tomatoes. Move 1 1/2 cups of vegetables to a bowl. Set the bowl aside. Add the diced potatoes and broth. Simmer for 30 minutes. Season with kosher salt and ground black pepper.

In a blender, process the vegetable oil, basil, 2 large pinches of kosher salt and a bit of ground pepper. Blend on high for 20 seconds.  Move to a small bowl.

Using a hand blender (God's gift to avoiding traditional blenders!), blend the soup in the pot. Incorporate saved vegetables. Serve soup in bowls and drizzle with the olive oil basil mixture.

Grated Pear Oatmeal for One

When I started working from home, it was a great opportunity to make a more involved breakfast. I needed sustenance to tackle whatever I was working on that day...  Easy to make, this oatmeal combines two of my favorite things - BUTTER and FRUIT. If you don't have a pear, apples work nicely. Granny Smith's are my favorite. This is my blog's inaugural meal. What a way to start the day.

1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
1 Cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Water
Healthy Pinch of Kosher Salt
1 Medium Grated Pear
1/2 Teaspoons Lemon
1/4 Cup Skim Milk
1 Tsp Salted Butter
Honey (Optional)

Mix rolled oats, water and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir while boiling - it tends to stick to the pan. Sometimes, I give my pan a good soak after this breakfast!

Add pear and lemon. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes stirring often.

Add milk and butter. Stir and cook for another minute. I like to put on EXTRA butter, but a drizzle of honey is nice as well.

WHY A BLOG?

It was about TIME I started a blog - if nothing more than to keep track of my various expeditions in the kitchen! As of today, I will post what I create for breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in between. My background is in psychology and since I love to feed my husband - I create most of my dishes with a bit of problem solving and a limited graduate student budget.

Try the recipes if you like and of course... enjoy your food!