Microwavable Brownies - Video Blog

This recipe is short and sweet. A simple way of making brownies by using the microwave that only takes up to seven minutes to make. The videos below show what to use in making the brownies, how to make the brownies, and the final result.

Taking these videos and uploading them did not work as intended, as the files were too big. But the conclusion is that the brownies turned somewhat moist and with just the right amount of sweet. 

Pepperoni Casserole

We’re in the midst of trying to sell our house. Our realtor has expressed that it’s not a good idea to make anything with strong smells as that can often be a deterrent for prospective buyers. With this in mind, my grandmother and I wonder about buying out more than making anything out of fear that some kind of lingering smell might hang around like a buzzing insect.

Yesterday, Monday, the day my cousin comes over so that we can watch Teen Wolf together, I was prepared to order pizza. At the moment, I am unable to stomach the stuff anymore. We’ve ordered so much of it I’d be happy to never see a cheese-and-pepperoni-saturated pie again. Yet, while I was getting an oil change earlier in the day, and the only thing worthwhile to watch and engage my interest in (aside from my phone) was cooking shows on Food Network.

One show in particular struck me, I suppose, at the right time, at the right place, when I was in the right mood. I was not planning on making anything for dinner that night and had even texted my cousin to let her know we were ordering pizza (the bane of my existence) instead. She was fine with it. I was planning on getting extra cheese and pepperoni, and one of those pasta bread bowls from Dominos, and be done with it. But then, as I watched Sandra Lee, she was making pepperoni casserole and garlic bread. Looked easy enough, not overly complicated, only a few ingredients to keep it under about five dollars, making it about $1.50 per serving. I quickly jotted down the instructions on my phone’s notepad, saving it for a rainy day.

I milled around at home, imagining that humble pizza pie, and annoyed as hell by it. I really did not want pizza, but I also did not feel like cooking and stinking up the house – by an hour or so before she arrived I was standing at the crossroads of whether to charge forward and declare pizza as the main soul food for the night! Or take the less traveled path and make the casserole. Inwardly, hating pizza, felt that almighty pull toward the casserole. A few simple ingredients, no time spent prepping at all except to dice up onions and zucchini, and chose casserole as our poison for the evening with fresh garlic bread to tie it all together. We were having pizza without the dough and the mess of tomato sauce – but thrown together as a neat pasta dish.

Sauteed onion and zucchini, chopped up pepperoni, bit of basil, salt and pepper to taste, and let that soften up on the stove while the rotini pasta turned al dente. The rustic nature of the pepperoni against the zucchini really made it pop, turning it from dark red to a bright orange. It culminated all these little ingredients together, cutting the sweetness of the caramelized onion and zucchini with the hint of spice pepperoni is signature for. Rotini added and shredded mozzarella cheese (I added more than the cup requested – I’m a cheese fan, after all.)  Adding a layer of bread crumbs for an extra crunchy texture, the casserole went into the oven for 20.

I opened the oven once and motioned my cousin to come over and we breathed in the aroma. Such an easy dish to make with no time spent prepping an extreme amount of ingredients. No time at all and the garlic bread was a hit – my aunt demanded I sent some home to her, so unfortunately, I get a little bowl of leftovers for the next night.

In all, the whole thing cost less than ten dollars! Ordering pizza would’ve been double that! 

Pepperoni Casserole

Sushi Bistro

Sushi Bistro was an accidental adventure.

If anyone should know, I am a sushi connoisseur. Having dined on sushi for the past five-six years, I feel I know good sushi when I’ve tried it, and bad sushi when I’ve experienced it. Sushi is one of those trends that is up and coming. There are dozens of sushi restaurants across the region in St. Louis and the trick is knowing which ones to frequent and which ones to absolutely avoid altogether. You learn to read reviews, you learn to scour the websites, you learn which restaurants are the stars of the neighborhood and must be experienced, you learn which restaurants are like any other standard sushi place with all the ordinary offerings without glory.

At the time when I first encountered Sushi Bistro, I was working at my first real job at Scholastic Book Fairs. I was starting to make a little extra cash and decided that I was going to head across town to Target to purchase a few odds and ends to make my little cubicle feel like home away from home. I had several hours to kill before my class started that evening and chose afterward to find a place to eat. Having downloaded the Yelp app and getting used to its features, decided to see what kind of restaurants were currently nearby to grab a bite before heading to school.

I do have my favorite sushi restaurants – a little place known as Blue Ocean. They offer a rather in-expensive all you can eat sushi which practically offers you the entire menu to sample. Blue Ocean was clear in the other direction, a good twenty to thirty minutes from where I needed to be. I was needing something closer. Sushi was not on my agenda but an option. And as I scoured through the list of nearby places, checking times and reviews, gliding through pictures and salivating, I came across such a sushi place called Sushi Bistro. From where I was parked at the Target parking lot found it was only a five minute drive. The ratings were high, the reviews were extreme positive, the pictures were worth more than a thousand words: sushi was it.

Apprehensive, as usual, I made the brief journey and found the place nestled inside a plaza. The place looked small and intimate with not much to show for on the outside. It was in a heavy trafficked area with a Taco Bell sitting on its own upon its own lot, across the street from a McDonalds, and a post office next door, it was the prime place for a sushi place to be.

As I walked in I was greeted with a warm interior. Gleaming hardwood floors resonated the dimly lit intimate room—not very big but just right, it seemed. Tables were spaced evenly and were made of a heavy dark wood. Not only was the atmosphere humbly inviting but as I was quickly made welcome by the staff. I sat by the window to watch the traffic go by and peered through the various menu options and the descriptions were clear and the ingredients modest, the price a bit steep than what I was hoping for. I was not going to let the idea of cost deter me from enjoying a little time out and pampering you sometimes need.

Wanting the full experience I ordered the mango salad and several of the signature rolls. When the mango salad came out, it was far too pretty to eat. All the colors busting with bright orange from the julienned mango and a hint of green and pink from the cucumber and imitation crab. On top was a smattering of sesame seeds and lightly touched with a light sweet yet tangy dressing that was cold and refreshing and complimented the mango, cucumber, crab well.

mango salad

Instantly this became one of my favorite items on the menu. It was, might I say, delicious. More than delicious but an ideal first impression of what I was in store for when the rolls were brought out. The plate was neat and tidy. The rolls were sitting in a row at the perfect size. None of the ingredients were spilling out of it (like at some places) but tightly packed. A purple-pink-white hibiscus flower was placed delicately on the corner to provide flare. I was not expecting the kind of finesse shown but was quickly realizing this was not your average sushi restaurant, but an excellent destination that felt like a secret only I knew.

Sushi Bistro is warm and inviting and an exceptional restaurant to visit. I have to say the people who work there are friendly and kind and eager to make your stay even more welcoming. These are the kind of people you want to be friends with, the kind of people you want to learn more about, the kind of people you would love to see again. Sushi Bistro is a place I wanted to bring people knowing that even if the prices are a little higher than other area restaurants, by the time you sit down and take that first bite, you aren’t worried about the cost, but the quality and the patience and the time they spent on preparing something wonderful for you to enjoy.

Ice Cream Bread + Video

I am an avid user of Tumblr. I actually enjoy it more than Facebook (who even likes Facebook anymore?) A bit more anonymous, a lot more content to filter through, somewhat private if family members are unaware it even exists, not to mention, you have no idea what you’re going to find. Tumblr is as infinite as Facebook and not as personal. Some people use Tumblr as a place to blog, to collect various things that go along with the theme of what you like to follow, and you can follow other people. I go on Tumblr mostly to see new things and what’s out in the world, what is the latest craze that has everyone going nuts. You never know what you’ll find.

One such beauty I stumbled across recently is a video someone posted on how to make ice cream bread. That’s right, you heard me correctly. Ice. Cream. Bread.

Now you’re probably as curious as I am. How does one make ice cream bread? Is it actual ice bread made into loaves? Is it bread layered with ice cream in between? What in the world is it?

You can see the video for yourself here: 

A three minute video is all it took for me to hop onto this extraordinary find. It made me thinking that we no longer have to buy bread. We can make it ourselves out of ice cream! Not to mention there are only two ingredients in which to make it with? I’m sold!

All you need for ice cream bread:

-         -  Flavor of ice cream. Whatever your heart desires. I started with vanilla.

-          - Self-rising flour.

That is it. Two ingredients.

You mix everything together in a decent sized bowl until it comes together in a consistency of dough. Spread it evenly into a small bread pan lined with grease and you toss it in the oven at 350 degrees for a good 35-50 minutes depending on the type of oven and how it heats. It took me a good hour for the mixture to come together and rise, and when it did rise, formed a healthy looking brown crust across the top—reminiscent of a nice loaf of bread. Kitchen smelled as fresh as a bakery, too. Nothing beats the smell of freshly made bread.

Interesting part about it is that there is no taste of ice cream. The crust around the bread tastes just like any crust on bread, but bread part itself, almost tasted like cake. It was not as sweet as I thought it was going to be, and a little too dry to eat on its own. I added preserves with mine and it really made the taste of the bread burst. Next time I plan to use a different flavor of ice cream and add a little more ice cream than the recipe calls for to make it a little more moist.

Who needs to buy bread anymore when a gallon of ice cream and self-rising flour is all you need? 

Vanilla Ice Cream Bread