Chocolate Chip Cookies

My husband really likes chocolate chip cookies, so we tend to make them at least once a week. (My "we", I mean "me", of course. I'm not letting him anywhere near my $300 mixer*.) This is why we're fat.

*A wedding gift from all 7 female members of our wedding party. Blog post about how I am possibly more in love with the mixer than with my husband forthcoming.

Chicken Parmesan & Spaghetti

What do you do when you're poor, out of bread crumbs, and want to fry chicken? You use crackers. And it's delicious. I used an entire package of Ritz crackers (not the box, the little plastic roll that they come in) and threw in half a graham cracker for good measure. Let me tell you, that graham cracker worked some magic because the breading was just slightly sweet... it rocked. If you ever fry anything with cracker-breading, add half a graham cracker. It also smelled really good while it was frying!

Tori's Chicken Parm
- thin-sliced/halved chicken breasts
- Ritz crackers and/or bread crumbs
- seasoning: oregano, basil, parsley
- oil (for frying)
- pasta sauce
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg

Put the bread crumbs (or crackers) into a gallon-size baggie with the seasonings. Mush it up good. Dip the chicken breasts one at a time into a beaten egg and then shake them in the baggie to coat with breading. You can do this twice if you want it really crunchy!

Fry the chicken breasts in a pan with the oil before transferring them to a baking sheet. Spoon pasta sauce on the breasts before heaping shredded mozzarella on top. Bake in a 350-375 degree oven until the mozzarella is thoroughly melted.

*Sorry I'm not better with recipes; I tend to make it up as I go along... anyway, on to the photos!

Stuffed Cabbage

Let me assure you that I am not some sort of pervy cabbage-fancier. Cabbage provides an interesting photo opportunity, nothing more, nothing less. Oh, and it's delicious when you stuff it full of ground beef and rice.

Peppers & Onions

Taco night is always the best night. Taco night is the most awesome night, though, when you add fried green pepper & onions to your tacos.

Interesting Photography Note: the hubby and I employ energy-saving lightbulbs, which make all the photos taken in my house turn out very yellow. The bottom image is very obviously Photoshopped. :)

Pizza Pockets

This is my solution for "I don't know what to cook". It's quick, it's easy, it's delicious and you can eat it with your hands.

Pizza Pockets (Serves Two*)
- Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough
- no-stick cooking spray
- pasta sauce
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- pepperoni
- other toppings, if you so choose

Pat the pizza dough into two large rectangles on a baking sheet that's been sprayed with non-stick spray. On one half of a rectangle, spread a couple spoonfuls of pasta sauce, sprinkle on a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese and top with pepperoni/other tops. You can add more cheese on top of this. Top it all off with a final dollop of pasta sauce, fold the rectangle over and pop it in the oven, following directions from the pizza dough can. Flip about halfway through cooking.

*By "two", I mean "my husband and I". Keep in mind that can of dough is supposed to make an entire pizza, so maybe you're not so much a fatty as I am and you don't want to eat the equivalent of half a pizza by yourself... food for thought. /pun

Swedish Meatballs

True story--I called my mom around 5:30 PM and asked her how to make Swedish meatballs. Her response was something along the lines of, "you want me to give you the entire recipe... from memory... over the phone?" It wasn't that strange a request, was it? In any case, I have some semblance of a kickass Swedish meatball receipt scribbled on an index card now, so it was worth it. FYI, my mom makes the best Swedish meatballs.

This was my first attempt at photographing my cooking process, so it's not perfect...