Chicken Noodle Soup

It's about that time...well for California we had maybe 3 days of cold, and next week its back in the 80's again. I made this while it was actually cold. But, I can't wait till I can make my mom's famous (and fattening) potato cheese soup, and chili with cornbread, and chicken tortilla soup...MMmMmMmmmmm.

So, I actually made my own noodles for the first time. Since it was my first time, I realized that I made them too thick. That means I should probably go by myself one of those pasta roller machines, I love it when I have a good excuse to buy something for myself :)

Most of the time when I make stuff I don't really follow measurements, so I will do as best as I can with directions, in case someone wants to make it.

1/2 box of chicken broth

1 chicken breast (I prefer more veggies, so you can add more chicken if you want)

3 carrots

3 stalks of celery

handful of mushrooms

1/4 onion

poultry seasoning

salt & pepper to taste

homeade noodles (recipe below)

*Pour chicken broth and about a cup of water in a big pot on a meduim simmer.  Place chicken, carrots and celery in the broth (Im not a huge fan of the texture of boiled chicken, so I put it on a mild simmer, more like poached chicken) season the broth with a couple shakes of poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.

*Start the noodles now so they can sit while the chicken cooks.

*After chicken is cooked and shredded, add onions mushrooms and noodles. Try the broth and season to taste.

Homeade noodles (SUPER EASY)

1 cup of flour, and a little for the rolling pin

2 eggs

*Place the flour directly onto the countertop and create a little hole to crack the egg into.

*Knead together the flour and egg until all combined and you can start rolling it out. Remember that it will not be too thin, so just roll out as thin as you can and use a pizza cutter to create the strips.

*Let sit out for about an hour to dry. They will not be completely dry.

<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=www.foodizmypassion.blogspot.com" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal">Pin It</a>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js%22%3E%3C/script>

Soda Float Party

My friend Jessmyn and I got the idea to have a soda float party and after looking online, we got some pretty fun ideas.  So, we put together a menu of different variations of soda and ice cream and even decided to name them.
I didn't take a picture of all of them :(

This is the classic Brown Cow - Root Beer with vanilla ice cream

Black Cow - Root Beer with chocolate ice cream

Crush on You - Orange Crush soda with vanilla ice cream

Rainbow in a cup - Sherbet and Sprite

Strawberry Blonde - Strawberry ice cream and Sprite

Dirty Hawaiian - Cactus Cooler and chocolate ice cream (this sounds weird, but was really good)

Sunset - Sherbet and Cactus Cooler

Elegant Episode - Sangria Senorial soda with strawberry or vanilla ice cream

It was a cute idea, fun with good association, but me and Jessmyn were so excited we didn't plan any REAL food...people started getting a little sugared out, so we ordered pizza :)

Good Times

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

Thanks to my cousin's recipe, I had something to take to a friend's going away party.

Orzo Paella

Ok, so this is not your traditional paella (no saffron or other fancy ingredients) so I might want to just change the name to avoid misconception. But, nonetheless, here is the recipe.

Flemings!

All I can say is thank goodness for happy hour, without it, I would not have experienced the amazingness that is Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar. The prices are ridiculous! 5 for $6 till 7pm.

sweet chili calamari

tenderloin carpaccio

fleming's prime burger with blue cheese

Cold Greek Pasta Salad

This salad is so yummy, and you can change it up and add other veggies if you want. I doubled the dressing recipe because I added so many other veggies and more pasta too.







5 oz. (2 1/2 cups) dried pasta (I used rotini, but you can use radiatore, shell, etc)
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/2 seedless cucumber quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/4 pieces
1 yellow bell pepper cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup of canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 small red onion, diced (I used green onion so there wasn't too much of a strong onion flavor)
2 oz reduced fat feta, cubed (I used the block feta and cubed it myself and I didn't used reduced fat, it was too salty)
1/4 cup kalamata olives halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

*Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain, rinse under cold water, drain again and transfer to paper towels to absorb excess water
* Combine tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, beans, onion, feta, olives and mint in a large serving bowl; add pasta and mix. (at this point, make sure the pasta is completely cold)
* In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, honey, mustard, oregano, salt and black pepper.  Pour over the pasta and vegetables; toss well.  Season with additional salt and black pepper as needed.

One of THE best burgers I have EVER had!!

So, my best friend (and fellow foodie) Abby calls me up at work one day and says, "Hey try to get off work a little early, I found this awesome place in Santa Monica, their menu looks great" (only a true foodie takes off work and drives an hour for food) Of course I take off work a little early and we cruise down to Santa Monica to the Misfit Bar. I take a look at the menu and order the PLT.

The burger is buffalo meat, it has pancetta, arugula, gruyere cheese and a tomato chutney. I seriously can't describe the feeling I felt when I ate it...totally melt in my mouth!

My love for food trucks!

We have come a long way since the roach coach! Gourmet food trucks are here to stay for sure, especially since I have to be a "baller on a budget" nowadays they are all pretty reasonably priced, and not to mention the Food Network's show The Great Food Truck Race.  I am a huge fan!! So far I have eaten from: Lake Street Creamery, India Jones, the Grilled Cheese Truck and my first one ever was Grill 'em All, which happened to be the winners of the first season of the Great Food Truck Race.

This was the Waste 'em all with bacon, and the pomme frites with truffle oil. Do I have to say anymore?
I am really looking forward to the new season, I already have a strong feeling that the Korilla BBQ truck are going to win. And you better believe that when I go to NY in October, I will find them!

My First Blog

So, this is it! My first blog and my first post.
A couple co-workers and I were talking about what our passions are and if we could be anything we wanted, what would we be? Well, I love food, I can't deny it. No matter where I go, I research the area to find the best food, my vacations are all about food, when I hang out with my friends its all about food. So, I decided that if I could be anything I would be a food critic. So I thought I would create a blog about all my travels and all the differnt things I eat. So, maybe before you go somewhere you will check my blog to find out what I ate when I went there :)

Bon Appetit!