I like cooking :)

Recipes I've tried with my thoughts & notes

[cookwithsarah]

Easy Ground Beef Tostadas

This recipe was a ton of work, he is straight up lying when he says a prep time of 10 minutes and a cook time of 20 minutes. I even used just canned refried beans heated in the microwave and it took a ton of time anyways. Because of that I probably wouldn't make the whole recipe over again, but I'd defs make that salsa again!

But this one is really yummy! I recommend cabbage instead of lettuce, I think it gives a nicer crunch, but if you won't use up the rest of the head of cabbage, it's not worth it.

I always find tostadas a bit messy to eat, but the author talks about how they're nice because you can fit more filling on them, and I guess that's true.

To be honest, my favorite part of this recipe is the salsa recipe. It only mentions roasting the tomatoes, but I also roasted the onion and garlic at the same time. I think it would also be nice to instead just char them on the stove-top. The chipotles give more of a smoky flavor than a spicy flavor, I went for 2, but I think you could add a bit of heat with another chili if you want, or if you can't handle heat, keep it as is. I really enjoyed having the leftover salsa with chips.

[cookwithsarah]

Tomato Feta Fried Egg

One of my favorite breakfasts, especially in the summer when tomatoes are so fresh.

Comes together incredibly quickly, flavorful, and fresh. Beware, the tomatoes and feta will turn into lava, it is soooo easy to burn your mouth on this. Serve on buttered toast. You will lose some. Have a fork for the tomatoes that go overboard, or just get in there bare handed.

I like my yolks runny but my whites well set, so I put a lid on to help, but if you prefer a set yolk you can instead flip your egg or cook it longer. If you like your whites runny, just never put a lid on it.

Ingredients:

1 egg

~1/4 cup chopped tomatoes (fresh), I recommend campari or cherry

~2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese

oil/butter

1 slice toast, I recommend sourdough

s&p to taste

Steps:

Heat oil in your pan, crack the egg in. Immediately salt and pepper.

Put your toaster down once the egg is in!

Cover your egg with a lid for 2 minutes

Once two minutes have passed, open up, wiggle the pan to see how well set your egg is. If it's not very set, then dump only the chopped tomatoes in the other half of the pan and cover for one more minute. If the white is not very jiggly, dump both the tomatoes and feta in together, do not cover.

If you have not added the feta, add it now, and cook uncovered.

Stir the feta and tomatoes, until the feta is leaving a slight trail as it melts. It will stick to your spatula a little.

Butter your toast, then scoop the feta and tomato directly onto the toast. Nestle the fried egg on top.

Try not to lose it all while you eat it.

[cookwithsarah]

Tortellini Carbonara

this isn't a real carbonara sauce because it doesn't have any egg. Fun fact: one theory for the creation of carbonara is that it was made for US troops in Italy during WWII, using their supplies of cream, bacon, and powdered eggs. So the dish has always been Americanized!!

Anyways. Tortellini Carbonara is pretty freaking rich. So doing it without the egg is actually not the worst idea, it helps keep it from being overwhelming. But it's more of 'tortellini in bacon cream sauce'

[cookwithsarah]

Gyodon

An easy weeknight meal! The tip of freezing the meat for just a little bit of time is SO HELPFUL! I always struggle to get the meat thin enough, but that gave it enough structure to slice really thin.

I think it would be better with some low sodium soy sauce, it was a little salty for me.

I'm not a fan of a raw egg so I did soft boiled ramen eggs and put one on top.

I also did some spinach on the side, veggies are nice!

[cookwithsarah]

Ramen Eggs + Bonus Pasta

This is really easy, just a little bit of prep work chopping, and then you can put it on anything. I put mine on gyodon.

BUT THE PASTA IS SO FUCKING GOOD!!! I used tahini rather than any other sesame paste. I used rice vinegar instead of Zhenjiang vinegar with a little bit of soy sauce.

I don't usually like cucumber, but it works really well in this pasta, so if that's all that's keeping you from trying this pasta, I would give it a shot!

[cookwithsarah]

Crispy Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas

This one could use a few adjustments, but it's a decent base. I made it with beef, but my friend made it without and said it was excellent! I don't love the crispy part of it, I think it'd be better as regular enchiladas.

[cookwithsarah]

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

A perfect soup to use up leftover ham! Or shit, buy some ham just for this because it's that good!!!

We make this usually a few times a year because it's so freaking good!

[cookwithsarah]

Elote-Style Cotija Cheese Quesadillas

I love elote. I love quesadillas. So this recipe is a match made in heaven. I personally found they didn't seal up great unless you put the Monterey Jack in the quesadilla separately so you get a decent layer.

[cookwithsarah]

Feta-Brined Chicken Sandwiches

I have a friend that doesn't think that sandwiches count as a meal. She could not say that about this guy.

The hardest part of this recipe was finding feta in brine, most of the ones sold in my store don't have any, let alone enough brine hanging out to marinate chicken in. But if you can find it, you HAVE to make this recipe. It's a sandwich. it's fucking easy as hell. And it's so damn good. I don't recommend making it quite as big as in this gorgeous picture, you'll maybe die. It's quite rich.

[cookwithsarah]

One Pot Gnocchi Chicken Pot Pie

This one was yum, I did remove peas and mushrooms cause I'm picky, and it still came out well!

They did describe how to make it gluten free, and made it gluten free for their go through. I made it with gluten, so I can't speak to how that turned out.

[cookwithsarah]

Kielbasa and Pierogies - Sheet Pan Sausage and Potatoes

I normally boil and then pan fry my pierogies with onions and a fuck ton of butter, and often cabbage. The sheet pan (one pot!!) aspect of this intrigued me. Made it when I had guests over and it was INCREDIBLY easy and everybody loved it. I did still make it with cabbage :)

[cookwithsarah]

Lemon Asparagus Goat Cheese Pasta with Italian Sausage

ayyyyy cascatelli the hot new pasta shape (she overcooked it)

these are a bunch of my favorite things all together so this is a winner of a dish in my opinion. pasta and lemon and goat cheese and sausage and asparagus? what's not to love????

I think the parm crumbs she did on top don't add that much, so if you don't wanna do that step, just skip it!!

[cookwithsarah]

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

The tomatillo sour cream sauce is soooooo good. I prefer green enchiladas a good amount, but I'm a slut for sour cream so this is absolutely the ideal for me!!!

IT SERVES 8!!! MAKES A TON!!! I halved it.

[cookwithsarah]

Skillet Creamy Cajun Chicken Lazone with Herby Corn

I had high hopes for this and it didn't match expectations. It was still fine, but not as special as I hoped. But a decent summery dish!

[cookwithsarah]

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

Essentially a cajun chicken alfredo. Super yummy, not as difficult as you'd expect.

The chicken in this doesn't bother me that much, but I think it's wayyyy better with sausage instead.

This is also PRETTY FAST!! So a good weeknight meal!

[cookwithsarah]

Pasta with Parsnips & Bacon

I think parsnips are a severely underrated vegetable. If you've never had them, it's like if a potato had the sweetness of carrot with a little spice and zing to it. A bit nutty and earthy, they're delicious!

This recipe is incredibly easy, quick, and so fucking delicious. You need to try it.

I recommend using pancetta, and I would cut the parsnips just a smidge smaller, maybe instead of half moons, quarter slices.

[cookwithsarah]

Cranberry Brie Grilled Cheese

I don't know what kind of fucked up cracker bread they're using in the picture. I used normal sourdough and it was banging. Love a simple grilled cheese.

And an easy way to use up leftover cranberry sauce!