Chicken Tortilla Wraps

I have my boyfriend's mother to thank for introducing me to this quick, easy and delicious recipe!

I was informed that it is considered "camping food" in their family, and I look forward to eating it out of doors one day, but until then I will just have to "suffer" with eating it cooked indoors (I'll let you know if it really is suffering after try it camping sometime).

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
Tortillas
canned chicken (or turkey)
mayonnaise (or whatever your family has that is like mayonnaise)
cheese
fry pan (if it's non-stick, then you wont need butter, if it isn't, you will!)
heat source (like a stove, or campfire)

First of all don't be freaked out by the lack of measurements, because I've never used them. THIS IS CAMP COOKING! You cook to taste.

Oh and my boyfriend and I have differing opinions as to when you add the cheese, so I'll list both and you can choose which way you want to do it. Or do both for extra cheesy-ness, maybe try two different kinds of cheese.

Ok here we go:

1. Mix the canned meat with the mayonnaise *THIS IS WHERE I ADD THE CHEESE, TO THE MIXTURE* and make a row of the mixture in the middle of the tortilla. *THIS IS WHERE MY BOYFRIEND SPRINKLES THE CHEESE ON TOP* Fold the tortillas in 'half' over the meat/cheese, and roll it.

2. Put all of the tortillas into a fry pan (see comment above if you don't know if you need to butter the pan or not), and cook on low-medium heat, flipping at least once. When the tortillas turn golden brown, and the cheese has melted it's ready to eat!

In case you're wondering what the red stuff is, it's red pepper. Feel free to add stuff to the recipe, like I said before, it's 'camp cooking.' So you're supposed to make it the way you want to eat it! :)

Rooibos

Red tea. Rooibos. African tea. It has a few different names.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about it:
Rooibos (Anglicized pronunciation: pron.: /ˈrɔɪbɒs/ roy-bos; Afrikaans pronunciation: [rɔːibɔs], "red bush"; scientific name Aspalathus linearis) is a broom-like member of the legume family of plants growing in South Africa's fynbos.

Rooibos is grown only in a small area in the region of the Western Cape province of South Africa.^[1] Generally, the leaves are oxidized, a process often, inaccurately, referred to as fermentation by analogy with tea processing terminology. This process produces the distinctive reddish-brown colour of rooibos and enhances the flavour. Unoxidized "green" rooibos is also produced, but the more demanding production process for green rooibos (similar to the method by which green tea is produced) makes it more expensive than traditional rooibos. It carries a malty and slightly grassy flavour somewhat different from its red counterpart.

In South Africa, it is common to prepare rooibos tea in the same manner as black tea and add milk and sugar to taste. Other methods include a slice of lemon and using honey instead of sugar to sweeten.

I think Rooibos is one of my favourite kinds of tea. Personally I find it delicious to drink "black." But my mom enjoys it with milk, and black.

Oh! Wanna know the best thing about Rooibos? It's caffeine free :)

Like Black and Green tea, Rooibos has many different flavours. Some of my favourites are:
-> Blueberry Rooibos
-> Red Earl Grey
-> Provence Rooibos
-> Winter Palace Marzipan

Pizza: Tortilla Crust (Again)

I had Tortilla Crust pizza for lunch at school today, and I thought it would be nice to take photos as I went so that I remember how easy and delicious it was. And to entice you to make some of your own!

STEP ONE: lay out the tortillas on a baking pan

STEP TWO: make the garlic butter

STEP THREE: top the tortillas with garlic butter, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese

STEP FOUR: bake, at 350'f -ish, until the tortillas get golden brown around the edges. 5-10 minutes I think

STEP FIVE: eat :)

Pizza: Tortilla Crust

I was hungry, and I had about about 40 min to eat and get ready for work. I had already been at school for 6+ hours, and had spent some time at home relaxing, but it was time to kick things back into gear.

Did I mention that I wanted pizza?

So I tried something that I had been mulling over in my mind for a while. A tortilla crust pizza.

My mom used to make garlic "chips" out of tortillas. She took some garlic, some butter, and spread it all of the tortilla. She would bake it in the oven, and serve it. It tasked delicious. So I tried it with a twist. I topped it with pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. I think it took me 20-25 min to make and eat it. :)

Salad for Life: Green Leaf

I used to hate salad with a passion. And then I grew up.
I 'grew up' in an unusual way though. I was spending some time with a friend and her family; we had gone to superstore for our lunches and were hanging out at a park when the topic of salad came up. My friend was eating one, she liked salad. I was not eating one, and I told her plainly that I did NOT like salad! She paused, looked at me, tilted her head and thought for a moment. She then said what would change my view of salad forever: "Weird, you look like a salad person."
My mind was blown.

A salad person? Some people looked like they liked salad? More importantly, I looked like I liked salad?! I was confused. I didn't like, wouldn't like, salad! But her comment stayed in the back of my mind, and reminded me it was there at the sneakiest of times, and dared me to try different salads. And you know what? I now love salad. I don't know what on earth was wrong with me when I was younger, and I am very thankful to my friend for showing me the error of my ways!

That all being said, I like interesting salads. Salads with different kinds of lettuce, and fruits and vegetables in them. I like how it is practically impossible to go wrong with salad. You don't have to cook anything (unless you top it with meat), and you can have seasonal salads, with whatever fruit and vegatables you can find. My basic salad recipe would probably be this:

SERVES ONE:
1-2 leafs of lettuce (any kind)
1/4 c. cut cucumber
1/8 c. cut tomato (or a handfull of cherry/grape tomatoes)
1/4 fruit (apples, strawberries, grapes, pears, peaches, rasins, whatever you feel like eating!)
1/8 c. cut peppers or celery
a handful of chopped walnuts (or any other nut)
1/8-1/4 c. cooked meat
optional: a handful of grated cheese

Do you have any favourite green leaf salads? :)

Pizza: Garlic & Parsley Crust

Eating pizza and watching a movie  has to be one of my favourite family times. Tonight we watched Wall-e and ate pizza with garlic & parsley crust, topped with pepperoni, cherry tomatoes (and some olives for mom), and sprinkled with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

It tasted good. 

Here's what the garlic & parsley crust looked like. All I did was add a clove of garlic and 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp of parsley, to the recipe bellow:

COMBINE IN A LARGE BOWL:

1 c. all-purpose flour

2 1/4 tsp. undissolved pizza yeast (I used a brand called Fleischmann's, you can get it in grocery stores and I've seen it in bulk food stores)

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

ADD:

2/3 c. very warm water

3 Tbl. oil (I use olive, the recipe doesn't specify what kind though)

MIX WELL! And I mean it, you want to mix the dough until it is smooth and elastic like. It should start to clump together before you go on to the next step!

ADD:

Enough flour to make it into a soft dough about 3/4 - 1 1/4 c.

KNEAD, about 4 minutes. Either in the bowl or on the table. I like to knead it in the bowl, because I make less of a mess, until the next step that is!

You have options here, you can either press it onto the pan you want to bake it on, or you can roll it out. I haven't tried pressing it out, but my mom did once, and she said it took a while.

Spread with pizza sauce (or garlic butter...like I did in 'pizza perfect'), and top with your style of toppings.

Bake at 425'F on the lowest oven rack for 9-15 min. (the recipe says 12-15, but I find that mine is usually done in 9 or 10)

EAT! :)

Lunch-To-Go: Chicken Burger Bagel

Last night as I was getting ready for bed and thinking about school for today I realized that I still had to pack a lunch, and I didn't have a lot of options. I ended up talking to a friend on the phone (yes, a real phone conversation, not texting!), and explaining my dilemma/possible solution:

Say hello to the chicken burger bagel sandwich!

This kind of thing happens when I don't plan my lunches far enough in advance. But the good news is it tasted good!

Chicken Burger-Bagel:

1 chicken burger, pre-cooked
1 bagel
lettuce (and/or other veggies you prefer)
mayonnaise (and/or other dressings that you like)

Put all of the ingredients together just like you would a normal sandwich, and eat.

It's amazing what strange meals you eat when the 'normal' ingredients are all eaten up. I still have to make my dinner for tomorrow...and my staples of eggs, bananas, and cucumbers don't exist in my house right now. So I'll have to be creative again. It should be fun. :)

What crazy things have you had to put together for a lunch?