A Tablespoon of Geek: Mexican Vegerarian Pasta Salad

Well I am a day late on my cooking segment and I apologize for that it was because I was sick yesterday. Trust me I tried to type up a post yesterday but I was so tired from illness and the words did not seem to flow in a way that I liked. I may have gotten three paragraphs poorly written before I finally threw in the towel and took a nap to try an feel better.

OK so last week was the last “Cooking Concoctions” post ever and the polls officially closed yesterday for voting on the new name. It seems it was a very close race but in the end it looks like “A Spoonful of Geek” came out on top. It is now time for us to say farewell to the “Cooking Concoctions” it had a good run but it is time for it punch it’s last time card and graciously retire.

So this week is my Mexican Vegetarian Pasta Salad

For this recipe you will need for serving four

1 pound or 4 cups of pasta (I used Conchiglie a.k.a. shells)

2 cups of corn

1 Red pepper Chopped

¾ cup of green onions diced

½ can of black beans drained

1 cup of mozzarella

1 cup of cheddar

1 cup of ranch dressing

Taco seasoning (or Mexican seasonings of your choice)

Step one is to bring a large pot of water to a boil and then cook the pasta. To be honest aside from the chopping and cutting this is the most challenging part of the whole process. Once the pasta is cooked to your liking and the pot is drained, re add the pasta to the pot and pour in cold water.  Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl.

Now mix in the vegetables and beans until it is well mixed together, than mix in the ranch dressing and the spices and seasonings. If you wash your hands you can have fun mixing all of this together with your bare hands, let your inner kid get a little messy. Once this is thoroughly mixed together add in the cheeses and you are ready to serve.

 

I initially wanted to use Wagon wheels for this recipe but I could not find any at the store and it made me disappointed. I really felt that the Wagon wheel past would give this Mexican Pasta Salad a real western feel, maybe one day if I can find the wheel pasta I will redo this recipe.

Omg look at this it appears that a certain powerful master jedi joined us for this delightful meal. One Mr Yoda decided that he would like to partake in my delightful pasta dish. I hope that he enjoyed my cooking but he didn't say a whole lot about it, that might be because he is a toy but who can be sure about it

Well this is the first post of the new cooking section of my blog A Tablespoon of Geek, give this a try.

Sincerely Urban Yeti

Cooking Concoctions: Three Cheese Zucchini Stir Fry

As with the new format I developed I have decided that I would post my adventures in the kitchen on Thursdays instead of Fridays. The reason for this is actually two fold, the first reason being that cooking and posting on the same day is challenging. The second cause is because we are moving the cooking night from Friday to Saturday due to some new schedule conflicts that would take more time then I would like to explain. Also speaking of the new blog format this will be the last time that my cooking section will be called cooking concoctions.

One thing about the move that I think will be positive is for readership, I believe that most people who would better utilize my recipes before the weekend. Also the extra time in between cooking and actually completing the post give me the time to make sure that the writing is to a level that I am confident in.

The recipe I present to you today is a recipe that utilizes one of my favorite summer squashes, the vibrant green zucchini. This also a very healthy vegetarian dish that is relatively easy to make and can be made out of fresh produce from your local farmers market. By no means a vegetarian or vegan, I am a hundred percent omnivore and enjoy sinking my teeth into a slab of meat.

So this is my Three Cheese Zucchini Stir Fry

Let us begin with the ingredients

1 Zucchini Sliced

2 large Carrots Sliced

1 Large Red Pepper Chopped

½ A Red Onion Chopped

Tablespoon (or to taste) Parsley Chopped

½ cup of shredded mozzarella

½ cup shredded cheddar

¾ cup of parmesan cheese

1 cup of Orange Juice

2 tablespoons of Lemon Juice

To taste Lemon Pepper

Salt and pepper

Cooking Oil

Serves 2-3

Prep time 15 min

Cook time 10 min

So after all of the vegetables have been cut down to size, place a skillet on the element add the cooking oil and bring up to high temperature. Once that is done pour in the orange juice, lemon juice, lemon pepper, salt and pepper followed by adding in the red onion and zucchini. Using a spatula or other cooking implement continuously move the contents of the skillet around to avoid burning while cooking. Cook until the zucchini and onion begin browning then add the carrots, red pepper and parsley continue cooking until the carrots become soft.

Remove the skillet and contents from heat and turn off the element, and then proceed to add the mozzarella, cheddar and ½ cup parmesan. At this stage continue stirring until cheese is all melty this is how you know it will be delicious. Dish up and add the remaining parmesan to the top of the dish, you can add more if you want to but I find this to be plenty.

This recipe makes a delightfully light summer meal that is wonderfully filling and good for your health. My favorite part of this dish is just how colourful it is and if you want to flush it out a little bit more you can add other large coloured peppers, this also makes it way more colourful.

Don’t forget to vote for the new name of my cooking section there are only a couple days left to vote so don’t forget to get your say in. In case you are wondering it is located in the upper part of the right side tool bar.

Hope you enjoy!

Sincerely Urban Yeti

Cooking Concoctions: Bloody Sausage

IT IS FRIDAY THE 13TH!!!!! what does that mean exactly, well in my happy land it means that is time for a movie marathon. The movies of choice are the Friday the Thirteenth movies, naturally. Since it is my cooking night I decided to search the internet for some spooky recipes. Alas it is quite a challenge to find a recipe that is not baked or involves pumpkin. I know it is not Halloween right now but the day is of grand significance and thus needed a very special meal.
Then it hit me to make my own bloody recipe, I found a vegetarian beet soup recipe and made it into a sauce to put on some sausages.
For cooking this week I had some help from little Blondie, and my special meal was enjoyed by good friend Kenneth the Third and my sweet Wifey.

Check out Blondie on DA here: http://blissful-melancholy.deviantart.com/

and check out my wifey's blog here: http://niklea-thenothingness.blogspot.ca/

Here it is my bloody sausages.

Ingredients:
1 can of sliced beets
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1/4 of a red onion diced
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of flour
1 tbsp of chili powder (more if you like it spicy)
1 cup of cream
2 tbsp of liquid honey
2 cloves of crushed garlic
6-10 Sausages



To start using a medium sized sauce pan heat up the olive oil for about a minute or so. Then add the red onion and garlic and heat until soft. Once soft add the chili powder and continue to cook for another minute, use your best judgement on the heating times. Next turn down the temperature to just above a slight simmer and add the tomatoes to the mixture. Stir regularly.

In a medium sized pot pour the cream and beats, and bring to a simmer then add the honey and any extra spices you might enjoy, this includes salt and pepper witch should be added to most meals. Next add the tomato mixture and stir together, and add the flour a bit at a time while stirring. At this point you have made a hardy vegetarian soup if you choose not to continue.


Next cook the sausages in a medium skillet, and use the soup to base the sausages. continue to turn and rotate the sausages while brushing on the mix until the meat is cooked thoroughly. Serve by plating the sausages and pouring a ladles worth of the soup over top of the sausages.


I choose to serve with asparagus... and enjoy

Cooking Concoctions: Veggi Quesadillas

this week for my cooking on Friday night i was craving Mexican food but i wanted to keep it as healthy as possible. I pondered upon how to make Mexican food be very healthy for quite some time. Finally the I decided that the best way to make Mexican as healthy as possible is to cut the meat out and make them vegetarian. As per my usual cooking nights I had company, and I soon discovered that one of my guests, Blondie, wasn't very experienced in the kitchen. So I asked her if she would like the opportunity to learn and she agreed.

so Now for my awesome Vegetarian Quesadillas

first thing first the Ingredients

Tortilla Shells
1 lb peeper Jack Cheese Shredded
1 lb Cheddar Cheese Shredded
1 Large Zucchini Cut
2 Cups of Frozen Corn
1 half a Red Onion Diced
1 Red Pepper Diced
1 Jalapeno Diced
1/2 cup of Cilantro Chopped Up
Lime Juice
Lemon Juice
Salt
Pepper


To start combined all of the veggies, the Zucchini,Corn, onion, red pepper, and the cilantro into a large bowel. Then with your hands mix it all together and spray on the lime juice, lemon Juice, salt and pepper and continue to mix thoroughly until it is a bright and colourful mixture.


heat up a skillet with some oil. while the skillet is coming to temperature prepare a tortilla shell. On one half of the tortilla cover with the corn salsa and both kinds of the cheese.


Once the skillet is up to temperature place Tortilla with contents on the skillet and cook evenly. Flip occasionally.


Serve with Sour Cream and Guacamole and enjoy