Taking a break

Hello! From this past Sunday until August 7th, I will be on vacation with my family in Paris and London, so I will not be putting any posts up. I'll definitely upload some delicious recipes when I come back, so until then, keep having fun in the kitchen! ^_^

Neapolitan Spaghetti

So everyone knows the typical spaghetti and meatballs, penne vodka, chicken alfredo… But one pasta dish that I really enjoy (and is incredibly easy to make) is Neapolitan Spaghetti! It’s a bit of a sweet pasta, but it’s really delicious and a fun comfort food to eat late at night when you need a snack. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

·      6 oz spaghetti

·      1 bell pepper, seeds removed and cut into strips

·      1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

·      2 slices of bacon, chopped into small pieces

·      2 tbsp ketchup

·      1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

·      Salt and pepper

Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Drain and run with cold water to prevent further cooking.

Heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large frying pan or wok and cook the bacon. Add the onions and bell pepper, and add salt and pepper to taste. Once the onions and peppers are soft, add the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Add the spaghetti to the frying pan and cook until everything has been thoroughly combined and heated through.

Bento Fun

A lot of the time throughout our lives we’ve made homemade lunches for ourselves, but the Japanese call a boxed lunch “bento.” A bento usually contains leftovers with some fresh side dishes, and it’s placed in small sections in cute containers. For example, if you had pasta for dinner the previous night, add some of that pasta in a container and add a couple of newly made meatballs, carrots, and chocolate-covered strawberries, and you’re all set! You can put together whatever you’d like in your bento, have as much fun with it as you’d like, and make it cute or cool or however you want! I put a picture below of a large bento I put together with my boyfriend. We made omurice (fried rice omelet, and we decorated it with ketchup!), dumplings, cucumber and dill sandwiches, grilled cheese, brownies, and strawberries. Have fun with your bentos! 

Simple Homemade Brownies

No longer do you have to buy the brownie mixes; those days are no more! This is a very straightforward brownie recipe, and it is both fudgy and delicious!

Ingredients:

·      ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

·      ½ tsp baking soda

·      2/3 cup vegetable oil

·      ½ cup boiling water

·      2 cups granulated sugar

·      2 eggs

·      1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

·      1 tsp vanilla extract

·      ¼ tsp salt

·      Chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. Combine the cocoa powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Add the vegetable oil and boiling water and mix until well combined. Add the eggs and sugar and stir together. Add the vanilla and salt, stir to combine, and then add the flour and blend together. (Stir in the chocolate chips) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Enjoy~!