I know, I know

Okay, so I'm going to have to end up changing the name of this blog. I am neither new at this, nor am I much of a cook lately. I'm in grad school, okay? Sue me.

Actually, I did sort of cook last night in honor of the big Lost premiere (dude, that island is screwed and awesome!). In truth, the only thing I cooked was the vermicelli, then I cut up some chicken tenders I bought at Target and poured on a vodka sauce, purchased at same, and had me some Fried Vodka Vermicelli! It is the ultimate College Cheat Meal. I've still got some leftovers, but I didn't eat them tonight.

Because I had Oreos for dinner. College rocks.

Lasagna

I was waiting to post this until I could the picture loaded onto my computer, but that may never happen. I can't find my digital camera, so I had to use my camera phone for the lasagna, but I can't e-mail on my phone, so I sent it to my mom's Crackberry, but her phone isn't working, so y'all are just going to have to use your imaginations.

I got the recipe out of Food Network Magazine, and I'm sure it would have been great if I hadn't totally screwed it up. First of all, I didn't buy enough cans of tomatoes. Second, I was in the middle of cooking when I read that I needed a food processor. So, I ended up with too little of a sauce that wouldn't spread properly. I tried to add some milk and flour to it to thicken the liquid a little, and it worked okay, but it ended up really bland.

Things I learned:
1) Read the whole recipe before you even do your shopping.
2) You should cook the lasagna sheets before you bake the whole thing.

I bought a Paula Deen cookbook (she's my patron saint of the kitchen), and a lot of her recipes call for food processors, too. I called Mama and asked her what I could use instead (because food processors are expensive), and she said to just get a blender. I went down to Super Target (It's so awesome!), and found a little red Oster blender that has twelve speeds, including puree, and I think I'll make some huevos rancheros for my company next weekend.

Today I'm going to make cashew chicken, but I don't like cashews, so I'm making ... chicken.

The Big Ragou

Penne with Beef Ragou

I am going to take this opportunity to say HELL TO THE YES! I am a goddess of the kitchen! All bow before me! This turned out awesome! The only real hitch was that I didn't realize until I was halfway through cooking the sauce that it has to cook for an hour, but it turned out okay

The recipe called for a bunch of vegetables, none of which I am big on, so I stuck with the garlic and onion in the sauce. The problem is that most grocery stores make you buy, like, six of whatever vegetable it is you want, and I only want one. I need to find some cute little veggie stand that lets you buy in any quantities. Then it'll actually be worth my grad student budget to put it in these kinds of dishes.

When the food was finally done, I put it in my cute little pasta bowls I got from BB&B, took pictures for the two of you reading, and chowed done. I was sitting on my couch and going into full-on paroxysms over the fact that I'd actually made something that turned out well. I'm not saying it was restaurant quality or anything, but it would definitely do for a little family dinner.

The only bum note of the evening was when I went to put away the leftovers. I was about to put the penne into little sandwich containers (man, could I use a Tupperware party right about now), and the entire bowl of pasta spilled onto my kitchen rug. I must confess to you, dear reader, I said a bad word. I debated just blowing on it and putting it back in the bowl, but I haven't cleaned my floor in ages, so I threw the pasta away and stored the sauce. If I want it later, I'll just cook some of the vermicelli I keep around.