Hello folks! Welcome to another edition of Cooking With Sharmeela! Now, we're traveling and don't have tons of time for cooking OR tons of ingredients (I definitely don't stock my pantries here like I do back home), so when I'm cooking I'm looking for fast, easy, cheap and somewhat nutritious (I plan on eating a churro later, so that should tell you a little about our eating-out habits). Today's recipe is super short and easy (because I forgot to take pictures of most of my menu...oops!). We're making brbrbrbrrbrbrbrbrbrbrbr............roasted carrots. I know, not that exciting, BUT they're really cheap, easy and delish! Okay, let's roast the shit out of some carrots, whaddaya say?
First up, you need:
and a:
Peel and cut the carrots in thin-ish sticks:
and put them in the pan (try not to let them overlap, which I didn't do). Then I added:
I didn't have fancy olive oil, so this is random, cheap whatever oil. Oh well. I also have salt, pepper, garlic powder and cumin. You can add whatever herbs and spices you like in whatever amounts you want. Just dump it all on top of the carrots and shake them around to coat:
Roast at 400 degrees and check them after about 10 minutes. Mine only needed 15 minutes total because this oven runs hot, but it might take 20-25 minutes, depending on how many carrots you have.
Mine didn't get crispy because they weren't in a single layer, but they were so good! Melt in your mouth sweetness.
I also made pasta carbonara:
and chicken with onions, peppers and a mustard-balsamic glaze:
Most of this is pantry stuff (aside from the chicken, bacon and eggs), so you might be able to make this without having to go to the store. I forgot to take pictures of the last two recipes, so I'll just list what I did, in case you're interested.
For the pasta: I boiled pasta and in the meantime, I chopped a bunch of bacon and fried it in a large pan (this is when you would add chopped garlic, but I didn't have any). I didn't remove the grease (it wasn't very much, in fact I added some oil) because this is the base for your sauce (stick with me). Turn off the heat and set this pan aside. In a bowl, whisk 2 eggs and enough Parmesan cheese to choke a grown man out (I had to omit this because my grown man can't stomach even a teaspoon of cheese). Set the eggs aside as well. Once the pasta is done, drain (save a cup of the starch water, just in case you need it for your sauce consistency) and pour the pasta into the bacon pan. Stir a couple minutes and while the pasta is still hot, pour the egg mixture onto the bacon/pasta and stir for a few minutes (remember the pan is not under any heat). The point is to make a sort of creamy sauce by slow cooking the eggs with the hot pasta, NOT scrambling them. Add pepper and you're done! This isn't really for everyone (it's not super saucy and is definitely different than your average spaghetti), but I happen to love it.
For the chicken: I cut an onion and a bell pepper into strips and cooked on the stove with a little butter and oil (I like to use a little bit of both) and salt/pepper until soft. I put onto a plate and set aside. In the same pan (don't wash the pan in between!), I cooked the chicken strips (exact same way) and put them on top of the onion/pepper mixture when finished. In the same pan, I added balsamic vinegar (enough to cover the bottom of the large pan) and a heaping spoonful of Dijon mustard and stirred until combined (scrape all the bits from the bottom of the pan too). Once reduced by at least half (I can see at least half of the bottom of the pan now), I pour over the chicken/onion/pepper mixture. Done.
Sorry I forgot to take pictures of the process, but both pretty easy recipes with ingredients you probably already have. Get to it!
Baby Max approves:
YAY!
Join me next time when I actually find out how much Parmesan cheese it takes to choke out a full-grown man.
Yum yum. Lol👏
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