Chef Janna

Jesse and I got married 30 days ago. In some ways it feel like we've been married forever. In other ways it feels like I barely know him. It's really strange.


This was taken in San Francisco on our honeymoon. I think it was when we were walking from Lombard street to our hotel. Maybe not though. The day and events tend to blend together.


Since we've been married I've been doing lots and lots and lots of cooking, so I decided to share with you some of the things I've been making.

One of the first things I made was chicken and rice. Only, this is kind of cheating to call it MY cooking, because the rice was pre-prepared. I seasoned the chicken myself though. :P



Another thing I made was Herbed Lentils and Rice. This picture of it isn't very pretty, but it sure was yummy. We're eating a lot of lentils, actually. They're yummy and cheap. Perfect for the broke, newly married college students.



I made another lentil dish called Spicy Lentils. It's my sister's recipe and it's Indian. It wasn't very spicy though, because I don't have Cayenne pepper, so I just used black pepper. It was still tasty though.



I also made yummy homemade spaghetti sauce. We found some really cheap turkey sausage at Wal-mart for only $1.18/lb, so I used some of that in here. Surprisingly, we both really like the turkey. After we made spaghetti sauce with turkey, I made it with ground beef and neither of us liked it as much. The texture was more gritty and strange, not as smooth as the turkey. I think we're slowly being converted away from the typical American diet of. . . beef, beef, and beef. Actually, Jesse and I realized that in the 3 weeks we've lived in Arkansas, and of the 60 or so meals we've eaten since then (breakfast, lunch, dinner), we've only eaten meat about 10 of those times. I think I could definitely be a vegetarian. . . but definitely not vegan.


Before we left Texas, my mom packed us some of the ingredients to make Seven Layers Bars. They were at our wedding, but we didn't really get to eat any. So a few days ago, I decided I should make them.

This is pre-chocolate/butterscotch chips and pre-bake.

And this is what the scrumptious things look like post bake. They are DELICIOUS. We have a few tupperwares of them in the freezer, because Jesse and I obviously couldn't (. . . or at least, shouldn't . . .) eat a whole 9x13 pan of them by ourselves in just 3 or 4 days.

These pathetic looking creatures are graham crackers. The first layer of the Seven Layer bars pictured above is graham crackers. My mom had sent us up with some with the other ingredients, but unfortunately they had gotten turned into mush when the ice-cubes in the cooler melted and the crackers were submerged in the water. So I decided to try to make homemade ones, rather than going to the store to buy them. Plus, I have nothing else to do all day, as I'm currently unemployed. I wasn't going for looks, as I was just going to grind them into crumbs, but they were surprisingly yummy! If I make them again, I'll definitely try to make them more visually pleasing.


I've also made biscuits. This are whole wheat biscuits, and they're actually pretty tasty. They're a lot more filling than white biscuits are.


I've also been trying to grow some herbs.

This is what they looked like after about 4 days of growth.

This is what my basil plant looked like about 6 days ago. The plant is now about 1 1/2 inches tall. The cilantro is more than 2 inches tall. They're so cute. I can't wait to eat them. I named them. Basil is pronounced "Bass-ill" and I call my cilantro, "Cilly." Obviously I need a job. :-)

I've also made Spicy Black Beans and rice, cornbread, blueberry muffins, chicken salad, and much more. I just didn't feel like taking photos. . . or making you bored.

Well, that's all for now. Ta-ta!