Paneer…the very word makes my mouth water and my stomach happy. If you’re familiar with Indian cuisine, you might know about paneer. If you don’t, though, then you’re seriously missing out.

I used to go to Indian restaurants just to order a fantastic, steaming-hot plate of paneer butter masala or mutter paneer. I couldn’t afford to do it often, because $15 is a little steep for just one dish, but it was worth it. Now, though, I can cook the same things in my own kitchen for the same deliciousness but a much smaller cost.

Why? Because I finally found out how to get and cook paneer!

Often called “cottage cheese” on Indian menus, paneer is just about as far away from American cottage cheese as you can get. It’s a solid, firm cheese that is made from thick curds, and it softens when cooked but holds its shape in cubes. If it sounds a little hard to describe, it is. Just trust me that it’s delicious. Read More »

I’ve been told that I make the sweetest burritos ever. And of course my taste buds are biased…but I have to admit…my burritos are my favorite…and I think they’re pretty sweet, too.

My type of Mexican feast definitely has a taste that is a bit different from your normal greasy burrito. So here’s the secret:

You’ll need:

1 box of Mexican Rice (with seasoning)

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1 jalapano pepper

1 jar of hot salsa

1 bag of cheddar cheese

1 tomato

1 can of black beans

Whatever meat you prefer, if you want.

Tortillas

Start to boil the water for the rice while you chop the peppers and the tomato. Begin to stir fry the peppers and tomatoes and put the rice in the boiled water. If you’ve got meat; throw it in with the stir fry. Read More »

It sucks when it’s 8 p.m. and you have no clue what you’re having for dinner. No one’s going to make it for you, and you’re on the verge of going to the drive-thru or ordering take-out again.

Save the money and the calories by stocking these five magical ingredients. With them, you can whip up a quick and delicious dinner any night of the week.

1. Cooking wine. Though not really the kind of thing you want to drink straight-up, cooking wine is great for making amazing sauces, putting in some casseroles, or adding major flavor to meat dishes.

As with regular wine, white tends to go better with chicken and red with beef. If you like to drink wine, there’s also something to be said about keeping your cellar stocked with good drinking wines that can double as cooking wines.

2. Chicken broth. Every bit as useful as cooking wine, but for slightly different things. Chicken broth can help make a wonderful pasta sauce, is a fantastic base for soups with a lot of flavor, and will make rice and noodles taste a lot better (if you boil them in the broth instead of water). Read More »

I know eating out of vending machines isn’t healthy.

My mom always told me anything that doesn’t go bad after three weeks is made out of stuff you shouldn’t put in your body anyway.

For the most part, I listened to her. But every once in a while…slipping a few coins in a tiny slot and watching that King-Sized Snickers plummet towards your waiting hands is truly the only thing that can get you through a day.

And then of course, the diet industry went and ruined everything.

Kraft Foods, the makers of that oh-so-natural bright orange cheese, have begun to test out vending machines that are stocked with only South Beach Diet approved options. Yes. South Beach Diet.

As in…lame alternatives for bread, sugar, and whole grains. Read More »

File this under S-I-C-K.

A French website, advertising a farm called Le Petit Singly, claims to sell a special type of cheese…made out of human breast milk.

The site—which is in French, therefore making it impossible for me to truly know what’s going on—claims that women’s breast milk has a light “hazelnut” flavor and every single one of their wedges is certified organic (which means the women who “donated” had to be on a vegetarian, organic diet themselves).

If you want my two cents, I think the whole thing is a hoax. Who in their right mind would donate extra boob juice so someone could make it into cheese?

I can actually believe there are people out there who would want to try it, but unless these mothers are making bank, I can’t imagine anyone allowing some farmer to curdle milk that came out of their breasts. Is nothing sacred anymore?!

Just grab a nice slice of cheddar and leave the B Milk to the babies. They’re the ones who actually need it.