July 2010
1 post
The new amyBITES →
Hi readers! Just stopping by to let you know that I’m not dead—in fact, far from it. amyBITES has moved to a new location at www.amybites.com! New location, new focus, new recipes, new everything. Please update your bookmarks and links! Thanks and I hope to see you at the all-new amyBITES!
May 2010
1 post
3 tags
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies of Your Life
Hi there! I know it’s been a while. I’m finishing up school (FOREVER) right now, and things have been a little crazy with that on top of job hunting and work. I haven’t been cooking or baking as much lately—I’ve mostly been subsisting on things I can make in 10 minutes or less. I’ve also traveled quite a bit in the past month, which makes cooking difficult to...
April 2010
1 post
6 tags
Coffee Cake
My sister is finishing up her pharmacy rotations right now. She’s currently doing her last one, and it’s in West Union, Iowa. From what she tells me, it’s pretty bleak. No offense to those of you in West Union, of course. Anyway, I decided to send her a care package with the first two seasons of 30 Rock to help with the boredom and some kind of healthy-ish baked good, because...
March 2010
5 posts
9 tags
Crock Pot Chili
I’ve said before that I was a weird kid when it comes to food. I was a very picky eater. I’ve been trying a lot of things lately that I’ve refused to eat my whole life, and turns out, almost all of them have been extremely pleasant surprises. Chili is one of those things.
Last week, my boyfriend made chili with ground beef, a seasoning packet, and a can of beans. It smelled...
6 tags
Baked Chicken Parmesan Pasta
You may see a bit of a pasta influx on my blog…the reason being that since I started dieting in October, I was pretty much completely “off” pasta. I had the odd serving of whole wheat pasta now and then, but I tried to stay away from it as much as possible because it’s one of my danger foods. Meaning, if I get my hands on it, I have a VERY hard time eating less than about a...
6 tags
Turkey Burgers
Tonight’s post is about turkey burgers. I’ve never made them before (mostly because I never had a grill or grill pan before and I like grill marks), but I’ll certainly be making them a lot more often now. These burgers were delicious. They’re slightly spicy (though not overly so—just a curious “kick” to the tastebuds), well-seasoned, thick, and a great...
5 tags
Fennel, Sweet Onion, and Sausage Pizza
One of the major reasons I’ve been able to be successful with weight loss is that I’ve done it on my terms. I wasn’t about to cut a lot of my favorite foods out of my diet. I still have pizza, mac and cheese (like this), ice cream, etc. The biggest difference is that now, I just go about it differently. I eat a LOT less overall (I can’t eat as much as I used to, even if I...
7 tags
Bacon, Chicken & Ranch Mac N' Cheese
Hi there. It’s been a while. Let me explain. In early October, I began a quest to lose weight. Since then, I’ve made several key changes. First of all, I exercise more. That’s a given. Second, I don’t bake nearly as much (which is very sad indeed), but when I do, I make a concerted effort to use recipes that are healthier versions of foods I already love. If I really want...
December 2009
1 post
5 tags
Pumpkin Cheesecake
I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was fantastic and filling. I know mine was! The dishes I contributed were maple glazed turkey, three-cheese mashed potatoes, and pumpkin cheesecake. I’ll only be posting the latter, however—and it is the most worthy of posting anyway.
For the dessert this year, I didn’t want to make a straight-up boring old pumpkin pie. I don’t really...
November 2009
3 posts
5 tags
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
It was Pranas’ birthday on Saturday. He is 24. Yay! Happy birthday!
So of course, I made a cake. I gave him several options, and this is the one he chose. Goooood choice.
This cake is so decadent it’s almost ridiculous. No, it definitely IS ridiculous. It took me three sittings over the course of 24 hours to finish my first (thin!) slice.
But ohhh man, is it good. This is definitely...
8 tags
Red Onion, Potato, and Goat Cheese Pizza
I made this pizza about a week ago and didn’t take pictures of it. I guess I just wasn’t in the mood. However, after tasting it, I knew that it was too delicious to not share with my loyal readers.
This was in the November issue of Cooking Light and when I first saw it, I thought it looked absolutely repulsive. Then, I broke it down. I thought, “I like potatoes. I like cheese. I...
5 tags
Pumpkin Cake (Light!)
Sorry for the hiatus—I’ve been very busy with school and work and have not been taking the time to document my cooking. Winter break is very soon though (thank goodness) and there will be many posts to come in that time. Hooray!
So I’m doing this thing lately where I’m taking recipes and making ingredient swaps to make them healthier. This recipe came from the November...
October 2009
1 post
4 tags
Chocolate Brownie Cookies
First of all, I’d like to apologize for the exceptionally bad photography to follow. It was especially dark in the kitchen on this day and my hands were especially shaky. Maybe it was the excitement of what was to come—these cookies.
I got this recipe from Joy the Baker, though I had to leave the espresso powder out because I didn’t have any, so mine are not EXACTLY true to the...
September 2009
2 posts
9 tags
Healthy Baked Mac N' Cheese
Well, healthier. It’s true! I got this recipe from my mom, but I don’t know where she got it. Mom, if you know, comment and let the good people know the source of the cheesy goodness in this post.
Anyway, I am kind of obsessed with mac n’ cheese. I posted a decidedly not-so-healthy version a while back (but oh man, was it good…) but this is a much lighter version that...
8 tags
Vegan Cookies n' Cream Cupcakes
So a couple of our friends moved in across the street from us, and as a welcome gift-type thing, I decided to make them some cupcakes. However, they are vegan. So the cupcakes, in turn, became vegan. I found the recipe at CHOW and they turned out amazing. In fact, believe it or not, I’ve made quite a few different vegan cupcake recipes in my time, and these are by far the best I’ve...
August 2009
1 post
8 tags
Potstickers
Hi there. Long time no see. I’ve had a busy summer and I really haven’t been cooking as much as I should. I stopped blogging when everything involved in the process became too time-consuming and stressful, but I have not forgotten about it. I’ve decided to start again, but I don’t think I’ll be doing a set schedule (i.e. every Thursday). Rather, I’ll probably...
June 2009
1 post
7 tags
Peanut Butter Oreo Pie
Guys, I failed at posting last week. I totally planned to, and then I just…forgot. I have been very engrossed in/distracted by my other blog, and I have been neglecting this one. I’m so sorry! I’ll be better, I promise. On that note, please enjoy today’s extra-yummy recipe.
Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have noticed this the other day:
I was talking about...
May 2009
4 posts
6 tags
Breaded Chicken Parmesan
I’ve been cooking dinner for my friend Andy once a week in exchange for him driving me places, and this past week he requested chicken parmesan. I didn’t really use a recipe for this—I just kind of made it up as I went along, but it turned out to be delicious. Thus, the measurements below are approximate, so feel free to experiment with them as you go through the recipe.
...
7 tags
Pasta Carbonara
I found this recipe via the Pioneer Woman while browsing for a quick, easy pasta recipe that wouldn’t require an hour-long trip to the store. This recipe did the trick. It’s quite tasty—though next time I make it I would reduce the amount of bacon by about half. It was just too much for me to handle! But overall, this was really yummy and really easy to make. The below recipe...
8 tags
Triple Chocolate Brownies
I realized the other day when my friend Andy was bugging me to make brownies that I’ve never posted a real brownie recipe on here…which is strange, because I love brownies. There are so many brownie recipes out there that yield such different results, so I don’t have one on file that I automatically rely on.
I found this recipe via the Food Network (where else?) from Nigella...
9 tags
Lasagna
Again, I failed to post last week. I have a good excuse, I promise. I was moving. It’s all very exciting. Our new place has beautiful new appliances and a much awesomer and more manageable kitchen than the last one, and the whole situation is much better. I vowed that I would make this week’s post extra-awesome due to my failure to post anything last week, so I guarantee that this is...
April 2009
3 posts
5 tags
Peanut Butter Brownies
This is another recipe from the wonderful Smitten Kitchen. This was one of those recipes where, when I first saw it, I thought, “Why are these not in my oven RIGHT NOW?!” If you’ve ever read this blog before, you know that I am kind of obsessed with the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Naturally, I had to make these.
Peanut Butter Brownies
For brownies 2 sticks...
7 tags
Thai Chicken
This recipe is from She Simmers via The Crepes of Wrath. I’ve been really busy with school and overall just burnt out lately, so cooking is more of a nuisance than a treat for me. Therefore, I’ve been eating poorly and surviving on Lean Pockets and cereal, which is not good at all. When I read this recipe, I realized I had all the ingredients already and it was so simple that I pretty...
6 tags
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Spreads
I’ve had a busy week. It’s been nonstop homework for the past seven days, and today I just wanted to make something quick, tasty, and sweet to start off my weekend. It’s also been raining nonstop all day and for me, rainy days are perfect days for baking. I was browsing The Pioneer Woman Cooks a long while back and bookmarked this recipe, but didn’t remember it until now....
March 2009
5 posts
12 tags
Cheesy Baked Tortellini
Today, while eating lunch before class, I turned on the Food Network. “Everyday Italian” was on, and Giada was making this amazing-looking baked pasta dish. I only caught the tail end, but I had to know what she was making. I went to FoodNetwork.com and searched for it, and lo and behold, I found this recipe for Cheesy Baked Tortellini.
I stopped by the store after class to get the...
Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies
I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen while I was looking for a recipe to make today. She calls them brownie roll-out cookies, but mentions in passing that they’d be good for ice cream sandwiches. As soon as I read that, there was no stopping me. I had to make them! Surprise—I did. And they are awesome.
Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2...
5 tags
Irish Cream Cake
Happy St. Patty’s Day, everyone! Yesterday, I made a cake to celebrate the occasion. It’s a Bailey’s Irish Cream cake. It came out wonderfully and it was and continues to be delicious. Thing is—my battery in my good camera wasn’t charged, and I had to take pictures with my less-awesome camera…which is fine, but that camera has some serious issues with dim...
Baked Mac N' Cheese
I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who doesn’t like mac n’ cheese. Whether it’s from a box or a casserole dish, it always hits the spot—at least for me. I am kind of a cheese fanatic. The strange thing is, I realized the other day that I’ve never made mac n’ cheese from scratch. I love baked mac n’ cheese but I’ve never made it myself....
6 tags
Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies
I found this recipe on The Adventures of SuperWife (which is a great blog and you should all read it) and she got it from somewhere else from somewhere else and so on. These cookies were really yummy. SuperWife used a vegan recipe, and while I’m all for veganism, I did not have the vegan ingredients on hand, so I substituted regular ingredients (margarine and eggs instead of Earth Balance...
February 2009
7 posts
8 tags
Crispy Mini Quesadillas
So Pranas showed me how he makes quesadillas a while ago, and they were so delicious that we made them again the other night. He usually makes them with only cheese, but I put my own spin on mine, and you can put your own spin on yours—add your favorite fillings and go crazy. The crispy tortilla shell and the soft, cheesy filling make an awesome combination, and they’re super easy and...
7 tags
Chicken, Broccoli, and Garlic Pasta
So it’s been a long week this week, and it was a really long day today. I wanted to whip something up that would be delicious and filling, but wouldn’t require a whole lot of effort or a trip to the store. I found a really simple recipe for pasta and modified it to fit my needs, and it turned out awesome.
I guarantee you that even if your cooking repertoire includes nothing more...
Thursdays
Hi everyone! I’ve decided that I’m going to have an actual posting schedule so you guys won’t have to guess when my next update will be. From now on, I will be posting every Thursday evening unless otherwise stated. There may be other posts throughout each week, but you can count on a post every Thursday evening.
Pencil me in! :)
~Amy
4 tags
Buttermilk Bread
This bread is awesome for sandwiches. It’s soft and buttery and delicious. It’s not overly soft and mushy like grocery store bread…it’s just soft enough and not at all mushy. That’s because the key ingredient is, you guessed it, buttermilk.
I always hear that people are intimidated by bread and therefore don’t make it. It couldn’t be easier—unless...
Welcome!
I seem to have gotten a record number of new visitors in the past couple of days, so welcome to all of you! Feel free to look around, leave a comment, send an e-mail, or follow me on Twitter.
Coming Soon: Buttermilk bread! AKA the perfect sandwich bread. I’ll be posting this recipe tonight or tomorrow, so stay tuned. You will definitely want to know how to make this bread!
Chocolate Chip Muffins
I did not find my camera cord. However, Pranas found a camera cord from his camera that happened to fit in mine. Turns out, I actually had the exact same cord from my OLD camera, but I just assumed it wouldn’t fit in my new one. Oh well, at least I can now upload photos, and that is all that matters. Now, onto the muffins!
This recipe is originally from McCormick, but I was alerted to it...
Here's the thing...
I have a new post waiting to be made. I know it’s been ages, and I had been dying to cook or bake something for the longest time. Then I got swamped with work, and then I got a cold. Then I got a stomach bug and couldn’t eat anything. And then I finally made something and took photos.
And then I couldn’t find my camera’s USB cord.
I am getting really irked by this—I...
January 2009
7 posts
Sweet Italian Chicken
The other night I just improvised this recipe because I couldn’t really find one I wanted to make. Aaaand then I dragged my feet for days on posting it, but here it is, finally. It’s simple and tasty, and you probably have the ingredients on hand.
Sweet Italian Chicken 2 chicken breasts 2 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon rosemary 1 teaspoon oregano 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 cup...
5 tags
M&M Cookies
School has been ridiculous this week, and work wasn’t much better. I apologize for the momentary leave of absence. However, I was determined to bake today, so after finishing an exam early, I rushed home to do just that! I made some quick and easy M&M cookies.
I’m not sure where I got this recipe—I found it on one of the many food blogs I visit and saved the recipe but not...
9 tags
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
We had some overripe bananas sitting on top of the fridge getting browner by the minute, so I decided to put them to good use. I’m not the biggest fan of banana bread—I’m just not a big fan of bananas in general. BUT, I will devour banana bread when it has chocolate chips in it. I also had half a bag of chocolate chips lying around, and all the ingredients to make banana bread,...
7 tags
Fontina and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken
This recipe comes from Cooking Light. It was very tasty, and pretty healthy, since it comes from Cooking Light. We had it with broccoli and rice, and it was an excellent meal. I’m posting the recipe as it appears in the magazine, though I made some modifications.
Fontina and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken 1 oz. chopped prosciutto 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary 2 garlic cloves,...
9 tags
Artisan Bread
Today I made some bread for the first time this year. Although I’ve posted bread recipes before, I wanted to post some photos of this particular loaf. Why? Because four key things are different this time.
1) Photos: It doesn’t really affect the bread, but it does affect the photos I take of it—I have a brand-spankin’-new Nikon D40 that I had to buy for a photo class, and I...
7 tags
Spicy Chicken Sandwiches
This recipe comes from Cooking Light, and these sandwiches were great! Not too difficult, either—the marinade takes a minimum of two hours, but the actual preparation is a snap. Spicy chicken with a crunchy crust, and some citrusy mayonnaise to cut through the heat: awesome. I’m posting the recipe exactly as it appears in the magazine, though I made some variations out of necessity....
7 tags
Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken
Hi everyone! I’m back in Savannah and excited to start cooking again! So sorry about the hiatus. Things should be back to normal now.
I haven’t had a chance to cook or bake since I’ve been back, but Pranas made me dinner last night from one of my cookbooks: The Healthy College Cookbook. It has some really great, easy recipes for beginning cooks, and also for anyone in a time...
December 2008
15 posts
16 tags
10 tags
Sugar-Free Sugar Cookies
Hello again! I’m finally home in Denver. First, my flight was delayed so much that I couldn’t leave Savannah until the next day. Then, my flight out of Savannah was delayed so much that I missed my connection in Houston and had to be on standby for eight hours until I just barely made it on to the last flight out of Houston last night. Thank goodness. I have never been so glad to see...
Hi everyone! I apologize for the lacking in posts recently. It’s been a little crazy the past few days with work, a road trip to Atlanta, and getting ready to go out of town for two weeks. I’m flying back to sunny (haha) Denver, CO tomorrow afternoon, so unfortunately there won’t be a post tomorrow. I do have some baking photos to post though, so hopefully Thursday or Friday when...
8 tags
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pranas is just learning how to cook and bake, and tonight he wanted to bake chocolate chip cookies from scratch. So, with a little supervision from me, he did. And they came out great! However, he remarked that they’re “not as good as” mine—through no fault of his own, of course. I usually use the Tollhouse recipe, which comes on the back of every package of chocolate...
8 tags
Sweet Teriyaki Chicken Wrap
My camera decided to conk out on me as I was making dinner tonight, so unfortunately I have no pictures. Well I do, they’re just blurry and discolored. It seems to be in semi-working order now, but alas, the food is long gone. I asked for a new camera for Christmas, so hopefully there will be no more of this nonsense.
So yeah, no pictures. Just a really simple recipe for a yummy, fast...
3 tags
7 tags
Parmesan-Crusted Chicken
While half-asleep after just waking up the other day, I vaguely remember watching the Food Network (big surprise) and hearing a recipe sort of like this. I don’t remember what show it was on or who was making it, I didn’t remember the quantities or the recipe, I just remembered that one thing stuck in my mind: dijon mustard instead of flour.
Flour has lots of calories in it. Dijon...