Love People - Cook Them Tasty Food

I love the sticker I get in every box of Penzey's spices: "Love People. Cook Them Tasty Food." If you haven't heard of Penzey's...then keep reading. I get almost as excited opening a box of these spices as I do opening presents on Christmas morning. They are DEFINITELY a working girl's best friend - as they can add flavor to just about any meal in a flash, at a relatively affordable price.

I learned about this fab website - http://www.penzeys.com/ - from my sister-in-laws. Penzey's has just about every spice/herb you can imagine - oregano, parsley, onion powder, garlic (the list goes on and on) with a variety of rubs, seasonings, and salad dressings, just to name a few. The best part - you don't have to go wandering around a grocery store to find them - you can order them online and have them shipped right to your house!

They are perfect after a busy day at the office... Use the BBQ 3000 on some ribs, the Chicago Steak seasoning on a filet you splurged on, or mix in some olive oil to their delicious Italian herbs and whisk your way to a homemade salad dressing in no time. Their website isn't the most user friendly - but you can search for what you want and after you place an order, they send you a magazine which is even easier to peruse for your favorite spices. I'm pretty sure you can also request a free magazine to be sent to your house on the site.

Now, I haven't tried them all (oh, if only I could afford them all) however, here are a few of my favorites:

1) Bold Taco Seasoning - this taco seasoning has a kick, so if you're not a fan of spice, stick with their regular taco seasoning
2) Chicago Steak Seasoning - awesome on just about any steak
3) Country French Vinagrette Salad Dressing - AMAZING...jazz up that salad with this dressing

In the spirit of the gorgeous weather we had over the weekend here in Virginia Beach, my parents, boyfriend and I decided to grill out last night.  We used the Chicago steak seasoning on some filets and put them right onto the grill. In no time, we had delicious steaks that reminded me of summer, and I didn't even have a messy kitchen!

Also - You can almost always find a discount code to use at checkout on retailmenot.com (hey, you work hard for your money)! Right now, their discount is $5 off $10 - just enter 00002C after adding the items to your cart. What are you waiting for? Go spice it up!

Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash

What is tagine? I really have no idea. Any thoughts? I'm 26 years old - with a busy schedule and a passion for cooking. I'd like to think I'm a good cook, but really, most of my cooking involves hoping for the best, and half the time I skip recipes or ingredients because I don't know where to find the ingredients or what they are (don't lie, you know you've done this).

So, here I am, dedicated to pull recipes from the best cookbooks and magazines around and make them right here in my kitchen for the everyday working girl. With a commute of about 45 minutes each way, getting home after 6 every night (or later when I decide to hit the gym) doesn't give me much time to cook gourmet meals. I don't know how many times I have called my mother at the store because I cannot find an ingredient and all I hear her say is "You haven't even started making dinner yet?"

Yet, I'm confident that being a busy 20-something with a passion for her career, health, friends and family, doesn't mean you have to eat Ramen noodles at night. I'm going to make my posts short enough to give you the down and dirty of each recipe, because, as a working girl, I know you don't have time to read a novel worth of blogging on each meal. I also encourage anyone to suggest great meals you've tried, and I will go ahead and see how it plays out in my kitchen.

My first recipe for this blog is called Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash, pulled from one of my FAVORITE cooking magazines - Cooking Light. Here's the link - just click to find a picture and the recipe is linked to it. http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/quick-easy-beef-recipes-00400000057018/page6.html.

After going to two grocery stores to find fresh butternut squash, I was able to pull the ingredients together for this pretty simple meal. The majority of the ingredients are staples around the house - paprika, cinnamon, salt, ginger, crushed red pepper, black pepper, chicken broth, etc - so all in all, it was fairly simple :) Now, the recipe calls for cooking in a dutch oven (which I don't own) so I just used a pan with a lid and it seemed to all simmer and work just fine. However, Goal #1: Save for a Dutch oven. Many recipes I have looked at lately call for this trusty item in the kitchen, so that's that - I need to save for one.

Note: I added a little extra crushed red pepper (since I tend to like spicy dishes) however, it made it almost a little too spicy. So, don't get too excited with the crushed red pepper.

However, I was pleasantly surprised with how this entire dish turned out, and I still have leftovers for the next day! I rate this dish an 8 out of 10 - go ahead and try it!