Nancy's Osaka Chicken

I got this recipe from my sister's husband's Mom ... Nancy ! Though I have never eaten any of her food cooked by her hand, I know that she is an incredible cook ! I drool over everything that she posts onto facebook and often ask for the recipe ! She's also who we give credit to for the most amazing soup ever ... Thai Chicken Soup !!

This chicken is one of the ones I asked for the recipe of and boy am I glad she was willing to give it to me ! You will be too once you try it !!

Sauce #1
1/2 cup veg oil
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons grated ginger
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 clove garlic minced
2 scallions chopped
Combine all ingredients in a container and blend well. I used a stick blender.

Sauce #2
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 Cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dry Mustard
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1/3 cup veg oil
Combine all ingredients in a container and blend well.

Now that you have these two sauces made you can start with the chicken. I used 4 chicken breast. Cut them into bite size pieces.

In a big hot skillet fry till browned a little in some oil then add Sauce #1 and cook until the sauce thickens a bit. Oh yeah. You can add some slices of ginger to the cooking oil and I added some sliced Thai peppers for heat.

Serve with your preference of rice ... And a mixed up a salad of sliced celery, cucumbers and grated carrot. Serve with sauce #2. We pour it over the whole thing.

Enjoy!

Mom's Carbonara

Today is my husband's 33rd birthday ! Our lives are so crazy busy this week that we celebrated with a birthday dinner last night ! Every other night this week ... we will be out ! Including tonight ! CRAZY. BUSY ! but I said that already ! Anyway ... he always requests lasagna but this year, to be kind to me and my current crazy business, he chose Mom's carbonara instead. I went to the blog to get the recipe and discovered that it wasn't here !?!? WHAT? !?! This recipe NEEDS to be here ! And in about 3 minutes ... it will be !

Ingredients:
1/2 (250g) lb bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup heavy (thickened) cream
4 eggs
1 & 1/2 cups parmesan cheese (I prefer the processed stuff for this ... not fresh)
3 or 4 tablespoons butter
spaghetti (I use vermicelli)

Method:
I usually put the water on for the pasta about the time I add the onion ...

Cook the bacon about 1/2 way then add the onion. Continue to cook until bacon is well cooked. If you need to pour out some of the oil, do, but you need about 3 tbls oil left in the bacon. Pour the cream in. Simmer until the bacon is 'coated' with the cream.

In the mean time, beat the eggs and add the parmesan cheese. Whip it and then leave it alone. The cheese sucks up the egg. The mixture shouldn't look 'eggy' ...

Put your pasta into the now boiling water.

(Make salad if you are serving that as well ....)

When the pasta is nearly ready, melt the butter in the microwave.

Drain pasta. Put back into hot pan. Stir in butter. Stir in egg mixture. Stir in bacon/onion/cream mixture. A sprinkle of garlic powder on top is amazing ! We just put the garlic powder on the table and let everyone do their own !

Last night (and usually) I served this with ...

Chunky Spanish Garlic Bread

Black Olive Salad

and my new favorite wine ...

Fancy Toasted Sanga

So ... some nights, due to our crazy schedules, we need to all eat at different times. I hate cooking twice, and I hate serving Rory (who is usually eating last) something cold or re-heated. I mean, that's ok for leftovers but I have this thing about the first serve of something being totally amazing but that's just another of my oddities ... let's move on.

I have been trying to plan not only meals but specifically for our crazy schedule. So ... on this particular night, we did toasted sandwiches ... aka, grilled cheese. The kids had grilled ham and cheese and then later, much later !, Rory and I had these ...

I liked them, although the basil I chose was a bit strong. Next time I'm going to try the Opal Basil. We have about 4 varieties of basil growing in our garden so I'll give them all a go maybe and see which one I like best for this ...

Super simple. Heat up your sandwich press.

Between two pieces of bread ... Sliced Tomato. Basil Leaves. Thinly Sliced Red Onion. Salt and Pepper. Provolone Cheese.

Toast til it's Toasted.

And I served it with a handful of plain Kettle Chips. My favorite.

Yummy Cajun Potatoes

I found this cool cookbook at the library that I'm really enjoying cooking out of. It is called "The Cooking Book" ... I found these potatoes in there ... I mostly did everything as the recipe said ... except that I had potatoes that were going off and needed to be used so I did ALOT more potatoes than called for.

a few potatoes, unpeeled (they used 4- I used about 12 !)
1 lemon, roughly chopped into large chunks
lots of garlic cloves, peeled (they called for 12, I did more!)
3 red onions, cut into wedges
4 bay leaves
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoons tomato puree
salt and pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground oregano (we used this because we didn't have dried and for some reason didn't use fresh out of the garden ...)
1 tsp dried thyme (next time we'll use fresh thyme and oregano !!)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
6 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven. 200C or 400F

Cut the potatoes ... Mine were small to medium size so I cut them into 1/4's lengthwise. Boil a big pot of water with a pinch of salt and then drop in your potatoes for 3 minutes. Drain and put in big roasting tray. Add the lemon, garlic, onions and bay leaves.

Whisk your remaining ingredients together. Add 6 tablespoons of water and whisk again. Pour over the potatoes and mix it around to make sure everything is coated.

Pop 'em in the oven for at least 45 minutes ... turn 'em a couple of times.

Serve piping hot !

I served them with my Dad's Famous Ribs that were amazingly delicious, cole slaw and corn on the cob. YUM YUM YUM !!!

SLUMGULLION

This is one of the recipes that my husband requested that I get from his Mother when we first got married all those years ago. It's one of his favorites and the last time I planned to make it, it occured to me that the all day simmering of the sauce could take place in the crock pot. I tried it, and I was right!

Ingredients:

generous one pound ground beef

large onion, chopped big

as many cloves of garlic as you like, quartered or so...biggish chunks (I used 8 or so last time)

a big can of tomato juice

a big can of crushed tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

about a tablespoon of chili powder

2 pounds of sturdy macaroni of some sort (Mom always used elbows, I like something bigger, I forget the name of the one I used in the photo, shells are also good)

How to:

Brown the meat, throwing in the onion and garlic when it's about half browned.

Throw this in the crock pot, then stir in everything else but the pasta.

Cook on low all day. It should cook down about 1/3 or so.

When it's nearly time to eat, cook the pasta al dente. Don't let it get too soft.

Stir the pasta into the sauce.

Dig in!

We like lots of pasta, and we like it the next day for lunch, so I always make a lot. If you want to use 1 pound of pasta, I'd use a bit less meat, and cook on high for a while so that the sauce cooks down more.

(If you don't have a crockpot, you can cook it the old fashioned way, simmering the sauce on the stove for several hours. The long slow cooking of the sauce makes a difference, don't try to hurry it....)

Blueberry and Zucchini Muffins

I usually make this as a loaf but decided to try it as muffins this morning. It was a huge success ! I doubled the recipe and made 24 muffins ... Here is the recipe ... already doubled !!

3 cups zucchini (grated, squeezed and drained)
1 cup brown sugar ( i didn't double the sugar ... )
1/2 cup oil
1 cup greek yogurt
3 tsp vanilla extract (oops I forgot the vanilla today !)
2 eggs
2 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup good white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cup blueberries
1 cup pecans (chopped)

Mix the zucchini, sugar, oil, yogurt and egg in a bowl. Sift the flour. I don't know why because I know very little about baking, but I've found sifting the flour to be a good idea when I use straight whole wheat. It seems to lighten it somehow. Mix the sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Fold gently. Add the blueberries and pecans. Pour the batter into lined muffin tins. Bake in a preheated 350F / 180C oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean - these only took 20 minutes this morning, so start with that and see how your oven does ...

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 14 November 2010

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie

Well ... I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. We had my brother Jimmy and my Aunt Lissa here for 10 days and boy did we live it up ! We were busy busy. Ate out some. Cooked some. No real plan from day to day. Well, a few days we planned but mostly we just winged it. It was fun. Then we all got sick and we're all still fighting it and I just didn't feel like cooking once they left so we just ate leftovers and out of the fridge, freezer and pantry. And then today, I planned and shopped and I'm excited ! Trying some new things and making some old faithfuls. My planning has had to become much much much more organized ... Jono is doing swimming squad three days a week and Alia two days a week. Along with Rory being involved in the music at church and playing futsal once a week, oh and a home group that meets at our place once a week too ... our nights are pretty full. We still eat dinner at home though, it just means I have to be very conscious of what I plan on what nights. One night this week we're all going to be eating a LUNCH BOX dinner !! Sheesh ... how did life get this crazy busy ??

So ... here's what's on the menu for us this week !!

As I type, the BBQ is heating up and Rory is going to cook some of my Dad's famous ribs. I'm making a new Cajun Roasted Potato recipe to go with it. I had a little taste test just a minute ago ~ not quite ready ~ but boy oh boy, once those potatoes are cooked, I predict they will be some good honky !! I've got some corn on the cob and some cole slaw to go with it ... ooooowww-eee, my mouth is watering. Is yours ??

Monday

Egg Curry
Rice, Chutney and Green Peas

Tuesday

Chicken Taco Salad ... in a lunch box !
With Cliantro Lime Rice

Wednesday

Spanish Tortilla
Green Salad

Thursday
Fried Mozarella Sandwiches ... new recipe, I'm excited to try it !
Rocket and Balsamic Vinegar Salad

Friday

Winter Vegetable Pasta Sauce ... out of the freezer
on this ginormous shells that I found today !

Saturday

Another new recipe.
My neighbor let me borrow her Moosewood Cookbook
She recommends the Eggplant/Almond Enchiladas and I can't wait to try 'em !!

Sunday

Spanikopita Meatballs
Roasted Cauliflower

And there you have it folks !!
I'm off to put the finishing touches on tonight's dinner !!

Ginger Snaps...oooooh snap!

This is Marissa Lynn's recipe, and, according to the hoards of pie-eschewing-pot-luck-goers, they are the best of all time.  So to kick off the cookie season, I'm posting this on her behalf!

Ginger Snaps


1 cup sugar
3/4 cup shortening (I use Crisco)
1 egg
4 Tablespoons molasses (1/4 cup)
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. ground cloves
1 t. ginger
2 t. soda
1/4 t. salt
2 cups flour



Mix together sugar, shortening, egg, and molasses.

Sift remaining ingredients and add to creamed mixture.

Chill the dough a couple of hours if time permits to make it easier to

handle.(opt.)

Shape into balls. Roll in sugar.

Bake about 9-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Minestrone...in minutes.

              Ingredients

• 3 or 4 pieces of bacon
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 long carrot, sliced
• 1 sweet potato or yam, peeled and diced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 25-30 oz of marinara/spaghetti sauce
• 4-6 cups beef broth
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1-1/2 cups dry pasta, elbows or ziti or spiral...or whatever you like.
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• some fresh Italian Parsley, chopped. Maybe a 1/4 cup
• 1-2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning (oregano, basil, etc.)
• grated Parmesan cheese, to top

            Directions:

• In large soup pot or dutch oven cook bacon until crisp. 
• Remove bacon and saute onions, sweet potato, zucchini and carrot in bacon fat, until tender
• Add minced garlic and cook for a few more minutes.
• Stir in marina sauce, beef broth and bring to boil.

• Add dry pasta, brown sugar, handful of fresh Italian parsley and dried Italian seasoning. 
• Cook, until pasta is tender. You may need to add more beef broth depending on how much pasta you used.
• Reduce heat and simmer until sweet potato and carrot is cooked.

                                       (I always eat the end of the raw carrots.)

 Serve in bowl and garnish with grated Parmesan and frech Italian parsely.

Sesame Noodles with Asparagus Tips

The Marinade
1/4 c oil
3 tbsp dark sesame oil
7 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp Chinese black or balsamic vinegar
3.5 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili oil
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 c chopped cilantro

The Noodles and Asparagus
Salt
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and thinly sliced on diagonal ( 2 pounds is actually too much, but 1 pound didn't seem like enough, maybe 1.5 pounds.)
1 14 oz package thin Chinese egg noodles
10 scallions, including the firm greens thinly sliced
1/4 c sesame seeds, toasted until lightly browned.

Mix the marinade ingredients together stirring to dissolve the sugar. I do this in a big bowl.

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and the asparagus. Cook until bright green and tender but still firm, just a few minutes. Scoop the asparagus out, rinse it under cold water and set on a towel to dry

Pull the noodles apart with your fingers, add them to the boiling water, and give them a quick stir. Boil until tender but not overly soft, tasting them often as they cook. It should take only a few minutes. Pour noodles into a colander and immediately rinse under cold water. Shake off the excess water.

Toss the noodles with all the marinade and most of the scallions, sesame seeds and asparagus. Mound them in a bowl or on a platter, then garnish with the remaining asparagus, scallions, and sesame seeds.

{Roasted} BEETS!

Perhaps you are looking for a simple, easy, delicious way to get some more color (and vitamins) into your life.  Well look no further my friend! Ok, keep looking further, but also try this recipe! 

ROASTED BEETS

4 beets, washed.  Make sure you get beets that are all about the same size and shape or they won't cook at the same rate.
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Wrap each beet in foil, place in a rimmed baking receptacle.  Make sure that if you drop a beet, you immediately yell out, "beet down!"

Bake for 45 min to 1 hour (mine took a little longer, but I neglected to preheat the oven) until a skewer can be easily inserted into the side.  Let stand for 10 minutes.

Take beet out of foil and place in the center of 2 or 3 paper towels.  Use the towels to gently rub off the skin.  Slice the skinned beets, drizzle on a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper.


Note: Does anyone know if this could be accomplished in the microwave to cut down on cooking time?

Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup

I did not take a picture of this as I was too busy shoveling it into my face.  The barley is velvety and the beef is tender.  The whole thing is warm, hearty, and tasty; perfect for a chilly fall night!  But do note, be careful when you add the thyme, lest you (like me) end up with a few bites that taste like tree bark.

Ingredients:
1 lb beef, cubed
2 T oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, unpeeled, sliced
3-4 cloved garlic, pressed
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups beef broth
1/3 cup pearl barley
1 T dried parsley
1/2 t dried thyme

Dry the meat using several paper towels (this is important, do not skip this step).  Season with salt and pepper, brown in half the oil.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Saute the carrots, onions, and garlic in the remaining oil until the veggies are soft.  Add the wine to the pan, reduce by half, scrapping any bits off the bottom of the pan.

Add all the ingredients to the crockpot, cook on low 6-7 hours.

NOTE FOR MAKING AHEAD:  If you want to make this the night before, or even a day or two before, store the meat and the veggies in the fridge in separate containers.  Only combine the ingredients right before you are ready to start the soup. 

Bex and Liz Eat Stuff: a Menu Plan

Week 2 of Getting Back On Track nearly got derailed by my lack of being-home-ness, but I have conquered!! I think we've stumbled upon a system that will work for us.  It hasn't been easy at all because we have so many constraints.  For one, our food needs to be kosher (for me) and healthy (us), but we also need a little freedom to eat things that are fatty and delicious. Besides all that, we need food that fits into our crazy schedules easily. The opportune word there is EASILY, because if it's not, then it doesn't work and we just end up eating out.  No bueno!

Basically, the system is thus: Crockpot Mondays, Super Healthy Tuesdays, Bex Cooks Wednesdays, Fat Thursdays, Shabbat!  Because we were out of town this weekend, we're flip-flopping the crock pot and Becky meal.  We're trying out several new recipes this week and I pretty excited!

[Bex Cooks] Monday:

Grilled Cheese

Tomato Soup

Seasoned Green Beans

(I have GOT to get this recipe posted. I invented these and the are yummers)

[Super Healthy] Tuesday:

Shoyu Chicken

Luau Rice

[Crockpot] Wednesday:

Moroccan Stew with winter veggies

[Fat] Thursday:

Pasta Alfredo

Sliced Tomatoes



Ruth's Potato Pizza

A friend of mine had been telling me about her favorite pizza ... I decided one night to give it a go. It was yum, although our rosemary seemed a bit bitter so we added some fresh parmesan cheese ...

It is dead simple.

Pizza dough ... we used a whole wheat, thin crust that I make in the bread maker.

Top that with a drizzle of good olive oil, thinly sliced potatoes, a nice salt and plenty of fresh rosemary. Bake ... ours took about 10 minutes in a 200C oven.

Sprinkle with freshly grated Paremsan cheese !!

PS ... if you're wondering why I didn't post the second half of my two week menu, it's because I never shopped for it so we never ate it !! It's been a total FLY BY THE SEAT OF MY PANTS week and I've hated every minute of it !!! Two week menu planning when I have to shop weekly (because of fresh ingredients needed) is not going to work for me !!

BUT ... I got an iPhone4 this week and I have downloaded some cool apps and I'm going to start using them to get more organized !

AND ... a cool thing I did yesterday ... I was wandering around the shop after work, trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I NEVER DO THAT !! NEVER EVER !! Couldn't think of anything. Pulled out the iPhone, opened my Whole Foods Market app and found this recipe, bought the ingredients, made the dish and am thrilled with this new option for disorganized shopping !

Bex and Liz Eat Stuff

So the start of the semester really cramped my menu planning style.  But now, at least for one week, I'm back on my game and I'm really excited about this week's menu.  A slight change in my eating habit...I've decided to keep kosher.  It's difficult to explain all the reasons why, but suffice it to say, it felt important to me.  The added bonus is that it really makes me think about what I am eating.  Enough babbling,  on to the meal plan!

Sunday:

Chicken and veggies over couscous

Asparagus in some form

Monday:

Slow cooker beef and barley soup

Seasoned green beans

Tuesday:

Turkey burgers

Sliced tomatoes

Roasted beets

Wednesday:

Red beans and rice with turkey sausage

Thursday:

We'll be grabbing something on the way to

bible study.

Buffalo Boneless Wings ... And Ranch

Ok ... let's start with the Ranch recipe. I got this from Shay and it is delicious !

I'm going to cut and paste from the email she sent me ....

My freaking favorite ranch
I don't worry too much about which herbs to use but I always use fresh dill. That makes it. I like a lot of dill. You can play around with this one. All to taste and texture.
I like to double but that makes a good bit-this is for one batch.

1/2 c. mayo
1/2 c. buttermilk, shaken
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
4 scallion chopped
1 garlic, minced
2 tbsp. dill
2 tbsp. chives
1 tbsp. tarragon, or 1/2 tsp. dried
2 tbsp. parsley
dash worchestershire
dash hot sauce
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste

whisk all

I did this in the afternoon and put it in the fridge until dinner time ....

For the 'wings'.

I did 1 kilo of chicken breast. Cut into chunks (see photo above). I put some whole wheat flour in a ziplock bag, added the chicken, shook it around then then shallow fried these in olive oil til golden brown.

For the hot 'buffalo sauce"

If you're in the States, you'll use Franks but I can't get that here ! BUMMER ! But, I found this Louisiana hot sauce the other day. It was a darn good substitute !! Not a cheap substitute though ! This bottle cost $9.99 and it was just under a cup of hot sauce !

So ... melt 2 TBSP of butter in the microwave. Add 1 cup hot sauce. Mix. Put back in the microwave and make it hot. Add 'wings' and mix to coat.

For the Garlic Parmesan "wings"

Melt 1/2 a cup butter. Then add to it 2 tsp (3?? ... to taste) garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Put back in microwave and make it hot. Add 'wings' and toss to coat !

Tuna Mac

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe before.
It's one of my favorites.

And so easy ...

1 bag of shell pasta
1 small jar of pimento stuffed green olives, I chop mine in half
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 can of tuna (i like it in spring water but whatever), drained
1 cup mayo (i make mine like this), add a bit at a time, you may not need this much ~ or you may need more ... you just want the pasta nice and coated ! (not like mine looks in the photo !)
a couple squirts of american mustard

Cook the pasta al dente. Drain. Cool a teensy bit so the mayo doesn't go icky. Add all ingredients and mix. And that's that. I love this warm ... and I love this cold and leftover !!

Pina Colada Tea ... On The Rocks

My favorite tea ... pina colada ... which is actually not tea at all ... it's a mixture of rosehip, hibiscus, apple, coconut and pineapple ... but it's dried and I buy it at a fancy tea shop so we're going to call it tea ...

Anyway ... turns out, it's really nice ICED ! Want to try some ...... ?

Jamie's Potato Salad

I tried this a while back and loved it. Such a fresh fresh salad. And simple. This is in Jamie's "Jamie at Home" cookbook. I changed it just a little bit ...

Boil a couple of potatoes til just cooked. I was serving four so I imagine I did four potatoes and one for the pot ! I didn't bother peeling them.

Mix the zest of one lemon and 1/2 of it's juice with a splash of vinegar. He suggested red wine but I used cider vinegar ... or maybe I used rice wine vinegar. I can't remember now. It won't matter. Just use a splash of the vinegar of your choice ! Add three splashes of olive oil. Taste it. Need more ? Add it. Add 2 tablespoons capers and salt/pepper to taste.

Pour the dressing onto the potatoes, toss to coat and top with a small bunch of fresh dill or fennel tops ...

Menu plan

We haven't had schedules that allowed us to make a weekly menu at the G.P. Street house for a while; however, this week is unique! So, here is what we're going to be eating in this neck of the woods this week:

Saturday

Steak (although since it is - thankfully - still fall in Colorado, it will not be this steak recipe)

Sauteed mushrooms and onions

Corn on the cob grilled on the BBQ

Sunday

Some concoction using polish sausage, sauerkraut, and potatoes - if I remember/have time I'll let you know what it ends up being...

Salad

Monday

Asparagus Pasta

Tomato slices

Tuesday

Pork chops with bacon and cabbage (this is a new recipe that we're trying...if it's any good I'll try and remember/take the time to post it)

Biscuits

Possible beets of some kind - but only if AK decides that the meal isn't colorful enough

Wednesday

Every (wo)man for oneself

Thursday

Quinoa Veggie Soup (although I also add garlic, corn, and carrots)

Friday (Shabbat)

Indian lamb riblets (also a new recipe)

Various Indian sides we're going to pick up at the local Indian grocery store

Naan (also from the Indian grocery store)

And that's what we'll be eating! Gosh I'm hungry!! Better go get the shopping finished so we can cook tonight's meal.