Thai Chicken Vegetable Noodle Soup

College Inn has a line of Culinary Broths. I bought this on a whim the last time I was at the store. I made this for lunch today and it was Awesome with a capital A.

Thai Vegetable Chicken Noodle Soup

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup diced carrots
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (to taste)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 cup vermicelli or thin spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces
1 carton (32 oz) College Inn Thai Coconut Curry Broth
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 cup light coconut milk
1 cup diced cooked chicken

Cook onion, broccoli, carrots, ginger, curry powder and red pepper flakes in oil in large saucepan, 3 minutes. Add noodles, broth, chicken and lime juice.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer 7 minutes or until noodles are tender. Stir in coconut milk; heat through.

Garnish with cilantro and green onions, and serve with lime wedges, if desired.

* I did not have cooked chicken so I diced mine up and added it in with the veggies and cooked it at the same time. I also did not have any fresh cilantro or green onions on hand.

Holy Moly Batman, thats a LOT of honey!

We harvested honey yesterday! We use the crush and strain method which is pretty messy. I will be cleaning up honey in the kitchen forever. But after it was all said and done we ended up with about 35# of honey. That is only a small part of what is out there. We have five hives this year when we only had two last year and it was our first year so I am excited to see how much we end up getting. We might even have enough to sell. That is, after we give all the family their share of the bounty LOL.

Stepping out of my comfort zone with a Cauliflower Frittata

I have been loving our CSA program. I wonder sometimes if I could buy the same things in the store for less money though. The key reason I do it is that I am buying local and organic. It also challenges me to expand my menu and cook things beyond my comfort zone since I have no control over what I get each week. Some of the things I have been getting are Shonkyu Radishes, Bok Choy, Lacinato Kale, Red Russian Kale, Arugula, Rainbow Chard, Baby Beets, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi and Fennel. A few of these things I have never even heard of much less cooked. I admit some of the recipes I have tried have not been all that great but for the most part things turn out good. Last week I took the Kohlrabi and peeled and diced it. Then I tossed it in olive oil and sprinkled salt, pepper and thyme on it and baked it. It turned out fantastic and it tasted almost like a potato. Tonight for dinner I tried out a recipe that came with the weekly bag of veggies. I did make some changes. I substituted onion for the shallot, broccoli for the chard and I used sharp cheddar cheese instead of the parmesan cheese because that is all I had. The end result was good enough that I think I will make it again and play around with ingredients. Here is the actual recipe that I used.

Cauliflower Frittata with Swiss Chard and Parmesan

Serves 4- 6

Preheat oven to 375°.

2 pieces bacon

1 shallot, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Cups cauliflower, florets and stems cut into bite-size pieces

4 – 5 leaves Swiss chard, ribs removed, cut into 3” ribbons

1 round, glass pie plate, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray

½ Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Put your strips of bacon into a large skillet and turn your heat to medium low.  Cook bacon until crisp and brown on both sides.  Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate.  Add shallot and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then add garlic and stir for about a minute.  Add the cauliflower to the pan, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and turn your heat up to medium.  Cook the cauliflower, stirring or tossing often, for about a minute.  Add Swiss chard ribbons and cook about a minute longer.  Then, remove the veggies from the heat.   Place them in your prepared glass dish in an even layer.  Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top of the vegetables.

In a large bowl:

6 eggs

½ Cup milk

¼ t freshly grated nutmeg

1 T fresh herbs of your choice, chopped or 1 t dried Italian Seasoning

½ t salt

fresh cracked pepper

Cooked bacon, crumbled

Mix the ingredients above with a fork or whisk to combine well.  Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables in your pie plate.  Lastly, sprinkle the bacon evenly across the eggs.  Place the frittata in the hot oven and cook for about 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the eggs are cooked, but not dry.

Mongolian Beef

Sunday night I cooked Mongolian Beef for dinner. I have had this recipe from a couple years now and I finally decided to try it. I wish I had tried it sooner! I think next time I might try it with chicken. Not sure how that would work with the cornstarch though. Sorry I forgot to take pictures.

Ingredients:

1 lb flank steak

¼ cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

½ teaspoon ginger (minced)

1 tablespoon garlic (minced)

½ cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water

½ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons rice wine

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 green onions (sliced)

1 medium onion (sliced)

Oil (for frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: To make the sauce- in a sauce pan heat 2 teaspoons of oil. Add garlic and ginger, stir fry 10 seconds. Add soy sauce, wine and water. Add brown sugar and dissolve into the sauce. Add red pepper flakes. Bring the sauce to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Step 2: Slice the flank steak against the grain into ¼” thick slices. Tilt the knife blade at a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak to get wider cuts. Toss the steak slices with cornstarch and let the beef sit for 10 minutes (this is very important, do not skip).

Step 3: Heat up about a cup of oil in your wok to about medium heat. Add the beef slices to the wok and cook for 3 minutes (or use a deep fryer). 

Step 4: Remove the meat from the wok with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Drain all of the oil from the wok expect about a tablespoon. Add onions to the wok and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the steak back to the wok and pour in the sauce. Cook while stirring until the sauce began to bubble.

Here is the website I found the recipe on: http://blogchef.net/mongolian-beef-recipe/

On another note I got the results back of my blood work and it was not good. My A1C was 6.1 which isn't too bad but it still went up from 5.8. The really bad thing was they checked my liver function and it came back bad. I can't remember what it was but basically not only am I fat but my liver is fat too. Heh. The Gastro doctor did tell me to stop taking the Zantac and take a Prilosec in the AM and the PM and it seems to be helping A LOT. I have had very little stomach issues at all since!

Hello, it's your wake up call

Both me and the hubster have been pretty lazy lately. I blame it on the winter but my boss says that is just an excuse. She's right of course but I ain't gonna admit that to her. Warm weather is finally here though and I really need to get a move on. Our CSA program started this week so I have a bag of fresh organic veggies to look forward to each week on top of what I can get at the local market. At the end of this month we have a 1/4 of a cow we ordered coming in so we will have grass fed beef coming out of our ears. This will force me to start cooking again.

I finally made a doctor appointment and went in for my yearly. I am just waiting for the blood work to come back and tell me how much I have messed up. Last time I had my A1C down to 5.8 and my blood pressure and cholesterol under control. I was also 15 pounds lighter. I had lost a total of 40 pounds and was so proud so I guess I really screwed up there. My blood pressure was 130/100 this time too. Needless to say the Doc was not happy with me.

On top of all this they sent me to a Gastroenterology doctor because I have been having terrible stomach issues. They give me a list of what not do eat (No coffee? Ugh!) and want to shove a camera down my throat. That's not cool at all. But I have been taking Prilosec, Zantac, Maalox AND Tums at the same time with very little relief  and I cannot take it anymore.

So I guess it is time for a change. There are a lot of foods I cannot eat anymore but there will be a lot of new foods to try with the CSA program. Time to dig out those cookbooks I collect and plan some new menus!

~Liz

Easy Beef Stroganoff

It's been a long day and I am starving. My dinner choices was either a Home Run Inn frozen pizza or this. I know the pizza is processed but I do have my weaknesses and this brand of pizza tastes just like the ones I eat in Chicago so if I am really hungry sometimes we will eat one. Luckily I had thawed out ground beef (grass fed from the local market) so I was forced into cooking. This recipe is quick and easy and I'm always happy that I cooked after I am done.

Easy Beef Stroganoff

1 (12 ounce) package egg noodles, cooked and drained

6 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, chopped

1/4 cup butter

2 pounds lean ground beef

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups beef broth

1 cup sour cream

salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook egg noodles in boiling water until done, about 8 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a large skillet, cook mushrooms and onions in 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until soft; remove from pan.

Using the same pan, melt remaining butter. Cook ground beef in melted butter until browned. Mix in flour. Stir in beef broth, and cook until slightly thickened.

Add mushroom and onion mixture; stir in sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until sauce is hot, but not boiling. Serve sauce over egg noodles.

I like a couple pancakes with my syrup please.

The Hubster has been begging for pancakes so I decided to dig out my iphone and search my cooking apps. I love my iphone apps. There are tons of free cooking apps with really good recipes. I have always bought the little shaker of pancake mix and the cheapest syrup I could find. I didn't even bother to check the mix but most of the syrup has high fructose corn syrup in it. The ingredient list just doesn't look appetizing at all. I really wanted to get maple syrup but it is pretty expensive. Instead I found a brand called Log Cabin. They carry one in a cute round jug container and it's natural. I guess it's the next best thing to pure maple.

The pancake recipe I found is so simple. I will never buy the pre-mixes again. It is from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything iphone app but I did find it online as well. Here is the recipe but you can check it out here as well.

Everyday Pancakes

Makes: 4 to 6 servings
Time: 20 minutes

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
2 eggs
11/2 to 2 cups milk
2 optional tablespoons melted and cooled butter, plus
unmelted butter for cooking, or use a neutral oil like grapeseed or corn

1. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat while you make the batter.

2. Mix together the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs into 11/2 cups of the milk, then stir in the 2 tablespoons cooled melted butter if you’re using it. Gently stir this mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to moisten the flour; don’t worry about a few lumps. If the batter seems thick, add a little more milk.

3. Use a little butter or oil each time you add batter, unless your skillet is truly nonstick. When the butter foam subsides or the oil shimmers, ladle batter onto the griddle or skillet, making any size pancakes you like. Adjust the heat as necessary; usually, the first batch will require higher heat than subsequent batches. The idea is to brown the bottom in 2 to 4 minutes, without burning it. Flip when bubbles appear in the center of the pancakes and the bottoms are cooked; they won’t hold together well until they’re ready.

4. Cook until the second side is lightly browned, a couple more minutes, and serve or hold on an ovenproof plate in a 200°F oven for up to 15 minutes.

Into uncharted territory with Tofu Stir-Fry

So tonight I was cooking dinner and I trying was decide what I wanted to make. On a whim I bought a package of tofu at the store the last time I was there. I thought I would figure out what to do with it later. Inside my fridge I found a bunch of veggies on the verge of being chicken food so I needed to find a use for them before they wilted. I found a recipe on Epicurious.com that looked like a good stir fry.

Stir-Fried Tofu with Mushrooms, Sugar Snap Peas, and Green Onions
(Note the picture below is actually of my finished product. Also note the saucy edge on the bowl. I would never make it as a food photographer /grin.)

Here is the actual recipe. I altered it quite a lot but I left the sauce the same. I had celery, carrots, broccoli and mushrooms I needed to use up along with some leftover noodles. I also added a sliced onion to the mix. My mushrooms were just plain button mushrooms and I did not have any ginger. This was really good and I even got a thumbs up from the Hubster too. The next time I make this I will buy the correct ingredients and see how much better it is.


3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 12-ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, patted dry with paper towels
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 6 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps quartered
• 8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 4 green onions, sliced on diagonal
• 
  
• Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Add tofu and stir to coat; let marinate 30 minutes. Drain, reserving marinade in small bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup water and cornstarch into marinade.
• 
  
  Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu and sauté until golden, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer tofu to plate. Add remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to skillet. Add mushrooms and stir-fry until tender, about 3 minutes. Add sugar snap peas; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; stir-fry 30 seconds. Return tofu to skillet; drizzle reserved marinade mixture over. Stir-fry until marinade thickens slightly, about 30 seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.
  
  

Easy Homemade Salsa

Here is an easy homemade salsa recipe. To me it tastes just like Pace. I just adjust how many peppers I put in depending on how hot I want it. We like it hot so we add 4-5 peppers depending on the size.


1 28oz can crushed tomatoes.
About 1/2 the can full of water
1 medium yellow onion, minced
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, with seeds, minced
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 bunch cilantro


Bring all ingredients to a boil in saucepan over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until thick.
Remove from heat and cool.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge until serving.

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

I've been so busy lately that I have to admit that we have eaten out almost every day this past week. To make matters worse the only "fast" food we will eat is Moe's. Needless to say we are tired of burritos. Did you know they use grass-fed beef? I was so excited when I found that out! By the time I get home from work I am starving and so tired I just don't feel like cooking. I have to get back into the groove and cook more often because in a month or two our CSA will be starting and that's a lot of fresh food coming every week that will go to waste.

So tonight's menu was Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole. I found the recipe on Tasty Kitchen's website. I believe this is actually The Pioneer Woman's websites. It was really good and both of us call it a keeper. The only thing I did different was I used Italian Panko instead of Ritz crackers. I have not been able to find Ritz crackers that do not have high fructose corn syrup in it. Why do you need corn syrup in crackers?!

Maybe tomorrow I will be inspired by the bag of chocolate chips in the pantry.

Ribs, It's whats for dinner!

Woot my first real post! Go me!

I cooked these a couple of weeks ago and they turned out great so I bought another pack of all natural pork ribs from the local market here and cooked them again. Ribs are kind of expensive so this is going to have to be a treat dinner. I didn't have any beef broth so I used chicken instead but they turned out just as good. I got this recipe off of allrecipes.com.

Sunday Afternoon Slow-Cooked Spare Ribs

Starting a new blog.

Ok, so I'm gonna try this blog thing and see how often I actually do it. Lot's of folks read my posts on Facebook and I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog and record my efforts in cooking. So here we go...