Garlicky Shrimp

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2012. I know I have not been updating as frequently lately, and I apologize for that, but I think it's going to continue for the time being. Lately the blog has taken a bit of a back seat to some other projects and for the time being that is going to continue. Don't worry, I am still cooking and I will still be updating as often as I can, probably about once or twice a week, so keep reading and keep eating. To start off the year I have some delicious buttery-garlicky shrimp for you. Enjoy!

Garlic Shrimp:
2 lbs of shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of salted butter
lemon

Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees, with a rack in the upper third of the oven. Put shrimp in a glass baking dish and pour olive oil over. Pass the garlic through a garlic press (or mince) and add to the shrimp and oil. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, stir to combine everything. Chop butter into pieces and place on top of the shrimp. Cook until shrimp are pink throughout, stirring the shrimp occasionally, about 6-8 minutes depending on the shrimp size. Serve shrimp with the sauce spooned over it, and finish with a squeeze of lemon

Happy Eating.

Broccoli Sausage Bake

I have an insatiable and unholy love for stuffing. It might be my favorite food ever. In college I used to buy the boxed stuff and make it in the microwave. So this casserole is my new favorite thing ever, because it tastes like stuffing, but is a fairly healthy and well balanced meal. It's full of whole grain (rye), veggies, and lean protein, and it tastes like stuffing, but cheesier. So ya, try and resist this easy and healthy casserole.

Broccoli Sausage Bake:
1/2 loaf of rye bread, about 9 oz
1 head of broccoli
1 onion
5 cloves of garlic
8 oz of turkey sausage, without casing, prefiribley spicy
3/4 cup of 2% mozzarella cheese, shredded
1.5 oz of sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cups of chicken broth

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Lightly toast bread until crisp. Chop broccoli, onion, and garlic, and place on cookie sheet. Roast until broccoli is tender, and onions are slightly browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and lower heat to 350. Cut or tear bread into small chunks, in a 9 by 13" casserole dish, lightly sprayed with non-stick, stir together bread, broccoli, onion, garlic, sausage, and cheese. Mix together the chicken broth and spices, then pour over the bread/broccoli mixture. Bake until liquid is absorbed and top is browned, about 20 minutes.

Happy Eating.

Penne ala Vodka

Vodka sauce is something that I always thought of as being ridiculously heavy, but a little cream goes a long way, to make this delicious sauce smooth and creamy without feeling like you are eating a stick of butter. The spiciness of the red pepper and the sausage go so perfectly with the creamy texture, on bite made me forget I was ever afraid of this sauce. This is a perfect way to "winter" up pasta night, something about the cream and spice just warms you inside out. Enjoy.

Penne ala Vodka:
1/2 lb of penne pasta
1 tbsp of olive oil
3 links of Hot Italian Sausage (optional)
1 small onion
1 29 oz can of tomato sauce
1 tomato
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup of vodka
1/2 cup of heavy cream
salt, pepper

Make pasta according to package directions. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown sausage on all sides then remove from pan, and slice, add back to the pan. Dice onions and add to oil, cook stirring occasionally until onions soften about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Dice tomato and garlic and add to sauce, and oregano and red pepper and cook and bring to a boil. Add vodka and stir, then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer sauce until pasta is cooked, then turn off heat and stir in heavy cream. Pour cooked pasta into the pan, and stir until pasta is coated. Enjoy.

Happy Eating.

Bacon Roasted Pork Loin

Bacon is magical. It takes something that is already delicious (a pork tenderloin) and makes it truly wonderful. The bacon gets nice and crisp on the outside, while the pork on the inside remains incredibly moist and tender. This is truly the best pork tenderloin I have ever tasted. Even the next day, when I put the tenderloin, sans bacon, on a salad, the meat was so amazing and perfect. This dish looks beautiful, and is super easy to make, the prep takes about 5 minutes. So the next time you need to special up a dish, remember, bacon makes it better.

Bacon Roasted Pork Loin:
2 pork tenderloins, 1 lb each
6 slices of center cut bacon, or other thick sliced
Salt, Pepper
1/2 tsp of rep pepper flakes
2 large onions
3 cloves of garlic

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Season the pork tenderloins with salt and pepper. Push them together and wrap the bacon around the tenderloins. Place in a 9 by 13 baking dish bacon seam side down, sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Chop onions and garlic and and add to dish. Roast for 20 minutes, then lower heat to 350 and continue roasting until cooked just too 140 degrees, about 10-15 minutes. Broil for a few minutes to crisp the bacon. To serve slice in between the bacon slices.

Happy Eating.

Ultimate Chex Mix

Homemade Chex mix is one of those things that everyone makes a little differently, it's perfecly customizable and always delicious. I like to maximize the butter to cereal ratio, to ensure that every piece is coated with goodness. The boyfriend is very particular about what is in the mix (no nuts, no wheat Chex) and so this amazingly delicious hybrid was born. My ultimate Chex mix, it is crazy addictive, especially when it is hot from the oven (or not quite finished baking), which is my favorite way to eat it. Enjoy your delicious fall snacking! And check out what I did with the leftover Chex and pretzels.

Ultimate Chex Mix:
4 cups corn chex
3 cups rice chex
2 cups of pretzels
1 bag of garlic bagel chips
4 tbsp of unsalted butter
4 tbsp of salted butter
3 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp of hot sauce
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp minced onion
1/2 tsp of salt

Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Add chex and pretzels to the baking sheet. Break bagel chips in pieces and add to the chex. Melt butters in the microwave in a small bowl, mix in Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, onion, and salt. Pour the butter over the Chex mix slowly, stirring the mix to coat evenly. Bake for an hour, stirring mix every 15 minutes.

Happy Eating.

Daring Cooks: Moo Shu

Blog-checking lines: The October Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Shelley of C Mom Cook and her sister Ruth of The Crafts of Mommyhood. They challenged us to bring a taste of the East into our home kitchens by making our own Moo Shu, including thin pancakes, stir fry and sauce.

This, I think was my favorite Daring Cooks challenge so far. It was absolutely delicious! Not all of the ingredients made it into my Moo Shu, because I got a little frazzled, but it was so good that next time I make it (and trust me, there will be a next time) I won't even bother to add them. The hoisin sauce was AMAZING, easy to make, and made from pantry staples plus it provided plenty of leftovers that were consumed throughout the week. The Moo Shu sent me on a cabbage eating binge like you would not believe. Making the pancakes was a lot of work, and they didn't really taste like anything, they were a good conduit for the meat and sauce, but next time I would happily eat this plain, over rice, or on a store bought tortilla, which would also make this more of an everyday meal (less work). Can you guess when I actually made this, I have been sitting on this post, dying to share it for a bit of time. (Hint: look for lots of cabbage and something else with hoisin sauce). Anyway, enjoy the deliciousness!

Moo Shu Pork:
1 pork loin, about 3/4 lb
1/2 head of green cabbage
1 bunch of scallions
1 package of gourmet mushrooms
1 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of canola oil
salt, pepper, chili powder

Heat the oil in a large wok or skillet over high heat. Finely chop the pork and add to the oil, cook until browned slightly, about 1 minute. Chop the cabbage, scallions and mushrooms and add to the pan. Add the vinegar and soy sauce and cook until cabbage softens, about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and chili powder to taste.

Hoisin Sauce:
1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp (or more) of Sriracha
1 1/2 tbsp of molasses
2 tbsp of almond butter
2 tsp of white vinegar
2 tsp of sesame oil
1/4 tsp of pepper
1/4 tsp of garlic powder

Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth and combined.

Pancakes:
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of wheat flour
1/2 tsp of canola oil
3/4 cup of boiling water

Put the flour in a food processor with the dough blade and pulse a few times. While the machine is running pour in water and oil. Remove the dough from the processor, roll into a ball and cover with a damp towel, let stand 30 minutes. Return to the food processor and run until the dough is smooth, about 2 minutes. Dive in half and roll into a long log, cut each log into 7 pieces, keep dough covered when you aren't using it. Roll each piece into a ball, and then flatten into a disk. Roll the disks out into a 6-8 inch circle. Heat a pan on high heat, then put on medium-low, cook pancakes until light brown spots appear, do not flip. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to serve.

Happy Eating.

Beef and Potato Hash

The use everything up experiment continues, and I have to say I feel proud. I have not only managed to make some delicious meals, our fridge is near empty and devoid of perishables, and not because we have thrown out what went bad, but because we have used everything! We really need to go shopping now, but I've learned a valuable lesson in using what you have, and hopefully the dinners from this week can help me to buy less and use everything up to decrease what I waste.

Beef Potato Hash:
2 large russet potatoes
2 yellow onions
2 bell pepper
1 small hot pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp of worchestershire sauce
1 can/bottle of beer
8 oz of ground beef
Canola oil
Salt, pepper, Tabasco

Heat the a thin layer of oil over high heat in a large skillet. Chop potatoes into small cubes and add to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally until potatoes begin to brown, about 4-5 minutes, then lower heat to medium. Chop onions into small squares and add to the pan , cook until onions soften slightly, about 3 minutes. Chop the peppers (hot and bell) and add to the pan, stir to combine, raise heat to high and cook 1 minute, then stir in the chili powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce and half the beer. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to allow beer to simmer, cook until the liquid has absorbed. Add ground beef and stir in. Add remaining beer and cook until absorbed and potatoes are tender. Serve with sunny side up eggs. Potatoes will need to cook about 30 minutes total, depending on how small you chopped them.

Happy Eating.

Shrimp and Pasta Stir Fry

This week is an interesting experiment, it's called using up all the things in the fridge, freezer and pantry that I forgot I had. We didn't go grocery shopping this weekend because we were suppose to be getting a lovely vegetable box delivered from Pure Organics (I got a groupon). Then the day before the box was suppose to come, they are suddenly out of business (don't worry, I got my money back). I am extremely disappointed that I won't get my lovely fresh veggies, and too lazy to go grocery shopping during the week, so I will just have to see how much I can put the furthest and most forgotten corners of my pantry to work. Fortunately, I still have some leftover veggies. The tomatoes in this are actually from my garden (or the tomato jungle as I like to think of it). So here is a delicious and fridge/pantry cleaning hodge podge of pasta, veggies, and shrimp in an Asian-y sauce.

Shrimp and Pasta Stir Fry:
1/2 lb of spaghetti
1 lb of shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tbsp of flour
Canola oil
2 onions
1/4 of head of cabbage
1 can of fancy bamboo shoots, drained
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp of hoisin sauce
3 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of rice vinegar
2 tsp of sesame oil
Sriracha
Salt, pepper, and chili powder
Cook spaghetti to package directions for al dente. In the mean time, heat a thin layer of canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Slice the onion and cabbage and add to the pan, when it's hot. Cook until cabbage wilts slightly and onions start to brown, about 3 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until cabbage is soft, about 5-7 minutes more. Season shrimp with salt, pepper, and chili powder and toss with the flour. Remove cabbage from the pan and set aside. Raise heat to high and add a little more oil to the pan, cook shrimp until browned and pink, stirring once or twice, about 2-3 minutes. Add cabbage back to the pan, and add bamboo shoots, tomatoes, garlic, and cooked pasta. In a small bowl, whisk together the hoisin, soy sauce, and vinegar and add to the pasta and veggies and stir. Add sriracha to taste and stir in. Sprinkle with sesame oil before serving.

Happy Eating.

My Favorite Roast Chicken

First, a little business. Congrats to Claire on winning the jar of Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter! Enjoy!

In my September DC post, I mentioned that I made a roast chicken, and used the leftovers from that to make my stock. Not only did I make a roast chicken, but I made my favorite roast chicken. I shared this once before, but it was so long ago, I wasn't even putting pictures on my blog then, so I decided I needed to re-post it. This chicken is absolutely magical, and very easy to make, it's been made so many times over the years, and tweaked slightly from time to time (usually depending on what herbs I have), but it's always delicious.

Roast Chicken:
1 whole chicken, giblits removed
3 cloves of garlic
2 large yellow onion
2 lemons
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Parsley
Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper
1-2 cups Chicken Stock

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Chop the onions, reserving 1/4 of an onion, and put in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Wash the chicken inside and out and pat dry. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and inside the cavity. Put in the dish breast side up. Smash the garlic cloves and put inside the chicken, put the reserved onion in the chicken as well. Quater one of the lemons. Put one quarter inside the chicken, unsqueezed. Use another quarter to squeeze the juice all over the chicken. Chop the remaining 1 and 1/2 lemons and add to the dish with the onions. Stuff a handful thyme, rosemary, and parsley into the chicken. Rub olive oil over the exposed chicken skin, and drizzle a little into the onions as well. Tuck the wings in and tie the drumstick together with kitchen twine (truss). Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and add some stock to baste. Bake until the internal temperature is 165 in the thigh, or the little ready thermometer pops, about 20 minutes per pound, stirring the onions and basting with stock occasionally. Let stand for 10 minutes before carving. The lemons (rind and all) in the pan with the onions are completely edible, and taste really good. Enjoy!

Happy Eating.

Tandoori Grilled Chicken

I haven't cooked a whole chicken in awhile, well that's not entirely true. It's just in a different form. Summer's version of the whole chicken, is grilling a whole, split chicken. A split chicken is a wonderful thing, it's just a regular chicken with the backbone removed and chopped in half. Then you can easily grill the two halves, which lie flat on the grill. This is my FAVORITE marinade for the chicken. The yogurt keeps the chicken super moist and it's got a lovely smokey, slightly spicy flavor. You can eat the grilled skin, or pull it off and the chicken tastes amazing either way. The leftovers make a wonderful lunch sandwich or salad topper.

Tandoori-Style Chicken:
1 Split chicken, about 4-5 lbs
3/4 cup of Greek yogurt
1 lemon
2 tsp of paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp of cumin
1/4 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and put in a freezer bag. In a bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon and seasonings. Add to the chicken bag, and seal the bag. Shake, and press the bag until the chicken is coated. Marinate in the fridge overnight. Pre-heat the grill. Place chicken on the grill skin side down, and cook for 20 minutes, flip the chicken and cook on the meat side until chicken is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes, but will vary based on the size of the chicken. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Happy Eating.

Sesame Chicken

One of my least favorite things about moving is having to figure out new take out places. You have your go to pizza place, and your never fail Chinese after trying every single place in a 5 mile radius, and then all of the sudden you move and you have to start over. We moved in May, and while we have the pizza situation under control, we are still working out the Chinese. So after a handful of disappointments, I decided to take matters into my own hands. This was delicious! Better than any of the take out places we've tried. I'm sure we will continuing questing for that perfect Chinese takeout (I haven't mastered lo mein yet), but in the meantime this is a pretty delicious (and much lighter) substitution.

PS: Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a 32 oz jar of Virgin Coconut Oil.

Sesame Chicken:
1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 egg whites
1/4 cup of corn starch
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of honey
1 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp of sesame seeds
salt, pepper
Canola oil
Heat a large skillet over high heat, and lightly coat the bottom with canola oil. Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces and season with salt and pepper. Whisk together the eggs and corn starch in a medium bowl. When smooth, add chicken in and stir to coat. Pan fry chicken, in a few batches being careful not to over crowd the pan. Flip chicken occasionally, until golden all around and opaque throughout, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cook remaining chicken. Meanwhile, make the sauce by stirring together the soy sauce, honey, and vinegar. When all the chicken is cooked return it to the pan and stir in the sauce. Cook until the chicken has rewarmed and sauce is distributed, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice or veggies (or both). (adapted from Martha)

Happy Eating.

Soy Glazed Flank Steak

This is my favorite summer dinner, not necissarly flank steak, or this particular marinade (although both are delcious), but meat, onions, peppers, and corn, all grilled. It's absolute summer perfection, with almost no clean up after (always a plus). I could eat charred onions every single day, it just doesn't get any better, unless you are adding them to a delicious steak. This dinner is so easy to throw together and so incredibly delicious, it will taste like you must have worked hard, but really, it's just a great piece of meat, cooked to the right temperature and the summers best produce, shining on it's own.

Soy Glazed Flank Steak:
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
2 tsp of sesame oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 flank steak, about 1 lb
Salt, Pepper

For Serving:
1 Onion
2 Bell Peppers
Corn
Butter

In large ziplock bag, mix together the soy sauce, Worcestershire, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, sesame oil, and red pepper. Lightly salt and pepper the flank steak on both sides. Add to the plastic bag, and shake and rub the steak, so the marinade distrubes over the meat. Refridgerate overnight overnight. Pre heat the grill, and let meat sit on the counter. Cut the onion into thick slices. Remove the stem and seeds from peppers, by cutting the top off and pulling out the ribs and seeds. Shuck the corn and lightly butter. Wrap corn individually in tinfoil. Place corn on the top wrap of the grill and onion slices and peppers in the back of the grill. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Remove steak from bag and shake off the excess marinade. Put steak on the grill and cook 6-7 minutes each side (medium rare). Flip the onion and peppers when appropriate, and rotate the corn. When meat is finished let rest 5 minutes. Remove corn, peppers, and onions from the grill (I like mine onions/peppers very charred, if you like them less burnt remove sooner). Slice steak against the grain. Serve steak with onions, peppers and corn.

Happy Eating.

Crusted Tilapia

For years people (and websites) have been trying to convince me that you can crust chicken/fish with cereal to make a healthy "fried" item. I remained skepitical. Mostly I heard cornflakes, and I wondered if that was really that much healthier than breadcrumbs. Then I heard fiber bran cereal, and I thought well that's definitely healthier, but not extremely appetizing. After reading hundreds of reviews saying you can't tell it's bran cereal (the little twig kind, not the flakes), I decided to test it on some tilapia. I am happy to report that it is delicious and that you absolutely can't tell that it's bran. It's got a slightly richer and sweeter flavor, but mixed with the chili powder and the fresh herbs it just tastes wonderful. It's a bit darker in color than it would be with plain bread crumbs, but equally delicious. So skepitics out there, try it out and see for yourself!

Crusted Tilapia:
1/2 lemon
3 Tilapia fillets
1/2 cup of fiber bran cereal
1/2 tsp of pepper
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of chili powder
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp of fresh parsley
1 tbsp of sunflower oil

Squeeze the lemon over the fish on both sides, and set asside. In a food processor, pulse the cereal, garlic and parsley until resembles bread crumbs. Add in the seasonings and pulse to combine. Pour the crumbs into a shallow dish. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Slice each fish fillet along the natural divide so you have 2 strips from each fillet. Dip the strips in the cereal mixture and coat with crumbs on both sides. Put fish in pan and cook until brown and crisp, about 3-4 minutes on each side.

Happy Eating.