Sometimes, I go through some intense cravings.
Hot sauce. Yeah, I couldn't put that stuff on enough of my food. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. I would have put it on dessert if my taste buds were into that combo.
Lately, it has been banana peppers. A large jar at the grocery store caught my eye and I succumbed. I've been finding all sorts of meals to add them to.
Last week was a busy, harrowing type of week and I came home with hungry kids and no dinner plans.
"Hot dogs children... we're having hot dogs". Chicken hot dogs actually!
While my children are more than happy to have the basic ketchup and mustard combo, I thought a step up to a more adult gourmet version was in order. One with banana peppers of course.
Melted Havarti cheese, dollops of pesto and lots of banana peppers.
I think my banana pepper craving has been met and can be filed away for a short while. (Though, the large jar in my fridge is saying otherwise).
On to the next craving.
Tired of tacos?
Taco Tuesday with a twist.
We all have our typical dinner meals we make over and over. I get bored with it after a while as does the rest of the family. So what if you can take your usual recipe and slightly tweak it?
Does visually changing the look make a difference?
Yes!
Hello Taco Pie.
My children love tacos and I was a bit afraid of what they would say when they saw this. Told them it was taco pie, cut them a slice and down the hatch it went. Always a pleasing experience when children approve.
It is layered similarly like a lasagna. Take your favorite taco recipe and layer the seasoned ground beef with the soft tortilla shells, slather of tomato sauce and sprinkling of cheese with each layer. (I used 3 tortilla shells).
Bake for 20 minutes at 350F. Cut into slices and serve with your favorite taco toppings (salsa, sour cream, shredded lettuce or guacamole).
Taco Tuesday just got a bit spicier :)
I remember walking past the
Khazana Restaurant everyday after work. The smells were so intoxicating and my mouth would water everytime, much like
Pavlov's dog. Didn't help that I was pregnant at the time and this would just add more fuel to the constant Indian food cravings I had.
I still love Indian food. Curries, tandoori and other wonderfully spiced dishes. I only wish I could make Indian food as good at home as in the restaurants but alas, I can't even begin to decipher all the assorted spices that go into making all the wonderful dishes.
I found this Samosa pie and thought it turned out well. The crust was really good but not the same as the deep fried version. And the filling did very much remind me of a samosa filling however I felt it was missing a certain spice. Coriander? Fenugreek? Cardamom? Fennel powder? Cloves? Not sure. I guess I'll have to try adding something else next time and see how it turns out.
...
Vegetable Samosa Pie
makes a 9-inch pie - serveing 6
crust:
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
6-10 tbsp water
filling:
1-1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp sugar
5 medium (1-1/4 lb) boiled potatoes, peeled, quartered & slightly mashed.
salt and pepper, to taste
Mix together the flours and salt for the crust. Stir in the oil and mix. Add water, 1 tbsp at a time, until a dough forms. Shape into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan and saute onion, carrot and garlic for 5 minutes. Move the mixture to the side of the pan and add the mustard and curry powder, ginger and cumin. Toast for about 30 seconds. Stir in the peas, broth and sugar. Take off heat and combine with the potatoes. Season to desired taste with salt and pepper and fill a 9 inch pie pan. Set aside.
Roll the pie dough into a circle on a floured surface. Cover the filling, pressing down and trimming any excess dough. Cut an X into the center if the dough to allow steam escape.
Bake at 375F for 45 minutes until crust is golden. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe adapted from: Indian Samosa Casserole,Vegetarian Times, January 2010 Magazine
When life gets busy, a stir fry is a nice way to still eat healthy but doesn't take up a lot of time in the kitchen.
bon appetit!
...
chicken and sweet potato stir-fry
serves 4
2 chicken breasts, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small sweet potato, chopped
one bunch (~500 g) swiss chard, tops and stalk
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth
Stir fry chicken in a hot oiled pan or wok, until cooked. Set aside.
Add garlic, onion, sweet potato, chard stalks and stir fry until the sweet potato is tender.
Return chicken back to the pan, add swish chard tops, sesame oil and the blended cornstarch and broth. Cook until mixture thickens, several minutes.
Serve.
adapted from: Chicken Kumara Stir-fry, The Australian Women's Weekly-Chicken Healthy Eating Magazine.
You know, I would have never EVER thought that my furnace would turn on in JUNE. Yeah, JUNE! It's been a chillier week here so it's a perfect time for something like a shephard's pie.
I tend to make shepherd's pie when I have leftover mashed potatoes. What I like about it is that you can make up any mixture you choose for the filling. I often use a bunch of vegetables I want to use up from my fridge or in this case, some leftover chicken breast and mushrooms that were nearing their end.
I'd say that Shephard's pie is definitely one of those comfort foods, especially for those cold June spring days :)
shepherd's pie with chicken and mushrooms
makes 4 servings
1 onion, diced into small pieces
5-6 medium size white mushrooms, diced into small pieces
1 cooked chicken breast, diced into small pieces
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups of mashed potatoes
Place some oil in a pan and saute the onions and mushrooms. Add chicken and blend together for a minute or two.
Add chicken broth and warm mixture up. Add more if needed or cook off if too much broth was used.
Distribute the mixture into 4 ramekins equally. Top with mashed potatoes.
Heat the oven to 375F. Place the ramekins onto a cookie sheet and put into the middle rack of the oven. Cook for about 20-30 mintues.
I took a poll a while back and though I didn't have a large sample size, I came to conclude this...
Most people only really love sushi for the wasabi/soy sauce rush.
I come to think that people love sushi not so much for the actual sushi, since it's sorta bland, but more for it's gateway of the addictive wasabi/soy sauce combo.
Yes, of course, there is the whole experience of eating it that makes it super fun: the chopsticks, the stuffing of whole rolls into your mouth and the dares of who will eat the more adventureous rolls. But, the thing is, everyone that I polled that said that they loved sushi always ate it with wasabi/soy sauce. I didn't find one person who
just ate the sushi because they like the taste or texture of the rolls. Everyone-of-them dipped with wasabi and soy sauce.
So, really, the title of this post should be "Wasabi and Soy Sauce,
with a side of sushi".
But, like I said, I took a small sample size. I'm sure there are some of you that would prove me wrong. And I'm sure if I went to Japan, they would look at me like I'm crazy, For everytime I scream, eyes- crossed and with fire-breathing gasps, "
more, MORE", I'm greedily adding another huge dollop of wasabi to my soy sauce and using the sushi to merely sponge up the next dose of andrenaline rush into my mouth.
Nothing wrong with some addictions.
Happy dipping :)
...
sushi
List of ingredients:
smoked salmon
crab meat
tempura shrimp
mango
avocado
fried egg
cucumber
rice
nori wrappers
sesame seeds
wasabi
soy sauce
Roll up in any combination you like.
I love the sweet and sour pork you buy at the mall food court that is so yummy tasting and well, let's face it,
bad for you. It's like crack, especially since they let you fill this gigantic plate for chump change.
Several years ago, we had visitors from Europe and we ate at the mall for lunch one afternoon. They were totally shocked by how much food you can get for the price. MSG, gooey noodles, fried doughy covered meat, saucy dishes, you name it. They polished off their styrofoam plates and then complained about their bellies for the rest of the day. You think that they would have had their fill but they insisted on going back to the food court one more time before they had to take their long flight home. Crack, I tell you,
crack.
Though the title says sweet and sour pork, it's not like the stuff you can buy at the mall. Sorry, it's a "healthier" version. And it's pretty tasty though the meat isn't fried and covered with dough. I've also used this recipe with tofu instead of pork too and it works out well.
...
sweet & sour porkserves 4
1.5 pounds (almost 700 grams) pork tenderloin or roast, cut into small cubes
1 tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup pineapple juice, drained from below
3 tbsp tomato sauce (or ketchup - tee hee)
2 tbsp white vinegar
1-2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water
1-2 tbsp sesame or peanut oil
1-2 garlic cloves,minced
1/4 tsp ginger, finely chopped
1 red pepper, diced
8 ounce can pineapple chunks, drained(use above)
1-2 chopped green onions
Add salt and pepper to the pork and panfry it in a hot pan until browned and cooked through. Set aside.
Combine next 5 ingredients. Set aside. Mix 1 tbsp water into cornstarch and set aside.
Saute garlic, ginger and red peppers in peanut or sesame oil for a couple of minutes. Add sauce mixture, bring to a boil and add cornstarch mixture and cook until thickened. Stir in pork and pineapple. Remove from heat, serve over rice and sprinkle with green onions.
These are yummy. They look as good as they taste!
I find this dish to be very comforting to eat. The textures and the tastes all mingling make it hard for me to stop eating. I could probably eat 2-3 servings at one time and then of course burst! But I really try to limit myself and remind myself that I can have some leftovers for lunch. Then it's the countdown to lunch...
I love that they are gooey on the inside and that the tortillas are soft and chewy. I mix up whatever veggies I have on hand and use leftover chicken or beef or just beans if I want to make it vegetarian. I usually use whole wheat flour tortillas but other varieties work well too.
Enjoy!
...
enchiladas
your choice:
chicken, cooked and thinly sliced
beef, cooked and thinly sliced or use ground beef
beans of your choice (kidney, black bean, etc)
Fillings- Add enough to fill 10-12 tortillas:
1-2 onions, sliced or diced
1-2 red peppers, sliced or diced
1-2 green peppers, sliced or diced
1/2 cup to 1 cup corn
anything other filling you would like
Wrap it up in 10-12:
flour tortillas
corn tortillas
whatever type tortilla you like
Bulk Seasoning Mix:
I make a bulk amount, use a couple of teaspoons and then keep it for use afterwards.
1/2 cup cornstarch
6 oz (128 g) chili powder
1.5 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
If you like some heat, add some hot spices.
Saute up the vegies in a hot pan with some oil. Add chicken or other meat/bean of your choice and warm up. Add 2-3 tsp of seasoning and mix. Add some broth or water if needed. Allow to cool.
Put couple tablespoons of the above mixture into a a tortilla and roll it up. (Some folks like cheese within the tortilla but I omit it because it tastes great without it too). Place in oblong dish. Use up all the mixture and tortilla's.
Place 2-3 tsp of seasoning mix in 1.5 cups broth or water. (If you want to make it heartier, replace 1/2 cup water with sour cream intsead) Pour over the enchiladas. Place shredded cheese on top.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes at 350F or until all liquid is gone. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacomole if you wish.
What happens when your husband plants too many zucchini plants and lets them grow to be huge
puppies?
You get creative, is what happens! I made a dish of layered zucchini slices and meat in tomato sauce, baked with cheese on top.
But the question that begs to be answered, is this a "lasagna" or a "moussaka"?
According to the dictionary...
Lasagna is a dish made by baking such pasta with layers of sauce and fillings such as cheese or meat.
Moussaka is a dish consisting of layers of ground lamb or beef and sliced eggplant topped with a cheese sauce and baked.
So, no pasta or eggplant here. What the heck is my concoction? Maybe I should come up with my own word?
Hmmmmm...
Zusagna?
Zussaka?
This ones a toughie! Any thoughts?
...
Zucchini "Lasagna" / "Moussaka"
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
500 grams or 1 pound lean or extra lean ground beef
1 tbsp brown sugar (unless your tomato sauce or pasta sauce is slightly sweet)
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Can of tomato or pasta sauce
Medium size zucchini, cut into slices
Shredded cheese of your choice, I used cheddar.
Brown ground beef, garlic & onions. Add sugar, chili powder, paprika, salt & pepper. Stir in enough tomato sauce, reserving some to put on the top zucchini layer. Simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
Slice up zucchini into thin slices and layer into a 13-inch x 9-inch baking pan. Put a layer of meat sauce. Continue to layer zucchini slices and meat sauce. Put a last top layer of zucchini slices and add the reserved tomato sauce.
Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with Cheddar Bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.
