2 Recipes, 1 Day

Yesterday I was feeling creative and willing to make 2(or 3 recipes). My mother-in-law had shown me a recipe a few weeks ago that she'd like to try so I obliged her request and had the crew over. This recipe actually comes from an American Heart Association magazine. So its definitely good for you! On the menu: Chilled Asian Asparagus Spears, Grilled Salmon, Homemade Mac & cheese and Hawaiian rolls. All yummy, but I'll focus on the asparagus right now.

What you need:

Asparagus spears, trim the bottoms, I used about 15 spears
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons orange juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce, save on the sodium
1 teaspoon toasted seasame oil
1 teaspoon Worcestshire sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon seasame seeds for garnishing

What to do:

In a skillet large enought to house about 2 inches of water and to lay the asparagus flat, bring water to a boil and add aspatagus, arranging spears in a single layer. Cook for 2 minutes. Prepare an ice bath in a bowl- this is down simply by putting ice in a bowl with some cold water. Using tongs, plung spears into ice bath to stop cooking process. This will give your asparagus a crisp texture but still chewy. Yum. Dry the asparagus with a paper towel. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients EXCEPT for the seasame seeds. Place asparagus into a shallow dish and pour mixture over asparagus, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 24 hours. Note here**I did not read this part of the directions so I only had two hours for my dish to marinate. It was still delicious but I am sure that the flavors really get to mingle if you let them refrigerate longer. Sprinkle the sesame seeds prior to serving. My mother in law Michelle said some of the flavors that really stood out to her was the crisp orange juice and the green onion. She took some spears to go so she better have liked it!

Recipes 2 and 3

Black Bean Croquettes ended up being a great appetizer or light lunch. Delicious. I took a good portion of this recipe from the "Eating Well" website.

Ingredients:
2 15oz cans black beans, rinsed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs + 1/4 cup to roll croquettes in to coat croquettes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and coat baking sheet with cooking spray
2. Mash the black beans and cumin with a fork until no whole beans remain. Stir remaining ingredients minus 1/4 cp bread crumbs for coating and 1 tablespoon oil.
3. Create patties with bean mixture, lightly mix remaining 1/4 breadcrumbs and oil and coat lightly the bean patties.
4. Bake patties until heated throughly and breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Fresh salsa~

Yummy! My favorite accompaniment to the black bean croquettes. Definitely a "Sara Original"

Ingredients here are:

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatos,drained
2 tablespoons diced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

*additon of 1 avocado diced can be mixed in BUT sometimes people are allergic so leave them out or add them in. I added them and it was a great add.

This is easy: Just mix all the above ingredients lightly until well combined. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving so the sugar and vinegar have time to bring out the juices in the tomatos and the cilantro adds flavor to the mix. Serve it on the side of the Black Bean Croquettes or use it as a dip for chips.

I am so happy with the recipes this weekend. Watch out for more this week, with easter coming I have a few good ideas, and some shortcake cups in the drawer.....

Also promising that I will upload pics to this post and prior. Believe me I take pictures when I plate the food!

When things get crazy-make a cake.

I know, I know, I haven't made a home cooked meal since Sunday. What's my problem?? Things just always get so busy in the week and I don't slow down. I ended up not feeling well on Wednesday so I ended up not making my black bean croquettes BUT I think they'll be a nice appetizer to my Sunday meal so watch for a double post on Sunday.

Things have also been a little disconjointed because I've been baking cakes for everyone this week! Last Thursday I attempted to make a lemon ricotta cake which failed miserably for my boss' birthday. It did not come to work with me. Sunday night I made a wonderful chocolate cake for a co-workers birthday. She is a chocolate freak so it fit her well. Last night was another chocolate cake with a few tweaks and more confectioners sugar on top. This cake is for my husband's work "Bake Off". Let's get something straight however---> I HATE BAKING! I am not good at it, it requires patience and exact measurement. If you've read prior recipes in this blog you know exact measurement isn't my thing. However, if you work with a boxed cake mix, throw in your own favorite ingredients, you can come up with something pretty delicious.

I know this isn't exactly a veggie post but I wanted to keep you updated on why there's no veggie post. So there....I'll see you tomorrow!

Noteworthy

There's a few things that should be noted about this blog:

1. Almost all the recipes here have my twist on them if they aren't mine. I will always note where I found the recipe.

2. Some of these recipes are actually "Sara Originals"! and going forward I'll definitely point this out. My husband has been very encouraging in the last week for me to take credit for my recipes and continue to create my own. I'm taking his advice.

3. There are some great recipes coming- look this week for Black Bean Croquettes,Asian Asparagus and Mexican Bean Casserole.

4. Have a great time cooking, if you have a question, ask.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all the support and encouragement I have been receiving about this blog. I am so proud of it and look forward to creating new things to share.

Who Tofu's??

I came back to the blog this week with a vengeance. Tonight's recipe was all about something new. Uncharted territory in my kitchen. Tofu. Fresh Ginger Root. Really. While doing all the searching for new recipes and inspiration a couple weeks ago I came across this recipe- Ginger Noodles with Tofu. I found it in "Everyday with Rachael Ray" magazine, titled as Dinners for 10 Bucks(or less). The recipe calls for soy sauce but I didn't have any so I improvised, you'll see. Who has sesame oil hanging out in their cabinet but not soy sauce? Me, apparently.

Ingredients:
One 14 oz package, extra firm tofu, cut into 3/4in cubes and dried.(Tofu is packaged in water so be careful when you open the package)

1/4 cp soy sauce OR my way- 1/4 cp worcestershire sauce and 1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons finely grated ginger(real ginger root! Don't be intimidated)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

3/4 lb fettuccine pasta

1 1/2 tablespoon veggie oil

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1- 12oz pkg broccoli slaw(I bought an organic bag in the prepared salad area)

What to do now:

1. Season tofu with salt and pepper. In a small bowl combine the soy sauce(or my mixture), 1 tablespoon grated ginger and the sesame oil.

2. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil with the remaining grated ginger. Add pasta and cook until al dente;drain, reserve 2 cups of the pasta water.

3.In a large skillet heat the veggie oil over medium high heat. Add the seasoned tofu in a single layer and cook, until browned on 1 side about 3 minutes.(It feels like forever...)Repeat until all sides are golden browned. Transfer to plate. Add mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring occassionally, until browned.

4. Add broccoli slaw, mushrooms, ginger-soy mix(from step 1) and reserved pasta cooking water to the pasta and toss to coat. Divide pasta to bowls with broth and top with tofu.

Now, here's my honest take. It's not for me, I am not a fan of sesame oil so I pick up on that taste heavily in the recipe. However surprisingly my husband didn't find it so bad. You never know until you try it I guess.

Oh, Rach says this recipe costs a total of $9.82, I'd go less than that because the tofu I bought was 1.99, I had veggie oil, sesame oil and my mushrooms were 1.50.

One note: Ginger is GREAT for nausea.

Feeling Tropical

It was a rainy Saturday afternoon, my husband(Jay)and I were hanging out on the couch and he asked if I'd ever made coconut shrimp and said "Doesn't that sound good?". Well, I've never made coconut shrimp and in my head I was thinking that it really wasn't what I had in mind but since I had the computer next to me I decided to see what I could find on the subject. And keeping with what has become the theme of my week, I already had everything but the flake coconut. The recipe I found is something I found on allrecipes.com. Great website for finding a good recipe when you don't have one, you don't have inspiration to figure one out on your own or look for a variation on a standby.

So here's what it called for:

1 egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup beer, I had a budlight lime on hand
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups flaked coconut
24 shrimp, I used about 50 small ones because I already had them but next time I'll make sure I use the large prawn style
Oil for frying

What we're going to do:

1.In medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, beer and baking powder. Place 1/4 cup flour and coconut in two separate bowls.

2.Hold shrimp by tail, and dredge in flour, shaking off excess flour. Dip in egg/beer batter; allow excess to drip off. Roll shrimp in coconut.

3.Fry shrimp in batches: cook, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, remove shrimp to paper towels to drain.


Prior to making the shrimp I pulled out some peach preserves I had and made a sweet and delicious dipping sauce:

1/2 cp peach preserves or orange marmalade would work too

a few squirts of yellow mustard

and just a sprinkle of chili powder

Mix until smooth, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you serve the shrimp.

Oh, I made a quick rice dish too.

Make some boil in a bag rice,
chop half an onion
dice half a red bell pepper
1/2cup fresh cubed pineapple

Saute the onion and bell pepper together
pour rice in with sauteed onions and peppers and mix around to keep warm
add pineapple and cover and turn to low for 5 minutes

And voila! Easy side to coconut shrimp.

AND....I made a dessert that was sooo easy.

1 angel food cake mix
20oz crushed pineapple

Preheat oven at 350 degrees
Just mix the angel food cake and pineapple together(leave out the water that the box mix calls for)
Add some of the leftover coconut from the shrimp for extra flavor
Bake for 30 minutes in a bundt or tube pan

While this entry isn't exactly a full on veggie inspired meal my husband did make the good point that I used fruits and veggies so I should blog it!

Stuffed Peppers

This was a throw together meal with things I already had. It truned out well and I have lots of left over "stuffing" for a burrito or 4! I only had 2 green peppers so that's all I made.

Ingredients:

1 bag of brown boil in a bag rice
half can of black beans
1-11oz can of "southwestern style corn" (green giant packages it)
a few scoops of mild salsa
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

2 medium size green bell peppers

What to do:

1. Cook the boil in a bag rice according to packaging instructions. So easy!
2. Pre-heat your oven to 375, Cut of top of green peppers and core. Place peppers in small pot of water to boil until desired tenderness. You don't want them flimsy however or they wont hold the delicious stuffing! If you want a real crisp pepper forgo the boiling and put water in the bottom of the dish you will be baking the peppers in and cover.
3. Mix cooled and fluffed brown rice with the beans, southwestern corn and salsa. Mix in cheddar cheese.
4. Spoon in rice mixture to the top of pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, top with more shredded cheese if desired and/or sour cream to garnish.

This was a fairly quick meal to put together with little fuss and I won't forget to mention I drank a Budlight Lime while I waited for the peppers to bake! Last night I went through a great cookbook I've mentioned before and some Rachel Ray magazines and got some great ideas for future entries. I've had some great input from friends on what kind of recipes they'd like to see made so hopefully I can fulfill those requests soon!

Adaptation

Last night by the time I got home, cooked dinner and cleaned up I wasn't feeling like looking at the computer to blog about my nice little meal. It was an adaptation on lasagna/stuffed shells/manicotti. The ingredients are mostly leftovers from previous meals and everything is pretty interchangeable.

What you need out of the cabinet:

6 lasagna noodles, the real ones, boiled until slightly tender.
about 2 cups of ricotta cheese
approximately 1/2cp finely chopped onion
about a quarter cup diced red bell pepper
2 cups frozen spinach, thawed
shredded cheese- cheddar, mozzarella, whatever you have
a jar of spaghetti sauce

a touch of olive oil to sautee onion and red bell pepper

1. Let the lasagna noodles cool, you don't want to play "hot potato" with slippery lasagna noodles! Slice each noodle in half, creating 12 smaller noodles.

2. Heat olive oil in small skillet, sautee onion until soft and add the bell pepper until it's softened too. Take off heat to cool. Pre-heat the oven to 375

3. Mix ricotta, spinach and onion/bell pepper in a reasonably sized bowl.

4. Using a small spoon take a heap of the ricotta mixture and place it at one end of each noodle. Roll each noodle so that the ricotta mixture is in the middle, the mixture should not bulge out the sides.

5. The lasagna rolls should make one single layer in a 9x9in square pan. Sprinkle half the shredded cheese on top of rolls, pour about half the jar of spaghetti over the rolls.

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes, sprinkle desired amount of shredded cheese on top of sauce towards end of baking until just melted.

I used what I had hanging out in the crisper and freezer but some other delicious fillers would be-mushrooms, fresh basil, some finely chopped zuccuhini or any other colored bell pepper you have on hand. The red pepper gives a great sweet flavor to the filling. Sorry no picture up right now, just not into plugging in the camera right now. This dish was great with some garlic bread and a glass of beaujolis-villages (a delicious red wine) and great conversation at the table with my husband. Enjoy!

So on this Sunday I'd like to say I flaked out. I didn't get to the veggie lasagna as my plan had been a week ago. It was ambitious. I did however hit up the grocery yesterday and have some good ideas. Look for some stuffed peppers around Tuesday, the lasagna on hmmm, Thursday?? My lovely mother in law also approached me about an interesting marinated asparagus that I hope she'll let me make for her soon.

Have a healthy week, what will you be cooking?

Goodness

First, let me say, as promised I am 2 recipes down 1 to go! Woo-hoo! Next, the balsamic roasted green beans I made are FANTASTIC! I can not wait for summer and getting green beans at the farmers market. In fact as I type I eat. That's how excited I am to tell you about them. And have no fear they are so easy to make and there's really no fancy ingredient you need.

Pull this out:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, but I don't think it would hurt for just a touch more
1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
1 red bell pepper cut into strips
about 1/2 a red onion sliced

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 400. Place beans, pepper and onion on a sheet pan. Pour over the spread the oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic. Mix it a little so that the beans are coated with oil and balsamic. Roast for about 20 minutes or until they reach the desired tenderness(I like my beans to have a good crunch).

Now I found a larger recipe in none other than a mailing from Kroger but I cut down the recipe to the one above because it was just me eating tonight. Hopefully you love the green beans as much as I did. Haven't tried it but with a little more balsamic I think this mix would be great over a bed of spinach for a great salad. The pic tonight is from my phone, sorry if it's a little fuzzy, just couldn't get the camera out this evening.

If you have ideas let me know!

Spinach Dumplings

The time constraints were on me today. Would I have enough time to go to the gym, make a recipe to post and make it the finish with "The Bachelor"?

Well, I didn't make it to the gym but I did do a little yoga/pilates at home and I made this next dish, Spinach Dumplings. I made a mistake with the measurement of the main ingredient, spinach and learned a few things I will do differently next. Yes, there will be a next time.

Here's what you need to pull out of your cabinet or frig:

This is what the original recipe called for-

1 package of frozen spinach, thaw it. Make sure it's 16oz...I only used 10 oz.
1 cup of ricotta cheese
2 eggs, and 2 egg yolks- these are important binders
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups parmesan cheese

water to boil in a pot

Now, I added-

a pinch of salt
a few cranks of black pepper
about a tablespoon of dried italian seasoning

What I would add in the future-

finely chopped onion
finely chopped carrots
more italian seasoning

Here's what you do:

Squeeze excess moisture from the spinach. Add ricotta, 1 cp parmesan cheese, 1 cp flour, eggs and the yolks, stir well. Add the seasonings here too. Shape the mixture into balls and roll in the extra flour until just covered. Bring water in a small pot to a rolling boil. Drop the dumplings gently into the water one or two at a time. Cook about 1 minute or until the dumplings begin to float. *I have NEVER made dumplings of any kind and was nervous but it's so easy. Remove dumpling from water with a slotted spoon to drain water. Place in a lightly butter dish, sprinkle with remain parmesan and Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes.

I'm still trying to choose what I would serve these with. They turned out smooth with a decent flavor. And as I come to the end of this post....who with Jake choose? Vienna OR Tenley?????