Beef Lo Mein

I'm a huge fan of Chinese/Japanese food. There are a few good places around here to get good ethnic food, but they're limited. The main things to watch out for are whether the egg rolls are frozen (most are, but some are good and some are horrible) and if the sushi is fresh. There's a great little hole in the wall here in town that we really enjoy, but the place is almost empty 98% of the times we're there. It's in a run down strip mall and we are surprised it's lasted this long, but we're not questioning it.

Beef Lo Mein

Cook Time:10 min
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
12 ounces soba noodles
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces grilled beef, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
8 grilled scallions, chopped
1 cup snap peas
1/3 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves


Cook soba noodles according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil in a large skillet. Add ginger and garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef, scallions, snap peas and carrots and sauté 1 minute. Add broth and soy sauce and bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes, until carrots are soft. Drain noodles and add to sauce. Toss together with cilantro.

*add some cornstarch and water to thicken the sauce, add more garlic and onion powder, add water chestnuts, do matchstick carrots

This is a really good, basic recipe for lo mein. If you're not up for beef, you can sub tofu, chicken or shrimp. And with the extra additions at the end, you can really make this dish your own by adding any extra veggie, spice or whatever you like.

If you can't get your hands on soba noodles, you can use spaghetti in a pinch. But soba noodles are going to be thicker and I think they have a more delicate texture than spaghetti noodles. Here's the package we were able to find locally:

And here's the final product! Please disregard the spills on the countertop:

The sauce is low sodium broth and soy sauce, so while you're still taking in a good bit of sodium it's not as much as if you went with the full on salt versions. The fresh cilantro is a nice addition at the end and you can always add more vegetables to the mix. And just because you're curious, we did use chopsticks to eat this, but from what I recall they were abandoned toward the end. It's just much easier to revert to our Western roots and employ a good old fork sometimes.

Fried Green Tomatoes

There are a few foods that are quintessentially Southern. Chief among those are sweet tea, grits with butter and salt (not sugar), chicken and waffles, pimento cheese, casseroles of any shape or form, and these little golden brown delicacies right here. You can't get green tomatoes just any time of the year, so anyone with a craving for them in, say, December, will have to find refuge in the freezer case of their local grocery store or try to satiate their desires with some suitable replacement. If you find out what that replacement is, please let me know.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Green tomatoes
Cornmeal
Buttermilk or regular milk
Oil, for frying
Salt and pepper, to taste

Slice green tomatoes to approximately ½ or ¾ inch thickness. Blot with paper towels to remove any excess juice. Dredge tomato slices in milk, letting excess drip off, then dredge in cornmeal to cover. Shake off excess cornmeal and set aside until the cornmeal has absorbed the milk. Fry in hot oil for two to three minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and season to taste. Serve hot.

There are some very important rules to follow in this recipe. First of all is the buttermilk versus regular milk debate. I've done both and the buttermilk holds the cornmeal much more effectively. Regular milk also does well, but there is a noticeable difference. If anything, the coating might be a little more crispy with the buttermilk since it will hold more cornmeal. Second is how thick to slice the tomatoes. I would definitely go with the 1/2 inch measurement at least. You don't want a floppy tomato slice. It should be firm. Additionally, blotting the tomatoes lets you control the amount of moisture in the slices. Too much moisture and they'll be soggy.

On that note, the other important thing to note is that when all of the slices are dredged and waiting to go into the fryer, make sure the cornmeal has been absorbed by the milk. This is important because if you were to dredge the slices and immediately drop them in the hot oil, the cornmeal would fall off in the oil and start to burn in the pan, thereby burning your tomatoes. Not good eats. But if you follow all of the directions, you should come up with something like this:

Then you can go one step better and add toasted bread and bacon:




Sorry, you'll have to give me just a minute to recover after seeing those pictures. They just look. So. Good.

Okay, I'm better. And yes, that's a pickle on the plate. We like our pickles fried in the South, too, but that's another recipe for another time.

Hot Chicken Casserole

This recipe is truly an oldie, but a goodie. It belongs to the Husband's side of the family and he's been eating it for years. It's absolutely the definition of comfort food and has really become a treat for us since we're eating healthier these days.

Hot Chicken Casserole

2 chicken breasts
1 small package of spaghetti
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped onion
½ stick of butter
¾ pound Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 can Rotel
½ t salt
½ t pepper

Boil the chicken breasts until done. Shred the chicken. Using the same water, cook a small package of spaghetti noodles. Let it cook down but leave it a bit soupy.

Brown the chopped bell pepper and onion in butter in a medium skillet. Mix pepper and onions, noodles in remaining liquid, shredded chicken, Velveeta, Rotel, salt and pepper in a large casserole dish.

Cook at 200˚ for 2 hours covered, stirring occasionally.

Who doesn't love a dish smothered in Velveeta? No one I know. If you don't cook with Velveeta in the South, people look at you funny. Now I sure don't use ¾ lb of the stuff as the recipe suggests, but I can assure you the cheese level is sufficient. This recipe also makes a ton - I cook it in a 2 ½ quart baking dish and it comes to the very top. Leftovers heat very well and last for a few days, so you have to not mind eating the same thing over and over again for a short time. Freezing does weird things to the texture of pasta in my experience, so I don't know if I would do that. It's also important to stir it about every 20-30 minutes so the top doesn't get crunchy and everything melts well.

Yes, I forgot to wipe the plate before I photographed it. I once had a kitchen manager who insisted all plates went out clean and would personally inspect them. I guess it makes for a good impression. And yes, this is a fairly monochromatic dish thanks to all that cheese. You can see some of the green peppers and the tomatoes from the Rotel, but everything else is the color of Velveeta. Again with the onion, I don't use a whole one. I'm good on about two or three slices, finely diced. I do use a whole green pepper, though, but it's going to be on the smaller side than some of those behemoth peppers. As for the cooking time, I have been known to cheat and raise the temperature to 300˚ and cook for only one hour. It still turns out fine. Just remember to stir it occasionally. So there you have it - a down home, creamy, cheesy, comfort food. Should you attempt to pass this off as a family recipe of your very own, I won't take offense.

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

I want to start off by saying I found this recipe in Cooking Light. I note that point specifically because once you take a bite of this moist, chocolaty bread, you will not at all believe it is light. Everything in moderation and all that jazz, but this is an outstanding recipe and a great way to use up some over ripe bananas.

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Yield: 16 slices

2 C all purpose flour
½ t salt
1 C sugar
1 ½ C mashed bananas (about 3)
½ C egg substitute (2 eggs)
1/3 C plain low-fat yogurt
½ C semi-sweet chocolate chips
¾ t baking soda
¼ C butter, softened
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350˚. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add banana, egg and yogurt; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed until just moist.

Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave safe bowl. Microwave at high for one minute until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup of batter to chocolate and stir until combined. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter into an 8 ½ x 4 ½ greased loaf pan. Swirl batters together using a knife. Bake at 350˚ for one hour or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

Calories: 183 (23% from fat)
Fat: 4.7g (sat 2.8g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.2g)
Protein: 3.1g
Carbohydrate: 33.4g
Fiber: 1.3g
Cholesterol:
8mg
Iron: 1.1mg
Sodium: 180mg
Calcium: 18mg

This is so incredibly delicious. The first time I made it, I literally wanted to eat the entire loaf hot out of the oven. The mouth watering combination of chocolate and bananas with the texture of hot, fresh bread will quite literally send your senses into gastronomic overdrive. This bread keeps pretty well for a few days, but honestly, there is no sensible reason for it to sit more than three or four days before it's gobbled right up. It also freezes well, too, if wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.




This bread is so versatile and can be eaten as a snack, a light dessert or my favorite, breakfast! Toast two pieces in the oven until slightly browned and the ends crunchy (the slices would likely fall apart in a traditional toaster oven, but be my guest), and then - wait for it! - spread a little peanut butter on each slice. Ring, ring! Hello, who is it? It's your stomach and brain calling, and they have just simultaneously passed out from the lip smacking fusion of the holy trinity of taste and deliciousness. The Cajun holy trinity has nothing on this combo.

A few notes. With the bananas, it's really important that they be very ripe simply because it makes them easier to mash, plus they are much sweeter when they're more ripe. Some good black speckling on the peel is a fine indicator. I sliced them up into chunks and use a pastry cutter to do the mashing, or you could also use a blender or a fork. But they have to be pretty well mashed for this to work. A few little solids here and there won't cause a problem. Also, instead of the plain low-fat yogurt, I use low-fat vanilla yogurt just to add that little extra pop. Plus, I use real eggs and not the egg substitute. You could also sub in some whole wheat flour, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a smidgen of vanilla extract, etc. Whatever your little heart desires.

Empanadas

You know those Totinos Pizza Rolls in the freezer section at the store? The little crispy pillows of overly processed dried out "meat" that may or may not actually be pepperoni, chemically enhanced cheese that cooks to a blob consistency and a sauce with tomato-like qualities that super heats to temperatures only found during NASA missions to the center of our solar system? Yeah, those things. Well, after making these Empanadas I don't see how I could ever purchase anything like that ever again. Not that I was making it a habit to purchase them before, but now I really won't. So there, Totinos.

Empanadas

Makes 36 servings

Ingredients
8 ounces skinned and boned chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 small onion, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 green bell pepper, minced
1/2 tomato, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 pimento-stuffed green olives, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro or parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Vegetable cooking spray
1 tablespoon dry breadcrumbs (optional)
36 (3-inch) square wonton wrappers
Salt to taste


Cook first 13 ingredients in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat 5 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring often.

Process chicken mixture in a food processor until coarsely chopped. (Mixture should be fairly dry. Add 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs if mixture is wet.) Cover and chill 30 minutes.

Arrange 1 wonton wrapper on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush edges of wrapper with water. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in center of wrapper. Fold dough over filling, pressing edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers and chicken mixture. Arrange empanadas on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat empanadas with cooking spray.

Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until golden brown, turning after 6 minutes. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

This recipe uses wonton wrappers - my favorite! I've used them so many different ways and I know there are other uses out there just dying to be discovered. These would be great for appetizers or for kids coming home from school and wanting a treat. You know exactly what is in them and while they're not exactly health food, they're still not store-bought processed unknowns. And I'm not bashing store-bought processed food, but I think this is a better alternative.

The mixture was a little moist when I took it out of the food processor and I didn't use the bread crumbs - they're optional anyway. I also halved this recipe and it made fewer than half of the full recipe quantity but I may have overstuffed the empanadas a bit. It didn't seem to affect the final product. The only change I made was not to add olives since I didn't have any. I did add raisins and I couldn't taste them at all, but you have to think that a tablespoon of raisins is maybe five or six. Maybe seven. I don't know, but they didn't shine through.

Thanks to the world's most imprecise oven, I once again cooked these little things a smidgen too long and the edges were extra browned. They still tasted fine. And speaking of taste, they had a distinct sweetness to them. No, I don't think that was the raisin coming through, but it could have been the sauteing of the vegetables at the beginning which brought out some of the natural sugars. I don't know. But they were good.

They do need time to cool, but since there is no sauce then that time is dramatically reduced. They would probably be good with a dipping sauce of some kind, but off the top of my head I can't think of one. I would steer clear from any kind of Ranch dressing, but I bet there are other options out there that would work well.

Grilled Shrimp with Bacon and Jalapenos

This is a party recipe. Something you make when you have a lot of people coming over, space on the grill and lights strung up all over your porch. Cinco de Mayo, perhaps? The jalapeno can be increased or decreased depending on the heat you desire, but truth be told these peppers aren't blazing hot like some people think. Or maybe I'm just accustomed to heat and everyone else is a big wuss. The world may never know.

Grilled Shrimp with Bacon and Jalapenos

16 thick, round wooden picks
16 unpeeled large fresh shrimp
2 jalapeno peppers
2 T olive oil
¼ t salt
1/8 t black pepper
8 thick-cut bacon slices, halved

Soak round wooden picks in water 30 minutes. Peel shrimp, leaving tails on; devein if desired. Set shrimp aside. Cut each pepper lengthwise into 8 pieces; remove seeds. Toss together shrimp, jalapeno peppers, olive oil, salt and black pepper in a large bowl. Set aside.

Microwave bacon slices on high 30 seconds. Wrap one bacon slice half around one shrimp and one piece of jalapeno pepper. Secure with a wooden pick.

Repeat procedure with remaining bacon slices, shrimp and jalapenos. Grill without grill lid over medium-high heat (350-400 degrees) for four to six minutes, or until shrimp turn pink, turning once.

I used regular Oscar Meyer bacon for this recipe but I think it would be fabulous with some of that peppered, thick cut bacon. I like my bacon a little more crisp than the average person but I didn't take into account that the bacon needed to be more pliable in order to wrap it around the shrimp, and would continue to cook once it's in the oven. Therefore I overcooked a few pieces in the microwave and - bummer! - had to eat them because they wouldn't wrap. Poor me.

Also, the shrimp I used were the 41-60 size which ended up being a little small. I would go with larger shrimp next time. As far as my cooking method, I didn't cook these on a grill because I just didn't want to fire the grill up. No other reason. So I did these in the oven under the broiler and they tasted fine.

Additionally, I think fresh shrimp are key. I used frozen cooked shrimp and I bet the fresh ones would possibly end up a little less rubbery. Maybe a marinade for the shrimp, too? Look at me, I'm totally dissecting the entire recipe. It's not that I didn't like them - I did - but there's always room for improvement.

They photographed really well unlike the evil soup the Husband and I made, so you know they're good eats. My slices of jalapeno were a little larger than the recipe indicated because I like the extra heat, but again, you can do them however you like. And I promise I won't call you a wuss.

Dinner Party!

Wow, I have come a long way. I'm not necessarily talking about the beginning of my marriage when I flat out could not cook, but even since the beginning of this blog. I've tackled so many cooking methods and ingredients, successes and failures, and I'm no worse for wear. I guess that confidence kind of got to me. And so it happened about a month ago when the Husband had an open weekend where he didn't have to work and we were left with deciding what to do. We talked about taking a little two-day trip somewhere, we talked about driving to a basketball game, and then the Husband said a few little words that lit a fire in me.

"How about hosting a dinner party?"

At first it sounded nice, but a little crazy. I had been talking about hosting a dinner party for a few years. But every time I got the opportunity, I either let it pass with no action or something else came up (much to my relief) and I just put the thought in the back of my mind. Truth be told, I was afraid. Afraid, she says! What's the big deal - you invite your good friends over, cook a great meal, throw in some delightful conversation, and the evening is a resounding success. The part that I was afraid of was the "cook a great meal" part. I couldn't even cook for myself and the Husband some nights - how was I going to manage cooking for eight other people and make sure it tasted good?

But then that confidence crept up inside me again. I knew I cooked some amazing dishes for this blog, and I was starting to get more comfortable with my abilities and pushing any limitations to see if I could get to the next level. A dinner party was, in effect, the next level. I knew what had to be done. I emailed our friends and invited them over before I had a chance to chicken out. I was locked in! I had to do it! Maybe I should have just done that sooner, but this timing was going to work out well. The Husband and I tossed around a lot of ideas for the meal and we finally came up with a great menu:

Potato and Ricotta Gnocchi with Bolognese Sauce
Mixed Greens Salad
Cauliflower Casserole
Roasted Zucchini
Chocolate Mousse

The gnocchi was an all around hit every time I made it, so that was a good choice. Everyone likes pasta and this gave everyone the chance to try something most of them probably hadn't eaten before. The Cauliflower Casserole came from my Aunt, who passed it along to my Dad, who cooked it as part of Christmas dinner last year. The Husband, my brother and I all turned our noses up at the name, confident that nary a bite would pass our lips. But, being the grownups we are, we tried it. And we all really liked it! And so did our guests, as evidenced by one of our friends literally scraping the bottom of the baking dish with the serving spoon. The Roasted Zucchini came from Southern Living and was also a hit - I only wish I had made more. And finally, the Chocolate Mousse came from a Betty Crocker Cookbook that my Dad gave me and the Husband for our first Christmas.

We did some major prep work for this event. I even wrote out a to-do list that started three days in advance of the party, from grocery shopping to cutting up veggies the night before to starting the gnocchi dough that morning. I was ready. For the gnocchi, I knew I would have to at least double the recipe I was used to making. There were going to be ten of us and a lot of big appetites. I eventually tripled the dough and the sauce just to make sure I had enough, and as it turned out that was way too much. I would have been okay with doubling it. I made the dough that morning and let it rest, as directed. About two hours before guests were to arrive I pulled out the dough to get it rolled out and cut into the little gnocchi pillows. But when I scooped the dough onto the floured cutting board, my blood ran cold. The dough was way too wet, gooey almost, and completely unable to be shaped. My first thought was one of panic, but thankfully my next thought was somewhat more rational. I grabbed the flour and added more to my dough, stirring away. Still runny. More flour. Getting better. More flour. Finally I had some dough I could work with. Crisis averted, but still something I had not planned.

When we moved from the salad course to the main course, we took a little longer than anticipated to actually get the gnocchi cooked and plated and on the table, but our guests were very gracious and kept the conversation flowing while the Husband and I worked our tails off in the kitchen trying to get the gnocchi wrapped up. All in all, we had a wonderful time with our wonderful friends, and all were very complimentary. One friend, in fact, really put a smile on my face when she said, "I didn't realize you could cook like this!" Neither did I. But now I do.

Cauliflower Casserole

Ingredients
1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets
1 8-oz carton sour cream
1 C shredded sharp cheddar
1/2 C crushed corn flakes cereal
1/4 C finely chopped green pepper
1/4 C finely chopped sweet red pepper
1 t salt
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
Paprika to taste

Place cauliflower florets into saucepan with a small amount of water; cover and cook for five minute and drain.

Combine the cauliflower, sour cream, cheddar cheese, corn flakes, peppers and salt. Transfer to a greased 2-quart baking dish.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and paprika. Bake uncovered in 325° oven for 30-35 minutes, stirring often.

I think the main reason this recipe turned out so well, despite the cauliflower, is because of all the cheese and sour cream. It's probably not all that healthy, but it's a show stopper. When steaming the cauliflower, I used an actual steamer as opposed to boiling it as stated in the recipe. I also could have used a larger head of cauliflower because once everything was dumped into the baking dish, it looked a little sparse. Our guests confirmed that after the dish was scraped clean and I swear I saw some pleading eyes begging for more.

Finally, the chocolate mousse. A little goes a long way with this item. It's so rich and delicious and just the perfect ending to a great meal. I served it in wine glasses and I meant to rim the glasses with sugar but I totally forgot. It still turned out perfect.

After our guests left and the kitchen had been totally covered up with dirty dishes and hand towels and empty wine bottles (we're a drinkin' bunch), I just felt such a sense of accomplishment and relief. We did it, and we did it up nice. Our friends were happy and full and I pushed another limitation and did something I didn't think I could do. Excuse the cliche, but I kind of felt like a kitchen rock star. It felt good.

Poblano-Pepper Jack Corn Bread

Cornbread is such a southern staple. It is perfect all by itself, or you can pair it with a big bowl of vegetable soup or some soup beans and you have what could possibly be the perfect meal. Or if you're like the Husband, you can crumble a few wedges up in a glass of cold milk. Not really my thing, but he loves it. This recipe says cornbread in the title, but the end result is more like corn cake. Kind of spongy, maybe even a little tiny bit sweet, but very good.

Poblano-Pepper Jack Cornbread

ACTIVE: 25 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 45 MIN
Ingredients
1 medium poblano chile
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, 6 tablespoons melted
1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup thawed frozen corn kernels
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 large eggs, beaten
4 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (1 1/4 cups)

Light a grill or preheat the broiler. Grill or broil the poblano, turning frequently, until charred all over, about 4 minutes. Transfer the chile to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 15 minutes. Peel and seed the poblano and cut it into 1/4-inch dice.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly butter an 8-inch round cake pan. In a medium skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the poblano and corn and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the 6 tablespoons of melted butter along with the milk and eggs and whisk until just incorporated. Fold in the poblano-corn mixture and 3/4 cup of the pepper jack cheese. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top.

Bake the cornbread for 35 minutes, until the top is light golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the cornbread to a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cornbread, turn it out onto the rack and let cool slightly. Cut the cornbread into wedges and serve warm.

One of the recipes the Husband graciously bestowed upon me during our marriage was his cornbread recipe. I don't know exactly who in the family was responsible for it, but it's a simple, solid recipe with four basic ingredients. This is all to say that I'm not used to a cornbread recipe taking as many ingredients as this one does. But, they're all important. The corn gives it some sweet (plus the little bit of sugar), the poblano and pepper jack cheese give it some heat, and all that butter just brings it home.

This was more of a cakey texture than regular dense cornbread. I was also unfamiliar with baking cornbread in a vessel other than a cast iron skillet, but the cake pan worked well. The batter filled the cake pan to the top and I was a smidge concerned that it would overflow in the oven, but that didn't come close to happening.

One thing I changed was that I reserved the shredded pepper jack that you're supposed to put on top of the batter before it goes in the oven. In my experience, super heating cheese like that in the oven results in an inedible mess that first melts and then solidifies under the heat. So I held off until the cornbread was done, then I sprinkled the shredded pepper jack on top , put it back under the broiler for about 30 seconds, and then took it out.

This was really good! The corn and diced poblano were a nice punch with each bite and the cheese that had been mixed into the batter was melted and stringy. Not your grandmother's cornbread, that's for sure. But this would go very well with some chili or even vegetable soup.

Sort of food related

I found a cool website http://www.wordle.net/ that lets you make a tag cloud (visual representation) of a blog. It picks up the most commonly used words, which are represented below as the largest words, and the smaller words are the ones used less often. It's pretty interesting to see that the word "cheese" gets a lot of mileage in this blog.