Best. Pancakes. Ever.

A few years ago I heard Oprah say that she had a fundamental belief that televisions should not be in the bedroom--so I took mine out and tried to live with it like that for awhile.  I figured if Oprah said it was a good idea, it had to be.  I mean, it's OPRAH after all.

I hated every second of the television free bedroom and we put the television back in.  

Since this little experience, I've challenged myself to see discover what fundamental beliefs I have around our house.  

I totally have one in the kitchen.  I have a fundamental belief that you should never eat anything pre-mixed, or boxed.  Never. Ever. Ever.  I mean it.

Why?  Well, a few reasons.  1) It's unhealthy; 2) It's processed and includes things you don't need; 3) It's much more expensive; 4) It doesn't save much time.  Honestly, my list could go on.  Bottom line is: we don't do boxed ANYTHING.  Ever.  

One of The Boss' favorite things is pancakes.  When I say he loves them, I mean, he L.O.V.E, loves them.  Given my fundamental belief that nothing should ever come in a box--I have forbidden the pancake mixes to be brought into our home and I've been on an almost-weekly-attempt to fine-tune my pancake recipe.  Newsflash: I HAVE DONE IT!  Bisquick has nothing on me now.  

Seriously, this mornings pancakes were tadiefor.  Here's the recipe-enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 cup whole milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)

Directions:

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.  Make a well in the center and pour in the milk and egg.  Mix.  Add the melted butter and stir until smooth.

Heat a oiled griddle (cast iron is best) and scoop the batter on the griddle.  Flip when bubbles start to form.  

Tortilla Pizza Poppers

Happy 4th of July!  It's bazillion degrees out and the Thompsons are enjoying a day of rest and relaxation.  We tried to hold off on the grub-eating until the BBQ hour--but holding out all day is hard--we were STARVING.  We wanted something tasty and easy--enter, Tortilla Pizza Poppers.

They were the perfect hold-us-over until grill time; and with such success on this little idea; they'll certainly make their way into a party menu soon! 

Tortilla Pizza Poppers

Tortilla Pizza Poppers

Ingredients:

Soft tortilla (or burrito) shells

Pepperoni 

Pizza/Pasta sauce

Mozzarella cheese 

Fresh basil-finely chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Using a regular-size muffin pan, lightly coat it with nonstick spray. You're going to stuff the tortilla shells into these--so you want them to slide out easily.  Lay the tortilla shell on the counter--using a large cup/bowl (with the lip a little larger than the size of the muffin tin hole) and use it to cut out circles.  I found just laying it on top the shell, applying pressure, and rocking it back and forth a few times worked.  I managed 2 circles per tortilla shell.

Once you have the tortilla shells cut, place them in the muffin tins--one per hole.  Put about 1-2 Tbs. of pasta sauce in each muffin slot.  (I use one, this depends on your taste!)  Layer 1-2 pepperoni's per muffin, and top with cheese, finely chopped fresh basil and salt/pepper. 

Place in oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes--or until cheese is melted, slightly golden and edges are starting to crisp/brown.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes.  Gently slide out with spoon--and enjoy! 

The Boss loved these, as did I--and they've held us over until the grill heats up.  YA!

Pan-Fried Tilapia and Summer Saute

Holy moly, summer is upon us!  Is it hot enough for you?  The temperature has been rising and we have been sweating our little bums off on the NJ shore.  Thank goodness for air conditioner.

What's good about summer?  Meh, not much in my book.  The ONE thing I look forward to during this time of year is the food--fresh fruit and veggies galore!

We have been munching down on all sorts of healthy goodness around our house this summer and thinking of creative ways to keep it fresh has been a good challenge.  I mean, how many ways can you REALLY make squash?  Oh, and did I mention that the dear husband hates squash?  (who hates squash?!)  To add yet another challenge to the mix, we're also on this whole "see how much we can save in life" kick, which means our meals have to be both a) healthy; and b) cheap.

This week, while shopping, I had a TON of coupons for free and/or low-cost veggies and there was a great sale on fresh fish, so I stocked up.   Armed with with both, I had some serious cooking to do.  Ya.

The outcome was a great meal that prompted a "I still don't understand why you didn't go go culinary school" from the husband.  I think that means he liked it. :)

Pan Fried Tilapia and Summer Saute


Ingredients: 
2 tilapia filets-fresh
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup bread crumbs (any kind)
2 eggs
2 ears of corn, kernels removed
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 squash sliced into thin slices
1 zucchini sliced into thin slices
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs butter
1 tsp old bay seasoning

Directions:

In a large saute pan, bring 2 Tbs olive oil to heat.  Add garlic and stir for about 1 minute.  Add butter and let it melt.  Add zucchini and let simmer for about 1 minute.  Add corn and squash, cook for about 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes and old bay seasoning.  Let simmer for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and let rest.

In a large saute pan, bring 2 Tbs olive oil to heat.  In a small bowl, whisk eggs together.  Place bread crumbs on plate.  Dredge tilapia through egg mixture and roll in bread crumbs-transfer immediately to pan to cook.  Cook on each side until golden and crispy.  Flip only once.

Serve with light scattering of scallions atop both stir fry and tilapia--and add sour cream for a bit of bite!  

Cost Breakdown: $2.75 per person
Calories:  Approximately 320 per person.

Balsamic Dijon Salmon En Papillote

Remember when I said my favorite things to cook cycle?  Well, right now, my cooking radar has landed directly on salmon.

Can I just tell you how much I love salmon?!

Since I'm a big fan of the easy, breezy, Thursday cooking-I turned to En Papillote, which is about the easiest way you could cook, and fancy-which makes it doubly cool.

Armed with my salmon (and my husbands swai) I mixed up the following glaze, en-papilloted our fish in individual papillotes, set them in the oven, and 30 minutes later, voila!  Dinner is served.  Mighty darn tasty too.

Balsamic Dijon Salmon En Papillote

Ingredients:
2 filets of fish, approx. 6 oz each (I used salmon and swai, but you can substitute just about any fish.)
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tbs dijon mustard
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar.

Directions:

Set oven to 350.  In small bowl, whisk soy sauce, dijon mustard and balsamic together.  Lay out parchment paper, set one piece of fish in the center, drizzle 1/2 of mixture over fish.  "Wrap" the fish (click here for demonstration).  Set fish on baking sheet and spray with cooking spray, as not to burn the paper.  Cook for approximately 20 minutes-or until fish is done.  You'll know its done when it flakes away easy with a fork.

Serve along side your favorite rice dish!

Balsamic Honey Pork with Ginger Jasmine Rice

Just a few weeks ago, my local shoprite had an amazing deal on meat.  5 for $20.  For that, you could choose any combination of ground beef, pork, steak, chicken.  When the average price of hamburger around here is over $6/package, this was too good of a deal to pass up.  So we stocked up.  For $20, I scored about 10 meals worth of food.  I also snagged $5 in "backbucks" to use on my next purchase. 

Now, I know I may not have NEEDED that much meat at the time, but c'mon, if you can prepare a meal for your family, with meat, for about $2 a night--that's worth the jam-packed-refrigerator, right?!

With pork in hand this week, I rummaged through my refrigerator and found some fresh ginger, jasmine rice, red bell peppers and honey.  I also had some white balsamic vinegar dressing that just needs to leave my house since there is a sale on salad dressing next week ($.20 a 22 oz bottle) and I plan to stock up.

I decided to marinate the pork overnight, grill and do a rice side.  Outcome-divided.  The hubbs doesn't so much enjoy dressings of any kind, I love them.  While he might not SAY he liked it (he's stubborn that way), he sure gobbled it up quickly.  The meal is quick and easy-under 30 minutes and around 370 calories.  (400 if you want to be really safe)

Balsamic Honey Pork with Ginger Jasmine Rice

Ingredients:

2 Boneless pork chopes, marinated overnight, in 2 cups dressing and 1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup white onion

1/2 cup red pepper, finely chopped

1/2 fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 tsp. garlic salt

1 TBS olive oil

Jasmine Rice prepared as directed

Directions:

Heat indoor grill up.  Remove pork from refrigerator and marinade, let rest about 10 minutes before placing on hot grill.  While pork is down on one side, in a large skillet, bring olive oil to heat.  Add onion and peppers, saute until onions are translucent.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and mix. Add ginger, stir once more and remove from heat.  Mix onion/pepper mixture into prepared jasmine rice. Set aside with lid covering to let flavors marry together.

Flip pork, let cook until 145-160 degrees on thermometer.  (Slightly pink, but mostly brown on inside.)  Remove from heat, let rest 2 minutes and serve.  

Omaha Steaks, you have the BEST chicken breasts!

Did you know that Omaha Steak company also sells chicken breast?!  No?  Neither did we!  That is, until I found a super-stellar-savings-deal on meat that just couldn't be passed up.

For just $39.99 we ordered Filets (2), Top Sirloin (2), Chicken Breast (4), Steak Burgers (10), Beef Franks (4) and Stuffed Potatoes (4).   That's 11 meals for us, for under $40.  Can you say, "steal?"

You can find that deal here.  

Armed with my super-cheap, chicken, I decided to see what goodness it had in store for us.  Admittedly, I was a bit hesitant--a few friends of mine didn't rave over their Omaha purchases--but, we bought it, and were committed.

As many of you know, I also planted my first garden this winter--and have been babysitting herbs for the better part of 6 months.  Now that they're growing like mad, it was time to use some of my precious babies.  Chicken and rice it was.

What started as a skeptical dinner, quickly turned into one of the best dinners we've had, literally.  For about 350 calories, we sat back, satisfied and looking forward to the next package of meat we tear into.

Spicy Chicken Breast w/ Jasmine Veggies

Ingredients:
2 Chicken breasts (4 oz each), brined in simple garlic brine for 12 hours
1/2 white cooking onion chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly minced
2 TBS olive oil
1/2 red pepper, chopped lengthwise
1 tsp season salt plus sprinkle
1 tsp garlic salt plus sprinkle
1 tsp paprika plus sprinkle
Sprinkle of cheese
2 tsp finely chopped parsley, oregano

Jasmine Rice, cooked to directions.

Directions:

Heat indoor grill (or outdoor).  Remove chicken from brine and set aside on counter, let rest about 15 minutes.

In a medium saute pan, bring olive oil to heat.  Stir in garlic and cook down for about 1 minute.  Add onions and cook over medium flame until onions have "sweat" and peppers are fork-tender.  Add season salt, garlic, paprika and stir for about 1 more minute.

Add chicken to grill, let cook on one side for about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle side up with garlic salt, paprika and season salt.  Turn and cook until done.  DO NOT cut into the meat to check doneness.  Use a meat thermometer, it'll save the moistness!

Remove from grill and let rest 1 minute.  Serve along side 1/4 cup jasmine rice, topped with onions and peppers, with a sprinkle of cheese.

Chicken with Artichoke Hearts, Capers and Angel Hair Pasta

More often than not, I get to trying new things and love them, then decide to pair them in a round-two recipe with something else from that region that I don't use often.  Such was the case tonight with my capers from Monday.

The caper love from Monday evening got me thinking about the Mediterranean, and what other things I love from that region.  Artichoke!  Don't you just LOVE artichokes?  I do.  Steamed, with butter, or just the hearts, they're pretty amazing little things.  Deceiving since their appearance is so prickly.  

So tonight I paired those two things and whattda know, they make an amazing dinner with chicken and angel hair pasta!  

Chicken with Artichoke Hearts, Capers and Angel Hair Pasta

Ingredients: (note, this recipe is for 2, you can double for more!)

2 chicken cutlets, medium size

1 Tbs capers

1 cup chicken broth

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and halved

1 Tbs corn starch, mixed with water until thin and runny

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

4 oz. angel hair pasta, cooked al-dente

1 Tbs butter

1 tsp garlic salt

Parsley-finely chopped

salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium frying pan, bring EVOO to heat.  Add chicken, cook on each side until slightly golden, about 3 minutes per side.  Remove from heat, set aside.  Drain oil.  Pour chicken broth into pan, heat until boiling, let simmer until reduced by about 1/2.  During this process, add a bit of corn starch mixture, gradually, by the tsp. until a "little thick."  (just until it seems less like a broth, but not a creamy texture)  Add Artichokes, capers and chicken.  Stir and let simmer for about 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat, add butter and stir until melted.  Add garlic salt, stir.  Serve over pasta, ladle sauce over both chicken and pasta.  Sprinkle parsley over top.  

Two-Way Tilapia

Plain Tilapia w/ Garlic

Sometimes, even if you're the BEST cook, a household is divided.  That's us.  We're divided during March Maddness (the hubbs is cheering on some school named Richmond, while I'm following an ACTUAL school from Kansas) and we're divided on fish.

I think it's fun to add stuff, seasoning, sauce to fish, while my food-purest husband prefers his fish lame-o, bland and baked.  I swear, if I fed him baked fish, plain potatoes and salad without dressing every night, he'd be happy as can be.  But, we all know that's not me to people-please---and that'd be boring.

So tonight, armed with two tilapia filets and a plan for two meals, I created Tilapia, two-ways, to appeal to a diverse family.

With that said, let me arm you with this: the "Dill Way" is the BEST WAY.  Seriously, I'm not a big fish fan, and I'd eat this every night.  I think its a good introduction for those who aren't big fish eaters or kids. (although,  I haven't tested the kid-theory.)

Dill Tilapia

Two-Way Tilapia

Ingredients:
2 Tilapia filets (we use fresh, never frozen)
1 Tbs. miracle whip (or you could use mayonnaise)
2 tsp fresh dill, chopped finely. (or 1 tsp dry as it's stronger)
1/2 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
Pinch of garlic salt
salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  On a large, rimmed baking sheet, coat with cooking spray and lay filets down.  On one filet (plain) sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic salt.  On the other filet, spread miracle whip evenly over filet, sprinkle dill, garlic salt, salt, pepper on top.

Bake until opaque throughout--about 10 minutes, depending on size of fish.


Serve with lemon wedges!

Sausage Penne Ragout

Yes, yes, yes, I've been slacking.  I apologize.  I have been cooking (ish) but nothing new the past few days since I've been swamped with work and life and company.

Do not dispair!  I'm still alive, still creating and still blogging.  (whew, right!  whatever would you do without my blog?!)

On my "cheat" nights where I don't do any cooking, we have a meal from a bag (gasp!) that we adore.  I won't name brands here, but its a similar dish and we love it.  I've had it on the "create your own" back-burner for awhile, so tonight it was time to mix it up!

My version turned out different than expected, but good.  Although, a bit more kick would have been good.  Next time I'll add a tad more of the hot sausage!

The great thing about this recipe is you can alter it to your families taste--like sweet vs. spicy, not a problem, just use all sweet sausage.  Have dairy issues, leave it out.  For families who have different tastes, you can even split and make two dishes.  Diversity at its best!

Sausage Penne Ragout


Ingredients:
2-3 cups penne, cooked a little LESS than al dente. (you'll want to cook longer in the sauce, and the noodles should FINISH cooking in that, so watch close, you don't want soggy noodles!)
1 can tomato sauce
1 package italian sausage (I used 1/2 hot and 1/2 sweet).  You can crumble or cube--or both, which I did.
1 cooking onion, chopped, larger pieces
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbs italian seasoning
fresh chopped parsley and sour cream to taste

Directions:


Cook pasta per directions--but less than al dente.  Keep an eye on this--it can happen fast!  In a large pan, over medium heat, brown sausage until cooked through.  Add onions and garlic, simmer for about 1-2 minutes.  If there isn't a lot of moisture in the pan, you can add 1 tbs EVOO to help onions cook down.  Add tomato sauce and stir well.  Add pasta and mix.  bring to a slow simmer, add cream and italian seasoning, stir.  Cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.  Serve w/ sour cream!

Maple Glazed Pork Kebabs

Man-oh-man, does pork and pineapple go good together or what?!  Yup, sure does...at least in our house.  After the rave reviews from the hubbs on the last combination, I decided to mix things up a bit and kebab it our place tonight.  Ya know, always keepin' it fresh around here.

I also found these cute (a fruit can be cute, right?!) heirloom tomatoes at the market the other day that basically asked to be skewered.

While I'm on the subject of markets--if you're in NJ and haven't made the trip to Sickles yet--put down the computer, grab your keys and drive there, immediately.  This place is all sorts of amazing.  Although a tad overpriced, this place is the original whole foods--full of healthy, yummy goodness and a cheese section to die for.  I feel very much like Martha Stewart in this place--and always find the most delightful food.  Go, now!

Ok, back to the real reason you're here--the recipe!

Maple Glazed Pork Kebab

Ingredients:

1 pork loin
1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
1 container of heirloom tomatoes or grape tomatoes
6 kebab sticks, soaked in water, either over night, or at least 30 minutes prior to cooking
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp whole grain dijon mustard
2 tsp soy sauce
1 garlic, minced

Directions:

Turn the broiler on in the oven--mine is set to 525 by default, and that's a good temperature.

Cube the pork into even pieces.  Skewer the pork, tomatoes and pineapple on each stick, alternating.  Lay sticks on baking pan, width-wise, so that the ends of each skewer are resting on the side of the pan, elevating it a bit.  (this will help cook the pork and ensure there is no clinging to the pan)

In a small bowl, whisk the syrup, mustard, soy sauce and garlic.  Check taste--you can add more syrup or soy to your liking.  Drizzle over the kebabs.  Stick under the broiler and cook until crispy and meat is cooked through.

Served great with jasmine rice!

Easy, Breezy, Thursday: Teriyaki Burgers and Bok Choy

I hate to speak to soon, but I think spring officially hit the jersey shore today---it was BEAUTIFUL!  As I gazed out over the ocean from my office, I was dying to leave, get home, open the house and relax.

I was also in the mood for some lighter food--'tis almost summer!

I had some ground sirloin (err, more red meat!) and baby bok choy I'd picked up because it was to cute not to.  Out came a fun meal, that while not perfect, is certainly worthy of the pass-along.  Hey, if my husband goes back for seconds, it's ok, right?

Summa-summa-summa-time....our house is open, heat is off...too soon?

Teriyaki Burgers and Bok Choy

Burger Ingredients: (Note, these are more "steak" than burger.)

1 lb ground sirloin
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic salt
1 tbs of each soy sauce and teriyaki sauce per patty

Directions:

Heat up the indoor grill or skillet with a bit of cooking spray in it.  Make beef patty's (makes about 5-6 depending on size)  sprinkle with sirloin and powder.  To each burger, add soy and teriyaki sauce.  Grill until done.

Boy Choy Ingredients:

1 package baby bok choy, rinsed
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tbs. Asian cooking oil

Directions:

In a skillet, bring cooking oil to heat, add boy choy and cook, turning, until leaves just start to wilt-about 2 minutes.  You still want them a bit crunchy--so remove before totally wilted.  Sprinkle with garlic salt.

Fried Brown Rice Ingredients:

2 cups brown rice, cooked
1 white onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green pepper, diced
1 ginger root, shredded
2 tbs Asian cooking oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbs butter
1 egg

Directions:

In pan, melt butter and gently scramble egg.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Add oil to skillet, bring to heat.  Add garlic, onions and pepper, cook until tender/translucent.  Add ginger, rice and egg--stir until combined.  Add soy sauce and heat.  (Depending on taste, you might want more soy sauce.)

Serve boy choy, rice under burger.

Chicken Paprikash-oh, how I missed you kitchen!

Happy....happy...happy!  After a looong week of working late nights and no cooking, I was oh-so-happy to step back into the kitchen tonight and test my culinary abilities.

For awhile, I've been slightly (err, really) obsessed with paprika--and I've been putting it on just about every meal of my day.  Eggs, check.  Sandwich, check.  Pasta, check.  It's become a wee-bit-of-an-obsession.  So tonight I decided to whip up a modified version of a favorite Hungarian dish--chicken paprikash.

The traditional dish is bit creamy (and delightful really) but Mike's opposed to the whole creamy thing.  (I don't think he knows what he's missing.)  I decided to make the dish w/o and with...which ended up surprisingly fantastic.

This dish is super easy to make and is under thirty minutes.

Kitchen, I love you!


Chicken Paprikash w/ Pappardelle

Ingredients:

1 package bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks
4 Tbs olive oil
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
1 Tbs paprika
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp. dill
1 Tbs. sour cream
8 oz. pappardelle noodles or egg noodles, cooked as directed.
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions:

In a large skillet, bring 2 Tbs olive oil to heat.  Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.  Brown on each side of the chicken, about 5 minutes on each side.  Remove and set aside.  Add remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil to pan, with pepper, garlic and onion.  Saute until tender, about 4 minutes.  Add entire can of tomatoes--breaking them apart as you add them in and with spoon.   Add paprika, salt and pepper.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat and add chicken back to pan.  Slightly cover and let simmer until chicken is cooked through--about 20 minutes.  While not necessary, you can turn the chicken occasionally to ensure full flavor.

Drain pasta and serve under chicken--ladle with sauce.   Serve as-is for a non-creamy version.  For a creamier (and better!) version, add 1 Tbs sour cream atop the chicken and sprinkle with dill.

Lemon Garlic Chicken w/ Roasted Smashed Potatoes

Geez-ma-neez it's been a looooong week.  After waking today thankful it was Friday, I turned on the television only to have dumb ass Al Roker tell me it was, in fact, Thursday.

Blah to the blah to the blah.

Since work has been mind-consuming the past few weeks, I needed tonights meal to be quick, easy and filling.  Comfort food was needed--stat.

Do you have a food vacuum sealer?  No?  Well you should.  It's a well-rounded tool that not only keeps my food fresher, helps me buy in bulk, but it also does a bang-up-job on marinating.  I tossed my chicken thighs into the bag, added the marinade this a.m.  Ziped, vacuumed and let marinade all day long.  By the time I got home, that little sucker had squeezed the yumminess into the thighs and all that was left for me was to grill and mash some taters.

I cheated by serving with stovetop.  Don't judge me.

Marinade Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1-2 tablespoons minced garlic, pressed and made into a paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 zest of lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Chicken Directions:

Toss 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs into a bag, toss mixed marinade into the bag, seal and let sit 8-10 hours.  If you have a vacuum sealer, stick it in that--it'll infuse the meat!

Meal Ingredients:

4 Chicken Thighs, boneless, skinless that have sat in marinade
2 tbs. olive oil
2 potatoes, or a handful of small fingerlings, washed.
1 tbs salt
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbs butter


Directions:

In a medium frying pan, bring olive oil to heat over medium heat.  Add chicken and sear, turning occasionally.  Reduce heat and cover, let simmer 20 minutes, turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring about 2 quarts of water to boil.  Add potatoes and sea salt.  Cook until fork tender.

Remove potatoes from water and put through ricer.  Add butter and garlic.    I also sprinkled some sharp, grated cheddar cheese on it--because cheese makes everything better.

Serve!

Ya.  Easy.  Blog done.  Retreat to sofa to veg-out.  Or perhaps just hit the bed.

Shrimp and Chicken Pad Thai

Calling all cooks--if you haven't cooked with rice noodles, immediately get in your car, go to the store and buy some.  You'll thank me later.  Basically no cooking involved, these little delights are super-fun and a great way for kids to get involved in cooking!

I'm also partial to thai food, so decided to try may hand at making some homemade pad-thai with shrimp and chicken to satisfy both the hubbs and I desire for different meals tonight.  Result: pass. With flying colors.

To get this dish right, I suggest you make the sauce first, then move to the meal itself.

Pad Thai Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup hot water
1 1/2 tbs. tamarind
5 tbs fish sauce
1 fresh chili, minced
5 tbs brown sugar

Directions:
In small bowl of hot water, add tamarind, whisk.  Add the rest of the ingredients, whisk.  Taste--the sauce should be tangy.  If its not, you can add 1 more tbs of sugar--but remember that it'll be mixed with noodles and other ingredients, so it'll taste different.

Pad Thai

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast sliced
6 fresh shrimp, deveined, peeled and de-tailed
1/4 cup scallions, finely chopped
4 tbs vegetable oil
1 lime, sliced
1/2 package of rice noodles, cooked as directed
1/2 cup bean or vegetable sprouts
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
In wok or large skillet, bring 2 tbs of vegetable oil to simmer, stir in egg, cook for about 30 seconds.  Add in shrimp and chicken.  Cook until done.  Add additional vegetable oil and noodles.  Cook for about 7 minutes, or until noodles are al dente--firm, but tender.  Add scallions and sauce, cook for about 1 minute.  Add sprouts and simmer for another 30 seconds.

Serve with lime wedges and soy sauce.

Alaskan Cod En Papillote

One of my favorite memories from a child was girl scouts.  I LOVED girl scouts.  We did so many fun things---but one of the best was the campouts.  I remember one year, I think 4th grade, we had a camp out with our moms.  Girls + Moms = fun times!

That night we cooked over an open flame, burgers.  But we cooked them in foil packets--a meal called hobo dinners.  Fun, right?!

Fast forward 20-something years.  Did you know that cooking "hobo" is actually called En Papillote?

Well, sort of.  Actually, cooking En Papillote is french--and means cooking in parchment.  (although, you can use foil/etc.)

It's one of my favorite ways to cook because it's fool proof and time friendly.  The assembly is really all that needs to be done, add some sauce and the packet really does the rest of the cooking--steaming itself. There's really no way to over-cook in papillote either.

Tonight's dinner is a spruced up hobo meal.

Ingredients:

1 Alaskan Cod Filet (about 1/2 lb, cut in 2 breasts)
1/2 red pepper
1/2 bell pepper
1 cup bean or veggie sprouts
olive oil
2 tbs Dijon mustard
2 tbs soy sauce
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 ginger clove, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
parchment paper

Directions:

Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper, fold each and half, set aside.

Chop thin slices of peppers, mix.  Set aside.  In small bowl, whisk dijon mustard, soy sauce, lemon juice, ginger together.  Add salt and pepper to taste.   Open one piece of parchment paper, along middle line, layer peppers, 1/2 cup of sprouts and cod on top.  Drizzle with sauce.  Carefully fold parchment into packet, making sure that there are no openings along sides.  Set pouch on baking sheet.  Brush completely with olive oil.  Repeat with second packet.

Place in 350 degree oven for approx. 25 minutes.  Parchment will start to brown when done.  Remove from oven, and carefully slice each packet open to release steam.  Serve!

Mexican-American Esquites

On one particularly memorable spring break, my girlfriends and I took a quick hop-skip-and-jump to a little place called Tijuana Mexico.  Why?  Why not.  We were close, it sounded fun and in those days, I was notorious for deciding to do things like jump in a car and drive to Oklahoma at midnight or finding our way to New Orleans.

More often than not, boredom got the best of us in college and we did a lot of random things.

I digress.  Tijuana was great.  Although we only spent a few short hours there, we did have time for a drink and some food.  I remember eating this snack on from a road-side stand of fresh corn.  Perhaps it was because I was starving and seriously hungover (maybe still drunk?) but that corn was freaking amazing.

Years later, I learned that this traditional treat was called Esquites.  Yum-o.  I've made it over the years in the traditional fashion, but recently had a craving for it and decided to spice it up.  The outcome-WAY more delish than the traditional version.  Traditional esquites calls for mexican queso, but since I rarely have that on hand, I use a mild feta cheese.

I eat this as lunch or a snack--but you can serve this as a side disk as well.  I promise, it'll save you a trip to Tijuana and will leave you feeling just as satisfied.

Ingredients:

2 ears frozen corn ears.
4 cups water
2 tbs sea salt
1 tbs miracle whip
1 tbs butter
1/4 cup mild feta cheese
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp paprika

Directions:

In a large pot, bring water and sea salt to boil.  Toss in corn ears and boil  until cooked--about 10 minutes.

Remove corn from water, pat dry and slice nibblets off with large knife.  Add to bowl, discard ears.

Add butter, miracle whip, feta cheese, garlic salt and paprika. Stir well.  Before serving, sprinkle paprika over top for color.

Enjoy!

Easy, Breezy, Lazy Thursday

As the week winds down, I find it harder to really get pumped about cooking.  I love doing it...but after almost a week of work, commuting and general life, it gets kind of difficult to put a TON of effort into a meal that's both interesting and yummy.

Welcome to broiler Thursday.

I believe this is one of the best-kept-kitchen-secrets.  Soooo many of my friends don't even know what the broiler does, let alone, have ever used it.  It really is my kitchen cheat.  With my bad-ass broiler, a little preparation goes a long way and in under 30 minutes I had a fun meal that was pretty, interesting and super-duper low calorie.  

I wondered what to put in the broiler for awhile--I typically do steaks and chicken, but those are on slate later this week.  Then I ran across a pork roast at the market this weekend--and save bacon, I have NEVER cooked pork.  Interesting, huh?  So that's where I started this week.  Pork.  With no real plan for the pork, I figured I'd plot a marinade later and as I was meandering by the check-out line I saw a beautiful ray of sunshine: fresh pineapples!

My husband is whole-heartedly obsessed with pineapple.  He savors it like a little kid does candy.  Fresh pineapple makes him get this giddy look on his face while eating and there are some days I'm sure he'd gladly trade me for some fresh fruit.

Pineapples it was.  I knew whatever I paired with it, he'd dig.

So that's where tonight's recipe came from.  My lack of pork cooking and an odd obsession with pineapple.  Surprisingly, they go quite nice together.

(Disclaimer: This recipe feeds 2 people with average appetites, with no leftovers.)

Pineapple Glazed Pork

Ingredients for the Pork Roast:

1 Pork Roast (1 lb)
4 Slices of Pineapple, cored and cut in 1/2 inch slices.
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
1 Tbs. Worchesteshire Sauce
1 Tsp. Dijon Mustard
2 Tbs. Pineapple juice (fresh or canned)
1 Tbs. Minced Garlic

Directions:

Turn the broiler on.  On a baking sheet lined with foil, place the pineapple slices.  Set the pork roast on a broil pan with a rack in it.  In a small bowl, mix the Soy Sauce, Worchesteshire Sauce, Mustard, Pineapple juice and garlic.  Brush over the pork.    Place the pork roast on the first rack under the broiler and the pineapple on the second rack.  Broil until a thermometer reads 155 degrees. (about 20 minutes).  Remove roast from oven and let sit.  (Pork will rise in temperature to around 160)  Move the pineapple to the top rack and broil until brown spots appear.  (approx 7-10 more minutes)  Remove pineapple and serve with pork, spicy pineapple sauce!

Spicy Pineapple Sauce Ingredients:

2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
1 Tbs. Worchesteshire
1 1/2 Tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tsp minced garlic
2 tsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:  Whisk all ingredients together, set aside to serve.