Albondigas

 I'm a total soup kid and when the weather started getting chilly around here I jumped at the opportunity to make something comforting and warm. So, I found this on Allrecipes (but slightly modified it) and am glad I did. It's really easy and yummy. I'll definitely make it again!

 If you're not familar with Albondigas, it's a Mexican soup dish :)  

 

 Ingredients

• 1 quart water
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 1/2 cups salsa, medium or hot
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I combined ground pork and ground beef)
• 1/3 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup milk
• chopped fresh cilantro (I didn't have cilantro, but I added watercress instead)

Directions

1. In a large stock pot, bring water, carrots, potatoes, onion, salsa, and bouillon cubes to a boil. Reduce to a medium simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 10 minutes.
2. Mix the beef, breadcrumbs, and milk together in a bowl. Form into 1-inch meatballs, and drop into boiling broth. Once soup returns to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low.
3. Cover and cook 20 minutes, or until meatballs are no longer pink in center and vegetables are tender. Serve with sprinkled cilantro for garnish.

Red Lobster Style Cheese Biscuits

Worked off of this recipe and it was pretty delicious: HERE.

This makes 12 biscuits:

1 pack buttermilk biscuit mix (I used Bisquick, about 1 1/2cups)
1 1/2cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oregano
3/4 tsp garlic salt (use slightly less than this - i found it to be slightly salty with this amount)

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray cooking sheet with non-stick spray.

2. Put biscuit mix, cheese and milk in a bowl and mix well to form a sticky dough.

3. Using spoon, drop lumps of dough onto cookie sheets 1.5in apart. Bake for 10min.

4. In a bowl, melt butter and mix with oregano and garlic salt.

5. When the timer goes off, take them out and brush with butter mixture and bake 5min at 400F and another 5-6min at 350F.

6. Transfer into a plate and serves immediately.

Brussel Sprout Chips

So I already told you I'm obsessed with these (good thing they're healthy), so here's how we've been making them.

WASH & PREP This is what will take the longest. Get some help in the kitchen to speed up the process. Trick: cut off the part that holds the leaves together. This will make it easy to pull apart the leaves. Pull apart the sprout leaf by leaf. Once this is done, wash and spin (a salad spinner comes in handy here).

PREHEAT Set oven to bake at 250 degrees.

SEASON Toss the leaves with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread them on a baking sheet.

Now you're ready to put the tray in the oven. These cook within minutes so make sure to monitor closely. You may have to take out a few leaves at a time because some will burn quicker than others. Once they're all done, remove from tray and place in a serving bowl. These taste great with a little lime juice. Serve immediately with a lime wedge as they will get soggy after an hour.

Toasted Panzanella with Tomato & Fennel

The traditional panzanella dish is made by soaking pieces of rock-hard bread in cold water then squeezing them dry and tossing with tomatoes. This recipe (by Michael Romano) is a crouton version that uses day old bread (I used fresh bread and toasted it in the oven longer). It's easy, a great dish for spring/ summer and really really tasty.

 INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces day-old sourdough bread with crust, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (4 cups)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 large tomatoes, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch dice
• 1 small fennel bulb, tops trimmed, bulb very thinly sliced
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup brined black olives, such as Gaeta or Calamata, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup loosely packed shredded basil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl, toss the bread with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Spread the bread on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, or until nicely toasted. Let cool, then return to the bowl. Put the pine nuts on the baking sheet and bake for 3 minutes, or until golden. Add to the croutons in the bowl.
2. Roast the bell pepper over a gas flame or under the broiler until charred all over. Transfer the pepper to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool slightly. Peel and seed the pepper and cut it into 3/4-inch dice. Add the bell pepper to the croutons along with the tomatoes, fennel, onion, olives and basil.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar with the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper and pour it over the salad. Toss and let stand for 5 minutes, then serve.

Stuffed Dates

After recently trying stuffed dates for the first time during my visit to Firefly in Vegas (details are here), I realized how simple yet delicious these bite-sized snacks are. So of course, I attempted to make them myself with the help of a recipe I found on the delishdishblog/ Bon Appetit. Enjoy!
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Gorgonzola Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon

• 12 Medjool dates
• 12 pieces gorgonzola cheese (can also use asiago, manchego, percorino, etc..)
• 4 slices thick high quality bacon, cut crosswise into 3 pieces
• Paprika

Tip: Medjool dates can sometimes be very large. To prevent the date from taking over the entire appetizer, try cutting them in half before adding cheese and wrapping in bacon.

1) Preheat oven to 425C
2) Remove pits from dates
3) Insert 1 piece cheese into date
4) Sprinkle bacon generously with paprika on one side
5) Wrap each date with 1 piece bacon with paprika side against date
6) Secure with a toothpick.
7) Arrange on baking sheet and roast 6 minutes (till bacon is browned on the bottom).  Turn dates and roast 6 minutes longer till bacon is cooked. Transfer to plate and cool slightly before serving.

Mini Provolone Popovers

 

 These delicious cheesy popovers are unbelievably easy to make. After trying a few my friend Caroline made, I begged for the recipe. I was expecting a complicated recipe, but to my surprise it was as simple as combining a few ingredients and throwing them in the oven. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and divided

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup finely chopped provolone

2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 tbsp chopped chives

EQUIPMENT:

mini muffin pan (24) or you can use a regular muffin pan (12)

Whisk together milk, eggs, flour, 1 tbsp butter, salt and pepper until smooth. Then stir in cheeses and chives. Chill 1 hour to allow batter to rest. 

Preheat oven 425 degrees. Butter the muffin pan with remaining tbsp butter, then heat in oven until butter sizzles, about 2 minutes.

Gently stir batter then divide among muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden brown. 18-20 minutes.

Best when served immediately.

Aspargus Tart

After seeing this recipe on Cupcakes & Cashmere, a blog that I frequent regularly, I had to make an attempt. This is actually a Martha Stewart original (it's supposed to be an Aspargus Gruyere Tart), but I opted for cheaper cheese - I used an already shredded 4 cheese italian blend straight from the bag. Although I love gruyere, cheap cheese still did the trick.

Try it out! The recipe says it yields 4 servings, but they're pretty filling so they can definitely feed more than that.

• Flour, for work surface
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 5 1/2 ounces (2 cups) Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 1 1/2 pounds medium or thick asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score pastry dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using a fork, pierce dough inside the markings at 1/2-inch intervals. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
2. Remove pastry shell from oven, and sprinkle with Gruyere. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange in a single layer over Gruyere, alternating ends and tips. Brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Chicken Soup For the Cold

The weather has been freezing lately, colder than I'm used to. Though, my goosebumps are exposed at any temperature below 70. To stay warm, fill my stomach and get the most bang for my buck, I purchased a Safeway rotisserie chicken the other day for under $8 and it's seriously the best $8 I've spent. On the purchase date, I had a late night at work and didn't have time to make dinner so I grabbed one of these bad boys, made some brussel sprouts & rice and that was dinner #1. That same night, I took the meat off the carcass and stored it in the fridge. Next day, I make soup for dinner #2.


Ingredients:

• chicken meat
• chicken broth
• fresh chopped carrots
• fresh chopped celery
• chopped onions
• clove of garlic
• garlic salt, pepper, parsley to taste
• medium pasta shells
• optional: fresh spinach

I don't have exact measurements, because well, I never measure anything when I make this soup. I pretty much just throw everything together since it's such a fool-proof dish. The easiest way to do this is boil the chicken broth (you can boil it with the carcass for added flavor) and in a seperate pot, cook the pasta. Add a spoon of olive oil in a seperate pan and heat your garlic, onion, celery & carrots until they're soft. Add seasoning. Once you've brought the broth to a boil and let sit for about 15 minutes, you can throw in the cooked veggies and eventually throw in the pasta at the end so it doesn't absorb too much of the soup. Throw in the spinach at the very end since it cooks fast and you're done :)

Dinner #3, chicken tacos? Or if that's chicken overkill, I can make something else then make chicken again the day after! Under $8 and 3 dinners, you get the point...

P.S. Sorry for the mass food posts, but eating is the only thing I really love to do when it's cold & raining outside.

Parmesan Fish Sticks

Courtesy of Giada at FoodNetwork.com

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While watching Giada whip up some fish sticks on the Food Network, I realized I had almost every ingredient in my kitchen to recreate her meal. The next day, I pick up some salmon at the local grocer and bada bing - parmesan fish sticks for dinner!

The recipe was really easy to follow and it turned out pretty good - though I had to season my own bread crumbs (garlic salt & italian seasonings) because the ones in my cupboard were plain. It probably would've had more flavor if I added more seasoning or just used the right crumbs. I also made the mistake of serving it with pasta salad (sorry, I was really lazy) because it's not a good pairing - though Craig's collard greens were. Lastly, I didn't make her dipping sauce (again, I was lazy - i'll try it next time). Bon Apetit!

P.S. speaking of "Bon Apetit" - I'm so glad Meryl Streep won the award for Julie & Julia. I adored both characters and absolutely loved the movie to pieces. Go bloggers.
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Ingredients:

• 1 (18-ounce) center-cut salmon fillet, about 9 by 4 inches, skinned
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
  
• Olive oil, for drizzling

Dipping Sauce:

• 1/3 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup lowfat plain yogurt
  
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or chives

For the Fish Sticks:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Rinse the salmon fillet and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the fish in half to make 2 fillets each about 4 by 4 1/2-inches in size. Starting on the longest edge, slice the fillets into 1/2-inch pieces. Lay the widest pieces, from the center, cut side down, and slice in half lengthways so all the pieces are equally about 1/2 by 1/2 by 4 1/2-inches in size.

Place the flour in a medium bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Place the egg whites in another bowl and beat until frothy, about 30 seconds. Combine the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a third bowl.

Coat the salmon pieces in the seasoned flour and pat to remove any excess flour. Dip the floured salmon in the egg whites and then into the Parmesan mixture, gently pressing the mixture into the fish. Place the breaded salmon pieces on a liberally oiled baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

For the Dipping Sauce:

Mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon mustard, and parsley (or chives, if using) in a small dipping bowl.

Arrange the fish sticks on a serving platter and serve with the dipping sauce.

Note: The fish sticks can also be dipped in ketchup, marinara sauce, pesto, ranch dressing or vinaigrette.

Trick or Treat!

Give me something good to eat!

Few of the festive menu items I put together at my Halloween gathering:

SpiderWeb Dip
-Mix 8 oz of cream cheese with a can of chunky salsa, top it with guacamole, fill a ziploc bag w/ sour cream & create web. Refrigerate for 1 hour, serve with tortilla chips.

Mummy Dogs (these lil guys have so much character)
-Slice Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough into small strips and wrap around Lil Smokies. Set oven to 375F & heat til dough is golden brown (about 15 min). Use mustard for eyes.

Bug Juice Cocktail
-Mix lemonade, ginger ale & vodka. Add gummy worms. You can also add gummy worms to your ice trays for added fun.

All of these exciting treats and not one kid under 25! I love getting festive, even when it's just for the adults.

I really got in touch with the Martha Stewart side of me this past weekend.

Orzo Pasta with Bacon & Aspargus

This recipe was found in a booklet/magazine entitled Easy Recipes (or was it Easy Pasta Recipes). You know, the ones you see when you're in line at the grocery store. Anyhow, after making this for the 2nd time in one week I can assure you that it is, in fact, easy and good.

My apologies for the photo - it doesn't do the dish justice and we were thinking more about solving our hunger problem than we were about presentation.

RECIPE:

2 oz (1/2 cup) shredded fresh asiago or parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sliced roasted red bell peppers (from jar)
8 oz fresh aspargus spears, trimmed into 1" pieces
6 1/2 oz (1 cup) uncooked orzo pasta
6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 (14oz) can fat-free chicken broth w/ 1/3 less sodium

1. Cook bacon in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Reserve bacon & 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings in skillet - add broth. Bring to a boil, add orzo & reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 5 minutes.
2. Add aspargus & roasted peppers. Cover & cook an additional 5-10 minutes or until orzo & aspargus are tender, stirring occasionally. Spring individual servings with cheese.

Yields 4 servings
Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

*You can serve it with anything. I served it with baked salmon (courtesy of the bf) the first time & the second time we had it by itself. Enjoy!

Pork Chop Dinner in Under an Hour

I came across this recipe while flipping through The 4 Ingredient Cookbook that was lying around the house. This meal was so unbelievably quick, easy & surprisingly good. It confirmed that you don't always need a million ingredients for a great meal.


Onion-Baked Pork Chops

1 envelope of Lipton Recipe Secrets - Golden Onion Soup Mix
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
4 pork chops
1 egg, well beaten

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. In small bowl, combine soup mix and bread crumbs. Dip chops in egg, then bread crumb mixture, until evenly coated.
2. In lightly greased 13x9-inch baking or roasting pan, arrange chops.
3. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes or until done, turning once.

*For sides, I used mashed potatoes and gravy w/ fresh mushrooms & pan-fried green beans topped with french fried onions.

Altogether, this meal took less than an hour (including prep/cooking time). Enjoy!

Last Night's Dinner

Making dinner for others much more fun than making it for yourself. Last night, I decided to make my co-worker's infamous lentil Soup & Jamie Oliver's pan cooked chicken. They both turned out great (look and taste-wise).

Though I have to add, if you're making dinner for your Asian parents with tastebuds that only long for any type of Asian food, they probably won't care for lentil soup (my mom wasn't a fan). However, it's also a recipe loved by my department (a combo of health nuts & fancy eaters).

Try it! Both recipes are very simple and the chicken is so good it's my 2nd time making it (my sister also made it for the 2nd time this night for her guests).

Pan Cooked Chicken with Aspargus, Pancetta & Olives

Jamie Oliver - FoodNetwork.com

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Level: Easy

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• In Italy they use olives instead of salt, as they give a gentle seasoning, perfume and meatiness to dishes.
• 1 chicken breast supreme, skin removed
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• 3 slices smoked pancetta
• 8 medium-sized spears asparagus, woody ends trimmed off
• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 5 kalamata olives, stones left in
• Handful basil leavesSmall knob unsalted butter
• Splash white wine

Directions:

Slice the chicken into 3 finger size pieces, but ensure that you keep it as 1 piece (fan it out). This will help to cook the chicken much faster. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a medium-sized frying pan, add some oil, and brown the chicken on all sides.

Place the pancetta on top of the chicken and the asparagus around it, let it char a little, then put the pancetta on the bottom of the pan to crisp up and turn the chicken over. Turn up the heat, throw in the tomatoes, olives, basil, and a good knob of butter. Take off the heat once the butter has melted and add a splash of wine to make a sauce, squishing in a few of the tomatoes to finish it off.

Side Dish: You can use anything, but I paired it with brown rice for a healthier alternative.

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Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion
• 2 carrots
• 1 cup green lentils
• 1/2 head of cauliflower (or broccoli), cut into small florets
• 1-2 cups of chopped bell peppers
• 1 quart chicken (or veggie) stock
• 1/2 cup chopped dill or parsley

1. Saute chopped onion & carrots in evoo & salt in stock pot
2. Rinse lentils in warm water
3. When sauteed veggies are soft, pour in lentils, 1/2 of the stock & 2 cups of water
4. Simmer on low until the lentils are soft (about 30 minutes), adding water as needed
5. Add remaining stock & veggies and cook until soft (about 15 minutes)
6. Add herbs and season to taste
7. Puree with hand mixer until smooth
8. Serve with a dollop of sour cream

Yields: several bowls - probably enough for a few people or a few days, for two!

Enjoy!