Peanut Noodles & Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Asian food is one of those things that just calls my name. I regularly crave it...and yesterday I came across a recipe online for these noodles. Oh my gosh - to die for! You won't regret making these.
Now, they are also perfect because I am a vegetarian and my husband (& kids) are not - so I can easily toss some chicken into their portions and they are thrilled. I paired mine with a Vietnamese spring roll with sweet & sour sauce. I'll outline that recipe too...

Peanut Noodles - serves 5
1/2 lb linguine noodles, cooked
3 spring onions, finley diced
2 carrots, julienned or shaved into ribbons
1/4 of a Hot House Cucumber julienned
1/2 cup of shelled edamame
(other add-ins could be diced chicken, sliced peppers, avocado)
1 tsp. Chopped Cilantro

For the sauce:
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 of a lime, juiced
1 T. Fresh cilantro, chopped
1 T. fresh ginger, grated (peel off the outside first)
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
1 T. Soy Sauce
1 T. Apple Cider Vinegar
1.5 tsp. Sambal (chili paste)
1 T. Sesame Seed Oil
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup water

Add sauce ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning. 
Cook noodles. Add sauce to the noodles as they are starting to cool. Once they are cool...add in veggies and let sit for 15 minutes. Serve!!


Vietnamese Spring Rolls:
Rice Paper (purchased from your local asian store)
Veggies!! Julienned veggies of your choice
Lettuce
Avocado
Prep all of your ingredients first...cut up veggies julienne style (carrot, cucumber, peppers, avocado, lettuce - could use shrimp or cabbage or just about anything you like)
Submerge the rice paper - 1 at a time - in warm water on a plate. Let it sit for about 1 minute. Transfer to a workable surface and add your ingredients to the center of the paper and roll it up! I add some store-bought sweet and sour sauce to the top. 

Delicious, Fresh, Ceviche

It's no secret that I'm a vegetarian who loves to delight my carnivorous friends with things that they love. This Ceviche is one of those things...specifically requested from my husband and devoured by our friends and family. I made it as an appetizer before a tex-mex meal consisting of refried beans, pulled chicken tacos, homemade guac, and a friend made some divine jalapeno poppers.
Enjoy this super simple recipe!

1 lb. Fresh White Fish (I used Tilapia) cut into small chunks
Juice of 6-8 limes
Juice of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 Orange
3 Small Tomatoes on the Vine diced
1 Jalapeno diced finely (deseeded)
Fresh Cilantro - chopped (to your liking for the amount)
1 garlic clove finely diced
2 T. Olive Oil
2 Avocados diced
3 T. Red Onion finely diced
1/4 tsp. salt and pepper (more to your liking)

Combine the fish (already cut) and the juice of the limes, lemons, and orange into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate. The fish will "cook" through via the acidity of the fruit. At least 30 minutes - possibly an hour. When the fish is "cooked" it should be white and opaque. Add in the other ingredients and let it marinate a little longer. Serve with tortilla chips.

(stock photo used)

Cauliflower Mash

Anyone who knows me...knows that I have a cauliflower addiction. It's such a delicious vegetable and so versatile. Anyway - try out this recipe and you will seriously rethink mashed potatoes. Divine!!

1 Head of Cauliflower, Cut in pieces
2 T. Unsalted Butter
3 T. Sour Cream
1/2 cup to 1 cup Cheese (you choose your cheese...asiago and parmesan are two of my faves)
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
(possibly need a splash of milk)

Boil a salted pot of water. Add in cauliflower. Cook until tender (about 15-20 minutes). Drain water. Add in other ingredients in the pot and use your handheld blender (or food processor) to mash. Taste for seasoning and add in more s&p as needed. Enjoy!!

   

 

 

Weeknight Enchiladas

My sister recently asked me for more suggestions on dinner ideas. Something I get asked all of the time by my friends. You have 2 young sons (2.5 year old and a 4 month old) - and yet you still cook! Yes...I love to cook. But it is also much healthier, cheaper, and easier for a family with 1 vegetarian, 1 with an egg allergy, and 1 who likes it all!
These are great and you should have leftovers for a few nights!

Veggie Enchiladas:
Corn Tortillas (or flour...but corn make this recipe Gluten Free)
1 Large Can of Enchilada Sauce
1 Large Sweet Onion, diced
1 Large Sweet Potato, peeled and diced
1 Yellow Pepper, diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Cooked, chopped chicken (I use a rotisserie from the store)
1 bag of shredded cheese (mexican blend is great or whatever you have on hand)
Seasonings: Chipotle Powder, Cumin, Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Canola Oil
Roast the diced sweet potatoes, onion and yellow pepper in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes. Season them with olive oil (just until coated) and a good sprinkling of the chipotle powder and salt and pepper. Add your can of black beans after the mixture is out of the oven. Sprinkle with cumin and TASTE your mixture. After all...this is what is in the middle of your enchiladas. It should be seasoned well.
Spray your pans with nonstick spray. you can use a 9x13 or 2 8x8 (I usually do 2 pans and 1 has chicken). In a small skillet...heat a couple tablespoons of canola oil until hot. Keep over low-medium heat. You have to "flash fry" the corn tortillas so they don't fall apart. Heat each enchilada for about 20 seconds on each side and dip in a bowl filled with the enchilada sauce. transfer to your pan. Fill with your ingredients and roll up. (do some cheese and some of your stuffing mixture). Continue this until you're done rolling your enchiladas. Pour sauce over the top of your enchiladas and cover with cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. These can also be done the night before and pulled out and popped in the oven.
Serve with rice, a dollop of sour cream, avocado, and a delicious salad or refried beans.

Chicken & Dumplings

Delicious Chicken and Dumplings!!
 
Combine in a crockpot:
3 Large Chicken Breasts (frozen or fresh)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup (heart healthy version)
2 cans of water
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 T. Butter
Salt & Pepper (1/2 tsp of each, taste after everything is cooked and adjust to your liking)
Thyme and Paprika (I don't measure this...so I'd say give it a half teaspoon to begin and then when it's cooked...do a taste testing).

Cook in crockpot for 4 hours on level 4 (out of 5)...so medium high. Chicken should be falling apart...and just shred it.
I then put it in a dish...top with 1 can of texas style buttermilk biscuits, cut into 4ths. Cook for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees, until biscuits are done! (you can also put the biscuits in the crockpot - put the lid back on and cook until biscuits are done to your liking)

I love to serve this with green bean casserole, but a salad would work perfectly too!

The Tastiest Brussel Sprouts

So, last night I was going to throw a beautiful london broil on the grill...steam some broccoli and cook up some brussel sprouts. I decided to do them on the grill as well in my cast iron pan. Oh my goodness they were divine!!!
Here's what I did...

1 bag of brussel sprouts, trimmed and cut into 1/4ths
1 yellow onion, diced
5 slices of bacon, diced
1-2 T Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
S&P

Throw the sprouts, onion, bacon and olive oil into your cast iron skillet. Add a bit of salt and pepper to get it started - and put it on the grill (medium heat). Stir frequently and cook for about 15 minutes. I like to get them a bit charred and make sure that bacon gets cooked. Take the pan off of the heat when the sprouts are tender and cooked to your liking. Add about 2 T. good balsamic vinegar, and some more salt and pepper. These things are soo good you won't even realized you're eating brussel sprouts!

Grilled Pizza - Everyone's Favorite!!

One of my absolute favorite things to make on the grill is pizza. Who doesn't love pizza? Plus...it's fun! I typically do a "make your own" pizza night and it's fun for everyone. Lots of toppings...and you can customize your own personal pizza. The kids can get in the action and put on their own toppings :)

Here's what I do.

Buy pre-made pizza dough at your local store. Our Harris Teeter has white and wheat, and Trader Joe's has garlic-herb, wheat and white. I have found their pizza dough does better on the grill than my homemade kind. In a pinch, I follow the instructions on the back of my yeast packet and make my own.

Buy ingredients like:
Onion (red or sweet preferably)
Pepper (red, yellow, orange, green)
Broccoli (roast your broccoli first...cut off stalks - spray the flower part with olive oil and place on a hot grill. Turning every couple of minutes to get it charred and cooked. Cut it up and use it for a pizza topping)
Tomatoes
Spinach
Corn
Squash
Cilantro
Pepperoni
Rotisserie Chicken (ready to use!)
Bacon
Canadian Bacon
Shredded Pork
Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Shredded Mozzarella
Shredded Five Italian Cheese blend
Any kind of cheese you want!!!!!!!!! Gruyere, Blue, Gouda, Smoked Mozzarella etc.
Sriracha or Hot Sauce of Any Kind

Sauce:
I make my own - or you could use a BBQ Sauce - add chicken, bacon, cilantro, roasted corn, squash - yum! (pesto sauce would be awesome too!)
To make your own sauce for at least 2 big pizzas, get a large can of Tomato Sauce. This already has salt in it, so make your sauce and taste it before adding more. I add in about a 1/2 to 1 tsp of dried basil & oregano, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp minced garlic (in a jar), 1-3 tsp of sugar, 1/2 tsp pepper, dash of olive oil. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 20-30 minutes.

To assemble:
Roll your dough out into desired shapes and sizes. I typically split 1 dough into 2 individual pizzas. Coat one side with oil - place on a hot grill at medium/low heat. Let the bottom of the dough get just firm enough to add toppings. Remove dough from heat. Take your dough to the "buffet of ingredients" and make your desired pizza with toppings. Place it back on the grill at low heat for about 10-14 minutes. Add some hot sauce on there for a delicious kick - and serve with a mixed green salad.
Enjoy!!