Thai soup!

So, apparently it's the year of the dragon in the Chinese zodiac.  Which is a big deal, it seems.   I had to do some googling to figure out what this meant or why it was important and have gathered that those who are born in the year of the dragon are the luckiest of all.  Like they just have really good luck.  This is not me.  You know the saying that says, "if it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all?"  Yup.  That's me.  During my google travels I also discovered that I was born in the year of the pig (what up '83!).   This means that I love to overindulge and I want to do everything right.  I also have a taste for luxury and people often think I'm too good to be true.  Probably why I helped start a super awesome cooking blog :)

Here's another fun fact. I heart Thai food.  I could eat it all day every day and be a happy camper.  I love the flavors, the textures, the spice.  Especially the spice.  My favorite is the Tom Kah soup which is a hot and sour soup.  It's absolutely delicious and I don't tire of it.  I do, however, tire of the $15 price tag at Thai Palace.  I mean, seriously?  So when I found this recipe that's a pretty close substitute I was pretty stoked.  Hopefully you'll like it as much as I do!

You will need:

1 13.5 oz can coconut milk (Thai kitchen lite is awesome)
2 cups veggie broth
1 cup water
the juice of one fresh lemon
the juice of one fresh lime
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
hot pepper (chopped, and added to taste)
1 stalk lemon grass, sliced
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup minced celery
1/2 package of tofu (I prefer to use the spouted variety as you get much more nutritional value)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup rice, prepared

Cut tofu into cubes.  Put oil in a skillet and warm.  Once oil is heated, add tofu.  Cook until browned on all sides.  In the meantime, combine all the rest of your ingredients in a pot and cook over medium heat.  Simmer.  During all this hub-bub you should also be cooking your rice.  And to be honest, I can't help you with that.  Somehow, I always manage to mess rice up.  Which is stupid cause it's not hard.  But I digress.  Once your tofu is browned and delicious throw it in the pot with everything else.  Let simmer as long as it takes rice to cook.  Take one heaping scoop of rice and put it in a bowl and then fill 'er up with soup!

Cheers!  Megan J

Chicken Lo Mein

For some reason I always think it's going to be REALLY hard to make a Chinese inspired dish.  I don't know why, I just do, fortunately, most times that I've tried it hasn't been nearly as hard as expected.  Admittedly, it took me two attempts at lo mein to get a dish that tasted good.  Not because this recipe is hard, simply because I wasn't using the right ingredients, sometimes that happens when you experiment in the kitchen.

For this recipe you will need:
one chicken breast
spaghetti noodles (I used GF rice noodles)
a cup or so of frozen stir fry veggies, or buy your fave fresh veggies instead
2 T. sesame oil
2 T. soy sauce
2 tsps. ground ginger
1-2 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp. corn starch
2 T. hoisin sauce

Start by thinly slicing your chicken breast.  Combine 1 T. soy sauce, 1 tsp. ground ginger, minced garlic and corn starch in a bowl with your sliced chicken, coating chicken well.  Let this sit while you start your pasta, use as little or as much as you want, cook pasta according to package directions.  When you add pasta to water start your chicken.  Cook chicken in 1 T. sesame oil on medium high heat until mostly cooked.  Remove chicken from pan, add 1 T. sesame oil and sautee veggies for a couple minutes.  I used frozen veggies because I'm always in a hurry and it was easy.  Feel free to use fresh veggies of your choice instead and sautee.  When the pasta is done cooking add it and the chicken to the pan with your veggies.  Add the other T. of soy sauce, 1 tsp. ground ginger and the hoisin sauce.  Cook together in the pan for about 5 minutes.  If your dish gets too dry feel free to add a little bit of water.  Cook together until pasta, chicken and veggies are well coated with your sauce and then dish up.

I really enjoyed cooking and eating this dish.  It probably won't completely take the place of the lo mein at my favorite Chinese restaurant but it will probably help with cravings between visits.

Now check out this somewhat old picture of Megan J. and me (Megan S.)

Ah, simple pleasures.

I truly believe in life's simple pleasures.  Those small things that will always bring a smile to your face no matter what's going on.  Sometimes it's a great song, like Short Trip Home by Edgar Meyer and Co, or putting on clothes fresh out of the dryer.  Ahhhh.  Love it.  And sometimes it's things like your favorite foods.  I grew up on some serious comfort food like meatloaf, goulash, spaghetti and butter noodles.  Of course, with the whole vegetarian thing a lot of those are off limits.  However, I find that I will always make time for one of my all time favorites - bruschetta.

You will need the following:

1 baguette (I like whole wheat, go figure)
2 ripe roma tomatoes
one grocery store container of fresh basil
two fat slices of fresh mozzarella (the squishy kind)
that garlic I made you roast last week
2 tbsp olive oil

Slice baguette into thin slices (approximately 6 slices).  Drizzle each piece with a little olive oil.  Adjust oven so the rack is down fairly low and put the baguette pieces on a cookie sheet and broil until they're slightly crisp.  Switch the oven to about 400 degrees and remove cookie sheet.  Slice cheese into small enough pieces to fit on each piece of bread and layer.  Put back in the oven until cheese is melty.  At this point I put my garlic in as well to get that warm again.  Once cheese is melty add tomatoes to each one followed by a leaf of basil.  Remove garlic cloves from roasted bulb and place one on top of each basil leaf.  And you're done! 

Now, normally I would tell you to pour a fat glass of wine and enjoy but if you're like me you went a little overboard over the holidays and need a breather.  I went for an americano with my dinner tonight and it was quite nice.  The only downer is I may be up all night.  Whoops.

Also, you may have noticed pictures at the end of the last few entries.  Seemed like a good idea to give you all faces to go with the names so you can properly facebook stalk us :)

Cheers!  Megan J

Salsa

So we all have those nights, nights when you're just too damn lazy to cook an actual dinner.  Usually when I have those nights I make some ramen, but lately I've been trying to eat healthier and all that crap.  When you're having one of those lazy nights and are trying to pick healthy options it can be easier to make an appetizer and pig out till you're full.  This recipe is perfect for one of those nights.  Really it's become my version of "having a salad," especially since I HATE salad.

You will need:
tortilla chips
approx. 3 vine ripened tomatoes
1/2 an onion
1/2 jalapeno
1 garlic clove
1/4 C. cilantro
Juice from 1/2 lime(it tastes better when you use an actual lime instead of the bottled crap, take my word for it)
cumin
salt
pepper

The amounts listed are guidelines.  In my experience different people prefer different ratios.  If you like spicier salsa use more jalapeno and/or use the seeds in your mix.  You can throw most everything in a food processor and let it do the work if you like the quick and easy route.  For some reason I prefer to chop everything myself (I'm weird like that).  Once the veggies are chopped up add the lime juice and season w/cumin, salt, and pepper to taste.  Mix everything together and taste test. 

I posted this recipe after the chicken tortilla recipe as some of the ingredients are the same.  You can use leftovers from one to prepare the other.  Hopefully this keeps your veggies from going bad in the refrigerator before you get around to using them.  I have a tendency to forget that I have veggies, mostly because I usually have to force myself to eat them, I've never liked things that taste like the color green.  I prefer to use the remainder of my lime as a garnish in my margarita.  So get your margarita ready, grab a bag of tortilla chips and make this your dinner!

Megan S

Lasagna

I've mentioned in a previous post what a picky eater I was (still am in some regards) growing up.  My diet consisted mainly of mashed potatoes and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  One day I would love meatloaf and the next I would be screaming I wouldn't touch the stuff.  Perhaps I was exerting my independence at a young age?  Hah! Who am I kidding, I was a brat.

I refused to eat my Mom's tuna noodle casserole unless she blended the cream of mushroom soup first.  I swore not to eat venison, only beef, so before each meal I would ask her which she was using.  90% of the time it was venison, 100% of the time she told me it was beef.  If there was an open jar of pickles on the table, I would insist it be covered and removed to the far end so I wouldn't have to smell it.  The texture of melted cheese on pizza made me gag, so I would remove every shred of it, consuming only the crust, sauce and pepperoni.

I did, however, love my Mom's lasagna.  I'm pretty sure she would prepare it while I wasn't around, so I wouldn't see what was going in it.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion (yellow or white)
1/2 green pepper
1 large can of spaghetti sauce
1 16 oz container of cottage cheese
No-boil lasagna noodles
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
1 cup shredded cheese blend
1 cup spinach
1 egg
Salt and pepper TT
Crushed red pepper TT
2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook beef in large skillet along with garlic, onion and pepper until fully cooked.  Drain excess fat, return to pan along with crushed red pepper and can of sauce.  Let simmer for 10-15 minutes.  While this is cooking, break egg into a medium sized bowl and mix.  Add cottage cheese, Parmesan and salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Tear spinach into bowl and incorporate into mixture.
Once meat mixture is done, place a bit into the bottom of square baking dish and cover with 2 lasagna noodles.  Add half of cottage cheese mixture and spread out so noodles are fully covered.  Layer two more noodles and top with 1/2 of the meat mixture and shredded cheese.  Follow with more noodles and remaining cottage cheese mixture.  Place final noodles atop and the rest of meat mixture and shredded cheese.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes uncovered.  Remove from oven and let it set for about 10 minutes while you prepare any side dishes, a small salad and garlic bread perhaps.
Enjoy.

Sam

Pasta

As a vegetarian. you rely on a few diet staples.  Beans, salads, carrots, potatoes, and pasta.  The trick is to find a way to make it nutritional AND interesting.  It can be fun to go to different restaurants and sample things and try to make it at home.  Often times it's an absolute disgusting disaster and you can't even manage to finish whatever the hell it was you "cooked" and sometimes you get it right.  I remember one of my first few weeks at school in Bozeman I found this fancy Italian restaurant called Johnny Carino's.  Being from a small town that's about 2 1/2 hours from the closest interstate I had never encountered such a place before.  And to me, it was magic.  Now that I'm a little older I realize it's not so great and it's overpriced but at 19 I thought a lot of things were great.  Oh, to be naive again.  I can't for the life of me think of what the hell they called the dish I loved so much but it tasted a little something like this fun pasta I threw together.

You will need:
whole wheat pasta, preferably bow tie or angel hair
2 tbsp capers
2 tbsp black olives, sliced
1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts, cut into bite size pieces
1 tbsp feta cheese
1/8 cup chopped scallion
1 head garlic
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup fresh basil, cut into small pieces
A dash of salt and pepper

So, to start you're gonna want to roast your garlic.  You won't be using all of it in this recipe but believe me, you'll eat what you don't put in the pasta.  Seriously, that shit is delicious just spread on crackers.  Or mixed in hummus.  Or just straight.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.Cut the top off the garlic exposing the tops of as many cloves as possible.  Place garlic in foil and pour 1 tablespoon olive oil over the top.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Close the foil all the way around the garlic and pop it into the oven.

So, while that does it's thing you can get to work on the rest of the ingredients.  Cook pasta according to directions.  Just do a small amount.  Whatever you think you can eat.  Take the shallot and cook it on medium heat until it becomes translucent.  Then combine capers, olives, shallots, tomatoes, feta, fresh basil, and artichoke in a bowl.  Hopefully by this time the garlic should be done.  To test it you can pull it out of the oven and poke one of the cloves with a fork or whatever you have handy.  If it's soft, it's done.  If you get resistance, put it back in.  Pull out a few cloves and cut them into bite size pieces and add to the bowl.  Drain pasta and put the last bit of the olive oil in the pot with it.  Side note, but what's the difference between a pot and pan?  This is one of my life's mysteries.  Throw the bowl full of yummy in with the pasta and toss it.

Serve and enjoy!  This would pair well with a nice crisp white wine, perhaps a Sauvignon Blanc.  My faves are from New Zealand as they get a touch of grapefruit flavor to them.

Megan J

Chicken Alfredo

I have always enjoyed alfredo in restaurants and could never figure out why it just wasn't the same when I had it at home with a jar of alfredo sauce.  Then when I was 22 I lived with my friend, Trixie (not her real name).  When we lived together the joke was that we were married, we called eachother wife and we each had certain duties to do at home.  This joke even followed us when we went out.  If one was with out the other our bar friends would inevitably ask, "Hey, where's your wife?"  When we were at home Trixie cooked, I did dishes.  It was during this time that I discovered why alfredo left something to be desired when made at home...it wasn't homemade sauce.  In performing her "wifely" duties one night Trixie made homemade alfredo sauce and with the first bite I was in love!  Then after we went our separate ways I had to learn to make it on my own, I was astonished at how easy it was.

You will need, for the chicken:
1 chicken breast cubed
oregano
basil
1 clove garlic

for the sauce:
the smallest carton of heavy whipping cream you can find (anymore is WAY too much for one person)
approx. 1/4 c. fresh shredded parmesan cheese
at least one clove of garlic
1-2 Tbsps butter
a few dashes of pepper

You will also need:
1/4-1/2 a diced vine-ripened tomato (they're just better)

First start the water for your pasta, I use GF pasta but you can use whatever the hell you have lying around.  Doesn't matter if your noodles are spaghetti, alfredo, penne, it all tastes the same to me and probably to you too.  Cook the pasta according to the instructions.  Mince the garlic for your chicken and sauce.  Throw the butter for your sauce in a skillet with garlic and do the same with your chicken (I use olive oil for the chicken).  Season your chicken with as much basil and oregano as you like and let cook while preparing sauce.  Once the butter for your sauce has melted completely add the heavy whipping cream use a whisk to stir your cream as it heats.  Once the whipping cream has started bubbling add your parmesan cheese.  I do a little bit at a time and let it incorporate into the cream.  The exact amount of parmesan you use will be based on your own tastes.  I generally use the same amount of parm as cream but you might prefer the taste of less or more.  Add pepper to your sauce to taste.  Continue to heat sauce while whisking until it thickens to desired consistency.  I have discovered that this sauce tastes just is good thick or thin so don't concern yourself to much about getting the right consistency.  In fact Trixie has made this recipe with low fat milk and swears it tastes just as good but is much thinner.  I haven't been brave enough to try.   Dice your tomatoes.

When everything is done pour your sauce over the pasta and chicken and add diced tomatoes to the top.  I also garnished my pasta with extra parmesan.  The tomatoes add a touch of diversity to the dish and it is excellent.  As you can see from my picture I also steamed some broccoli with my dinner.  A little butter, salt, and pepper and even I was willing to eat my veggies:).

Now that I know how to make this dish it has quickly become one of my favorites.  I have also found that it is a continuous crowd pleaser when you get the chance to cook for more than just yourself. 
Megan S.