All kinds of stuff

I started this blog so that I could have a way to record the recipes I make. I haven't posted anything in months though because of the wedding. Now that things are getting back to normal I'm going to try to post what I remember and keep up with it better.

It's been so long that I don't remember a lot of the recipes that I used. I'm going to put all the photos of the stuff I've made in this post and put any information I

remember.

asian chicken with mushrooms

chicken with onions and mushroom pepper quinoa

pecan crusted fish with chickpea, tomato, feta salad

seared tuna and edamame salad

crusted chicken with roasted potatoes and sauteed vegetables

marinated grilled flank steak, broccoli slaw, and smashed potatoes

mushroom soup with truffle oil

pan fried chicken with mushroom sauce and vegetable crumble

Mulligatawny

I made this last night because the weather was crummy all day and because Blake and I aren't feeling 100%. It sounded good and looked easy in the recipe I saw on foodgawker. I have never had this dish before, but Blake knew just what it was when I served it to him. He liked it, and I ate it for lunch again today. I think the squeeze of lemon over the top really made it interesting and delicious. We ate it just with some buttered and toasted naan.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 white onions, chopped (about 3-4 cups)
2 teaspoons minced garlic, (3 – 4 cloves)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
3/4 cup green lentils, rinsed
15 ounce diced tomatoes, with their liquid
32 ounce chicken broth
1/2 cup light unsweetened coconut milk
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving (optional)
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, for serving (optional)
salt to taste

Directions:
Cook the onions, garlic, ginger, garam masala, and curry powder in the olive oil over medium high heat for about 8 minutes. Stir in the lentils to coat them. Add the tomatoes and broth, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let this cook for about 30 minutes or until lentils are tender. Puree with an immersion blender. Stir in the coconut milk and blend it through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lemon.

Brie Stuffed Turkey Burgers

I saw some stuffed burger recipes on foodgawker that gave me the idea for this. Blake was going to grill them, but we realized we were out of propane at the last minute and ended up having to cook them on the stove. It took much longer to cook through, so we added some beer and put a lid on it to help them steam. I wanted to put arugula on this for a little peppery flavor, but there wasn't any at the grocery so I compensated by making the apple mixture very hot. Blake made a spicy mayo ketchup spread for the buns. I served these with salad and some sweet potato fries, but they came out a little mushy, so I have to admit I like the frozen kind better.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey breast
salt, pepper
goat brie
apple
onion
cider vinegar
honey
maple syrup
cayenne pepper
buns

Directions:
Slice small chunks of the brie. Make some small flattened patties out of the turkey meat. Thin out the center as much as possible. Add a slice of cheese in the indentation. Work the edges of the turkey over and around the cheese, adding more if necessary. Work into a flattened patty. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to be grilled.

Meanwhile, chop onion and apple. Sautee onion in a small amount of olive oil until very softened. Add the apple and sautee until softened as well. Add in cider vinegar, honey, and maple syrup as well as cayenne. Cook until thickened. Add water if necessary to achieve desired consistency.

Grill turkey patties a few minutes on each side until completely cooked through. Top with apple mixture and serve on a crispy bun.

Broccoli, Sundried Tomato, Goat Cheese Quiche with roasted potatoes

I used the other frozen pie crust I had to make a second breakfast for dinner. This time I blind baked the crust correctly, but may not have baked it long enough. The crust wasn't very crispy on the bottom. It might have helped to wait for it to cool a little more before eating, but as always I had no patience for that. This one was better the next day too.

For the potatoes, I just quartered them and tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary and baked them in the oven with the quiche for about a half hour, stirring them up occasionally to make sure they got crispy for Blake.

Ingredients:
frozen pie crust,
1 bunch broccoli florets
handful sundried tomatoes, cut into strips
goat cheese
3 eggs
milk
salt, pepper
mozarella

Directions:
Defrost pie crust, poke with holes and blind bake at 375 for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, blanch broccoli florets and tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes. Remove to an ice bath and then drain completely. Add the drained mixture to the crust when it comes out. Beat the eggs and mix them with milk and a good amount of goat cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the broccoli mixture in the crust. Bake for about 25 minutes or until set. Before taking it out of the oven, add some mozarella cheese and broil until browned. Let cool before serving.

Mustard Chicken with Citrus Onions

I used a Martha Stewart recipe to give me an idea for some chicken I needed to use. The sauce came out pretty well and the chicken got crispy from the pan, so Blake liked it a lot. I used fresh oregano instead of tarragon because that's what I had. I got the onion recipe from foodgawker. They looked much better on that blog. Mine came out incredibly soft. I liked them, but they weren't that interesting.

Chicken Ingredients:
boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine, or chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon oregano

Directions:
Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; saute until very crispy and brown. Remove to a foil lined baking sheet and place in oven on 350 until cooked through.
Pour wine into hot skillet; cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Whisk in milk, mustard, and oregano. Cook, whisking, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Right before serving, drizzle cream sauce over chicken.

Onion Ingredients:
2 small red onions
Oil for the pan
Salt to taste
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 bay leaf
Crushed red pepper flakes for sprinkling over the top

Directions:
Peel the onions and cut them into quarters or thick wedges. Be sure to keep the root end intact so that they don't break apart. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, cut side down, sprinkle with salt and reduce the heat for medium. Cook the onions on each cut side for about 4 minutes per side. The onions should be golden.
Add the citrus juices and the bay leaf, then reduce the heat to low and simmer the mixture for about 30 minutes. The juices should reduce to a glaze and thicken as they cook. To serve, sprinkle with a little more salt and the crushed pepper. Serve warm.

Spicy Ground Beef with Potatoes

I saw this recipe on foodgawker and thought it looked very interesting. Mine came out much darker and more greasy than it looked in the picture on the blog, but it was tasty and I had plenty to eat for leftovers during the week. I forgot to add the peas when we had this for dinner, but I added some afterwards so it was in there for my lunches. I also was somehow missing the chiles, even though I know I bought them. It was spicy enough with the seasonings I added though.

Aloo Keema

Ingredients:
Canola oil, or vegetable oil
1 pound ground beef
1 red onion, thinly sliced into half moons
2 heaping tablespoons ginger-garlic paste (2 inch piece of ginger and 5-6 cloves of garlic blended together with a little water)
1 potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 tomatoes, puréed (canned are alright, if they are out of season)
1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon red chili powder/cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
3-4 whole black peppercorns
2 cloves
2-3 green chilies, julienned, seeds removed if you like
nice handful of cilantro, chopped
3 scallions, chopped, optional
garam masala, optional
limes, for garnish, optional

Directions:
Heat a large saucepan on medium heat and add in some oil, to your taste. Let the oil heat up and add the onions and fry them for a few minutes until they start to almost turn light golden brown.
Add in the meat and ginger-garlic paste and keep stirring it until the ground beef is all broken up and in very small pieces. Once the meat is slightly browned add in all the spices except the garam masala and keep mixing until everything is combined and the rawness is cooked out the spices.
Next, add in the tomato purée and mix it into the meat. I also add in half a cup of water at this point. Lower the heat to medium low and cover the pan and allow it to cook for 15 minutes or so.
After fifteen minutes, check the meat and mix it. Cover and let it cook for fifteen more minutes. After fifteen minutes, add in the potatoes and mix everything together a few times. You should no longer see individual pieces of onion (it should have melted into the “masala,” and the oil should start to separate from the meat. If necessary, add a little water (1/4 cup) to help the potatoes cook.
Once the potatoes are cooked, add in the green chilies, cilantro, scallions, and a sprinkling of garam masala and cook for another few minutes. Serve with rice.

Orange Glazed Tofu

I tried to make this recipe earlier in the week, but for some reason I didn't end up cooking that night. I had cut up the tofu and put it in a tupperware so by the time I used it, the cubes had given off a lot of liquid. I think that's really the key to making tofu because the marinade gave it more flavor. The vegetables were cooked in some teriyaki sauce. Blake was late getting home, so by the time we ate they had lost all their color and crispness. The orange glaze had thickened so much that I had to add some more water to it, but everything was still pretty good.

Ingredients:
Firm tofu block (cut into 1″ cubes; drained)
1 tbs oil
Breading procedure set up ( 1/2 c white flour, 1/2 panko crumbs, 1 egg with 1 tbs water)
1/2 c white vinegar
1/8 c granulated sugar
1 tbs soy sauce
1/2 c orange juice
1 teaspoon mixture of red pepper, coriander, cloves
1/2 tbs corn starch

Directions:
Make sure that tofu has been completely drained. Marinate it in orange juice while preparing other ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 and coat a baking sheet with oil. Set up breading stations. Place the tofu into the flour, patt away excess flour before dipping it in egg wash, and finally toss it in the panko crumbs. Bake until they are nice and crispy on all sides. Check every 20 minutes and turn if necessary for equal crispness. Takes about an hour.

Meanwhile, heat a pan and pour in the vinegar and sugar. Whisk it until the sugar dissolves . While it is simmering, mix the starch into the orange juice and added in the spices. Add that to the simmering vinegar and sugar mix and add soy sauce. Let it reduce down until it thickens into a glaze. When the tofu is ready, toss it in the sauce and top with some sesame seeds. Serve with rice.