What I've Been Cooking Lately

While I haven't had a ton of time to blog lately (the posts you've seen have been compiled over several weeks, pieced together here & there), I have still been cooking.  When I went back to work we quickly realized we needed to do some meal planning so we didn't starve to death or end up eating pizza every night.  Having a meal plan written down for the week helps us to figure out who's cooking what, which nights we won't need to cook anything and can just eat leftovers, and helps us to make sure we have enough leftovers for lunches.  

I've been ever-so-slowly working my way through my Recipes to Try on Pinterest. I try to keep a running list of what recipes I want to try next alongside my menu plan for the week, so I can cross things off as we use them and then add new recipes based on what's on sale or what we need to use up in the fridge. So, here's what I've tried recently, and my thoughts/tweaks to those recipes:

Easy Weeknight Chicken Parmesan - This was the recipe found inside a can of Progresso  Fire Roasted Tomato Recipe Starters in our pantry.  I've used a few of these Recipe Starters and have thus far been underwhelmed.  They all have a pretty "prepackaged" flavor.  I added a ton of garlic and basil to this sauce, which helped.  We used the excess sauce to make a pasta side dish.

"Chicken parm you taste so good..."  Thanks, Manning.

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup:  This one was practically perfect as-is. I made it for my church small group and everyone requested that I send them the recipe. I did use more cumin (probably closer to 2-3 teaspoons) and used smoked salt instead of regular--what can I say, I like my Mexican dishes a little smoky!

Crockpot Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs:  This is possibly the easiest meal I've ever made, and it was really tasty.  You literally cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, plop the two halves into the crock, then pour in a jar of sauce and toss in some frozen meatballs, set to high for 3 hours, then go back to playing with your kid.  Perfect.

Crockpot Mashed Potatoes:  This one ended up being a flop for me, but I think I accidentally used too much milk--I also think it would have worked better with russets instead of red potatoes.  Reds have a tendency to not be as fluffy, and when I OD'd on milk the end result was a gluey mess.

Crock Pot Beef & Broccoli:  This one was also a flop.  The meat completely fell apart after having been cooked for 8 hours on low, so we essentially had shredded beef & broccoli over rice.  The sauce also didn't really ever thicken up, and was sweeter than I would have liked, so we added extra soy and sriracha. 

Baked Crispy Sweet Potato Wedges:  While not as crispy as I had hoped, these were still delicious.  Great as a side with burgers or brats.

All grilling best when completed by The Hubs with his young apprentice.

Hummus Crusted Chicken:  The hummus "crust" never really got crunchy, but it DID keep the chicken nice and moist and even my father-in-law, who doesn't like hummus, said this was a really tasty dish. I used Sundried Tomato Basil Sabra hummus, and seasoned both sides of the chicken with Cajun seasoning before adding the hummus.

Baked Garlic Paprika Chicken:  This was tasty. I recommend using smoked paprika.  Also--I was lazy and didn't heat the oil & spices together--I just tossed them in a gallon Ziploc and then added the chicken to the bag, tossing to coat.  Still a delicious result.

Biscuit Waffles 'n Gravy:  Technically only "pinspired" by Pinterest, and the trend of waffling everything these days.  We stuck some Grands biscuits in the waffle iron, and my Hubs made his famous sawmill gravy.  The biscuits were a little tough, but tasty--and no fork required, you could just pick them up & eat them.  Good schtuff.

Cajun Black Bean Soup:  My soup did not end up as creamy as I would have liked--I could never get the puree to be thin enough, so it just had some bean chunks in it. I did use Camellia brand black beans. However, flavor-wise this was delicious.  Also--before you start this recipe, note the long cook time.  I didn't and we ended up eating dinner at about 8pm that night. :)

Mushroom & Kale Ramen:  This was a nice spin on regular ramen.  I used baby portabellas instead of shiitake, but it was still a yummy bite. I also added a bit of fish sauce because...well, because it's in our fridge, and it makes me feel fancy.

Ravioli Lasagna:  We didn't really follow any recipe exactly, but the recipe under the link is close to what we made.  I used frozen cheese raviolis from Aldi, 1 lb of sliced smoked sausage links, 1 jar Italian sausage pasta sauce, and tons of mozzarella & Italian cheese blend.  Just layered the ingredients and baked for 40 minutes at 350F.

PF Chang's Style Lettuce Wraps:  These were super-tasty & really easy to throw together. I will definitely be making again.

Herbed Chicken & Pasta:  This dish had great flavor but ended up being WAY too salty for our taste. I think if you could find a low-sodium version of the soup mixes it might help, or just eliminate one of the mixes (either the garlic mix or the onion soup mix).

There's a few other things I've made recently but they were tinkered with enough (or are Cajun enough) to warrant their own post, so I'll save those for later.  You know...when I have time. :)

Feaux Pho: AKA, Ramen for Adult Students.

I first entered college in the fall of 1998 at Southwest Missouri State University (now just called Missouri State University).  I lived in Freudenberger House (aka “Freddy”), one of the older dorms on campus which had only one elevator, and that elevator couldn’t be used unless you had a disability or were moving in/out.  I lived on the fourth floor (4WW, holla!!!), and it was that four-story walkup that probably saved me from the “Freshman 15”.  Our room overlooked the university’s former pool, which was empty and always made me wish it wasn’t.  I think they finally got around filling it in since then.

My desk in my dorm room.  As you can see, I was a little obsessed with putting crap on the wall.  And check out that antique beige contraption taking up half the desktop… Windows 98, baby!

I only lived in the dorms for one year, then had an off-campus apartment from then on.  But in the dorms, open flame was not allowed.  So all cooking had to be done using either a microwave or hot plate.  I wish I’d been kitchen-savvy enough at the time to realize that could have also included a CrockPot; I could have been making some seriously gourmet eats.

Instead, I lived on a steady diet of unlimited cafeteria grub (you mean I can have cereal AND pizza?  Heck yessss…) and I had a stockpile of Goldfish crackers, Ramen, Spaghetti-Os, and canned ravioli in my dorm room, supplied in bulk courtesy of my Nana & her Sam’s Club membership. :D

And even though my gastronomic skills have expanded greatly since those days, I still regularly have Ramen in my desk drawer at work for a quick lunch if I’m swamped.

However, in homage to my return to Academia this week (for a class in GeoChemistry, eep!), I figured an Ode To Ramen was in order.

But not just regular, plain-Jane Ramen.  Heck no, that’s not blog-worthy.

We need something delicious and grown-up that actually constitutes a full meal.

We need pho.

Well…. Feaux Pho.

Pho typically is served with beef or chicken as the protein, but since this isn’t a traditional pho, I wasn’t too worried about putting my own spin on it.  And I was craving scallops (since I had some in my freezer).

My very first experience with pho was at Pho Bang in New Orleans, thanks to my friend/coworker Vee.  It’s amazing how such a “simple” food can cover an entire table.  At Pho Bang, all the components are served separately, so that you can “customize” your pho to your exact taste.  It’s a great concept, but when it’s your first time and all of a sudden, your table is covered in small bowls of hoisin, cilantro, bean sprouts, mushrooms, scallions, thai basil, lime wedges, serrano slices, and thinly sliced uncooked beef… you start to wonder exactly what you got yourself in to.

But here’s how it works:  You get a big bowl that contains your noodles and steaming hot broth.  The heat from the broth will cook the beef and all the other ingredients, making a delicious and filling, yet light beef soup.  The aroma of the thai basil will work its way into your nose, up your brainstem, and lodge this dish permanently in your cerebellum. 

Anywayyyy…. enough reminiscing.  Let’s make with the food.

 

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 tsp ginger

1 cinnamon stick*

2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms (this was about 3 mushrooms)

1 green onion, sliced

salt (if needed)

2 packages instant ramen, chicken flavor (if you decide to go the traditional beef route, use a beef flavor instead)

6 oz scallops, fresh or thawed

1/2 tsp chinese five spice

Cilantro, lime wedges, thinly sliced jalapeno or serrano peppers, bean sprouts, thai basil (sadly, we didn’t have the last two as I forgot to go to the asian market)

*The original recipe also called for star anise, but I didn’t have any onhand.

 

Directions:

Prep your veggies (mushrooms, onion, green onion, peppers, etc.) and set aside.

Then boil your noodles for about a minute less than the package directions.  I used the microwave because…well…it’s Ramen.

I didn’t break up the noodles because I wanted to be able to easily eat this with chopsticks, because that’s just the way pho should go, yo. (PS—if you suck at chopsticks, you can totally use a fork. No one will judge you.)

Once the noodles are done, drain and divide between two large bowls.

In a small stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium, and then add the sliced onion, garlic, and ginger.  Cook until the garlic begins to brown, about 3 minutes.  Add 5 cups of water, the two seasoning packets from the Ramen packages, and the cinnamon stick, and bring to a boil.  Then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, season the scallops with the five spice and sear in a small skillet.  This is not necessarily because I don’t trust the broth to cook them, but because I think scallops just look tastier when they’re seared.

Don’t you agree?

Back to your broth:  Add your mushrooms and green onions and simmer for about 2 minutes.  Then check for seasoning and add salt, if needed.

Fish the cinnamon stick and garlic cloves out of the pot and discard.  Then ladle the broth into the bowls on top of the noodles.  Scatter the scallops on top.

Garnish with the cilantro, peppers, lime juice, bean sprouts, basil, whatever you have, ‘til you like the taste.  Some people I know also add hoisin or soy sauce.  It’s really all about your preference.

Then break out the chopsticks!!!

YUM!!!! It’s not as genuine as Pho Bang, but it’ll satisfy my craving!  I served it with a pork egg roll on the side.  SUPER filling and not a ton of calories!

So here’s to all the students headed back to the books this week.  May your pencils (and wits) stay sharp, may your pens not run dry, and may you not doze off in class!

 

NutriFacts:

Calories 295.7

  Total Fat 7.9 g

  Saturated Fat 3.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g

  Cholesterol 28.1 mg

  Sodium 971.4 mg

  Potassium 480.9 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 36.5 g

  Dietary Fiber 1.3 g

  Sugars 1.0 g

  Protein 21.2 g