Potato Salad (mayo free)

One of the best parts of summer are the family bbqs. It's always great to get together with friends and family to share a great meal - and its always made better when you can enjoy the sunshine.  Potato salad is one of the quintessential icons of summer. Seems like its semi-un-American to have a bbq without potato salad.  However, one of the things David & I have in common is that there are no mayonnaise jars allowed in our fridge.  We don't eat the stuff. I'm a little more lenient when it comes to saucy condiments, but nonetheless, I set out on a journey to find a mayo-free potato salad substitute - and I believe I may have found one.

Recipe: Potato Salad

Basicially, its red potatoes tossed in a vinegar/oil dressing and mixed with some veggies. I didn't have/want to purchase flavored rice vinegar, so I used plain rice vinegar and mixed in a small handful of some Herbes de Provence that I had stored in the pantry.

I added the drained potatoes while they were still hot in a bowl with the vinegar mixture, and was a little nervous at first because the smell of warm vinegar potatoes was a little strong. I was afraid that I had created a monster of pickled potatoes - but don't fear - with a little time, it all mellowed out. I made this the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight to allow the flavor of the vinegar to meld around with everything. The vinegar could hardly be tasted - it just gave things a little zip.

I will definately be making this one again - probably much to my sister's demise - as she liked to pick out all the veggies.  Watch out pasta salad - you may have met your match.

Chocolate-Banana Cream Pie

For Father's Day, I decided that I'd whip up something a little special that I knew my dad would enjoy.  It might not have been the healthiest or most calorie friendly of desserts, but this baby was a delicious pie.  This guy was heavy - it probably weighed in at a good 3-4 lbs.  The combination of chocolate cookie crust, banana slices, chocolate cream filling and whipped cream on the top was to die for.  A little slice went a long way with this guy.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make: Chocolate Cream Pie.  The recipe did not call for the bananas - I added those in as a layer on the bottom and sides of the crust before adding the pudding.  2 bananas sliced was plenty to cover the bottom and sides of the crust. I would definately recommend using the deepest pie dish you've got - you won't want any of the filling to go to waste!

This guy took a bit of time to make, as I had forgotten how long it actually takes to get homemade pudding to thicken - especially when using low-fat milk.  Homemade pudding is simply a combination of milk, cornstarch, sugar and egg yolks.  I think it takes a bit longer when using low-fat milk as its pretty thin to begin with, but that's what I had in the fridge.  Its amazing how 45 minutes of whisking turns into delectible chocolate pudding. No easy shortcuts on this one.

I didn't get a picture of it, but after transporting, I topped the whole thin with some thickly whipped cream and sprinkled with almond slivers.  Watch out Marie Callendar's.

Baked Turkey Egg Rolls

Hello Internet! David here with an important message:

Stop.

Stop what you're doing right now.

Whatever you are in the middle of is not nearly as important as what you're about to read.

However, take note of this moment. At this time you are blissfully ignorant. Unaware of a culinary masterpiece that will not only enslave you with its delicious taste, but knock all of your favorite recipes down a peg. Take note, dear reader, for this moment is akin to moving out of your parents home for the first time, or the instant before your first kiss. This is the moment before you lose your cooking innocence. This is the moment before your life changes forever.



The shining light at the bottom of the precipice from which you're about to tumble off is Baked Turkey Egg Rolls. Their preparation is simple and concise; So easy I won't bother elaborating here, but simply link to you at the end. Your home will be filled with smells of the freshest and most decadent Chinese food you've ever tasted. Your mouth will be full of contradiction that even an episode of Lost would envy. Salty, savory, sweet... alliteration aside, you're brain won't know what to make of these.

My life has been changed forever, and I still have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.



LINK WHICH COULD EASILY BE DESCRIBED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT MOUSE CLICK OF YOUR LIFE

Chicken-Apple Sausages

Sunday was definitely a BBQ day.  After a long day on Saturday with both of us at respective family graduation ceremonies and getting burnt in the sun - Sunday was a nice relaxing day *(full of lawn mowing and studying).

Tonight was a simple quick dinner, nothing difficult: leftover pasta salad & bbq'd chicken sausages on a whole wheat bun.  The chicken sausages that we pick up are a bit on the spendy side (about $1.25 a piece), but they are so fresh tasting.  New Seasons usually has a great selection in their meat case of all kinds of flavors, but I opted for pre-packaged selection from Albertsons.  Almost summertime - love it!

Colorful Pot-Luck Worthy Pasta Salad

It seems like most everyone has a "go-to" pot-luck type dish.  For example, my mom is the baker of pies.  Any special occasion, she makes the pies. Pies are her thing.  Over the years, she has the crust and filling down to an exact science.  And then my grandma, she the maker of crescent rolls - yeasty and flaky.  I have not perfected a special occasion food item, but I have discovered that for nearly every large summer type gathering I tend to lean towards the same pot-luck dish: Pasta Salad.

I don't remember when the Hein/Vranizan Pasta Salad trend began, but it seems like its always the thing I tend to make for gatherings - perhaps because its so darn easy.

My brother is graduating college tomorrow!   In celebration of his accomplishment, on what promises to be a gorgeous day, we're having a pot-luck bbq in his honor after the ceremonies. And yup, I made pasta salad.

In the mix:

• 2 zucchini
• 2 cartons of plum tomatoes
• 1 each: red, yellow and orange bell peppers
• 1 cucumber
• 4 oz of reduced fat feta cheese crumbles
• handful of blue cheese stuffed olives & Kalamata olives, sliced thin
• 4 oz of coarsely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 1/2 boxes of wheat spiral pasta (would have been 2 boxes, but ran out of room in the bowl)
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup of light italian dressing

I like to keep the dressing pretty light and let the flavors of the other ingredients shine through. 

This recipe makes a GIANT bowl of pasta salad - so much that I had to leave out some of the pasta and scoop myself a little bowl for dinner :)

And just to show you how many veggies are in this thing, this is how full the bowl is before adding any pasta:

Tons of: Vegetable Stifry

Yup, another vegetarian meal was on the menu for last night.  No - we haven't switched to a vegetarian diet, but grocery shopping is a bit more satisfying when 85% of the cart comes from the produce section and I hardly even ventured into the dreaded center aisles.

This stirfry utilized some yakisoba noodles we had on hand, even though they were masked by the copious amounts of vegetables I threw in.  This baby made a giant wok full of stirfry - our fridge is screaming at us to eat leftovers.

In this stirfry we've got (in order of cook time)

• 1 zucchini, sliced & quartered
• 1 bunch of bok choy, just the leaves sliced
• 1 head of cabbage, quartered then sliced nice and thin (coleslaw style)
• 5 or so mushrooms, sliced
• 2 carrots, thin ribbons from using the vegetable peeler
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 package of yakisoba noodles

Cooking the vegetables created enough moisture in the wok that only a minimal amount of sauce was necessary.

Sauce:

• a few tablespoons of lime juice
• few dashes of rice vinegar
• quite a few dashes of red pepper flakes
• few dashes of soy sauce
• 1/4 cup or so of teriyaki sauce

Like I mentioned before - this made tons!  Looking forward to leftovers as lunch, plus another dinner later on. YUM :)

Hearty (Almost) Vegetarian Chili

Nothing like an end to a workday with a hearty, comforting bowl of homemade chili & some cornbread. 
* I say almost vegetarian because we used Worcestershire sauce, which apparently is made from fish - you learn something new everyday.

Saute a bit of fresh garlic with some olive oil in the bottom of a big soup pot.  Let it sizzle for just a few minutes, then add:

• 3 cups of water
• 2 cans diced tomaotes - juice and all
• 1 can each, drained & rinsed: garbanzo beans, black beans, cannelloni beans
• variety of spices to taste: chili powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, pepper, salt, dashes of Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl whisk together 3/4 cups of water with 1 small can of tomato paste and then pour into the chili.
I let the chili simmer for about 15 minutes while the cornbread muffins cooked away.  Gotta love Jiffy cornbread muffins - can't beat the .79 for enough mix to make 6 tasty muffins. 

Overall, this meal clocked in not too shabby - rib sticking enough for David, with lots of healthy proteins - and tons for leftovers!

Roasted Chicken & Vegetables with Quinoa

Last night's dinner with full of lots of veggies!  In an effort to get more fruits and vegetables in my diet, I've been heaping them up in our dinners.  The thai noodle salad left David hungry for a bit more, so with this meal I tried to make something that would be a bit more "rib-sticking" and satisfying.  But, as David put it: "Its not satisfying like a cheeseburger, because its not a cheeseburger".  Good call :)

This meal actually used 2 more pans than I like to use on week day meals, but there isn't a lot of stirring or tending needed, so I didn't mind dirtying up a couple extra dishes - especially if I have someone else to help clean up the mess - thanks babe!

I tried to time everything so that it would finish about the same time:

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Bring 2 cups of chicken broth to a boil. 
• On a sheet pan, toss 1 chicken breast with a drizzle of sesame oil, garlic powder, onion powder & pepper.  
• Put in the oven for about 10 minutes.
• Once broth is boiling, put in 1 cup of rinsed quinoa. (See the Special Occasion Dinner post for more info about quinoa. Lower heat to a simmer and cover - cook for 15 minutes.
• When the 10 minutes on the chicken is up - make room on the sheet pan for 1 bunch of asparagus quartered and 1 head of broccoli cut into florets. Toss also with another round of sesame oil, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper.  Roast for another 10-15 minutes.
• When the quinoa has finished its 15 minutes - turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes (to finish absorbing the liquid)
• Meanwhile - get a skillet pan ready with 1 clove of garlic cut into thin slices and just a bit of extra-virgin olive oil.
• When the veggies & chicken are nice and roasted, shred up the chicken with 2 forks.
• Wilt 1 bag of baby spinach in the skillet with the garlic & olive oil with a 1/4 cup or less of chicken stock.
• Combine veggies & shredded chicken in the skillet with the wilted spinach and toss to combine.
• Serve veggie mixture over quinoa and top with a touch of freshly grated parmesan cheese

It looks like a lot of steps and a lot of ingredients for a week-night dinner, but it came out well and was pretty satisfying for being a plate of green vegetables.  And it made plenty for lunch leftovers!

Thai Noodle Salad

As we all know by now - Thai frequents our kitchen often.  Instead of typical Phad-Thai, I wanted to make something a little fresher and a bit lighter.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pkg Thai Rice Noodles
• Head of Broccoli - cut into florets
• Mango - cubed
• Large carrot - shredded
• 2 green onions
• Handful of bean sprouts
• Handful of peanuts - crushed
• Lime juice
• Tablespoon of peanut butter
• Rice Vinegar
• Fish Sauce
• Dash of Sriracha (aka Rooster Hot Sauce)
• Sesame Oil

I apologize for the lack of measurement of ingredients - but I kinda made this one up as I went along.

Bring a pot of water to boil, then take off the heat and dump in the rice noodles. Let the noodles soak and get happy for about 10 minutes, and throw in the broccoli during the last 5 minutes or so.  This gives you enough time to prep the remaining ingredients. 

I like to prep my carrots by thinly peeling them with a vegetable peeler.  It gives a great thin piece of carrot.

Mix together the carrot, mango cubes, green onion, bean sprouts & peanuts in a small bowl.

In another small dish, whisk together peanut butter, few tablespoons of lime juice, dash of fish sauce, dash of sesame oil, teaspoon or so of rice vinegar, and just a dash of the hot sauce.  Stir this into the drained broccoli noodle mixture.

Serve the veggie salad on top of a bed of the warm noodles & broccoli. 

This was a refreshing dish that had a great blend of flavors & textures and was 100% vegetarian! 

Homemade Hummus

I am very much a fan of hummus.  Frequently when we go out with friends to grab a bite to eat, or I'm on the road traveling for work - I'll order the appetizer of hummus as my entree.  Hummus is refreshing, light but also satisfying and filling.  We went out with friends last night to the Raccoon Lodge, and opting out of a big burger with fries, I ordered the hummus plate.  I should have correlated the quality of the burger to the lacking quality of the hummus plate - it left a lot to be desired.  So today - as my lunch, I sought out on the mission to make homemade hummus in my still shiny new food processor.

It's so pretty :)  And yup - there's peanut butter in the picture.  There's a bit of a story:  I went to the store to gather the ingredients for the hummus - I really only needed garbanzo beans and tahini paste.  I went to the Albertson's that is super close to us - and after several minutes on the hunt for tahini paste I didn't find it.  I didn't have the patience to drive to another store, so I used the power of the internet to find a quick substitute.  Thanks to Alton Brown, I was able to whip up something tasty.

• 1 clove of garlic (Alton wanted 2-3, but after my aioli experience, I shied away for too much garlic
• 1 can of garbonzo beans (drained, but save the liquid)
• 2 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter
• handful of parsely
• 1 lemon, zested & juiced
• 1/3 cup of EVOO

Pulse together the garlic, beans, and 1/2 of the bean liquid until semi-smooth.  Then pulse in the peanut butter, parsely, lemon zest & juice (only for a couple of seconds).  Then drizzle in the olive oil until nice and creamy.


It paired excellently with a fresh cucumber:

Next time I'm on the hunt for groceries I will defintaly have to find tahini paste. Using peanut butter didn't taste terrible - in fact I could hardly taste it except for a slight aftertaste.  I had a large lemon - so using all the juice and zest gave it quite a zip.  Definitely a snack I will make again and tweak as time goes on.

Special Occasion: Lamb Chops, Asparagus, Quinoa Salad & Lemon Tarts

This last Sunday (Memorial Day weekend) in celebration of taking the 2nd of the 4 monster CPA tests on Saturday - we decided to have a few friends over for a special occasion dinner.  I hadn't really been cooking anything other than 1 pot wonders the past few weeks - if we've been cooking at all - so I decided to step it up a notch and make a few things to take me out of my spaghetti pot comfort zone.

On the menu:
Lamb chops (which I have never had lamb before)
Asparagus with Aioli (utilization of my new food processor - thanks Karen)
Quinoa, Pea & Mint Salad (first experience with Quinoa - pronounced "KEEN-wah")
Mini-Lemon Tarts (also a use of the food processor - and an attempt at a recreation of a dessert David & I had while on vacation in Gearhart)

Unfortuntalely, I didn't get a picture of all the food on the table - but it was quite a spread.

I used Martha's cookbook for all but the lemon tart recipe.  

- Lamb chops:
I ventured to New Seasons - which is a rare occurrence and sprung for some lamb rib chops.  These are pretty small - but I got enough for 2 per person.  I just pan fried the chops seasoned with a bit of salt & pepper.  I cooked the chops in shifts in my pan - so as to give them plenty of room to get happy.  Once they were all nice and seared and cooked to a medium-rare - medium, I threw them all back in the pan and tossed with some lemon juice and zest.  The flavor of lamb is difficult for me to describe.  It was interesting and different - and I'm afraid in my effort to not overcook some pricey cuts of meat - some of it may have been a tad on the rare side. 


- Asparagus with Garlic Aioli:
I paired some blanched asparagus with a garlicky aioli.  I loved being able to try out my new food processor with something I would normally never make.  Aioli is basically mayonaisse - which I don't normally like - but I thought I'd give a shot with homemade.  I zipped together an egg, 1 clove of garlic, 1/2 cup of canola oil and 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil.  1 clove of garlic was almost too much!  It complemented the asparagus with a twang but I felt like with a little taste I could ward off vampires.


- Quinoa Salad with Pea & Mint:
Quinoa is something I have heard about from a few of my co-workers.  They supplement their traditional white grains (rice, pasta, etc) with this nutty-flavored grain in the effort to get more nutrients in their diet.  Martha's cookbook has a tidbit about it being the only non-animal protein that contains all of the essential amino acids.  I found this grain in the bulk section of the natural foods portion of Fred Meyer. At 1.49 a lb, 1 cup of this stuff isn't too spendy at all - only a few cents.  I cooked up 1 cup of rinsed quinoa (use a super small sieve or it will all end up in the sink) with 2 cups of chicken stock. It cooks up for about 20 minutes with the addition of 1 cup of peas during the last 5 minutes of cooking.  It was a refreshing alternative to a traditional starch side.

- Mini Lemon Tarts:
In my hunt for a tart pan at BBB, I came across a set of 6 mini 4" tart pans.  Since it's just the two of us - it doesn't make sense for me to own a traditional sized tart pan - so I opted for the single serving dessert choice.  Since we had a table of six - the small dessert pans worked out perfectly.  This dessert was a bit time consuming.  I started the dough the night before.  Start to finish probably took me about 2-3 hours - which is a bit rediculous.  I welcomed the time in the kitchen, but would not make this dessert on any type of regular basis.  The food processor produced a flaky tart crust that held up well to the lemony filling.  The dessert David & I enjoyed in a restaurant in Seaside had a much more creamy type of lemon filling - but perhaps on the next try.

This dinner was a great special occasion dinner. It was great to be able to share time with my husband and friends around the dinner table.  It was great to take a short break from studying to enjoy life a bit :)

Lemony-Apricot Chicken

This chicken falls under the same type of cooking style as the Sweet-Spicy Pork below.  These were spaced a few days apart - I'm just posting in order of pictures that my camera card pops up with :) 

• A few thin chicken breasts
• tsp of curry powder, pinch of salt & pepper
• juice & rind from 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup of apricot preserves

I already had some apricot jam handy - and I never the buy that flavor of fruit - which makes me think I must have made something like this in the past.  The jam wasn't expired (does it expire)?, so I forged on.

Mix together curry powder, salt & pepper & rub on chicken.  Cook in pan until heated through. I didn't use any oil in my pan - so the curry created a burned on effect on the bottom of my pan - but the juice/jam mixture saved the day as it 'de-glazed' my pan.  Fancy.  Once chicken is cooked - remove from pan and stir in the lemon & apricot. The lemon and apricot heat up into a tangy fruit sauce, which paired well with the crustifed chicken curry bits on the bottom of my pan.  Spoon sauce over chicken & serve. 

David didn't eat this one up with as much vigor as the pork posted previously - but it made for some good leftovers.

Spicy-Sweet Pork

Yes - I'm way behind in posts - I have been cooking - but with the studying and such I just haven't gotten around to posting. While the below described Shrimp with Spaghetti left room for improvement  - this little number earned me a few gold stars for the week.  David absolutely loved this dinner!  Plus it was super cheap and very tasty.

I found some thin cut porkchops on super sale - which helped make this dish super cheap!  You may read the ingredients list and get a little nervous and think - soy, ginger - ok, salsa, raspberry jam - what?!? - Trust me - its tasty delicious.  The pairing of the soy & the sweet salsa is tantalizing on the taste buds.

• 1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce
• 1  teaspoon  bottled minced fresh ginger
• 1  teaspoon  bottled minced garlic
• 1  teaspoon  canola oil
• 1  (1-pound) pork thin cut pork chops
• 1/3  cup  bottled salsa
• 1  tablespoon  seedless raspberry preserves
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro

Pan fry the pork chops with the soy, ginger, garlic mixture poured over top while cooking - this gave it a great flavor. Since the pork chops were so thin - this took a matter of minutes.

Remove the pork chips from the pan and then heat up the salsa & raspberry jam.  We used some leftover fresh salsa & some no sugar added raspberry jam. Cook the salsa - jam mixture just until warm and spoon over the pork.  Top with the cilantro.

This one was definitely a winner.  This would go great with a side salad or even some fresh veggies. 

And no - we don't encourage our cat to sit on our table - she just wanted to be in the picture - she feels her profile is her best side :P