Sloppy Joes

I had sloppy Joes for the first time not to long ago at a friends house and ever since then I have wanted to make my own. This is a super easy meal to make when you are not really in the mood to cook. My advice, let it simmer for a good 25 minutes after you have mixed the ingredients. It might have a strong vinegary smell but if you cook it for long enough you will not have that bitter taste.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 6 potato rolls

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the ground beef. Cook and stir until the beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease.
2. Stir in ketchup, salsa, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, white vinegar, Dijon mustard, and hot sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat 20 to 30 minutes. Serve on rolls. Serves 6

Edamame Dip with Crudites

Indegrents:

• 4 large carrots
• 3 celery ribs, strings removed with a vegetable peeler
• 1 seedless cucumber (usually plastic-wrapped), halved lengthwise and cored
• 1 bunch radishes
• 1 lb fresh or frozen shelled edamame (soybeans; 3 cups)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Cut carrots, celery, and cucumber into 1/2-inch-wide sticks (2 1/2 inches long). Cut radishes lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water and keep cut vegetables in ice water (to keep crisp) while making dip.

Cook edamame in 1 1/2 quarts boiling water with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a 3-quart heavy saucepan 3 minutes, then reserve 3/4 cup cooking liquid and drain edamame in a colander. Rinse under cold water until cool.

Dry saucepan and add garlic and 3 tablespoons oil, then cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is pale golden, 3 to 5 minutes.

Purée 2 cups edamame with garlic-oil mixture in a food processor until smooth. With motor running, add 1/2 cup reserved edamame-cooking liquid in a stream. Add remaining cup edamame, lime juice, sugar, pepper, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and remaining teaspoon salt and pulse until slightly lumpy. Add remaining 1/4 cup cooking liquid to thin if desired, then stir in cilantro.

Transfer dip to a serving dish and serve with vegetables, drained and patted dry, for dipping.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Edamame-Dip-with-Crudites-232965#ixzz1I04vhVPY

 

Kickin' Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

• 1 6-ounce bag spicy pita chips
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets, cut into 3-inch pieces
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 scallions, trimmed and chopped

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400° F.
2. Place the pita chips and Parmesan in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely ground. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the parsley, if using. 
3. In a medium bowl, beat the egg with 1 teaspoon water. Dip the chicken in the egg, letting any excess drip off, then in the pita-chip mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere.
4. Place the chicken pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream and scallions and serve with the chicken for dipping.

Sweet Pea and Potato Pasta

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces fettuccine (3/4 box)
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• kosher salt and pepper
• 2 pounds garden peas in their pods (2 cups shelled)
• 6 scallions, trimmed and chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain, return the pasta to the pot, and toss with 4 tablespoons of the oil.
2. While the pasta cooks, place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a simmer. Add 1 tablespoon salt and cook until tender, about 12 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, shell the peas. When the potatoes have 2 minutes left to cook, add the peas to the pot. Finish cooking, drain, and transfer to pasta pot.
4. Stir in the scallions, ¼ cup Parmesan, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
5. Divide among bowls and top with the remaining ¼ cup Parmesan.

Tofu Vegetable Stir-Fry

This recipe is awesome! I changed up the vegetables in it to whatever was in my fridge so I had white mushrooms, red pepper and carrots. I put this over some white sticky rice and it was great.

Ingredients1/4 cup sodium-reduced soy sauce  

1/4 1/4cup cup(50 mL) (50 mL) sodium-reduced soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar 1 1tbsp tbsp(15 mL) (15 mL) rice vinegar
1 tbsp hoisin sauce 1 1tbsp tbsp(15 mL) (15 mL) hoisin sauce
2 tsp cornstarch 2 2tsp tsp(10 mL) (10 mL) cornstarch
1 pkg extra-firm tofu 1 1pkg pkgextra-firm tofu
2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 2tbsp tbsp(25 mL) (25 mL) vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves , minced3 3garlic clovegarlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp gingerroot , minced1 1tbsp tbsp(15 mL) (15 mL) gingerroot, minced
1 pinch hot pepper flakes 1 1pinch pinchhot pepper flakes
2 carrots , thinly sliced on the diagonal2 2carrotcarrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1-1/2 cups sliced & stemmed shiitake mushroom caps 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cups(375 mL) (375 mL) sliced & stemmed shiitake mushroom capshiitake mushroom caps
1 cup snow peas , trimmed and cut diagonally in half1 1cup cup(250 mL) (250 mL) snow peasnow peas, trimmed and cut diagonally in half
2 green onions , thinly sliced2 2green oniongreen onions, thinly sliced
2 tsp sesame oil 2 2tsp tsp(10 mL) (10 mL) sesame oil

2 tsp sesame oil 2tsp(10 mL)

Preparation:

In small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, cornstarch and 3 tbsp (50 mL) water; set aside.

Pat tofu dry; cut into 3/4-inch (2 cm) cubes. In large wok, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat; stir-fry tofu until golden, about 6 minutes. Transfer to plate.

Heat remaining oil in wok over medium-high heat; stir-fry garlic, ginger and hot pepper flakes for 30 seconds.

Add carrots and mushrooms; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add 1 tbsp (15 mL) water; cover and steam until carrots are tender, about 3 minutes.

Add snow peas, tofu and soy sauce mixture; bring to boil and boil, stirring, until thickened and vegetables are tender, about 1 minute. Stir in green onions and sesame oil.

Baked Egg Rolls

I am a huge fan of egg rolls because they are really not bad for you. Everything in them is relatively healthy for you it's just the fact that 9 times out of 10 they are deep fried and that's what kills it. So I went on a mission for a baked egg role recipe to try to see if that still tastes as delicious.Now, these are a huge hit in my house, hope they are in yours too!

1lg lean ground pork
3 green onions, chopped
2 minced cloves of garlic
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp pepper
12 large egg roll wrappers (usually are found frozen or in produce)
1 tsp vegetable oil

Directions:


Cook pork over medium-high heat, breaking up with spoon until no longer pink. Add onions, garlic, carrot and water chestnuts; cook over medium heat until onions are softened, about 3 minutes. In small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, cornstarch, 1 tbsp water, sesame oil and pepper; pour into pan and toss well. Let cool slightly. Roll the egg rolls using 1 tbsp of filling. Place seam side down on rimmed baking sheet; brush with oil. Bake in 375F oven until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes per side.

Peanut Butter Balls

The all time best way to get rid of a peanut butter and chocolate craving. Super easy to make and super tasty!

2 cups (500 grams) creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 - 2 1/2 cups (230 - 290 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar

Chocolate Coating

9 ounces (255 grams) semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons (25 grams) shortening

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the peanut butter, unsalted butter, and salt in a microwaveable bowl, and heat in the microwave for about one minute or until just soft (check and stir the ingredients every 20 seconds). Stir in the vanilla extract and confectioners sugar and mix until it has the consistency of a dough (add more sugar if necessary).

Roll the dough into 1 inch (2.5 cm) round balls. Place on the cookie sheet and refrigerate for about one hour, or until firm.

Melt the chocolate and shortening in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Dip the balls, one at a time, in the melted chocolate, making sure the entire ball is coated with chocolate. Then, with two spoons or a dipping fork, remove the peanut butter ball from the melted chocolate, allowing any excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Place the chocolate covered balls back on the baking sheet. When all the balls have been dipped in the chocolate, place in the refrigerator until the chocolate has set. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. To serve: place in small fluted candy cups.

Note: If you want to make Buckeyes: place a toothpick into each peanut butter ball and dip, one ball at a time, into the melted chocolate, leaving the top quarter of each ball undipped.

Makes about 40 pieces, depending on size. Preparation time 30 minutes.

Coconut Macaroons

So I was on vacation for a week and during my travels I came across macaroons and had to try and make them myself. I found this random recipe on the internet that ended up being really easy to do.

Ingredients:

4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:
In a stainless steel bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the egg whites, sugar and salt. When this mixture is warm to the touch, and nice and creamy, remove from head and stir in the vanilla extract, flour, and coconut. Cover and refrigerate for about two hours, or until firm.
Preheat oven to 325F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place small mounds (heaping tablespoons) of the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing several inches apart. Baking for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 2 dozen macaroons

Lean Tofu Pad Thai

I am a huge fan of Thai food and if it can be made in a healthy, nutritious way I love it even more. Other then their soups my next favorite thing is Pad Thai. I found this recipe for Lean Tofu Pad Thai on the clean eating magazine website where I find a lot of my recipes http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/Home.aspx

Now I know that not everyone likes tofu and you are very much not into trying if there is always alternatives for the protein in this meal. You can always swap out the tofu for cubed chicken breast, shrimp or turkey breast. 

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz brown rice noodles
• 4 tbsp unsalted tomato paste
• 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 egg white, whisked
• 2 cups green cabbage, chopped
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 2 green onions, julienned or thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned or cut into thin matchstick pieces
• 12 oz firm tofu, cubed
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
• 2 tbsp unsalted peanuts, crushed
• Lime wedges and additional cilantro, for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cook brown rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together tomato paste, vinegar, honey, fish sauce, lime juice and cayenne. Set aside.
3. Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick pan or wok over medium-high for 1 minute. Mist with cooking spray. Add egg white and sauté until cooked, about 2 minutes. Remove egg white from heat and dice into small pieces.
4. In the same pan, misted again with cooking spray, sauté cabbage, bean sprouts, onions and carrot over medium-high for 2 minutes. Add tofu and cook for another 2 minutes. Add cooked egg white and cilantro, sautéing for another 2 minutes. Then stir in tomato paste mixture. Add cooked noodles. Stir until completely combined and thoroughly heated, about 3 to 4 more minutes.
5. Remove from heat and toss with peanuts before serving. Garnish with lime wedges and additional cilantro, if desired.

Peanut Butter Shortbread Slices

This recipe was made around Christmas time for presents and it was actually amazing. I loved it! But making it takes some time and a little bit of elbow grease.

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cups finely chopped unsalted peaunuts

Directions:
In a bowl, beat butter with peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the brown sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Stir in flour, about 1/3 at a time , to make smooth dough. Divide dough in half; place each half on 12-inch long sheet of waxed paper. Using wax paper as support, roll each half into smooth 8-inch long log. Sprinkle chopped peanuts onto separated piece of wax paper. Unwrap logs, roll in peanuts to coat evenly. Reroll in waxed paper and refrigerate until firm, rerolling occasionally to keep log shape. Cut into generous 1/4 inch thick slices; place 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake center of oven at 325F for about 25 minutes.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

I had a dinner party at my house last week and decided it would be fun to go all Italian for them. I had six people including myself so I doubled this recipe to make sure that I had enough for everyone and it was a hit! Everyone seemed to really like the pasta. I served it with a garden salad, bread, and olives. very yummy.

Serves 4

1 package Spaghetti
26 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 can of anchovy fillets, you can use less if you want.
1 heaping tablespoon of capers
10 Kalamata olives
1 clove of garlic
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
hot chile flakes
brown sugar
salt and pepper
fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

• Boil spaghetti in salted water until almost al dente (about 8 minutes). The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce. Strain. 
• Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Mash 6 anchovy fillets with a fork. Roughly chop capers (if you can, not really necessary) Put and chop the kalamata olives. Degerm and mince garlic. Set ingredients aside. 
• Heat a large pan on medium and add olive oil, minced garlic and a small pinch of hot chili flakes. Fry garlic for 2 minutes until golden. 
• Add mashed anchovy fillets. Stir and saute for 30 seconds. 
• Throw in the cherry tomatoes. Turn the head down to medium- low, stir and saute for about 10 more minutes, until tomatoes begin to create a light sauce. Then add chopped capers, 1 heaping tablespoon chopped kalamata olives, a small pinch of brown sugar, a small pinch of sea salt if needed (usually this sauce is salty enough because of the anchovies), and freshly cracked pepper to taste, stir it up. 
• Add the strained pasta to the sauce.
• Sprinkle pasta with a small pinch of fresh minced parsley. Mix well with tongs until pasta finishes cooking al dente, about 5 more minutes. 

Brushetta X2

One of the easiest things I think someone can serve, other then a cheese platter, for a dinner party is bruschetta. For my mom's 50th birthday party I decided that I would make two type of bruschetta so these are the two I picked out.

Bean Bruschetta:

1 cup cooked white beans (I used canned beans and it worked perfect)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Fresh Tomato Bruschetta:

2 tomatoes, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil
Salt and Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season with sale and pepper.

You can serve it cold or warm, it is up to you. When I served it I put it on cut up baguette and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

If you don't already know, I am the worst baker on the face of the earth when it comes to sweet desserts. Breads and buns I am getting better but when it comes to making desserts I am a serious lost cause. So for Christmas my little brother, Ian, got a muffin top pan and the inspiration hit that I needed to reconnect with my baking side. So I went searching for an easy recipe for me to experiment with and I found a really good one in a cookbook that I got for Christmas all on baking.

Makes 10

1/2 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
1/3 cup icing sugar
1/8 cup of dark brown sugar (I added about 1/4 cup of light brown sugar and it tasted awesome)
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375F Grease 10 muffin cups or use paper cases. With an electric mixer, cream the butter until soft. Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Sift together the flour and baking powder, twice and then mix into the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. (this actually works and helps the mixture mix easier) Stir in the chocolate chips and then spoon in the better into your pan. Make sure to half fill any empty cups with water before you bake them.

Bake until lightly coloured, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before turning out.

Chicken and Coconut Thai Curry Soup

I am a huge fan of Thai food. I have yet to find something that I do not like while going out to dinner so I thought that I would start to recreate what I have been trying and loving when I go out for dinner. One of my favorite parts of Thai food is their soups. I love all of the different flavors that you can put together and somehow taste amazing. This is one of my favorite soup recipes that I have made so far.

2 Teaspoons of vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon of Thai red curry paste (comes in a little bottle)
4 cups of chicken stock (I used the reduced salt stuff)
1 14oz can of coconut milk (make sure you shake the can really well before you open it)
1 piece of ginger, peeled, about 2 inches
2 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro
1 small bunch of Thai basil leaves (don't have to be "Thai")

Directions:
1.Cut the chicken meat into cubes of about 1 inch in size. Heat oil in a large pot over medium- high heat. Add the curry paste and cook quickly for about 30 seconds without burning it. (if you burn the curry paste, clean your pan and restart or it will taste gross)

2. Add the stock, coconut milk and ginger and bring it to a boil. Add the chicken, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Add the sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and vegetable. Turn heat up and cook until vegetables are just cooked but still crunchy, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in basil leaves and pout into bowls. Top each soup bowl with cilantro and serve with rice. (For this step I put the basil leaves into the soup and let simmer for about 10 minutes to get the flavor of he basil leaves in the soup. A good rice to use for this type of dish is a sticky rice. I put the rice on the bottom of the bowl and then put the soup on top of it.)

Mustard Garlic Pretzels

My most recent adventure in the kitchen was by far one of the hardest and most time consuming of them all. I was always told that pretzels take a very long time to make and are tricky to make them look just right but when has that ever stopped me before. I started off by doing an overall search on the internet for one that looked the best and then planned accordingly.

Serves/ Makes: 8

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Milk PLUS
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons spicy dijon style mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups bread flour PLUS
2 tablespoon bread flour
1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 quarts water
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

***Garlic Cheese Topping ***
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

In the bread machine add ingredients in this order. Add milk, water, oil, mustard, salt, flour sugar, yeast and thyme. Select dough/ manual cycle on machine. When the cycle is complete, transfer dough from machine to a lighting floured surface. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces; roll each piece into a 18 inch long rope. Curve the ends of each rope to make a circle ; cross ends at top. (make sure you make these bigger then you would expect or they will look like a ball) Twist ends once and place over bottom of circle. Place pretzels on greased baking sheets. Let rise for 15 minutes. Bake in a preheated 450F over for 5 minutes; remove from oven. Reduce over temperature to 350F. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a deep pan or pot. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add pretzels to water, one at a time. Do not crowd the pan. Simmer for 1 minute on both sides. Remove with slotted spoon; place on paper towels to absorb excess moisture. ( Make sure they are good paper towels, the cheep ones will stick right to your pretzels) Place on greased baking sheets and brush with egg wash. Bake in preheated 350F oven for 10 minutes. Prepare garlic cheese topping by mixing the Parmesan cheese and garlic powder together. Remove pretzels from oven and sprinkle with garlic cheese topping. Return pretzels to over and bake for 5 minutes, or until done. Serve warm!!