Korean Beef Haystacks

 

Just a little variation on my Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps! The perfect quick dinner for summer nights or anytime you’re cravin’ some Asian! So easy to make and won’t heat up the kitchen too much! Gluten free with a tasty sauce that resembles a light teriyaki. Just think of them like an Asian street taco :)

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1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons minced garlic

¼-1/2 teaspoon pure sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon dried ginger or ginger paste

1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

For Serving:

steamed white rice

steamed broccoli florets

steamed or raw shredded carrots

chopped cilantro

chopped peanuts or sliced almonds

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Brown ground beef and drain any grease if necessary. Add remaining ingredients and stir until heated. Simmer on low to tenderize meat more, but not required. Serve with steamed rice on lettuce leaves. Top individual wraps with shredded carrots and chopped peanuts.  

Variation: If the sauce is too sweet for your taste, half each of the sugars. 

Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats 

http://iowagirleats.com/2017/07/18/korean-beef-lettuce-wraps/

Make in the Morning Pizza Dough (My Favorite Same Day Recipe Yet!)

 

The best pizza I've made so far in my home kitchen! Slightly adapted from Ken Forkish's Book - The Elements of Pizza. You start the dough first thing in the morning and it's ready by dinner time! Definitely need a pizza steel for the best outcome as it will mimic the high heat of a commercial pizza oven so your pizza cooks quickly with the beautiful crusty bubbles :)

In the morning when you get up:

Heat 2 cups of water in a large measuring glass in the microwave for 30-45 seconds until it reaches 90-95 degrees fahrenheit. 

Put medium/large bowl on food scale and tare and add the following (zero the scale after each addition)

1/8 teaspoon dry active yeast 

15 grams salt

1 tablespoon olive oil + the warmed water up to 350 grams total liquid

Stir until yeast and salt are dissolved. Tare the scale.

Add 500 grams all-purpose flour and mix with a danish whisk or your hands just until it forms a shaggy dough. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Knead on floured counter for 30 seconds to 1 minute until it comes together and is smooth. Let rest, covered, for 1.5-2 hours at room temp (72-80 degrees). 

My Video Tutorials for Shaping and Transferring the Pizza Dough Here!

Divide the dough into 3-4 parts and shape them by  tugging and pulling out a piece of the ball and folding it toward the center, repeat 5-10 times (turning each time until you start to feel resistance. Slide ball on an unfloured section of counter in cupped hands towards you 4-5 times to make it even more taught on the surface.  Let the dough balls sit covered on a floured surface for approximately 6-8 hours (at 72-80 degrees room temp). 

Heat your pizza baking steel at 500-550 degrees (the highest your oven will go) in the middle of your oven for at least 45 minutes. 

Form pizzas on a floured wooden peel and transfer to the steel by carefully shaking/sliding it off. Pizzas should cook in 5-6 minutes. Remove pizza with a metal peel. Brush crust with melted butter and serve immediately.

Link to my pizza making tools:

Wooden Pizza Peel (for building pizza and transferring to steel in oven)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Update-International-WPP-1222-12-x-14-Wooden-Pizza-Peel/25526672?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=907&adid=22222222227017923256&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=101932778674&wl4=pla-252949437394&wl5=1024126&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=112562677&wl11=online&wl12=25526672&wl13=&veh=sem

Metal Aluminum Pizza Peel (for removing pizza from oven on baking steel)

https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Supply-14-Inch-16-Inch-Aluminum/dp/B002JPJ0QY/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1533611811&sr=1-4&keywords=metal+pizza+peel

Nerd Chef Baking Steel

https://www.amazon.com/NerdChef-Steel-Stone-High-Performance-Standard/dp/B00JXVNUHW/ref=asc_df_B00JXVNUHW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=194965293534&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7299350162569344764&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026485&hvtargid=pla-314712214528&psc=1

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I finally perfected one of my favorite soups with lots of flavor and a simple trick for a super smooth creamy cheesy base! It's really easy to make and perfect for Fall and Winter dinner menus! Serves 4-6 people. 

4 tablespoons butter

1 small to medium onion, roughly chopped

3 teaspoons minced jar garlic or 3 fresh garlic cloves

1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon mustard

1/2 teaspoon white or black pepper

1 box chicken broth (32 oz, 4 cups)*

4 cups chopped broccoli, tiny florets

1-2 large carrots, grated, diced, or sliced

2 Cups - Milk/Cream Options:

1 cup milk + 1 cup heavy cream

OR 2 cups half and half

OR 2 cups heavy cream (extra rich/naughty ;))

6 oz grated cheese (cheddar or colby/monterey jack blend)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (1.5 oz, optional)

salt to taste at end

Optional Garnish: bacon bits, extra cheese, croutons

Directions:

Melt butter in a large soup pot.  Add onion and garlic, stirring over low heat until tender. Whisk flour, pepper, and mustard and cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly add chicken broth while whisking. Next Step (with caveat*): Puree until smooth with an immersion blender OR use a regular blender to puree the onion/butter/garlic mixture with some of the chicken broth (if using a regular blender blend use room temp broth so you don’t accidentally burn yourself!) This is key to ensuring a super smooth soup texture in the end!

Bring mixture to a simmer. Add broccoli and carrots and continue simmering, covered until broccoli is soft and cooked through, 10-15 minutes. Optionial, you can then mash some of the cooked broccoli if you want with a potato or ground beef masher. Turn heat to low and add dairy/cream mixture, and cheese, stirring until melted and smooth and thoroughly heated. Add salt to taste.

Serve with bacon bits, extra cheese, or croutons!

*If you want the base to be on the thicker side, stick with the two cups of cream, or you can add a tablespoon or two of cornstarch dissolved in cold water at the end.

Slightly adapted from Our Best Bites and Smitten Kitchen.

Thai Coconut Curry (Any Variety)

Basic recipe for a delicious Thai Coconut Curry! Use your favorite curry paste and add your favorite vegetable! My favorite are sweet potato and broccoli :)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small to medium onion, cut into large pieces 

3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed (3 teaspoons)

1 tablespoon ginger paste (find in produce section) OR 1 teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoons ground coriander

1-14oz can coconut milk, full fat*

4 tablespoons (60 grams) Thai Curry Paste (any color, red, yellow, green)**

Approximately 2-3 cups of chopped vegetables, whatever combination you like (white potato, sweet potato, carrots, green beans, peas, broccoli)

8-16oz thin sliced chicken breast (depending on how much veggie to chicken ratio you want)

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

2 tablespoons sugar, or more to taste

1-2 tablespoons lime juice (optional to taste)

Water or chicken broth to thin if needed

chopped fresh cilantro and or chopped peanuts, for garnishing individual servings (optional)

Directions:

Saute onions on medium low heat in oil until tender. Add spices (garlic, ginger, and coriander) and stir for one minute. Add a couple tablespoons of coconut cream from the top of the can and the curry paste. Stir for 1-2 minutes. Add rest of coconut milk. Puree with immersion blender (optional).

Add vegetables, chicken, salt, pepper, (and sugar and lime juice to taste). Cover and simmer low for 20 minutes or until chicken is tender and vegetables are cooked. 

Thin with ¼ cup of water or chicken broth if needed. Serve over jasmine rice. Garnish individual servings with fresh chopped cilantro and or chopped peanuts.

*I like Chakaoh and Thai Kitchen Brands of coconut milk

** Curry paste brands will vary in taste and heat. I like Mae Ploy, Thai Kitchen and Mae Anong brand

Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps

The perfect quick dinner for summer nights or anytime you’re cravin’ some Asian! So easy to make and won’t heat up the kitchen too much! Gluten free with a tasty sauce that resembles a light teriyaki. Just think of them like an Asian street taco :)

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Zucchini and Tomato Pasta Sauce

I wrote this recipe as result of the fact that Aldi almost always sells zucchini :) It's a great way to incorporate it into a meal and a nice variation from traditional spaghetti sauce. I make it about once a month. Very quick to prep and it can be paired with any kind of pasta!

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1 pound bite sized zucchini pieces (from approximately 2 medium)

2 T olive oil

2 T minced garlic

1 - 14.5 oz can Italian style petite diced tomatoes, with juice (or regular variety plus one teaspoon Italian seasoning)

1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 T spaghetti seasoning mix

1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

hot pasta for serving

fresh parmesan for topping

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Heat oil to medium low in large frying pan. Add garlic, once it starts to sizzle, stir for one minute. Add the zucchini, turn up to medium heat, and saute stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add can of tomatoes, tomato sauce, and seasoning mix. Cover, reduce to medium low. Simmer for 5 minutes or until zucchini reaches desired tenderness. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over hot pasta noodles and garnish with fresh parmesan.

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade, from scratch, version of Campell's Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

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2 boxes chicken broth (32 oz)

2-3 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2/3 cup frozen green peas

8 ounces shredded chicken (from baked split chicken breast)

4 ounces thin soup noodles (can find in Hispanic section)

salt and pepper, to taste

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Bring chicken broth to simmer in large stock pot. Cook celery, carrots, and peas, covered, until tender. Add chicken and noodles. Cook covered until noodles reach desired tenderness, should take about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with bread.

Chicken Pillows - Chicken Stuffed Crescent Rolls

Rich puffy crescent rolls with a chicken and cream cheese filling, breaded in savory stuffing bread crumbs. Tasty comfort food that's perfect for a Sunday night dinner. Can also use leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. Makes 16 stuffed rolls. Serves 5-8 people.

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2-8 ct. cans of refrigerated crescent rolls (16 total)

8-9 oz cooked, shredded chicken* 4 oz cream cheese, softened 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon salt cracked pepper to taste 6 oz box of stuffing (like Stove Top), will only use 3 oz 4 tablespoons of melted butter 1 can jellied cranberry sauce, for serving

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Preheat oven to 350 and move oven rack to the middle of the oven. Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Crush stuffing in blender, food processor, or with a rolling pin in a zip top bag. Weigh out 3 oz and reserve other 3 ounces in the freezer for the next time you make this recipe.

Using an electric hand mixer, combine chicken, cream cheese, and spices in small bowl. Divide chicken filling among the 16 rolls (approximately 1-2 tablespoons each). You may need to flatten/stretch out the dough a little bit first so that the filling will fit. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the seams together to seal.

Dip each roll in melted butter and then roll in stuffing mix crumbs. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with cranberry jelly.

*Can use fresh chicken from split chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken breast, or 1 can of Sam’s Club canned shredded chicken, drained.

Adapted from a recipe I got from my mother-in-law ;)

Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu

  Quick and easy version of a fancy dish. Serves 3-5 people. Cook Time 10-15 minutes. 

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4-5 small chicken breasts, tenderized

1-2 T olive oil

4 oz cream cheese, softened

¼ cup monterey jack cheese, shredded

¼  cup cheddar cheese, shredded

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

½ cup panko

1 T Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

4 teaspoons olive oil

3 slices ham, diced (I like Hormel Natural Choice Ham)

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1. Preheat oven to 400. Prepare chicken breasts by placing in a zip top bag and pounding them on each side with a meat tenderizer.
2. Combine cream cheese, shredded cheeses, and garlic salt in small bowl.
3. Combine panko, seasonings, oil, and diced ham  in a small bowl.
4. Heat olive oil in oven proof  non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken breasts for 1 minute on each side. Remove skillet from heat.
5. Move chicken breasts to center so they are touching each other. Spread cheese mixture over chicken breasts. Sprinkle panko/ham mixture over the cheese.
6. Bake at 400 (in middle of oven)  until chicken breasts reach an internal temperature of 165 F (about 6-8 minutes).

Tips

If you don’t have a meat tenderizer you can use the back of a cookie scoop or a rolling pin. You can use any type of shredded cheese to mix with the cream cheese, including swiss or parmesan. If your skillet is not oven proof, just transfer the chicken to an oven-proof casserole dish before topping and baking.

Pad Thai

This baby of mine has been a long time coming, but I finally have it perfected. This is one of my favorite Thai dishes and now I can make it at home! It requires a good amount of prep work but it only takes a short time to put it all together at the end. Most of the ingredients can be obtained from any grocery store. You may have to go to an Asian store to find the tamarind concentrate or order it online. I use a food scale to measure some of the ingredients in this recipe, but I put the approximate volume equivalents in here too for those that don't have one yet. Serves 2-4 people. Adapted from shesimmers.com.

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Prepare Noodles

7 oz Thai Kitchen Brand Stir-Fry Rice Noodles (½ of box, can find at Walmart) or other Thai brand pad thai style rice noodles

Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Remove from heat, add noodles, cover with lid and let soak for 2 minutes. Drain off hot water and cover noodles with room temp water. Cover with lid and let soak for 20 minutes. Drain off water, rinse noodles with cold water, and set colander of noodles aside. Cut noodles with kitchen scissors to shorten to make stir frying easier in the end. Noodles should be soft but not mushy.

Sauce - makes ⅔ cup (or use equivalent a jarred sauce that you like (Double Golden Fish Brand is Good!))

60 grams Kikkoman soy sauce (reduced sodium is best) (¼ cup)

80 grams white sugar (5 ½ T)

40 grams brown sugar (3 T packed)

50 grams tamarind concentrate (2 ½ T) (I use this brand)

Bring to boil in small saucepan, stirring until sugars are dissolved. Cover and set aside. 

Prepare ahead or while noodles are soaking, and set aside:

4 tablespoons canola oil

1 large carrot, julienned

¼ small onion, minced or grated, or roughly chopped (big pieces for flavor but can easily be removed at end)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1-2 cups chopped broccoli florets

2 eggs, scrambled and chopped (optional, I usually leave out)

8 oz super firm tofu cubes prepared as below*) or 4-8 oz of cooked cubed or shredded chicken

How to Prepare Crispy Baked Tofu

Dry block of tofu with paper or kitchen towels. Cut into cubes. (Most blocks come in 16 oz, so you can freeze half of the cubes for a later time: just lay cubes on cookie sheet to freeze and store in a freezer safe ziptop bag.) Whisk together 1 T oil, 1 T cornstarch, 1 T soy sauce, and 1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce or Go-Chu-Jang sauce. Stir 8oz of cubed super firm tofu into sauce. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake on nonstick baking mat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet at 375 for 15 minutes. Set aside until ready to add to recipe. 

Toppings to Garnish When Serving (optional)

large handful freshly chopped cilantro

large handful of chopped or crushed peanuts

lime wedges or lime juice

Final Steps

Add 4 tablespoons of canola oil to deep nonstick skillet (mine is 3.5 quarts) or wok . Heat over medium heat until piece of onion sizzles. Add onion, garlic, and carrot, and any other vegetables and reduce heat to medium low or low (if garlic starts to burn), stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Onions should be tender and carrots and broccoli should be at least half cooked (can spray with water to steam and speed up cooking).

Raise heat to medium and add noodles, sauce, eggs, and tofu/chicken. Stir frequently over medium heat for 3 minutes. Serve immediately. Garnish individual servings with chopped cilantro, chopped peanuts, and a squeeze of lime juice (optional). 

Notes
*Optional - increase amount of sauce to serve extra on the side.

White Bean and Bacon Vegetable Soup

Adapted from Pioneer Woman Bean With Bacon Soup. Tastes like a homemade version of Campbell’s Vegetable Soup but with white beans instead of alphabet pasta. Pairs well with cornbread muffins! Also, it's a savory dairy free, gluten free, and low carb recipe. Perfect if you need to take a meal to someone with those needs.

1 small onion, roughly chopped

1-2 large garlic cloves

4 cups beef broth (1 box)

1 small can tomato sauce (or 3 T tomato paste)

1 large carrot, diced*

1 cup thin frozen green beans, cut into bite size pieces* 

OR in place of diced carrot and green beans add a small bag of  frozen mixed veggies

2 (15-ounce) cans white northern beans, or 1 can white and 1 can pinto, drained

cooked bacon, crumbled or store bought bacon bits  (optional for topping individual servings)

Directions

Wrap onion and garlic in a piece of foil and put inside a large stove top pot or an Instantpot. Add everything else. The foil wrapped ball will float. Bring to boil and let simmer covered for at least 20 minutes or cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and carefully empty the onion and garlic and ladle some of the broth to a blender or large measuring glass. Use the blender or an immersion blender to puree the onion and garlic into the broth until smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot.  

For thin clear both, leave as is. For thicker broth dissolve 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch in water and whisk into broth. Simmer for 3 minutes.

Top individual servings with crumbled bacon. 

No Cook Vegetarian Taco Salad

This is my favorite summer go-to dinner recipe. Black beans replace ground beef for as an easy and healthy variation. No cooking required! Keeps the kitchen cool and is ready to serve in just 15 minutes!

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mixed greens, torn into bite size pieces

1 (15-ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained)

1/2 package taco seasoning mix (.5 oz)

tortilla chips (plain or flavored)

shredded cheese

avocado (sliced or diced)

sour cream

salsa, or catalina dressing

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Combine taco seasoning mix with black beans. Top torn lettuce with beans, crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sliced avocado, etc. Serve with sour cream and salsa or dressing. 

Lasagna Soup

This soup tastes exactly like lasagna but you can make it in a fraction of the time and it uses a lot less cheese. Cooking the noodles separately will give you a clearer broth and thinner soup. If you cook the noodles in the soup they tend to soak up too much of the broth. Serves 4-6 people.

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1/4 pound lean ground beef, cooked and drained

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, grated

2 teaspoons minced garlic

4 cups beef broth (1-32oz box)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes

1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 tsps dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

6 ounces noodles, lasagna noodles broken into bite size pieces or bowtie pasta

8 ounces ricotta cheese

1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

shredded mozzarella cheese

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Brown ground beef, drain, and set aside. Bring pot of water to boil for the noodles. 

Heat olive oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic, over medium to medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes or until onions are tender and just starting to brown. Add enough beef broth to cover bottom of pan and tomato paste and whisk until smooth. Add remaining broth, entire can of petite diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and ground beef. Add basil, oregano, and sugar and stir well. Bring to low simmer and cover for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile boil noodles, in prepared pot of boiling water, until al dente; drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

Combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning in small bowl and set aside. Add noodles to soup, stir, and serve immediately. Garnish individual servings with a dollop of the ricotta cheese mixture and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.

Adapted from: cookingclassy.com