simple veggies for a mouthful of yum!
what you need:
olive oil or cooking oil
garlic
thyme
salt and pepper
soy sauce
veggies veggies veggies
throw it in a pan, cover it, cook til the suckers are tender.
this was the whole meal that day, and damned if those taters don’t look like boiled eggs waiting to go on a salad. i swear they’re much more delicious than this flashless photograph lets on. so are the veggies, much more flavor than you’d expect.
the holidays means one thing to me- cheesy potatoes. growing up my dad hated cheese (still hates cheese) and not many of our dinners included the stuff. so whenever we ventured out, most often around the holidays, and relatives would delight and excite with their cheese filled goodnesses i would indulge and indulge again.
i’ve discovered a yummy way to make simple au gratin-esque cheesy type potatoes with so little effort.
what you need:
2-3 cups potatoes, diced
1/2 onion diced
1.5-2 cups milk
1/2 cup cracker crumbs
2/3 cup grated cheese
salt and pepper
put the potatoes milk and onions in a pot and let simmer covered for 45 minutes. keep an eye on these bad boys, they like to boil over. as i make them i’ve been using less and less milk and that seems to help the situation.
when the potatoes are nice and tender throw the cracker crumbs and then the cheese on top. cover and let cook on low heat until the cheese is melted and the whole mess is incorporated.
not the best picture of them, but trust me, they are creamy and delightful. i think i used too much cracker and not enough tater this time.
had a few friends over for dinner and didn’t know what to make. i decided the best thing to do was to grab a few chicken breasts and throw a bunch of sauces, spices and love over them in hopes they would end up delicious. oh, they did- and nothing could be easier.
what you need:
6 chicken breasts
2 large onions
yellow mustard
soy sauce
salt
pepper
garlic
dill
thyme
vegetable oil
i started by throwing in 1 part yellow mustard, 1 part soy sauce and 1/2 part vegetable oil. can you do that? can you use a half a part or do you have to change the others to be 2 and 2 so your 1/2 part will be 1? in any case, use equal parts yellow mustard and soy sauce and about half as much oil. season the heck out of it with whatever spices you feel might add a little something- for instance i added dill but i know i didn’t taste any dill, specifically.
i let that marinate for about 4 hours then threw the whole thing into a large pan and cooked until the chicken breasts were cooked through- turning only once. i served it with cheesy potatoes and veggies but i think it would be quite delish over rice.
there is no such thing as too much mexican food. The Canadian says, it’s all the same ingredients, why is it so great? but they eat gravy on fries up there… so i decided to make a burrito because i miss chipotle, BTB, pancheros and the like. i put ground beef, salsa, tomatoes, cheese and homemade spanish rice in a tortilla and went to town. the spanish rice is what makes it and it’s crazy easy to make.
at first i didn’t think i’d be able to close it into a proper burrito and it would just be an embarrassingly gigantic taco…
however, success was achieved. there were no breaks allowed though, put that sucker down for a second and you better just get a fork.
what you need:
2 packages precooked rice
1/2 onion, diced
1 tomato, diced (juices included and encouraged)
salsa
a sprinkle of taco seasoning
the taco seasoning can’t be found at Homeplus, Emart or any of the korean stores, but it’s also quite optional. throw the rice into a pan, i usually use the same one i made the beef in and keep some of the small bits in there for flavor. throw the rest of everything in and keep cooking it until it’s that yummy goopy we all like. i use about half the jar of salsa and lots of tomato to make it really moist. the rice is good on a tortilla with cheese all by itself as a leftover snack.
i can’t lie, i also put some taco bell hot sauce that i smuggled in from home. also quite awesome.
when i used to work at Amer’s in the Michigan Union in college i was mildly obsessed with the egg salad there. luckily the recipe was easy- to both remember and reproduce. i made it this weekend and had a simple sunday breakfast of an egg salad sandwich on toasted white bread. plain chips on the side as well, obviously.
What You Need:
hard boiled eggs
mayonnaise
yellow mustard
salt
pepper
dill weed
onion (or onion powder)
i use about as half as much mustard as i do mayo mix that and all the seasonings together until it’s a good looking kind of goopy. like amer used to say when we’d make it “the kids like it wet and the kids like dill” so no need to skimp on either. i also chopped the onions super super tiny and mixed it right in there- a year ago this would have made me cry (i hated onions) bits of onion so small you can’t find them to pick them out! i’d feel the same way about celery still.
i’ve been moving into my new apartment lately and it is grocery-less and toaster oven-less so please hang in there and i’ll start cooking again soon, i promise!
korean thanksgiving #1- mock run
this is the infamous red wine incident recipe that i think can easily be rectified by not using so much red wine. either that or perhaps the variety i used wasn’t dry enough or sweet enough or winey enough. i’m not really familiar with the chemistry of cooking with alcohols. in any case, this recipe was not quick and not exactly easy. still, i simplified it quite a bit from the original food network creation.
what you need:
beef cut into 2 inch cubes (if you can find pieces of meat in korea that aren’t already smaller than this)
2 1/2 cups beef stock
1/4 cup olive oil (for frying)
3 tbs butter
flour
potatoes
carrots
onions
thyme
garlic
bay leaves
1 bottle (yeah right) dry red wine- it was recommended to use a Burgundy
zest from 1 orange
pepper
start heating the oil and butter in a large pot. while this is starting to sizzle lay flour on a plate and season the meat with pepper. coat each piece of meat in flour and brown it in the pot of buttery oil. when this is done remove the meat and set it aside. pour in the wine and stir up all the bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. when the wine is hot add the browned meat, thyme, garlic, orange zest strip, pepper and salt, bay leaves and beef stock. bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes until it begins to thicken.
now the problem, or at least what I perceive as a problem: cover and cook on low heat for 2 1/2 hours.
after 2 hours throw in all the veggies and add a bit of sugar (supposedly to balance out the acid of the wine but i saw no such results) turn up the heat and cook until the potatoes and carrots are tender, about another 30 minutes. season with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaves.
it doesn’t get yummier as far as breakfast fare goes. except for the 1lb of bacon bagel sandwiches- we’ll get to that. i’ve made these a few times and they just keep getting better.
what you’ll need:
tortilla shells
eggs
potatoes
onion
green pepper
milk
thyme
salt/pepper
olive oil or other cooking oil
hot sauce or salsa
cheese (i’ve really been wanting to try some pepperjack on these because i think it would be great)
dice the potatoes into teeny tiny little squares. chop the onion and green pepper into similar shapes. throw all of that together with salt, pepper and thyme into a pan lined with oil. cover and cook on high heat-make sure you stir regularly or you’ll end up with some black nasty goo at the end. lately i’ve been putting a good bit of Frank’s Red Hot to give it that perfect blend of flavor and heat. when that’s finished scramble up your eggs. i like to beat them with a little milk and salt and pepper. wrap everything up in a toasty warm tortilla, add some cheese and salsa. and don’t forget, there’s nothing better to wash down a spicy breakfast like an ice cold Coke Zero (just thought i’d keep up the product placement).
a nice review of me in a fellow expat’s blog. i can only hope that the Paula referenced is of the Deen variety. that would make me oh so happy.
While I have been home, I have watched two things on tv. Well, more than that. But my days are usually filled with CSI, Law & Order, and The Food Network. Lately, I adore Sunny Anderson and her show. I have giant issues with Giada (and her big head) but I still watch her everday. I think the Neelys are too sexual and they gross me out. So does Paula. But I watch her too. And if I could pick anyone to cook a special dinner for me it’d be the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) for sure. I am a Foodie. Born and raised.
So, there are a “few” food blogs I like to stare at and read. Sometimes they verge outside of just food, but generally I like to read them and drool. Lately, I’ve been reading food blogs made in Korea. The one I frequent most often is probably: Kimchi and Criticism. She cooks in Korea (not Seoul) and I love to see the pictures. The food she manages to create in her toaster oven and on the stove is just amazing and I am always incredibly jealous. However, I am not vegan and I def. don’t cook as animal/earth friendly as she does when I am at home. I also don’t always see the ingredients in stores that I think she can find easily. But that might just be my impression. But, seriously, if I ever meet this girl for coffee, she had better bring me cookies or something to try. Haha. The food looks that good.
I just found this new blog: Feed me, Home Plus. If it keeps being updated, I will def. have to keep checking in. It seems very, VERY date friendly. Easy steps, and nice desserts. I’m all about quick/delicious food that I can make for a boy without much warning or prep. I think it’d be food I could whip up for a guy without worrying about trying a recipe beforehand. (Not the BEST situation, I realize, but I often eat out and usually only dine in once a week or so. Cooking in is so expensive, so I only do it if I am craving something.) The recipes are also all done in the typical teacher apartment, so they look super easy to follow. There is a seemingly incredible recipe for French Onion Soup and I can’t wait to try it. Plus, all the ingredients are available at local Korean Supermarkets, which I love. Because I rarely travel out to foreign markets to grab things. I find it a waste. Unless it’s pesto. Then I always travel for that.
