Tag Archives: Fresh food

Beef Yakisoba

Posted on by

8

Beef Yakisoba

20140109-205019.jpg

 

Ingredients
½ head green cabbage
1 medium yellow onion
2 medium carrots
1 small crown broccoli
2 inches fresh ginger
1 # beef flank steak
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 (3 oz.) packages ramen noodles- season packets discarded
seasoning packets discarded
1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp ketchup
1-2 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce (depending how hot you like it!)
1 Tbsp sugar

Instructions
Before you begin, prepare the meat and vegetables for stir frying. Peel the ginger with either a vegetable peeler or the side of a spoon and then grate it with a grater or zester. Peel and grate the carrots or just cut them up like matchsticks. Remove the core from the cabbage and cut into thin strips. Slice the onion into thin strips. Cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Slice the flank steak into thin strips.
Begin boiling a medium pot full of water for the noodles. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the grated ginger, saute for about 30 seconds to one minute (its okay if it sticks to the pan but don’t let it burn). Add the beef strips and cook until they are no longer pink (about five minutes).
Once the beef is cooked through, add all of the vegetables. Stir and cook until wilted (about 5-10 minutes). Meanwhile, once the water boils, add the noodles and cook just until tender (2-3 minutes). Drain, return to the pot (with the heat turned off) and toss with the sesame oil to keep from sticking.
In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, ketchup, sriracha, and sugar.Stir until the ketchup and sugar are dissolved. Pour the sauce into the skillet with the chicken and vegetables with the heat still on medium high. Add the noodles, stir to coat everything in the sauce, and heat through (just a few minutes).

Soooo delicious and mildly healthy, LOTS of veggies. Hope you enjoy!

xoxo669058772380712020613

 

Skinny Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Posted on by

1

Skinny Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

So I’ve said this before but seriously, I love spaghetti squash. It is so easy and I am just fascinated by how it turns all stringy and spaghetti like! This is cool recipe becuase it actually is very rich and filling just on it’s own. I am to be honest, not a big alfredo fan. Not that I don’t like it but never really have made it and given the choice out at a restaraunt I’d rather have something more fresh tasting with tomatoes veggies etc….. Anyway, I thought I would give this a try with one of the squashes my mom gave me last time I visited her and it turned out really good! Hope you enjoy!!!

20131215-212807.jpg

INGREDIENTS:
1 spaghetti squash ( I used a medium/large sized one)

1 Tablespoon butter

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced

2 Tablespoons flour

1 cup milk (I used fat-free)

1 Tablespoon cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tablespoons extra for topping

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Crushed red pepper flakes and fresh parsley or basil, for optional garnish

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

First, cook the squash. There are several methods to do this. I usually just cut in half and microwave for about 10-15 minutes. Usually thats how I do it because I can’t plan ahead/don’t have the patience to cook it in the oven but if you don’t want to use microwaves you can use your oven! Just cut spaghetti squash in half using a large sharp knife, scoop out the seeds and place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet with some water on the bottom of the pan. Bake until tender, about an hour.

Once squash is cooked, use a fork to gently scrape the “spaghetti” strands into the center. Careful you dont burn your fingers. I usually do everytime, must be that patience thing again 🙂

For the sauce, melt butter in a small pot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in flour slowly, cooking for another minute while stirring. Whisk in milk until no lumps remain. Once hot, add cream cheese and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Spoon sauce equally into each spaghetti squash half. Gently mix the spaghetti strands to coat as much as possible with the sauce. Top with extra Parmesan and place under the broiler of your oven for 2-3 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Top each half with a pinch of red pepper flakes and fresh chopped parsley or basil, if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

xoxo

669058772380712020613

Roasted Vegetable Stacked Enchiladas

Posted on by

3

Roasted Vegetable Stacked Enchiladas

20130907-121225.jpg

Ingredients:

1 large red pepper, chopped, seeds removed
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium yellow squash, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet potato chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups red enchilada sauce
9-10 small corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

*This is optional but I added the zest and juice of 1 lime to mine 🙂

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potato, and onion on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss until vegetables are coated. Season with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 30-40 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove vegetables from oven and let cool to room temperature. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

20130907-121236.jpg

2. Grease an 8×8 square baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine roasted vegetables, black beans, cumin, chili powder, garlic, jalapeño, lime zest and juice(if using) and cilantro. Stir and season with salt and pepper.

20130907-121301.jpg

3. Spread 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce into the bottom of the baking pan. Add a layer of tortillas, to completely cover the bottom of the pan(See my picture before for a trick!). Top with 1/3 of the vegetable/bean mixture and 1/3 of the cheese. Make a second layer of tortilla, enchilada sauce, vegetables/beans, and cheese. Top with with a layer of tortillas, enchilada sauce, vegetables/beans, and cheese. Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and cover the pan.

20130907-121248.jpg

My mom taught my this trick to cut off two sides of the round tortillas. This makes them fit perfectly in the corners of pans with minimal overlap so you have a perfectly even layer. She’s a genius 🙂

4. Bake enchiladas for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the enchiladas are bubbling. Remove enchiladas from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm.

20130907-121157.jpg

This is another beautiful meal. I served this with some Salsa and chips and we had a delicious light meal. Hope you enjoy and of course thanks for reading my blog. I’m blown away at how many views and comments I get in a day. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that so many people would visit my site when I started this. Seriously you all make me so happy! 🙂

669058772380712020613

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Posted on by

1

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Hi everyone! Ok I’ve been a busy cooking bee- but a lazy blogger. (for real it’s embarrassing how little I’ve blogged lately- there is reason for it but I’ll save that for a later post!)Needless to say,  I can’t wait to share some of my creations with you 🙂 This particular recipe is one of my favorite recent ones! So tasty, easy, and healthy. The perfect trio for an awesome recipe. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

20130907-121525.jpg

Gorgeous right?!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 (4-ounce) can green chiles
  • 1 cup corn kernels
  • 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I love cilantro so I always add more)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion or garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon smokey paprika, or more to taste
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 6 bell peppers, tops cut, stemmed and seeded

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 baking dish with tin foil.
  2. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, green chiles, corn, beans, tomatoes, cheeses, cilantro, cumin, garlic, onion and chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper, to taste.
  3. Spoon the filling each each bell pepper cavity. Place in prepared baking dish, cavity side up, and bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is heated through, about 25-30 minutes.
  4. Serve immediately and enjoy!  🙂
  5. PS. I only cooked 4 peppers since there fewer people I was feeding but then I put the extra quinoa mix in a baking dish, topped with a little more cheese and baked along with the peppers. This was great for lunch throughout the week 🙂 As you can see there was quite a bit of extra “stuffing” so I think you could do more than 6…but experiment! 🙂

20130907-121557.jpg

20130907-121537.jpg

I just love how pretty this dish is! So colorful and fresh looking and not to mention out of this world delicious. This is a recipe you could seriously have so much fun with and experiment with different flavor combinations and ingredients. Also easily could be vegan with some small adjustments. Please stop back and share your own concoctions 🙂

As always, thanks for stopping by!

669058772380712020613

Spaghetti Squash Vegetable Bake

Posted on by

2

Spaghetti Squash Vegetable Bake

IMG_2360

I hadn’t tried spaghetti squash until this past winter. I was soooo skeptical that it was just soooo easy to cook like everyone said. How in the world could it just string apart like that?!? It HAS TO BE some sort of special technique that people are under playing, has to be, c’mon how could it be easy?! Well I finally decided to give it a try and I’ll be damned- it’s freaking easy! Seriously you heat it and it use a fork to scrap out the insides and it’s just like noodles. I even told Jake they were a special kind of noodle in an attempt to get him to eat them- he believed me but even once I told him the truth, he STILL liked it! If you haven’t tried it people, you MUST! This is a great recipe to ease into the squash because there are so many other flavors, but I sometimes just eat the squash alone. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 whole spaghetti squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red pepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 carrot, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, diced
16 ounces tomato sauce
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    2. Cut the squash in half length wise (be careful), place in a microwave safe dish and cook in the microwave for eight to 12 minutes until soft. If you don’t have a microwave, place the squash halves on a baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes. While that’s cooking, add the oil, garlic, pepper, zucchini, and carrots to a pan, cooking over medium heat.
    3. Once the squash is done ( and I let it cool a bit so you don’t burn the sh*t out of your hands) use a fork and scrape the flesh from the peel. It should flake off easily in strings, resembling spaghetti. Place the spaghetti squash flesh in an oven safe casserole dish. Add the cooked veggies, diced tomato, sauce, and most of the cheese and mix well. Sprinkle leftover cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
    4. Allow to cool for five minutes, serve, and enjoy! I also added some chopped basil on top, but thats just because I’m obsessed with it 🙂

Thanks for checking out my blog!

-G