Day 36: Breakfast Skillet

This looked absolutely delicious when I saw this on: For The Love Of Cooking

Since school is over on Thursday and its a study day, nothing better then a breakfast skillet to energize us for finals!

What we thought:

We both really enjoyed this. I used Russet potatoes, omitted the bacon, and used green peppers. I rated this a 7/10. I had leftovers this afternoon and used ketchup and that made it an 8/10. Jimmy rated this an 8. That was my first time EVER making an egg over easy. I think I did pretty darn well for my first time!

Day 35: Flank Steak with Raspberry-Chipotle Sauce

Ingredients:

large zip-top bag

1/3 cup molases

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

2 lb beef flank steak

1 cup barbecue sauce

1/4 cup raspberry preserves

3 tablespoon chipotle mustard

1 tablespoon chipotle hot pepper sauce

aluminum foil

6 bakery hamburger buns

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place in zip-top bag, molasses, worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and liquid smoke; shake to mix. Add flank steak (wash hands); seal tightly and knead bag to evenly coat the steak. Transfer meat and marinade to 2-quart baking dish. Bake 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 (for medium rare). Use a meat thermometer to acurately ensure doneness.

2) Combine remaining ingredients (except buns) in a medium bowl. (sauce may be warmed if desired. Place in microwave-safe bowl; microwave on HIGH 30-45 seconds or until warm).

3) Transfer steak to cutting board and cover loosely with foil; let stand 5 minutes. Slice meat thinly (across the grain). Place meat on buns, top with sauce. Serve.

What we thought:

Jimmy made most of this. I just handed him the ingredients out of the fridge. This was so good! This is always a 10! We make this maybe once every couple of months. We WILL make this again for sure!

Day 34: Creme Brulee && Corn Flake covered Chicken

I changed the settings to serves 2, instead of serves 4. Just double everything if you want more then 2 servings.

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup or so of light brown sugar.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Whisk the cream, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract together in a bowl. Mix it all up until it gets nice and creamy. Pour this mixture into ramekins (those little ceramic dishes). I got it evenly distributed between 4 7-ouncers. I suppose you could pour it all into one smallish casserole dish too. Place the ramekins in a baking pan Fill the baking pan with hot water, about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place the pan with the ramekins in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour or so. After 45 minutes or so check them every ten minutes. You'll know they're done when you can stick a knife in one and it comes out clean. Remove the ramekins from the baking pan, set them on the counter, and let them cool for 15 minutes or so.

Then put them in the refrigerator and let them chill overnight.

Sprinkle a thin layer of the light brown sugar on the top of each. Make sure it's a THIN layer, but also make sure it completely covers the custard. Now torch it! Or, if you don't have a torch, you can supposedly put them under the broiler for a minute or so. You just need to carmelize the brown sugar

What we thought about the Creme Brulee

Well, this was super easy to make for one, though I did set the oven mit on fire while it was on my hand in the process. I decided to top one brulee with brown sugar, and one with regular sugar. JImmy and I both preferred the one with regular surgar compared to the brown sugar, but both were good. I am not a fan of creme brulee so I let him eat mine as well as his. I just wanted to see if I could successfully make a creme brulee. We both rate these a 10.

The Corn Flake Chicken:

This is real simple. All you need is enough corn flakes to cover the amount of chicken you have. You can moisten the chicken with eggs or water. I usually use water but I had some eggs to get rid of, so i covered my chicken in eggs instead.

Put the corn flakes into a zip blog bag, smash the corn flakes, and shake the bag with the chicken in it, until chicken is fully covered. Depending on what heat you put your oven on, it can range from 15+ minutes. I have my oven set at 275 because of the creme brulee so its going to take a while.

What I thought (corn flake chicken):

It was easy, it got rid of some things in the kitchen, and I ended up being full. I would rate this a 6. One of those nights when I am not feeling cooking, I will make this again. I probably wont make this for guests though. I think kids would like this though..

Day 33: Job Chae (Korean stir fry noodles with vegetables)

I was looking through cooking videos on YouTube and found this woman with a website dedicated to cooking Korean dishes. Click here I had to give this a try since I am not familiar with Korean cooking as well as consuming Korean dishes.





Ingredients:

Starch noodles (“dangmyun”)
150 grams of beef

1 bunch of spinach

1 medium size carrot

1 medium size onion

mushrooms (5 dried shiitake and 1 package of white mushrooms)

3 cloves of garlic

7-8 green onions

soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and sesame seeds

How to prepare your ingredients before stir frying:

1. Soak 5 dried shitake mushrooms in warm water for a few hours until they become soft. Squeeze the water out of them and slice thinly.
   
2. Slice a package of white mushrooms (2 cups’ worth).


3. Cut a carrot into thin matchstick-shaped pieces 5 cm long.


4. Cut 7 -8 green onions into 7 cm long pieces.


5. Slice one onion thinly.


6. Slice 150 grams of beef into thin strips.

Now let’s start!

1. Boil 2 bunches of noodles in boiling water in a big pot for about 3 minutes. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.


2. Cut the noodles several times by using scissors and add 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside.
   *tip: Take one sample and taste it to see whether or not it’s cooked properly. If it feels soft, it’s finished.


3. In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold water 3 times. Remove any grit or dead leaves thoroughly while rinsing. Squeeze it gently to get the water out, then cut it into 5 cm pieces.


4. Add ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sesame oil and mix it and place it onto the large bowl.
   *tip: When you drain the hot water from the pot, don’t discard the hot water. Put it back into the pot so you can cook your spinach quickly.


5. On a heated pan, put a few drops of olive oil and your carrot strips and stir it with a spatula for 30 seconds. Put it into the large bowl (don’t burn it!).


6. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your sliced onion. Stir it until the onion looks translucent. Put it into the large bowl with your carrots.


7. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add the sliced white mushrooms. Stir it for a bit and then put it in the large bowl.


8. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your green onions. Stir for 1 minute and put it into the large bowl.


9. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your beef strips and your sliced shitake mushrooms. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then put it into the large bowl.


10. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 3 tbs of sugar, 2 tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of ground pepper to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds on the top.


11. Serve with rice and Kimchi, or as a side dish.

What we thought:


Jimmy rated this a 10. I would rate this a 9. i did not use the mushrooms and I did not use seasme oil and the noodles. I could not find for the life of me the seasme oil nor could I find an Asian market for the noodles. Next time, i will do my homework and make sure I could find the Asian market so I could use the right noodles.

Day 32: Ratatouille

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced

1 small eggplant, cubed

2 green bell peppers, coarsely chopped

4 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped, or 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes3 to 4 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 teaspoon dried leaf basil

1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

In a 4-quart Dutch oven or saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add eggplant; stir until coated with oil. Add peppers; stir to combine. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep vegetables from sticking.

Add tomatoes, zucchini, and herbs; mix well. Cover and cook over low heat about 15 minutes, or until eggplant is tender but not too soft.

What we thought:

I would rate this a 8.5/10. Jimmy rated this a 10/10. I would have liked to add fresh herbs, next time I will. Other than that, it was a lovely to have a dish with pure vegetables and I will be making this again.

Day 31: Springtime Spaghetti with Baby Artichokes and Herbs

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds baby artichokes, trimmed of outer leaves, stems, and tops of larger chokes trimmed, very thinly sliced, no more than 1/8-inch thick.

2 small ripe lemons, halved

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

1/4 pound pancetta, cut into fine dice (optional)

4 large shallots, finely chopped

4 large cloves garlic, fine chopped or grated

Black pepper

1 cup dry white wine (chicken broth as substitute)

Salt, to taste

1 pound spaghetti

A generous handful mint leaves

A generous handful flat-leaf parsley

1 cup loosely packed basil leaves

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a generous handful for tossing plus some to pass at the table

Yields: 4

Preparation:

Fill a large bowl with water. Squeeze lemons into the water and add them to bowl. Add sliced artichokes to bowl as you work so they dont turn brown.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta

Heat 1/4 cup EVOO, 4 turns of the pan, in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta, if using, and brown a couple of minutes. Add shallots and garlic, and cook 3-4 minutes more.

Drain the artichokes, discard juiced lemon halves and add artichokes to pan. Season with pepper. Raise heat a bit and saute until light golden at edges, 6-7 minutes. Add wine, stir, and reduce by half. Cover pan, reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered, 5-6 minutes more. Season with salt to taste.

Meanwhile, salt the boiling water and cook pasta to al dente. Reserve about 1/2 cup of cooking water before draining pasta.

While pasta cooks, finely chop the mint with parsley. Stack up the basil leave, roll them into a log and thinly slice the logs of leaves across.

Uncover the artichokes and stir in the reserved starchy water. Bring sauce to a bubble , add drained pasta, mint and parsley. Toss to combine, 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat. Add a handful of cheese and basil to pasta and toss again to combine, serve immediately.

What we thought:

We would rate this 8/10. We didn't have baby artichokes in the grocery store yet, so I used canned artichokes. I did not use pancetta, nor did i use the water with lemon because the artichokes were already in a jar. With that said, this was really easy to make, it took less then thirty minutes, and I enjoyed this hott the day I made it, and I enjoyed it cold the next day as leftovers. When we get artichokes in the grocery store, I will retry this again, because I think it was taste a little bit better with fresh ingredients.

Day 30: Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ingredients:

Pasta Shells

Spaghetti sauce

meat if you wish

Cheese filling:

2 lbs ricotta or cottage cheese

1/2 lb Mozzarella cheese, grated

2 eggs

1/2 c Parmeasan, grated

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp parsley

Directions:

Cook pasta shells according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare cheese filling. Beat eggs; add ricotta, Mozzarella, and Pameasan cheese; mix in seasonings. Using a large casserole dish, layer sauce, meat and pasta shells which are stuffed with the cheese filling. Bake 45 minutes.

What I thought:

I did not want to use meat. What I did instead was just pour a little bit of sauce on the dish, then put the stuffed shells ontop, then top off with more sauce. Jimmy always rates this a 10/10. I would rate this a 9/10

Day 29: Japanese Chicken-Scallion Rice Bowl

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups instant brown rice

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon mirin

2 large egg whites

1 large egg

8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

6 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

Preparation:

1. Prepare instant brown rice according to package directions.

2. Pour broth into a heavy medium saucepan, along with sugar, soy sauce, and mirin. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low.

3. Stir egg whites and whole egg in a small bowl until just mixed. Add chicken to the simmering broth. Gently pour in the egg mixture, without stirring. Sprinkle scallions ontop. When the egg starts to firm up, after about 3 minutes, stir it with chopsticks or a knife. (The chicken will be cooked by now.) Divide the rice among 4 deep soup bowls and top with the chicken mixture

Note: Mirin is a low-alcohol rice wine essential to Japanese cooking. Look for it in your supermarket with the Asian or gourmet ingredients. An equal portion of sherry or white wine with a pinch of sugar may be substituted for mirin.

What I thought:

This was very easy to make, and smelled wonderful. I did not like the appearance of the meal when it was all said and done, but I really enjoyed the taste. I am really glad I added the few extra scallions, it added so much flavor! Overall, I would rate this as a 7 with taste, but I will knock it up to an 8 because it was so easy to make, and it was healthy as well!

Day 28: Homemade Sushi

I've always wanted to make sushi, but when Bobby Flay had a throwdown with a sushi restauranteur, then I really got in the mood to make sushi. When I visited the grandparent's house, Opa taught me how to make sushi, and it is quite easily to say the least.

Opa had made the rice. Here are instructions on how to make the perfect sushi rice: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/sushiforbeginner/r/sushirice.htm

The second day, I had prepped the vegetables and cream cheese for the rolls. We used: cucumber, carrots, avocado, crab meat, cream cheese, seaweed, and rice. You will want some water to line the end of the seaweed so it will stick when you roll the roll up. I did a different variety of rolls with the ingredients we used. I used the cucumber, avocado, carrot, and cream cheese. When I didn't use cream cheese, I used the crab meat. Then sometimes I used all ingredients in one roll!

Remember:

Opa says shiny side up, but both sides looked shiny to me, but I noticed the shiny side up was also the rough side up. To me, the shiny side was also the rough side.

Squeeze the roll so the ingredients wont escape the roll.

Use a very sharp knife to cut. I did a "saw" motion when cutting the roll. We switched from a smooth knife to something like a bread knife, with teeth. That worked very well for me.

I would dip the sushi roll with wasabi and soy sauce.

What we thought:

I think everyone came to a conclusion that the sushi was a 10/10. We will make this again for sure!

Day 27: Garlic Ginger Chicken

What you will need:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1" chunks)

4 tablespoon rice wine

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 egg

1/3 cup cornstarch

6 garlic cloves (minced)

Sauce:

6 tablespoon soy sauce

6 tablespoon rice wine

3 teaspoon sugar

1 bunch green onions (sliced)

Directions:

Step 1: Add chicken bits to a large bowl. Add soy sauce and rice wine. Marinate for 30 minutes. Add in the egg and cornstarch, stir and blend until the chicken pieces are coated with batter.

Step 2: Heat oil in a deep fryer for 375 degrees. Fry chicken in batches for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown && crispy. Drain on paper towl.

Step 3: Add a couple tablespoon of oil to your wok or frying pan. Add garlic and ginger and stir fry for 15 seconds. Add soy sauce, rice wine and sugar. Stir and bring to a boil. Coat chicken bits with the sauce, top with green onions and serve.

What I thought:

This dish was a hott mess. I tend to scan instructions and go from there, which resulted in twice the amount of soy sauce which ruined the batter for frying. When all said and done, it was very salty, which was my mistake, but I loved the ginger and garlic taste. If I had done everything correctly, then I am sure this would have been an 8-9/1o. Since I messed up, I would rate this a 5/10. I really loved the ginger though..