Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm back and I'm baaaad.... Well, bad at sticking to my weekly menus that is... :P It's been craaazy here, but now things have settled down and I'm going to continue my blogging (because it makes me happy). I've pretty much been making the "same ole same ole" for dinners since I had my son because things were chaotic; I just needed simple and familiar. It's been 7 weeks and it's time to get back into trying new recipes!

    Today I made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie dough...

 and also regular chocolate chip cookie dough...

 Both are delicious! I made some of the oatmeal ones so the girls and I can give them to our neighbor (whom we adore!).

I then put together a home-made lasagna and I'm baking it as we speak!

Recipes and pics are coming a.s.a.p.!

I need an oil thermometer. Stat.

Tonight for dinner we had an asian feast (courtesy of moi'). I made Jap Chae, Teriyaki Chicken over Steamed White Rice, and I also fried up some of the Springrolls. Well we already know the pork filling is a total WIN, but I'm thinking my oil was too hot. The outside was perfect so I took one out and split it open, but half of it was still raw pork! I kept the others in the oil until they started getting alittle burnt and I just kept on checking if they were done. Finally they were done on the inside, but way too overdone (for my liking) on the outside. I now know I need to invest in an oil thermometer.

I must secretly be chinese...

My second recipe that I made up for Pork Wontons/Springrolls turned out fantastic!!!! I'm talking beyond fantastic! I took some of my wontons from the freezer and made some for lunch for my in-laws and they loved them! This is definitly my #1 Wonton recipe. I am sooooo excited! As/If you recall my first try was basically a FAIL. I didn't let that get me down though; I was determined to make some amazing Wonton Soup and damn it, that's just what I did! I'm so proud of myself :D .

I haven't fried up the Springrolls yet, but let me tell you right now - using actual Springroll wrappers from an asian market is essential! The texture is already so much better than using grocery store bought "Eggroll" wrappers. The liquor store I use to live by was owned by Chinese people and the wife made the best eggrolls you will ever taste in your entire LIFE. It was right by the High School so all the kids bought eggrolls everyday and that's probably how they make a lot of their income! They were indescribable! I can definitely tell she uses Springroll wrappers instead of regular eggroll wrappers. I'm thinking eggroll wrappers would be good for dumplings becuse they're thicker, but for a light crispy springroll? No. That's where Asian Markets come in handy!

When I walked into this Asian Market I just knew; I was home! I literally felt like I had found my calling in life! I'm pretty sure I'd move in if it didn't smell like dead fish. :P The variety of Asian foods were incredible! I couldn't believe my eyes! They had every type of noodle, beef, sauce... AHHH! I don't even know how to explain it! It was just life-changing for me, I swear! I'm in love! <3

Egg-rolls... minus the egg.

I feel funny calling these egg-rolls because there's no egg IN them. Would that technically make them lumpia? Either way, they weren't as good as I imagined. Too much rice-noodle, not enough ground pork. Otherwise they would have been a lot better indeed! Like I said in my post before this though, practice makes perfect! Now I know that there needs to be more meat and veggies, and less rice-noodles in the filling! I'm definitely going to make up a new recipe and attempt these again! This was the first attempt, definitely not the last!

I just found the perfect recipe online for lumpia that I'm going to attempt within the next day or two, so stay tuned!

A whole new appreciation...

I'm on a total Chinese food kick lately, and I finally pushed through the intimidation of cooking a few new recipes! First off, (10/20/11') I made my favorite soup ever; Wonton Soup. It turned out pretty good, but of course I've had better. Practice makes perfect though! How will you ever know what works/what doesn't if you don't TRY?! My advice to everyone who's intimidated by using new ingredients and/or trying new recipes, JUST DO IT. You'll be surprised what you're capable of doing/making! And I have to say right now, I now know why Chinese take-out is so expensive! It's so tedious and time consuming! I'm so glad I actually tried it myself and now have total respect for the hands that make the delicious food I consume (when we get take-out). Also, how they get those flavors to blend so perfectly - I might never know. But as I said, practice makes perfect! This is definitely only the beginning of my journey into Ethnic recipe attempts!

I was contemplating typing up the recipe that I made up, but then realized there's no point since it wasn't that good. I just wanted to post about it since I'm so proud of myself! I've been wanting to try to make Wonton soup for yeeeeears but I've always been intimidated. I'm finally getting a little more comfortable trying new recipes and using new ingredients (example: fresh ginger root!). I'm going to be trying actual recipes (since the one I made up isn't as delish as it could be) and then I'll post the recipe/pics! It made a lot of wontons so I froze many of them and I'll pull out a bag here and there to make some wonton soup. I'd make some right now if I was stuffed beyond belief! (Tonight hubby BBQ'd burgers!)

I think I'll pass... (Lasagna Follow-Up)

I didn't like my random lasagna for more than one reason. First off, I really don't recommend buying those "no-boil" noodles. Their really thin and they taste like pasty-flour. It's like you can't even tell they're there because they are so thin. They are not something I'll be buying again. Also, I don't know if it's all mental, but thinking about pasta sauce and pizza sauce mixed together makes me sick. The whole lasagna taste was pretty plain-Jane. Here's what it turned out to look like on a plate. (gross)

This morning I asked my husband what he wanted for lunch (to take to work) and I said the lasagna turned disgusting so he wouldn't want that. He said "I don't care, just pack some." So I did just that... and guess what? He comes home and raves about it! He says it's one of the best I've ever made. I'm really confused about this situation because I would never touch it again, but now I guess I have to make one from time-to-time just for him. I should have known - opposites attract. <3