Chow-Mein

Good Chinese food really does take a lot of skill, practice and patience! I never knew how hard it was to be able to get the taste's right! I tried my hand at Chow-Mein and it was alright - I've definitely had better. Someone please, tell me what's missing! I want to succeed! Although I must say - it was pretty good for my first attempt!

Chow-Mein

Ingredients:

10 oz Steamed Chowmein Noodles

2 Chicken Breasts

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup shredded cabbage

1/2 cup shredded carrot

8 oz. bean sprouts

2 TBS soy sauce

1 TBS oyster sauce 

1/2 tsp sugar 

2 TBS water 

2 TBS cooking oil

2 stalks of scallions (cut into 1 1/2 inch length)

Salt to taste

Chicken Marinade:

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp Shao Hsing cooking wine

1 tsp corn starch

2 TBS water

Directions:

1. Cut chicken breasts into bite-size pieces and marinate (in the "Chicken Marinade") for at least 15 minutes.

2. Soak the Chowmein noodles in cold water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water (to remove excess starch). Set aside. 

3. In a small mixing bowl combine soy sauce and oyster sauce; stir and set aside.

4. Heat up the wok with the cooking oil. Add in the chopped garlic and stir-fry until light brown or aromatic. Add the chicken and cook until it's almost cooked through. Add the shredded cabbage and carrot into the wok and do a few quick stirs. Add the noodles, the soy/oyster sauce mixture and the water. Continue to stir until the noodles are well blended with the seasonings and completely cooked through. Add the chopped scallions and bean sprouts, do a few final stirs, dish out and serve hot. 

**NOTES: It was bland this way... so I added more soy sauce. It then became just a little too salty so I added a few shakes of sugar. It didn't taste quite right so I added a few shakes of ground ginger (hoping I can save this dish somehow). All-in-all it was alright... I'm still on the lookout for a good chow-mein recipe! Like I said though, this was my first attempt, and practice makes perfect. :)

Black Bean Chili

My husband came home from work a few days ago saying someone brought in some amazing black bean chili! He asked her for the recipe so I could make it again for him. She sent the recipe online and I had to talk to her... 1/4 cup of chili powder? That's got to be a joke (or at least a humorous mistake). To my surprise, it really is 1/4 cup chili powder in there! She said she didn't put quite as much as that though. So I made it how she said she made it and still... holy chili powder! I took one bite of that chili and had spit it out (dramatically, I might add). It was like an explosion in my mouth - of pure chili powder! 

 YUCK. My husband said it was good, but it was missing something. I suggested that if I made it again I'd put some corn in it or something. DING! He said "Oh yeah! That's what's missing! She put corn in it too!" So I heated up some corn in the microwave (since I had already served up the chili) and then we poured some into our bowls.

I didn't have the guts put anymore into my mouth... I just can't believe how much chili powder this recipe has. I won't be making this recipe again, but for anyone who loves chili powder I highly suggest this recipe! 

Quick Black Bean Chili

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, diced

Water

2 cloves of garlic, minced
16 oz. cooked, rinsed black beans

8 oz. diced fire roasted tomatoes (I used the can with garlic in it too)

1/4 cup chili powder (but you should put way less)

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano 

8 oz. corn

Optional for garnish: 2-3 TBS chopped fresh cilantro leaves and/or a squeeze of lime juice

Directions:

Over medium-high heat saute' onion until most is significantly brown. Add a thin layer of water and quickly stir the onion. Let onion sit and water evaporate. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic; saute' 1 minute. Add the black beans, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, and oregano; mix everything together well. Simmer for atleast 5 minutes. 

Optional: Add the cilantro and/or lime juice immediately after the chili comes off the heat and stir.

Meatless Monday is officially a GO!

My husband agreed that we should hop on board the "Meatless Monday" train, so it's official! Each Monday night I'm going to make a special post about our meatless menu. Even though it'll be hard to stick with, I'm so excited about it! I thought "Meatless Monday" was just some cute rhyming dinner theme that people put on their weekly menus; I had no idea it was a whole movement! If you haven't heard about it, or want to learn more about it, please visit http://www.meatlessmonday.com/ and sign the pledge!
Recipe Resources:

- On allrecipes.com I found this Vegetarian Edition "Twenty for Twenty". It's where you stock up on 20 ingredients, and then you can make these 20 recipes with the 20 ingredients! This will come in handy for me to get new vegetarian recipes (since I don't think I even have any!).
- On eatingwell.com there is an entire Vegetarian Meal Plan for an entire month. Breakfast, lunch, snack, aaand dinner! :)

Crab Rangoon

We never go to Panda Express anymore, but when we did we sometimes would get a couple Crab Rangoon. They were super yummy! I decided to make my own since I have a lot of packages of wonton skins. (I kind of went overboard in the Asian Market) Here's my recipe - my husband loved them! 

Ingredients:

4 oz softened Philadelphia Cream Cheese 

2 sticks imitation crab meat, minced ( I always get the ones from the fish counter at Safeway)

1 scallion, diced 

1 small cup of water (to seal wontons)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine minced crab meat and diced scallions into softened cream cheese. Mix well. 

2. Place a tablespoon of the mixture in the center of a wonton skin.

3. Wet your finger tip and run it along the whole perimeter of the wonton. 

4.Fold wonton over to create a diamond shape. Pinch it tight so there are no openings.

5. Fry in peanut oil around 375° until golden brown. 

6. Transfer to a plate lined with paper-towel to drain excess oil. 

Enjoy! :)

Curried Chicken Salad

Over a year ago at the grocery store they were giving out samples of curried chicken salad. I was skeptical when I saw grapes in it but I decided to be adventurous and give it a try. I instantly fell in love! I've been meaning to recreate it this entire time and I've finally tried a recipe for it! I think there's a little too much mayonnaise and a little too much curry flavor, but this is actually good! I'm still looking for the perfect recipe, but this is good in the mean time!

Ingredients:

3 cups diced cooked chicken breast 

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 cup seedless grapes, halved

1 cup mayonnaise

2 TBS mined red onion

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 

1/2 tsp curry powder 

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine chicken, celery, and grapes. 

2. Prepare the dressing in a small  bowl by whisking together mayonnaise, onion, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, curry, and salt and pepper. Pour over chicken mixture and mix well. 

Here is what the finished product should look like. You can spoon it over lettuce and have a salad or lettuce wraps. You can also stuff it in a pita pocket with lettuce. I put it in a bakery roll with romaine lettuce and it was yummy! I love the grapes in it! Great combination. :) 

**NOTES:

- I roasted a whole chicken last night and used the meat for this chicken salad, but you can buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to make life easier. To make life even a little more easier you can also buy the bag of Tyson's pre-cooked/cubed chicken. 

- I put 9 shakes of salt, and 9 shakes of pepper (out of my shakers). 

- IMO there's a little too much mayo (which normally isn't a sentence in my vocab), and a little too much curry. Next time I'd add a little more minced red onion too because I love onion a lot!

Chicken Egg-Rolls are amazing!

I've been searching/making different recipes and trying to find a really good egg-roll. This one is AMAZING!!!  It tastes like it's straight from an Asian restaurant! You'll love it! I think they could be a little saltier but I'll put the recipe anyways, it's delicious! Next time I make this recipe I'll just add a little more soy sauce (or maybe just some salt?). Perfection! :)  

Chicken Egg-Rolls 

Ingredients: 

1 tsp sugar 

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp shao hsing

1 TBS oyster sauce 

1/2 lb. ground chicken

3 button mushrooms, diced small

3 scallions, sliced thin

1 cup bean sprouts

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 TBS peeled and minced fresh ginger root

1/2 cup shredded carrots 

Egg-roll wrappers 

Vegetable Oil  to saute veggies/cook chicken

Peanut Oil to fry the eggrolls

Directions:

1. Whisk together the sugar, soy, oyster sauce and rice wine and then toss with the chicken. While it marinades, place 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet heated to medium-high. A minute later, add the mushrooms, scallions, cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts; saute', stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.

2. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet and saute the ginger, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and its marinade and cook until it loses it's pinkness stirring occasionally to separate the pieces, about 3 minutes. Return the vegetables to the pan, mix well with the chicken, and cook for another minute. Remove the mixture with a slotted spoon. (You can prepare this filling, covered and refrigerated up to a day in advance.)

3. Add about 2 inches of peanut oil to a heavy saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until it reaches about 375°. Carefully place the egg-rolls into the heated oil but do not over-crowd the pan. The egg-rolls are done when they are golden brown. Use tongs to carefully transfer them from the oil to a plate covered with paper-towel (to soak up extra oil). Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.

*NOTES:
- Our favorite dipping sauce is Sweet Chili Sauce (bought from Safeway).

- I freeze all the egg-rolls I make individually on a cookie sheet (lined with foil, and then plastic wrap on top of the egg-rolls) for the entire day (or over-night) and then transfer them to freezer baggies.

Weekly Menu 11/2/11

Getting back into a normal routine now, sorry for the lack of posts! My MIL/FIL left November 2, and then my sister and her husband came from CA to visit! But now things are back to normal so I'm getting back into a routine and trying to plan meals (and stick to them!). I'm late with this week's menu but that's okay... I don't think any reads this blog yet anyway. :P 

For the week starting 11/2/2011
Wednesday - Teriyaki Salmon, White Rice, Wonton Soup, Steamed Asparagus
Thursday - Spaghetti & Meatballs, Cheesy Garlic Bread, Salad
Friday - Fried Chicken & Baked Potatoes
Saturday - Teriyaki Salmon, White Rice, Chicken Egg-rolls, Crab Rangoon
Sunday -  McCormick's Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

Monday - Sushi from our fave Japanese place Ah-Hai Sushi & Grill

Tuesday - Black-bean Chili & Cornbread