Yakisoba

This was a new one for me. I know I've eaten Yakisoba (Japanese Fried Noodles) at a Teriyaki place in Washington before, but it's been a very long time! Since there are absolutely no Teriyaki restaurants where we live (trust me, we've researched!), we've perfected homemade Teriyaki now- grilling the chicken with some smoke (I love cherry, husband loves hickory), make our own Teriyaki sauce, cook up some white rice, and you've got better-than-restaurant Teriyaki. We normally serve it with a side of steamed broccoli for some healthy nutrition as well, but last night we didn't have any broccoli. So I decided to try making Yakisoba as a side dish, instead.

Most of the Yakisoba recipes I found had a meat- chicken or pork- stirred in, but since I was cooking it as a side dish, I omitted the meat. It turned out great! Next time I might add some chopped white/sweet onion and celery.

As I've mentioned before, I usually use a lot less oil for cooking my stir fried food, as we like things a little lighter. If you find your noodles sticking to the pan, just add in some water to help it steam a little bit. The sesame oil my recipe calls for adds great flavor to the dish. If you don't have any, you can use regular vegetable oil, but I would recommend buying some sesame oil and trying it next time, it is so tasty!

Anyway, here's my recipe for Yakisoba:

Yakisoba (Japanese Fried Noodles)

1 pkg dried yakisoba noodles
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed through a garlic press
1/2 cup roughly chopped cabbage
1/3 cup thinly sliced baby carrots
2 green onions sliced into ribbons
1-2 teaspoons sesame oil (can use vegetable oil)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar (one to two dashes)
1/2 teaspoon white sugar

1. Boil yakisoba noodles for 1-2 minutes, tossing at it boils. Drain. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large pan and stir in the garlic for about 1 minute. Add the vegetables and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the cooked noodles and the rest of the seasonings.

3. Stir fry for 3-5 minutes or until everything is as crunchy or as tender as you like it (we like ours just a little crisp).

4. Serve as a side dish or add chicken or pork for a main dish.

Enjoy!

Fudgy Brownies

Doesn't that picture make your mouth water??

This recipe is a Better Homes and Gardens "Best Loved" recipe, and it's easy to see why. I am in love with these brownies, and especially with the chocolate cream cheese frosting. Divine... Try them and you'll never make any other kind!

I really like making these because you mix them in the same saucepan you melt the chocolate in, and you don't have to pull out your mixer. One bowl and one heat resistant spatula (mine is a Pampered Chef spatula, and I love it!) is all it takes. Easy clean-up.

Fudgy Brownies

1/2 cup butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1 recipe Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting (optional, recipe follows)

1. In a medium sauce pan melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cool.

2. Grease an 8x8x2-inch or 9x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. Stir sugar into cooled chocolate mixture in saucepan. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating with a wooden spoon after each addition just until combined. Stir in vanilla.

3. Add flour and baking soda to the chocolate mixture; stir just until combined. If desired, stir in nuts. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.

4. Bake in a 350F oven for 30 minutes for 8-inch pan or 25 minutes for 9-inch pan. Cool on a wire rack. If desired, frost with Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting. Cut into bars.

Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
6 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

In a saucepan melt the chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cool. In a small bowl stir together the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Stir in melted chocolate until smooth. Spread over cooled brownies.

Cashew Chicken

Over the past six months or so, we have found ourselves eating less "American" food and more international varieties of dinners. It has been fun searching for recipes, adapting them to our tastes, and trying a lot of new things. I will be sharing our discoveries with you!

I searched the Internet and read countless cooking blogs and publicly posted recipes for Cashew Chicken. They all sounded good, but the pictures looked so greasy. We're trying to eat healthy and eating an oily dinner just didn't appeal to me. So I took bits and pieces from all the recipes I read, and came up with my own concoction for Cashew Chicken. It's not oily or greasy, and can be modified to fit what your family likes (see note below recipe). I hope you try it and love it.

Cashew Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 large onion, cut into bite size pieces
3 slices of ginger root, cut into matchstick pieces
1/3 cup chopped cashews
sesame oil

sauce:
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
6 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
note: the sauce is not a thick sauce, it mostly just coats everything and adds incredible flavor!

prepared brown rice

1. Prepare the sauce by combining all ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Steam/fry the chicken, peppers, ginger, and onions in a large pan by adding water then ingredients to the pan and cooking on medium heat, stirring occasionally. When chicken and vegetables are partly cooked, add some sesame oil to the pan. Turn the heat up to medium high/high and finish cooking, stirring occasionally. When everything is fully cooked, add the chopped cashews and the sauce and toss a few times to blend. Cook for 1 or 2 more minutes.

3. Serve with brown rice.

Options: oriental hot sauce or chili powder could be added to the sauce for spice; bamboo shoots, broccoli, or bean sprouts could be added to stir fry; 1/2 cup whole cashews can be substituted for chopped cashews; white rice could be prepared instead of brown rice.

Caramel Thumbprint Cookies

I found this recipe in my new Family Fun magazine this month. They turned out sooooooooo good!! I think they're my new favorite cookies! And that's saying something!

Melted caramel candy adds luscious richness to the cocoa goodness of these cookies.

Total time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Servings: 26

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, separated
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped pecans
26 chocolate-covered caramel candies, such as Dove or Rolo

Instructions
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder and set aside.

Using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture in two batches and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350º. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, beat the egg white with a fork. Set aside about 1/4 cup of the pecans; put the rest on a plate. Roll 1 tablespoon of the dough into a ball, coat it with egg white, and roll it in the nuts. Repeat with the remaining dough. Put the cookies on the sheet, leaving about 3 inches between them. With your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each cookie, then reshape the outside edges, if they crack.

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, then take them from the oven and gently press a caramel candy into each cookie. Bake until the chocolate and caramel soften, about 4 minutes. Grease the tines of a fork with butter and press on each candy to flatten it slightly. Sprinkle on the reserved nuts, then cool the cookies on a rack.

"Leftover" Pizza

I had some left over slices of beef roast from a meal last week, so I threw together this for dinner the next night.

Bake your favorite pizza dough until it's lightly brown.
Brush with olive oil.
Top with sliced onions, sliced green peppers, beef pieces, and sliced or shredded cheddar cheese.
Sprinkle with black pepper.
Bake until bubbly and enjoy!

Steve thought it was a little dry, so he dipped his in red sauce. It would be good dipped in a garlic sauce or even ranch dressing, too!

Farfalle for dinner

I really enjoyed this light pasta for dinner, perfect for summer!

Farfalle with Grape Tomatoes, Basil and Mozzarella

Ingredients
1 box Farfalle
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons onion, minced
1 Pint cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 Leaves fresh basil, torn or sliced
4 Ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. Add oil and onions to a medium saute pan and heat over medium-high heat. Saute for 3 minutes or until onions are soft.

2. Add the cherry tomatoes to the skillet. Saute the tomatoes for another 3 minutes until the skins are blistered and the flesh is heated through; season with salt and pepper. (I actually didn't season mine, and it tasted fantastic!)

3. Meanwhile, Cook the Farfalle according to the directions on the package.

4. Remove the tomatoes from the heat, puree 1/3 of the sauce in a blender on high, for two minutes. Return the puree to the saute pan.

5. Drain the pasta and toss the pasta with the sauce. Stir in the basil and mozzarella cheese. (I added some grated Parmesan, too!) Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

I saw this recipe in my new issue of Family Fun magazine and had to try it!

Taco Pizza

We made this spicy, mouthwatering pizza for dinner Friday night... and it turned out great!

Taco Pizza

Roll out your favorite pizza crust and bake until lightly browned.

Spread with a can of your favorite refried beans. Spread your favorite salsa over the beans.

Sprinkle with taco seasoned, cooked ground beef; sliced black olives; chopped tomatoes; sliced green onions; and shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake until bubbly (about 12 minutes at 375F).

Enjoy!