Everyday Style & Recipes. Est. 2010
This chili is one of those dishes that regularly makes it onto the menu. I used to make it in a big sauce pan, but since I got a crock pot I have slow cooked it ever since. I like the way all of the seasoning marinates slowly for hours and the way the veggies and cashews become tender. The cashews add a sweet, nutty flavor that tastes great with the beans and veggies. I garnished the chili with extra sharp cheddar and green onion.
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As a side dish to the Char Siu, I created this easy and flavorful bok choy recipe. It’s pretty simple since all you do is steam the bok choy and then stir fry it in garlic and the sauce for a few minutes. There are lots of variations and you can use all sorts of seasonings and sauces for baby bok choy. This dish went nicely with the pork and complimented its flavors. Bok choy tastes like a cross between broccoli and cabbage, and would be a great addition to stir-fries.
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The grown-up version of the popular snack for kids–english muffin pizzas! I liked this bite-sized take on the classic Margherita pizza a lot. I tried several different ways of adding the basil: underneath the cheese, on top and cooked, on top and raw. My favorite of those was the middle–on top of the cheese and cooked for just a few minutes. It was the most flavorful and left the basil fresh and green. I only had sourdough english muffins and those worked out fine.
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I recently made Kare UdonB with beef and it seemed like it would go nicely as a meatless soup too. The recipe is identical to the previous one except I substituted the beef with tofu and mushrooms. The tofu was great with the curry flavors. I am completely sold on the packaged curry roux. This is my favorite curry, and I buy the “hot” version. It can be found in the asian foods section in grocery stores: I was skeptical since it looks a little like astronaut food, but the flavors have totally won me over!
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Lasagna is a great staple dinner but I wanted to experiment a bit with the ingredients. Instead of using ricotta cheese I used a Bechamel sauce with goat cheese and feta. Bechamel is a white sauce made from milk, cheese, and butter. The goat cheese and feta added a tangy flavor that was good with the roasted red peppers. This recipe was very unique and it was a lot of fun to make and the results were great. Lasagna takes forever (about 2 1/2-3 hours) to prepare and cook so take some time to try this one out.
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I wanted to have something light and fresh to pair with the Jerk Chicken and Red Beans and Rice I made. Mango and red pepper salsa adds that freshness with just a little bit of heat. Peaches or papaya could be substituted in for the mangos.
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Italian food is great with fine ingredients and simple flavors. Butter and sage, two simple ingredients on their own, make an excellent gnocchi sauce. Gnocchi is a type of potato dumpling pasta–it reminds me of a cross between polish Perogies and ravioli pasta. Gnocchi is usually made with white potatoes but I decided to try sweet potatoes for a more savory flavor. The sage fries in the butter as it browns which smells and tastes great.
As for the gnocchi making process it was surprisingly easy. The only thing to watch out for is overcooking the gnocchi. It really only needs 3 minutes and should be immediately scooped out when it floats to the top. I learned this the hard way by overcooking it by about 2 minutes which created a slimy bunch that was totally gross. I thought this recipe turned out really great, and I will be making this again–perhaps with pumpkin the next time to mix things up.
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Coleslaw is a common side dish for a lot of different American foods. The ingredients can vary a little bit but at its most basic is a mixture of green cabbage, mayonnaise, and sour cream. I used a squeeze of lemon, but you can also use a little white vinegar for acidity. There are other variations that use celery seed, mustard and red cabbage as well. I liked how it turned out and in the future I might try those other ingredients and compare. I am looking forward to having this with barbeque pulled pork sandwiches!
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I have always had kind of a conundrum with lasagna. Since I don’t eat ground beef and I don’t really care for the creamy white veggie lasagna recipes, I had to get creative and combine my favorite parts of both types. I like the marinara sauce from the traditional lasagna but I also love the flavors that come with the vegetables in the other lasagna. If you are like me–a weirdo who shuns ground beef and cream sauces then this is the lasagna for you. I love zucchini and I thought it would make a tasty layer. I chopped the zucchini in small triangles even though its more “correct” to slice them in long pieces and boil. John frowned at my unorthodox zucchini preparation but I thought it turned out very well. The cheese layers were excellent–a mix of melted ricotta and mozzarella. I really liked this recipe, which is good because I will be eating a lot of leftovers this week. Oh, and happy New Year everybody!
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Eggplant can be so delicious if prepared correctly. For eggplant Parmesan, the eggplant needs to be drained of the water and bitterness before pan frying. You can find a lot of different methods on how to drain eggplant but I just use some paper towels and something heavy to press on top of the slices. I also like to strain the tomato sauce because it prevents the dish from becoming too watery. The eggplant parmesan turned out well–after the second round of cooking. I took it out the first night and it was just a little undercooked. The next day I cooked it about twice as long and it tasted great.
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