Shrimp Lo Mein and Japanese Steakhouse White Sauce

I'm horrible with New Years Resolutions. One of mine for this blog was to post at least two times a week and here I am updating for the first time in a month. The hubs had to go to the field for some military exercise for the last month and I would be embarrassed to post what I ate this past month. I did get to eat a few dishes with beans, which the hubby hates, but other than that there were quite a few nights where I hit up the drive-thru...

But I'm back! And I thought I'd start it out with this gem of a recipe from Food.com. It's not exactly authentic Chinese food, especially since I subbed spinach for bok choy (that is one expensive and hard to find ingredient), but it is delicious.

2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 cup soy sauce

8 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 tsp sesame oil, divided

12 ounces snow peas

2 cups shredded carrots

1 head bok choy, sliced (I substituted spinach)

1 15 oz can chicken broth

7 scallions, sliced

12 oz fettuccine, cooked and drained

Combine first five ingredients and set aside for 10 minutes. In a skillet or wok, heat 1 tsp oil over high heat. Drain shrimp, reserving soy mixture. Cook shrimp until pink, 2-3 minutes. Remove from skillet.

Add 1 tbsp oil to skillet, then add peas and carrots and cook 1 minute. Add to shrimp. Cook cabbage in skillet with remaining oil 1 minute. Combine broth and reserved soy mixture and add to skillet, along with shrimp mixture. Cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and mix in scallion and fettucini. Enjoy!

The white sauce recipe can be found here. This sauce is pretty much the only reason I go out to eat at Japanese places. I love this sauce and his recipe is practically identical in taste. The person who posted this recipe asked to be linked instead of copied so follow the link above. Be sure to chill it overnight because that really helps the flavors mix.

Cookie Dough Truffles

Have you ever had one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days where all you want is to come home and dig into some chocolate cookie dough? And after licking the tenth spoonful has been licked clean you realize you probably shouldn't have eaten so much raw egg let alone so much cookie dough? Yep I had one of those days except luckily I was able to skip the raw cookie dough and instead chow down on a few of these truffles.

These are delicious and taste just like cookie dough. They were much harder to roll into balls than the oreo truffles I made a few weeks ago. The dough was very sticky so I recommend putting it in the freezer for a little bit before you roll them. I also floured my hands for some but and while the dough didn't stick to my hands it did give the truffles a more floury taste. The other method I got from someone on the What's Cooking board was to make my hands slightly damp with water before rolling. This worked for a few but then I would have to wash my hands and start over. If anyone has any tips or suggestions for rolling these delicious little bites I'd love to hear them! I've seen this recipe many places on the Internet but I used this recipe from the Novice Chef.

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (I had to use more)

1 1/2 lbs dark chocolate candy coating, chopped

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla; mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Shape into 1-inch balls and place on a wax-covered cookie sheet. Loosely cover and freeze for 1-2 hours or until firm.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the candy coating, stirring often until smooth. Dip balls in coating and place back onto baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Store in refrigerator. Enjoy!

Rachel Ray's Cheeseburger Chili Mac and Cheese

I'm not a huge tv person but whenever I need something in the background while I'm cleaning or doing homework I usually turn on the Food channel. It makes very good background noise and I know as long as I catch the last 5 minutes I won't have missed any huge plot twists. Rachel Ray is one of my favorite cooks to watch. I found this recipe while searching for a dessert I had seen on one of her shows (don't ask how I got from dessert to cheeseburger chili mac and cheese). The combination sounded like a interesting one and I had to out it on our weekly meal list.

This was delicious. You could taste the separate chili and cheeseburger tastes and they went great together. Recipe is from Rachel Ray.

2 tbsp EVOO

1.5 pounds ground sirloin

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp chili powder

salt and ground black pepper

1/2 cup ketchu

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1-2 cups beef stock (use more if you want it more liquidy)

pound elbow macaroni

1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat broiler and bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Place a pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the ground sirloin and cook until brown, about 6 minutes. Add the onion and chili powder to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the onion is tender, 5 minutes. Add the ketchup, mustard, tomato sauce, and beef stock to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium-low heat until thickened, about 5 mintues.

While the chili is simmering, add the pasta to your salted boiling water. Cook to al dente, drain, and return to pot. Add the chili to the pasta pot and mix well.

Transfer everything to a casserole dish and top with the shredded cheese. Place the casserole under the broiler to melt the cheese. Enjoy!

WC Recipe Swap: Chicken with Green Olives, Black Beans and Saffron Rice

One of the posters on a cooking board I frequent recently suggested a recipe swap featuring chicken. I thought this was a great idea because you can never have enough chicken recipes! I submitted my Honey Balsamic Glazed Chicken that I made a few weeks ago and received this one in return.

I was a little nervous before getting my recipe because I wasn't sure what I would be getting! The WC Board has a range of skills and I was afraid I'd end up with a complicated recipe I didn't understand with ingredients I had no clue where to find. Luckily, I didn't.

This was a relatively simple and easy to put together recipe. I didn't make the beans because the hubs is not a fan, as you know. The flavors of this recipe complemented each other and the hubby went back for sec err... thirds. Next time I make this and there will be a next time, I might use boneless, skinless thighs since I have this weird thing about meat on bones. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this recipe to anyone who likes olives! Recipe adapted from Nestie nunyabeeswax.

Chicken

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

1 small jar Spanish green olives

1.5 cups white wine

1 cup chicken stock

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, diced

4 tbsp olive oil

Black Beans

1 pkg dried black beans

2 onions

1 head of garlic

1 bunch cilantro

stock or water (enough to cover beans)

Saffron Rice

3 cups white jasmine rice or basmati rice

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

3.5 cups chicken stock

2 tsp saffron threads

1 tsp turmeric

For the beans, rinse and check dried beans thoroughly. Peel and quarter the onions and place in a large stock pot. Peel and smash the garlic and add to pot along with the beans and cilantro. Cover with stock or water, at least 3 inches above. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until soft.

For the chicken, preheat the oven to 350º. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown in 2 tbsp of olive oil on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside. Add remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil and saute onion until almost translucent then add garlic and saute another minute. Deglaze the pan with wine, allowing the alcohol to cook off. Stir in chicken stock and green olives. Add chicken back to the pan and pour ingredients into an oven-safe pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until heated through.

For the rice, start by toasting the rice in the butter and olive oil for about 3 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and then add the chicken stock and saffron. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered until rice has absorbed stock, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit with lid on for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Apple Hand Pies

Happy Pi Day! Yeah, I know, I'm such a nerd :) But I love pie so this was the perfect excuse to try this recipe out! I love it because it's like built in portion control-as long as you only grab one! These are very easy to make and would be great so satisfy a sweet craving! Recipe source.

1 pre-made pie crust

1 granny smith apple, or your choice

1.5 tsp lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

tiny pinch of nutmeg

1 egg + 2 tbsp water, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 375º. Peel the apple and cut into very small cubes. Place the cut up apples in a bowl and add the lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir until apples are well coated and set aside.

Roll out pie crust on your flour-dusted surface. Cut out circular shapes using a 4.5 inch diameter cookie cutter or the top of a wide glass. My crust yielded 5 + 1 small circular dough crusts.

Put 1-2 tbsp of the apple filling on each circular dough and fold in half. Use a fork to press the seams of the pie dough together. In a bowl, whisk the egg and water. Lightly brush each of the apple pies with the egg wash. Poke two small vent holes on the top of each pie.

Place pies onto a parchment paper lined cookie pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the surface looks golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Enjoy!

"Benchiladas"

Excuse the minor burntness of the picture that was a result of me misreading the oven temperature. Yep, yet another enchilada recipe. But this one is a must-make. I can't decide whether I prefer these from Annie's Eats or the Enchi-Ritos that I normally make. I've decided they are both my favorites since these are chicken and the enchi-ritos are beef. They aren't exactly your authentic enchilada recipe but they are delicious!

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 oz reduced fat sour cream

8 oz Ranch salad dressing

flour tortillas (10-15)

jar of salsa

shredded mexican cheese

Cook chicken breats by preferred cooking method until cooked through. Set aside to cool.

While chicken is cooling, mix up the sauce. In a large bowl, combine half the sour cream and half of the Ranch dressing. In a small bowl combine the rest of the sour cream and ranch dressing. Stir both until well combined. Shred or chop the cooked chicken and add to the large bowl. Mix with sauce.

Preheat the oven to 375º. Grease a 9x13 pan (I needed two). Take one tortilla and top with a little less than 1 tbsp of sauce from the small bowl. Spread over the tortilla in an even layer. Add some of the chicken mixture to the center of the tortilla. Top with salsa to taste. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Roll up tortilla and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients. I choose to use the remaining sauce to top on the enchiladas before I put them in the oven.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

These are the ultimate indulgence. What could be better than cheesecake with a chocolate chip and graham cracker base topped chocolate chip cookie dough? Maybe cheesecake with a brownie base topped with cookie dough? Hmm I'll have to think on that one.

Everyone enjoyed this combination and it's a great alternative when you need to bring a dessert dish... or just need something delicious to snack on. Recipe from Beantown Baker.

Crust

1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs

5 tbsp butter, melted

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Cheesecake

10 oz cream cheese, room temp.

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cookie Dough

5 tbsp butter, room temp

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup flour

1 cup chocolate chips (I added a 1/2 cup more)

For the crust: Preheat oven to 325º. Grease an 8x8 pan with butter, line pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Combine crumbs and butter and stir until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Press crust mixture into bottom of the pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.

For cheesecake: Using mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating until just blended. Pour batter into cooled, baked crust.

For cookie dough: Using mixer and paddle attachment, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Adjust mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop cookie dough by teaspoons over the top of the filling.

Bake about 30 minutes or until set. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Place in refrigerator to chill. Enjoy!