Meatball and Pasta

Ingredients

Trader Joe's Mini Meatball
Rings of Onion
Marinara Sauce
Soy Sauce
Chicken Broth
Cumin
Chicken Bouillon
Dried Cilantro Flake
Oregano
Ketchup
Splash of milk
Parmesan Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese

Cut onions into either rings or half rings. Cook onion in a hot oiled pan until they are golden brown.  Add cumin and stir into onion. Cook for approximately 1-2 minutes. Add the marinara sauce to the pan and mix into the onions. Add Soy Sauce, Chicken Broth, Chicken Bouillon, Ketch-up, and a splash of milk (2% is fine). Heat up sauce till boiling. Add Trader Joe's Mini Meatball and keep the sauce on a low simmer until the meatballs are cooked. Add Dried Cilantro Flake and Oregano and mix thoroughly.

Serve on top of your choice of pasta. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese on top of the meatballs and pasta.

Stuffed Croissant Rolls

Simple Croissant Rolls

Ingredients:

Pills Berry Croissant Dough
Barbecue Sauce
Sargento Four Cheese mix (Mozzarella, Cheddar, Smoked Provolone, and Non-Smoke Sharp Provolone)
Onion
Mushroom
Bell Peppers

Unwrap the Pills Berry croissant dough on parchment paper. Coat the dough with a layer of barbecue sauce. Add a sprinkle of Sargento four cheese mix. Sprinkle chopped onion, mushroom, bell pepper and any other topping of your choice. Be sure to not put too much topping as you will not be able to refold the dough. Finish off with a second layer of Sargento four cheese and roll the dough. Cut the dough into even pieces approximately 2 ½ inch in length. Place the doughs in a pre-heated 375 °F oven for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.

For a better flavor profile sauté the onion, mushroom, and bell peppers prior to adding to dough.

Mushroom Onion Bacon Burger

Bacon, Onions & Mushrooms Burger

Ingredients

TJ Beef Burger Patties
Burger Buns
Chipotle Mayonnaise
Bacon
Onion
Mushroom
Pickle
Choice of Cheese

Cook bacon on med-high heat until they are crisps. Using the bacon oil caramelize the onion and mushroom till the onions are golden brown. Cook the burger patties thoroughly on medium-high heat. If no blood comes out when the patties are poked with a toothpick, then they are done. Spread chipotle mayonnaise on the burger buns. Top your burger with your favorite toppings in your favorite order. Garnish with some pickle, fries or whatever catches your fancy.

Enjoy!

Sukiyaki

Japanese Sukiyaki

Ingredients:

150 ml sake
50 ml of soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
A dash of Dashi (Instant bonito fish stock)
Shaved Beef (Thinly sliced beef)
Onion (sliced)
Scallion
Firm Tofu
Konnyaku (thin yam noodle)
Choice of Mushrooms: (Shitake, Enoki, Baby Bella, or Cremini)
Choice of Vegetables: (Cabbage, Shungiku (Chrysanthemum), or various leafy greens such as Bok Choy)

In a low heat pan combine sake, dashi, soy sauce, and sugar until sugar is dissolved and mixed thoroughly to create the sukiyaki sauce.

Boil konnyaku to remove any residual odor and bitterness. Boil for approximately 5 minutes.

Add oil to a hot pan and place beef. Be sure to not place the konnyaku directly next to the beef in the pan as it can make the beef tougher. Add a bit of the sukiyaki sauce from previous step into the pan. Add onion, scallions, mushrooms, tofu and vegetables to the pan in the order of whichever takes longest to cook. Be sure to slice the ingredients to bite size pieces. Pour the remainder of the sukiyaki sauce and cover for 5 minutes under medium heat.

Removed cooked beef and place in a plate to avoid overcooking. Cook the remainder of the ingredients until all the vegetables are cooked through and serve. Add a boiled add to the pot for some extra flavor.

Any leftover sukiyaki sauce and ingredients can be used to cook a simple yaki udon!

Scallion & Fish

Chinese-style Fish with Scallions and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil
2 tsp Minced Ginger
1 tbsp Minced Garlic
2 tbsp Minced Scallion (white portion)
Scallion (green portion)
Water-Cornstarch mixture (2:1)

Sauce
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Chinese Cooking Wine
½ tsp Chicken Bouillon
½ tsp sugar
½ cup water

Fish Prep
1 ½ cup white fish fillet (i.e. Cod, Pollock, Grey Sole, Tilapia)
½ tsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Chinese Cooking Wine
2 tsp Cornstarch
1 pinch White Pepper

Chop fish into 1½ inch pieces and coat add soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, cornstarch, and white pepper. Let this sit for 10-20 minutes. Add oil to pan on medium heat.

When hot, add ginger, garlic, and scallion (white portion) to the pan and occasionally for 4 minutes. While the aromatics are frying, combine ingredients for sauce.

When the ginger-garlic mix becomes fragrant, add the prepared fish. When the fish is almost cooked, about 2 minutes, add the sauce. Gently move the ingredients around in the pan to coat all ingredients in sauce. Cover and turn heat down to low until fish is fully cooked, about 3-4 minutes.

After 3-4 minutes, uncover to check on the fish. Taste the sauce, if it is too salty, add a little water-cornstarch mixture (2:1) to dilute the saltiness. Otherwise add salt to taste and water-cornstarch to get the desired consistency of sauce.

Chop green portion of scallion into 1-inch pieces and sprinkle liberally over the finished result.

Done!

Scallops with Carrots & Mushrooms

Chinese-style Scallops with Carrots and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil
2 tsp Minced Ginger
1 tbsp Minced Garlic
2 tbsp Minced Scallion (white portion)
¼ cup sliced carrots
6 shiitake mushrooms
½ cup cubed soft tofu or silken tofu
Scallion (green portion)
Water-Cornstarch mixture (3:1)

Sauce
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Chinese Cooking Wine
½ tsp Chicken Bouillon
½ tsp sugar
½ cup water

Fish Prep
8 scallops
½ tsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Chinese Cooking Wine
2 tsp Cornstarch
1 pinch White Pepper

Prepare scallops by adding soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, cornstarch, and white pepper.

Let this sit for 10-20 minutes. Add oil to pan on medium heat.
When hot, add ginger, garlic, and scallion (white portion) to the pan and occasionally for 4 minutes. While the aromatics are frying, combine ingredients for sauce.

Wash shiitake mushrooms and remove stem. Set the stems aside to use in another application. When the ginger-garlic mix becomes fragrant, add mushrooms and carrots and stir for 3 minutes. Add a little bit of salt at this stage.

Add scallops and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Add sauce and gently move the ingredients around in the pan to coat all ingredients. Cover and turn heat down to low until scallops is fully cooked, about 3-4 minutes.

After 3-4 minutes, uncover and taste the sauce, if it is too salty, add a little water-cornstarch mixture (3:1) to dilute the saltiness. Otherwise add salt to taste and water-cornstarch to get the desired consistency of sauce.
Chop green portion of scallion into 1-inch pieces and sprinkle liberally over the finished result.

Done!

Fried Whiting

Southeast-Asian style Fried Whiting with White Rice

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb of Whiting Fillets
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp of Curry Leaves
2 Minced Onion
2 tsp Minced Ginger
1 tbsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Fish Sauce or 2 pieces of dried fish pieces (Burmese ingredient)
1 tsp Lemon Juice



Add oil to pan on medium-high heat and also add the curry leaves to the pan. Cook for approximately 1-2 minutes. Add the minced Onions the pan. Stir occasionally and cook until onion are golden brown to almost dark brown, this should take about approximately 15 minutes.

When the onions are golden brown add the garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for approximately 2 minutes. Add the turmeric, chili powder, paprika, and half (the rest will be added near the end) of the garam masala. Stir and cook for 3-5 minutes.

At this point you should have a pretty aromatic mixture. Now add the whiting fillets to the pan. We are looking to fry them so once they are in the pan try not to move them. Salt each side as your cooking the fillets. Cook each side for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through. A good way to tell is to just cut open the biggest piece and inspect the center. Once the fish is fried on both side take out of pan and put in separate container.

Add about 1/3 cup of water to the pan to de-glaze. If you think you put too much water you can simply boil some out. Add lemon juice and fish sauce. Stir the mixture and cook until the pan is fully de-glazed. This should only take about 5-8 minutes. Once the sauce is done pour on top of fish and your done!

Serve on top of some plain white rice and enjoy!

Portuguese Chicken

Delicious Portuguese Chicken with an Asian Twist!

Ingredients:

6 drumsticks

Marinade:
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sake or xiao xing wine
1 tsp minced ginger
dash of black pepper
1 tbsp of oil (olive, vegetable, coconut etc)
1 tsp of minced garlic
1 onion, minced
1 tsp of turmeric
1/2 tsp of cumin

1 carrot, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 cup of peas
1 zucchini, sliced
2 potatoes, 1 in cubes
other veggies from the fridge

1 cup of chicken broth
1/2 cup of chickpeas (optional)
1/2 water + extra (optional)
3/4 cup of coconut milk
salt



Marinate chicken in marinade for at least 15 minutes. At oil to large pot with a handle on medium heat. Add minced onion and heat till caramelized. When onion is nearly caramelized, add garlic and heat for 2 minutes. Add turmeric and cumin and stir. When fragrant, add drumsticks along with all of the marinade. When the chicken is mostly cooked on the outside, add carrot, potatoes, and chicken stock. Cover and simmer. On the side, take a half cup of softened/cooked chickpeas and add to water. Blend/mash/pulverize this until chickpeas are fully blended. Add this to the pot. It will serve to thicken and make it more filling and nourishing. This is can be skipped and a cornstarch-water mixture (or other thickening agent) can be used the thicken the sauce. After the chicken, potatoes, and carrots are fully cooked, add bell peppers, peas, and zucchini as these cook relatively fast. Add the coconut milk as well. After about a minute, with the sauce still simmering, add salt to taste.

Curry Mashed Potato

Traditional Mashed Potato with a twist!


Ingredients

5-7 potatoes
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon of butter (optional)
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon of coriander (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon of mayo (optional)

Skin and boil Potatoes. In large skillet heat some oil and butter add all the spices and brown slightly until aromatic. Add potatoes to skillet and mash thoroughly, add the chicken broth, salt, and mayo. Mix to combine.

Enjoy some delicious curry mashed potato!

Water Spinach & Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

• Water Spinach
• 5-6 Mushrooms
• 1 Small Yellow Onion
• 3-4 Birds Eye Chili
• 4 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Teaspoon Turmeric
• 1 Teaspoon Paprika 
• Tamarind Paste

Lets start by prepping the ingredients. Wash and chop the water spinach to pieces about 2-3 inches and set aside. Chop (not dice!) the yellow onion and dice then garlic. Chop the mushroom into bite size pieces. Cut the bird eye chili into half and remove some of the seed, you can also leave all the seeds if you want it spicy. Mix approximately 1 tablespoon of tamarind with 1 cup of water. This will be used to flavor the broth of the soup later.

Now to start cooking. Add some oil to a heated pot. The oil should be enough to partially submerge the chopped onions, depending on the pot you should not need anymore than 2 tablespoons. Once the oil has been heated for a bit, add the onion and garlic to the pot. Stir and let cook until the onions soften.

Add turmeric and paprika to the pot and mix well. Cook for another 2 minutes till the spices have mixed with the onion. Now add the mushrooms and the chili to the pot. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then add the chopped water spinach. Now you want to cover and cook until the water spinach are all cooked. 

Now add the tamarind and water mixture to the pot and mix well. Simmer for another 10 minutes. After that add salt to taste and your done!