pecan, olive oil plum cake

I made this cake last night and it was delicious!  This cake has the perfect sweetness- not too much, not too little.  I am thinking olive oil and ground up pecans need to go in every cake from here on out.

Pecan, Olive Oil Plum Cake

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup untoasted pecans

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3-4 plums

2-3 tsp coarse sugar, for topping

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan (or round cake pan).

In the bowl of a food processor (I used my Blendtec), combine flour, pecans (or walnuts), sugar, baking powder and salt. Whizz until pecans are very finely ground. This can be done in a large bowl if you are working with pre-ground pecan meal/flour. 

Add eggs, olive oil, milk and vanilla extract to the food processor and whizz until all dry ingredients are incorporated and batter is uniform. Pour into prepared pan. 

Halve the plums and remove the pits, leaving the skin on. Arrange the plums cut-side up around the outer edge of the cake, placing remaining plum halves in the center (eg: 6 around the outside, 2 in the center). Sprinkle cake and plums with 2-3 tsp coarse sugar. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cake can be served while it is still slightly warm or when completely cooled.

via Baking Bites

recipe: Peaches n' cream crêpes

Crêpes

1 cup flour

pinch of salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk

2 TB olive oil

Combine dry ingredients.  Slowly add milk.  Add in egg, vanilla and oil.

Cook in (a little over) medium heated pan for 1 minute per side.

Makes 5 crêpes.

This time I added fresh diced peaches, heavy whipped cream and powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

recipe: Indian Sugar Cream Pie

I love Food Network Magazine.  They always have fantastic recipes and great tips.  They had an article on popular state pie's and this one looked like crème brûlée in pie form so I had to try it.  

And it was Y U M M Y!

Have you seen the vanilla beans at Costco?  I bought some to try them out and they have not disappointed.  They are pricey, but you can't put a price on how cool you feel when you add real vanilla bean to cookies, whipping cream, or pie.  They just taste that much better.

Indiana's Sugar Cream Pie

For The Crust

Use whatever pie crust recipe is your favorite.  I typically only like the one's that use Crisco in them.  I hate using this stuff, mostly because I believe in using real ingredients, like butter, but I know deep down a hatred comes from a childhood moment when I dipped my finger in it hoping it was frosting but quickly realized that this 'stuff' was nothing like my yummy pal frosting.

Let the dough rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours.  Roll out, place in pie plate and refrigerate for another 30 min.

For The Filling

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2-1 vanilla bean)

2 TB butter, cut up

1/8 tsp freshly grated  nutmeg (uhh..mine was not fresh)

Place a baking sheet on the middle rack and preheat oven to 425.  Mix together filling ingredients except the butter and nutmeg and pour into chilled pie dough.  Dot with the butter and sprinkle the top with nutmeg.  Place pie on baking sheet in oven and bake 10 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 55 minutes.  Let cool.  Serve warm, chilled or at room temperature.

recipe: Raw Melissa's No Bake Cookies

My mom made and brought these babies to Powell.
And I was hooked.

No Bake Cookies

4 cups oats

6 TB cocoa powder

1/2-3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup almond butter

3/4 cup agave or honey

1 TB vanilla

Combine all dry ingredients.  Incorporate wet and mix with hands.  Place on a cookie sheet with wax paper, freeze or refrigerate for a bit.  Place them in a ziploc bag in refrigerator and enjoy!

Recipe: pumpkin spice scones

I think I'm getting into the fall spirit!

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Scones

(makes 8 scones)

2 cups flour

7 TB sugar

1 TB baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

3 TB heavy cream

1 egg

6 TB cold butter, cubed

Plain Glaze

1 cup + 1 TB powdered sugar

2  TB heavy cream (or more, depending on how runny you want it)

Spiced Drizzle

1 cup + 3 TB powdered sugar

2  TB heavy cream (or more)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

pinch ground ginger

pinch ground cloves

Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor combine all the dry ingredients for the scones.  Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture is like the texture of corn meal.

In a separate bowl mix pumpkin, egg and heavy cream.  Add the flour mixture until just combined.  Put the dough on a floured surface and gently knead a few times until the dough becomes one.  Flatten the ball into a circle 1" thick.  Use a pizza cutter and cut to your specifications.

Place scones on baking sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes.  Or until golden brown.  Let scones cool on a cooling rack completely.

When scones are cool, combine the plain glaze and spread on scone.  Combine the spiced drizzle, add to plastic bag and snip corner.  Drizzle on top.  Let harden and enjoy!

Recipe: easy hearth bread

King Arthur Flour Hearth Bread

(its also called 'the easiest loaf of bread you'll ever bake')

(this makes 2 loaves, when I make it I make the whole recipe, then freeze one loaf)

1 tablespoon (1 packet) active dry yeast 

1 tablespoon sugar 

1 tablespoon salt

 2 cups warm water (not over 110°F)

 5 1/2 to 6 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 

cornmeal 

boiling water 

 To mix: Mix together the first four ingredients. Let this stand until the yeast, sugar and salt are dissolved. Gradually add the flour to the liquid and mix thoroughly until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface to knead. (This may be a little messy, but don't give up!) 

 Knead It: Fold the far edge of the dough back over on itself towards you. Press into the dough with the heels of your hands and push away. After each push, rotate the dough 90°. Repeat this process in a rhythmic, rocking motion for 5 minutes, sprinkling only enough flour on your kneading surface to prevent sticking. Let the dough rest while you scrape out and grease the mixing bowl. Knead the dough again for 2 to 3 minutes. 

 Let It Rise: Return the dough to the bowl and turn it over once to grease the top. Cover with a damp towel and keep warm until the dough doubles in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours. Shape it: Punch down the dough with your fist and briefly knead out any air bubbles. Cut the dough in half and shape into two Italian- or French-style loaves. Place the loaves on a cookie sheet generously sprinkled with cornmeal. Let the loaves rest for 5 minutes.

 Bake it: Lightly slash the tops of the loaves 3 or more times diagonally and brush them with cold water. Place on rack in a cold oven with a roasting pan full of boiling water on the oven bottom. Bake at 400°F for 35 to 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and sounds hollow to the touch. For a lighter, crustier bread, let your shaped loaves rise for 45 minutes. Preheat the oven and roasting pan with water to 500°F for 15 minutes. Brush the loaves with cold water, place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 400°F and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool and devour!

Recipe: homemade mushroom soup

Homemade Mushroom Soup

serves 2

(I recommend doubling, this barely serves 2)

2 cups mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped 

(or if you don't want to finely chop the mushrooms, you can just add the entire soup to a blender at the end to soup-ify it)

1 Tb olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 Tb butter

1 Tb chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme

1-2 bay leaves

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 cup chicken stock

1 Tb flour dissolved in 1 Tb water

salt to taste

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

dash of nutmeg

ground black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil.  Add butter and light saute garlic on medium heat until golden.  Add mushrooms, thyme, bay leaf and worcestershire sauce.  Cook over medium for 5 minutes, or until the moisture from the mushrooms disappears.  Add chicken broth, stir and reduce heat.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Add diluted flour and stir constantly allowing the mixture to thicken.  Season with salt and nutmeg.  Add milk and cream, bring to a simmer and turn heat off.  Enjoy!

recipe: Blueberry cream pie

Pie making in the past has not always gone as planned.  I could never get the crust right.  And a recipe would never make enough, so my crust would look horrible and never reach the edges.

Well I think I found my pie crust cure.  

This recipe is all around good.  We have already eaten half of the pie and I know we will finish the other half soon.

The filling is sooo good, and the crumb topping is amazing.

Blueberry cream pie

 Crust

4 cups cups flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 3/4 cup cold shortening, diced

1/2 cup cold water

1 large egg (cold)

1 large egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon water (for egg wash)

                                                                                                  Filling

3 cups blueberries (I used frozen and it turned out awesome)

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

                                                                                         Crumb Topping

2 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch ground nutmeg (about 1/16th teaspoon)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup plus 2 1/2 Tablespoons all purpose flour

Go here for step by step instructions.

Recipe from gingerbread bagels.com

recipe: creamy basil & balsamic chicken

Holy *%^! this chicken is good.  

Sorry, its just that good.  

We couldn't stop saying "Wow" while we ate it.  

This is a restaurant grade recipe; a high-end restaurant grade recipe.  

I might just change the name of this chicken to Love Chicken because whoever you make it for will fall in love with you.

Creamy Basil & Balsamic Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts, seasoned with salt & pepper on each side

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 package of whole mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tb olive oil

3 Tb butter

2 Tb balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated real parmesan please!)

salt and pepper

freshly chopped basil (roll up leaves then chop right before you put it in)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, caramelize onions on medium for 10 minutes or until golden.  Remove from skillet.  Melt butter, brown chicken breasts on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side.  Remove chicken and deglaze pan with chicken stock.  Use spatula and get all the bits and pieces off the sides of the pan.  Add cream and balsamic and stir to combine.  Add mushrooms and salt & pepper and simmer for 10 minutes on medium-low.  Add the chicken back into the pan, turn up heat to medium and sauté for 15 minutes.  Remove chicken to plate.  Add in parmesan cheese, caramelized onions and chopped basil.  Stir until combined.  Top chicken with sauce and ENJOY!

Recipe adapted via here.

recipe: tilapia fish tacos

After his first bite, Kevin said:

"You make better food than restaurants.  If you were a restaurant, everyone would say 'You have to try the fish tacos!!'"

I think it's safe to say that Kevin really enjoyed these.

(I just made this up so I don't have any precise measurements)

Tilapia Fish Tacos

tilapia

garlic

butter

lemon

parsley flakes 

corn tortillas

cabbage

homemade tarter sauce

Heat up grill on high.  Make a tin foil plate with three pieces of tin foil.  Rub butter on bottom of foil before you place fish down.  Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper.  Spread garlic on fish, then top with parsley flakes, a few tablespoons of butter and lemon slices.  Reduce heat on grill to medium and cook fish for 15 minutes or until flaky. 

Put a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat.  Fry the corn tortillas in the oil.  Place on a paper towel to soak up extra oil.

On tortilla, place tarter sauce, cabbage then fish.  Put a little lemon juice on top and ENJOY!

Tarter Sauce

2/3 cup mayonaise

4 tb sweet relish

2 tsp minced onion

1 tb and 1 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

recipe: Thai Chicken

I loved this chicken!  Give me any sauce that includes peanut butter, and I am a happy girl.

I adapted this recipe from howsweeteats.com.

Thai Chicken

serves 2

2 chicken breasts, sliced in half

2 TB olive oil

salt & pepper

Sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup light coconut milk

3 Tb brown sugar

3 garlic cloves

1 TB creamy peanut butter

1 ts ginger

1 lime, juiced

1/2 Tb soy sauce

Garnish

1.2 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Preheat oven to 375 F.  

Pat chicken breasts completely dry and season with salt and pepper.  

Combine all sauce ingredients.

Heat a large oven-safe skillet on medium high heat and add olive oil.  Add chicken and sear, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Remove breasts and set aside on plate.  Add sauce to skillet, bring to a boil and let simmer for 2 minutes, whisking constantly.

Add breasts back in, turn to coat on all sides in sauce and place skillet in oven.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Serve over rice, spoon extra sauce on top and garnish with peanuts and cilantro.

recipe: Falafel wraps with a cucumber & dill dressing

Do you know what falafel is?  

Yeah, I had no idea what falafel was either.  

I decided to educate myself in falafel-ism and just go for it.  I found this recipe on foodcomablog.com, which I really have loved lately, and got excited to try it out.

I am pretty sure falafel is a power food.  

Yes, I know it is a fried food, but I don't care I am calling it a power food.  I killed it on my bike ride the next morning.  Killed it.  And I am giving all the credit to these deep-fried falafel balls.

To make things easier on me; I tend to prep for dinner during the day before I go to work.  I made the falafel early so it would have time to set up in the fridge before I fried it; I made the cucumber dressing so all the flavors would combine; and I made the homemade flour tortilla dough as well.  And yes, I found the tortilla recipe on foodcomablog.com as well.

Falafel

2 cans chick peas

1 large red onion

4 Tb chopped parsley

4 Tb chopped cilantro

2 ts salt

4 cloves garlic

2 ts baking powder

1/3 cup flour

Combine everything in a food processor until roughly combined.  In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder.  Add chick pea mixture to flour.  Combine until you can form it into balls.  You might need to add extra flour if it is hard to form.  Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and place formed balls on sheet.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in fridge for a good 2-3 hours or overnight.

Heat 2 inches (or so) of canola oil in a heavy cast iron skillet (I find these work best for good deep frying) on high heat.  Roll the balls in flour and place them in the oil.  Fry for 2-3 minutes, or until a golden dark brown all around.  Allow to cool over paper towels.

Cucumber Dill Dressing

1 cup greek plain yogurt

3/4 chopped cucmber

1 1/2 Tb fresh dill

Combine and let flavors sit together in the fridge.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

3 cups flour

1 ts salt

1/2 ts baking powder

1/3 cup olive oil

1 cup warm water

In a bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder.  With your hands, mix in the olive oil into the flour mixture until well incorporated and crumbly.  Pour in water and combine completely.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.  Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces.  When ready to cook, roll out until thin and cook in a non-stick pan for 2 minutes per side.

For the remainder dough, I rolled them into balls and wrapped them separately in plastic wrap.  I placed them all in a plastic bag and put them in the fridge.  Now whenever we want fresh tortillas, we just grab a dough ball, roll it out and cook it.  Fresh, yummy tortillas in minutes!

Now to assemble the wraps!

Tortilla.  

Freshly chopped romaine (out of all my excitement I forgot the romaine in our wraps, I am still mad about it, they would have made the wraps even yummier).  

Falafel balls.  

Cucumber Dill Dressing.

Yummy!!

Oh and by the way, falafel is a middle eastern food.  It originated in Egypt.
Consider yourself fooducated.

Recipe: healthy chocolate ganache cake

I made a chocolate cake!  

It's rich and moist.

And it's healthy...Well there still is sugar in it, and the frosting is no compromise... But it is as good as it can get for an edible, actually awesome, chocolate cake.

This recipe replaces oil and butter for zucchini or carrots (I added both for good measure) and applesauce.  I used pear sauce because that is what I had on hand.

I got the recipe via Yammie's Noshery.

I modified only two things.

Healthy, or shall I say, Better For You, Chocolate Cake

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2/3 cup applesauce

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup shredded zucchini or carrots

1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

I doubled this to fill two cake pans.  And I put chocolate chips in only one.

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine everything before applesauce and mix.  Add the rest and mix until just combined.

Pour into a greased cake pan or bundt pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I then wanted a really good ganache to put on top and in the center of my cake.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate ( I added some real milk chocolate as well)

6 ounces heavy cream

Heat the heavy cream in a microwave safe dish for 2-3 minutes on high, or until it begins to simmer.  Pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes.  Using a stand mixer, mix until combined and chocolate is melted and smooth throughout.  Let it cool.  

Recipe: almond milk & agave granola bars

For my birthday, my mom gave me the recipe and ingredients to make almond milk.

It was, surprisingly, very easy to make.

Thanks mom :)

Almond Milk

1/2 cup almonds

4 cups water

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp coconut oil (optional)

3 dates, or 1 Tb agave/honey

fine mesh bag or cheese cloth

Let almonds soak in water overnight.  When done soaking, put all ingredients in blender and blend away.  When completely blended through, pour everything in the bag (or cheese cloth) over a bowl and squeeze all the milk out.  You can throw away the leftover almond pulp , or use it in cookies.

I've looked at different almond milk recipes online, and they are all different with the amount of almonds they add and the amount of flavoring.  So all of that can be changed to your liking.  

I looked up optional add-ins you could add in as desired:

2 Tb unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg

This makes 2 full jars of almond milk.  

Try to drink within 3 days of making.

I then made homemade granola bars to go with my almond milk.

I got the recipe off of the cutest new blog Pretty Providence.  It is all about living frugally.  I know the two cute girls that started it and I have really loved all their posts.

I adapted the recipe a little and they turned out AWESOME.  They were incredibly easy as well.

Agave Granola Bars

4 Tb butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup agave

1 1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1 1/2 cup granola 

(I tried to make my own, which burnt, so I bought the Bear Naked vanilla/almond Fit granola.  It worked out perfect.  Be careful about sugar content when you buy granola.  This only had 4 grams sugar per serving)

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In small bowl, mix all dry ingredients except chocolate chips.

Add butter, agave and brown sugar to a saucepan on medium high heat.  Continue to mix until boiling. Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat to medium low and continue to stir for two minutes.  

Add mixture to dry ingredients and coat completely.  Let cool for a minute and then add chocolate chips.  

Press mixture into a greased pan to your desired thickness, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set.

recipe: homemade sushi

We were feeling like sushi tonight.  So we decided to make it ourselves and stay at home.

Sometimes we are the biggest homebodies.  

But we did have painting to do, so I will blame the painting.

My boss (also the chef) at my work was playing around with a new menu item.  He cut up some fresh, raw salmon and drizzled some truffle oil and other ingredients on it and had us test it out.  

Boy, my job is hard.  

It was delicious.  

I asked him if it was sushi-grade salmon, or a special grade of salmon.  

Nope it was just normal, fresh salmon.

So then I thought:  I need to make sushi with this.

So tonight I went to Harmon's, grabbed a filet of fresh salmon for $5 and Calrose rice (sushi rice) and got my sushi on.

We watched a lovely Japanese women show us how to cut the salmon correctly on youtube.

And with her help we had amazing, fresh sushi at home.

C'mon.  Get your sushi on.

Homemade Sushi

2 cups calrose sushi rice

2 cups water

4 Tb rice vinegar

3 Tb sugar

2 t salt

Place your rice and water in your rice cooker and cook away.  When it is done cooking, let it cool for a bit.  Mix vinegar, sugar and salt in seperate bowl. Coat rice.  The best and easiest sushi to make is made with room temperature rice.  We couldn't wait that long so we put it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes and that was fine.  It was still delicious.

Mix-ins

we used:

cucumber

avocado

salmon

toasted sesame seeds

you could also do:

cream cheese

crab

shrimp

teriyaki chicken

carrots

peppers

scrambled eggs

tempura (anything)

What else you'll need:

bamboo rolling mat (these are $2 at Harmons)

nori (dried seaweed)

If you need directions on how to actually roll and make the sushi, click here.  I have no idea how to roll it because Kevin did it all.  He did a mighty fine job :).

Recipe: Light BBQ pizza

Who does't love BBQ pizza?

This time I decided to make it a little more healthy; with a cauliflower crust.

It was good.  But I still like normal flour-based crusts.  But thats not to say I won't make it again.  

Cauliflower Crust

1 head cauliflower

2 TB olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 cup cornmeal 

2 eggs

2 t Italian seasoning (or just use oregano, marjoram, basil, & thyme)

Chop up the cauliflower.  Heat olive oil in pan.  Add cauliflower to pan when oil is hot.  Sauté and keep an eye on it and stir it up, you don't want to burn the cauliflower.  Cook until tender-crisp, about 10-15 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes.  Place all of the above ingredients in blender.

Now spread out the crust on a pizza stone, parchment paper on a cookie sheet, or how I did it: on a homemade pizza maker.  My oven will not cook pizza (If your oven does, preheat to 450).  So I found a pizza maker at Walmart for $24 and decided to try it out.  It works much better.  So I just placed my cauliflower mix right on it and spread it out. 

You will want to bake it for about 20 minutes.  I flipped mine, because I was worried it would burn.  But let the edges get crispy.

BBQ Chicken Pizza 

1 cup cooked shredded chicken

1/2 cup (or so) BBQ sauce (we love Joe Morley's signature BBQ sauce the best)

mozzarella cheese

extra sharp cheddar cheese

thinly sliced red onions

fresh cilantro

I just put the BBQ sauce and 2 chicken breasts in the my slow cooker.  I let it cook on low for 4 or so hours.  I then shredded it, and made sure all pieces were covered in BBQ sauce.

Spread some sauce on the crust.  Add cheese, chicken, onions, cilantro and then top with some more cheese.  Bake for another 10 or so minutes and ENJOY!  I even had some more BBQ sauce on the side to  dip it in :)

Recipe via here.

Recipe: soba noodles with sweet ginger scallion sauce

These. We're. Tasty. That's all I have to say about these noodles.

Soba noodles with sweet ginger scallion sauce

Soba noodles
1/2 cup chopped green onions (I didn't add nearly this much)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2-3 Tb chopped pickled ginger
3 Tb sesame oil
2 Tb soy sauce
2 Tb honey
2 Tb rice wine vinegar
Toasted sesame seeds

Mix all the sauce ingredients together and let sit for ten minutes.
Make noodles according to package.
Mix noodles with sauce. Top with sesame seeds.

Found recipe here.

Recipe: homemade fried ravioli

Found this recipe on Pinterest. It sounded too dang tasty to pass up.
And I am so glad I didn't pass it up.
These ravioli's met all my expectations and more.

Homemade Fried Ravioli

wonton wrappers
ricotta cheese
finely grated parmesan cheese

egg
flour
panko crumbs
canola oil

In a thick pot, heat up your oil to fry (375).
In a medium sized pan, bring salted water to a boil.

Get some ricotta cheese in a spoon, dip it in the parmesan and place it in the wonton wrapper. Wet the edges so they stay put.
When you have all your ravioli's ready, place them all in the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes.

When you remove the ravioli's, place them on a cutting board (or something they wont stick to). Don't let them touch, they are sticky little things.

Dip the ravioli's in the beaten egg(s), cover in flour and then panko crumbs. Fry for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown on both sides.

Serve with marinara sauce.

Via foodcomablog.com

Recipe: Homemade Tostadas

(Sorry for the poor quality iPhone photos. We have horrible lighting in our kitchen and Kevin has been stealing my awesome camera lately)

Now onto another recipe! My food choices this week are ethnic-rich. First Korean, and now Mexican; I'm hoping to make some fried ravioli's later on, so add Italian to this week as well.

Tostadas

1 lb lean ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can mild diced chiles
Romaine lettuce, chopped
Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Corn tostada shells

Homemade Pico De Gallo

Tomatoes, chopped
Onion, chopped
Cilantro
Fresh lime or lemon juice
Salt

Combine ingredients for the pico and let sit for a few hours in the fridge.

Cook meat. Add water, taco seasoning and chiles. Cook until reduced.

Put lettuce on top of the tostada shell, add meat and pico, and top with your finely grated Parmesan. I also recommend adding Cholula hot sauce; my hot sauce of choice.

Yummy and light :)

I served these with roasted potatoes. I found a great and easy recipe here.

recipe: Korean Bibimbap

This week I took it upon myself to try new recipes and new foods. First on the menu was Korean Bibimbap.

This dish was light and refreshing. It wasn't bursting with flavor, but it turned out that is exactly what I wanted.

Korean Bibimbap

3 carrots, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced or minced
english cucumber, thinly sliced
3/4 lb shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
5 ounces spinach
4 green onions, thinly sliced, the green and white parts separated
4 eggs
hot cooked rice
3 TB soy sauce
toasted sesame oil

Heat up olive oil in pan. Add carrots, cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and white parts of green onions. Cook 1 minute. Add mushrooms, cook 4 minutes. Add cucumber and spinach, cook until softened about 3-4 minutes. Stir and coat in soy sauce. Remove vegetables from pan. Heat up olive oil and fry eggs.

Put veggies over rice, place eggs on top. Top with green onions, sesame oil and extra soy sauce.

Recipe via here.