Spicy Vegetable Noodle Soup

So, I hate soup. I absolutely despise it. It could be absolutely frigid outside, or I could have a horrible cold and I would rather stay hungry than eat (drink?) a bowl of soup. I just don't see how its filling, or a meal. It's a liquid! Liquids don't fill. Solid's fill. So I took a shot and tried to make something that would make me at least not hate soup as much as I do. Although this bowl of spicy broth and soft noodles was delicious - I still hate soup. But hey! I tried.

found at any supermarket!

1 small crown broccoli
3-4 spring onions (scallions)
1 cup peas
2 cloves garlic
10 baby carrots / 2 regular sized carrots
Chinese noodles (or thin pasta if you can't find Chinese noodles)
24 oz vegetable broth (a little more than half the box)
8 cups noodle cooking liquid
5 tablespoons sriracha sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 tablespoons plum sauce

Since you can leave this to cook low and slow, I recommend cutting all your vegetables first instead of doing it while things are cooking. I cut my broccoli pretty small, trying to match sizes with the rest of the vegetables. My carrots were probably a 1/2 inch thick and same with my scallions.

In a large pot, I started boiling my water for the noodles. You can find it at any supermarket, you don't need to go to to any specific store for it. Just treat it as if its pasta - a little salt, a little oil and let it boil. I would advise only cooking the noodles a little more than halfway (4 minutes) so that the rest of the cooking can happen within the broth and vegetables.

In another large pot, add in your vegetable broth. Crack your garlic gloves, meaning lay them flat on your cutting board and with the flat part of your knife just press down so that they crack and are basically smushed. Throw those in, whole. This is a great time for your grated ginger too. Add in your carrots (they take the longest to soften) and then the broccoli about 2 minutes later. Keep an eye on your noodles and keep checking for how cooked they are - remember you DO NOT want to cook them completely yet.

Into your vegetable broth goes your sauces. Give everything a good stir, so your vegetables are mixing around with the broth and the sauces are mixing up among everything as well. Your noodles are probably ready to go now, so give them a check. And by ready to go I mean halfway cooked! Add the noodles into your broth liquid pot, and ladle in about half the pot of noodle cooking liquid. This will help not only flavor the soup, but also thicken it up from the starches of the noodles.

Just let the pot that you've added everything too - simmer. Keep it on a low to medium heat, no need to wait too long - probably 10 minutes at max because then you'll start overcooking your noodles into mush.

Enjoy!

Super Stuffed Peppers

Growing up is hard. It sometimes feels like the growing pains are just never going to end. My best friend says that its absolutely shocking how much I relate my feelings or try to convey what I am going through to food without even thinking about it. Food/cooking/eating is something I use as an outlet and feeding people is something that makes me immensely happy...can you see where this blog came from?
I know I haven't been the best blogger but.. I hope those that do read my blog get to learn a few tips here and there, and get as excited about food (and eating) as I do.

Never give up a second chance, especially if its for a second bite.

Super Stuffed Peppers:
2 peppers (any color)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups (frozen) corn kernels
1/2 can of black beans
1/3 white onion (diced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 cup rice (or 1/2 rice packet)
1/4 cup grated or shredded pepper jack cheese (you can use more don't worry!)
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
4 tablespoons taco sauce (extra won't hurt)
salt to taste (I rarely add salt to my food)
1 baking sheet

I think the best part about this dish is that its a simple, filling and mostly a one pot wonder.
Preheat your oven to 350 F. I would recommend to first prep all of your ingredients so you don't have too many things to do at once.

Dice up your onions and mince your garlic; open up your can of beans and give it a good rinse before setting them aside until their turn comes.I used frozen corn kernels,
so at this time I just took them out of the freezer and give them some time to defrost.
In a medium frying pan, throw in your olive oil and once its heating up, the onions. Once the onions have started to lose their color, then the garlic. This is a little trick I have learned because the first thing to usually overcook/burn is the garlic,and lets be real - who likes burnt garlic? So this way, the onions have cooked a little bit (probably halfway) and then the garlic get its turn to
join the party. You're aiming to keep your heat on the pan on the lower end of medium.

While those are sweating it out in your pan, prep your pepper. Cut the top part off by laying your pepper on a side, just trim off the lid of the pepper - giving you enough room to reach in and pull out the core and seeds. Tap the pepper against the side of your sink and justlet the seeds that are having trouble saying goodbye to the pepper fall out as well. Set them aside until you're ready to fill them up!

Back to your onions. They should be translucent by now and your garlic just reaching golden. Throw in that half can of beans you that you rinsed and kept aside. They are patiently waiting their time to shine, and it is now. After the beans, throw in the corn. They should be defrosted by now, and if they aren't the heat of the pan should make them move a little quicker.

I used a quinoa and rice packet because that is what I had handy. I popped it into the microwave for 90 seconds (as per the instructions)
and then just added about half the packet to the mixture of what was partying in our frying pan.
If you are making your own rice then boil your water (2:1 ratio always), and once the water is boiling add in your rice. In about 6 minutes, you'll see it start to fluff up... keep an eye on it!
Rice can easily stick to the bottom of a pot if forgotten (quite needy aren't they?)

Give everything a chance to meet each other! Give all your ingredients a good toss, and throw in your seasoning including your sauce. I made a note about extra sauce because its what helps the pepper soften from inside out; that juice that the pepper lets out, mixed with the flavors you created.
You're making magic.

Your oven is preheated. Your stuffing is ready. Your peppers are almost ready. Are you ready? Lay down a piece of foil on your baking sheet, grab one of the peppers that you cored earlier and start stuffing. Be generous! You'll be surprised how much you fit in there.
Top it off with that delicious pepper jack cheese and throw those bad boys on top of the foil and into the oven.

as stuffed as can be!

Keep an eye out! You don't want to burn your cheese. In about 10 minutes, give it a quick look. It should take between 15-25 minutes to get the cheese
melted and browned and the peppers softened.

and now... enjoy that stuffed pepper party.  

Tex-Mex Quinoa Bowl

My first post-grad blog post. I know everyone say's graduating college is hard, but you really aren't prepared for it until it happens to you. You step into all of these responsibilities without any kind of preparation, and I guess that is the best preparation of it all. I know this recipe is going to be a hit with all different types of people. Those of you who haven't graduated, its a one-pot wonder so less dishes! Those of you who have recently graduated, its a one-pot wonder so its quick and simple. And everyone else, (I am glad I got you thinking about your college days), this dish incorporates all your favorite ingredients that you might hesitate to use on a weeknight.

I am sharing a recipe that I have made at home for my family, and at my new home for myself and my roommate. With some adjustment for the people I was serving for, I think this dish is a hit. I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures because I really didn't think I was going to want to post this recipe in the first place!

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 onion (diced)
1 green pepper (diced)
2 tomato (diced)
1 can beans; washed & drained (I used kidney, feel free to use black or kidney!)
1 avocado
2 cups quinoa (2 cups liquid for 1 cup quinoa)
4 cups water (OR, if you have vegetable broth do 2 broth +2 water)
3 or 4 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 cups pepperjack cheese (optional)
1 teaspoon BBQ sauce (optional)
3 or 4 dashes Tabasco sauce
salt to taste
pepper to taste

After you have diced all your vegetables, this is where the one-pot wonder action happens. You want to use a big pot, something you would boil pasta in. Add your oil and your tomato. Then your onions, and peppers and garlic comes last because you want it to cook with the help of all the other vegetables - not the other way around. Once your vegetables are sizzling a bit, add in your quinoa and liquid and seasonings. Give it a good stir so that your vegetables are floating around with your quinoa and all coming together to cook. Keep a fork handy because once the quinoa starts to cook, a fork helps fluff it up. Put a lid on your pot and wait about 6 minutes. The lid is important because the steam will help everything cook together!

Once this time passes, add in your beans. I assure you that everything will cook in time, but if you put your beans in any earlier they will be overcooked and mushy rather than cooked properly. After about another 6 minutes or so, everything should be cooked through. check your quinoa by using your fork to fluff it around, your goal is to minimum to no liquid remaining. Once its all cooked, throw in your cheese if you're using any and give it a quick toss to help the cheese start melting with the heat. Slice up your avocado however you like it, I personally cubed it up.

Spoon into a bowl and serve hot. I also used some chips to get some dipping action happening, which was delicious.

Enjoy! 

Chickpea Salad Sandwich

The hiatus is over. I can't believe that I haven't had the time to blog in so incredibly long. Let me just tell you that senior year is not as easy as it seems! From classes to being sentimental and soaking in every minute of being at school... it is not that easy. But I have been thinking about blogging and just haven't had the free time to sit down and make it happen.. but here I am! I hope that after graduation I can make blogging a weekly thing, one of the more stable things going on by then.

But here we are for right now, my recipe today is the chickpea salad sandwich. Being vegetarian, I am constantly searching for things that will be substitutes to things that I have listened to my non-vegetarian friends constantly eating. This is a great substitute to a tuna salad sandwich, egg salad sandwich - any of those sorts.

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
1 small pepper (color doesn't matter)
1/2 onion
1 small tomato
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup hummus
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
sriracha (to taste)

In a bowl, add your chickpeas - washed and drained from the can. Chop up your vegetables and add them into the bowl as well. Drop in your wet ingredients aka the mayo and the hummus. With a masher or the back of the fork mash it all together and make sure all your ingredients together. Add in your seasonings and make sure you taste as you go along. I decided to put mine on some toasted bread, on top of a bed of baby spinach. Its definitely something you can eat plain, or as a side to the rest of your meal. I promise this is something quick, and very filling! Let me know what you think!

 

Strawberry "Cheesecake"

Shoutout to 2015: hope you all had a fantastic 2014, and an even better kickstart to this new year! Thanks for taking some time to read my blog - I really appreciate it!

Happy Holidays! One of everyones favorite things to do around the holiday time, or any time spent with family is to bake! I am obviously no exception to that, and to end my holiday break at home on a sweet note - I decided to make this delicious dessert. In all honesty, it was because of my mom pestering me to finish the groceries that I had bought throughout my vacation because neither my parents nor my brother eat the junk I do (#collegekidprobs). So after having done some reading online and some research about why cheesecakes were almost always made with eggs and therefore, never made in my house. This recipe is my best representation of how to make a cheesecake without using eggs or even milk!

In my recipe, I used strawberries because thats what fruit we had on hand and I felt that the strawberries were going to be tart enough to cut the sweetness of the condensed milk I was planning on using. If your family isn't as strawberry fanatic as mine is, feel free to use a different fruit! But definitely keep in mind the overall sweetness factor of the condensed milk in your decision making!

Ingredients
1 graham cracker crust (or 6 mini crusts)
5-7 strawberries (in fourths, making it easy to puree)
4 oz cream cheese *ROOM TEMP*
4 oz mascarpone cheese *ROOM TEMP*
1 14oz can condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch

Cut up your strawberries and have them pretty small, it'll be easier to puree. Once you have pureed them, put them in a saucepan on low/medium heat. Add in your sugar (if you think you need it!!! don't feel compelled!) and your corn starch - bring your mixture to boil. It will take about 5-7 minutes for the components to come together and boil, continue stirring throughout this time so the corn starch dissolves within the puree and doesn't get clumpy and lumpy. Once this is done, set it aside to cool - you won't need it for a little while!

In a bowl, whisk together your cream cheese and mascarpone. If you can't find mascarpone cheese don't worry about it - use a full 8 oz container of cream cheese and it'll work just as fine. Whip it up, beat it down, and add in your can of condensed milk. Its best to do this slowly just so half the mix doesn't end up on you or your workstation. Add in your lemon juice and mix it all up. This mixture will be a similar consistency as a cake batter but a little thicker because of the condensed milk. Set aside to rest for about 5 minutes while you prep your crust.

I used mini crusts just because I know my family likes individual servings better but feel free to use one giant crust as well, whatever you prefer or have on hand! You should be able to pour in your cream cheese mixture rather than having to spoon it because that will unfortunately take quite some time. Once you've filled you crust to about inch or so from where the crust starts - you are good to go. Grab that fruit sauce you made earlier, and dollop on some of it throughout the cream cheese mixture. Using a knife or a fork, start painting. Honestly, the only thing to NOT do here is dig your knife or fork into the bottom of your crust - DO NOT DO THAT. That is not good! It'll ruin your base and might even have your liquid start leaking around.

Put this badboy(s) into your fridge and let it sit for at least two to three hours. The longer it sits, the better it will be! Hope you enjoy!