Thai Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles

Ingredients

4 1/2 ounces rice stick noodles (maifun)*
4 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 1/4 teaspoons hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)*
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 purchased roasted chicken breast halves, boned, skinned, shredded
3 cups shredded Napa cabbage (I substituted with lettuce)
1 cup coarsely grated carrot
1 cup red bell pepper strips
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 medium cucumbers, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1/3 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted peanuts


Preparation


Cook noodles in small pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain; cut noodles in several places with scissors. Spread out on platter.

Puree next 7 ingredients in blender. With machine running, gradually add oil and blend until dressing is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine chicken, cabbage, carrot, pepper, onion, and cucumbers in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Arrange atop noodles, sprinkle with peanuts, and serve, passing remaining dressing alongside.


*Available in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets, at Asian markets, and from amazon.com.


Makes 4 servings


Epicuriuos.com

Toast

A perfect accompliment to any soup!

from an old magazine....click on image for recipe.

Eggplant Parmesan Rolls with Swiss Chard and Fresh Mint

The Original: Breaded, fried eggplant with a thick oregano-flavored tomato sauce. Our Version: Broiled slices of eggplant wrapped around a mint-and chard-flecked ricotta filling.


Ingredients

2 medium eggplants (about 2 1/4 pounds total), trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Coarse kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 1-pound bunch Swiss chard, center ribs removed (I used frozen chopped spinach)
2 large eggs
1 15-ounce container whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 1/4 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 15- to 16-ounce can tomato sauce
1 8-ounce ball fresh water-packed mozzarella,* drained, thinly sliced


Preparation

Cover bottom and sides of each of 2 large colanders with 1 layer of eggplant slices; sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Continue layering eggplant slices in each colander, sprinkling each layer with coarse salt, until all eggplant slices are used. Place each colander over large bowl; let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Rinse eggplant slices to remove excess salt; dry thoroughly with paper towels.

Position oven rack 5 to 6 inches from heat source and preheat broiler. Line 3 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange eggplant slices in single layer on prepared baking sheets. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with olive oil. Broil 1 sheet at a time until eggplant slices are tender and beginning to brown, watching closely and removing eggplant slices as needed if cooking too quickly, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove baking sheet from oven and cool eggplant while preparing filling.

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add chard to pot and boil just until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water. Squeeze chard very dry, then chop coarsely. Squeeze chard dry again between paper towels. Whisk eggs and pinch of coarse salt in medium bowl. Stir in chopped chard, ricotta cheese, 1 cup Parmesan, mint, and black pepper.

Lightly oil 15 x 10 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread half of tomato sauce evenly over bottom of dish. Divide chard-ricotta filling among eggplant slices, placing about 1 heaping tablespoon filling in center of each. Starting at 1 short end of each, loosely roll up eggplant slices, enclosing filling. Arrange rolls, seam side down, atop sauce in baking dish. Spoon remaining tomato sauce over. Place mozzarella slices in single layer over rolls. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with foil and chill.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake eggplant Parmesan rolls, covered with foil, until heated through, about 30 minutes if freshly made or 40 minutes if refrigerated. Uncover and bake until brown in spots and sauce is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.


Epicurious.com

Crockpot Bread Pudding

I commented on a post with Tami at Feeding a Hungry Soul and in an email I mentioned the food project we have in the woodworks and she told me about her food business. She has a wonderful homemade Gourmet business and she sent me one of her packets to try. Here is it (photo below), Crockpot Cranberry Bread Pudding. It was so delicious it was gone within the hour. I am very impressed  by her system, you should go check it out. Here website...Homemade Gourmet.

This is a recipe I followed for the regular bread pudding. I can't find the photo at the moment but will update.

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

2 cups milk

2 eggs

4 cups 1/2 inch cubes stale bread or cake

1/4 cup raisins or craisins

Preparation

Beat sugar, nutmeg, milk and eggs. Completely combine. Put cubes in buttered crockpot. Pour egg mixture over them. Allow to stand until liquid is absorbed. Mix in raisins. Cover and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours. (I found this easy to burn on high, so keep your eye on it.)

 

Vegetable Latkes

This lighter take on the classic recipe will be gobbled up as quickly as the original—and is still best served with applesauce and sour cream. Warning this reipe ony makees enough to serve 6....so you'd better do your math.

Ingredients

1 large parsnip, peeled and shredded

2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed and shredded

2 large carrots, peeled and shredded

3 leeks (white and light green parts only) or 1 onion, chopped

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 large eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup vegetable oil

 
 

Preparation

1. In a colander, rinse the parsnip and potatoes under cold water. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels; transfer to a mixing bowl.
2. Stir in the carrots, leeks (or onion), flour, baking powder, eggs, salt, and pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Drop in large spoonfuls of the batter, flattening each with the back of the spoon. Cook, turning once, until brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes a side. Transfer the latkes to a paper towel–lined baking sheet in a 200°F oven until serving.

from epicurious.com

Carrot Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 pounds carrots, peeled, sliced

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled

5 whole cloves

4 cups (about) canned vegetable broth or water

1/2 heavy cream or half and half

additional goodies

ginger or ginger ale

orange marmalade

Preparation

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and cloves and sauté until onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add 3 1/2 cups broth. Cover and simmer until carrots are very soft, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Remove cloves from broth and discard. Puree soup in batches in blender. Return soup to same saucepan. Mix in cream or half and half. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin to desired consistency with more broth. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Stir soup over medium heat until heated through. Ladle into bowls. Drizzle cream over. Top with parsley.

Plain ol' Pancakes

but they were the best!

I have a great receipe for pancakes with sour cream. The reason I liked to use this was because as a couponer I always had up to 10 tubs of sour cream in my frig, taking up way too much space (tiny frig, 9 people) so I had to find new ways to use it up.

Not having a car, I'm often out of ingredients when I want to cook something, and I've learnt to make do with what I've had instead of bungling up a bunch of kiddies and walking to a store to get one or two things.

All that to say this pancake recipe is a very basic one using the ingredients I nearly always have on hand. If you use bisquick I would liken the mix to that...but better and of course natural. To date I'd rate it the best pancake mix I've tried....it's a keeper!

Ingredients

2 cups ub flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

6 t baking powder

2 t salt

2 T sugar

2 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

1/2 stick butter (4 t)

Preparation

I confess I love to dump all my ingredients and stir...I know I'm a terrible cook, but you probably would too if you had 7 kids under foot acting like they'd never been fed! Just smother with real maple syrup and you'll be back in heaven, at least til breakfast is over!

Menu Plan Monday

 

 

 

french toast

lemon pancakes

apple turnovers

crumpets

 

tuna curry

thai coconut chicken

beef & barley soup

hamburgers

fish & chips

veggie chilli

beef bourginion

split pea soup