Friday, March 28, 2008

Green Onion Pancakes and experimenting at the Asian Market

A few weeks ago, I went to eat at an Asian Dumpling House. Jeng Chi is in Richardson, and I never ate so much food for such a small tab. I ate family style with a group of 7 moms, and my total was $8. I even had enough money left to go down the sidewalk and have a Taiwanese Shaved Ice - what a night.

Since the boys are gone, I wanted to do something easy for dinner on Wed. night, so I thought I'd buy some frozen dumplings at Asia World and steam them. Jeng Chi sells them frozen, too, but I didn't have time to make it down there. I also bought a little container of soup to try.

Well, of course, I dreamed something up to cook for the meal. At Jeng Chi, they had these yummy Green Onion pancakes to go with the dumplings. So, I went googling for a recipe. I decided on this one.

Ingredients

* 2 cups flour
* 1 tablespoon sesame oil
* 1/2 cup boiling water
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup cold water
* Vegetable oil spray
* 1/2 cup minced green onions


Directions

1. Mix together flour and boiling water.
2. Add 1/3 cup cold water and knead until dough is smooth and elastic.
3. Add more water if necessary.
4. Cover and let dough rest for 15 minutes.
5. In a small bowl combine sesame oil, salt and green onions then set aside.
6. Divide dough into 10 pieces then flatten each piece in the palm of your hand.
7. Roll each piece into a 6" circle.
8. Spread each with some of the green onion mixture.
9. Roll up dough into a jellyroll then wind up into a snail shape.
10. Flatten slightly then roll on lightly floured surface to 5" circle.
11. Spray pan with vegetable oil spray then heat over medium high heat.
12. Fry pancake for 2 minutes then turn and cook other side.
13. Serve hot.

I made the dough in the mixer and then let it rest. No yeast involved in this one. I mixed for 10 minutes - I'm thinking maybe that was too long for this. It got really firm.


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While the dough was mixing/resting, I mixed up the green onion filling. Sesame oil, green onions, and salt - it smelled so good!

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I divided into 10 little balls.

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Flattened out the little balls and spread on some filling.

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Rolled up.

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Twisted into a snail.

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Then I flattened them. This is where it got tricky. The filling would try to stay in the dough - the dough almost seemed to have a skin by this point. But while rolling, it would eventually squirt out, and it got so messy. Not to mention that it didn't really want to flatten, so it kept springing back into a fat little snail. I tried flattening by hand instead of with a rolling pin and I tried elongating the jellyroll before rolling it up - it was all still messy and would start to stick to the rolling pin b/c of all the filling everywhere. But I kept going and did the best I could. I think they needed to be flatter.

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Then I pan fried.

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We used these to mix up a dipping sauce in individual bowls. I love, love, love that chili garlic sauce - we have decided it goes with everything...morning (eggs), noon (sandwiches), and night (pizza and everything else). I experiment with other brands, but always come back to this one. The other jars are lite soy sauce and rice vinegar.

I would like to also get Wasabi to go with this - if anyone knows where to buy that at the Asian Market, please comment.

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Here is our feast. Besides the soup and pancakes, we had cabbage/mushroom and seafood with crab buns. The seafood ones were the best, and they were great for leftovers the next day. The soup was delicious, and Todd wants me to get him some for work lunches when we don't have leftovers. The pancakes were good, but not as good as the ones at Jeng Chi. They were so cheap at the restaurant...I don't know if I'll experiment with them anymore. Although I did see a recipe on Weight Watchers that used Egg Roll wraps - that looks easier.

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Red Beans and Rice

This is a "dump-it-all-in-the-crockpot" recipe that I actually like! But I grew up eating this (cooked on the stovetop), so it is comfort food for me.

I start by...well...just dumping it all in!

I do one bag of rinsed red beans (not soaked overnight), one large chopped onion, 4 or 5 minced garlic cloves (or a big spoonful from the cheater jar), chop one package Healthy Choice sausage, 2 bay leaves, 2 tsp Lawry's seasoning salt, red and black pepper to taste.


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Then I cover with 2 quarts of liquid - some combo of vegetable stock, beef stock, chicken stock, and water. Whatever I have on hand. Cook for 6 or so hours on low. I always check it 1 hour before it's supposed to be done and turn it to high if the beans are still a little crunchy.

I made Alton Brown's Baked Brown Rice (minus the butter) for the base. I served with Spicy Asian Slaw tonight - for some reason, I like these flavors together. Cajun and Asian.


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Monday, March 24, 2008

What's on the Menu? 3/24 & 25, New House, New Mixer!

Well, we had a great offer on our house a couple of weeks ago...last week was the inspection...and we are set to close April 2nd on the Plano house. So we found a great new house in Coppell, and we will close on that house on April 9th. Some moving details will be worked out this week, but I imagine we'll be moving soon after April 9th. Busy times! Here is a sneak peak of the new house. The kitchen is a little smaller than I would like, but it is getting all new stainless appliances (double oven, cooktop, dishwasher, microwave) courtesy of the current owner as part of the deal. WooHoo! We are thrilled - it is <20 minutes from Todd's job in Las Colinas.


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In the midst of all this chaos, I had a fabulous new blender arrive! I'm tired of kneading dough by hand, so this was my anniversary present. I got the professional model with a 450W motor for $199 - can you believe it?

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This is my first crust with the new blender. We could really tell a difference when it was kneaded by the mixer - much more pliable and it rose much better. We love it!

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I have only planned meals for Mon and Tues so far this week, and they're nothing too exciting. We're going to have Salmon with Mustard Cream tonight and Red Beans and Brown Rice tomorrow night. I'm taking the boys to LA on Wed. so they can stay with the grandparents during my mom's Spring Break and I can get some packing done. Bear with me for the next few weeks, please!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Spicy Yogurt-Marinated Chicken

I needed a recipe that could be ready to go tonight with no prep, so we tried Spicy Yogurt Marinated Chicken.

I mixed up the marinade last night and left the thighs in the marinade overnight in the fridge.

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Tonight I just broiled them in the oven - they were very, very tasty! Moist from the yogurt, and the flavoring was great. Two thumbs up - one for taste, one for convenience.

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Herb Tilapia with Lemon Vinaigrette

This is an old favorite! We love it.

I use tilapia - this time I bought the frozen tilapia loins at Sam's. They are much thicker than the fillets.

I start by mincing garlic, mixing up the spices, and slicing a couple of lemons.


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Then I put the fish on a broiler pan...sprinkle with spices...add the garlic...and put a few slices of lemon on each.


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I mix up the vinaigrette while they're cooking.

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They got a little overcooked tonight, but still yummy. An easy fish recipe that we love! It really cuts most of the overly "fishy" taste of tilapia.

I also tried Alton Brown's recipe for Baked Brown Rice at Carla's suggestion. I've always made instant brown rice, and it is YUCKY...but this way was delicious! Thanks, Carla, for the tip!

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Herb Flounder With Lemon Vinaigrette
From Southern Living

Prep: 15 min., Broil: 12 min.

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 pounds flounder or tilapia fillets
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 lemons, thinly sliced
Lemon Vinaigrette

1. Combine first 6 ingredients; sprinkle evenly over both sides of fillets. Arrange fish on a lightly greased rack in a broiler pan. Sprinkle evenly with garlic. Arrange lemon slices over fish.

2. Broil 6 inches from heat 10 to 12 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork. Drizzle with Lemon Vinaigrette.

Note: Nutritional analysis does not include vinaigrette.


Yield: Makes 6 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 190(0.0% from fat); FAT 2.5g (sat 0.6g,mono 0.4g,poly 1g); PROTEIN 38g; CHOLESTEROL 106mg; CALCIUM 47mg; SODIUM 746mg; FIBER 0.6g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 1.4g

Lemon Vinaigrette
From Southern Living

Prep: 10 min.

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

1. Whisk together all ingredients.

Yield: Makes about 1/3 cup

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 85(0.0% from fat); FAT 9.3g (sat 1.3g,mono 7.2g,poly 0.8g); PROTEIN 0.0g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 16mg; SODIUM 97mg; FIBER 0.0g; IRON 0.0mg; CARBOHYDRATE 0.4g

Tomato-Spinach Penne

This recipe came out of a little vegetarian section that was recently in Southern Living. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this post b/c...honestly, it wasn't all that great.

Maybe it's my fault. I made some modifications. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I couldn't get to a nicer store to get the meatless Italian sausage. So I used meatless crumbly sausage. I didn't think it tasted all that great.


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I also had some fresh portabellas that were about to go bad, so I added those to the onions when I sauteed. Then added the sausage.


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Later I added fresh spinach and canned tomatoes.


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Like I said, I was pretty medium to low on this one.


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