Culinary Goods

So this had really good flavor, but could have used some protein with it since we weren't full afterward. Also, I put 1 tsp. of the Srirachi chili sauce in it and it was really hot- almost uncomfortably hot. Jared has a high tolerance for heat and he agreed, so next time I will put 1/2 tsp in. I really loved the peanuty taste and this was easy to make. I would give this an 8 and Jared said he would also give it an 8, but only if it was paired with chicken (whatever). I will definitely make this again. Thai Peanut Noodles 1/2 c. chicken broth 3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter 1-2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (1 is mild with a bite, 1.5 is medium, 2 is hot) 1 1/2 Tbsp. honey 3 Tbsp. soy sauce 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger 2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced 8 oz. Udon or linguine noodles Chopped green onions Chopped cilantro 2 limes, cut into quarters Chopped peanuts Cook noodles in salted water. In the meantime, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, hone

I modified these slightly and really like them. I would give them an 8 out of 10. I don't like sunflower seeds, so put coconut in them instead and thought they were quite tasty. I tripled the batch since one batch only makes 6-8 clusters, but could have gotten by just with doubling it. I also changed the name- these were originally called Chocolate Oat Balls, but I don't like eating any food with "balls" in them. Ingredients {Makes a small batch, about 6-8 small balls} 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup peanut butter 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or dark) 1/2 cup rolled oats 1/4 cup almonds, crushed 1/8 cup ground flax seed 1/8 cup sunflower seeds Directions Melt peanut butter and honey in a pan over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients. (To crush whole almonds, I place them in a ziploc bag on a cutting board and crush with rolling pin.) Stir with spatula for a couple minutes to combine until chocolate thoroughly melts. Remove from heat

This recipe was awesome. I give it a 9.5. Ignore the picture, which looks gross. Mine looked so much better, which is a first. Here is what I did differently. I only used 2 T. white wine and I used 50% cream and 50% milk, or basically half and half. This was so awesome. I will make this again and again. Ingredients 7 oz. pesto (about 1 cup) 10-16 oz. sliced mushrooms 2 large tomatoes, diced 3-4 garlic cloves, minced 14 oz. spiral pasta (cavatappi, fusilli, rotini, etc.) 1/2 cup white wine 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (still trying to find a healthier substitute -- ideas anyone??) Shredded parmesan-style cheese (vegetarian) for topping, optional Salt/pepper Directions Cook pasta according to package directions until slightly undercooked. Drain in colander. Meanwhile, saute mushrooms in a large skillet with salt until slightly softened. To the skillet, add cooked pasta, garlic, and about one of the diced tomatoes. Stir and saute over medium heat for 1 minute. Add wine, stir thoroughl

This was not good. Jared and I both gave it a 4. I wanted to make it because it was healthy and it was green for St. Patrick's Day, but it did not turn out well. I served it with homemade cheese rolls, and the rolls were great! The reason I'm posting it, however, is for a few reasons. 1. I didn't use gruyere cheese because it's so expensive and substituted Swiss. That may be why it wasn't good. 2. If any of you want to try and improve it, it could be good. It is healthy, but the flavor was so blase. 3. If you (Melissa) ran across it on Annie's Eats and wanted to try it, don't waste your time. Which is disappointing, because everything else I've tried on Annie's Eats has been fabulous.   Cheesy Spinach Soup Yield: 4-6 servings Ingredients 2 tbsp. unsalted butter 1 medium onion, chopped 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 medium russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 3 cups vegetable broth Salt and pepper 8 oz. baby spinach leav

I really liked these and Jared said he was surprised at how good they were. We gave them an 8. My mom, however, isn't adventurous when it comes to food and she gave them a 7. I will for sure make these again.  Greek Quesadillas Yield: about 4 servings Ingredients 4 large (10-inch) whole wheat tortillas Olive oil Fresh spinach leaves, chopped (about 2 cups) Diced red onion (about ½ cup) Roasted red peppers, chopped Oven-dried tomatoes Sliced black olives Mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1-1½ cups) Crumbled feta cheese (about 2/3 cup) Oregano (dried or fresh) Red pepper flakes For the tzatziki: 16 oz. plain yogurt (not nonfat, if possible) 1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded 2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced) 1 tsp. white wine vinegar Salt and pepper Squeeze of fresh lemon juice Extra virgin olive oil Directions To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a

Okay, so these had great flavor and were not dry at all. Both Jared and I agreed that they were much better than those frozen ones you buy, Melly. Anyway, the only thing that was missing was salt. When I make these again, I will definitely triple the salt, which is saying a lot, because I am famous for under-salting almost everything I make (by choice). Without extra salt, I would give them a 6. With extra salt, I would give them an 8. Jared also gave them these ratings. I served them with garlic herb oven fries and put the burgers on whole wheat sandwich thins and everything tasted really really good. I will definitely make these again. It says this yields 6 servings, but I actually got 8 burgers out of it. Oh, and I used 3/4 onion instead of a shallot since shallots are pricey.  Black Bean Burgers Yield: 6 burgers Ingredients ¾ cup panko 3 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. olive oil, divided 2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed, divided 2 large eggs 1 tsp. ground cum

This was pretty good. I give it at least a 7. One thing I noticed though is that it is very similar to the Mexican Quinoa bowl I posted a while back. Here is what I did differently. First, I scrapped the dressing. I made it, but it didn’t smell appetizing, so I left it off. Instead I just added evoo and lime juice. Also, I added a bit of diced, seeded jalapeno. And, I added more beans. For condiments, we used salsa and avocado. I cooked the quinoa in vegetable broth. Mango Quinoa Salad 2 cups cooked quinoa * at room temperature, or chilled 1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 medium mango, peeled and diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 6 green onions, thinly sliced 1 handful chopped cilantro (about 1/2 cup) 4 tablespoon red wine vinegar 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice kosher salt freshly cracked black pepper *Quinoa can be cooked in water or broth. I suggest using vegetable or chicken broth for enhanced flavor, but plain water works grea

So my whole menu this week was from Annie's Eats, so the next few recipes I post will all be from that website. This had a REALLY good flavor, especially if you like lemon, but this did need some meat with it, like chicken or salmon. I had never cooked with kale before, and this made it super healthy, because it's raw. I would give it a 7.5 or 8. Lemony Kale Pasta Ingredients: For the dressing: 2 cloves garlic, peeled ½ tsp. kosher salt, divided ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese 5-6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil Juice of 2 lemons ¼-½ tsp. red pepper flakes Freshly ground black pepper, to taste For the pasta: 1 lb. whole grain pasta, such as penne 1 large bunch kale (black/lacinato kale preferred), rinsed and dried, stems removed Lemon slices, for garnish Additional Parmesan, for serving Directions: Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.  Meanwhile, make the dressing.  Mince the garlic cloves.  Sprinkle the minced garlic with ¼ teaspoon o

I got this off of Annie's Eats and I really liked it. When I make it again, I'll pair it with something like grilled chicken because it did need some protein with it, but it had a really good flavor. Scout loved it and ate her weight in quinoa. I would give it a 7.5 and will definitely make it again. Spring Veggie Quinoa Yield: 8-10 servings Ingredients 2 cups uncooked quinoa 4 cups vegetable broth 4 oz. asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish 1 small onion, chopped 6 oz. button or cremini mushrooms, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ tsp. kosher salt ½ tsp. red pepper flakes 1 cup baby spinach leaves, chopped 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise 3 oz. shredded Gouda 1 oz. freshly grated Parmesan, divided Directions Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Cook the quinoa according to the package directions, replacing the water with vegetable broth for cooking.  Once cooked, set aside. Add the aspar

This recipe was from Annie’s Eats, and was awesome. I cut out the chicken, but everything else was the same. Oh, and I am starting a rating system from 1-10. A 1 for Stef would be tuna casserole and a 10 is that coconut cheesecake. This was a 7 or a 7.5. Anything 6 or over I would make again. This would be great with salmon. Yield: about 8-10 servings Ingredients For the salad: 4 cups brown rice, cooked and cooled 1½ cups cooked shredded chicken 1½ cups shredded carrot* 3 baby bok choy, rinsed, trimmed, and thinly sliced ½ cup frozen peas, thawed ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro 4 scallions, chopped 1 tbsp. sesame seeds (white or black) For the dressing: 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice 1 tsp. orange zest 2 tbsp. rice vinegar 1½ tbsp. soy sauce 1½ tbsp. sesame oil 1 tbsp. honey Salt and pepper, to taste ¼ cup canola oil Directions 1. To make the salad, combine the brown rice, chicken, shredded carrot, bok choy, peas, cilantro,

I have no picture for this post, so picture something awesome and yummy. Here is the original recipe with my variation below. Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies 2 cubes butter 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup sugar 2 tsp. vanilla 2 eggs, room temp 2/3 cup cocoa 2 cups flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 ½ lbs. white chocolate Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and both sugars until light, add vanilla, then eggs, one at a time and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Sift together flour, soda and salt and add to mixture until just combined. Fold in chocolate. Drop on baking sheet using a 1 3/4 inch ice cream scoop or rounded Tbs. Dampen hands and flatten dough slightly. Bake for 7-8 minutes . These are good with cream cheese frosting. Variation—use 1 cup brown sugar, slight ¼ cup white sugar, 2/3 cup oil, 3 T. butter, add 1/2-1 cup Andes mints, bake 8 minutes at most

This recipe for granola bars is pretty good. It originally came from Rebecca, and you can alter it any way you like. Here is the base recipe for a peanut butter granola bar 2 cups oats 2/3-3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup wheat bran or wheat germ 1/4 cup flaxseed meal 1 T. sesame seeds 3/4 tsp. salt 3/4 tsp. cinnamon (I use about half of this) 1 cup flour (I use half white and half wheat) 1/2 cup mini Reese's pieces peanut butter chips 1/2 cup peanuts, chopped 1/3 cup peanut butter 1/3 cup canola oil 1/3 cup honey 1 egg 2 tsp. vanilla Heat honey and peanut butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave, add egg, oil, and vanilla. Pour it over all of the other ingredients and bake it at 350 for 17 minutes in a 9x 13 pan. It makes 18 bars. I double it and put in a jelly roll pan and get 36 bars instead. They freeze really well. For an almond kind, use 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup of honey with no peanut butter, add almonds instead of peanuts, add 1/2 cup coconut, 1/2 cup choc