Make your Ramen hearty

As most know, I love pasta and that includes a variety of Ramen noodles; not only are the inexpensive but quick to make. However the quick meal gets boring and just doesn’t satisfy the way it is all the time, so why not make your ramen hearty by adding some of last nights leftovers or adding fresh veggies to make your ramen more filling and tastyn and its inexpensive. Here are two examples that I have been indulging in.

I really like the rice noodle packs by Thai kitchen they’re light and not salty.

Follow the pack directions in preparing the noodles. While they are boiling, in a bowl I added about 1/4 cup of super sweet corn that was leftover from last night.

Slice 3 white button mushrooms thinly and add to the bowl.

Add in the powder season pack.

When the noodles are done,  add in pasta and water.

Top with cooked egg white and Sriracha hot sauce.

The second bowl has the same pasta and corn and mushrooms, the season pack and Sriracha was added. I also added some baked chicken breast that was leftover from last nights dinner.

After adding pasta and water, mix and enjoy.

Extend your noodles by adding fresh veggies or leftover. Make a snack into a good one bowl meal. Until next time, cook, eat and enjoy!

Lamb Stew

I love a good stew and typically when I make it, it has beef in it. However, when I was out shopping, I came across some lamb rib pieces, so this stew is lamb based and take about 2-3 hours to make. So here is what I used:

2 pounds of lamb rib pieces, washed and seasoned with Seasonings salt, garlic and onion powder, black pepper

1 large white onion sliced

10 Roma tomatoes roughly chopped

1 bag of white super sweet frozen corn and a carton of sliced crimini mushrooms and 1 bad of baby carrots

1 1/2 cup of Beringers red moscato and red (combined)

1 teaspoon of minced garlic and some honey and grapeseed oil, kosher salt, dried parsley and basil

Okay so in a pot add about 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil, heat and brown the lamb

Once the meat has browned on the outside, add onions and garlic and let the cook with the meat for about 3-4 minutes, mix arround

Add just enough water to cover the meat season with kosher salt and let pot simmer for 45-60 minutes on medium heat covered

The meat is done, so now it’s time to added in the other goodies. First the tomatoes with salt and pepper and let cook for 10 minutes

Give a good stir and then add mushrooms, corn and wine and 1 crushed red pepper

Mix and let cook for another 30 minutes

Time to add in the carrots. honey, dried basil and parsley and let cook for 20 minutes

If the liquid is not thick enough, mix 2 teaspoons of flour and water together until smooth and then add to stew. Let simmer until thicken, then remove from heat

This stew is great over brown rice, which is how I ate it, but it is also lovely with homemade mashed potatoes. Until next time, Cook, Eat and Enjoy!

Beef ribs (Korean cut) in mushroom gravy

I love the Korean style beef ribs, but I found that they come out tender if they are boiled down for a while, then thicken the stock and add mushrooms to make a flavorful gravy.

They beef is seasoned on both sides with seasoning salt, black pepper, garlic and onion powder.

In a large pot added 3 tablespoons of olive oil and heat. Then added meat and let brown on both sides, then remove meat to a plate.

Slice 2 medium yellow onions and added it to the oil in the pot and let cook and grab the flavor at the bottom of pan for about 2-3 minutes.

Added about 4 cups of water to the onions and take a spoon and begin to scrap the brown yummies off the bottom, then added the meat back to the pot.

Let cook for about 30 minutes with top on, then remove the meat again.

1 pint of crimini mushrooms wiped cleaned and quartered.

Added mushrooms to the stock and let cook down.

In a bowl, add 3-4 tablespoons of corn starch and about quarter cup of cold water.

Add to stock and let thicken and season the stock as needed,then add meat back to the pot and let stew for 10 minutes.

Serve with rice or potatoes, but I served this with candied sweet potatoes and corn. Very simple and very good. Until next time, Cook, Eat and Enjoy!

Loving the Goose

As expensive as it was, I finally took the leap and purchased the long awaited goose. I will try just about any food at least once and if I try it and don’t like it, I will come home and cook it and see if I can make it taste better. However, for this goose adventure, I have never had it, but it was great.

The goose I purchased in the store was frozen, so either thaw in fridge or in cold water. Once thawed, remove excess fat and remove giblet. Giblets and neck can be made into a gravy.

I seasoned the inside and outside of the bird with seasoning salt, garlic and onion powder and black pepper. I stored it in the fridge over night.

The next day or when you are ready to bake it, place the bird on a rack in your baking pan. Like a duck, goose is a very oily bird, so cook it on a rack to let the oil drip down. Oven on 375 degrees F. I placed a onion, garlic cloves and carrot inside the cavity and then Bake goose, breast up until skin is brown, which doesn’t take long.

Now the skin maybe brown, but the goose is not done. Cover with foil and let the bird cook for 30-45 minutes. When you open it up, the legs will have relaxed away from the bird. Take the foil off and place goose under the broiler for a few short minutes to crisp up the skin.

The Goose is done and most sides pair well with this, but for me, I made some petite asparagus cooked on the stove in grapeseed oil and a mushroom and tomato saffron risotto.

Risotto I have made several times before so, the full recipe is somewhere on my blog, but here are the highlights.
Sautéed onions, garlic, crimini mushrooms and dice Roma tomatoes in olive oil until tomatoes breakdown. Seasoned with kosher salt and black pepper.

The plain risotto was made with chicken stock with saffron in it.

Add in the mushroom and tomatoes, mix.

Add in a handful of shaved Parmesan. Mix and serve hot.

I am a dark meat gal and if you like dark meat, Goose is the way to go. The flavor is unique, does not taste like chicken, but you will definitely know you are eating something that had feathers. I so loved this goose adventure. Until next time, Cook, Eat, and Enjoy!

2013: Eating Better to be Better- Black and Red Bean Soup

I want to say Happy 2013 to everyone. I hope this year is better to you than last year.

I am still continuing to eat healthy this year as a continuation from last year. Because the result were so great and the process is easy and fairly painless, not to mention fun for me, I figured why not. I have lost over 35 pounds since I have changed my eating habits, so forward I continue. Don’t get me wrong, I am far from a health nut, and splurge on the things that I crave sometimes, but the majority of the time, I am sticking to what works for me, and that is portion control. Yes, I still eat meat and ice cream and such when I desire, but everything in moderation.

So the first meal I want to share with you for 2013 is: Red and Black Bean Soup. Here’s what you will need:

1 16oz bag dried black beans- sort and rinse
1 16oz bag dried red beans- sort and rinse
1-2 green bell pepper roughly diced
1-2 large white or yellow onion diced
1-2 leeks washed and sliced
4-6 Roma tomatoes diced
6-8 cloves of garlic diced
Cooked brown rice (does not have to be fresh made, can be leftover)
Kosher salt
Dried red chili
Dried basil
Dried parsley
Olive or grapeseed oil

This takes a few hours but it is simple. Grab a large stock pot and add 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Let it get hot and then add onions and garlic. Sauté onion and garlic until they become aromatic, about 3-5 minutes.

Add in both beans and mix together

Added water to the mixture, fill to 3/4 from the lip of the pot

Season with kosher salt, 2 dried chili, 2 tablespoons of dried basil and dried parsley

Mix and let come to a rolling boil then turn down and let boil for about 1 and half hours or until the beans are soften, but not quite done

When the beans start to soften, but aren’t quite done as mentioned before, added in leeks, tomatoes and green bell pepper. Additionally, taste the liquid and add extra seasoning as you desired

Let the beans boil for another hour or until the beans are tender.

You can eat this alone or if you are looking for this soup to be more filling, add a little brown rice to the bottom of your serving bowl or eating bowl

then added beans and broth on top

Mix together and eat hot. This lasted my family several days and is great on a cold or rainy day, or any day… So you have your fiber, soup and multiple veggies, and because the beans with the rice is so hardy, you really don’t need meat. Until next time, cook, eat and enjoy!