Yakisoba Noodles

Made pre-cooked yakisoba noodles using this Yakisoba recipe. I didn't use meat but made the "soy glazed tofu" recipe from "A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen" instead.

HOW TO MAKE YAKISOBA

Step 1
Prepare the following:1 lb meat/shrimp/squid/protein/tofu. (Slice meat thinly against the grain) 1/3 cup soy sauce1/3 cup rice wine2 teaspoons sugar or 1 teaspoon honey12 ounces Chinese wheat noodles or, if you prefer a more substantial noodle, try udon (which actually makes it Yakiudon) 3 tablespoons vegetable or sesame-seed oil1 onion, sliced thin1.5 lb napa cabbage or savoy cabbage or bok choy, sliced very thin 3 carrots, grated1 tablespoon chopped ginger (or more if you like)1 clove crushed garlic (more if you like)3 scallions, thinly sliced Snow Peas (optional)

Step 2
In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar, stirring to dissolve.

Step 3
Put the meat/protein into the pan with some oil and cook for two minutes.

Step 4
Cook noodles in boiling water about eight minutes, or until tender.

Step 5
Drain noodles and rinse under cold water.

Step 6
In a large deep skillet or wok, cook onion in oil for approximately three minutes.

Step 7
Add the cabbage (it will seem like a lot, but it will cook down), carrot and ginger and cook until cabbage is softened, about three to five minutes.

Step 8
Cover with noodles and pour sauce over mixture.

Step 9
Cover and cook for three to five minutes, then remove the lid and toss the mixture together until it is well combined.

Step 10
Place on a serving platter and garnish with chopped scallions if desired.

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Creamy Pasta (North Copycat)

I had a very tasty pasta dish at a local Italian restaurant early this year. I have made it quite a few times but am starting to forget the recipe. Here it is before it's a lost memory. . .

Sautee mushrooms and a minced garlic clove or two in butter and olive oil then add lots of fresh spinach. Once the spinach wilts, add heavy cream (oh, about 1 cup) and parmesan cheese (about 1/2 -3/4 cup). Stir until the cheese melts, about 3-4 minutes, and allow the sauce to thicken a bit. This recipe also has pine nuts. You can skip them if you want but they make a nice addition. Add them with the cream or after the cream

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Tuna Casserole - comfort food!

It snowed lots today--a blizzard, I guess. For dinner I decided that tuna casserole was the perfect dish, especially since I had no real plan and I knew this would be a fast one.

I used the tuna casserole recipe from Recipe Zaar, but didn't have any cream of celery or mushroom soup. I decided to make a white sauce (thanks to Jodi's suggestion) to replace the soup and we all loved our dinner meal! Perfect on a winter-weather kind of day!

Tuna Casserole:

• 8 ounces egg noodles
• 1 (10 1/4 ounce) can cream of celery soup
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 ounces mushrooms, drained (optional)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (7 ounce) can tuna, with juice

Directions

1. Cook egg noodles to al dente in boiling salted water; drain well.

2. Preheat oven to 325°F.

3. Mix all ingredients together in a large casserole dish, reserving 1/2 cup of cheese.

4. Sprinkle reserved cheese over the top.

5. Bake for 30 minutes.

6. Serve hot.

White Sauce:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and stir until the butter and flour are well combined. Pour in milk, stirring constantly as it thickens. Add more milk depending on desired consistency.

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Mini Meatballs

The meatball recipe that gives you variety, lots of variety!
I like this recipe because you can freeze the "left-over" meatballs, uncooked, and then use them later for more spaghetti and meatballs, meatball hero sandwiches, meatball soup, mini-meatball pizzas--recipes for all of these meals can be found in the Everyday Food magazine from March 2005, volume 20.

Mini Meatballs
Ingredients

Makes 40

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 slices bacon (2 ounces), finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon plain dried breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine beef, bacon, parsley, garlic, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, egg, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Shape mixture into 40 meatballs. (For equal-size meatballs, scoop out meat mixture with a teaspoon, using two scoops for each meatball. Then roll between your palms to shape into balls.)
2. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet or on two large plates. Freeze 1 hour. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container or resealable plastic bag; label and date.
3. To use the meatballs straight from the freezer, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

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Penne Pasta

*UPDATE-This is a very tastey recipe! Since I posted this recipe I've made it twice now and have found that it tastes better (less vinegar-y) if you let the balsamic vinegar thicken in the oven while the tomatoes are baking. (Oct 8, 2008)

A pasta dish that sounds perfect for using our end-of-summer garden treasures!
I found the recipe at this blog.

Penne Pasta

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 # cherry tomatoes (it’s not the same without them!)
2 cloves garlic

Place these in a pan and bake them at 450 for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Prepare penne pasta as the package directs.

In the meantime, chop about 20 full-size basil leaves and 12 oz of fresh mozzarella.

Toss all ingredients together with about 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Pasta w/a Mexican twist

If you can believe it, the following recipe was inspired by airline food!
We were headed home on Mexicana Airlines from Mexico City and I was served the best meal I've ever had on a flight! It's been two years since I had this meal but every once in a while I still make the pasta. It's yummy and very quick to make.

My airline meal was baked chicken breast on a bed of pasta with red sauce. The twist was in the pasta. It included Mexican cheese called "cotija", cilantro and red sauce. (It might have had more ingredients but this all I can remember today and it still reminds my taste buds of the airline pasta. Yum!)

You can find cotija cheese (queso cotija) at most grocery stores. It is a dry, salty, crumbly cheese and, in my opinion, is the Mexican equivalent to parmesan cheese in Italian cuisine.


Pasta a la Mexicana Airlines
Ingredients:
12 oz. pasta (I like gemelli, mini-penne, or bow-tie)
red sauce (see recipe below)
1/4 cup crumbled queso cotija
2 tablespoons cilantro

This is such a simple recipe that all of the measurements for each ingredient can be adjusted based on personal taste and/or servings desired.
Cook pasta. (Use anywhere from 10 oz. to 16 oz.)
While pasta cooks, make tomato sauce, crumble the cotija cheese and chop cilantro.
Once pasta is cooked and drained, return to its pot, pour tomato sauce over pasta and add crumbled cheese and cilantro. Stir and serve!


Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz. each)
salt
pepper

Blend one can of diced tomatoes in blender until smooth. (You can blend both cans if you don't like tomato chunks in your pasta.)
Heat olive oil in sauce pot and add minced garlic cloves. Cook until fragrant.
Add the blended tomatoes and the can of diced tomatoes.
Stir and heat until bubbling.
Reduce heat and let simmer uncovered 10-20 minutes, depending on your preference for a thin or thick sauce. (The longer you cook it the thicker it will become.)
Salt and pepper to taste.

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Bow ties w/ sausage & sweet peppers

Quick and easy pasta dinner!

8 oz. bow tie pasta (I make the whole box, 16 0z.)
3/4 fresh spicy Italian sausage links
2 medium red sweet peppers, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/2 vegetable broth or beef broth
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup snipped fresh Italian parsley


Cook the pasta.
Meanwhile, cut the sausage into 1-inch pieces. In a large skillet cook sausage and sweet peppers over medium-high heat till sausage is brown. Drain off fat.

Add the vegetable or beef broth and the black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. When the pasta is cooked, drain well. Toss the pasta with sausage mixture and Italian Parsley.

recipe from Better Homes & Gardens magazine, April 1996

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