Somen Noodle Salad with Wasabi dressed Salmon

Somen Noodle Salad with Wasabi dressed Salmon

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar or sherry vinegar

2 large cloves garlic, finely grated or minced

One 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 small jalapeno pepper chopped finely

1/3 cup olive oil

Mix the dressing and keep in the refrigerator if any left over8 oz somen noodles

1/4 pound cabbage, very thinly sliced

1 cup peas

1 small bunch scallions

¼ cup shredded carrot

3 tablespoons black sesame seeds or toasted sesame seeds

Boil a pot of water. Take Somen noodles and place in boiling water and lower the heat to medium and then let be for exactly TWO minutes.  Drain immediately and then rinse in cold water. Place in a bowl.  Add the rest of the salad ingredients.  Toss with the dressing.

This is good on its own or add Tuna

SALMON with Wasabi Sauce. 

One fillet for two of Salmon

¼ cup Greek Plain Yogurt

1 teaspoon Wasabi paste

Place the fillet on baking sheet.  Mix Greek Yogurt and wasabi together.  Spread on the fillet.  Bake at 350 for about 5-8 minutes.  Serve on top or next to the Somen Salad.

TIPS:

·        Add or reduce the wasabi to your taste

·        Salmon can be doubled or tripled easily

·        The recipe I am making this from used edamone instead of peas, but I had none.

·        Cool cucumber may be a nice addition or shredded zucchini

·        I like heat so I leave my seeds in the peppers

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

 

SALAD: Mixed greens, avocado, fig, pine nuts, Prosciutto cheese and tomatoes (for two)

SALAD: Mixed greens, avocado, fig, pine nuts, Prosciutto cheese and tomatoes (for two)

SALAD

Small handful Pine nuts toasted and cooled

1 fig peeled and sliced
½ avocado sliced3 scallions chopped in small pieces
8 grape tomatoes sliced in half
2 cups mixed greens of choice
Handful of thinly sliced good parmesan cheese

Place pine nuts in a sauce pan and lightly heat over medium heat for a few minutes (watch carefully as they can burn very quickly) or you can toast them in the oven at 400 degrees. BUT watch the entire time!! They burn so quickly!  You just want to warm and make them lightly browned and they will release their oils and get a lovely toasted nutty taste.

Mix the salad but keep the Figs to sprinkle on the top at the end and the Proscuuto to curl in swirls on top.

Mix the dressing.

Honey Vinaigrette Dressing

1/3 c. red wine vinegar

1/4 c. honey

1/4 c. olive oil

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Salt & pepper to taste

Mix all salad dressing ingredients in a bowl or, as I have mentioned before, a Mason jar.

Mix just a bit of dressing with the salad. Toss and taste and see/taste and add more a little at a time of the dressing.  Plate.

Dress with the fig slices.

TIPS:

·        I add the Figs  and the prousciuto last as I think I prefer them not mixed with the dressing but just eaten with the dressed salad.  It looks prettier as well laid on top after the salad is plated.

·        If you prepare all before-hand, then make sure you cut the avocado last minute.  (Lemon will deter browning but it is not in this recipe)

·        You will have left over dressing if making above salad for two but it should enough for salad for 8 (just make your dressing and keep it and use as needed)

·        The honey in the dressing works so well with the figs but you could use most other vinaigrette dressings.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Easy Baked Cod and Tomato

Easy Baked Cod with Tomato

 

1 large cod fillet

1 medium tomato chopped in bite size pieces

1 garlic glove minced

2 scallions chopped

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon olive oil

Simple topping ingredients

 

Place fillet on tin foil sheet. 

 

Top with cut scallions, tomato, and minced garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. 

 

Wrap the fillet in the tin foil sealing all sides to create a package which will steam the fish as it cooks.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Open carefully as steam may pop up.

Served with Rice and Broccoli

TIPS:

·        You can make these ahead of time and keep them in the refrigerator until you want to bake them later in the day.

·        This recipe feeds two and can easily be double or tripled etc.

·        Add herbs of choice.

·        Add green or red peppers diced.

·        Add lemon and parsley.

·        Any mild fish will work well such as Tilapia or Flounder

 

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Baked Chicken Parmesan

Baked Chicken Parmesan

2 cups tomato sauce

2 large chicken breast (butterflied and pounded thin and each breast cut into two pieces)

1-2 cups Panko bread crumbs

2 eggs beaten and with 1 tablespoon water added

Dash paprika

1 teaspoon oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 teaspoons olive oil

6 oz of mozzarella cheese shredded or sliced thinly

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

 Feeds four and can be double – tripled.

Take the chicken fillet and lay them out and run a knife to cut the thickness in half. Place between saran wrap and pound the pieces to be nice and thin cutlets.  Then cut in the middle to make two cutlets per each fillet. (Making a total of four cutlets.)

Mix the crumbs with the paprika, oregano, and some salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan until medium/hot.

 

Dredge both the sides of the cutlets into the egg wash and then into the crumbs.   Fry each cutlet on each side for about 3 minutes per side. You are not cooking the chicken through, but only making a nice sealed crust on each side.

Add more olive to the pan if needed. Make sure however the oil is hot before adding more chicken.
Place into a baking pan (glass or metal) Top with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Then top the casserole with tomato sauce.

Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

TIPS:

·        You can bake, instead of frying, the chicken before you assemble the entire dish.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Homemade Tomato Sauce (with fresh ripe tomatoes of the summer)

Homemade Tomato Sauce  (with fresh ripe tomatoes of the summer)

10  seasonally ripe tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic minced

1 small onion minced

¼ cup parsley chopped

¼ cup fresh basil chopped

1 tablespoon oregano

Couple dashes red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

At the stem end of each tomato cut an X on the very end. Boil a large pot of water. Add the tomatoes and boil for 2 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon.  Once the tomatoes cool, peel the skin from the tomatoes at the stem end from the X cut into the skin.

Place n batches on chopping board and cut into pieces.  It will be a bit messy, so not to lose any of the tomato juice, scrap chopped tomatoes into a bowl.

In a large sauce pan place oil and sauté the onion and garlic for 2 minutes making sure not to brown the garlic.

Add the tomatoes and herbs and simmer for about 45 minutes.  Stir a few times.  If you want to thicken the sauce add some tomato paste.

TIPS:

·        This is a general simple tomato sauce that can be changed into many varieties.  Add mushrooms, ground meat, hot pepper, olives, green peppers etc. 

·        Tomato paste will help thicken the sauce (remember tomato paste in bland and needs spices to liven it up)

·        Freeze in zip lock bags laid flat or “put up” by canning in jars.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Cauliflower and Tomatoes

After a day at the pool and feeling pretty healthy I decided to make a vegetarian meal.  I also have to admit that I forgot to take something out from the freezer to thaw!  I also found I had bought two cauliflower heads so I needed to use at least one. 

1 medium head Cauliflower

3 large tomatoes cut up

1 clove garlic minced

1-2 tablespoons plain yogurt

1 teaspoon taco seasoning

Dash cayenne pepper

Steam the cauliflower until al dente. Drain and add the remaining ingredients. Reheat on stove top for 3-5 minutes until the tomatoes break down and are warmed through. 

TIPS:

·        If you don’t have taco seasoning use 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, ¼-½ teaspoon turmeric,

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Caesar Salad with Shrimp (with NO raw egg!)

Caesar Salad with Shrimp (with NO raw egg!)

1/2 to 3/4 cup homemade croutons

 2 teaspoons finely-chopped garlic

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½-1 teaspoons anchovy paste (or3-4 anchovy fillets mashed)

Pinch of coarse salt

Ground pepper

Sprinkle red pepper flakes (optional)

2 tablespoons (1/2 lemon) freshly-squeezed lemon juice

3 drops Worcestershire sauce

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons mayonnaise

1/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese

2 heads Romaine lettuce torn into bite size pieces

Shrimp

12 large shrimp

1 clove garlic minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Pinch of salt

Sauté shrimp in the olive oil until just cooked through and season with salt.

Place lettuce in bowl.  Mix the rest of the dressing ingredients in a bowl and then toss with the lettuce.  Top with the croutons and shrimp.  Serves four.

Wonderful everyday Salad Dressing

Wonderful everyday Salad Dressing

Secret: I use a mason jar to make, store, shake and serve from…. cute.  Right? 

Come on you can put a mason jar out on a table and keep it filled on your counter.  It is just enough to last a few days so you will not have to make dressing daily.

Please use homemade dressings!  Make this or double it as it keeps perfectly well. 

STORE Bought dressings: Please look at the labels – you control nothing on salt, additives, cream and fat...etc

Please, it is so easy and SO MUCH less expensive to make your own!!!!! (Have a salad first before eating anything at dinner; it is the best diet helper) 

1/3 red wine vinegar (just shy ¼ cup)

2/3^rd olive oil (½ cup)

Squeeze of hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 small clove garlic minced (or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder)

Salt and pepper

TIPS:

·        Add any herb you like

 

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

FREEZING FRESH VEGETABLES FOR THE WINTER

FREEZING FRESH VEGETABLES FOR THE WINTER

Today I am going to do a “cooking” day.  Well actually, not a cooking day but a “freezing day”.  Vegetables are at their peak of ripeness and low in cost now!  What is better than the taste of fresh picked, ripened vegetables and fruit.  I am going to the farmers market to get an abundance of vegetables, prepare them to be frozen and “put them up” in my freezer for use on those bleak winter days when all vegetables are tasteless and bland.

Freezing food is a great way to preserve food if you do not want to can/jar them.

Make sure you have many FREEZER Zip Lock bags on hand and a marker.

1.      GREEN BEANS: Rinse well and trim off the ends.  Cut to desired length.

2.      CORN: Use the method below of blanching the full ear of corn and drain. Cut the kernels off the cob and continue with the below process.

3.      TOMATOES: Remove from the stem. Rinse well and place a small X with your knife at the base of each tomato.

4.      BROCCOLI: Rinse well and cut off the stem and then separate into nice florets.

5.      CAULIFLOWER: Rinse well and cut off the stem and then separate into nice florets.

Trim each end

Add to boiling water

Remove with a slotted spoon

Plunge into ice water bath. I use a colander in the bowl for easy removal

FOR ALL ABOVE VEGETABLES:

Choose your vegetables well and make sure they are as fresh and as ripe as possible.  Rinse them well.

Place vegetables into rapidly boiling water, cover the pot and boil them for 3 minutes. (The water can be re-used up to five times - but make sure it's brought back to a rolling boil. Add more water if you need)

Use a large slotted spoon to remove the vegetables from the boiling water and immediately plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. (This method is called BLANCHING) after a couple of minutes remove the vegetables and drain them well.

Place in Zip Lock bags and remove as much air as possible.  Label and stack bags flat on top of each other to save room.

BEETS:

Remove the beet greens from the root bulbs. Set them aside to prepare later.  They make a wonderful “HORTA” salad- I will blog how to make that later. Rinse the beets really well to remove any excess dirt and soil as they are a root vegetable.

Place the beets into the boiling water and cook until tender. (anywhere from 25 mins for a small beet to 50 mins for large beets).

Place in ice water and cool for 5 minutes.  Remove and slice, cut in chunks or leave whole. Place in zip Lock bags as above and freeze.

DILL:

Wash and dry the Dill. Trim off stems and place flat in baggy

Trim off larger stems

Place in baggy

TIPS:|

·        If you have a FoodSaver this is a great time to use it!

·        Berries will be “put up” differently and I will explain on another blog

·        When freezing un-blanched vegetables there will be a loss of flavor and toughening. Vegetables contain an active enzyme which causes this and nutrient loss during freezing. Blanching retards the enzyme activity.

·        Watery vegetables such as cucumbers, potatoes and celery turn soft upon freezing and they should be canned instead.  That is an entirely different method.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Poached Salmon with Dijon, Lime, Honey sauce

Poached Salmon with Dijon, Lime, Honey sauce

My sisters are coming to see our new home and for a bite of lunch and some good chat.  So as usual,I don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen cooking and want to serve a light, nice but easy meal. My one sister does not eat gluten and therefore all bread and pasta items are out.  We have done the tuna and chicken salad routine before, so I decided on a cold salmon dish, Deviled eggs, baked tomatoes topped with cheese and a bean and corn salad. 

A great make ahead luncheon/dinner and super nice  use to entertain

 Here is the salmon main dish I served.

Poached Salmon with Dijon, Lime, Honey sauce

1 pound Salmon fillets

1 cup seafood or chicken broth

1 cup white wine

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

SAUCE

1 cup sour cream

6 tablespoons Dijon mustard

4 teaspoons fresh lime juice 4 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon grated lime peel

Capers to dress

Bring the broth, wine and oil to a simmer and add fillets of salmon which have been salted and peppered. Cover and Simmer about 10 minutes until just cooked through.  Take out of the broth and plate and refrigerate.

Make sauce with all the ingredients mixed in a bowl.  Spread on the salmon and dress with the capers.  Serve cold. Great on a hot day or for a nice luncheon.

The sauce would be good on hot or cold fish .Try it on any light flavored fish.

TIPS

·        Instead of capers add thin slices of Basil

·        If you want to grill, broil or bake the fish omit the wine and broth and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.

MACAROONS

Lightly vrowned Macaroon

1 large egg white

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (14-ounce) bag shredded sweetened coconut, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 300 degree  Place a slik pad on a cooke sheet.

Whisk the egg white and salt until frothy and light, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the condensed milk, zest, and extracts. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the coconut until well combined.Scoop out a ball of dough and shape the mixture into 1 1/2-inch mounds.

Place the macaroons about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until lightly brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let them cool down.

TIPS:

• You could place a few semi sweet choclate chips inside the dough.
• Store in air tight container.
• I served them with lemon sherbet

 

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Kale and White Beans

Kale and white Beans

Warm bowl of Kale and White Beans

 4 cups washed and dried kale leaves shredded off the stem

2 cloves of garlic chopped finely

¼ cup onion chopped

2 cups white canned beans

¼ cup of the juice from the can of beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

Shred the leaves off the Kale stems and throw the stems away as they are tough and chewy.

Remove leaves from stems and throw stems away.

Warm the oil, garlic and onion and saute until tender about 4-5 minutes.  Add kale and saute about 10 minutes until cooked through.  Add the juice of the beans and cook another 4-5 minutes on medium /low.

TIPS:

·        You could add some bacon (for the non- vegetarians!)

·        Fresh Tomatoes would also be good.

·        This dish is good warm or cold and could be served with or on pasta of choice

·        This is a great base for a soup (just add broth and any other vegetables you might like)

GONE BANANAS!!!!!

GONE BANANAS!!!!!

Have you ever had a bunch of bananas just sit around too long and they begin to turn brown and you want something different to make other than a banana cake?  Well I came up with a topping for ice cream that is so good.

5 Bananas peeled and cut  (ones that are very Ripe).

¼ cup brown sugar

4 tablespoon butter

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

      

Melt the butter and add the sugar and cinnamon and cook on stove on medium heat until Ali blended.  Add the bananas and cook until they mush all together.  Serve on ice cream of choice!

Tips:

·        Add some nuts

·        Add coffee liqueur or a splash of strong coffee

·        Add Raisins

·        Top a croissant, angel food cake or pound cake

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Sirloin Steak with Garlic Butter and Mushroom topping

Sirloin Steak with Garlic Butter and Mushroom topping

Steak with mushroom topping and Home fries and green bean dinner

1 ¼ pd Sirloin Steak (boneless) about ¾ inch thick

1 tablespoon A1 sauce (or any steak sauce or Worcestershire sauce

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon minced dry garlic powder

Ground pepper to cover top liberally

A pinch or Greek oregano

TOPPING:

1-6 oz package of sliced mushrooms

3 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic diced small

Take the steak and smear with the steak sauce.  Sprinkle all the spices on top evenly and let sit to marinate a good hour.     

Preheat oven to broil (or toaster oven).

Make Topping by melting the butter in a saucepan and add the mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes or so. Add the garlic and sauté until all have cooked thru. (Another 4-5 minutes) on low. Keep warm when you cook the steak

Place a drip rack at the below the top rack. (Or tin foil on top of the rack that fits there). On top rack place steak and broil 4 minutes. Turn over and broil on the other side for 4 minutes.

Let steak rest for 3-5 minutes before cutting which will allow the juices to be kept inside and not ooze out! 

Slice and drizzle the topping on top and serve.

TIPS:

1       If you do not have steak sauce or Worcestershire Sauce you can use olive oil

2       Above cooking time is meant for medium rare and you can adjust your time for the preferred doneness you like.  If the steak is thicker then more time will be required. (I prefer a thicker steak then the ¾ inch this one is)

3       This is much more steak and sauce needed for two and is prefect for four. Tomorrow I will blog my leftover suggestions for a steak, mushroom and egg breakfast wrap or Frittata.

4       Serve with a salad and Steak Fries: They are easy to do.  (You can add a dusting of Parmesan cheese just when finished being cooked)

a.      Wash your potatoes (best big baking ones but I had small ones). Cut in BIG finger size fries.  Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Bake at 400 degrees until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  It will depend on the size of the fries for how long. (average 35 minutes) Toss half way through.

`As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!