Recipes

Gyoza

Ground Pork……………..1 pound

Water…………..1/2 cup

Extra virgin olive oil………..1/4 cup

Soy Sauce……..1/2 cup

Salt……………….1/4 teaspoon

Pepper………….dash

Chopped cabbage……….1 cup

Chopped Onion……………1/2 cup

Gyoza Wraps… 100

            Mix all of the following in a bowl (except for the Gyoza Wraps) in the following order. Meat, water (mix well), oil (mix well), soy sauce (mix well), salt & pepper (mix well), chopped cabbage & chopped onion (mix well).  Then put 1/2 tsp of the contents in the Gyoza wrap. Moisten the edges, fold over and seal; crimp.  Then put all of the Gyoza in the frying pan and cook until both sides are a light brown. Pour in 1/2 c. water and steam for 6-8 min.

Sauce: equal parts soy sauce, rice vinegar and a drop or two of red hot chili oil.

Serve with steamed rice.

Katsudon カツ丼

NOT my photo---Photo can be found HERE

Today I want to introduce you to Katsudon, a Japanese dish! Katsudon is basically a great meal for left over chicken or pork katsu from a previous day. Usually the crunch of the katsu is gone the next day--and so this is a nice little alternative with leftovers. You also can just used cooked chicken--in which case it is called Oyakodon 親子丼 which means parent-child bowl. (Get it? chicken and egg?)

Anyway here are some step by step directions on making a quick katsudon or oyakodon.

What you need: 

-Carrots

-Ginger

-Garlic

-Egg

-Soy Sauce

-Sugar

-Water

-Rice (short grain-calrose)

mince carrots, onions, and garlic

Saute garlic, onions and carrots in a pan with some oil.

(you don't have to do this) Cut the Katsu into slices--I did this since they were cold and I wanted them to cook through.

Ginger is also optional--but it keeps us from getting sick so I grated some into the veggies.
*TIP* FREEZE your ginger--it lasts WAY longer and you don't have to peel it--you just grate it into anything! so easy!

First, mix Soy Sauce, Sugar and Water (I just do it to taste... but no more than a couple Tbsp of soy sauce) and add it to the veggies. After it simmers for a bit--also add katsu (or chicken).

Mix 2-3 eggs (depending on how much meat and other stuff you have)

Pour eggs over everything in pan. If it looks like this, then you need more egg (I put wayy too much soy sauce/water mixture) 

It should look more like this. Cover and let the egg cook.

Take lid off when egg looks cooked like so.

Serve up some rice from the rice cooker/pot

Place on top of rice and enjoy!!

Pretty simple right? and So yummy. the juices from the egg get onto your rice and it makes it really yummy to eat. I normally haven't put garlic in but I thought it tasted great with the garlic. Mmm!

Enjoy!

Sorry again for the lack of measurements--I honestly don't measure (hence the mistake of too much sauce mixture) but most of this is pretty easy to eye. Comment below with any questions you have!

Itadakimasu!

By Erica Brinley

LETTUCE WRAPS

3 TBL soy sauce (Kikoman)

1 TBL peeled, grated fresh ginger

1 tsp sugar

1 garlic clove, crushed with press

1 pound chicken breast chopped into tiny pieces

2 stalks celery

1/2 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts

Cooked rice

Lettuce leaves

In a cup, combine first four ingredients; set aside.

Cook chicken in hot skillet until no longer pink.

Add celery to chicken and cook 2 minutes.  Add water chestnuts and soy mixture.  Cook 1 minute to blend flavors.  Stir in pine nuts.

To serve, spoon rice then chicken mixture into lettuce leaf taco style.  Fold over and eat out of hand.

GERMAN PANCAKES

Here you go:

Turn on oven to 400 degrees.  Cut up a 1/2 cube of butter into pieces and put it in a 9x13 casserole dish.  (The recipe I have calls for 3/4 cube but seriously, I want to slow down artery clogging as much as possible and it still tastes great.

Put butter in the oven to melt while the oven heats up and you mix the ingredients.  Be sure to check on it so it doesn’t burn.

In a bowl, beat six eggs.

Add 1 c. flour gradually and mix ‘til smooth.

Add 1 c. milk and beat together ‘til kind of frothy.

Add 1/2 tsp. salt.

Take out melted butter from oven and pour mixture into the butter. 

Return to oven quickly and set the timer for 20 minutes.

It will puff up like nobody’s business.

After twenty minutes, take it out and serve with syrup, powdered sugar, strawberries, whatever.

Sweet Asian Chicken Salad

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 head purple cabbage, sliced
1 head romaine, chopped (or mixed salad greens)
1/2 package crispy wontons, fried in canola oil (optional)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
Goat cheese or feta cheese (optional)
1 can mandarin oranges, drained (optional)

Dressing:
1/2 cup sweet red chili jelly (homemade or store bought)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. soy sauce
1-2 Tbls. sugar (if needed)

Grill the chicken breasts (or saute) until golden brown and cooked through. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Cut cooked chicken into cubes and set aside. Remove the wonton skins from the wrapper and cut into 1/2 inch thin strips. Heat a saute pan with a thin layer of canola oil. When the oil is hot, place a few wonton skins into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Turn the wonton's over with tongs and cook on the other side for a few seconds. Remove the wonton skins from the pan and let dry on a paper towel until ready to serve on the salad. Prepare the vegetables by cutting the lettuce, cabbage, peppers and onion. Place all of these ingredients into a salad bowl. Top with the cooked chicken (and cheese-optional), sesame seeds and cooked wontons. For the dressing, place all of the items into a mixing bowl (or blender) and whisk/blend together until smooth. Serve dressing over the salad when ready to serve.

- See more at: http://www.dealstomealsblog.com/2015/07/sweet-asian-chicken-salad.html#more

Main disheshttp://looslifamily.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes%20-%20main%20dishes

Sourdough Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup salted butter

1 cup white cane sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

3 large egg yolks

1 cup flat and runny sourdough starter discard

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

12 oz. chocolate chips for cookie dough, plus another 4 oz. to press into the tops of the cookie

Course salt for sprinkling on the tops of the cookies.

Brown the butter and let cool. Prepare one cup of sourdough discard (flat without bubbles). Combine the browned butter with both sugars.  Add egg yolk and beat with electric mixer. Add the sourdough discard and beat until just barely combined.  Add salt, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla. Mix until combined.  Add the flour and mix by hand until just barely combined. Do not over mix.  Add the chocolate chips. Cover the dough and refrigerate at least 4 hours.  Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. Remove the dough from the fridge and scoop in to smooth 1/4 cup balls. Top the dough balls with a few more chocolate chips.
2. Bake the dough balls for 13-14 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown. 
3. Remove from oven, and place {even more} chocolate chips on the top of each cookie…. just to make it look pretty. Then sprinkle the cookies with some course sea salt flakes. 
4. Let cookies cool on a cooling rack. Serve immediately, and freeze any leftovers! 
5. ENJOY! 

Levain Bakery Copycat Cookie Recipe

• 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (I used King Arthur Unbleached AP Flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
• ¾ cup + 4 teaspoons (6 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, cold, lightly beaten in a separate bowl
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate baking chips)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Line a large baking sheet with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until it comes together in one lump, about 1 minute. Add in the sugars and beat for another 1-2 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves into the butter. Lower the speed to medium-low, and mix in the eggs and vanilla and beat until mixed (the batter will be lumpy). Gradually add in the flour mixture, beating until a little flour remains. Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
4. Divide the dough into 12 even pieces. Shape the dough roughly into a ball, but do not roll it. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but up to 12 hours before baking.
5. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake cookies for 15-20 minutes, until light golden brown. When in doubt, take your cookies out early. The cookies will continue to cook as they cool. There's nothing that ruins them more than being overcooked. I can't stress this enough! Cool on a wire rack, then serve!
6. NOTES
   This recipe works best if:
   -You under cook the cookie. It keeps baking as it cools, so be sure to take it out of the oven early.
   -Use large chocolate chips. They create those beautiful melted chocolate puddles inside y

Versatile Marinara

This marinara can be used for multiple meals.  Use it as a pasta sauce, with lasagna, meatball sandwiches and as a dipping sauce for calzones or zucchini fries.

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion diced

2-3 cloves garlic minced or pressed

3-4 tablespoons Italian seasoning

2 cans diced tomatoes (or 1 can diced and 3-4 chopped fresh)

1 can tomato paste

2 teaspoons sugar

2-3 teaspoons salt (I usually add 2 1/2 and then add more if needed)

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Water to thin and make perfect

Add oil to 12" skillet or pot, add diced onion and cook until translucent.  Turn down heat and add garlic. Next add Italian seasoning.  Warming it in the olive oil will wake up the flavors.  Add 2 cans of tomatoes. I like the Italian stewed for this recipe.  Mix it up and see what you like.  If you want to substitute fresh tomatoes, I have found about 3 tomatoes are equal to 1 can.  Add tomato paste not sauce. Stir this together, sauce will be thick. Add sugar, salt and pepper.  Now thin with water to the consistency you prefer for your recipe.  Start slow and add, don't go crazy all at once.  I will often use the small can of tomato paste to add my water.  A little more for sauce over pasta and a little less for lasagna or meatball sandwiches.  It will need to simmer for 1 hour on a very low heat if you are using it for a pasta sauce.  If you want lasagna or meatball sandwiches it will have time to simmer as the lasagna cooks or with the meatballs in the crock pot.

Bruschetta

8 roma tomatoes

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 loaf of French bread, toasted or sliced

In a bowl, toss together the tomatoes, basil, Parmesan cheese, and garlic.  Mix in the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper.  Serve on toasted bread slices.

Thai Noodle Salad

10 ounces spaghetti noodles, cooked & cooled

1/4 cup rice vinegar or red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons lime juice

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained & rinsed

3/4 cup shredded carrots

2 green onions, finely diced

1 cup bell pepper, diced

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Place noodles in large bowl.  In small bowl, combine vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, red chili flakes, and sesame oil.  Stir to combine and dissolve sugar.  Pour over noodles.  Add chickpeas, carrots, green onions, bell pepper, and peas.  Stir to coat veggies with dressing.  Add peanuts and cilantro just before serving.  Toss to mix.

Yield: 4 servings