Cheesy Orzo

Orzo is a huge hit in our house.  It's pasta but it's kinda like rice, so it's best of both worlds.  Plus, you can add whatever you want to it!  I usually add spinach at the very end of cooking so it just wilts.  I love this recipe cuz it's like a sophisticated version of macaroni and cheese.

Thanks to Rachael Ray for the recipe!  I know there are lots of RR haters out there, but this recipe is solid.

Cheesy Orzo

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cans (14 ounces) chicken or vegetable broth or stock
• 2 cups orzo pasta (enriched rice may be substituted)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat a 8 inch pot with a tight fitting cover over moderate heat. Add oil, onion and garlic and saute for 2 or 3 minutes. Add broth to the pan and bring to a boil. Stir in orzo and return broth to a boil. Cover pot and reduce heat to simmer. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until liquid is absorbed and pasta tender. Remove lid and stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. You favorite fresh herbs may also be stirred into the orzo or rice to strengthen the flavor even more.

Banana Bread

My dad hated buying bananas because more often than not we'd let them sit around until they were too mushy to eat and then we'd throw them out.  I think he still hates buying bananas to this day. 

Luckily I now know that mushy bananas can be transformed into banana bread!  You have to make sure the bananas are ripe.  We're talking LOTS of brown spots cuz that means the starches have turned to sugars. 

Random story- we went to Hawaii in high school for a school trip and we went to this "secret island" somewhere.  After playing in the sun and surf I remember eating multiple pieces of banana bread at a little snack stand nearby.  Mmmm...

Usually I'd add chocolate chips but I decided to try the recipe as written.  I appreciated the simplicity.  Thanks to Elise from Simply Recipes for posting it!

Banana Bread

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Method

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.
Yield: Makes one loaf.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I brought cookies to work on Tuesday as a "Thanks-for-helping-me-during-orientation-please-don't-abandon-me-now-that-I'm-on-my-own" offering and I think it worked!  To be fair, my co-workers are fantastic and are always there when I need them (and sometimes even before I realize I need them) but I'm pretty sure the cookies helped seal the deal.

I've been trying to use up the ingredients I have in my pantry so I split the batch.  The first half had dried cranberries and white chocolate, and the other had chocolate chips.  Both were pretty well received.  I also omitted the walnuts because nut allergies make me nervous.  Thanks, Allrecipes!  2050 people can't be wrong, right?

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Flounder in Lemon and Wine Sauce

I know what you're thinking: why would you eat flounder?  That fish in The Little Mermaid is so cute.

My answer: That character is NOT a flounder.  That's just his name!  He's actually an Atlantic tang blue surgeonfish.

And now you're thinking that I'm crazy because I needed to look that up after consuming flounder to clear my conscience.  Except now I think it's one of those fish that's not sustainable or something.  *SIGH*

Regardless, this recipe is tasty.  And you don't have to use flounder.  I usually don't use recipes on display at the grocery store but this one looked legit.  It tastes kind of fancy and not too citrus-y.

 Flounder in Lemon and Wine Sauce

• 1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
• 4 (6 ounce) flounder fillets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 2 stalks green onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Prep Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 15 mins

1.  Mix bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.
2.  Dredge fish fillets in the crumbs mixture, shake off any excess.
3. Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet large enough to accommodate 4 fillets in single layer.
4. Add the flounder fillets to the skillet and saute them until done, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
5. Transfer the fish to a large serving plate, cover to keep warm.
6. Add wine, garlic, lemon juice and orange juice to the pan, stir to mix for about 1 minute or until the sauce is thicken.
7. Add green onion and butter and quickly remove from heat.
8. Pour sauce over fish, garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately with steamed rice and your favorite steamed vegetable.

Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is awesome.  It has a high taste to effort ratio- wait, is that right?  Basically, it takes very little effort for a crowd-pleaser.  My favorite bbq sauce is Sweet Baby Ray's but you can use any kind.

I don't remember where I found the original recipe but this is a link to a similar one: BBQ Pulled Pork

The following is my recipe, as shared with friends.  Enjoy!

Pulled Pork
Ingredients:

Salt

Pepper

Pork shoulder/Boston butt or "rib ends" (approx 7-8 lbs, bone-in or bone removed, whatever fits in your slow cooker).  It should be a sizeable piece of meat

1 can/bottle of beer (any brand is fine)

Bottle of BBQ sauce (any brand is fine)

Directions:

1. Clean the meat, cut off any excess fat

2. Season with salt and pepper (not a lot)

3. Place it in the slow cooker

4. Pour the can/bottle of beer over the meat- just make sure it doesn't overflow the slow cooker, the meat should not be totally submerged

5. Cook on low for 7-8 hours

6. The last half hour check the pork- it should be able to shred/pull with just a fork.  When it does, ladle out most of the beer/pork juice.  Add bbq sauce to the pork in the slow cooker, mix, and let it sit for the last 30 minutes.

7. Eat the pulled pork, serve with buns and extra bbq sauce

Note: If the pork doesn't shred near the end, rotate the meat a little (the bottom is probably cooked enough) and put the slow cooker on high for half an hour/hour. 

Mapo Tofu

I've had several versions of this and I think very few have disappointed me.   This recipe was pretty easy and was a good base for variation.  Thanks to No Recipes for printing a recipe!  (that seems pretty contradictory, but you'll like the site anyway)

Mapo Tofu

1 Tbs dark miso
2 Tbs Mirin or other sweet cooking wine
1 Tbs oyster sauce
2 tsp asian chili sauce (Tobanjan, Gochujang, Sriracha, etc)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp corn starch
1/4 cup water
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 Tbs ginger minced

1/2 lbs. ground meat (I use pork but you can use turkey, beef, or veggies like eggplant)
14oz package silken tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 scallions sliced thin

Mix the first group of ingredients in a bowl to make the sauce. Adjust seasonings as you see fit.
Put a splash of oil in a hot saute pan and fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant.
Add the ground meat and break it up with a wooden spoon. When the meat is cooked, drain off any excess oil and add the sauce mixture.
Stir to combine, then add the tofu. If the sauce seems thick (or non-existent), add some water and cook until the tofu is heated through. If you’re using silken tofu, be careful not to mash up the tofu too much.
Stir in the scallions just before taking it off the heat and serve with white rice.

I make different versions of this sauce depending on what’s in the fridge and as always I encourage you to experiment with what you have. Some things I’ve tried include Szechwan pepper, chinese 5 spice powder, hoisin sauce, dengjang with varying amounts of chili sauce (I like it spicy). For vegetarians, you can leave out the meat, or include veggies like red bell peppers, onions, or eggplant.

Eggplant Parmigiana

I saw baby eggplants at Stew Leonard's and decided right there and then that we'd have eggplant parm this week.  There are lots of recipes with various methods and ingredients, but this one stood out.  I didn't have to salt the eggplants before, I got to use my indoor grill plate, and it was baked instead of fried.  Winner!

If I only learned one thing today this would be it: Don't use olive oil for indoor grilling.  The smoke point is pretty low and it set off the smoke alarms.  At least I know they work!

I served this with linguine and grilled asparagus (the actual culprit of the smokiness).  Thanks to No Special Effects for posting this recipe!

Eggplant Parmigiana

• one large, fat eggplant
• olive oil
• a handful (100g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup marinara sauce
• a few sprigs of fresh oregano, leaves chopped
• a handful of dried breadcrumbs

Preheat a grill on high until very hot (can't bear to keep your hand hovering over it for 10 seconds). Remove the stem from the eggplant and slice into 1/2-inch thick slices. Brush each slice on both sides very lightly (I stretched just a teaspoon of olive oil for the whole eggplant) with olive oil. Grill the slices until lightly charred, about a minute or so for each side. Set them aside on a tray.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). In a small ovenproof dish, spread a thin layer of marinara, followed by a thin sprinkling of Parmesan, then one layer of eggplant slices. Repeat building these layers (I was able to make 3 layers), then finish with a little marinara and a good sprinkle of Parmesan. In a small bowl, toss together the breadcrumbs, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and the chopped oregano until combined and sprinkle over the top of the dish. Bake for 30 minutes until golden and crispy on top.