Chili Lime Ramen

I love ramen noodles. 

It is probably due in part to my brokeass college days and how you could by 13 for a fucking dollar back at the local Stop and Shop. I lived on ramen, Mr. Pepper (Dr., to you regular folks) and Marlboro lights. But now that I am older and trying to live healthier, I have ditched the soda and the smokes. 

But I still love me some oodles of noodles. 

The problem is, is all the junk that is in regular ramen. And all that damn salt. It makes me thirsty for weeks. So I decided to turn this cheap eats into something a bit more like real food. And I wanted a flavor that I have never seen on the shelf.

This chili lime ramen would have a big "HOT AND SPICY!" label on the package and that's just the way I like it. I added a *heavy* amount of chili flakes, but you can turn it way down to give a sweet, yet spicy, tangy, yet salty flavor. 

The sauce made enough for two packages of noodles, so you can either half the recipe or save the rest of the sauce for ramen the next day.

Ramen Noodles with Sweet Chili Lime Sauce
Ingredients: 
1 package ramen noodles
3 tablespoons sugar (I used Splenda, since I have the 'betes)
3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 3/4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 zest of lime
1/2 teaspoons red chili flakes
1 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoons salt



Directions:
~Discard flavor packet from ramen noodles. Cook according to package. Drain.


~Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl, whisking to combine. Pour half the sauce over noodles. Eat.


recipe adapted from: here

Pumpkin Lasagna and CSA Potluck

Way back in September our CSA farm hosted a potluck for all the members of the CSA.  We got pumpkin that week and I was burned out of sweet pumpkin dishes.  I decided I would make a pumpkin lasagna with chard and walnuts. Because I had to corral The Good Daughter, I was practically last in line for the food and when I got to my dish, it was all gone. So I take it, it was well received and I hadn't fucked it up.

I made a smaller batch later that week for dinner and it was amazing!  I added some sage sausage in our version and it was so hearty that even The Good Husband had a bite. I am so happy to have a savory pumpkin dish.

The Good Daughter is in love with chickens. They are able to get out of the fence and walk around the property. The first time a chicken jumped out of there, she gasped and looked at me in horror, like she knew that chicken was going to get in trouble.

fields

cows

our party

the chicken coop

  more fields

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 pounds Swiss chard, tough stems removed, leaves washed well and chopped
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/2 cup walnut halves
3 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan
1/2 cup milk
9 no-boil lasagne noodles (about 6 ounces)
1 tablespoon butter 

Directions:

~In a large nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to moderately high and add the chard, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 tablespoon sage, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Cook, stirring, until the chard is wilted and no liquid remains in the pan, 5 to 10 minutes.

~Heat the oven to 400°. In a medium bowl, mix together 2 cups of the pumpkin, 3/4 cup cream, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and the remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 tablespoon sage, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. 

~Pour the milk into an 8-by-12-inch baking dish. Top the milk with one third of the noodles, then spread half the pumpkin mixture over the noodles. Layer half the Swiss chard over the pumpkin and top with half the walnuts and top with a second layer of noodles. Repeat with another layer of pumpkin, Swiss chard, walnuts and noodles. Combine the remaining 1 cup of pumpkin and 3/4 cup of cream. Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the lasagne, sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of Parmesan, and dot with the butter. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, about 15 minutes more.

Alternative version:
~Brown one pound of sage sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain and allow to cool. Add in with the Swiss chard layer. Bake as normal.

recipe modified from: Food and Wine

Peas, pasta and tuna

The Good Baby has moved beyond the world of pureed food. At first we would give her a little bite of our food here and there of easy things to eat, like rice and still give her some pureed food. Now she has hit the stage where she wants to feed herself and wants nothing to do with purees. So I am making a lot of frozen veggies for her and rice and pastas.

I try to make dinners as simple as possible, cooking for TGB whatever I would cook for us so I don't have to make two separate meals each night. This is a simple dish I made for lunch today.


Ingredients:
1 box of organic white cheddar cheese and noodles
1/2 bag organic frozen peas
2 pouches of light white tuna in water, drained

Directions:
~Cook noodles and cheese according to package directions. When finished add peas and the drained tuna. Heat on low until the peas are warmed through. Serve warm.

Sprial Soup Mix

Ingredients:
2 TB dried basil
1 tsp celery flakes
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup dried onions
4 chicken bouillon cubes, crushed
1 box tri-color spirals

Directions:
~Sort the pasta by color. Layer the ingredients in the jar, starting with the spices.

To make the soup:
1 jar soup mix
2 cups crushed or diced tomatoes
8 cups of water

~Bring water and tomatoes to a boil in a large soup pot. Add the soup mix and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes, or until pasta is tender.

For my 100th post...Pasta Salad

Wow! I can't believe that I am at 100 posts already. If life hadn't gotten in the way, I'm sure I would have 200 by now. But I will celebrate this small milestone with a festive and colorful dish.

To me nothing say summer like pasta salad. It is at every family get together and BBQ. I can't wait for summer this year, since The Good Baby will be making her appearance then and I think my summer social calendar might be booked this year. So, I wanted a taste of summer now. I also had a huge craving for salami and lunch meat and took a pregnancy gamble.

This dish is pretty easy to make, just like most of my other dishes. The most labor intensive part is all the chopping and the cooling of the pasta. But it came together in less than 20 minutes. It took me less time to eat it all.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole wheat pasta, any shape
4 oz hard salami, chopped
1.5 oz pepperoni, chopped (1.5 oz sounds like a strange amount, but it is half a package)
1 can of jumbo black olives, chopped
4 oz fresh mozzarella, diced
4-6 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, chopped (I forgot to add this)
1 large handful of basil, chopped
1 recipe The Good Wife Italian Dressing Mix
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine vinegar

Directions:
~Boil the pasta in salted water for 10-12 minutes. Drain and cool, rinsing with cool water.

~Combine the Good Wife Italian Dressing Mix with the oil, lemon juice and vinegar in a jar and shake to combine.

~Combine all the remaining ingredients with the pasts in a large bowl. Toss to coat.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Baked Pasta

I think I might be coming down with something. I think it might be the lazy flu. You know, the one where all you want to do is lay on the couch in your pajamas while watching all the Love shows on VH1? Yeah, I think I have it. Be cautious that you don't get it either.

With my sudden illness in mind, this is the kind of lazy dish I make. I didn't even have to get out of my pjs but since The Good Husband still needed to be fed, he got this: The Lazy Man (or Good Wife) Pasta.

Ingredients:
1 box shaped pasta, any shape will do but I used Penne Regatta
1 lb of ground meat, any kind will do but I used turkey sausage
1 jar of pasta sauce, any kind will do
1 onion, chopped, any kind will do but I used a white onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 cups of shredded cheese, any kind will do but I used an Italian blend
1 tablespoon of an herb, any kind will do but I used Italian Seasoning

Directions:
~Cook pasta according to box, drain.

~While the pasta cooks, brown meat in a large skillet over medium high heat. When the meat is almost cooked through, add the onion and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the onion and garlic are tender. Turn the heat to high, add the pasta sauce and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered until the pasta is cooked.

~Combine the drained pasta with the meat and sauce mixture and one cup of cheese and pour into a baking dish, any kind will do. Top with the remaining cheese and cover with foil.

~Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is browned and the dish is warmed through, or until there is a commercial break from Rock of Love Charm School.

~Serve warm and eat in your pjs, on the couch, watching Brandi C cry for the thousandth time.

Ingredient of the Week . . . Bread

Since I had two loaves of freshly made white bread, I decided to make two dishes that utilized all this bread I had. The first dish I decided to make was Chicken Parmesan.

I normally do a modified version of this for dinner, dredging the chicken in flour, eggs and milk and then breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese, fried to a golden brown. But that's it. I stop at the yummy breading and leave the sauce and extra cheese off. But I decided to do the full recipe this week since we haven't had any pasta in a while.

This dish relies on the bread crumb mixture as much as the Parmesan cheese. To make the homemade bread crumbs, I cubed one loaf of the white sandwich bread I made earlier in the week. I allowed the bread to sit, overnight, on a cookie sheet uncovered. This allowed the bread to get nice and stale. Then I allowed the bread to dry more by toasting it in the oven for 15 minutes on 300 degrees. I then placed the cubes in a plastic bag and whacked at it until it was nice and fine. I then added a handful of parsley, some oregano and basil and voila, I had homemade Italian breadcrumbs.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons canola or extra virgin olive oil
8 oz dried spaghetti
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:
~To bread the chicken, form an assembly line of three large, shallow bowls. In the first bowl add the flour. In the second bowl combine the egg and milk and beat until combined. In the third bowl, add the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese and mix until combined.

~Add one chicken breast to the flour, turning to coat and then shaking off any excess flour. Next, dip the flour in the egg wash and allow any extra to fall back into the bowl. Finally add the chicken to the breadcrumbs and turn to coat evenly, pressing the breadcrumbs into the chicken.

~In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the oil and the chicken and allow the chicken to brown, about 4 minutes on each side. When the chicken has browned, removed from the skillet and place on a baking sheet. Transfer the chicken to a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

~Top the chicken with the mozzarella cheese and bake for 5 minutes more.

~Meanwhile cook the spaghetti according to the directions. Drain and add back into the pot. Add the pasta sauce and toss to combine.

~To serve, plate a large spoonful of spaghetti and then top with the chicken breast. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese.

recipe by: The Good Wife

The second dish I made this week is stuffing. Stuffing is one of my all time favorite dishes at Thanksgiving. I like my stuffing baked in the oven so that the top is nice and crunchy. I hate soggy, goopy stuffing. I served this with a nice thick pork chop and peas.

Ingredients:
1 loaf white bread, cubed, see above
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried sage, rubbed between fingers
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 large egg

Directions:
~Spread bread cubes in a single layer on a cookie sheet and let dry overnight. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Bake bread until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

~Saute onion and celery in butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. In a large bowl, mix bread, vegetables and remaining ingredients.

~Add mixture to a greased 3-quart baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove foil; bake 15 minutes more.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Beef and Noodles

This recipe I stumbled upon by accident. It was supposed to be Boeuf Bourguignon, but I couldn't find pearl onions and The Good Husband is not a fan of cooking with wine. So after a few modifications I came up with what I call beef and noodles. My two main beefs (yes, I meant that) with the original (excluding the wine) were - the sauce was too runny and there was way too much fat in the recipe, by way of butter or oil or both. I think I cut out nearly most of the butter. So I thickened up the sauce and got rid of some of the fat. In the end, this is a pretty good recipe and easy to make. TGH is now a fan.

Ingredients:
3 slices bacon, chopped
16 white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup white onion, chopped
2 pounds lean sirloin, 1-inch thick, trimmed and cubed into 1 inch pieces
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups beef stock
3 sprigs each sage and fresh thyme, chopped

Herbed, Buttered Noodles:
12 ounces wide egg noodles, cooked to package directions
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
12 blades fresh chives, finely chopped

Directions:
~Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.

~Add bacon to the pan and brown. Remove crisp bacon bits with slotted spoon. Add mushrooms to the pan and turn to coat evenly with bacon drippings (you might have to add up to 2 tablespoons of oil to coat the mushrooms). Season with salt and pepper. Saute mushrooms 2 to 3 minutes and add onions to the pan. Continue cooking onions and mushrooms 2 to 3 minutes longer, then transfer to a plate and return pan to the heat.

~While the mushrooms and onions cook, coat the beef cubes in flour. Add meat to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, turning the meat once.

~Add one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of flour to the pot. Allow the butter to melt and the flour to cook, turning the meat in the butter and flour. Add the stock and fresh sage and thyme, making sure to scrape all the browned bits off the bottom the of pot. When the liquid boils, reduce heat to medium and cook covered 5 minutes. Remove lid and add mushrooms, onions and bacon back to the pot. Simmer with the cover off until sauce thickens.

~Toss hot egg noodles with butter and herbs. Place a bed of noodles in a shallow bowl and pour beef burgundy over the noodles and serve.

recipe modified from: Rachel Ray

Lasagna

One of The Good Husbands favorite is lasagna. I will admit that I love the flavors so much that the effort is well worth it. Besides, lasagna will usually provide for enough left-overs for the entire week.
Lasagna

Ingredients:
16 ounces bulk Italian pork sausage
16 ounces ground beef, I use ground chuck
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 5 ounce can tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed or
1 tablespoon each dried basil and dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 lasagna noodles, cook, drained and cooled
2 eggs, beaten
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
16 ounces shredded Italian cheese blend

Directions:
~ For sauce, in a large saucepan cook sausage and beef until brown. Drain. Add the meat back to the pan and cook the onion and garlic.

~ Added crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning (or basil and oregano) and black pepper into meat mixture. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

~While the sauce simmers, cook noodles until al dente, or about 10-12 minutes. Drain noodles, rinse with cold water and set aside.

~For filling, combine eggs, ricotta and the 1 cup Parmesan cheese. Set aside. (I also add a sprinkling of dried basil and oregano to the ricotta mixture)

~Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Layer 3 of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the dish. Spread with one fourth of the filling. Top with one fourth of the remaining meat sauce and one fourth of the Italian cheese. Repeat layers, ending with a topping of Italian cheese.

~ Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 40 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.


Garlic Bread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 recipe roasted garlic
1/2 cup dried parsley
1 loaf French bread
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:
~ Combine the roasted garlic, butter and parsley. Mix until combined.

~Cut the French bread in half, lengthwise. Drizzled the top with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and spread the garlic butter mixture on top.

~Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until warm and browned. Cut into slices and serve warm.

Roasted Garlic
~Peel away dry outer skin from one large garlic head, leaving the skins of the individual garlic cloves intact. Cut off the top portion of the head, leaving the bulb intact but exposing the individual cloves. Place garlic head, cut side up, on a large square of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Allow the oil to seep into the head of garlic, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt. Wrap the garlic tightly with foil and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 60 minutes or until cloves feel very soft when pressed. Cool. Press to remove garlic paste from individual cloves.

recipe from The Good Wife