Beyond the Freezer Aisle

Spinach Avacado Sandwich

2011-08-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered spinach and have been adding it to everything. I think it tastes so much better than other lettuces and I don't know why I didn't use it before. I also recently discovered the sandwich slims which I had for a long time avoided because I thought they looked like they would be hard and taste bad, but they are actually great. So I have making sandwiches with my slims and my spinach for many meals lately, with variations for breakfast and lunch. I just had one for dinner, which I have the picture of below.

I always toast my bread, so I toast the slims as well. I get the whole wheat ones.
Spread cream cheese on one side.
Add sliced avacado.
Add spinach.
Add cheese (I used mozzarella)
For breakfast I also add a fried egg with the cheese melted.

Plum Bread

2011-07-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

I bought a bunch of plums when they were on sale at Trader Joe's and I was afraid they were on the verge of going bad and having to be thrown out so I looked up plumb recipes. I found this one that got good reviews and gave it a shot. It was really easy and it's cooking now. The only thing I changed from the recipe is that I used real butter instead of margarine. Also, and this may be because I don't have the greatest oven in the world, it took a lot longer to cook than the recipe said. I might try a slightly higher temp next time. I will post a pic once it's done!

Plum Bread Recipe

Healthy Dessert

2011-07-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

So this isn't exactly dessert, but it's pretty tasty and good to remember when I want ice cream but am trying to be healthy. Especially right now since berries are in season. It's not actually a recipe, just blueberries and Fage Greek Yogurt (I like 2%, but whatever you like) with a packet of Splenda mixed in. :)

Aioli Garlic Mustand Salmon with Couscous

2011-07-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I posted last! No excuses, I just have been lazy and went through a "cereal for dinner" phase that lasted too long! But now I'm back on the bandwagon and cooking again. My first return to cooking was baked salmon with couscous. It turned out great!

The Salmon:

Pacific salmon from Trader Joe's (ALWAYS BUY PACIFIC WILD SALMON!!)
Coated Aioli Garlic Mustard from TJ's (there's a TJ theme to this meal) on the salmon and then added salt and pepper, wrapped the salmon with saran wrap and put it back in the fridge for about an hour
Bake salmon at 400 degrees for 11 minutes

The Couscous:

Put two cups of couscous in my rice cooker
Added a little over two cups of water
Added a cap full of extra virgin olive oil
Added a dash of salt
Got this South African spice blend at TJs that they were featuring and added that in, mixed and cooked in the rice cooker as if I were making rice

Turned out to be a great meal, thanks Trader Joe's (you never let me down!)

Spicy Hot Chocolate

2011-01-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

I bought some powdered hot chocolate at Trader Joe's which is nice when I want dessert, but since I ran out of whipped cream, marshmallows and milk it's a little boring. So I decided to add some spices to it to make it a little more exciting. Turned out pretty good for instant powder and water!

Two teaspoons of hot chocolate powder.
One tablespoon of cinnamon.
One teaspoon of cardamon.
A dash of chili powder.
Add hot water.
I also threw some chocolate chips in there. :)

Amish White Bread

2011-01-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to make my own bread recently as I mentioned. My first couple tries at normal white bread didn't turn out great (I think now because I did not realize you must let them rise a second time). But then my mom sent me this recipe for Amish White Bread and it turned out great. I made a loaf of bread, then froze the second half. Today I defrosted the frozen loaf and split it - I'm letting half rise over night to bake tomorrow and I made dinner rolls with the other half. The rolls were really good. I baked them for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Here is the recipe for the Amish bread, I used it exactly except I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil because olive oil is all I use. I've been having it toasted with butter and honey, and it's really good!

Amish White Bread

Honey Baked Lentils

2011-01-10T18:32:00.000-08:00

I decided to try out baking lentils this time, since so far I have just been boiling them. It turned out great, and I will definitely be making them this way again. I vaguely used some recipies, but also just threw in whatever I had in the freezer/cabinets.

In a baking pan combine:

Lentils
Goat cheese (or you can leave out the cheese if you want it to be vegan)
Diced tomatoes
Diced onions
Minced garlic

Add honey, soy sauce, and thyme to taste.
Mix together with 1 cup of water.
Bake in over at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Flatbread

2011-01-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

Once I realized that all store-bought bread has an ingredient list longer than I like to imagine, I've been making my own bread. Last night I decided to try flat bread. It turned out very well and it's really easy.

I didn't invent this recipe, I followed it exactly from where I found it. The only thing I changed is that I added 1 tsp of sugar instead of 1/2.
Homemade Flat Bread

Curried Lentils Scramble

2011-01-01T08:46:00.000-08:00

I was looking in my freezer and seeing what I could make with the things I needed to use up, when the idea hit me that maybe the leftover curried lentils (this was just lentils I cooked with some garlic and a packaged Masala sauce) could be scrambled with eggs to make a sort of "huevos rancharos." It turned out even better than I expected and I'm going to use the other half of the avocado to make the same thing for lunch today.

Mix two eggs in a cup with salt and pepper to taste.
Heat frying pan with olive oil over medium heat.
Add eggs and let them cover the pan until they start to firm up.
Add shredded cheese (I used cheddar) and curried lentils.
Right before eggs are done, add in sliced avocado.
Top with cottage cheese (sour cream would probably be even better, but I didn't have any).

Baked Fingerling Potatoes with Aji Amarillo Sauce

2010-12-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

When I was in Peru I loved this sauce that they had there and put on everything. For the past 8 years I have searched for this sauce unsuccessfully. When one of my coworkers went to Peru I asked her to bring some for me and she did indeed return with the Aji Amarillo paste. However, I still wasn't sure how to turn the paste into the dipping sauce I loved so much there. Luckily google came to the rescue and I found something that is pretty decent.

Mix together mayonnaise (about 1 cup), but aji paste (about 3 tablespoons).
Add lime juice, salt and pepper.
Mix until paste is a smooth creamy consistency.

I had picked up some fingerling potatoes at Trader Joe's yesterday, so I cooked those up to eat with the sauce. All I did for the potatoes was lay them on a baking sheet and brush them with olive oil, thyme, and salt and pepper, then baked them for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. They were great with the sauce!

Coconut Baked Cod

2010-12-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

I got some Alaskan Cod from Trader Joe's so I decided to cook it up. Turned out pretty well although I still have issues with getting fished and meat cooked right. Most recipes say to cook fish for 10 minutes or so, but even though I set my oven to 450 degrees, it was still pretty raw after 10 minutes - I ended up cooking it for almost 20. It was still good, but I felt like it was a little chewy, but I don't know the solution to this...

Place cod on baking sheet.
Cover with shredded coconut.
Place butter (I used some lemon dill butter that I had) on cod.
Bake in oven.

Sweet Breakfast Couscous

2010-12-04T09:55:00.000-08:00

I love oatmeal, so I decided to try out breakfast couscous. It turned out really, really good and I think I like it even more than oatmeal.

Add one cup of couscous to rice cooker.
Add spices to taste (I used cinnamon, cardamon and a little bit of salt).
Add 1 tsp (I just use the cap on the bottle) of vanilla extract.
Add shredded coconut.
Add 1 1/2 cup of soy milk (or real milk if you prefer).
Stir and then cook per rice cooker instructions.

I ate it the next morning by just warming it up in the microwave and adding a little soy milk. It was excellent!

Couscous and Lentil Salad

2010-12-04T05:33:00.000-08:00

I discovered an unopened container of couscous in my cabinet so I've been experimenting with cooking it. Here I made a salad with the couscous and some lentils I had.

Cook one cup of couscous in rice cooker (same way as if it were rice).
The night before I soaked the dried lentils overnight, then kept them in the fridge.
Cook the lentils in water. I added some Mrs. Dash spice just to add some flavor to the water. Cook them until they are just a bit softened but still firm. Then drain the lentils
In a pan combine couscous, olive oil, salt, pepper, and lentils. I also threw in the remaining diced tomatoes that I had left over from the stew I made the other day.
Put it in the fridge to cool.

Coconut-Pumpkin Stew

2010-12-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

I wasn't able to go to my taekwondo class tonight since my car was towed, so I decided I might as well see what I can throw together for dinner. I had about half a box of coconut milk left and some cans of pumpkin puree in my cabinet so I figured I might as well do something with that. It's basically just a hodge-podge of what I had lying around (seeing as I have to go pay $100+ to get my car out of the impound lot tomorrow, probably best to save money and use what I already have).

I found a bag of frozen taro in my fridge, so I boiled that according to the instructions on the bag, basically just boiled them in water and a bit of soy sauce (I was also supposed to add sugar but I forgot - I added some to the final mixture!).
Mix the pumpkin puree with the coconut milk and add about a cup of water.
Mix in whatever spices you want to add to the soup. I don't have a lot, but I just tried to pick things I thought would taste good with pumpkin - cinnamon, cumin, cardamon, chipolte (probably not the ideal spice, but the only one I had to add a bit of heat), and salt and pepper.
Add a little bit of vanilla extract and sugar.
Set mixture aside for a minute.
In a frying pan, add a bit of olive oil and fry plantains. Once they are fried on both sides, add coconut and continue to pan fry until the coconut is browned. Here is a picture of that step:

Add the fried plantains, coconut, boiled taro, and a can of diced tomatoes to soup.
Put the soup into a pot and cook on low for about 20 minutes.

Soy-bacon grilled cheese

2010-12-02T05:06:00.000-08:00

I had some cheese still left in my fridge and I'm trying to use things up, so I decided to try this for breakfast. I think it turned out pretty tasty. If you like real or turkey bacon I'm sure it would be good as well.

Cook soy bacon to your taste (it can be fried, I like to toast it in the toaster oven)
Warm a pan with butter
Put any spread you want on the bread (I like honey mustard on everything so I used that)
Add cheese and crispy soy-bacon on bread
Place in pan and grill on each side until cheese is melted and bread is toasted.

Sweet Potato with Goat Cheese

2010-12-01T20:06:00.000-08:00

I know this sounds weird but it's really good. I had half a baked sweet potato and goat cheese left in my fridge so I decided to try this. My sweet potato was still a little firm so I cooked it for another 30 minutes, then I mashed it up. I added in the crumbled goat cheese and mixed them together with a little salt and pepper. Yum!!!

Lentil Soup

2010-12-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

This actually turned out really well. I made it in my slow cooker but you could probably do it in just a normal pot.

Soak 1 cup lentils and 1 cup bean mix overnight in water (if you aren't using dried beans then you can skip this step)
Put beans and lentils in crock pot
Add frozen stew veggies
Add one carton of broth (veggie or chicken)
Add 1 or 2 cups of water
Add one can of tomato sauce
Add salt/pepper/spices to taste
Cook in crock pot for 4 hours

Green Tea Ice Cream

2010-12-01T19:58:00.000-08:00

I made this for the Thanksgiving party at my office. It turned out really good.

Pour 1 1/2 cup of whole milk into a bowl (I got the organic creamline milk from Whole Foods)
Add 1 1/4 cup of sugar and mix it into the milk
Mix in 3 cups of cream (I ran out of cream after 2 cups and added an additional cup of the whole milk)
Add 1 1/2 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
Mix Matcha powder in just enough boiling water to allow powder to dissolve (you have to get the Matcha from Japanese stores and it's expensive, but it's the powdered tea, I used the whole can, but you could add more or less to taste)
Add the tea and then put it all in the fridge to cool it down
Put it in the ice cream mixer then freeze overnight

Chinese sticky balls

2010-12-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this one really doesn't involve cooking, but it's kind of fun anyway and I forget about them until I happen to see them at H-Mart or a Chinese grocery store. When I was studying abroad in China, my host family used to give these to me for breakfast. At first I didn't like them, but after eating them every day I started craving them. Basically they are like these really sticky rice balls with sweet paste inside. I don't know the real name, but I just call them Chinese sticky balls.

Here is what they look like before you cook them. There are quite a few different types, but my favorite is the peanut ones. All you have to do is boil some water on high, then trow the balls in and wait until they float. Here is what they look like after:

Coconut Milk Ice Cream

2010-11-20T16:27:00.000-08:00

I decided to try this since it's the Nativity Fast so I'm not supposed to be eating dairy. I think it turned out pretty well, although it's kind slushy. Normally you keep the ice cream in the machine for about 20-25 minutes, but I had to leave it almost an hour to just get it sort of firm. I'm hoping after being in the freezer overnight it will more firm.

Mix 4 cups of coconut milk and 1 cup of sugar in a bowl then pour into a sauce pan over medium head
Add 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon olive oil and stir until complete mixed
Let mixture cool (I didn't do this and I think that might have been part of the problem)
Brown coconut in a frying pan
Put in ice cream maker, then add coconut
Freeze in airtight container

Baked sweet potato

2010-11-20T16:03:00.000-08:00

I saw a recipe for this when I was looking for pumpkin cookies and decided to try it for dinner tonight. As luck would have it, sweet potatoes were also on sale at Giants today. The first step is to wash the sweet potato and cook it for about an hour at 400 degrees. Don't forget to poke holes in the potato first! When that is done you take it out of the oven and cut it open.

Then put the stuffing in and bake it for another few minutes (the recipe I found said 20 minutes, but I checked mine after about 5 and it was already melting and beginning to burn).

Mix together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and marshmellows in a bowl.
Stuff your sweet potato with them and bake a little more.

Egg, cheddar, and cream cheese sandwich

2010-11-20T15:00:00.000-08:00

I saw something like this on the menu at a local breakfast place so I thought I'd check it out and it was pretty good!

Toast bread
Crack an egg in a cup, add salt, pepper and beat the egg
Pour egg into a frying pan so that it covers the pan and forms a flat surface
Flip the egg, keeping it flat and thin
Add a slice of cheddar cheese, as it melts fold the egg so that the cheese is inside the egg
Spread cream cheese on toast and add the egg

Lamb in the slow cooker

2010-11-20T14:54:00.000-08:00

Lamb is my favorite meat, so I wanted to try it in the slow cooker. I got the shoulder because it was the cheapest and also because it seemed like it would be good for slow cooking. The first time I tried making it I cooked it for 10 hours and was disappointed to find it complete burned. (I am still trying to get the burned onions off). The second time I cooked it for 6 hours and it turned out much better.

Added frozen onions to slow cooker (just for flavor, I didn't keep them after).
1 cup of beef broth
Put lamb shoulder in slow cooker and cooked for 6 hours.
Ate the lamb with rice and some crumbled goat cheese.

Sunny Side Eggo

2010-11-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

This isn't anything exotic or fancy, but it's always good and is quick if you don't have a lot of time. And it always tastes good!!

Toast an Eggo waffle in the toaster (I like to use the whole wheat ones, but any would do)
Add a slide of cheese (I think swiss or provolone is best)
I always use soy-bacon for the "meat" part of this because I don't eat pork and I think the soy-bacon tastes good

I think Morning Star soy-bacon is the best and I have found that it turns out best when I cook it in my toaster oven on 400 degrees for 2 or 3 minutes. It comes out crispy, just make sure you don't burn it.

Fry an egg sunny side up and put it on top

Vanilla Cardamom Ice Cream

2010-10-31T10:16:00.000-07:00

My mom got me an ice-cream maker for my birthday, so I tried making it the other day for my office Halloween party. It turned out really well.

Pour 1 1/2 cup of whole milk into a bowl (I got the organic creamline milk from Whole Foods)
Add 1 1/4 cup of sugar and mix it into the milk
Mix in 3 cups of cream (I ran out of cream after 2 cups and added an additional cup of the whole milk)
Add 1 1/2 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
Add 1 1/2 teaspoon of ground (green) cardamom
Put all ingredients into ice cream maker to mix for 25 minutes
Freeze

Crock Pot Soy Sauce Chicken Tighs

2010-10-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

This was my first try making something with the crock pot. It was pretty good, but I used too much soy sauce so it was a bit too salty.

Throw frozen vegetables into the crock pot on the bottom (I used onions and a mix of Japanese veggies - taro, mushrooms, and some little round things that I'm not sure what they're called)
Rinse off chicken thighs into the sink then put them in the crock bot
Put olives in
Poured in about a cup of soy sauce and teryiaki sauce (this was too much, I don't recommend using this much)
Cook for 8 hours.

Bulgogi Eggs and Rice

2010-10-31T10:05:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite breakfast/lunch/dinner/anytime food. Eggs and rice is the best combination and everything tastes better with bulgogi sauce. There is really nothing special to the recipe, it's easy and it always tastes good.

Make rice (I like sticky rice best)
Fry rice and add bulgogi sauce to taste
Fry egg over easy or sunny side up (it's best if the egg is runny so it can get the yolk on the rice)
Put the egg on the rice and eat!

Onion Soup with a Poached Egg

2010-10-31T09:50:00.000-07:00

Down the street from my apartment there is a tapas restaurant, Jaleos. Several weeks back, I went there and tried their onion egg soup, which was amazing. I love all things with eggs and I love French Onion Soup, so it was like the best of all worlds combined. Here is a picture of the amazing soup they served me:

Needless to say it was delicious. I decided to try to recreate it. Mine was by no means as pretty as their soup, but it was pretty good for a first try:

Onion Soup with a Poached Egg:

Boil two cans of beef broth (I ran out and used chicken broth which was also good, but I think it would be better with both being beef broth)
Add a cap full (I usually just measure olive oil by the caps on the bottles) of olive oil and vinegar
Saute onions in a frying pan, once they start to get clear add a little sugar
Add the onions to the broth
In another pan poach an egg for 2-3 minutes (just enough so that you can transfer it to the soup because it will continue cooking in the soup)
Toast bread
Pour soup into the bowl, transfer egg into soup, put toast in bread, add cheese

Beyond the Freezer Aisle

2010-10-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

I decided to start keeping tracking of recipes I try, so I can remember them and see what works and doesn't work. Most things are somewhat experimental, so I figured it would be good to write them down somewhere.