Bun Thit Nuong (Vietnamese Vermicelli)

My recent obsession has been Vietnamese Vermicelli with grilled pork, or Bun Thit Nuong. I was first introduced to this dish by a co-worker within the last year. Actually, I had my first try of this dish a few years ago when I decided to become adventurous at a local Vietnamese restaurant. Rather than ordering my usual Pho, I decided to give a dry noodle a taste. When I did, it really was a dry noodle. It wasn't bad. It was just that nothing stood out of the dish. Who eats just salad with noodles?! So I never ordered it again on my own.

Then one day, a few co-workers and I went out to lunch. We decided to share plates so we could try different dishes. One of my co-workers ordered the Bun. She poured all the sauce on top of the dish and mixed the whole salad up. She equally plated the noodle salad dish on each or our plates and then I took my first bite from a real Bun Thit Nuong. It was love at first bite. I realized that you don't just dip the meat in the sauce. The sauce was the dressing! DUH!!! lol. The sauce, better known as Nuoc Cham, made a whole difference in the world as I knew it. Aside from getting its flavor from the grilled pork, the sauce made the dish. From that day on, whenever there was Bun on the menu, its the only thing I order. Its a large bowl of lettuce and rice noodles with all kinds of different toppings - pickled carrots and daikon, sliced cucumbers, cilantro, bean sprouts, fried onions, crushed peanuts, and grilled meat. Its so filling, but so light. And I just love it.

This recipe is actually a shortcut recipe, in that I used a prepared grilled pork, a Filipino delicacy called Tocino. It has the same flavor as the grilled pork they put at the restaurant we went to. For the pickled Carrot and Daikon, I used this recipe from Hungry Huy. However, I have since been eliminating the daikon altogether. If you aren't familiar with a daikon, please be warned that though its supper yummy, it releases a very foul odor that lasts in the kitchen for a very long time. The Nuoc cham was made using this recipe from gas.stron.o.my. This dish came out just as good as the restaurant's. I was so excited, because now I can have Bun anytime I want. Maybe one day, I'll make the grilled pork from scratch. But to get a quick fix, I'll stick with the prepared tocino. For now.

chopped lettuce
cooked vermicelli/rice noodles
prepared grilled pork or Filipino tocino
cilantro leaves
cucumbers, julienned
bean sprouts
fried onions
crushed peanuts
pickled daikon & carrots (recipe below)
Nuoc cham (dressing recipe below)

1) Layer the bottom of a large serving bowl with chopped lettuce. Top with cooked vermicelli noodles.

2) Arrange the remaining ingredients in a nice pattern, except the nuoc cham, on top of the noodles.  When ready to eat, pour nuoc cham on top of the noodle salad and toss until evenly coated. Enjoy!

For the pickled daikon & carrots 
1/2 lb. daikon radish
1/2 lb. carrots
1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 cup hot water to dissolve 5 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup water
4 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar

(note: Daikon radish emits a very foul odor, but tastes so yummy. If the odor really bothers you, you can totally eliminate the daikon radish and double up on the carrots)

1) Julienne the carrots and daikon (you can use your food processor for your convenience). Sprinkle salt and toss well. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.

2) Rinse the carrots and daikon well, and squeeze out excess moisture. Dry and add in mason jars.

3) Dissolve sugar in hot water. Combine with the remaining water and vinegar. Pour on top of the vegetables until completely covered. Seal and store at room temperature until pickled to your taste, about 12-24 hours. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks until ready to use.

For the Nuoc cham
4 large garlic cloves, finely minced
2 Thai red chilies, finely minced (or 1 tsp. red chili flakes)
1 can coconut water (or 1 1/2 cup water)
6 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1) In a medium bowl, combine coconut water (or regular water) with the sugar. Whisk until sugar completely dissolves.

2) Add fish sauce, garlic, chilies and stir until combined. Add lime juice and stir.

3) Check for taste and add more sugar, fish sauce, or lime juice as needed. Store in an air tight container and refrigerate for up to 4 months.

Pioneer Woman's Spaghetti Sauce

Everyone who knows me in real life knows I love anything that's related to spaghetti. In fact, I've made a whole bunch of spaghetti recipes on this blog, some of them sauces, that I like to make large batches of that I freeze as a make-ahead meal. Just freeze the portioned sauce and thaw it in the microwave for a quick, homemade meal. I even like to bottle some of the sauces and give them to my brother and co workers. From Pasta Bolognese, to Tomato Basil Marinara  Sauce, to Spaghetti al Amatriciana. I love all my spaghetti recipes. Despite all the spaghetti recipes I have on here, though, I actually don't have a spaghetti sauce recipe. What a shame. My mother-in-law actually makes a kick a$$ spaghetti sauce, but she hasn't quite given me the recipe for it yet. So I decided to do a search on Pinterest for my own spaghetti sauce recipe and this one from The Pioneer Woman (one of my faves) has come up quite frequently on Pinterest. This sauce is quite comparable to mother-in-law's. It makes a huge batch of meaty goodness. Perfect to freeze as a make-ahead-meal.

5 lbs. ground beef

3 Tbsp. olive oil

2 large onions, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes

1 (14 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1 jar of store-bought marinara sauce (I used my marinara sauce)

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)

4 bay leaves

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

8 basil leaves, chopped (or more if you like basil)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan, more for garnish

1) In a large pot over medium heat, add ground beef and cook until browned. Remove meat from the pot and set aside. Discard grease and add olive oil. 

2) Once oil is heated, add onions and cook for about a minute. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute or so.

3) Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and marinara sauce. Stir to combine. Then add sugar, salt, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper (if using), and bay leaves. Stir in cooked ground beef. Cover and allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add water or beef broth if it needs more liquid.

4) After 1 hour, stir in parsley, basil and Parmesan cheese. Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Serve over your favorite pasta or spaghetti. Freeze unused sauce for up to 6 months.

Creamy Jambalaya Pasta

This is another recipe I found on Pinterest. It seems as though Pinterest has taken up most of my free time. Whenever I have down time with the baby, I always pick up my handy-dandy iPhone and look at Pinterest to see what other new and interesting recipes I can find. And this recipe was just that.

I love Jambalaya and this recipe from Plain Chicken piqued my attention. I thought it resembled the Jambalaya pasta I sometimes order at restaurants. So I decided to give it a try. Its a really quick and easy recipe and it came out quite good. I lessened the salt a bit from the original recipe, because I thought it was a little too salty for my taste. I also decided to add chicken and shrimp to have a variety of textures in the dish. Its a little less milder than what they serve at the restaurants, but it was, all the same, delicious. Definitely a repeat dish I'll be making whenever I'm in a pinch to cook dinner.

1/2 lb. Farfalle pasta (or any other type of pasta)
1/4 lb. smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast
1/4 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup white wine
4 Tbsp. tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp. chopped parsley
grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

1) Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside.

2) In a large skillet, cook chicken breast on medium heat with a little oil until no longer pink. Add sausage and cook until browned. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3) Stir in white wine, making sure to scrape up any browned bits at the bottom. Add shrimp and continue cooking until wine has reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

4) Add Cajun seasoning, paprika, salt, pepper and tomato sauce. Stir in cream and reduce heat to low. Continue cooking until cream is bubbly and has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

5) Add drained pasta and toss with parsley. Serve on a platter, garnished with grated Parmesan.

Ree Drummond's Meaty Lasagna

So I lied. I promised to post some of the make-ahead meals I've made last month to stock up for the upcoming arrival of my 2nd baby. Well, let's just say that it got quite busy around the house and I got quite lazy. I returned to work after being put on bed rest for 2 weeks and I've lost all my energy to do anything else. However, I still  managed to make a few dishes that I've stocked up in the freezer, including this new recipe from The Pioneer Woman, which she featured on the Food Network one day.

I've been on a search for a great lasagna recipe for quite some time. I really wanted a hearty and meaty lasagna. With this recipe, I think I found what I'm looking for. The recipe was quite easy to make. I doubled the recipe so that I can make multiple small trays to freeze. I baked one of the frozen trays today and it was just as yummy and comforting as when I originally made it last month. My search for a great lasagna has ended.

1 Tbsp. oil
2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. breakfast sausage
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt
10 oz lasagna noodles
1 lb. shredded mozzarella
10-12 fresh basil leaves, cut chiffonade
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten

1) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute ground beef, sausage, and garlic until brown. Drain off the excess fat. Add tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, salt, and black pepper to taste. Stir together well. Simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add half of the fresh basil and half of the chopped parsley. Stir well.

2) Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles according to package directions until al dente. Drain noodles and lay them flat on aluminum foil to keep its shape.

3) Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

4) In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, eggs, and the remaining basil and parsley.

5) To assemble the lasagna, spread about 1/4 cup of the meat mixture on the bottom of a deep, rectangular baking dish. Lay 4 lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping each other. Evenly spread about half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta cheese. Spoon about 1/3 of the meat mixture over the mozzarella cheese. Repeat process ending with the meat sauce, then topped with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.

6) Bake until hot and bubbly, about 45 minutes.

** To freeze, tightly seal the assembled, unbaked lasagna with plastic wrap. Cover with foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake in a preheated 375 deg oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Copy Cat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli

I cannot believe that it has taken me 2 months to post another entry on this blog. For those who follow me, I am deeply sorry that I have been missing for so long. I know a few of my co-workers have been wondering what happened to my posts. If you remember a couple of months ago, I was complaining about a serious bout of morning sickness that has prevented me from stepping foot in the kitchen. Nowadays, I just haven't had the energy to spend too much time in the kitchen. So most of our meals are take-outs or leftovers from the parentals. Being almost 7 months pregnant can do that to you. When I do cook, I cook some of my go-to Quick and Easy meals. Baking is still something I enjoy doing. So you'll often see me in the kitchen because I'm baking cookies or something. Not experimenting a new recipe.

However, because I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy, I thought about doing some make-ahead meals that I can freeze, which will feed us later once the baby arrives. Learning from my first pregnancy 5 years ago, I didn't have much time to cook our meals with a newborn around. So I thought  how much help it would be for me to have frozen meals that we can just pop in the microwave or oven.

I found a lot of make-ahead meal ideas online and from blogs I frequent. But it was a copy cat recipe from Food.com for Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli that caught my eye. A crock pot recipe at that. Before I discovered my love for Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, I used to love starting my meal off with their Pasta e Fagioli. This recipe looked so easy and makes a huge batch. So I thought it was perfect to set some aside and freeze. You can also cut this recipe in half if you don't intend to freeze the leftovers. Unless you have an army of people to feed. My daughter and I came home to the house smelling so good. My daughter said "mmmm...it smells like spaghetti!" This is a delicious and hearty soup that is a meal in itself. I served this with some good french bread to sop up some of the soup. So good.....

2 lbs. ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
5 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (16 oz) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (16 oz) can white kidney beans, drained
3 (10 oz) cans beef broth
3 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. hot sauce (optional)
1 (20 oz) jar of your favorite spaghetti or marinara sauce
salt to taste
8 ounces small pasta (like small macaroni or small shells), cooked
shredded or grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

1) Brown meat in a skillet. Drain.

2) Place cooked meat and all the ingredients, except the pasta, in the crock pot. Season with salt to taste. Cook on low for 7-8 minutes, or on high for 4-6 hours.

3) Place cooked pasta in serving bowls. Top with desired amount of soup and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

*If you plan to freeze the soup, place the soup in a freezable container and freeze. Add the cooked pasta after you have re-heated the soup.

Taiwanese Spaghetti

I'm always looking for creative ways to serve spaghetti pasta because I absolutely love spaghetti. Its one of my favorite things to eat. And I think I've rubbed off on my daughter because she loves it as much as I do. So when this recipe came up on my reader from Steamy Kitchen, I was intrigued. An Asian pasta. Hmmmm....

The preparation was real easy. However, I wasn't too satisfied with the flavor. Maybe my preparation was off but it needed more umph. The meat mixture, however, would probably go great as a filling for a lettuce wrap. Or maybe with real Asian noodles. But not in a pasta. Not sure if I'd make this again as a pasta dish.

1 lb. noodles or any kind
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce (or oyster sauce)
2 tsp. regular soy sauce
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. five-spice powder
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. cooking oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 lb. ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, etc.)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
8 oz can bamboo shoots, diced
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, diced
1 stalk green onion, chopped

1) Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2) In a small bowl, combine broth, soy sauces, balsamic vinegar, five-spice powder, and brown sugar. Set aside.

3) Heat wok over medium-high heat. Swirl in cooking oil. Add onion and cook for about a minute. Add ground meat and cook until almost all the pink is gone. Push meat mixture to the sides of wok. Add garlic in the center of wok and cook until fragrant. Add bamboo shoots an mushrooms in the center. Toss everything together in the wok.

4) Pour broth mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in green onions. Serve over  noodles.

Pastitsio

I was in the mood to make lasagna the other day. But I didn't want just a plain ordinary lasagna. Then I remembered that I had saved up a great casserole recipe from Martha Stewart that I've been dying to make. Pastitsio is a Greek casserole dish. I learned of this dish when I was watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network and was curious about how different this dish was from my Baked Ziti recipe.

When I was looking for recipes last week, I came upon this recipe from Martha Stewart and I realized the only difference with this recipe from my Baked Ziti is the cinnamon. Its actually an easier recipe because the sauce base is just tomato paste and wine. I loved the hint of cinnamon in this dish. This is a great make-ahead recipe as well. Just prepare and assemble the casserole and bake when you're ready. I'll definitely be making this new comfort food again.

1 lb. pasta (preferably penne), cooked and drained
oil for cooking
2 lbs. ground meat (beef, turkey, lamb)
2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cup water
salt & pepper to taste
6 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cups milk
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1) In a large sauce pan, heat about 3 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add ground meat and cook until no longer pink, about 6-8 minutes. Break up meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.

2) Transfer meat mixture to a colander to drain the fat. Return meat mixture to the pan and add the wine. Cover and allow to cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cinnamon and  water. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3) Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

4) In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until incorporated. Slowly whisk in milk. Continue whisking until there are no more lumps. Cook, whisking often, until mixture is thick and bubbly, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper and Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and set aside.

5) Add pasta to the meat mixture and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Transfer to a 9x13 inch pan. Pour white sauce over the pasta mixture, smoothing it out until leveled. Bake until tops begin to brown in spots, about 30-40 minutes (40-50 minutes if you've made the casserole ahead and have placed in the refrigerator). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Soba Noodles with Chicken Veggies and Caramelized Garlic Sauce

In keeping with my diet and with my theme of Spark Recipes, I decided to give this recipe a try. I found it while searching on the site for some recipe ideas. This dish reminds me of my Chinese Broccoli Beef Noodle recipe, except with a lot of other extra veggies and the use of soba noodles. Soba noodles is another type of Japanese noodles made of wheat or buckwheat.

The original recipe only yielded one serving, so I modified it to fit 2 meals each for both hubby and me (one for dinner, one for lunch). Feel free to play around with different types of vegetables for this dish. The original recipe used red cabbage, carrots and red bell peppers. I happened to use bok choy, zucchini, carrots and bell peppers. Although a flavorful dish, I think I'll stick with my go-to Chinese Broccoli Beef Noodle recipe. It was a much quicker recipe for me with less complicated ingredients. Because, where else can I use Tamari in a recipe? That will probably be my next goal. To find a use for Tamari.

8-10 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tsp. vegetable oil
4 tsp. sesame oil
4 Tbsp. Chinese cooking wine, or sake or dry sherry
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Tamari (dark soy sauce)
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz soba noodles
2 bulbs of baby bok choy
1/2 zucchini, sliced
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped red onion
1 stalk green onion, chopped
2 cooked chicken breast, sliced
sesame seeds for garnish

1) Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Strain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.

2) Heat sesame and vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook until dark yellow, not brown (lower heat if necessary to prevent browning). Add sugar and stir. Add cooking wine, soy sauces, salt, and pepper to taste. Allow to cook until sauce slightly thickens and bubbles.

3) Add chicken and all vegetables. Coat all ingredients with the sauce. Cook until chicken is warm and vegetables are cooked to your liking. Toss noodles in the sauce until thoroughly coated and top with sesame seeds.

Rad Na

I've been asked a few times by a co-worker of mine if I had a Rad Na recipe. I honestly didn't really know what Rad Na was, but I had always seen it in Thai menus. When ordering noodles, I always go for Pad Thai or Pad See Ewe. I had recently finally decided to have a taste of Rad Na and discovered that it is similar to Pad See Ewe, but with a gravy. So now that I know what Rad Na is, I wanted to see if I could make it at home and finally let my co-worker know that I had found a recipe.

After searching for recipes, I decided to settle with this one from Thai Table. I used fresh noodles to make this dish, but next time I'll probably work with dry noodles. Fresh noodles is just too messy to handle, as they stick to the pan. I should have learned from my first attempt at making Pad See Ewe, when the noodles became overcooked and kind of soggy. However, with that experience, I was more careful in cooking the noodles this time. This recipe looks intimidating, but once you have all your ingredients together, like most Thai recipe, its all a matter of tossing everything together. The dish came out quite good. I still prefer Pad Thai or Pad See Ewe over Rad Na, but at least now I know what it is and how to make it.

1/2 lb. thinly sliced chicken, pork, or beef
4 Tbsp. cornstarch or tapioca flour
3 1/2 cups water
3/4 lb. Chinese broccoli or regular broccoli
2-3 Tbsp. oil
1 lb. fresh, flat rice noodles (or dry rice noodles, softened)
3-4 Tbsp. dark, sweet soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. yellow bean paste
1/4 tsp. white pepper

1) Massage 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (or tapioca flour) onto meat and set aside. Combine remaining 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with the water and set aside. Cut Chinese broccoli (or regular broccoli) into 2 inch pieces and set aside.

2) Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or a pan. Add noodles and carefully stir. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of soy sauce over noodles and toss to coat thoroughly. Continue to stir until noodles are heated and separated. Remove from heat and transfer noodles to a platter.

3) In the same pan, add remaining 2 tablespoon of oil. Add garlic and meat. Stir until meat is almost cooked through. Add cornstarch water and whisk thoroughly to prevent clumping. Allow sauce to come to a boil and become translucent.

4) Add remaining 1-2  tablespoons of soy sauce, sugar and yellow bean paste. Stir and allow to simmer until sauce has thickened to a gravy consistency. (note: If the sauce isn't thick enough, make a slurry of more cornstarch and water and add to gravy).

5) Add more soy sauce and sugar to your taste. Add broccoli stems and cook for about a minute. Add remaining broccoli leaves just until heated through (note: do not overcook broccoli). Season with white pepper. Place sauce over noodles and serve hot.

Maniladas with Cheese Sauce and Salsa Verde

Maniladas, a cross between a Manicotta and an Enchilada. A fusion of Mexican and Italian. This is an ingenious creation of Sunny Anderson on the Food Network. I just remembered my mouth watering when I watched her make this dish. It sort of reminds me of the Salsa Verde Sour Cream Enchiladas I make so often. But what a great idea to make it into a pasta dish.

The original recipe, I felt, was pretty fattening. It required the use of 2 cups of heavy cream. But I substituted it with low fat milk to make the cheese sauce. I also used a short cut by purchasing a store-bought salsa verde instead of making it from scratch. With all the substitutions, this dish came out so good that hubby absolutely enjoyed it. This is another great pot luck dish that I'm sure would be another hit like the Salsa Verde Enchiladas.

1 (8 oz) package Manicotti shells
2 Tbsp. oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 rotisserie chicken (or 3 cooked chicken breasts), shredded
4 tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup prepared salsa verde (or green enchilada sauce)

1) Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Boil manicotti shells for 8 minutes. Drain shells and place on a platter in a single layer.

2) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Remove from heat and stir in shredded chicken, tomatoes, chopped cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in sour cream until incorporated.

3) Stuff manicotti shells with chicken filling and arrange in a 9 x 12 baking dish. Spread 1/4 cup of salsa verde over the manicotti shells. Set aside.

Cheese sauce
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups heavy cream or milk, at room temperature
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 cups shredded cheese (any cheese you prefer)

1) In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Whisk in heavy cream or milk and continue cooking until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Add shredded cheese and stir until well incorporated.

2) Reduce temperature of oven to 350 deg F. Pour cheese sauce over prepared manicotti shells and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese sauce becomes bubbly. Serve hot, garnished with more salsa verde and chopped cilantro.

Short Ribs with Pasta

I was watching Everyday Italian on the Cooking Channel over the weekend and Giada was making this dish and it looked so good. I remembered that I had some short ribs in the freezer waiting to be used up. So why not. I looked up the recipe from the Food Network (Cooking Channel's sister station) and I got to cooking.

I've decided to use the crock pot to make this dish because short ribs is best when slow cooked in the crock pot. The meat is always fall-off-the-bone tender. I've also decided to take the advice from some of the reviews on the website and allowed the stew to cool so the oil can separate to skim off the fat easily. Because short ribs is a very fatty cut of meat. And I hate greasy pasta. I topped the dish off with some bittersweet chocolate shavings, as the recipe suggests, because everyone knows how I love sweet and savory. This dish came out really well. It kind of reminds me of the Skyline Chili I made. The flavors were somewhat similar with the addition of chocolate in the chili. I'll be making this again and try it with boneless rib meat to eliminate the cooling and skimming off the fat.

1/2 cup chopped pancetta or bacon
2 1/2 lbs. short ribs
salt
black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, quartered
1 carrot, quartered
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups beef broth
3/4 cup red wine
1 lb. fresh or dried long pasta (fettuccine, linguine, etc.)
shaved bittersweet chocolate

1) In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon or pancetta over medium heat until golden and crisp.

2) Meanwhile, season short ribs with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Once bacon has cooked, remove with a slotted spoon. Add short ribs to the pan and brown on all sides. Place short ribs and bacon pieces in crock pot. Add thyme, oregano, and bay leaf. Set aside.

3) Meanwhile, combine onion, carrot, parsley and garlic in a food processor and blend until finely minced. Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste and pulse until combined. Pour mixture into crock pot. Add broth and red wine. Cook on high for 6 hours. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours or overnight.

4) Once the fat has separated and solidified, skim off fat. Remove beef pieces from the broth, discarding the bones. Shred beef. Pour broth and shredded beef in a stock pot and re-heat over medium heat until it begins to boil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 3/4 teaspoon of black pepper.

5) Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Place drained pasta over the sauce and toss to coat. Add reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time if needed to moisten pasta. Transfer to serving bowls and top with  chocolate shavings.

Cheeseburger Macaroni

I've been craving for some comfort food lately and for some reason, I was craving some kind of a Cheeseburger Macaroni dish. One that I used to eat out of a box (via Hamburger Helper) when I was a kid. I had previously made a similar Hamburger Helper dish, Creamy Taco Mac which we absolutely love. However that dish had a little kick to it with the use of cumin and other spices. I wanted something simple and creamy.

I decided to see if there was a Cheeseburger Macaroni recipe out there and sure enough, I found
this recipe from food.com that looked really easy. So easy that the original recipe only required 7 ingredients and the use of Velveeta cheese. I've modified the recipe using the cheese sauce from my Macaroni and Cheese recipe because I'm not a huge fan of processed cheese. I've had my fair share of Cheese Whiz when I was a kid, but nowadays I always try to make everything from scratch. Besides, anything processed can't be too healthy for you. However, if you're pressed for time and need something quick to make, Velveeta cheese is the way to go. Whichever way you make it, it'll definitely turn out delicious. This dish really hit the spot.

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 3/4 cups milk
2 1/2 tsp. sat
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or any shredded cheese)
1 lb. ground turkey or lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
4 cups water
3/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. mustard
3/4 cup canned petit diced tomatoes
12 ounces elbow macaroni

1) (Note: This step can be skipped is using 1 lb. Velveeta Cheese) In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and continue to cook about for 1 minute. Whisk in milk and continue to cook until mixture starts to boil. Remove from heat. Add 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in cheese until smooth. Set aside.

2) In a large skillet, brown ground turkey or beef over medium heat. Add onion and continue to cook until onion begins to soften.

3) In a medium bowl, whisk together water, ketchup, and mustard. Pour over meat. Stir in tomatoes and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil.

4) Add macaroni and turn heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until macaroni is cooked through and almost all the liquid is absorbed.

5) Stir in prepared cheese sauce (or 1 lb. Velveeta cheese cut into cubes) until smooth and evenly distributed. Serve immediately.

La Paz Batchoy

La Paz Batchoy is a Filipino noodle soup that has its origins from La Paz, Iloilo City in the central area of the Philippines. I've never actually had La Paz Batchoy. The closest I've gotten to it was having the dehydrated version, where you add hot water. And it was pretty bad. So it doesn't count. But I knew that this dish would be good if I had the original version. So I decided to try to make it and see what it would actually taste like. After a quick search, I decided on this recipe from Filipino Recipes.

The original recipe required the use of pork chitlins and liver. Not a huge fan of either. So I omitted them and kept the chicken, pork meat, beef and shrimp. It also required a small amount of bagoong, which is a shrimp paste found in Asian markets and a staple in the Filipino kitchen. I don't know what a real La Paz Batchoy tastes like, but this one was pretty darn good. Its pretty time consuming because I had to boil beef and pork bones to make the broth. But once that's done, the preparation is pretty simple. And totally worth the wait.

1 lb. beef chuck
Pork bones
16 cups water
1 medium onion, quartered
1/2 head garlic, crushed (about 6-8 cloves)
1/2 tsp. shrimp paste (Bagoong)
1 Tbsp. peppercorns, crushed
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. soy sauce
salt to taste
1/4 lb. pork
1/4 lb shrimp
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
ground chicharon, for garnish
fried/toasted garlic, for garnish
chopped green onions, for garnish
fresh Chinese egg noodles

1) In a large stock pot, boil beef chuck and pork bones with 16 cups of water for 2 hours, or until the beef is tender. Occasionally skim off the sludge that forms on the surface of the water. Drain the broth. You should have about 12-14 cups of broth. Discard pork bones. Cut beef into thin slices and set aside.

2) Return broth on the stove over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, shrimp paste, peppercorns, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, soy sauce, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Blanch shrimp until pink. Remove from broth. Remove shell and head from shrimp. Set aside.

3) Add pork and chicken into broth and continue to simmer until pork is tender, about 25-30 minutes. Add more water if necessary. Remove meats and allow to cool. Slice thinly and set aside.

4) Continue simmering broth over low heat until ready to serve. Place noodles in bowls and top with strained broth. Garnish with the sliced meats, chicharon, fried garlic, and green onions.

Toasted Ravioli

I was home with my daughter today because she's sick with a fever. Again. It seems like every month we send her off to school, she catches something just as she's recovering from a previous illness. But the doctor says its part of growing up. But she's off of school more than she's on. Anyway, since I was home today, I was looking in our refrigerator for something to make. Then I remembered that I had a huge bag of frozen ravioli from Costco, which I had planned on making some toasted ravioli with. So I figured since I had some time, might as well make them today.

I used this recipe from What's Cookin, Chicago? that I had been eyeing for awhile. The process was pretty quick and simple. And I served this with my own Marinara Sauce for dipping and it came out so well. They taste just as good as the ones we order as appetizers at some of the restaurants we visit. Hubby loved these.

2 Tbsp. milk
1 egg
3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 package frozen ravioli (about 20-24 pieces), thawed
2 cups oil for frying
grated Parmesan for garnish
Marinara Sauce for dipping

1) Combine milk and egg in a small bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs and seasonings. Dip ravioli in egg mixture and coat with breadcrumbs.

2) In a large, heavy pan, pour oil to the depth of 2 inches. Heat oil over medium heat until a small amount of breading sizzles and turns brown. Fry ravioli, a few at a time, for about a minute or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately with Marinara Sauce.

Chicken & Shrimp Pad Thai

Ever since I saw this recipe for Pad Thai from What's Cookin' Chicago?, I have been craving it. I haven't made Pad Thai since making this version, which is a little more time consuming. It requires to boil the Pad Thai sauce to caramelize it. And I don't have time for that tonight. Besides, that version was a little too dry for my taste. I like my Pad Thai to be a little more saucy. Joelen's version seemed much quicker and easier. It had a little bit of kick to it from the chili, but it was quite good. And the noodles were saucy. Just the way I like it.

8 oz Thai Rice Stick noodles

Pad Thai Sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp. tamarind paste, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water

3 Tbsp. fish sauce

1/2 - 1 Tbsp. Thai chili sauce, or more to taste

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 Tbsp. oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1/4 cup chicken stock

3 cups fresh bean sprouts

3 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro

1/3 cup roughly chopped peanuts

lime wedges for garnish

1) In a large bowl, place noodles and pour hot water over them to cover. Allow to soak noodles until noodles are softened and al dente. Be careful that they do not get too soft. Drain and set aside.

2) Prepare Pad Thai sauce by combining tamarind paste, fish sauce, Thai chili sauce, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

3) In a wok or large saute pan over medium-high heat, add 1-2 tablespoons of oil. When it begins to shimmer, add minced garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry until opaque in color, about 5-7 minutes. Add shrimp during the last 2 minutes of cooking the chicken.

4) Add chicken stock and Pad Thai sauce, stirring to coat the chicken and shrimp. Add the noodles, and using tongs carefully stir-fry the noodles to coat with the sauce. Continue to stir fry until noodles have soaked up most of the sauce, being careful not to break the noodles. Add bean sprouts, green onions and cilantro. Toss to combine. Serve and garnish with more chopped cilantro, chopped peanuts and lime wedges.

Chicken Florentine Lasagna

I'm always on the lookout for a good make-ahead meal. One of the best make-ahead meal idea is pasta. However, most pasta dishes I've seen have red sauces. I wanted to make something with a white sauce. I remember eating a Chicken Florentine pasta at the Olive Garden a while ago and decided to re-create that dish with lasagna. This is what I came up.

10 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions

1 container ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 egg

salt & pepper to taste

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken

3 cups prepared Alfredo sauce

1 (12 oz) bag frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out

1 cup Panko breadcrumbs

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

1) Preheat oven to 400 deg F.

2) In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese and egg. Mix until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in drained spinach.

3) To assemble the lasagna, spread 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce on the bottom of 9 x 13 inch pan. Place one layer of lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Evenly spread spinach mixture over lasagna noodles and top with 1 cup of chopped chicken. Spread 1 cup of Alfredo sauce and repeat layering until you've reached 3 layers (The top layer should be the Alfredo sauce). Top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese.

4) In a small bowl, stir together breadcrumbs and melted butter. Evenly top breadcrumbs mixture over lasagna. Bake for 40-45 minutes until it becomes bubbly.

Pumpkin & Sausage Manicotti

With the fall season in full swing, I thought I'd try to find recipes to use up some of the pumpkin puree I made a couple of weeks ago. Instead of the usual sweet recipe, I wanted to use the pumpkin puree in a savory dish. I've found a few recipes for pumpkin pasta or pumpkin lasagna. And so I settled with this recipe for Pumpkin & Sausage Manicotti from the Betty Crocker website, which came out pretty good. The recipe called for mozzarella cheese as its topping. However, I didn't have much. So I mixed my leftover mozzarella cheese with a Mexican blend cheese. The cheese flavor came out too strong, so I'll definitely stick with using all mozzarella cheese on my next attempt to make this recipe.

16 uncooked manicotti shells

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. finely chopped sage leaves

1 egg

1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese

3 cups Alfredo pasta sauce

fresh sage for garnish

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions, using minimum cook time.

2) In a medium skillet, cook sausage, garlic and 1 tablespoon sage over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until sausage is no longer pink. Drain.

3) In a large mixing bowl, beat egg. Stir in ricotta cheese, pumpkin, Parmesan cheese, pepper, 1 cup cheese, the remaining 1 tablespoon of sage and cooked sausage.

4) Spread 1 cup Alfredo sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Fill pasta shells with sausage mixture. Arrange the stuffed shells over the sauce. Pour the remaining 2 cups Alfredo sauce evenly over the shells. Cover and bake for 30-35 minutes or until hot. Uncover and top with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted. Garnish with sage leaves.

Hawaiian Plate Lunch-style Macaroni Salad

One of my favorite parts of a Hawaiian plate lunch is the side of macaroni salad. No matter what the plate lunch is, I always have to have the mac salad. I've had many failed attempts at making a plate lunch mac salad, because I learned that its not merely about slapping on some mayonnaise on some elbow macaroni pasta. There was always something lacking.

After our recent trip to Hawaii, I've been on a Hawaiian food kick lately. Always looking for ways to recreate our meals from the trip. But the mac salad is always the missing part of the meal. After doing a quick search, I've adapted this mac salad from a recipe I found on HawaiiMagazine.com and it came out just as I remembered a mac salad should taste like. I learned that the secret to a great plate lunch mac salad is using Hellman's Mayonnaise. Lots of it. And adding grated onion and eggs into the salad. Mmmmm.....'ono!

1/2 lb. elbow macaroni

1 celery stem, chopped finely

1/4 cup finely chopped carrots

1 Tbsp. finely grated onion

2 hard boiled eggs

1 1/4 cup Hellman's Mayonnaise, more to make it creamy

salt to taste

1) Cook macaroni until it is almost overcooked. Drain and cool completely.

2) Combine prepared macaroni pasta, celery, carrots, and onions in a large bowl. Using a fine mesh sieve, scrape the hard boiled eggs through the sieve and into the bowl of pasta. Stir in mayonnaise. Season with salt to taste. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

I used to have a go-to Alfredo sauce a while ago buried in my binders of recipes. Unfortunately, I lost the recipe. But after doing a quick search, I found another great recipe for Olive Garden's Alfredo Sauce. I used to always buy a pint of Alfredo Sauce from Olive Garden and so I was really excited to have found this recipe. This is a nice sauce to keep in the fridge and use for a quick dinner. You can add shrimp and chicken to it when you're ready to use it and you've got a nice, delicious meal for the family.

1 pint heavy cream

2 sticks butter

2 Tbsp. cream cheese

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

1) In a medium saucepan, combine heavy cream, butter and cream cheese. Simmer on medium heat until everything is melted, stirring occasionally. Add Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Simmer on low for 15-20 minutes.

2) Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Beef Short Ribs with Tortellini & Marsala Cream Sauce

Every week, especially after church, my parents would treat us all to lunch. Its become a tradition of ours ever since hubby and I got married. There are a handful of restaurants we frequent with them, one being the Olive Garden. Most often, I order their Braised Beef and Tortelloni. So I was excited to have found this recipe when I was looking for some new recipe ideas from The Little Kitchen through The Novice Chef.

This was her version of Olive Garden's dish. Its a pretty complex recipe, but I was glad to have tackled the challenge because it came out soooo good! I didn't have Tortelloni, so I substituted it with Tortellini, which is practically the same, and it came out great. This will definitely be a repeat recipe for me.

2 lbs. boneless short rib

salt & pepper

2 Tbsp. oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 Tbsp. minced fresh basil

3 Tbsp. all purpose flour

2 cups Marsala wine

2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

2 cups chicken broth

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

2 bay leaves

2 Tbsp. oil

2 cups bella mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

9 oz package refrigerated cheese tortellini, boiled according to package directions

1) In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season beef with salt and pepper. Brown beef on all sides, about 7-10 minutes.

2) Add garlic, onion, carrot, thyme and basil and cook until onions are translucent, about 4-6 minutes. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

3) Slowly whisk in Marsala wine and vinegar. Scrape the browned bits that have formed on the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 5 minutes for the alcohol to evaporate. Stir in tomatoes and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4) Transfer beef and sauce into a slow cooker. Stir in broth and bay leaves. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low, or 4-6 hours on high.

5) Remove beef from the broth and transfer to a platter. Strain the braising liquid through a sieve. Discard the solids.

6) In a large skillet, heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

7) In the same skillet, add the strained braising liquid and return over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add cooked mushrooms, diced tomatoes and heavy cream. Continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes. Toss with cooked tortellini. Serve topped with more diced tomatoes.