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.

Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

One of my favorite places to eat is at a Churrascaria, which is an all-you-care-to-eat Brazilian BBQ. They serve the bbq with a buffet of different kinds of sides. My kids are not real big meat eaters, so they end up only eating whatever rice, potato, or bread dishes found on the buffet line. But their absolute favorite thing to eat at a churrascaria is their Pao de Queijo, Brazilian Cheese bread. 

I've been seeing quite a few recipes for Pao de Queijo all over Pinterest, like this one from Rasa Malaysia. The recipe is pretty easy and doesn't require much cleanup. However, the tricky part of the recipe is finding tapioca flour. You can find them in most Asian markets. Usually, when I find them, I buy quite a few bags of them because I like to make big batches for my kids to snack on. It also saves me a trip from constantly going to specialty Asian markets just to purchase tapioca flour. These are best eaten hot, but you can easily store them at room temperature in a large freezer bag or an air-tight container for 3-5 days. Then warm them up for  few seconds in the microwave. 

1 egg at room tempature

1/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup milk

1 1/2 cups tapioca flour

1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice, packed

1 heaping tsp. salt

1) Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Grease mini-muffin tins generously.

2) Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender and continue pulsing. Batter will make about 2 cups.

3) Pour batter into muffin pans, about 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 minutes, until puffy and lightly golden. Cool in the pan for about 2-3 minutes, and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve warm. Store remaining in a freezer bag or an air tight container for up to 5 days, and reheat when ready.

Make-Ahead Gravy

I've always wanted to make gravy from scratch for Thanksgiving, but because I deep fry our turkey, I don't have turkey pan drippings to make the gravy. So I always resort to the powder or bottled version from the supermarket. Then I got the idea of making gravy using stock after doing some searches online. And what perfect timing it was when this recipe came up on my reader from The Brown Eyed Baker. I happen to always have Turkey stock made from the turkey carcass of our Thanksgiving luncheon, so this recipe came in handy.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cup finely chopped onions

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 cups turkey or chicken stock, heated

1 Tbsp. heavy cream

1) In a large saute pen, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned. (Do not rush this step!)

2) Sprinkle flour into pan and whisk. Add salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in stock and cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes until thickened. Add cream and serve.

(Note: This gravy can be frozen. When ready to use, thaw in refrigerator and reheat over the stove or microwave, adding a splash of stock to loosen the gravy).

Sage, Sausage & Apple Dressing

I've been searching high and low for the perfect dressing to serve for Thanksgiving. I don't want to use the boxed stuff. But its been hard to find a tried and true dressing recipe. One thing was for sure. I really wanted to use sausage and apples in the recipe. So I found this recipe that was the best of both worlds. The use of boxed cubes and a recipe using sausage and apples. And it came out so good. To add a little twist to it, I used half of the recipe and added some dried cranberries and toasted walnut pieces for a little bit more depth of flavor. I think I may have found my dressing recipe.

16-ounce bag stuffing cubes

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more to grease the pan and topping

1 lb. sage sausage (I used Jimmy Dean's Sage breakfast sausage)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

1-2 ribs celery with eaves, chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

1/2 cup corn kernels

1/2 tsp. salt

3 3/4 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces (optional)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 eggs, beaten

1) Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish.

2) Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook until no longer pink, but not so much that its dry, about 5 minutes. Place stuffing cubes in a large mixing bowl and add cooked sausage and pan drippings into the bowl.

3) Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add the onion, apple, celery, carrot, corn, and salt. Cook until the vegetables get soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil.

4) Pour mixture over the stuffing cubes and toss until evenly moistened. Mix in walnuts and cranberries (if using) and eggs. Loosely pack the dressing in the prepared pan and cook uncovered until the top forms a crust, about 40 minutes. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of turkey pan drippings or melted butter over the top. Cook until the top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes more.

Scalloped Potatoes revisited

I know its been over a week since my last blog post. Honestly, I had been working myself up for this recent Thanksgiving holiday. Keeping busy by planning my strategy on how to tackle the tasks at hand. My menu has been the same ever since I volunteered to host Thanksgiving dinner for my side of the family. We always have my famous Deep Fried Turkey, Creamed Corn, Mashed Potatoes, and Scalloped Potatoes. Scalloped Potatoes is the one dish my brother looks forward to. However, my Scalloped Potatoes are either a hit or miss. They either are somewhat undercooked, or not cheesy enough. Then a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, this recipe came up on my reader from the Brown Eyed Baker. The key for perfect Scalloped Potatoes every time is to boil the entire mixture together prior to baking it. I can't believe I didn't think of that before. They came deliciously.

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 small onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

4 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup shredded cheese

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

2) In a medium sized stock pot, melt butter over medium-high heat until foaming subsides, about 1 minute. Add onion and saute until it softens and begin to brown, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add cream, milk, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and potatoes. Bring mixture to simmer. Cover, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain a light simmer. Cook until potatoes are are almost tender (paring knife can be slipped into and out of center of potato slice with some resistance), about 15 minutes.

3) Remove and discard thyme and bay leaves. Transfer potato mixture into a 3-quart casserole or gratin dish. Sprinkle top with cheese. Bake until cream has thickened, is bubbling around the sides, and the top has turned golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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.

Easy Fruit Dip

My sister-in-law had served this dip at one of our nephew's birthdays. She had mentioned that it was simply a mixture of cream cheese and marshmallow fluff. Then I was searching for recipe ideas from the Brown Eyed Baker and found this recipe. I had some strawberries that were starting to wilt, so I thought I'd eat them up before they all go bad and this dip would go well with them.

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 jar marshmallow fluff

1) In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese and marshmallow fluff until well combined. Serve with your favorite fruit.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

The past week has been a whirlwind of emotions, especially for hubby. Not only was it hubby's birthday, but his long-awaited board exam was also on his birthday. So the beginning of the week was pretty tense in our household, to say the least. However, the early Friday morning after his birthday, we received the most happiest news that after his 2 years of studies taking him away from his family, he passed his boards. It was a very emotional morning and we're so thrilled that its finally over and we can now finally move on with our lives as a complete family without worrying about him having to study, having to go to class, or having to go to his internship. So to commemorate both of our birthdays this month and the passing of his boards, we decided to throw a little pool party with our loved ones present.

I decided to have the food catered by one of the BBQ restaurants we frequent, Stonefire Grill. Then one day last week, I was looking through some recipes from the Brown Eyed Baker and came across this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Dip that I thought would be great to serve as an appetizer. I was a little nervous about making this because I didn't know how anyone would take it being spicy. I like to eat a little spice every now and then, but sometimes I feel like the flavor of the dish gets lost in the spice. I prefer flavor over the spice. So for this recipe, I decided to use a milder hot sauce and it came out so yummy! It was very well received and I'm so glad I made it. It was not too spicy and so we were able to enjoy the flavor. This is definitely going to be repeated again and again.

4 boneless chicken breast halves, boiled and shredded (or use a whole rotisserie chicken)

12 oz bottle hot sauce

16 oz bottle ranch dressing

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

2) In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken and hot sauce until well combined. Spread in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish or any 3 quart baking dish.

3) In a medium sauce pan, combine ranch dressing, cream cheese, and mayonnaise over low-medium heat until cream cheese is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Pour mixture evenly over chicken. Evenly spread cheese on top and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with tortilla chips, carrot sticks, or celery sticks.

Happy birthday to hubby and me. Congratulations to hubby!

One side of this yummy Banana Nutella Chocolate cake had a sign that said "Happy Birthday." The other side said "Congratulations (hubby), PTA, ATC." Yummy!

Atchara (Pickled Green Papaya)

Growing up, my lola used to make a lot of pickled items such as pickled mangos and pickled green papaya relish (atchara). She would bottle them and it would remain in the fridge for months and months. They're often an accompaniment to fried dishes with rice. However, I was never a huge fan of the pickled mangos or atchara. I was a kid and didn't like the sour-ness of them. Then a few months ago, hubby and I went to a food truck fest and ate off of a Filipino food truck. They had the standard rice and tocino. But their plates had a side of atchara with it. I don't think I remember my grandparents or my parents eat their tocino with atchara before. Then flashbacks of me not liking atchara when I was kid ran through my mind. But hey, I'm older now and have a more sophisticated palette. So I gave it a shot and ate it together with my rice and tocino. What did I miss all these years??? The sour-ness balances the flavors of the meat and rice perfectly. Hubby took a taste of it and asked if I could make atchara. And it gave me an idea. So I did a search and found this recipe from Panlasang Pinoy.

One of the reasons why I started this blog was for my daughter to have a record of her culture in food. With all the desserts and other non-Filipino dishes I make on this blog, sometimes I lose that vision. So this atchara dish somehow takes us back to that. And when I tasted my final product, it somehow took me back to my days with my lola.

3-4 lbs. green papaya, juliennned

2 medium sized carrots, julienned

1 large onion, sliced thin

10 cloves garlic, sliced thin

2 Tbsp. peppercorn

1 inch fresh ginger, julienned

1/4 cup, plus 1 1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups white vinegar

1 1/3 cups sugar

2 small boxes raisin (optional)

1) In a large bowl, combine green papaya and 1/4 cup salt. Mix until salt is well distributed. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

2) After papaya has been treated, place in a colander and thoroughly rinse under running water. Wrap rinsed papaya with a cheesecloth or clean cloth towel. Squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the papaya.

3) Return papaya in the large bowl. Add carrots, garlic, ginger, onions, peppercorns, and raisins (if using). Mix until evenly distributed. Place in a large, clean mason jar (or evenly distribute among several smaller mason jars). Set aside.

4) In a medium saucepan, add vinegar and cook over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in sugar and remaining 1 1/4 teaspoon of salt until well diluted. Remove from heat and cool completely.

5) Pour vinegar mixture in the prepared mason jars until the vegetables are completely submerged. Seal jar and refrigerate for 5 days to 1 week. Serve with fried dishes as desired.

Chicken Pasta Salad

We decided to take a family trip to Universal Studios Hollywood today, since its a 3-day weekend. Tomorrow, we decided we wanted to do a barbecue with my folks while my brother helped hubby put up some shelves in the garage. So that means all the prep work is all up to me. I decided my menu to consist of my Korean Bulgogi Beef, Grilled corn, a side salad, and turkey burgers. I found a great burger recipe I wanted to try out from Annie's Eats (more on that recipe for tomorrow's post). I also found a great side pasta salad recipe from The Nest, which I've started to frequent again.

This recipe for Chicken Pasta Salad is a twist to another chicken pasta salad that I love eating from a local restaurant. It has fresh ingredients like strawberries and grapes. I love mixing sweet with savory, which is why this recipe really caught my eye. This salad was quite refreshing. My mom loved it and decided to take some home. I'll be making this dish again.

1 1/2 cup dried pasta shells (I used a tri color spiral pasta)

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

3 cups halved seedless grapes

1 1/2 cups quartered fresh strawberries

2/3 cups bottled cucumber ranch salad dressing

a pinch of cayenne pepper

1-2 Tbsp. milk

leaf lettuce

toasted sliced almonds

1) Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again.

2) In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, grapes and strawberries.

3) In a small bowl, mix together salad dressing and cayenne pepper. Pour dressing over pasta mixture. Toss gently to coat. Cover and chill for 4-24 hours.

4) When ready to serve, if pasta salad is dry, stir in enough milk to moisten. Stir in almond slices. Line serving tray with lettuce leaves and mound pasta salad on top of lettuce. Serve.

Lomi Lomi Salmon

With the weather being so dark and gloomy lately, it sometimes makes me miss the islands. I once saw a Food Network chef make some Lomi Lomi Salmon one day, and it inspired me to try to make it too. I was at Costco the other day and found some salmon and thought now was the time to try to make this delicacy often found at all Hawaiian luaus and as a side dish to many Hawaiian meals.

"Lomi Lomi" means to massage. This is a 2-step recipe that requires you to massage fresh salmon with salt and marinate it overnight. But if you don't have the luxury of doing it overnight, you can probably use some smoked salmon. I used Hawaiian salt in this recipe, but you can probably use regular table salt, as Hawaiian salt is quite pungent. Otherwise this dish came out pretty good. And very salty. But that's how most Hawaiian dishes are like. This won hubby's approval.

1 lb. fresh salmon

1/4 - 1/2 cup Hawaiian salt (or sea salt)

6 tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped green onions

Hawaiian salt to taste

1) Massage salt all over the salmon. Place on a flat tray, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

2) Rinse salmon and soak for at least an hour, changing the water several times.

3) Shred salmon with your hands. Add tomatoes, onions and more salt to taste. Massage ingredients with your hands until ingredients are broken up and thoroughly mixed. Chill before serving.

Bobby's Hot Crab Dip

As a starter for this year's Thanksgiving dinner, I decided to make this dip. I watched Paula Deen and her son, Bobby, make this on her show on the Food Network. Hubby has a different kind of crab dip that has artichoke and uses imitation crab. What I like about this dip is the use of fresh crab. I omitted a few ingredients that made this dip too spicy, because I also wanted my daughter to have a chance to eat it as well. It came out quite tasty and creamy.

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 lb. lump crab meat

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease a casserole dish and set aside.

2) Using a mixer, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, green onions and lime juice. Carefully fold in crab meat. Bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips, pita chips, toasted baguette.

Guava Jelly

Hubby and I always love taking back some Guava Jelly from Hawaii. We haven't been to a Hawaii in a while and I MISS not only Hawaii but Guava Jelly. Our neighbor has a guava tree and when the guavas are really ripe, our backyard smells of sweet guava that reminds me of guava jelly. I've always been tempted to just climb over and pick some sweet guava so I can make guava jellym but never get the nerve to do it. Well, yesterday, one of my co workers brought some guavas from her tree. Score! I can now finally make some. So off I went to look for a guava jelly recipe and found this one. I got home from a party today to the smell of guava in my house. The guavas I got yesterday were starting to over ripen, so I figured now was finally the time to make it. It came out pretty good. The recipe didn't really call for exact measurements, so I've modified the recipe a bit with my measurements. This'll definitely tie me over until our next trip to Hawaii.

4 1/2 cups quartered, ripe guavas

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. lemon juice

1) Boil guavas in 8 cups of water until softened. Remove guavas from the water. Push softened guavas through a sieve (you may have to mash it through with a spoon. You'll end up with approximately 2 cups of puree).

2) Mix guava puree with sugar and lemon juice. Return guava mixture to heat and cook until temperature of the mixture reaches 220-225 deg. F using a candy thermometer.

3) Pour guava mixture in a prepared mason jar. Skim off the foam that forms on the top. Cover and cool.

Oven Baked Zucchini Chips

This recipe popped up on my reader today from Telly's Tasty Tidbits. I had some leftover zucchinis from my diet last week that I wanted to use up, so this recipe came up at the right time. I LOVE zucchinis and I'm so glad I made these because they were so yummy! My daughter loved these too. This is a great way to sneak in some veggies for her because she hates veggies. Thank you so much for this recipe! I'll definitely be making this again.

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 grated parmesan cheese (I used shredded parmesan on this one)
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
a pinch of black pepper
2 Tbsp. water
1 egg, beaten
2 small zucchinis, thinly sliced
cooking spray

1) Preheat oven to 425 deg. F. Grease 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, seasoned salt, garlic powder and black pepper.

3) In another bowl, whisk together egg and water. Dip zucchini slices in egg mixture and dredge in the breadcrumb mixture. In a single layer, place zucchini slices on prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned and crisp.

Green Goddess Rice

I served the Sea Scallops with Saffron Aoli with a side of this rice dish the way Claire Robinson from the Food Network also did. The sauce came out quite tangy. I may lessen the lemon juice it requires next time. Otherwise, the flavors meshed well.

1 1/2 cup basmati rice (I used long grain white rice)

salt

1 small avocado, peeled and seeded

1 cup fresh basil

juice of 1 lemon

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup water

black pepper

1) In a medium sauce pan, bring rice, pinch of salt and 5 cups of water to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, stir, cover and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered for 10 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, put avocado, basil, lemon juice, olive oil and water in the blender and puree. Season with salt and pepper. Add more water and puree until the mixture reaches the consistency of sour cream.

3) Fluff rice with a fork and gently fold in green dressing into warm rice. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately.

Chicken Enchilada Dip Roll-ups

Its the eve of our 7th anniversary. Unfortunately, hubby has to be in class all evening tomorrow. Which means I'll be without him for our anniversary. I plan on waiting up and having a nice dinner set out for him when he gets home. But being at work and school all day, I'm sure he'll be very hungry before coming home. I normally pack him a sandwich on these nights when he's out all day and evening. But it being our anniversary, I wanted to send him off to school with something different.

I've bookmarked this recipe for a while from Sing for your Supper... which I thought hubby would really appreciate. Hubby and I love enchiladas and I think this is an awesome twist to one of our favorite Mexican dishes. This was originally a dip recipe, but it can be used to spread on a tortilla and then rolled-up to make a nice appetizer.

2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 1/3 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

1 tsp. minced garlic or garlic powder

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

cayenne pepper to taste

salt taste

3 boneless, skinless chicken, chopped or shredded

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

10 oz can diced tomato with green chilies

1) Mix cheeses together until well blended. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

2) Spread dip on a flour tortilla and roll. Cut into 1-2 inch thickness. Serve.

Potato Paratha (Potato-stuffed Indian Flatbread)

I think Paratha is the first Indian dish that my friend Kiran had me try. She brought some to work that her mom had made and I was hooked. I always secretly hope that she brings some to work for me everytime her mom makes some :) Its a flat bread stuffed with various things. Most of the time, its stuffed with potatoes. I saw this recipe on the new Cooking Channel with Bal Arneson of Spice Goddess. Kiran and another Indian co-worker of mine would tell me how to make Paratha, but I think I had to have a visual on how to make this dish. So when I saw this on TV last night, I was dying to try to make it today.

It wasn't as hard as I thought, though there just seems to be something missing in the filling. Maybe because I omitted the fenugreek leaves (because I didn't have any). The Garam Masala was a little overpowering, so I may lessen the amount the next time. Overall though, the taste was there. I'll try to make this again next time, with different ingredients.

Filling

1 cup mashed potatoes

2 Tbsp. minced onion

1 Tbsp. fenugreek leaves

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1 Tbsp. Garam Masala

salt & pepper to taste

Dough

2 cups flour

1/2 - 3/4 cup water

1) Combine the ingredients for the filling in a medium bowl. Set aside

2) In another bowl, combine dough ingredients and knead until it forms into a smooth ball, similar to a stiff pizza dough.

3) Take a piece of dough about the size of a golf ball and roll it into a disc. Lightly dust surface with flour, and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the disc into a thin patty (like a pancake).

4) Place about 1/4 cup of filling in the center of the disc then fold the edge of the dough over the mixture and form into a ball. Gently roll the paratha into a flat patty (like a tortilla), being careful not to squeeze the filling out.

5) Heat a skillet to medium-high. Place paratha on hot skillet. Cook until dough begins to bubble and brown, then flip on the other side to cook, about 3 minutes on each side.

Summer Corn Dip

I found this recipe at one of the blogs I visited and thought to make it today. I still had a few ears of corn leftover from last week, so I thought it would be perfect to use on this. The original recipe called for canned Mexi-corn, which I obviously substituted. It came out quite good and hubby was addicted. He says I'm not much help to his diet. I say, everything is okay in moderation.

1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green onions
1/4 cup red and green bell peppers, finely diced

Mix together all ingredients until well incorporated. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve with tortilla chips.

Strawberry Jam

You know that summer is on its way when you head to the grocery store and you find that they start selling a lot of fruits. Watermelons, peaches, mangos, and STRAWBERRIES! I bought a huge box of strawberries at my favorite store, Costco, hoping that my daughter would love eating them as much as I do. Well, she didn't quite fancy them. Yet. But I'm working on that. In the meantime, I had a huge supply of unused strawberries that were beginning to over-ripen. So I had to find ways to use them up. I froze some of the good ones for use later on. The rest that were too soft to freeze, I decided to make jam with them.

I searched for ways to make them, and they were all pretty much the same. The hardest part of this recipe is finding fruit pectin. Where the heck am I going to find that??? Well, I did find it in the most unlikely places in the supermarket. Next to the fire logs, at the front of the supermarket, where I would never look. They also had the mason jars that you would use to store the jams. Perfect.

The recipe is a 1:1 ratio of sugar and fruit. If you don't like it too sweet, I suggest you lessen the sugar. Which is what I did.

4 cups whole strawberries (cleaned and stems removed)

4 cups sugar

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp. (powdered) fruit pectin

1) In a food processor or blender, puree strawberries to your desired consistency. Place in a medium saucepan. Add sugar, lemon juice, and fruit pectin. Stir until well incorporated. Simmer on medium heat for 5-10 minutes.

2) Remove the whitish foam that forms on the top. Pour into warm, sterilized jars all the way to the top. Cover for 10 minutes. Invert the bottle on its lid until cooled. Store upright.

Spinach Dip

Tomorrow's my daughter's 2nd birthday. I can't believe she's 2 now. I can still remember every moment at the hospital when I gave birth to her. Last year, we went all out for her 1st birthday party. Pinatas, baloons, pony and all. I decided to make it smaller this year and have it at an indoor playground just to have the kids over. For food, I decided on quick things to eat. I didn't want to slave over the stove, so we ordered pretty much everything from some of our favorite places. I also wanted to make my Banana Squares and this Spinach dip to munch on chips with.

I learned this recipe from my cousin, ate Jhune, who made this for my college graduation party over 11 years ago. I've made this dip often and came to realize that this recipe can also be found on the back of the packaging of the Knorr spring vegetable soup mix packet. lol! Nevertheless, its a recipe that definitely shouldn't be passed up. A food processor will be very useful for this recipe. You can serve this as is or to put a special touch, serve in a sourdough bread bowl.

10 oz package of spinach, finely chopped
3 stalks green onions, finely chopped
8 oz can whole water chestnuts, finely chopped
1 package of Knorr Spring Vegetable soup mix
16 oz sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise

1) Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until well blended. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Serve with tortilla chips, vegetable sticks, or crusty bread.