Sushi Bowls are Back!

Quite a while back I made vegetarian sushi bowls for dinner one night. The recipe is here.

I wanted to do something similar again for us the other night but I had some imitationcrab meat in the fridge I thought I'd add in - making it a NON Vegetarian Sushi Bowl.

Same concept. Just changed it up a bit.

Sushi Bowls

Rice cooked - white or brown or sushi
Avocado diced
Shredded carrots
Sliced Cucumber
Pickled ginger

Nori shredded
Edamame cooked and drained

Crab Meat diced

Arrange all items on top of the ice and enjoy with soy sauce! You could certainly take this concept and run with it any way you choose. Adding tofu, fish, other veggies or fun sushi thingso

Thank You to Elly Says Opa!

Elly Says Opa! is one of my favorite cooking blogs. She's always got some great Greek dishes on there but also just wonderful everyday meals for the family.

I found these Chicken Parmesan Burgers on her blog a week or so back and made them the other night and they were so delicious! So delicious I didn't take a picture either!

Easy recipe! Tasty recipe. And per the hubs, the best flavored ground turkey we've ever had.

Thank you Elly!

Chicken Parmesan Burgers
1 lb. ground chicken (I used turkey)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 cup chopped flatleaf parsley (I used dried basil instead)
1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
1 shallot, finely diced (omitted, didn't have on hand)
salt and pepper (just pepper, didn't need more salt with the cheese)

1/2 cup pasta sauce (1 80z. can is more than enough!!)
4 slices mozzarella or provolone (or 1/2 cup shredded) (I used the nice fresh mozzarella cheese)
sauteed mushrooms (optional)(omitted but will try next time)
4 buns (brushed with a little garlic butter, they are even better) (Yes Elly they are!!!)

Lightly mix together all the ingredients for the burgers. Form into 4 patties. I like to make them about 30-40 minutes ahead of time, to let the flavors meld a little bit.

Preheat & spray the broiler with a little oil (or use the grill, or a pan). Broil the burgers for about 4 minutes on the first side, then flip and broil for 3 minutes. Top each chicken burger with 2 Tbsp. pasta sauce and a slice (or about 2T) of cheese. Place back under the broiler for 30-60 seconds, until cheese in melted and burger is cooked through. Top with mushrooms, if desired. Place the buns in the broiler for about 10 seconds, just until toasted.

A Nice Light Creamy Pasta

I found this recipe on WW.com and was having a craving for creamy pasta so decided I'd give this a shot. It was really good, a nice blend of greek flavors and will be made again!

Shrimp on Angel Hair Pasta

3 medium scallions chopped
1 tbs fresh oregano or 2 tsp. dried
1 tsp. lemon zest (i used more)

3 oz. feta cheese
1 cup plain fat free yogurt
14 oz can diced tomatoes drained - I used petite cut
pepper to taste
8 oz. uncooked angel hair (I made the full pound and just left out the other half once cooked)

8 oz. shrimp peeled and de-veined

salt to taste

Bring pot of water to boil.

In a food processor, process scallions, oregano, lemon zest until scallions are finely minced. Add half the feta cheese. Add in the yogurt and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in diced tomato and reserved feta. Season with pepper and salt to taste. *NOTE* I was too lazy to get out the mini chopper so I just mixed this all by hand and didn't worry about the pieces of onion and such. Was still very good and easier and less clean up!

Add shrimp to wate rand cook until done, about 2 minutes. Remove shrimp and add to sauce. Do not drain water. *NOTE* Instead of doing the shrimp boiled, I sauteed them in a skillet with Pam and some garlic and lemon juice. Then tossed with the pasta.

Add pasta to the water and cook until done. Combine with sauce and serve.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Soup!

Traditionally, I make corned beef and cabbage each St. Patty's Day. However, this year things were a bit crazy.

I hadn't been feeling well, the hub's family left that morning while we were at work from their visit with us, and we do NOT like Corned Beef and Cabbage in the crockpot - so I couldn't do a boiled dinner on a week night.

I wanted to find something though that would give us a similar feeling for St. Patty's Day dinner and I came across this recipe on Epicurious.com. Again, Loving this site for recipes lately - don't know why it took me so long to get on the Epicurious bandwagon.

This was SUPER easy, tasty and will be a make again in our house.

I did make some slight alterations to the recipe that we really enjoyed.

Served with some nice Irish Soda Bread, it was a good St. Patty's all around!

Bacon and Cabbage Soup
Epicurious.com

1 (1/3-pound) piece Irish bacon (available at specialty foods shops) or Canadian bacon (We used Canadian Bacon and I used a whole pound of CB)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (I used 4)
5 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth (I ended up using about 6 cups of stock and still adding water - again I was trying to make more than the recipe)
4 Turkish bay leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 small head Savoy cabbage, cored, thinly sliced, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used pre-shredded bagged cole slaw mix with the red cabbage and carrots as well and it was so much easier and added some nice color)

In small saucepan, combine bacon and cold water to cover. Cover, bring to boil over moderate heat, and skim foam from surface. Reduce heat and simmer 7 minutes. Drain and cool, then cut into 1-inch chunks. Set aside. (Omitted this step, just diced the Canadian Bacon and added it near the end of the cooking process to warm)

In 6-quart heavy stock pot over moderate heat, melt butter. Add onion and sauté, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add potatoes and sauté 2 minutes. Add stock, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and bring to boil. Reduce heat to moderately low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add cabbage and simmer 5 additional minutes. Discard bay leaves. Working in 3 batches, in blender purée soup until smooth (using caution when blending hot liquids) *NOTE* We did not puree it, we went for simplicity and rustic and it was so good to have all of the different pieces in there!. Return to pot, stir in bacon, and rewarm if necessary. Ladle soup into bowls and serve.

Another new curry favorite

The hubs and I have really begun to like Indian food - thanks to our friends Rupa and Dibyendu. They introduced us to authentic Indian cooking at their house and now we're kind of hooked.

I made this recipe from Epicurious and it was SO tasty and good! Very easy to make as well. Served over Bastami rice.

I made a few changes though - I used canned chickpeas for a quick meal and did not use the slow cooker but the stove top.

Will certainly be adding this to our regular rotation of vegetarian meals.

Spicy Chickpea and Spinach Curry
Epicurious.com

2 cups dried chickpeas, picked over
8 cups baby spinach leaves
2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala*
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

In large bowl, combine chickpeas and enough cold water to cover by two inches. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Drain chickpeas, then combine in slow cooker with 1 cup water. Cover and cook on high, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 4 hours. Add spinach, tomatoes and their juices, coriander, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and cook 1 hour more. Sprinkle in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, stir in cilantro and serve.

Again you can easily do this with canned chickpeas on the stovetop - it took us about 25 minutes and we made that while the rice was finishing steaming.

My First Lasagna!

First off, sorry for the delay in postings. I've been under the weather for the past few weeks and am just now getting around to catching up on the blog.

Well I made my first lasagna! I had never made one before, I know can you believe it?!

I went with the recipe on the back of the Barilla box, except i doubled it and used Italian Sausage and layered in some frozen spinach.

It was so delicious! I will certainly be making a lasagna again, and will double it again to have all of the yummy leftovers for lunches and dinners.

Again, no real recipe, just follow the barilla box, pick some good sauce - 2 jars, use italian sausage ground and browned and drained of fat, and add in some frozen spinach to the layers.