Ridiculously Delicious & Easy Ramen

 Broth

1 ramen and seasoning packet (or soba noodles)

Mushrooms- sliced and sauted with oil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper

Diced tomato

i/2 lime squeezed

i/2 diced avocado

leftover chicken or beef

Green Onions

I egg fried or hardboiled

YES!!!! This is so easy and perfect for a winter day with warmness and fresh alive ingredients.

Chloe Shangai Noodles

Ahead Of Thyme

We served with frozen pot stickers and fresh strawberries and blackberries

For 6 people

i onion cut in long slender slices

3 garlic cloves

 2-3 tablespoon vegetable oil 

2lbs chicken breast (about half a breast), sliced into small narrow strips 

2 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (I just use olive oil(

2 pkgs  Udon Shanghai chao mian noodles, soaked in warm water for 5 minutes and drained (1)

6-12 brown mushrooms, sliced 

1 tablespoon sesame oil 

2-3 tablespoon soy sauce ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce 

2 teaspoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon white pepper powder 

1 large bunch bok choy chopped, base trimmed and discarded  

mom loves to pour fish sauce on her individual plate b4 she eats

1. Heat oil in large pan over high heat. Add chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes, until it changes colour. Then, add cooking wine and turn the heat down to medium-low.
2. Break the soaked noodles apart with your hands and add them to the pan, along with mushrooms and sesame oil and stir-fry together for 3 minutes, until mushroom is soft and translucent.
3. Add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, and white pepper. Stir for 1 minute.
4. Add bok choy and turn the heat up to medium. Cook until bok choy gets medium soft, about 1-2 minutes. Do not overcook as you want the bok choy to still be firm and not soggy. If the sauce is getting too dry, add a tablespoon of water.
5. Serve hot

11/21/24 i would've liked to have more bok choy

(1) each udon noodle i've used has different directions, so just follow the cooking directions on each package

Best Baked Potato

Gimme some oven 

• 1 medium-to-large Russet potato, scrubbed clean of any dirt
• 1–2 teaspoons melted butter (or olive oil)
• pinch of coarse Kosher salt
• pinch of freshly-cracked black pepper

1. Heat the oven. Heat oven to 450°F.  Line a large baking sheet with foil (or parchment*), and if you happen to own a wire cooling rack, place it on top of the baking sheet.
2. Prep the potato. Using a dinner fork or a small paring knife, poke the potato at least 10 times on all sides.  Place the potato on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake (round one). Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove baking sheet from the oven.
4. Brush with butter (or oil).  Using a pastry brush, brush the outside of the potato with melted butter or olive oil until it is completely coated on all sides.  Sprinkle the potato with a generous pinch of Kosher salt, and place the potato back on the baking sheet reverse-side-up, so that it can cook evenly on both sides.
5. Bake (round two). Bake for an additional 20 minutes.  Using an oven mitt, carefully squeeze the potato to check for doneness.  If the insides are soft and give under pressure, remove the potato from the oven.  Otherwise, continue cooking in 5-minute increments until the potato is soft.
6. Cut the potato.  Using a small paring knife, slice halfway through the potato lengthwise.  Then give it a gentle squeeze to open.
7. Serve.  Serve immediately, with your desired toppings.

sour cream

cheddar cheese

feta cheese

steamed broccoli

chives/green onions

sauteed mushrooms

crumbled bacon

cherry tomatoes

avocado

chili

Caldo de Res (Beef Mexican Soup)

 Kevin is cooking and Salty Cocina Mexican Food

Afro serves this soup with 1. Pico and  2. side of rice 3. Corn tortilla

• 2 lbs beef shank bones (mine were frozen)
• 1 lb beef chuck cubed (See Note 1) (mine were frozen)
• 1/2 whole onion
• one whole bunch of garlic
• 1 lb mushrooms
• 5 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 yellow potatoes cut into eight pieces
• 2 ears corn shucked and cut into 2 inch pieces
• 4 carrots sliced into thick  2-3inch rounds
• 1 large jalapeño sliced into rings
• 1/2 head cabbage cut into quarters
• 2 zucchini cut into thick 2-3inch rounds
• add Beef or chicken bouillion at the end of cooking

Serving

• 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
• 2 limes quartered




• In a large dutch oven or soup pot, add 10 cups water, beef shanks, beef chuck, garlic, bay leaves, and the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 90 minutes, or until the meat is tender. I used my pressure cooker.     Skim off and discard any brown foam floating at the top (foam is the impurities).
• Remove the beef shank/bones and with a slotted spoon remove the pieces of cooked beef chuck, bay leaves and garlic cloves. Transfer cooked beef shank/bones to a bowl, and set aside to cool. Transfer cooked beef chuck pieces to a small bowl. Discard the bay leaves and garlic cloves. Taste, and add 1 beef bouillon cube to the pot if more beef flavor is desired.
• Add the potatoes, corn, carrots, jalapeno and 2 cups of water to the pot.
• Bring soup to a boil, then add the cabbage, zucchini, chickpeas and mint (See Note 2). Cover and turn heat to simmer and cook until vegetables are tender and cooked through, (check potatoes and carrots with fork), about 15 minutes.
• While the vegetables are cooking, pick over and remove any bits of meat from the bones and discard bones. Add meat to small bowl with beef chuck. Chop the meat into small bite size chunks and add to soup pot. Cook another 5 minutes to heat meat through.
• Remove mint sprigs and discard. Season with salt and pepper, stir everything thoroughly. Serve soup in large bowls, making sure that each bowl gets a little bit of everything. Serve and top each bowl with cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice and warm tortillas (optional).

• Notes

  1. Most traditional recipes call for just the meat off the beef shanks. I found this too little for the effort, so I add pieces of beef chuck. Beef short ribs work as well.
  2. I add the cabbage, zucchini, and chickpeas after everything has come to a boil so they do not over cook and become mushy.

chloe shish kabob

⅓ cup olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Seasoning, Salad Dressing & Recipe Mix Shaker
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary, plus more sprigs for garnish
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
8–10 wooden skewers, soaked for at least 20 minutes
STEP 1
In a mixing bowl, stir together the olive oil, seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and rosemary.
STEP 2
Add chicken to the bowl and stir well to coat the pieces evenly. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
STEP 3
Preheat the grill to medium-high heat and grease the grates to prevent sticking. Thread the chicken onto the skewers and discard remaining marinade.
STEP 4
Grill for 10–12 minutes, turning for even browning, until the chicken is cooked through. Garnish with more fresh rosemary if desired and serve hot.   Serve with (red, orange)Peppers, mushrooms, onion, pineapple

Hidden Valley

Chicken Jumbo Shells

Need two 9x13 pans, serve with french bread

12 oz Jumbo Shells
2 Chicken Breasts (chopped food processor)
1 onion chopped and sauteed
1/2lb chopped mushrooms (not necessary, but I love them)
3-6 chopped garlic cloves
1 24 oz can of spaghetti sauce

White Sauce-
8 oz cream cheese
3 T butter
1/2c parmesan
1/2c milk
2 c shredded mozzarella (1 cup for white sauce and 1 c for top of prepared shells)
Cottage cheese filling-
8 oz cottage cheese
1 T basil and parsley
1 egg
salt and pepper

This was more work than I usually like to do. But we don't have them much and I wanted something different for dinner. This recipe uses 3 different pans- 1. to cook pasta, 2. to saute onion, chicken, mushrooms, and red sauce. 3. warm up the white sauce

Saute onion for 7 min, then add garlic and mushrooms with salt and pepper cook for a few minutes. Add chicken till cooked thoroughly, add spaghetti sauce.

In separate pot heat up and stir the white sauce. Turn off the heat, In same pot combine cottage cheese, basil, parsley, egg

In separate pot boil the jumbo shells.  in 9x13 pan lightly spray the pan and then add red sauce to the bottom of the pan. Place the empty shells on top of the sauce . Assemble the shells with the white sauce cottage cheese filling first, then on top of the cottage cheese add the meat red sauce. After all the shells are filled pour the rest of the red sauce over the top.

Cook 350 for 30 min. Last 5 mintues add 1 c of mozzarella to melt on top of shells.

Weirdly enough, I actually noticed these prepared shells tasted much better on day 3 of sitting in the fridge. Initially on the day I made them we had them for dinner and I honestly didnt really enjoy them so much, but my family almost ate one whole pan (so it passed their taste buds).  Next time make this a few days ahead and place foil/wrap on top and let sit in fridge for at least 3 days.

EASY CHICKEN/Beef RAMEN

Fox and Briar
I wanted to make something warm and soothing but still had some fresh veggies (carrots, cucumbers, bok choy, green onions, broccoli). I was gona make chili, but we have that alot and I felt like something different. This TOTALLY hit the spot.

I used a frozen beef broth I had from a couple months ago for boiling veggies and the beef bone for a few hours. Or use The original recipe used the recipe below...

For the Broth

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root
• 4 garlic cloves pressed or finely minced
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms stems removed and sliced
• 1/2 - 3/4 pounds baby bok choy sliced into quarters lengthwise
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• I used Udon noodles (enough to feed 5-6 people)  the original recipe used 1-2 packages fresh yakisoba noodles* one package is about 7 ounces. Use two packages if you like lots of noodles. Fresh noodles are usually found in the produce section of the grocery store

For The Ramen Egg** (I didn't use the marinade for egg and it still was delicious)

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 3/4 cup water

Additional Toppings (Optional)

• sliced green onion
• cilantro
• chili garlic sauce
• sesame seeds
• lime wedges
• broccoli (cook for 5 min, tender crisp)
• julienned carrots (cook for 5 min, tender crisp)
• julienned cucumbers- no cooking

Instructions

To Prepare The Ramen Egg:

• Whisk together the 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of rice vinegar and 3/4 cup water, set aside.
• Prepare an ice bath by filling a bowl with ice and water.
• Bring a pot of water to boil (make sure there is enough water to cover the eggs). When boiling, carefully lower the eggs into the water using a slotted spoon or spider. Reduce heat if necessary to keep the water just barely boiling. Cook for 7 minutes, then remove from pot and place eggs in the ice bath. Leave in the ice bath for 3 minutes. Remove from ice bath and gently peel (egg will be soft). Place peeled eggs in the marinade and make sure they are completely covered with the marinade. Leave in the marinade for several hours or overnight. If keeping longer, discard the marinade and store in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat the egg in the ramen broth (don't leave in the broth very long before serving or the egg will overcook).

To Prepare The Noodles:

• If using fresh noodles:
• Bring a pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add the noodles and simmer for 3 minutes. Strain and rinse with cold water. Toss with just a little oil if necessary to keep them from sticking (mine already had a little oil on them, so I didn't need to). Set aside.
• (If using another type of noodle, follow package instructions)

To Prepare The Soup:

• Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and stir fry for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant so that they don't burn. Add the chicken broth and 1 cup of water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, stir to combine. Bring back to a simmer.
• When broth reaches a simmer, add the chicken thighs. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through and reaches a temperature of 165°F.
• Remove the chicken and shred it with two forks. Add it back to the broth along with the bok choy and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

To Serve The Ramen:

• In a bowl, place a serving of noodles, then pour the soup over them. Top soup with ramen egg, sliced green onions, cilantro and sesame seeds if desired.

Notes

*Keep the noodles seperate from the soup until just before serving. For leftovers, store the broth and noodles seperately.**The egg is optional but I really recommend it. If you don't have time to marinade the egg, you can just skip the marinading step. You can also serve with a fried or poached egg if you prefer.

Italian Inspired Vegetable Barley Minestrone Soup

2 t oil
1 large carrots, diced
1 small onion, diced
3/4c celery, diced
4 t garlic
4 c chicken broth
1 c water
14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes
1/2c pearl barley
8 oz mushrooms, slcied
1/4t black pepper
1 small zucchini, diced
1/2c basil, chopped
4 T parmesan

Heat up oil, add carrots, onion, celery, carrots till onions are golden. Stir in garlic cook 1 min. Add broth, water,tomatoes, bring to boil. Add barley, mushrooms, pepper and cover for 40 minutes.
Stir in zucchini and cool for 5 minutes. Stir in basil

Lemon Chicken Skewers

Taste of home

1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-1/2-in. pieces
3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-1/2-inch slices
3 medium onions, cut into wedges
12 cherry tomatoes
Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients; set aside 1/4 cup for basting. Pour half into a large bowl. Add chicken; turn to coat. Pour the remaining marinade into another large bowl. Add the zucchini, onions and tomatoes; turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate chicken and vegetables for up to 4 hours or overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. Alternately thread chicken and vegetables onto metal or soaked wooden skewers. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 6 minutes on each side or until chicken juices run clear, basting occasionally with reserved marinade.

• Nutrition Facts
• 1 each: 219 calories, 6g fat (1g saturated fat), 66mg cholesterol, 278mg sodium, 12g carbohydrate (0 sugars, 3g fiber), 29g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 2 vegetable.

Teriyaki Shish Kabobs

Taste of home


1 cup sugar
1 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 pounds beef top sirloin steak, cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes
2 to 3 small zucchini, cut into 1-inch slices
1/2 pound medium fresh mushrooms
1 large green or sweet red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups cubed fresh pineapple

Directions

For marinade, mix first five ingredients. Place beef and half of the marinade in a large resealable plastic bag; seal bag and turn to coat. Cover and reserve remaining marinade. Refrigerate beef and marinade overnight.

On metal or soaked wooden skewers, thread vegetables and, on separate skewers, thread beef with pineapple. Discard remaining marinade in bag. Grill, covered, over medium heat until vegetables are tender and beef reaches desired doneness, 12-15 minutes, turning occasionally.

• In a small saucepan, bring reserved marinade to a boil, stirring occasionally; cook 1 minute. Remove vegetables, pineapple and beef from skewers before serving. Serve with sauce.
• Nutrition Facts
• 1 serving: 306 calories, 5g fat (2g saturated fat), 46mg cholesterol, 1203mg sodium, 38g carbohydrate (32g sugars, 2g fiber), 27g protein.

Butternut Chili

  

INGREDIENTS    Doctor Yum

1 tablespoon coconut oil (or other cooking fat)

2 onions, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ pint mushrooms, diced

32 ounces broth (chicken or vegetable)

1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes

1¼ pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed (I'm going to try an actual pumpkin)

2 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon flax meal

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound turkey, lean ground (can sub other ground meat or 16 ounces grated tempeh)

2- 15 ounce cans beans (favorite kind)

2 cups spinach, chopped

METHOD

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large soup pot, and cook onions until soft about 1-2 minutes, add carrots, then garlic and mushrooms and cook until veggies are softened. Add chicken broth and diced tomato with juices. Cut largest butternut squash pieces smaller, making it faster to cook through. Add butternut squash, spices, flax meal, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes. While chili is simmering, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet on medium. Cook turkey until almost brown and cooked though. Turn off heat and set aside. When butternut squash is softened use the back of a spoon in the chili to mash the cubes until broken apart. At this point squash should be dissolved and incorporated into the broth. Add turkey and simmer 5 minutes. Add beans and spinach and cook until beans heated through, about 3-5 minutes.

12/8/18 I'm going to roast a pumpkin instead of a squash. Cut open the pumpkin, cut off the skin and scoop out the seeds. Chop the pumpkin into 1 inch chunks, then coat with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Roast 20-30min