wild rice soup - version 2

Few months ago I posted a recipe for wild rice soup. This is another version, stuffed with more ingredients. I also added less flour so it's not as thick as last time. We like this version better -- probably because of the 'umami' from mushrooms. (The soup looks like the previous one, so I didn't take the picture. Sorry!)

Ingredients: 

Chicken breast - 1
Chicken stock - 4 cups
Water - 2 cups
Quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet - 1 (6 ounce)
Mixed vegetables - 1 cup (or more if you like)
Onion - 1/2 med (chopped)
White Mushroom - 5 large (chopped)

Seasoning for chicken (Taco or carne asada seasoning) - 1 TBS

Butter - 1/2 cup (1 stick)
Salt & Pepper - 1/2 tsp each (or more, depending on your taste)
Flour - 2-3 TBS taken out from 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 cups

Prep:

1. Cook chicken breast for 10-15 minutes in boiling water. Shred it and mix with taco seasoning or carne asada seasoning.
2. Cut onion and mushroom into cubes.
3. Take the seasoning packet from the quick cooking rice box. 
4. Combine flour, salt & pepper. 

Cook:

1. In a 5-quart pot, heat chicken stock, water and chicken until boil. 
2. Turn off the heat once it's boiled. Add in long grain and wild rice (not the seasoning packet). Cover and set it aside. Make sure the heat is off. 
3. In another pot, heat 1 TBS of olive oil. Fry onion and mushroom for 5 minutes. Add to the chicken stock mixture. 
4. Add 1/2 stick of butter on the pot used for mushroom/onion. Once it's melted, add in the seasoning from the rice box. Mix until bubbly. Add in flour mixture all at once. Mix constantly to form a ball. Slowly, add in milk. Keep stirring using whisk so the milk will incorporate well with the flour mixture.
5. Add the milk mixture and mixed vegetable to chicken stock/water/chicken mixture. 
6. Heat for 20 minutes over medium-low heat. Don't let it boil - simmer.

Serve:

1. Serve with butter-garlic-toast: Heat 1 TBS of butter onto frying pan. Fry bread for 2 minutes on one side, turn with more butter. Sprinkle garlic powder on top. Fry until edges are nice and brown. Serve while it's hot.

cashew cranberry chicken sandwich

Here's another post for the leftover rotisserie chicken. Cashew nuts give a nice crunch to the sandwich. It can be served as a salad or as sandwich. All the main ingredients start from "C" so it's easy to remember. :)

Ingredients:

(makes 3 big sandwich or 4 smaller ones)

Rotisserie or grilled chicken - 3 cups 
Celery - 1 stalk (chopped)
Cashew - 1/2 cup (chopped or halved)
Cranberries - 1/2 cup

Mayonnaise - 3/4 cup (or more, depending on how much you love mayo)
Lemon juice - 1 tsp (or more, depending on how you like it)
Salt & Pepper - to taste
Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp

Bread or croissant - enough for 3-4 sandwich
Lettuce leaves and tomato slices - optional 

Prep:

1. Chop cashew nuts in half or smaller, depending on your size preference. 
2. If you are like me and don't like the stringy thing that celery comes with, then peel the outer layer of celery off. Chop and set it aside. 
3. Shred the meat into bite size pieces. Heat up in the microwave for 1-2 minute. Set it aside to cool down a bit.
4. Wash lettuce leaves and slice tomatoes if you are adding them.

Cook:  

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Use a spoon and mix well. 
2. Toast the bread if you like it warm and toasted. 

Serve:

1. Spread some mayo on each slice of bread (or inside of croissant). Add in lettuce and tomatoes. Scoop about 2 big spoonful of chicken salad in the sandwich. 
2. Serve with nice cup of hot soup. 

caesar grilled cheese sandwich

I've been craving for grilled cheese, but when I make only with cheese, it seems like it's missing something. So I was looking through my fridge to see what I could add. Caesar salad dressing, as you know, is my favorite dressing so I thought, why not? It turned out really well. Or maybe it tastes good to me because I'm pregnant and eats weird stuff. If you have any ideas for grilled cheese sandwich additions, please share them with me!

Ingredients (for one sandwich):

Bread - 2 slices (use the bread with lots of grains - it gives nice crunch to it!)
Cheese (American) - 1 slice
Caesar dressing - 2 TBS

Butter - 2-3 TBS

Prep/Cook:

1. On each slice of bread, spread 1 TBS (each or less if you want more cheesy taste). 
2. Add cheese on one side and put the other slice of bread on top (dressing facing the cheese)
3. Heat under medium heat 1-2 TBS of butter on a frying pan. when it's melted, put the sandwich on it and fry one side for about 3-4 minutes.  Check using spatula to make sure it's not burning.
4. Before you turn to the other side, add in another 1 TBS of butter on the frying pan. Make sure the butter is place on the butter. Fry for another 3 minutes. It should be nice and crunchy.

Serve:

1. Serve with a bowl of fruits or chips. A bowl of soup will be a good addition for dinner.
2. Or you can just eat it as is. 

caeser salad with sweet roll croutons

I LOVE Caesar salad. It's my favorite salad and I can eat many servings of it. I made my own Caesar dressing once, but it didn't taste quite the same, so I need to work on that recipe more. I found the dressing and it was very yummy. This post is for sweet roll croutons. 

Ingredients:

Hawaiian sweet rolls - 4 rolls *see TIPS
Olive oil - 1 and half TBS
Italian seasoning - 2 tsp
Dried Basil or parsley - 1 tsp
Garlic powder -  1 tsp
Salt - pinch

Romaine lettuce - 1 head (chopped & washed)
Grated Parmesan cheese - as much as you like, usually about 1/2 cup for 1 head of lettuce

Your favorite Caesar salad dressing   

It's yummy, plus the company gives all their profits to charity! What an awesome dressing!

 

 

 

 

Prep:

1. Cut the Hawaiian rolls into 1/2 inch (or smaller, depending on how big you want your croutons to be) chunks. Leave it on a kitchen counter for 30 minutes. If you are rushing, you can skip the leaving on the counter part.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

I like my croutons big, but cut it to the size you like - even different shapes!

Cook:

1.  Turn the broiler on, or if you want to use oven instead, turn up to 400 F.  You can also use oven toaster if you have one (I want one!)
2. On a prepared baking sheet, toss cut-up rolls with the rest of the ingredients. The pieces should be wet from olive oil and it should cover the whole piece. 
3. [Broiling] Broil it for 2-3 minutes, use spatula to turn the croutons and broil for another 1-2 minutes. Make sure you don't burn them. :) Keep tossing. Turn off the broiler, cover with aluminum foil and leave it in for 5-7 minutes to dry out. 
4. [Baking] Bake in 400F oven for 3-4 minutes, turn using spatula and bake for another 4-5 minutes. It should turn golden brown. Turn the oven off, cover with aluminum foil and let it dry out.

Toss with your hands so you can make sure each piece gets the good stuff on

Watch the oven - multitasking will lead to croutons like the one above. :)

Serve:

1. Toss cut romaine lettuce with cheese. Pour desired amount of dressing. Toss. Sprinkle with homemade croutons. Do this just right before you eat. 

TIPS

• No Hawaiian rolls? No worries! It works with any kind of bread/rolls. If you are using regular toast bread, use 5 slices. 

cioppino {italian seafood stew}

 One of our favorite places to eat in California is Phil's Fish Market. Their cioppino is so yummy, even chef Bobby Flay couldn't beat Phil in cioppino cook-off. :) This year for Christmas, my husband wanted to try making his own version of cioppino. It turned out really good and it was very simple to make. It's hearty and warms you up -- perfect for Christmas dinner! We got the original recipe from Whole Foods, which is my husband's favorite store to shop for good food.

Ingredients:

Garlic - 4 cloves
Red pepper flakes - 1/2 tsp
Yellow onion - 1 large (chopped finely)
Fennel - 1 bulb
Green bell pepper - 1 med
Diced tomatoes - 1 (28 oz) can
Kale - 2 cups (chopped in big pieces)

Chicken broth - 2 cups
White wine - 1 1/2 cup [optional - replace with chicken stock]
Tomato paste - 2 TBS
Dried oregano - 1 tsp
Dried thyme - 1 tsp
Dried basil - 2 tsp
Salt & pepper - to taste

[Seafood goodness] **see TIPS
Cod fish - 1 lb
Crab meat - 1 tub (8 oz)
Medium shrimp - 1 lb (tails on)
Mussels - 1 lb

French baguette - however much you need **see TIPS
Olive oil or butter - for brushing
Garlic salt - dash

Prep:

1. Chop garlic and onion finely.
2. Trim, core and slice fennel. (we didn't know how, so we checked out online. Here)
3. Cut green peppers in slices (discard seeds)
4. Chop Kale and wash couple of times. 
5. [Seafood] Cut cod fish into 1-inch pieces. Shell and de-vein medium shrimp (leave the tail on if you like), wash mussels if they are not prepared beforehand. **see TIPS

Cook:

1. In a large pot (at least 7-8 quart), heat 2 TBS oil and fry garic, red pepper flakes, onion, fennel, bell pepper and kale until softened - about 5-7 minutes. 
2. Stir in can tomatoes (put the whole thing with liquid and all), broth, wine and tomato paste. Stir in seasonings - oregano and thyme. Bring soup to boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the french baguette into 1/2 inch thick. Brush olive oil onto the surface, sprinkle with a dash of garlic salt. You can use butter if you prefer more butterly taste.  Bake for 7 minutes on one side, flip on the other side and bake for another 8 minutes.
5. [Seafood] Add in fish and crab in the broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Don't over stir or else the fish will break into small pieces. 
6. [Seafood] Add in shrimp and mussels. Cover and simmer for about 5-7 minutes. Make sure the mussels are open. 
7. Season with basil, salt and pepper.

Serve:

1. Serve soup hot with freshly baked bread. A nice refreshing salad on the side will be good, too.
2. Don't forget sparkling cider to celebrate! 

TIPS

• I found all the ingredients in Costco. Get the tail-on, raw, de-veined shrimp from frozen section. Crab meat is a can one. For mussel, they usually have packaged prepared ones (not frozen, so check at refrigerated section). If you can't find mussel, they sell can clams, which is a good substitution. 
• French baguette from Costco is really yummy, too!
• Not a big fan of baguette? Use sourdough bread instead. You can even core out round sourdough bread and pour the soup inside, just like at Phil's.

pizza margherita with a twist

We used to get super loaded pizzas like 'meat lover' or 'Hawaiian'. But when we were in San Jose, our friends introduced the pizza place, A Slice of New York and that's where we fell in love with pizza margherita. It's the perfect combination of tomatoes, basil and cheese. This time, we made it with a drizzle of (leftover) Cafe Rio salad dressing, which turned our really really good.

Ingredients (for 2 medium pizza):

Pizza dough - click Here
Classico Fire Roasted Pizza Sauce 
Roma tomatoes - 4
Fresh basil leaves - as much as you want (or around 6-8 leaves per pizza)
Mozzarella cheese - as much as you want

Cafe Rio Salad dressing [optional] - if you have any leftovers 

Garlic - 4 cloves (minced)
Butter - 4 TBS (melted)

Prep:

1. Prepare dough on the day or day before. If you are in hurry, you can just change the rising time to 20 minutes. 
2. Melt butter in the microwave (make sure you cover with paper towel or with microwave safe cover). Add in minced garlic. Mix well.
3. Cut tomatoes in thin slices. 

Cook:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. 
2. (If you are like me and not skilled to toss the pizza dough) Use a rolling pin and roll out the dough to 3mm thick for nice thin crust. **See TIPS
3. Brush the dough with melted butter and garlic.
4. Spread tomato pizza sauce. 
5. Drizzle good amount of Cafe Rio dressing [if you are using]
6. Line with tomatoes, basil, and top with cheese.
7. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven or until the edges are nice and crispy. 

I like rectangle pizzas

Serve:

1.  Serve with nice side of salad. 

TIPS

• I don't have pizza stone, so I used my rectangle baking sheet with silicon baking mat. I roll the dough directly on the silicon mat. I usually make rectangle shape pizzas. 

pulled pork sandwich

Happy 4th of July, everyone! July 4 is the perfect holiday for... BBQ! But if you are like us - live in an apartment and don't have your own backyard (or BBQ grill), then bring BBQ inside. This slow-cooker recipe brings BBQ inside the home and what's even better? You don't even have to stand by it and cook!

Ingredients:

Pork tenderloin (or your favorite cut of meat) - 2 lbs
Root beer - 1 can (12 fl. oz)
Garlic cloves - 3 (skinned and cut in half)

Favorite BBQ sauce - 1 (small bottle - at least 18 oz)

Prep:

1. Prepare garlic cloves by taking off the skin and cutting in half (you will have 6 pieces total). If you are garlic fan, please add more of them! If you're not, just omit or reduce the number.

Cook:

1. In a slow cooker, add meat, root beer and garlic cloves. Root beer should at least be at the halfway mark of the meat. 
2. Let it cook under LOW for 6 hours. 
3. An hour and half before completion (so 4 and half hours into cooking), take the meat out, drain the root beer/garlic liquid out. Shred the meat using two forks. Mix in the whole bottle BBQ sauce and mix well. 
4. Return the BBQ-sauced meat back into the slow cooker and cook for another hour. 

meat + root beer + garlic

After 5 hours

The other side of the meat was nice and brown

Shred it using two forks (my husband does better job shredding meat)

Mix in BBQ sauce

Pretty awesome BBQ sauce - very tangy, good for slow cooker meats

Serve:

1. Serve with homemade bread roll and cole slaw. 
2. Add more BBQ sauce for dripping-BBQ-goodness.

TIPS

• 2 lbs of meat will make about 6-7 big pulled pork sandwiches

never-fail bread(stick)

I tried many recipes for bread that's soft in the inside, but nice and crunchy on the outside. This recipe works well with bread sticks or burger buns/hot dog buns. It's so simple, you don't have to buy bread sticks anymore! 

Ingredients: 

Milk or half & half - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Butter - 2 TBS

White sugar - 3 TBS
Active dry yeast - 1 envelope (.25 ounce or 2 and 1/2 tsp)

Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
Bread flour or all-purpose flour - 5 1/2 cups

[Brushing & Topping]
Egg - 1
Water - 1 TBS

Italian seasoning [optional]
Sesame seeds [optional for burger buns or hot dog buns]
Garlic salt or fresh minced garlic with butter

Prep:

1. In a saucepan, warm up milk, water (1 cup) and 2 TBS of butter until butter melts. Let it cool down a bit so it's not too hot (little bit more than lukewarm). 
2. In a large bowl (Kitchenaid bowl if you are using it), add sugar, yeast, salt and flour. Slowly, add in the milk/water solution as you knead the bread (or use Kitchenaid kneading hook). 
3. Let it knead for 8 minutes with electric ones or 10 minutes with hands.
4. Take the dough out, oil the bowl and return the dough. Cover with wet cloth and put in a warm place for about an hour (until it gets big! about twice the size) *See TIPS

Cook:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Separate the dough twelve parts for hamburger buns, or 24 parts for bread sticks. Shape any way you want. Let it rise for another 15 minutes.
3. Mix egg and water (1 TBS) and brush the top of the bread. Sprinkle whatever toppings you want on top after brushing. 
4. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown on top. 
5. Leave them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before serving. 

Braiding the bread sticks

for this, we put cheese, Italian seasoning

Serve:

1. Serve warm, but not right out of the oven. 

TIPS

• If you want sweeter bread, add more sugar
• If you can't wait for an hour, you can use the dough right away after kneading. Shape them and let it rise for 15-20 minutes.