General Tso's Chicken

My sweet sweet husband has one really sweet habit that makes me crazy sometimes. Every single time he goes to any restaurant he has a particular thing that he always gets. For instance - if we go to any Chinese restaurant he will get General Tsos Chicken; if we go to any Thai restaurant he will get Chicken Pad Thai; if we go to Winners he gets the Birdie Sandwich... every every dang time. I want to break his OCD and every time hope he will try something new - "here doesn't this look good?" at which point he always takes it into consideration and when it is time to order goes back to his old standby. Every every dang time. So yes - I see it as a challenge to expand his horizons - but yes I also find it absolutely adorable how faithful he is to his choices. So... it was only fitting that I find a recipe to make my sweet sweet husband General Tso Chicken. I made one version vegetarian with fake chicken and one with real chicken breast.

• 1C veggie broth
• 2T low sodium soy sauce
• 1T chopped fresh ginger
• 2t rice vinegar
• 2t sweetener
• 1t curry paste
• 2T Franks sweet and spicy hot sauce
• 2T evoo
• 1 package of boneless chicken breast (or 1 bag fake chicken strips)
• 1 handful of green onions
• half package of frozen broccoli

1. Mix broth, soy sauce, ginger, vinegar, sweetener, and curry in a bowl until it is well blended and put aside for a while
2. Saute the chicken in evoo in a pan until heated through - remove from pan and put in a plate for a while
3. Pour broth mixture in to pan and simmer until it thickens a bit
4. Place chicken, green onions, and broccoli back into pan and coat with sauce until cooked through
5. Serve over rice (though if you skip the rice and franks sauce this works for stage 1 south beach diet)

How to Make Quick Pickles - Quickles

This past week I journeyed with my dashing groom, my snuggly prince, and my mother-in-law on a road trip through the South. We visited family in North Carolina, stayed at a cabin in the Mountains, hiked waterfalls, climbed through caves, braved mile high swinging bridges, visited a winery, visited fort sumter, savannah riverfront, and even stayed a night in Charleston with BT's cousins. While there I got to taste some quickles cousin Michelle made that she found a recipe from TheShiksa. I couldn't quite get them off of my mind and bugged her until she sent me a link to the recipe before I even arrived home. Well - after a whole day home I ran to Publix and bought what I needed - or what I could find that I needed. Here is my slightly tweaked version of the recipe.

• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 fist full of fresh dill
• 1 bay leaf or a shake of dried
• 1/2 tsp of whole peppercorn
• 1/2 tsp of coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp of dill seeds (not dill weeds - i ended up finding it at walmart after a couple stores I checked didnt)
• a couple shakes of red crushed pepper
• a shake of celery salt
• 1/4 tsp of fennel seed
• 8 small cucumbers (without the wax coating)
• 2 cups of water
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1.5 tbsp course salt
• 1 mason jar

1. Put slices of garlic into a pan with water and let it boil for one minute to blanch the garlic (this keeps the garlic from turning blue in the soaking. After boiling for one minute drain the garlic.
    
2. Add garlic, all spices (except salt), and cucumbers into the mason jar. The cukes will likely have to be squished to fit but after the soaking they will shrink so should be easier to get out.
   
   
3. Boil the vinegar and water and salt in a saucepan until salt is gone and about one minute after
4. Use a funnel if you have one - and pour the solution over the cucumbers until they are covered.
   
5. Let the jar cool off before closing with the jar top and sticking it into the fridge.
   
6. After about two days of soaking you can take them out to eat, but the longer you wait - the tastier they will turn out to be.
7. Enjoy!

BBQ Tofu Pasta

So I was looking for new ways to enjoy tofu and found a recipe that involved grilling the tofu chunks and then pouring barbecue sauce on top. I decided to take this and mod and created the recipe below. It was awesome and we enjoyed it for dinner and then leftovers for days.

• tofu
• red and green bell peppers
• mushrooms
• garlic
• bbq sauce
• shells pasta

1. saute tofu in evoo in pan until crispy
2. sauce peppers, mushrooms, and garlic in another pan until soft
3. combine both pans and boil water for pasta
4. drain cooked pasta and add to pan with veggies and tofu
5. pour bbq sauce of your choice over the concoction until it is covered and mix
6. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Tex Mex Casserole

So a craving for ground crumbles took over me this week and I bought a bunch of bags of the Boca variety while at publix this week. Too bad they werent on bogo. I decided I was going to make this casserole, some vegetarian cincinatti chili, and who knows what else. So anyhow, we made this last night. The boys tore it up. And I thoroughly got my craving satisfied. Here is the recipe I came up with - try it, enjoy it, share it, mod it.. :)

• veggie crumbles
• rigatoni
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1/2 vidalia onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• frozen corn
• 1 can black beans
• a little cheddar
• rotel
• chili pepper
• red pepper (or berbere if you are a berbere addict like me)
• salt and pepper

1. boil pasta and set aside
2. pre-heat oven to 350
3. in a pan saute the garlic and onions in evoo until onion is translucent
4. add crumbles, corn, rotel, and black beans until heated thoroughly
5. add soup and spices and cook until warm
6. mix pasta into pan
7. move to casserole and sprinkle a little bit of cheddar over the top
8. cook in oven for 12-16 minutes depending on your oven
9. Enjoy!

Spiced Pork Chops & Mango Salsa

Rare is the day that I touch meat. But every once in a while I have to get down and dirty in animal flesh for my boys. So when I saw that Publix had pork chops on BOGO this week I decided to make it happen. I found some recipes and tweaked them to our taste.

Pork Chops

• pork chops
• allspice
• berbere
• salt & pepper
• rosemary
• basil
• honey
• evoo
• balsamic vinegar

Mango Salsa

• 2 diced mangoes
• mint
• chives
• lemon rind
• lemon juice
• stevia
• red pepper

1. slice tofu, dry, and marinate in allspice, bebere, rosemary, basil, salt, pepper, a tiny bit of honey, evoo and balsamic in the fridge for a few hours 
2. chop mangoes and mix with mint, chives, rind, juice, stevia, and red pepper to taste 
3. saute tofu in nonstick pan until crispy 
4. serve with salsa drizzled over

Tofu with Mango Salsa

I was looking for a good pork chops recipe and decided to try the same method from the pork chops on my tofu. It was outstanding and plateLickWorthy.

tofu filet

• tofu
• allspice
• berbere (or crushed red pepper if you don't have berbere)
• salt & pepper
• rosemary
• basil
• honey
• evoo
• balsamic vinegar

mango salsa

• 2 diced mangoes
• mint
• chives
• lemon rind
• lemon juice
• stevia
• red pepper

1. slice tofu, dry, and marinate in allspice, bebere, rosemary, basil, salt, pepper, a tiny bit of honey, evoo and balsamic in the fridge for a few hours
2. chop mangoes and mix with mint, chives, rind, juice, stevia, and red pepper to taste
3. saute tofu in nonstick pan until crispy
4. serve with salsa drizzled over

Meatless Lettuce Wraps (In the order of P.F. Changs or Chilis)

So. I can't tell you how many times I have been to Chilis and watched a friend eat those lettuce wraps while I silently drool over the concept. As a big fan of flavorful food and one who yearns to like lettuce more it was something I wish I could enjoy. When I found a couple copycat recipes for the chilis lettuce wraps and the lettuce wraps that they make at P.F. Changs I knew that I could make a version without meat that my family would enjoy. Not to toot my own horn... but toot. It was fantastic. My son ate his two huge wraps in the blink of an eye and then was stealing lettuce off of our plates before we could eat ours. My husband asked for more despite being stuffed. And I couldn't wait until everyone was gone today and I could sneak the leftovers for lunch. Bwahahaha - yeah its all gone now. So steal my recipe and fill your bellies. Of course if you want to, you can always substitute my fake chicken with chicken or any other meat.

• big outer lettuce leaves (we used iceburg but anything is usable)
• boca fake chicken strips, defrosted and chopped
• 1/2 of a sweet vidalia onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh ginger
• chopped peanuts
• green onions
• 1 can of corn
• 1 can of black beans
• hoison sauce
• 2 T teriaki sauce
• 1 T rice vinegar
• 1 T evoo
• 1 T peanut butter
• 1/2 T water
• 1/2 T honey
• 1/2 T chili sauce

1. Cook fake chicken and onions over light evoo in pan until browned
2. add garlic and ginger
3. add corn and black beans
4. add teriaki, vinegar, evoo, peanut butter, honey, water, and chili sauce
5. cook until well blended and browned
6. add green onions to the top and cook until they soften
7. scoop mixture into lettuce, top with peanuts, wrap tightly
8. Serve hot with hoison sauce and ENJOY!

Crunchy Bean Tacos

Looking for a healthier version of mexican for my husband I came across this recipe and figured I would give it a try. Not only did the man and the boy scarf these down but they scarfed down any leftovers immediately for the next lunch both days I made them this week.

• corn tortillas
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 red onion chopped
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp paprika
• a handful of chopped fresh cilantro
• shredded mexican cheese
• 1 avocado
• hot sauce
• salsa
• sour cream

1. Mix beans, onions, spices, cilantro a dash of evoo and any other seasoning you would like in a bowl
2. Heat some evoo in pan
3. Place 1 or 2 tortillas at a time in the pan to heat for a moment then put mixture, and cheese on half the tortilla, use a spatula to fold
4. Heat on each side until browned
5. Remove from heat and serve with avocado, hot sauce, salsa and sour cream

Vegetarian Mexican Stuffed Shells

I found this recipe for a meat version on Pinterest a long time ago and finally got around to cooking it tonight. With the taste still in my mouth and trying to keep up the willpower to leave the leftovers in the fridge... I will hereby record this amazing mouthwatering, cheese flowing, flavor popping recipe below... as my husband said "you made both your boys happy tonight".

• 1 package veggie crumbles (can be replaced with ground beef)
• 1 T taco seasoning
• 1 cup water
• 4 oz creamcheese
• 16 jumpo pasta shells
• 1 jar salsa
• taco sauce
• 2 cups mexican cheese
• 2 green onions
• sour cream
• black olives

1. preheat to 350
2. cook crumbles in a pan with taco seasoning and water
3. once it is cooked well, add creamcheese and simmer until it melts
4. set meat aside to cool
5. cook pasta and drain
6. coat bottom of glass baking dish with salsa
7. take each shell in your hand, fill with meat mixture and line up in baking dish
8. pour taco sauce over shells
9. cover dish with aluminum foil
10. bake for 30 minutes
11. remove from oven
12. fill shells with cheese
13. return to oven uncovered and bake for 10-15 more minutes
14. remove from oven and cover with green onions and black olives
15. place a few on a plate with some sour cream and shredded cheese
16. enjoy and try not to eat the whole pan

Taco Seasoning (without MSG)

I am making a mexican meal tonight and wanted to premake the taco seasoning. While I have some packets in the fridge I  have a slight sensitivity to msg and really would prefer to not put any of it in my son's body if I can avoid it. I didn't have the same ingredients as the recipe called for so this is my version...

Oh I should mention - in the future I will not leave my son alone with his lunch (tadiq leftovers) while I make taco seasoning - lest I return to the table and find my dog with a tadiq fur coat, my son covered in tadiq and a new dining room carpet of tadiq.... apparently my son and my dog had a food fight.

• 4T chili powder
• 3T + 1t paprika
• 3T turmeric
• 1T + 1t ground chives
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 1/4 t ground cayenne pepper

1. Mix ingredients
2. Add 2 heaping T of seasoning + 1 C water to 1 lb meat

Coconut Crusted Tofu in Thai Mango Sauce

I have seen a couple versions of this around the net lately and my sister made an attempt at this last week with chicken and said it was great. Here is my go - around.


Marinade

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1 t sliced fresh ginger
• 1 t sliced fresh garlic
• 1 dash of salt

Tofu

• 1 package extra firm tofu
• 1/2 cup soy flour
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• vegetable oil for frying

Sauce

• 1 cup frozen mango
• 1/4 cup frozen pineapple
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 4 T thai chili sauce
• 1 dash of salt

1. Dice tofu into cubes and pat dry
2. Soak in marinade for at least 1 hour
3. Combine items for sauce in blender until well mixed
4. Prepare first bowl with 1/4 cup flour
5. Prepare second bowl with 1/4 cup flour and enough water to make a thin paste
6. Prepare third bowl with coconut and breadcrumbs
7. Dip tofu piece from one bowl to the next until it is crumbed and set on plate to dry
8. When all pieces have been coated fill the bottom of a pan with oil and heat
9. Once water sparks out of it you can start frying the tofu
10. Turn over until all sides are browned and then place on paper towels to dry
11. Serve with a side of sauce (we served it over couscous and it was fantastic)

Hoisined Tofu

One of my recipes that is an old standby of mine is Hoisined Tofu. Very very simple but something so wonderful about it.

• tofu
• evoo
• hoisin sauce

1. Sautee tofu slices in a few tablespoons of evoo
2. Once tofu is browned serve with hoisin sauce lightly braised over the top
3. Enjoy

Indian Quinoa Delight

My sister had thrown me some recipes and I modified this one to our taste and what we had in the cabinet. It actually turned out tasting pretty good, considering - and super duper healthy and flavorful. Enjoy!

• 1 cup dry lentils
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cans vegetable broth
• 3 chopped plum tomatoes
• 1 package frozen spinach defrosted and drained
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2T lemon juice
• 1t sweetener (whatever you like, sugar/splenda/raw agave nectar/honey/?)
• salt and pepper
• 1T curry spice
• 1t mustard seed
• .5 t cumin
• .5 t coriander
• any other spicy yummy spices you have (i threw in some berbere)

1. throw everything in a slow cooker
2. cook on high 3/4 hours (lentils should be soft and it should become creamier)
3. enjoy - i found it made way too much even though we had leftovers for days we still ended up throwing some out