Sneaking Things In

 

My son was allergic to almonds, but he grew out of that allergy. His allergist told me that I needed to make sure that he ate almonds to avoid having his almond allergy come back. The trouble with that is that  he has developed a distaste for almonds because he knows how his body reacts to certain nuts when things go wrong...so he avoids nuts and I couldn't get him to eat almonds because of it. This was a recipe I found to sneak some almonds into his diet. He still didn't like it...but his dad and I did! Ha ha! He had no idea there were nuts in it, and he ate some of it without any harmful effects, so I guess that's something to celebrate. I'm thinking I will have to hide almonds in his dessert from here on out.

I did change the recipe a little bit, so be sure to check out my notes to see what I changed.

Noodles with Roast Pork and Almond Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1/4 cup almond butter
2 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Drizzle oil in an ovenproof skillet. Sprinkle pork with 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper; place pork in pan. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes. Turn pork over, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155 degrees F. Place pork on a cutting board; let stand 10 minutes. Shred pork into small pieces.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons pasta water; keep pasta warm.

Combine almond butter, 2 tablespoons pasta water, remaining salt, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and chili garlic sauce. Divide pasta evenly among 4 bowls; top evenly with sauce, pork, onions, and mint.

Nutrition information: Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups), 398 calories, 12.7 g fat, 22.7 g protein, 49.3 g carbohydrate, 3.7 g fiber, 34 mg cholesterol, 3.7 mg iron, 763 mg sodium, 83 mg calcium.

Source: Cooking Light recipe found on MyRecipes. You can find it here.

Notes: I changed quite a bit of this recipe. I used a pork loin roast rather than pork tenderloin, because I had one in my freezer that I wanted to use. I cooked it in my slow cooker on low for about 8 hours and seasoned it with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder. I also used 16 ounces (or a whole pound/package) of fettuccine. Because I increased the pasta, I doubled the sauce. I couldn't find my chili garlic sauce (because one of my sons had done some rearranging of my cupboard), so I got creative and used some spicy sesame oil that I had on hand. Rather than serving this dish as separate elements, I tossed the pasta and pork in the almond butter sauce to completely coat the pork and noodles. I topped each individual serving with mint and green onions (except I skipped that for my boys because they wouldn't have eaten that).

We really loved this. It was kind of like a sesame noodles or peanut noodles recipe, just made with almond butter instead. This is very flavorful and it was really easy to put together as well.

Dinner Silver Linings

Yeah, so dinner was a bust. I tried a recipe tonight that I have actually meant to try for a couple of years now. It's a chicken recipe that is topped with a watermelon salsa. I was intrigued. Perhaps my expectations were too high after wanting to try this recipe for so long.

I had read through the recipe and was sure I had most of the ingredients. So, I bought a few of the ingredients that I was missing...only to realize that I was missing a few more of the ingredients (some of them had been unexpectedly eaten by others).

I finally made it tonight after having been put off by one thing or another for two weeks. The watermelon salsa took forever to make. I had to make it during my older son's nap, which sometimes coincides with my baby's nap. However, my baby (who is usually a dream when I have to cook) woke up...and he fussed and cried the whole time I had to make the salsa. It was honestly a traumatic experience. But it was the only time today I could make it. If I'd realized it would be such a pain, I would have made the salsa portion of the dinner last night after my boys went to bed. Well, you live, you learn, I guess.

I had no other meal options that I could use for today instead when I discovered that I was still missing one ingredient! I thought I had it in my cupboard, but I was wrong. The missing item? Sweet chili sauce.

However, thanks to a quick Google search, I found a recipe for Thai sweet chili sauce and I moved forward with my recipe.

The result? The chicken with watermelon salsa was "meh." Nothing to write home about. Definitely nothing to blog about. Too much work for nothing special. But the Thai sweet chili sauce? Awesome! It tasted just like what you get at a restaurant.

So, I guess it was serendipitous that I forgot to buy the sweet chili sauce because the homemade stuff was so delicious and it was really quick and easy to make too. It's also ironic that while I didn't have the bottled sauce in my pantry like I thought I had, I had all the ingredients in my pantry to make it from scratch at home.

Maybe I was wrong--I mean, my husband loved dinner. But he's so sweet and he loves pretty much anything I make for him. But whether my taste buds were influenced by my experience making the watermelon salsa or not, I won't be making that recipe again. It wasn't worth the bother.

So, skip the fancy chicken with watermelon salsa and make some homemade Thai sweet chili sauce instead!

Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1 cup rice vinegar (I used seasoned rice vinegar)
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, minced (I used bottled ground ginger)
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 teaspoons hot chile pepper, minced (I used 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes)
2 teaspoons ketchup
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions:

Pour water and vinegar into saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in sugar, ginger, garlic, chile pepper, and ketchup; simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cornstarch. Remove saucepan from stove to cool. Then transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by WOOBSIEE (called Sweet Chili Thai Sauce)

This is one of the comments that accompanied the recipe:

"A savory sauce to use as a dip with shrimp or spring rolls, in stir-fries and noodle dishes, even on whole wheat pizza crust instead of typical pizza sauce with feta, sun-dried tomatoes, chicken, and vegetables."

Notes: I changed the title because it made more sense to me to put "Thai" first. :) I also put all the ingredients, except cornstarch, in the pan all at once and brought it to a boil. I mixed the cornstarch with a tablespoon of water to make a slurry. Once the mixture was boiling, I added the cornstarch. I whisked the mixture until it thickened. I then removed it from the heat. It was awesome!

New Ground

Over the past two weeks, I have discovered two wonderful new recipes using ground beef.

The first one is a Thai recipe. I don't tend to think of ground beef being used in Thai food, but this recipe really works.

The second one is a Greek inspired recipe. It is a fun salty and sweet combination using a spice pairing of cayenne pepper and cinnamon. The dusting of confectioners' sugar on top might seem odd, but it is delicious!

Try them yourself and let me know what you think!

Thai Beef with Chilies and Basil over Coconut Rice

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup jasmine rice
1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
coarse salt
2 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 long hot pepper or red jalapeno chiles, seeded and sliced into 2 inch matchsticks
1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
1 cup loosely packed torn fresh basil leaves
lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine rice, coconut milk, 3/4 cup water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

When rice is almost done, combine fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl; set aside. Heat a cast-iron skillet or wok over high. Add oil and heat; add garlic and half the chiles. Cook, stirring constantly, 15 seconds. Add beef and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon until completely browned, about 4 minutes. Add soy mixture and cook 30 seconds. Add basil and remaining chiles and stir to combine. Serve beef over coconut rice with lime wedges.

Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe.

Notes: There is no need to add salt to the beef mixture. The fish sauce/soy sauce mixture is plenty salty enough. In fact, I would recommend using low sodium soy sauce. The lime wedges squeezed on top adds a very nice touch. The coconut rice also adds a very subtle flavor to the meal.

Also, I am kind of a slow vegetable chopper (at least it always seems to take forever), so I didn't wait until the rice was almost done--as the recipe suggests--before working on the rest of the recipe. I proceeded to the rest of the recipe as soon as the rice was simmering.

In the magazine, it was also suggested that if you don't want to use ground beef, you could use any of the following ground meats: pork, lamb, turkey, or chicken.

I first saw this on the Everyday Food PBS cooking show. It was also in my Everyday Food monthly subscription. It can also be found on the Martha Stewart website.




Ground Beef Pie

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons olive oil (see note below)
1 onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1 pound ground beef
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for dusting
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons sliced almonds
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
5 large eggs
3 tablespoons milk
8 phyllo sheets, thawed
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onoin until translucent; about 4 minutes. Add beef, cayenne, cinnamon, and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until beef is browned, about 10 minutes. Add almonds and parsley; cook 3 minutes more. Let cool slightly.

In a bowl, season eggs with salt and pepper; add milk, and whisk to combine. Fold into beef mixture.

Lay 1 phyllo sheet on a clean work surface. Brush lightly with oil; lay another sheet on top, staggering corners. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and oil, rotating sheets slightly each time. Gently place dough in an 8 inch pie plate; fill with mixture. Fold edges over top. Brush with oil. Bake until golden brown and filling is set, 20-25 minutes. Dust top with confectioners' sugar and cinnamon. Serve hot, sliced into wedges.

Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe.

Notes: This has a fantastic flavor. None of the flavorings are overwhelming--there is a wonderful lemon undertone, the cayenne pepper gives it a small kick, but it isn't overpowering. The cinnamon is very understated and the powdered sugar on top is the icing on the cake!

Oh, and I used Pam cooking spray instead of olive oil on most of the layers of phyllo dough. When I brushed olive oil onto the first layer, it was so hard to keep the phyllo from breaking up. So, I sprayed the rest of the layers with Pam and then brushed olive oil on top of the phyllo once I had folded it over the beef mixture. It was a lot easier, it still tasted great, and it saved me some calories!

Again, I first saw this on the Everyday Food PBS cooking show. It can also be found on the Martha Stewart website. It's a great show (on KUED Channel 7 at 3 p.m. every Saturday, if you're interested--Utah).