Just Eat It...

SHAVED SPROUTS AND MEATBALLS

3/4 lb. Ground beef

1 lb. Brussels sprouts

1 t. Montreal steak seasoning

1 T. Grated parmesan cheese

1 T. Bread crumbs

1 T. Dried parsley

8 Small cherry tomatoes

1 Egg

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Serving Size: 4

In a mixing bowl, add ground beef and dry seasonings.  Mix until well combined and then add the egg.  Continue to mix with hands and then form them into 1” balls.

In a large pan, heat to medium and drizzle olive oil onto the bottom of the pan.  Once the pan is hot, drop in the meatballs and cook until crispy on each side.  (20 minutes)  

Remove the meatballs from the pan and transfer excess oil to a small bowl and set aside.

Wash sprouts and cut the bottom stem off and discard.  Cut the sprout in half and then continue to shave down the 1/2 wedge of the sprout.  Do this to all of the sprouts.

In the same pan you cooked the meatballs, turn the pan to medium heat and cook the shaved sprouts in small batches.  Add a tablespoon of the excess meatball oil to each batch and pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook each batch until crispy.

Once the sprouts have been cooked, add the cherry tomatoes to the hot pan and allow them to sauté for a few minutes until they are soft.  

Transfer everything together on a serving plate and enjoy!

Cook Time: 1 hour

BRAISED PORK OVER UDON

1 lb. Pork butt

1-12 oz. Can of beef stock

1/4 c. Flour

2 T. Chinese five spice

1 T. Corriander

2 Tamarind pods

1 Star anise 

2 Cloves of garlic

2-3 oz. Fresh ginger

1 Package of udon noodles or buckwheat noodles

Salt and pepper

Cook Time: 2.5 hours

Cut pork into 1” thick cubes and transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Add 1 tablespoon of salt and fresh cracked black pepper and the Chinese five spice to the pork.  Mix until well coated.  Add flour and mix until well coated.

Cut ginger into 1/2” discs and set aside.  Peel garlic and shell tamarind pods and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, drizzle 1/4 cup of canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan and heat to medium high heat. Add the pork to the hot pan and sear the pork to crisp on each side.  

Once the pork is crispy on both sides, add 1/2 a can of the beef broth, garlic cloves, tamarind, star anise, coriander and ginger to the pan and lower the heat to medium low and then cover with a lid to braise the meat and create a gravy.

After an hour of cooking, skim fat and add the rest of the beef broth and continue to cook for 30 minutes.

Remove the meat and set aside.  

Skim the rest of the fat off of the gravy and remove the garlic, ginger, tamarind, star anise and coriander.  

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil.  Cook noodles.  Once the noodles are cooked and drained, add the noodles to the gravy and mix until well combined.

Plate the noodles and top off with braised pork pieces and enjoy.

Serving Size: 4 

HAM & BRIE QUICHE

3 Eggs

2 oz. Brie

3 Thinly sliced ham

6-7 Small cherry tomatoes

1/4 c. Milk

Pie crust

Olive oil

Spray butter

Salt and pepper

Cook Time: 1 hour

This recipe yields 2 personal portions.  If you want to bake a full pie, double the eggs, brie, ham, and milk.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper and set aside.

In a sauce pan, drizzle olive oil into the pan and heat to medium.  Sauté the tomatoes until soft.

Slice the ham into small strips and break up the brie.

Roll out the pie crust to 1/4” thick and cut two 7” diameters out of the crust.  You can discard the leftover or save it for another recipe.

Spray pie pan with spray butter and lay the pie crust into the personal pie pans.

Add sliced ham to the egg mixture and evenly divide it into the two pie pans.  Dollop the brie into the quiche and add the tomatoes.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until egg is cooked all the way and then remove and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before consuming.

Serving size: 2 

wenchymcwench:

We enter a little coffeehouse with a friend of mine and give our order. While we’re aproaching our table two people come in and they go to the counter:
‘Five coffees, please. Two of them for us and three suspended’ They pay for their order, take the two and leave.

I ask my friend: “What are those ‘suspended’ coffees?”
My friend: “Wait for it and you will see.”

Some more people enter. Two girls ask for one coffee each, pay and go. The next order was for seven coffees and it was made by three lawyers - three for them and four ‘suspended’. While I still wonder what’s the deal with those ‘suspended’ coffees I enjoy the sunny weather and the beautiful view towards the square infront of the café. Suddenly a man dressed in shabby clothes who looks like a beggar comes in throught the door and kindly asks
‘Do you have a suspended coffee ?’

It’s simple - people pay in advance for a coffee meant for someone who can not afford a warm bevarage. The tradition with the suspended coffees started in Naples, but it has spread all over the world and in some places you can order not only a suspended coffee, but also a sandwitch or a whole meal.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have such cafés or even grocery stores in every town where the less fortunate will find hope and support ? If you own a business why don’t you offer it to your clients… I am sure many of them will like it.

 

Source : [x]

I just saw this and thought it would be incredible to share this so maybe it  could catch on whereever you may live

(via buttermilkpalace)

(via la-marche)

Asian Chicken Soup

1 Whole chicken, 2-3 lbs.

1/2 Head of cauliflower

2 Lemongrass stalks

5-7 Kafir lime leaves

4 Cloves of fresh garlic

2-2” Chunks of fresh ginger

1-2” Chunk of galanga (blue ginger)

3-4 Quarts of tap water

4 T. Salt

1/4 c. Fish sauce

Cilantro and scallions for garnish.

COOK TIME: 2.5 hours

Add room temperature tap water to a large pot.  Turn on heat to high.  

Cut chicken in half, right down the breast and through the spine.  Carve out the small drums and wing in one whole piece on each side of the chicken.  Carve out the drum sticks and then separate the thigh from the breasts.  Add the cut up chicken to the pot.  

Add the rest of the ingredients except for the fish sauce and cauliflower to the pot.  

Bring the pot to a boil and allow the chicken breast to cook all the way through, about an hour to an hour and a half.  

While the pot is boiling, impurities from the bones will surface to the top, simply skim the top and remove the impurities and discard.

Once the breasts are finished cooking, remove them and the thighs from the soup and set aside.

Once you’ve removed the large pieces of chicken to cool, wash and cut into bite size pieces, half a head of cauliflower.  

Keep the heat on but lower it to medium high to medium heat.  

Add the cauliflower and the fish sauce and stir until fish sauce is well combined.

Taste and add more fish sauce for desired saltiness for the soup.

Allow the chicken to cool for at least 30 minutes, so you can easily handle it with your hands and a knife.

Once the chicken is cooled, cut the meat off the bones and add it back to the pot.  You can either add or discard the skin.

Turn heat off of the pot.

Take a ladle and skim the fat off the top of the soup and discard.  Ladle out the gingers, lemongrass and lime leaves and discard.

Ladle into a bowl and enjoy!  You can add hot sauce or cilantro and green onion to pump up the flavor.

SERVING SIZE: 6

WINTER PASTA BOWL

4 c. Peeled and cubed butternut squash

1 Boneless, skinless chicken breast

4 c. Dry bow tie pasta

3-4 Sprigs of fresh sage

1/2 t. Nutmeg

1/2 t. Onion powder

1/2 t. Sugar

1 T. Dried parsley 

1/4 c. Butter

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Serving Size: 2

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and add salt and cook bow tie pasta and set aside.

Peel squash and cut into 1” thick cubes.

Rinse chicken breast and cut into small bite size pieces and set aside.

Pull sage leaves from sprigs and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, in a large non-stick pan, heat to medium heat and drizzle with olive oil.  Sauté butternut squash until golden brown on each side.  Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and sugar and toss until well combined.  Since the cuts are about 1” thick cubes, it will take about 20-30 minutes to cook the squash.  Lower heat about halfway through cooking process and cover the pan with a lid to steam them.  At the last 5 minutes of cooking, remove the lid and turn the heat back up and crisp the pieces back up and set aside when done.

In the same pan, drizzle more olive oil on the bottom of the pan and turn the heat up to medium high.  Add chicken to hot pan and add salt and pepper to taste and also 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder.  Continue to sauté chicken until crispy on each side.  This should only take about 10 minutes or so.  Once the chicken is crispy, transfer to the same bowl as the pasta and squash.  Toss together until well combined and set aside.

In the same pan, add butter and melt on very low heat.  Once it starts to bubble on top, add sage leaves to the pan and allow the leaves to crisp up in butter.  This will take about 7-10 minutes.  Once they are crisp, transfer to the bowl with rest of the ingredients.  

Toss together until well combined, plate and enjoy.

Cook Time: 1.5 hours

VEGGIE BAKE

Filling

1 c. Orecchiette

1 Medium eggplant

1 Large zucchini

4 Medium portabella mushrooms

7-8 oz. Skim ricotta cheese

1 c. Mozzarella cheese

1/4 c. Romano grated cheese

1 t. Onion powder

Sauce

3/4 c. Tomato paste

1 + 1/2 c. Tap water

1/4 c. Red wine (that you would drink)

3 Cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 t. Salt

1/2 t. Black pepper

1/2 t. Crushed red pepper

1/2 t. Dried oregano

1/2 t. Dried Thyme

1/2 t. Sugar

1/2 c. Julienne fresh basil leaves

 Olive oil

Serving Size: 6

Preheat oven to 375*. 

Sauce Instructions:

In a medium sauce pan, heat at medium about 1/4 c. of olive oil in the pan and sauté garlic until aroma is released.  Be sure not to burn the garlic, otherwise it will give off a bitter taste and you will have to start over.  

Add tomato paste and whisk in one and a half cups of tap water slowly.  Once all of the tomato paste has been dissolved, add salt, thyme, oregano, crushed red pepper, sugar and basil leaves.  Stir until well combined and then add wine and lower heat to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Taste and add salt and pepper accordingly to preferred taste.

Filling Instructions:

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and cook pasta for about 7 minutes.  Do not cook the pasta all the way because it will continue to cook inside the casserole.  Set aside until veggies are done being prepared.

Cut vegetables into large 1” thick pieces.  In a large nonstick sauté pan, drizzle bottom of pan with olive oil and heat to medium high heat.  You’ll sauté the veggies in 3 batches.  Because the pieces are so big, over crowding the pan will cause the veggies to become soggy and not allow them to crisp up.

In each batch that you pan fry, add a sprinkle of salt, black pepper and a pinch of onion powder.  Brown and crisp each sides of veggies and set aside until all the veggies are cooked.

Casserole:

Place the veggies in a medium casserole sized dish.  Add the pasta on top of the veggies and integrate the pasta into the veggie mix.  Drop about 6-8 small spoons of ricotta throughout the top of the casserole.  Sprinkle with grated Romano cheese and then sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese, covering the entire casserole.

Bake for 45 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

Allow to set for at least 30 minutes after removing from oven.

*Precooking the veggies releases the water that they retain, it will keep the casserole from becoming too watery and water logging the entire casserole.  Keep in mind that they will still release a good amount of water in the casserole and allowing the dish to set for 30 minutes will help keep the extra juices becoming thicker and integrated into the sauce itself.  Seasoning the veggies while they cook will also add another depth of flavor to the entire casserole.

Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

PUMPKIN BREAD