Deliciously cheap and lazy…

So a few weeks ago, amid a 5-hour Stranger Things binge, my husband started asking about dinner. It was raining and neither one of us really had the motivation to go to the store. I poked around the kitchen and found I had some canned tomatoes and spaghetti, so I went about finding a good sauce with few ingredients. And I found GOLD!

Gold being Marcella Hazan’s tomato and butter sauce. It sounds strange. All you need is butter, tomatoes, onions, and salt. Chop up the tomatoes and onions, throw in the salt and butter, and walk away. It’s delicious as is, but in the few times I have made it since, I’ve thrown in some basil and red pepper flakes as well.

It’s a great recipe for when you’re on a budget and/or just not really in the mood to create anything elaborate. Not to mention, the ingredients are things you normally might have laying around your kitchen.

Happy eating!

True confessions: PF Changs Edition

 

I. Love. PF Changs. There, I said it.

Authenticity and innovation be damned, their food is consistently good and you can find one or more in pretty much any larger city in America. My favorites there are the chicken lettuce wraps, Mongolian beef, and fried rice.

I recently came across damndelicious.net’s recipe for PF Changs-style chicken-lettuce wraps, so I thought I’d give them a shot. I am happy to report, the recipe was a hit!

Of course, I had to put my own twist on it. Here’s what I changed:
– I used four whole skinless/boneless chicken breasts instead of the ground chicken. To me, ground chicken is weird and gross. I diced the breasts into tiny cubes to mimic the original.
– I left out the sriracha, as I am just not a fan.
– Before cooking the chicken, I marinated it for a few minutes in a mixture of about a teaspoon of lemongrass paste, a few drops of fish sauce, black pepper, and garlic salt.
– I also added some fish sauce to the hoisin/soy/mirin mixture in the recipe.
– I boiled up some thin rice noodles and let them cool.  I served them along with the chicken and lettuce to add a little more heft to each wrap.

Salads: Not just lettuce and tomatoes anymore!

The idea of living in a home without air conditioning is a completely alien concept to those of us from South Florida. When I first got to Washington, I thought “wow, these people are savages!” But, as it turns out, all summers are not Miami summers. That being said, I’ve definitely been trying to use my oven and stove for the least amount of time possible. Salads have become a mainstay in my dinner menus since they require little to no stove time. Here’s a new one I’ve been working on the past few weeks. It looks fancy, tastes delicious, and you can pretty much use any grain to veggie combination you like.

Couscous Salad:

1 cup cooked couscous, cold
1 cucumber, diced
1 2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion, minced
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 small can sliced black olives
1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
5 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir.

You can do this with any grain you like. I like to use farro, barley, and quinoa as well. You can also add feta cheese to add some richness.

Enjoy!

Not so secret ingredients

Please don’t, but here are some exceptions….

As a proud food snob, I would like to say that I refuse to take shortcuts when cooking. I’d even like to say that some condiments out of the jar or packet are well, tacky. But tacky can sometimes be delightful and even downright tasty, when in moderation, of course.

One of my favorites is Lipton Onion Soup Mix. It’s really versatile, and no, not as soup. I mix it into ground beef for meatloaf and burgers. I also mix it in with some olive oil and fresh herbs to coat diced potatoes for roasting. I make a seasoning blend for chicken breasts and veggies with it as well. You can really find a million applications for it and it’s especially great when you have to throw something together for dinner after work. Mix it with sour cream and you have the staple potato chip dip of my 1980s childhood.

Heinz Ketchup is another one. Now, please don’t go putting it on your steak or anything like that, but it’s a great starter for easy homemade BBQ sauce. It also goes nicely into the mix for meatloaf and burgers.

Garlic and onion powders used to be the bane of my existence. My parents loved them because it took away the mess and time drain of chopping onions and garlic, so growing up, the contents of those Badia jars seemed like the base for everything. Personally, I like chopping onions and garlic, to me there is something soothing about it. However, I have found that the intensity and saltiness of the powders is absolutely wonderful in marinades for meats and poultry. If you want to try it, adjust the decrease the amount of salt that you would use in the marinade so as not to overdo it. I also like to mix some garlic and onion powders into the flour and breadcrumbs when making fried chicken or fish. The powders also make a nice crust or dry rub when mixed in with other herbs and spices.

Bouillon cubes. I love them. Yes, homemade stock or broth is best. Canned or boxed broth is probably better for you, but I love those cubes. And they take up no space in the cabinet. Drop one in the water when making white rice. Drop one in the meat when you’re making picadillo. Drop one in when you’re boiling the chicken for arroz con pollo.

These are just a few to get you started. You’ll see these and others pop up in my recipes from time to time. Embrace the tacky. It’s delicious!

 

Things I have strong feelings about: Salad Dressing Edition

You bought the most beautiful, expensive organic produce. You lovingly chopped up your kale into perfect, bite-sized pieces and arranged your sliced heirloom tomatoes to showcase their jewel-like colors. Maybe you even ever-so-meticulously shaved a nice Grana Padano over it to create that lovely magazine-spread look. And then you slathered the whole thing in a bottle of “Tuscano-inspiration-balsamic-honey-mustard-sriracha” dressing.
No. Stop it. Bottle dressing is the worst. I’m serious.

Now, that’s not to say that there are some appropriate applications for it, just not actually on your salad. More on that later.

It is my personal belief that you can make an excellent salad dressing, without all the sugar and god knows what, at home. Here is my basic recipe. Once you’ve mastered that, and believe me, it will take you three seconds, you can apply the same idea across a wide array of items already found in your fridge and pantry.

Feel free to lower or raise the quantities depending on how big your salad is.

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pour all ingredients into a small bowl. Beat with fork or small whisk until emulsified (thickened) and drizzle over salad.

Now that you have that mastered, here are some variations:

Add 1 tsp. honey and 1 tsp. mayonnaise for a honey mustard dressing.

Add 1 tbsp. grated parmesan or other hard cheese to add another level of flavor. I find that Romano and Manchego also work nicely.

Add 1 tsp. dried or fresh basil, oregano, tarragon or sage.

You can also substitute the balsamic vinegar for apple cider, red wine, white wine, sherry, or plain white vinegar. Each one brings its own flavor so you can get creative. You can also leave the mustard out as well.

Now go, make salad! I promise you’ll never buy bottled dressing again because yours will be just that good!