Bok Choy and Veggie Soup

mmm... Something completely different

Ingredients:

1/4 cup baby carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 head baby bok choy, chopped
3 small parsnips, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
4 cups beef broth
2 TBSP butter
2 TSP chinese 5 spice powder
1 TSP sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 bundle spinach linguini, or 1/4 package linguini, or 1 package soba noodles

Directions

In large sauce pan, over medium heat, melt butter
Add garlic, cook until barely browned
Add carrots, celery, parsnips, and bok choy
Lower heat to medium low, simmer 5-10 minutes
Add sugar, cook another 5 minutes
Add chinese 5 spice powder, salt and pepper, cook another 5 minutes
Add broth and bring to a boil
Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes

Meanwhile, cook noodles and drain
Once soup is ready, place noodles in a bowl and serve soup over noodles :)

mmm...

Warm Bacon Spinach Salad Dressing

MMM :)

Ingredients:

8 slices bacon
3TBSP red wine vinegar
1TBSP Dijon Mustard
1TBSP white sugar

In a medium frying pan, cook bacon until just crisp
Remove bacon to paper towel, reserving 3TBSP of bacon grease
In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, whisk together bacon grease, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard and sugar
Cook until sugar is dissolved
Serve warm over spinach salad, garnished with mushrooms, cooked crumbled bacon and onions.

Mushroom Onion Soup

Little healthier change on french onion soup.

Ingredients:
2TBSP Butter
5C onion, diced
1 Large clove garlic
2 TSP brown sugar
1/4tsp thyme
bay leaf
2C sliced mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste
1/3cup dry sherry
4C beef broth
4 sourdough baguettes
swiss cheese

Heat butter over medium heat in a large sauce pan, add onions, garlic, sugar, thyme and bay leaf, cook 20 minutes, covered.

Add mushrooms, salt and pepper, cook 5 minutes

Add sherry and scrape bottom of pot

Cook another 20 minutes, covered

Meanwhile, cover baguettes with swiss cheese and broil on low for 3 minutes or until lightly browned

Serve soup with baguette

Ginger LemonGrass Soup

Not sure of the exact measurements, usually just eye ball it... but here we go.

3 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 can baby corn
2 tbsp asian chili sauce (sriracha)
1/4 cup chopped up baby bokchoy
5 tbsp lemongrass paste, = about half a tube (gourment gardens... its all we have around here, but it 1tsp=1tsp of fresh)

Mix all ingredients except for bok choy and tomatoes together in slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Add tomatoes and bok choy for last 20-30 minutes.

OR

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium sauce pan, saute mushrooms for 4-5 minutes, add bok choy and tomatoes, saute another 1-2 minutes, add all other ingredients, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Japanese Teriaky Sauce/Marinade

Real Teriaky sauce, wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy better than the bottled stuff.

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup mirin (you can find it in most asian food sections of your grocery store, I get mine at Metro)
2 TBSP fresh grated ginger or 1 TSP dried bottled ginger

In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, heat all ingredients, stirring until sugar dissolves.

I marinaded chicken skeweres in this for 3 hours, they're in the oven right now. Usually we use it as a basting sauce on our bbq chicken or as a steak marinade :) It can be used in stir frys aswell. :)

Spinach Veal Ravioli

3 cups nutri wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
luke warm water
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups spinach, sauted in olive oil and pureed in a blender
1 package lean ground veal
2 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Sprinkle of Mozzerella cheese

For frying
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil (I used italian olive oil, which is oil infused with italian spices)
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, dump in flour, and make a well in the center of the flour
Sprinkle salt in well, add spinach and eggs
Mix together, and need
Slowly add water to get desired consistancy (should form a nice ball, not too sticky, not to dry, if too sticky, add more flour, if its not forming a ball properly, add more water)
Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes

****This can all be done in one step using a food processor, just dump everything in, and turn on until it forms a ball ******

Meanwhile, heat oil in frying pan over medium high heat
Add ground veal
Cook until browned
Add rosemary, turn to medium low, continue to cook
Add parmesan cheese, turn to low, and let simmer another 5 minutes
Remove mixture from stove and let cool

After 45 minutes, sprinkle counter with flour
Use rolling pin to roll out dough in almost paper thin sheets
Use a pizza cutter to cut small 2x2 squares
Place a tsp of filling on ever second square
Cover with another square, pinch corners to seal

Bring medium pot of salted water to boil
Add ravioli
Cook 5-6 minutes
Drain, reserving 1/4cup of cooking liquid
Heat oil in frying pan
Add chopped garlic and tomatoes
Once garlic starts to brown, add cooking liquid and ravioli
Turn to low heat
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cheese
Serve immediatly :)

Slow Cooker Ham

Yesterday I was at the grocery store and saw quarter half smoked hams. Figured I would try and make dad's famous mustard brown sugar glazed ham in the slow cooker instead of all day in the oven.

1 half smoked ham (try and find out small enough to fit into your slow cooker)
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup mustard
1 can sliced pineapples in juice
1 tsp low sodium soy sauce

Place 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar in bottom of slow cooker (just enough to cover the entire bottom)
Place ham in slow cooker, skin side up, fat side down
Mix remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, soy sauce and 1/4 cup mustard together
Massage into ham skin
Cook on high for 3 hours
Add half the juice out of the can of pinneaple slices
Turn to low, and cook another 2 hours
Using tooth picks, place pinneaple slices on ham
Allow to cook another hour on high
Remove from slow cooker, let sit for 15-20 minutes before carving

If you like your ham skin crispy, pre-heat oven to low broil, remove ham from slow cooker, and broil slowly, watching closely, 10-15 minutes or so.

Enjoy :)