Good Ole Corned Beef w/Cabbage & Spicy Garlic Pototaes

In keeping with the St. Patrick's theme, I made an Irish classic and traditional dish, Corned Beef & Cabbage. Actually, in Ireland, the REAL recipe calls for bacon, which resembles more the Canadian style bacon, as we Americans know it. The way I've seen this dish made traditionally is to simply boil the meat with potatoes, carrots and onions until fork tender, then adding the cabbage in the end. I like to slowly roast mine with tons of garlic! Give this recipe a whirl.

Good Ole Corned Beef & Cabbage

3 lbs corned beef (w/spice packet)

1 medium chopped red onion

3 gloves sliced garlic

2 carrots

2 bay leaves

2 stalks of celery

1 roughly chopped Savoy cabbage

2 cups chicken stock

2 TBL of unsalted butter

1 TBL olive oil

salt & pepper

Spicy Potatoes

1 lb of boiled roasting pototaes (red bliss or fingerlings)

2 TBL olive oil

2 gloves of chopped garlic

2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp chopped parsely

1/2 TBL salt

Corned Beef

In a baking pan, take the corned beef and sprinkle the spice packet it comes with in the package. If no spice packet, sprinkle a pinch of fennel seeds, mustard seeds and whole cracked pepper on the fatty side of the corned beef. With a pairing knife, poke 4-5 small slits in the beef, deep enough, but not all the way through. Take the sliced garlic and push them in the slits. This will allow for the garlic flavor to penetrate the beef while roasting in the oven. Pour 1 cup of the chicken stock (reserve the other cup for the cabbage) into the baking pan along with the 2 bay leaves, chopped celery, carrots and half of the chopped red onion. Take 2 tsp of Kosher salt and sprinkly it over the top of the corned beef. Place in the oven, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 2 hours.

Corned Beef before going into the oven

Cabbage

Heat a large pan to meduim/high heat with 1 TBL of olive oil and 2 TBL of unsalted butter. Saute the remaining red onions for aout 2-3 minutes and add the Savoy Cabbage. Toss the cabbage around with the onions and add the chicken stock with salt & pepper and cook until tender. Remember to keep a little of the bite of the cabbage and not to overcook it. After the corned beef is through cooking and it's fork tender, take the drippings left in the pan along with root vegetable and toss it in with the cabbage.

Spicy Garlic Potatoes

Heat a large skillet with olive oil. Once the oil is hot, saute the chopped garlic until just about it turns golden brown. At this point, add the boiled small potatoes and heat through. Immediately add all the herbs and pepper flakes and toss. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the garlic has become golden brown and the potatoes are hot. Serve.

Chicken Katsu

Katsu is short for katsuretsu or cutlet, and was invented in Japan in the 19th Century. The most popular Japanese version is the Tonkatsu, using a pork cutlet. This version uses chicken cutlet. The only way to make any Katsu is to use Panko breadcrumbs. It is made with bread without crumbs and is a lot crispier than the average breadcrumbs you find in the grocery isles. The end result is an awesomely crispy fried Katsu!



CHICKEN KATSU

3 chicken breasts
Panko breadcrumbs
Vegetable Oil
2 large eggs
2-3 TBL of water
Salt
Pepper

Slice each chicken breast in half and lightly pound thin in between plastic wrap. Be careful not to tear the chicken and pound it too thinly. Pat dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Beat 2 large eggs in bowl and add water and 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper. Take a deep dish and pour breadcrumbs inside. Take each seasoned chicken breast and dip in egg mixture, taking out the excess. Then, put the chicken in the dish of breadcrumbs and make sure both sides are fully coated with breadcrumbs. Coat all the chicken pieces and set aside.

Heat a large skillet in medium/high heat with 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Keep oil handy as you may need to add more in the pan because the breadcrumbs absorb the oil. Place only 1-2 chicken breasts in the pan at a time. Cook until golden brown and the edges of the chicken become to turn opaque and flip.

Serve with Tonkatsu sauce and over fluffy Jasmine rice.

Mexican Monday - Tilapia Fish Tacos w/ Black Bean Salsa

After having my third child in my late 20's, it is a hard pill to swallow looking at my gorgeous, single, and THIN friends' pictures on Facebook. Besides my thin, single friends, I also have plenty of beautiful and married friends with kids. However, popping these beautiful babies takes it's toll on a once slim figure for most women. What's even more difficult is that in most cases, kids or no kids, for a busy person with a family and work to juggle, it is extremely difficult to make yourself get on a workout routine. I am taking it one step at a time and trying to gain back my old figure and confidence, starting with eating light.

Working in the food industry for so long has given me lots of advantages in my cooking repetior. I have figured that eating healthy doesn't mean eating bland. Actually, I believe that by putting in lots of flavor in foods and using the freshest ingredients as much as possible, I am able to cut useless carbs and calories. On this path to becoming healthier in my eating habits, I unknowingly have also taken my whole family on this journey with me. Even my 8 year old son is picking up these habits! Everyday I ask him about his day in school, his classes, what he did during recess and what he ate for lunch. Twice in one week he responded with "Salad"!!! Amazing. Last night for dinner I made a household favorite, TACOS! Keeping in mind cooking and eating lighter, I decided to make fish tacos. In many restaurants, fish tacos are heavily battered and deep fried. I wanted to nix that idea and keep it simple, not to mention keep the time it takes to prepare and cook the dish to a mininal. To accompany the fish tacos, I made a black bean salsa with only a couple ingredients.



Tilapia Fish Tacos

6 Fillets of Tilipia
2 TBL extra virgin olive oil
Cumen
Paprika
Chili Powder
Dried Oregano
Salt
Spring Mix (Mesculin Mix/Field Greens)
12 pack of flour tortillas

Pat the Tilapia fillets dry with a paper towel. Heat a non-stick skillet to medium heat with olive oil. Season one side of the tilapia fillets with a pinch of cumen, paprika, chili powder, salt and oregano. (You can also use your favorite pre-made taco seasoning.) Place fillets, seasoned side down in the skillet for 2-3 minutes and flip. While fillets are cooking, season the other side.

Easy-Peasy Black Bean Salsa

14 oz can of black beans
1-2 diced roma tomatoes
1/3 cup of diced red onions
1/3 cup of sliced green onions
1 lemon for juicing
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumen



Wash black beans with cold water. Combine all ingredients and store in the fridge. Feel free to add a diced jalapeno for heat. I left it out since my kids were eating with us. :)

Assemble tacos and eat!

Shrimp & Asparagus in Lemon Garlic Sauce w/ Spinach & Feta Orzo

We all have hectic, fast-paced lives. Stay at home moms run around the house chasing after toddlers and grocery & cleaning lists, while working moms have to deal with co-workers and deadlines on top of that, to say the least. Working ladies are also busy artfully balancing their social, work and love lives. So, what about dinner? Yes, there's always the option of ordering take-out or going to a restaurant, but sometimes it's just not in the budget or schedule. If you have 15-25 minutes to spare, you can pull off a great gourmet meal for your friends and family for half the price.

Last night was one of those nights. My husband stayed home from work sick with a migraine and my parents were visiting from Chicago so my house was quite full and action packed. By the time my son came home from school and we had finished working on his project, it was 7pm. Usually, I would have had dinner already finished, but there was no such luck this day. In 20 minutes, with this recipe, I had dinner ready and the table set and all I heard at the dinner table was, "Hhhmmmmmmm!" and, "Yummmmmm!"

Shrimp & Asparagus in Lemon Garlic Sauce

1 lb of shell-off medium sized shrimp
1 lb of asparagus
5-6 gloves of finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup of chicken or shrimp stock
1 tsp dried oregano
4 TBL of extra virgin olive oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt








Spinach Orzo

1 bunch of baby spinach
1/2 lb of Orzo pasta
3 tbl or crumbled Feta cheese
1/2 TBL of extra virgin olive oil
salt

In a medium pot, boil and salt water. Cook the orzo pasta for 6-8 minutes or until al dente. Stir pasta frequently to avoid the small pasta from sticking together.

While the water is coming to a boil, in a large saute pan, heat the olive oil in medium to high heat. Saute the red onions and garlic until the red onions have become translucent. Add the dried oregano and red pepper flakes and saute for another 1 minute. Add chicken(or shrimp) stock and 1 lb of shrimp and cook until it has turned pink in color. Scrape the bottom of the pan to pick up all the flavor bits and pieces of red onion and garlic. If using already cooked shrimp, only heat the shrimp through being careful not to overcook the shrimp. Once the shrimp has turned bright pink in color, add the lemon juice and salt and carefully toss and serve.

Once the orzo pasta is al dente, immediately take the pasta out of the pan and place in a bowl, draining the water. While the pasta is still hot, take the cleaned baby spinach and toss the fresh, uncooked leaves in with the pasta. If baby spinach is not available, take regular spinach and cut into leaves into smaller pieces. Drizzle with olive oil, add the pinch of salt and toss in Feta cheese. Serve warm or room temperature.

Chicken & Shrimp Chow Mein

Everyone loves a good Chow Mein. But sometimes, when ordering from your local Chinese restaurant, their recipe comes with MSG. Cooking chow mein may look complicated but it's actually quite easy and inexpensive. And what's great about it is you can customize the protein and vegetables to your liking and whatever is in season and the freshest. You can make salmon chow mein with asparagus and leeks, or shrimp chow mein with spring vegetables...whatever you fancy, you can do it!

Chow Mein is a Chinese term for stir-fried noodles. In my recipe, I use a typical flour noodle that has a distinct yellow color. A large pack cost me only about $3.50 at the local Asian market and I know it's also available at your local grocer. If not, substitute it with Soba noodles.

Chicken & Shrimp Chow Mein

1 large pack of "Flour Rice Stick" Noodles
3 chicken leg quarters
2 4 oz bags of "salad shrimp"
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 14 oz can of baby corn
2 large carrots
1/2 head of Savoy Cabbage
2 large onion
2 celery stalks
1 bay leaf
1 tsp oregano
2 TBL soy sauce
3 TBL vegetable oil
1 TBL cornstarch
salt & pepper

Poach the chicken leg quarters in a pot with water(until chicken in completely submerged), salt, pepper, oregano, 1 carrot, and 1 onion until cooked. Once chicken is cooked, drain the poaching liquid of vegetables and put it back into the pot to boil. Discard of the skin of the chicken and pull the meat off the bones and set aside to cool.

Julienne(cut into matchstick pieces) all the vegetables. In a 14 inch pan, heat 3 TBL of oil and sautee all the vegetables and cornstarch except for the cabbage until tender (not wilted). While the veggies are sauteing, take the dried noodles and boil them in the poaching liquid for about 3-4 minutes. This will give the noodles great flavor. Once the noodles have softened, take them out of the poaching liquid (DO NOT DISCARD) and set aside.

When the vegetables are done, add 2 cups of the poaching liquid until the sauce thickens a bit and add soy sauce. Add the 2 bags of shrimp, pulled chicken and noodles, and toss gently. Add the cabbabe and heat through and until the cabbage has slightly wilted. Plate and serve!

Refrigerator Staples - Mini Fusili w/ Bacon & Peas in a Cream Sauce

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in Jan 2010 was 14.8 million. 14.8 MILLION PEOPLE WITHOUT JOBS! I am so grateful to God that me and my family are not one of those families. However, even though we are a two income household, just like everyone else in this country, we are definitely feeling the pinch financially. Saving money is so detrimental to our financial success and we are doing everything we can to save every penny whenever possible. In saving money, I am learning to become savvier in my grocery shopping habits. Buying food is a must for everybody and I want to save money, but I don't want to sacrifice good food in doing so. So I'm sharing a recipe made from refrigerator and pantry staples. Not only are these items easy to find, they are also extremely inexpensive and easy to make for family and friends.

MINI FUSILI W/ BACON & PEAS

1 lb. mini fusili (or any other pasta of your liking)
1 pack of bacon
Frozed Peas
Parmesan Cheese
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
Salt & Pepper

Cut the bacon into about 1 inch pieces and fry until golden. Drain on papertowels.

Boil water in a pot and salt the water once in comes to a rolling boil. This is only chance you get to season the pasta. Cook the pasta from 6-8 minutes until al dente.

In a large saucepan, in medium heat, heat the heavy whipping cream. Once it is in a slow simmer, add 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese until sauce thickens. Add 2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper. Drain pasta and toss in cream sauce. Immediately add 1 cup of frozen peas (add more or less to your liking), another 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and bacon. Toss until peas are fully heated through and serve.


http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

Newborn = New Life

Hello everyone! I am proud to announce that Samantha Nevya M. Cook was born on February 5th, at approximately 12:15 P.M. in Aurora, IL. I am so extremely glad this pregnancy is over and I can start my new life. And about this new life...

I must say that I am a lot more anxious about having to juggle a career, and raising 3 kids (and a husband ;P) much more than when I only had 2 kids running around. First off, it's more expensive. Second, the time management aspect of it all has just got me pinned to the wall. Can I really do this? Work full time? Be a mom and wife full time? Have time for myself? Have time with friends? Have time to cook and clean? The list is long and tedious and I just don't know. Everyone is telling me, "You're just going to make it happen." Am I really? I know for sure that I'm not the only woman having to do EVERYTHING, and I do find comfort in knowing that so many have done it successfully before me. But, can I?

I pride myself in making great food for my friends and family. I also take pride in knowing that great food doesn't mean it always has to be fancy-schmancy and out of the pages of a magazine. This is one area where I can show my loved ones how much I care and love them by putting the love in the food I make. Sounds cheesy, I know. But anyone can tell, even when eating in a restaurant, when the food was just slapped on the plate and brought to you to eat. There's just a certain something that makes the food taste better, simple or elegant, cheap or expensive, when there's thought and care put into it. So, you all can imagine how useless I've felt over the past couple of weeks being stuck in bed recovering and unable to cook for my beloved. I know, I know, I shouldn't beat myself up for it, I was recovering from delivering a baby for crying out loud! However, there is just something personally satisfying in knowing that I am feeding my family, that we're gathering together at the dinner table and sharing quality time together that many families (and even friends) are lacking these days. This is probably the reason why I love doing what I do and have made working in a restaurant a career. I love the idea that something so simple as food is something that is so incredibly necessary in everyday lives and brings people together, gives good health, and brings immediate and lasting satisfaction.

Over these next couple of months, I am very interested how my cooking style will change with this new life of mine. I am eager to share more experiences and recipes with you all soon.