White Bean Chili. I will have the recipe to share with you this week! It’s my go-to dish when we have a lot of friends over for dinner.
Wonton Soup.My friend Helen came over and brought me some of the soup (and fresh wontons) she made. I served it for dinner twice this week, and I’m definitely going to have to make another batch for us soon.
Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Herb-Filled Meatballs. I don’t normally like meatballs, but I love how these come out. I think it’s all the herbs (from our garden) that I jam pack inside. I will have the recipe to share with you soon!
Week of 8/4 – 8/8
Monday: Dinner Out
Tuesday: Taco Salad
Wednesday: Spaghetti & Meatballs (again because it’s easy to make for a bigger group)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Ceviche Night
We organized and cleaned the backyard, so hopefully we could have more family dinners out there. It’s such a shame we don’t take advantage of the cool California evenings.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of corn kernels
1/8 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
Directions:
In a large pot, heat the oil over medium to high heat. Put 3 kernels into the oil and cover the pan. When those kernels pop, add the rest of the kernels and pour the sugar on top. Place lid on top, and once you hear the popping, gently shake the pot by moving it back and forth over the heat. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT open the lid while it’s popping, because there will be hot oil and flying objects trying to escape. Once the popping slows (or you don’t hear any pops for a few seconds), remove the lid, and dump the popcorn into a large bowl to be enjoyed by all! If you want to make it savory, sprinkle some salt on top.
My best friend came over last week for some hang out and crafting time, and she’s the one who made this kettle corn. I honestly never knew it was that easy! Sounds silly, but my mind was blown. I loved it so much, we made two batches that day; one for snack time in the afternoon, and one as an after-dinner dessert for dinner club. For the first batch, we used 1/4 cup of oil, but as I was excitedly telling Ben (when I picked him up from work) how easy it is to make kettle corn, he was taken aback by the amount of oil. So for the next batch, we just used 1/8 cup and came out just as yummy. I’m not a fan of regular buttered popcorn, but kettle corn… oh yes, please!
Vietnamese Chicken Pho.This recipe is always a winner. I know it’s summer, but I was really craving this hot soup. In college, I used to love my pho loaded up with hoisin sauce, but nowadays, I love it with siracha. Even the girls love pho and Brave douses hers with siracha (I have to tell her to stop)!
White Bean and Ground Turkey Chili. Now that dinner club is back, this is my go-to recipe; easy to make for large groups and economical too!
Week 7/28 – 8/1
Monday: Spaghetti and Herb Filled Meatballs
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: White Bean Chili (probably again)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Sushi/pizza night
Ben and I realized typical American food isn’t our thing. Sure, we love a gourmet burger here and there, and maybe a good steak once a year, but our preference would be Asian or Mexican foods, or the fusion of both (like this and this recipe). Of course, anything that is spicy is also our fave; we also love the flavors in Indian cuisine. We are pretty adventurous when it comes to trying things, and of course Ben will always look for healthy options. Everyone is always amazed with his ability to practice self control when it comes to food. I get weak in the knees when it comes to dessert. I think eating out is also difficult because of his pickiness with the lack of healthy options out there, so we prefer to cook at home and do our own spin on restaurant favorite dishes to make them healthy.
Spicy Tuna on a Crispy Rice Paper Shell serves four
Ingredients:
1lb. sashimi grade wild tuna, cut into 1/2″ cubes
Rice paper shell (the kind that you use to make spring rolls)
1/4 canola oil
1 white radish, thinly sliced
5 serranos, sliced
1 bunch of cilantro, leaves removed from stem
Wasabi rice crackers, crumbled into bits
Soy sauce (optional)
Wasabi (optional)
For the guacamole:
3 avocados
2 tomatoes, chopped
5 serranos, chopped (adjust amount for your spice tolerance)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Salt, to taste
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce and mix well. Add the cubed tuna pieces, mix together, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.
In another medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the guacamole and lightly mash the avocado in. Add salt to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Heat a skillet over medium heat, add the canola oil, and heat for 5 minutes. Add one rice paper shell at a time into the oil to fry. This cooks rather quickly (about 5-10 seconds on each side), so you will want to watch it. Basically, once it shrivels up and has the crispy look, you will want to remove it. Remove from the oil and allow to drain on a paper towel. Repeat for your remaining sheets. Usually frying about 10 sheets is sufficient to accompany your tuna. You may need to add a bit more oil to the skillet as you fry your rice paper sheets.
Prepare the additional toppings of sliced serranos, white radish, cilantro, and crumbled wasabi rice crackers, and set aside. When ready to serve, break off some of the rice paper shell, spoon a little bit of the guacamole on top, add some tuna pieces, and top with cilantro, a sliver of white radish, a serrano, and a sprinkle of wasabi rice crackers. If you want to add some soy sauce mixed with wasabi, then drizzle a little on, and take a bite!
Give me sushi and give me spice, and I’m a happy gal. Ben is pretty a happy dude with this meal! Okay, a lot of other things make us really happy, but our stomachs are quite satisfied with this particular dish. We love this dish so much that this is what we chose to have for our ninth anniversary dinner at home last week! We think Ii is absolutely delicious, so if you give it a try, I’d love to hear what you think about it!
Shrimp Tacos with Guacamole. My mom made the shrimp and I turned them into tacos. My mom always makes the best food, so when we go over for dinner, we love bringing home leftovers to make more dinners at home.
Spicy Tuna on Crispy Rice Paper Shell. I made this for our anniversary dinner. I have the recipe to share with you next week!
Hainanese Chicken Rice. Ben and I have been craving this since we had it in Singapore. Ben even ate it twice while we were there. I used this recipe as a guide, but changed things slightly to make it healthier. I used chicken breasts, didn’t use chicken fats, and lessened the amount of oil. I also used brown rice instead of white, and it still held some of the good flavor. I think what help makes it is the pandan leaf in the broth, and the side of chili sauce. Oh that chili sauce is so spicy and delicious! I will definitely making this a lot. The whole family loved it!
What have you been cooking lately? Do you like trying new recipes or do you pretty much stick with tried and true favorites when in the kitchen?
I have a large growing pile of fabric scraps. I refuse to throw them away because I am sure they can be used for something. I have been seeing different types of interesting necklaces made of buttons, beads, and fabric. Then, I figured why not make one out of my scraps...
I think it made my white shirt a little less boring. This was so quick and easy to make.
How to make a recycled scraps necklace (which is very similar to the straps on my braided tablecloth bag):
1. Take your scrap fabric, I cut a .5''-1'' snip and tear the rest of the fabric down for a nice frayed edge. Used 3 different fabrics for each strand.
2. Take 3 of the torn pieces and tie the ends together with a rubber band.
3. Braid the 3 pieces together and tie ends together with rubber band when done.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 for more strands. Remember you can make the strands any length you want, if run out of fabric, just weave more into the braid.
5. Once all the strands you want are braided, gather one end of each strand together and straight stitch together with sewing machine. Repeat for the other ends of the strands. Snip off any excess.
6. Gather ends of the necklace and sew together (snip excess) or a ribbon can be sewn at the ends to be able to tie the necklace closed, but I just sewed both ends together.
7. Voila! A nice way to make use of all your lovely scraps.
Sorry if the directions get you a little lost, but it really is easy. I promise. Maybe I should put some in the shop. Please share any other good ideas you may have of things that can be made with scraps. I would love to hear (read) them!
White Bean Chili. I will have the recipe to share with you this week! It’s my go-to dish when we have a lot of friends over for dinner.
Wonton Soup. My friend Helen came over and brought me some of the soup (and fresh wontons) she made. I served it for dinner twice this week, and I’m definitely going to have to make another batch for us soon.
