More Using Up of Fridge Remnants

I tend to buy too much stuff (curse of the asian woman, per P)

What do you do with one overly ripe banana, a handful of past it's prime strawberries?
Make a smoothie!

I used everything we got a week ago that was past it's prime or still partially used in the fridge"
1 banana
6 strawberries
splash of OJ
a few dollops of greek yogurt

blend until smooth. It's way cheaper than jamba juice, and your fridge is cleaner because of it!

Curry in a Hurry

This uses up all the leftovers in the fridge and then some!
prep 10 min
cook 40 min

-2 green bell peppers cubed
-half bag of baby carrots
-a few garlic cloves minced
-2 medium onions, cubed
-4-5 medium potatoes cubed
-3 chicken breasts, cubed and browned
-1 can curry paste (massala? brand)
-1 can coconut cream (or milk, I had cream in the house)
-some spring onion sprigs to top off

1. toss onions and garlic in some oil to brown, then add other veggies, layer can of curry and coconut cream to cook in
2. brown the chicken in a pan, then add to the curry mixture
3. top with a bit of paprika, more cumin and tumeric for added flavor
4. simmer for 30 minutes
5. top with some spring onion
6. layer on top of white rice to serve!

Good pantry items: potatoes, onions.
Good fridge items: carrots, peppers (they both tend to last a long time.

I made this without any new stocked ingredients (same as the previous tofu soup) but it's cuz I have a well stocked pantry!

Korean Soondubu Kravings

I have been craving korean tofu soup. I think it's good for my flu like symptoms. We were going to go out tonight for some, but then I started thinking that I may just have everything to make it at home!

I adapted this recipe and made it in my Le Crueset enameled iron pot because I don't have a dedicated clay pot for cooking this.

I used
fish sauce
dried kelp/seaweed
diced brown mushrooms (they're huge, not sure what kind they are, but when cooked they bring out lots of umami, yum!)
2 cans of chicken stock
2 boxes silken tofu (I buy the kind that can keep in the pantry- so they can last a long time!)
a few cloves of garlic
raw shrimp (and clams if you have it)
egg

I browned my diced mushrooms in some canola oil in the pot, and stirred in some crushed garlic (love my garlic crusher when needing a lot of garlic!)
I opted to skip the onion that the recipe recommended to make a lighter soup

I poured 2 cans chicken broth into the pot, dumped some kelp, 2 tsp fish sauce, lots of chili flakes, some whole dried chiles to taste. I cooked all this for about 30 min on simmer to allow the flavors to meld.

I then tossed in my silken tofu, and a few defrosted raw shrimp (they cook so fast!)

Lastly, after scooping into a bowl to serve, I put a raw egg on it just like in the korean restaurants!
Delish! Just what my tummy needed after feeling so sick these last few days!

Weekday Chinese Soup Adventures

Last weekend I stopped by an asian grocery store and explored their dried food aisle. I don't usually   spend much time there because I don't know what the ingredients are. I'm trying to duplicate the Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, so I just grabbed the stuff I recognized.
red dried fruit (dates apparently)
little white seeds (lotus seed apparently)
little red dried things (wolfberry or medlar apparently)
dried shitake mushroom (I knew what this was-they look like mushrooms)

Anyways, so today was my first adventure into cooking asian soup (the real kind)

I tossed some of the above ingredients into a pot with water (some need presoaking, I used this as a guide) then added some chicken bouillon.
I also put some rice noodles and fish balls along with my root veggies (carrots, daikon)

Onward asian soup!

Weekday Muses

Photo Dump of all my weeknight dishes from March:

 Pictured above: Beef Stroganoff with Grilled Zucchini (my new fav veg!)

 Spinach, grilled chicken and fresh mozz sanwich with pita bread (all left overs)

Spicy Chicken with black beans

 Rice with parsley, Roasted Cauliflower, Pan seared Steak with cliantro dressing

Home made Apple Pie for Pi Day

Pan seared Chicken with mushrooms and green onions......

......served with mashed cauliflower!!

Asian Market Haul

I am feeling inspired to cook-asian style!
I also realized having more in the pantry meant less running out!
So here goes it (For $117)

mochi snack x2
almond cookies (for work)
dried dates (for soup)
dried seaweed (for soup)
chinese mapa tofu mix x6
mushroom strips (dried for soup)
dried pearl mushroom
teriyaki seaweed
tofu x4
dried lotus seed
red pepper flakes
red pepper whole x2
udon noodles
shrimp chips
potatoes
fish sauce
seasme oil
mirin sauce
moon cake
fried dace x2
daikon
dashi/bonito flakes
boxed tea

Time to make me some japanese style udon and other asian goodies.
I think I have plenty to make me some good mushroom/daikon soup!

Chicken In Wine Sauce

What to do when I don't have anything in the fridge to cook?

-defrost chicken (previously bought on sale) from freezer
-1/2 bag left over baby carrots (sick of snacking on them)
-1 medium white onion diced
-1/2 bottle of merlot already open from earlier this week

heat pan with olive oil
dice garlic, onion and toss into pan
slice chicken into stir fry pieces for quick cooking
add wine, salt, pepper, parsley (or whatever other herbs you want-i used a pre mixed poultry seasoning)

cook until well done (about 20min, I used a lid to cover and cook faster) the wine should deglaze a bit and thicken the sauce with time. voila!
serve with a leaf lettuce (also trying to eat up some mixed salad greens)
and some edamame (rescued from freezer before freezer burn makes them worthless)

Quick Shrimp Salad

What do I do when I need lean protein, quick midweek cooking, and have some lettuce to use up?
Shrimp salad of course!

I sauteed some frozen precooked shrimp in some olive oil with garlic and sliced mushrooms and some lemon juice. I put it on a bed of arugula and some grated parmesean.
Dinner is served!

Frugal Weekend Chili

We went grocery shopping yesterday at Lucky's.
We got about $89 worth of food, some frozen, some canned goods, some fresh veggies and a pie that we took to a friend's house (she cooked dinner last night-lovely kale salad, quinoa side, tri-tip main, and a beet app)

Today I went to work (per the usual)

And we're going out for lunch. But while waiting to go to lunch I managed to grab one of the ground turkey meat we bought, and whipped up a slow-cooker chili.

Here's the simple recipe (use what you have on hand)

-1 can whole green chile sliced
-1 can tomato sauce
-1 onion diced and browned
-1 can pinto beans
-1 can black beans
-20 oz ground turkey, browned thoroughly
-chili powder, whole dried chile, salt, pepper to season

The slow cooker, frugal cook's friend.

Mixed into the slow cooker, and set on high for four hours. To return to home tonight for some yummy chili with cheese and nachos. Delish! Definitely enough for seconds and lunch tomorrow.

More Weekday Pasta Musings

I was working all weekend so had no time to actually buy groceries. b did the job with a short sms message I sent him. Of course because I sent him a short list and get got everything, no more, no less. I wish I could ESP him my cravings, of course I can't.
So there's no extra food in the house.
Monday night dinner consisted of mapa tofu (an old standby that even he knows how to make now)
Tuesday night dinner included leftover tofu. And also...

cook penne al dente
meanwhile dice some garlic, toss into olive oil and sautee
dice 2 chicken sausage links and toss into oil to brown
slice mushrooms and add to oil
open 2 tomato sauce cans and dump into browning meat
season with salt,pepper, some frozen basil
toss a splash of white wine (well, i already had this open)
cook until the sauce is smooth

mix sauce onto penne, serve with some parmesean