Home...Sweet Home

There's something so comforting about the first day back from school. No...it's not the warm hugs and the "oh I've missed you so much honey!" Actually, the past three (four?) times that I came home from college, the house was empty because my family was out grocery shopping or working - not that I'm complaining!

So although the welcomes are greatly appreciated, I really look forward to that night's dinner. I know it's going to be something extremely special; all mom's want to make their children something delicious on their first night back from a semester of hard work towards that 4.0 GPA (hahah..)

Mommy Li did not disappoint. Homemade pan fried meat and cabbage filled buns? Oh yes.

They came out a little burnt, but that's how I know it was homemade -mom was frantically trying to read over her friend's recipe and forgot the pan was heating up rather quickly over the stove. Love.



Leftover dough turned into "Mon Tau" - little pillowy doughs of heaven.

BBQ Tofu Wrap w. Avocado and Light Slaw

I think barbecue anything has the potential to taste yummy. I wanted meat-less lunches this week so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try marinating tofu with BBQ sauce. I ended up roasting it and the results turned out better than I thought! I wrapped it up with some sliced avocados, chopped tomatoes, and a light slaw made with dijon mustard and the tiniest big of mayo and cider vinegar. The flavors blended together nicely! Will definitely make this regularly.





Not much of a recipe here..but for the bbq baked tofu:

You will need:

1 package extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
Bottled BBQ sauce of your choice
Olive oil

Steps:

1. Slice tofu into strips and marinate in 1/2 - 3/4 cup BBQ sauce for 30 mins - 1 hour.
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Place tofu onto baking tray and drizzle rest of sauce over tofu.
3. Drizzle with olive oil
4. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake for another 20 minutes, or until golden crusted.
5. Let cool and enjoy!

(Makes about 10 strips - serves about 3-4)
Note - This stores nicely in an air-tight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

I have a love/hate relationship with gnocchi. I love it because it tastes so carboliciously good and each batch can last me for months. I hate it because making it is SO time consuming and messy; my clothes are usually covered with flour after rolling the dough out and cutting it. But of course, the pros outweigh the cons so I end up making it once in a while anyway. I make butternut squash gnocchi not only to decrease the carb/starch content, but because I am absolutely in love with the fall vegetable.




Step 1: Using all your mighty strength, slice (lengthwise) down a 1.25-1.50 lb bnut squash. Place on a baking sheet, skin side up, and bake in a 400 degree F preheated oven for approximately 45-50 minutes.


Step 2: Let squash cool, and scrape the flesh from the skin into a large bowl. Mash with fork until there are no more lumps, OR use an immersion blender (this is much easier). Add 2 cups of flour to squash and combine until no longer sticky. Keep adding more flour as needed.




Step 3: Divide the dough into 6 or 8 balls, and roll each ball into a long rope. Slice the dough into little pillows. For the real "gnocchi" effect with the indents, roll the pillow onto the back of a fork.

To prepare: boil a large pot of water and add gnocchi with pinch of salt. Gnocchi will be done when they float to the top of the water -approximately 5 minutes. Yes ,It's that quick. Pan fry them, or serve as you would with regular pasta and enjoy!

To freeze: After rolling out the dough, place onto a flat sheet pan and place pan in freezer for 30 min-1 hour until frozen. Gather gnocchi into ziploc bag. Yes, It's that simple.

Almost-Authentic Banh Mi

It's true - I've never had an authentic Banh Mi before. I always thought it looked dry, and the deli meats that go in it never appealed to me. But after the first season of the Great Food Truck Race on Food Network, I started craving Bahn Mi's like crazy. (Does it even make sense to crave a food you've never tried before?) I began researching mock Bahn Mi recipes that didn't involve tracking down Vietnamese deli meats. Luckily I came across one that involved ingredients I could easily buy from my local supermarket. I subbed the ground pork/chicken for lean ground turkey, but I thought it still tasted pretttyy darn good. So here you go! My first attempt at a Banh Mi.

Almost-Authentic Banh Mi
Adapted from Mehan's Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey/pork/chicken
1/4 cup chopped basil
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions, minced
1 T fish sauce (I added a bit more)
1 T Sriracha (Again, added more)
1 T sugar
2 t corn starch
salt and pepper, to taste
French baguettes

Spicy mayo:
2/3rd cup low fat mayonnaise (yes you can use full fat)
1 T sriracha, or to taste

Pickled Carrots/daikon:

2 cups daikon, grated or sliced thinly
2 cups carrots, grated or sliced thinly
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar

Directions:

1. For the pickled daikon: dissolve the sugar into the warm water, and add vinegar and shredded daikon/carrots. Let stand in fridge for at least one hour for best taste (although I'm sure it will still taste good if you don't have the time)
2. Combine all ingredients from ground turkey to the salt and pepper in one bowl and mix.
3. Form 1 inch meatballs from the meat mixture
4. Heat 1 t olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat
5. Sear meatballs for around 15 minutes, or until internal temp hits 160 degrees
6. Mix the mayo ingredients together
7. Assemble the sandwiches with mayo, pickled daikon, and meatballs. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!

Meal number 4..and its only 3 PM!

Sometimes when we crave things, we tend to eat a HUGE amount of that thing. Which is understandable, if you deprived yourself of it long enough! The problem for me, though, is that I am constantly craving different foods, even though I rarely deprive myself of anything. That's probably the main reason I eat 6-7 smaller meals a day; not because it's believed to be healthier, but because I just simply love food.

This week, my co-worker kept talking about bagels, so naturally I wanted to chomp on a dense bagel smothered with cream cheese. So I did just that- but changed it up a little. I balanced out my 4th meal with half a whole grain bagel, nice dose of cottage cheese, almond butter, some fruit and veggies. The results? Completely satisfied.

Rice Krispies done a whole new way

Remember those krispy things that only sounded even krispier when you poured milk over em? I recently saw a contest on mixingbowl.com that asked to create your own original recipe out of the childhood favorite: Rice Krispies cereal. I don't usually enter contests, because it takes me a while to ever create my own recipe. But this sorta popped into my head- and it actually turned out pretty good! Recipe to come IF I do well in this contest ;]

A little bit of creamy, oaty goodness for my first post!

After a longg time of reading up about overnight oats, I finally tried to make my own! The results? Delicious! Now, if you're someone who just began to get into the habit of eating oats because of its numerous health benefits, you may or may not enjoy the texture of overnight oats. I happen to be a fan of foods with a pudding-like, creamy consistency. The best part about overnight oats is that it is so versatile, while satisfying your oatmeal cravings without having to make a steaming hot bowl of oats in the hot Summer days. I topped mine with a dab of peanut butter for a boost of healthy fat and flavor.




Overnight Oats- Variation 1: Strawberries & Almond milk

Ingredients:
1/3 cup rolled oats (not instant or quick)
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
small handful of strawberries - diced
Cinnamon, drizzle of honey or other sweetener to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let sit in the fridge for a good 12-24 hours. Eat and enjoy!

Approximate calories based on above recipe:
185 kcal