Two types of balls...MEATBALLS!

Two types of balls.... MEATBALLS!!  Well,  I checked the menu board (my Jalapeno and I sit down once a week and plan the week's meals) and it listed meatballs.  I knew exactly the variety I was supposed to make- sweet BBQ, Red Bell's favorite.  This presents a conflict as Thai and myself are more savory folks.  Thai commented as I was adding the flaky butter crackers, "wouldn't mushrooms in a cream sauce be good?"  Of course I agreed and began mentally plotting what ingredients I had and how I could divide the meatballs before adding the BBQ sauce. 

Prepared meatballs are supposed to be the size of walnuts; however, this can vary as to your use--such as an appetizer vs dinner.

SUCCESS! 

It so happens I had a fresh package of mushrooms and cream ( I always try to have this on hand as it enhances many dishes- I know, not good for you- tough!) as well as egg noodles- We were able to satisfy both palates, the sweet and the savory.  All of The Napkin Stains were elated and gave the BBQ meatballs a 5/5 napkin stains and the mushroom cream sauce a 4.5/5 stains (Jalapeno wanted a more beefy flavor which could have been obtained by adding beef broth which I did not have on hand). 

Completed meal with plenty of egg noodles for leftover lunch tomorrow!

The menu board is a great way to help plan grocery shopping and help when coming home from a busy day and are unsure of what to make.  My hubby and I started doing this when I was teaching and I would be exhausted and out of creative ideas at the end of the day.  We discuss the week's schedule including days we know will be difficult for elaborate meals and write a plan accordingly.  This board was the only way I knew what to make for dinner today, as I was very busy and tired.  Thankfully, I had checked the board earlier in the week and placed hamburger in the fridge to defrost.  We were good to go! Now I can check on tomorrow: Steak, reputed to be easy (just throw on the grill), but in actuality, challenging for the novice.

Soup and salad (but not together!!)

The Asian feast was very enjoyable!  In the comments I was asked about my recipe for an Asian-style fish soup. Here are the basics, as every time I create this dish I alter it to accommodate the ingredients I have on hand:  The basis of the soup is chicken broth. The chicken broth is made from discarded pieces of chicken from various previous recipes, such as the Kung Pao chicken.  I just add water and boil.  I typically do not season the broth at this time- I pour it into plastic cups (Ha, Red Solo Cup or the ALDI special work fine!) and place these cups in the  freezer.  It's great!  The plastic cups hold approximately 2 cups of broth and are in easy reach for any need.  I use scissors to cut the cup off if I am using the entire contents. 

I use 6 cups of broth and add a variety of seasonings including but not limited to: ginger, garlic, green onions, thai peppers, soy sauce, sesame oil, black vinegar, sherry, kosher salt, and lime.  Combine ingredients and simmer, tasting the broth to make certain it has the flavor you are after.  In two heat resistant soup bowls place additional green onions, some fresh greens of your choosing; I enjoy Yu Choy, or baby Bok Choy but you can use a leafy green such as spinach.  Add  fish to the bowl (yes raw!) and cut into easy to manage pieces.  For the fish I use individually-wrapped frozen Tilapia fillets. As neither Thai Pepper or Red Bell enjoy this dish the individually-wrapped fish is perfect! I just defrost and cut into bite size pieces.  On top of the fish place a handful of rice noodles (uncooked) and a wedge of lime.  Make sure the broth is boiling and pour over the contents in the bowl.  Place a heat resistant plate on top of the bowl and let steam until the fish is cooked through.  This is such a comfort food dish and though may sound complicated, once you try it and find the flavors you enjoy most it becomes a quick late night delight, especially when the baby peppers are both out for the evening.

Well, The Napkin Stains were tired today of the Asian flavor, although Red Bell could probably just drink the soy dipping sauce daily if I made enough, so I went for simple.  Here is a terrific salad filled with fresh ingredients including Romain lettuce, red bell peppers, tomatoes, carrot shavings, cucumbers, red onion, and fresh ripe avocado. I topped the salad with cilantro and fresh milled pepper.

 My eldest Thai will have to pick out the tomatoes and red pepper- My youngest Red Bell, well, she probably will eat only the cucumbers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just before eating I toss the salad with my Jalapeno's favorite dressing of Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil.

Taking help in the kitchen whenever offered, Red Bell made amazing grilled cheese sandwiches to accompany the salad (self-serving I'm sure, as she didn't want to eat salad alone).  Each of The Napkin Stains selected their favorite cheese which Red Bell placed on Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Hearty White bread and grilled on low heat in a cast iron skillet- the key to golden brown crust.  A tasty satisfying meal!

A day of rest- they'll actuallly eat these leftovers!

Today it's leftovers!  The benefit to spending five hours creating Kung Pao Chicken and egg rolls one night is the following day off from cooking.  I have a spread of dishes sitting on the counter for all to indulge.

Rice, crispy noodles, Kung Pao Chicken, spring rolls, egg rolls and Red Bell's favorite dipping sauce made from: soy sauce, thai peppers, ginger, garlic and scallions. Hope I made enough!

You'll note in the picture two plates of egg rolls.  I typically use both spring roll wrappers and the traditional egg roll wrappers- both Thai and Red Bell preferring the spring and my hubby, Jalapeno, hoarding the egg roll wrapped variety.  The spring roll wrappers are thinner and tend to fry crispier while egg wrappers are thicker and slightly chewier.  I double the amount of spring rolls made and use the leftover egg wrappers to make those nifty crispy fried noodles that you often receive from the restaurants when you order soup.

In my modified egg roll filling, I assumed I was using Soy bean sprouts, but after having found my Asian market to be out of these familiar sprouts I opted to use the other bag available so I wouldn't have to resort to canned bean sprouts.  Come to find out, the bean sprouts I bought were tougher and had a stronger bean flavor. With some research I determined these were Soy bean sprouts, and what I normally purchase and Red Bell especially prefers are Mung bean sprouts.  Thus, the rating for the spring and egg rolls is not as high as usual and comes to 3.5/5 napkin stains!

Welcome to the Family

We're The Napkin Stains.  Well, we might as well be.  We're a family that likes to cook, and loves to eat.  As the mother of two girls and wife of a hungry husband, I could swear I should be an expensive personal chef.  However, that isn't likely to happen, so I'll settle for sharing our culinary adventures.

My eldest, we'll call her Thai Pepper, (my hubby being a Jalapeno Pepper and youngest being a Red Bell Pepper) isn't too picky--if you don't consider dislike for tomatoes difficult (I do)--and Red Bell, well, I never know what she's going to eat.  Mostly.

One dish I can guarantee zero leftovers for (good thing, my refrigerator seems to shrink daily) is Kung Pao Chicken. We looked into a recipe because Red Bell loves to eat Chinese out, but we got tired of poor chicken quality in take-out dishes.  It always seemed that the take-out would be full of gristle or not as fresh as we'd like to have--so I took the matter into my own hands.  As my dear Jalapeno points out, it's a nice homemade treat that is a little different from our usual dinner fare.

Prepping some ingredients for Kung Pao.  The thing about many Asian dishes is the amount of prep work involved: to make the stir fry filling for, say, egg rolls tonight, I have to finely chop a number of items (a mandolin is an essential tool, at this point) before I even get to the cooking--that part, itself, is quick.  Here, we have black sesame oil, black vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar.  There are two steps for Kung Pao--a marinade, and a sticky sauce that goes on the mix after you've done your frying.  This is NOT a healthy dish--but who cares!

I Googled two recipes for Kung Pao, but eventually refined and formulated my own because some of the ingredients (like Black Soy Sauce) are specific and I don't always have them on hand.  We're always in the grocery store, including an ethnic market, so we looked around to find some authentic ingredients and substitutions.  As a retired teacher, I enjoy the research to understand a new dish. 

The best changes I'd suggest making to a Kung Pao recipe involve notes that you should go heavier on the cornstarch, and we like it with a little more vinegar.  It's taken a while to master my wok--I received it for the holidays, but, to our dismay, the little ring it is supposed to sit on does not fit on our gas stove--so we have to put the wok on the burner.  This puts it just a touch too far from the flames, so my wok does not get as blisteringly hot as a traditional system would.  This will cause problems because stir fry dishes can get soggy when the heat drops as you try to make sure meats like chicken are thoroughly cooked.  My advice, if you find your wok attempts are yielding a soggy, less-than-crispy result, is to use smaller batches.  This is more time on my poor feet, but the taste is worth it--I always get a full 5/5 Napkin Stains of approval from my little Peppers.

The marinade stage with my chunks of chicken--I like that I get to trim the gristle and fat off so each bite is satisfying.  On another note, I have a set of those Pyrex glass bowls, and I really love them.  They're strong, the right sizes, and all come with lids.  Perfect.  I linked them below--seriously, given the choice, I'd like another set.

Today, I didn't have all the ingredients I needed, so I had to swap out black vinegar for the black soy sauce; I also didn't have Shaoxing Wine, so I used sherry.  Thank goodness for substitutions.

I'm also making Egg Rolls tonight (because I'm crazy).  I've had to modify that recipe also, because my family just doesn't like the cabbage inside.  Instead, I do bean sprouts, carrots, bamboo shoots, and sometimes water chesnuts to help form the filling.  Of course, I peel and cook shrimp to go inside, add ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, and....well, I wing it, a lot of the time.  Sometimes you just toss in what's next to you.

The finished dish, garnished with a dried Thai pepper that I grew and dried myself and some sliced scallions.  Dinner time!

Well, I've got a hot wok waiting for me!