Asian Steak and Noodle Salad

January 26, 2013 by · 7 Comments

I am trying to give you all some flavorful and healthy recipes this month – because I know everyone is trying to be good right now:-). This is a salad that I could eat once a week. It is an adapted recipe from Pioneer Woman and Iowa Girl Eats and possibly Epicurious.

I made a very similar recipe last year and I could have sworn that it was from Epicurious. However when I went to dig up the recipe I could not for the life of me find it! I knew it had flank steak, noodles and spinach. It was also Asian flavored. But for whatever reason I couldn’t find the darn recipe. So, I searched through some of my favorite blogs and found two recipes – one here and the other here.

I think what I love most about this recipe is that it is a noodle and green leaf salad. I get my pasta and my salad all in one meal! The sweet/salty soy dressing and marinated flank steak is just perfect and somewhat addicting – especially when you kick up the heat a few notches with the sriracha – YUM!

You can serve this with all of the ingredients cold or you can serve it while the steak and noodles are still slightly warm. This wilts the veggies a bit which I love.

As I am writing I am thinking about the different combinations you could do with this. You could swap out the flank steak for chicken or even tofu. You could swap out the green onions for some fried onions or even some thinly sliced red onions. I might also like this with some cashews or water chestnuts. Wow, I am getting hungry and I need to stop thinking about this salad.

Seriously, you need to try this one – sooo good!

Asian Steak and Noodle Salad
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 Asian Flank Steak Recipe – Prepared
  • Dressing:
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon teaspoon honey
  • 1 Tablespoon lime juice
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
  • Salad
  • ½ bag of baby spinach – washed
  • 12 oz angel hair pasta
  • red or yellow pepper – sliced into thin 2 inch strips
  • 3 green onions sliced thin (white and green parts)
  • Chopped Cilantro
  • handful of sunflower seeds
  • Sriracha

Instructions
  1. Cook flank steak according to directions here. Slice into thin strips.
  2. Combine dressing ingredients and set aside.
  3. Cook pasta according to directions on box.
  4. Slice peppers and green onion. Chop cilantro.
  5. To put salad together place spinach in the bottom of your salad bowl and then add pepper and green onions. Place pasta and steak on top of your vegetables. sprinkle with cilantro, sunflower seeds a sriracha if desired. Add dressing and toss to coat evenly.
  6. Enjoy!

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Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Alfredo

June 5, 2012 by · 9 Comments


This is a recipe that my brother Mike sent to me. He doesn’t cook, but he thought that it sounded good so he sent it my way. I was actually a bit surprised that he picked this out because I didn’t peg him for a goat cheese (or roasted peppers) kind of person, but I guess I was wrong. Mike, I will make this for you when I come up this summer….or I bet your lovely wife or mom would make it for you:-).

Do you like goat cheese? I absolutely love it and I think it goes so well with many foods. It is nice and creamy so it makes a lovely sauce and an incredible Alfredo. We had some leftover cheese after I made this and Jim mixed them in our eggs with some chives and I think they were the best eggs that I have ever had.  In my house,  Taylor is my goat cheese girl.  Ella is all about the Brie, but Taylor seems to really like her goat cheese.

Chevre is French for goat or goat cheese. In case you weren’t completely sure (I wasn’t.)

When I started writing this post I remembered that I never posted my pictures from our little trip to Celebrity Dairy this winter. Every February and March they have an open barn so that people can come to see the baby goats, eat some yummy food and enjoy the outdoors. The farm is in Siler City, North Carolina and if you are in the area I highly recommend a visit. We had a great time and I felt like we were inside a Southern Living or Gourmet Magazine photo shoot. The farm is about the goats, for sure, but there is a wonderful restaurant there and they just capture the farm to table concept perfectly.

Here are some pictures of the baby goats. Possibly some of the cutest things I have seen in a very long time. The kids were playing in a separate barn and they were running around among the visitors. Little human kids were chasing them around and they seemed to love it. They were ramming each other in the head which I captured a picture of.  They would run at full speed at each other, hit each other on the head and kind of bounce off each other.  Seriously, could they be any cuter??

This is inside their pen.  It was a sunny winter day.  I think the temps were in the upper 40′s this day.  We sat by a big bonfire and ate our cheddar and green onion biscuits and soup.  Everything was so fresh and homemade.  I want one of those biscuits now.  Sorry, I didn’t get a picture.  We also bought a few different varieties of cheese.  My favorite was the curried goat cheese, but the jalapeño was amazing, too.

Enjoy this yummy dish. It’s even better the next day!

P.S. – Thanks for sending the recipe, Mike!

Source: Adapted Slightly from Lauren’s Latest

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Alfredo
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 12 oz jar roasted red peppers drained and patted dry
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup fat-free half and half (I used half skim milk and ½ half and half)
  • 4 oz. garlic & herb goat cheese
  • ⅔ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
  • ½ cup artichoke hearts (optional)
  • ½ lb. cooked pasta
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • Fresh basil – julienned

Instructions
  1. In a large sauté pan cook onions and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add half & half, goat cheese, salt & pepper. Stir to melt goat cheese into sauce and keep warm over low heat.
  2. Chop the bell peppers into smaller pieces and add to the sauce. Stir the parm in and continue stirring until it melts into the sauce. Pour mixture into a blender and purée.
  3. Place cooked pasta in the pan. Toss with a little olive oil and crushed red pepper (if desired) and then add the sauce back in. Stir and finally add additional parm, basil and salt and pepper to taste.

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Grilled Shrimp Marinara

May 17, 2012 by · 8 Comments

Shrimp Marinara

So, yesterday morning I had to go into the office (which always makes for a crazy morning….) I also had a conference call that I was taking from home at 8. The girls leave to go to school at 8:15. It was just a recipe for a disastrous morning.

I was upstairs getting ready shortly before my call and one of the girls decided they wanted to look in the dryer for something to wear (they have a dresser and closet full of clothes but for some reason the piece of clothing they want is always in the dryer.) Bailey, our dog, is put back in our laundry room if Jim or I are not downstairs.

So, while the girls were moving the gate to get to the dryer, Bailey escaped. I heard the girls screaming that she got out at the top of their lungs and I just yelled down to Ella to put her back. Still more screaming. Now the screaming sounds a bit panicky so I decided to run downstairs. Apparently Bailey got up on the table and ate all of my vitamins that Jim set out for me as well as Ella’s toast that had some Nutella spread on it.

At this point Ella is screaming to me and tears start flowing with sobs. Both girls are hysterical. I’m not sure if they were more worried about whether Bailey was going to be poisoned by the chocolate or the vitamins. I reassured them that Bailey was not poisoned and she would be just fine – which she was. If anything, the vitamins and fish oil might do her some good!

Bailey

This is Bailey. She is a pretty good dog – just a little crazy at times. She is pretty well-behaved if Jim or I are around, but I guess with the girls screaming she got a bit excited. I have no idea why she would eat my vitamins. What dog does that???

Now let’s talk about this dish……

This was surprisingly one of my favorite meals I have had in a long time. You know I love shrimp and seafood, but I usually pass by a recipe that mixes seafood with a red sauce. Not sure why, but the combo has never sounded that great to me. However, last week I saw something that got me craving grilled shrimp with marinara over angel hair pasta and oh my…

This isn’t a complex recipe but its one of those dishes where the sum is greater than it’s parts. Although shrimp, garlicky marinara, pasta, cheese and some spice are all pretty awesome parts. Nonetheless, Jim and I were surprised how much we loved this. Girls, too…..but of course they always love shrimp and pasta. We mentioned a couple of times this week how good this was. Will probably make something similar very soon! I will probably add fresh basil next time, but other than that I won’t change a thing.

Enjoy!

Grilled Shrimp Marinara
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
  • ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil (you can use less olive oil, but it becomes part of the sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon season salt
  • 1 roasted red pepper thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup dice onion
  • 4 cups of your favorite marinara
  • salt and pepper to taste.
  • Freshly Grated Parm
  • Crushed Red Pepper (optional)
  • 14.5 ounce box of Barilla Plus Angel Hair Pasta – cooked

Instructions
  1. Heat ¼ cup of olive oil on a sauté pan on medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent and add garlic for last two minutes. Add marinara sauce and roasted red peppers and simmer in the pan while everything else cooks. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Season Shrimp with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and seasoning salt. Skewer shrimp – about Light your grill to medium high.
  3. Grill shrimp for about 2-3 minutes per side. YOu will know they are done with they are a nice pink color and no longer translucent on the insides. Don’t over cook!
  4. Plate your pasta and drizzle with a little olive oil and roasted red pepper if desired. Spoon Marinara over pasta and top with shrimp and freshly grated parm. Enjoy!

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Baked Ziti

April 4, 2012 by · 6 Comments


Tomorrow night we are heading up to Virginia to meet my family for a mini pre-Easter vaca. We are going into DC on Friday and then the American Girl Store in Tyson’s Corner on Saturday…along with a trip to LaMadeline for lunch. I used to work in McLean, Virginia and I always loved to go to La Madeleine for lunch so I can’t wait! They have the best tomato basil soup I have ever had.

Then on Saturday we are driving up to Maryland to see Jim’s family for Easter. I am sure there will be an Easter Egg hunt and a trip to Annapolis somewhere in there. Hopefully we will make a trip to Carlsons again!

So this will probably be my last post until Monday. Have a wonderful holiday and I wish everyone a Happy Easter!

This is a great recipe to serve if you are feeding a crowd – especially if there are kids involved. It’s also easy to split into two pans and freeze one for a busy night!

This is a great twist on baked ziti and what makes this a bit different is the sour cream. It gives the dish a little tang and adds some creaminess that you will love.

Enjoy!

Source: Allrecipes.com

Baked Ziti
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 pound ziti pasta
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 pound lean ground beef (I sometimes use half Italian sausage)
  • 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
  • 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
  • 1½ cups sour cream
  • 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray.
  2. Cook ziti in boiling water until al dente. Drain
  3. In a large skillet cook ground beef and onion. Add the tomato sauce and simmer about 15 minutes.
  4. In the bottom of the baking dish add half the ziti. Cover with the provolone, sour cream and then ½ of the sauce mixture. Add the remaining ziti, mozzarella, sauce mixture and then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
  6. Enjoy!

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Pasta and White Beans with Broccoli Pesto

January 19, 2012 by · 8 Comments

I loved this. However, not everyone in my family did. Apparently to some people seeing green “sauce” on your pasta is weird. My girls are good eaters, but Taylor, my youngest has gotten a bit picky lately. Especially when stuff gets mixed together like this. So needless to say, I think she may have had an apple and a ham sandwich this night. We usually don’t do that, but occasionally you just have to know when to surrender to these battles.

This is a great choice for a meatless meal. You get your veggies from the broccoli and some protein from the cannellini beans. Half of the pasta was the Barilla plus and the other half was normal white pasta (because that is what I had.) There is also some freshly grated parm, olive oil and fresh garlic. Seriously…it’s green comfort food.

The only issue I had with this dish was that I don’t have a large food processor. My blender doesn’t do a good job chopping stuff up if there isn’t a decent amount of liquid. I do have a mini prep, but you can only put in so much at a time, so I did my best to make the pesto in batches. It worked ok, but it probably would have been a little smoother if I had a real food processor. It still tasted good so no biggie.

This recipe came from Martha’s Every Day Food magazine in their Light issue. They had a section on meatless meals and there were other recipes that sounded really good from that section – like cauliflower steaks with roasted pepper and tomato salad.

If you want some comfort food that is really a pretty healthy option I would definitely recommend this dish. You may be surprised how yummy green pasta can really be!

Source: Everyday Food January/February 2012

Pasta and White Beans with Broccoli Pesto
 
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Recipe type: Main

Ingredients
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 bunch broccoli cut into 1 inch pieces (4 cups)
  • 10 ounces short pasta (I used penne)
  • 5 teaspoons EVOO
  • ¼ cup finely grated parm with some more for serving
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½ cup packed fresh parsley leaves (I didn’t use this because I didn’t have any, but would try it next time with)
  • 1-2 small garlic cloves
  • 1 can cannellini beans rinsed and drained

Instructions
  1. Cook broccoli until tender about 4-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer broccoli to a food processor. Boil water again and add pasta according to directions. Drain and reserve 2 cups of the pasta water for later. Return pasta to the pot.
  2. In the food process add oil, parm, lemon zest and juice, parsley and garlic. Process for about 2 minutes until nice and smooth. Add to pot with the pasta. Add enough water to this to make the sauce nice and creamy. Stir in the beans and heat until everything is warmed through. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parm.
  3. Enjoy!

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