Shredded Pork and Rice Brunch Burritos

Inspired by Rachel Ray - adjusted to meet the needs and available ingredients of the day, these burritos were so Quick and Easy, and would likely remain so regardless of whether you had various pieces pre-made in the freezer.

A quick reheat of 1 cup of Rice Pilaf. A simple saute of Bell Peppers (or using 1 cup frozen veggies), followed by the scrambling of 4 eggs, the reheating of 1 cup Shredded Pork, the Chopping of one Tomato and the assembly of 2 large Burrito-Tortillas is all it takes to enjoy a filling, nutritious Sunday Brunch between writing MAED papers and banging your head against the wall ^.^

Red Curry Soup-ness

There's no real reason I should post this as a recipe...

This is one of those times I just need to make a 'mental'/blog note regarding what I've done that is semi-successful when I have random foodstuff in the fridge.

I'm not talented with premade things...hence, soup-ness, it shouldn't have been so soupy...oh well.  It was edible...that's what matters at the end of a long day.

I wanted my veggies (cabbage, bell peppers, onions) to have a bit more character than normal so I prepared them using the same method I did here and then set them aside on a plate.

Heat a bit of oil in a pan, add 1-2 Tbsp. red curry paste and mix. 

Dump in a can of Coconut Milk (I also use a small bit of water to get the extra coconut milk off the tin can insides...so a half cup tin of water contributes to soupiness).

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, throw in some shrimps - 1-2 cups, heat through, add veggies, a touch of fish sauce if you have it on hand, heat through and serve over brown rice.  You'll enjoy it...I'm sure.

Kimbap in a Pinch

Kimbap is Korea's version of a sushi roll...but not really because Korea is not Japan and sushi is Japanese. So kimbap is a Korean snack/quick dish of rice and things wrapped in seaweed. Typical Korean Kimbap includes ham, egg, pickled radish and other non-Japanese style additions. It's cheap and perfect for so many situations.

Once, in desperate need of a quick dinner, a Korean friend recommended a twist on traditional kimbap...I'm calling it Kimbap in a Pinch.

Like all foods I truly, truly love, this can be adjusted and played with to create some great fusion style eats....here's the basic and a couple of variations I've had some success with ^.^

Prepare rice. White rice. (One cup of un-prepared rice will be enough for about 4 rolls once it's been properly prepared).

Mix in mayonnaise, a touch of sesame oil, drained tuna fish, a veggie of choice (I used bell peppers), and some sesame seeds.

Spread onto a sheet of seaweed ('kim' in Korea, 'nori' elsewhere).

Roll, cut, eat.

Variations~Mix-In:

• Mayonnaise, chopped tomato, chopped bacon, salt and pepper (B.S.T. - Bacon, seaweed and tomato) Quite amazing, trust me.
• Pesto and chopped tomato -- received the most raves at a recent gathering
• Mayonnaise or a touch of salsa/hot sauce, black beans, corn and tomatoes -- haven't tried this, could be a total fail.
• Hard-boiled and chopped egg, mayonnaise, salt and pepper (think egg salad in a sheet of seaweed) -- also, haven't tried but definitely think there's potential!
• Whatever you can think of! Kimbap is the new sandwich my friends, go out, experiment and have a grand ole time.

Udon with 'Poached' Egg and Veggies

This was uh-mazing. And easy.
Pinterest Inspired.
Original Recipe here - from the Kitchn

Ingredients/Directions:

2 cups of water per Udon Noodle package -- if you're using the one such as that pictured in the bottom right of the above collage. Bring water to a boil then add Udon Noodles, cook 3-4 minutes or until near done. Throw in chopped cabbage, cover with a lid and let cabbage cook/steam for 1-2 minutes.  Mix in sauce packets from Udon Noodle package (soy and such) then carefully put a raw egg (in this case 2) into the boiling water, let it cook until set, dish into bowls, sprinkle on some green onion and enjoy!

Spanish Rice and Shrimp

Starting to use some of my pre-made freezer goods since I've been living in the uncomfortable space that is two MAED courses simultaneously (we've also eaten a TON of fried chicken...don't judge) Regardless, having food stuff ready and waiting in the freezer is awesome when I want to have somebody over, eat something relatively fresh and home-made and want to get to work on my MAED in a reasonable amount of time.

So, October saw the creation of Rachel Ray's Spanish Rice and Shrimp - a simple, simple compilation of:

4 cups Rice Pilaf, heated in 2 Tbsp. EVOO, set aside in a bowl.
4 cloves Garlic, chopped plus 1 lb. Deveined, Peeled Shrimp and 1 Tsp. Paprika heated in same skillet as Rice Pilaf.
1 cup Tomato Sauce and 1 cup Roasted Peppers added unto the Shrimp mixture and heated through.
Pilaf returned to the pan, mixed, heated served with Parsley (if available) and lemon wedges.

Enjoy with friends and a glass of home-made wine or any wine should do.

Unstuffed Pepper Soup

I quite enjoy stuffed peppers, however I tend to be impatient and too much of a procrastinator to actually make them happen.  Not to mention, I really have a thing for soups. I don't remember any quantities or anything of an exact nature in regards to this dish, but this blog is primarily for personal records and as a source of inspiration to those folks who find a random assortment of whatnot waiting in their fridge...

You may remember when I took a day to prepare some foods once-a-month-style so that doubling up on my Master's wouldn't be deadly? Well, I used one cup of that Tomato Sauce in addition to home-made chicken broth and a cup of Cold Chaser Tea to provide the base for this dish. That of course was after sauteing Onion, Bell Pepper, Jalapeno and Garlic in a touch of olive oil. I also had some corn lying around, so threw that in the pot and soaked up all the excess liquid by throwing in some rice I cooked up quickly in the rice cooker. Season with salt and pepper, serve with cheese and sour cream if you're so lucky and enjoy as part of a Monday night dinner with a good friend and someone you love - they'll probably devour it all ^.^

Pesto Egg Baguettes

At Costco recently, I just so happened across LaBrea Demi-Baguettes, which I had learned, from my dear friend Holly, are an item to be treasured.  So, at just under 7,000 won, I picked up a bag of 6 and got to brainstorming the best uses for these delectable little morsels.  With brainstorming came images once gathered on Pinterest and before you could spell LaBrea Demi-Baguettes in Hanguel (the Korean alphabet), I had these Pesto Egg Baguettes in the oven!

Ingredients/Directions:

Slice the top third or so off of a demi-baguette, scoop out the innards from the bottom 2/3's of the bread and munch on this while completeing the other tasks...Spread some prepared Pesto into the hollowed out bread (you could also use rolls or bowls), sprinkle a bit of Mozzarella cheese in side and top with a raw egg.  Place baguette boats into an oven of 350 and bake for approximately 20 minutes until the egg white has set. Last 5 minutes sprinkle on some more Mozzarella if you enjoy cheese, remove from oven, pour a glass of wine and enjoy my friend!

Nutella Oatmeal Banana Bread

Remember this?

Well...I wanted banana bread. Wanted the joy of Nutella IN my banana bread. AND wanted to make a recipe from one of my Kindle Cookbooks...because it makes me feel cool, and happy to have a Kindle with Cookbooks.  Because I love Cookbooks.  And every cookbook on my Kindle was free.  And I really love free.

So from the 'pages' of the Gooseberry Patch Thanksgiving Cookbook (cooklet) comes Banana and Walnut Bread minus the Walnuts and Blueberries, plus Nutella.

Ingredients/Directions:

In a large bowl cream together 1/2 cup Butter and 1 cup Sugar.  Add 2 Eggs, one at a time and mix well after each addition; stir in 1 cup of Mashed Banana.  In separate bowl (or not, depending on your perfectionist streak) sift together 1 1/2 cups Flour, 1 tsp. Baking Soda, 1/4 tsp. Salt and 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon.  Fold in 1/2 cup Quick-Cooking Oats (uncooked).  Mix dry with wet if necessary, just until moistened.  Pour half the batter into a greased bread loaf pan, plop in 2-3 spoonfuls of Nutella, swirl, pour in rest of batter, plop in 2-3 more spoonfuls of Nutella, swirl and bake. 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes until center is done. Enjoy with a glass of milk, for breakfast and/or dessert and/or after-school snack.

Beanie Weenies -- Just Like Mom used to Make 'em

This is not really the type of recipe one showcases on a foodie blog, however, I've never claimed to be a foodie, so it's okay. This dish is honestly a comfort food. Occassionally, my mom would heat these guys up and I would simply love life. Funny thing is...I made them on this blog once before, but that was during the days of dumpster diving...It's the same concept, so check it out here!

Shredded Chicken: For a Month-ish

I'm quite certain this bit of chicken isn't meant to last a month because I opted for the slow-cooker once again. However, should I do this one or two more times I will in fact have plenty of chicken and chicken broth for the month!

The chicken entered the slow-cooker with a sprinkling of salt and pepper a touch of water for the pot and a few squeezes of lemon juice. At the end of the day, the chicken meat was eager to come of the bones and be shredded and store in the freezer, 1 cup at a time. Next day, the chicken bones happily entered the slow-cooker with a quartered carrot and onion and a bay leaf simply to be covered in water and made into a fabulous broth.

I love the slow-cooker. That's all.

Roasted Veggies: For a Month

Roasted Veggies don't require much explanation. Rachel Ray roasts up some assorted bell peppers and onions followed by (or preceded by, doesn't matter much) a couple of cubed Butternut Squash.

I also roasted peppers and onions. However, I opted for small Korean pumpkins rather than Butternut Squash and rather than cube and roast, I simply set the beasts in the crock-pot (it's best to scoop out their innards first, but it can be done either way), turned it on for 6-8 hours on low and froze smashed pumpkin rather than cubed and roasted. I looked through the recipes which call for the cubes and decided a pure would work as well, differently, but it would still work. Also, I highly recommend cooking pumpkin in your slow-cooker, it's so incredibly easy, too easy really.

Rice Pilaf: For a Month

Rachel Ray cooks her rice in the traditional, stove-top manner. Personally, I opted to throw the rice in the rice-cooker, saute up the onions and such in a pot then add the finished rice when it was ready - so much easier (in my opinion).

Ingredients/Directions:

In a rice cooker prepare 3 1/4 cups Rice (Rachel Ray recommend long-grain ... I used whatever it was Korea could give me), this should require 2 1/4 cups water and another 2 1/4 cups chicken broth. Just before rice finishes heat 3 Tbsp. of Olive Oil then add 3 chopped Onions and salt and pepper to taste, saute 8-10 minutes. When onions are translucent, scoop rice into the pot mix and add in your choice of 16 oz. Frozen Peas, Corn, or Toasted Almonds (I went with Almonds, they're the most available) Freeze in 1 cup increments.

Tomato Sauce: For a Month

Here we are with another mega-load of cooking. This recipe yielded 15 cups of tomato sauce that I'm excited to use for dishes such as Spanish Rice with Shrimp, Fusilli with Chicken and Tomato Sauce and home-made Calzones. Now, doing this in Korea posed a couple of challenges. First of all, I'm not sure if anchovies exist but I went a head and purchased some canned fish with fingers crossed it'd be similar to anchovies...pretty sure it wasn't. BUT, of course I used it anyway, because that is simply how I roll in my kitchen.  Anchovies (or other canned fish) are ultimately optional, if I do this dish again, I'll probably opt out.  The other challenge, in my kitchen anyhow, was opening the giant can of whole tomatoes. I always knew our can opener wasn't top notch but seriously, things got ugly and after about 30 minutes and a new can opener, I finally got the stupid can open. I can't imagine you'll have to face that challenge.

Ingredients/Directions:

In a 5-6 qt. heavy dutch oven combine 1/4 cup Olive Oil, 8 smashed cloves of garlic, 6 oil-packed Anchovy Fillets chopped and 1/4 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper. Cook over medium heat until garlic is golden and anchovies disintegrate (3-4 minutes).  Pour in 1 cup of red wine and 4 cans (28 oz) of crushed tomatoes (I had the luxury of using canned whole tomatoes in a 2 lb. can which then had to be 'crushed' with my handy-dandy immersion blender...so just use a lot of tomatoes).  Bring to a boil and let boil about 10 minutes before reducing heat. Cover part-way and simmer until the sauce is thick (about 2 hours) Stir occasionally. Season with salt. Cool and store in 1 or 2 cup portions in Ziploc baggies in the freezer!

Jap-chae: Korean Stir-fried Noodles and Veggies

All you really need to know about Korean cooking can be learned from one woman...that is Maangchi. She is my number one go-to regarding Korean foods since she is a) Korean, b) quarky and c) speaks English. Additionally, she not only posts recipes for dishes with lots of pictures, but almost always includes a video, which is just nice...perhaps someday I'll go live on YouTube with my cooking skills! (HA!)

One of my all-time-favorite Korean dishes is Japchae. The dish is made with sweet potato (also called starch or glass noodles), a ton of veggies and a simple sauce of soy sauce and sesame seeds.

There's a ton of veggies in this dish and the meat called for can easily be substituted or simply left out for a more vegetarian friendly option.

I realize the polite thing to do would be to re-iterate the recipe here, but I really, REALLY want you to meet Maangchi, because she's a blast, so here's the japchae recipe and a bit of Maangchi herself!

Pulled Pork: For a Month

Rachel Ray does this massive dish in the oven. My oven is small. And...I prefer the slow cooker. You need a TON of pork roast - I'm sayin' like 8-10 lbs which is a lot. For the slow cooker, just cut it into chunks that fit into the slow-cooker, season with salt, lemon zest, minced garlic and pepper then cook on low 8-10 hours. Let cool slightly and shred it with two forks. Freeze in 1 cup portions should be between 10-15 cups of pork to be used with a number of dishes at a later date.

(If you aren't familiar with once-a-month-cooking, the concept is simple. Prepare food in large portions, freeze and use at a later date. Most once-a-month-cooking sites/recipes have you prepare quite a few dishes, Rachel Ray gives you five --in a recent magazine that is -- which you prepare, freeze and then use her simple recipes to jazz up one to three of the ingredients which are happily stored in the freezer. It'll make more sense as I begin my overlapped coursework with the Master's and start pulling foods out of the freezer for some uber-convenience cooking that's still 'fresh' and home-made. I'm pretty stoked about the whole thing).