Tingly Szechuan Pepper (Beef) Noodles. {RR}

I knew I had to make this when I caught it on Rachael Ray's show. I had some ground beef in the freezer, so I made the recipe as is. Meat and all. It was so, SO good! And next time I will leave the meat out because the meat wasn't where this dish was getting it's flavors. The spices are amazing!! I cut down on the szechuan because of my 14 months - 8 year old kids. 

While I was cooking, my 4 year old informed us that she would not be eating dinner because "it stinks and I not like it". We negotiated with her and told her she needed to take her bites or she wouldn't have any of the super bowl snacks. She just had finished her first bite when minutes later we turned and looked at her and she was done and was pretty much licking the bowl. Yeah... now that's a good recipe! I took a picture of her holding her empty bowl for future reference to show her when she gives me that stink face and defiant attitude again. Mommies always right. ;)

1 pound dried Chinese noodles or thin spaghetti
{1 pound ground beef (used 1/4 pound)}
1 onion, minced
1 small red chile pepper, such as fresno, minced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 piece (1 inch) ginger, minced
2 teaspoons Szechuan pepper (went with 1 teaspoon so the littles could handle it)
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1/4 to 1/3 cup tamari (dark soy sauce) or Bragg's liquid amino
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
Chili oil or sriracha, for serving

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the noodles and cook until al dente. Drain.

{{OMIT if doing vegan. While the pasta is working, in a large skillet, heat the oil, 3 turns of the pan, over high heat until smoking. Pat the ground beef dry with a paper towel, then crumble it into the hot oil.}}

Heat pan and water to steam-fry the onion, chile, garlic, ginger, Szechuan pepper and five-spice powder to the beef. Stir-fry until the onion is slightly softened, 2 minutes.

Add the drained noodles to the {beef} mixture. Stir in the tamari (or liquid amino). Remove from the heat and toss with the cabbage and scallions. {Serve with the chili oil (or sriracha)... spicy enough, didn't need.}

Spicy Peanut Noodles with Broccoli.

This month my parents went to Dr. McDougall's advanced study weekend seminar (so jealous!) and they took a class from this amazing vegan, unprocessed, salt-free, sugar-free chef, Chef AJ. My mom loved her class, loved her personality and loved her food. She was sold. Bought her book. Bought me her book. And now we're both sold.

I skipped the reading and went straight to the recipes. She doesn't use any processed foods. No salt and she only uses dates to sweeten things. Her stuff is awesome. Here's the first thing I tried from Chef AJ. Sold and love how it comes together so quickley!

1 pound brown rice noodles (spaghetti or linguine)

1 pound broccoli florets

3/4 cup peanut butter, unsweetened and unsalted

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons low sodium tamari

2 tablespoons date syrup

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1/4 - 1/2 ounce piece of fresh ginger, pressed

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

8 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

sesame seeds or chopped unsalted peanuts for garnish (optional)

Cook pasta according to directions on package. {Run under cold water when done. She serves it cold, I've never tried it that way... so if you want it warm, don't rinse. If you want it cold, rinse and tell me how it was.} Drain and place in a large bowl.

Blanch broccoli {and run under cold water when done}. Dran and add to pasta bowl along with the scallions.

To make the sauce, combine peanut butter, water, rice vinegar, tamari, date syrup, garlic, ginger and red pepper in a suacepan over medium-high heat. Whisk until smooth and cook for about 10 minutes until thickened. Pour dressing over noodles and broccoli and thoroughly combine. {Chill until it becomes cold.}

Chef AJ

Unprocessed

Shepperd's Pie.

I loved this... and possibly loved it even better the second day. Very mild flavor and great with all the veggies. And that's just not too common when you've got mashed potatoes. First time using miso, and me like.

Filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
2 cups cabbage, broccoli, or kale, finely chopped
½ cup water, vegetable stock or lentil cooking water
2 cups cooked lentils
1 cup peas
1 cup corn
1 teaspoon amino acids

Crust:
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/3 to ½ cup nondairy milk
1 tablespoon miso
2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in large skillet on medium low or just steam-fry with water. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes until soft. Stir in garlic, carrots, and greens add water and cover. Cook 10 minutes or until veggies are tender. Stir in remaining filling ingredients. Cook 5 minutes or until filling is hot. Pour into 2 quart casserole dish.

While filling cooks, prepare mash potato crust. Place potatoes in medium pan add water just to top of potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until tender, About 15 minutes. Drain and return to pot. Add miso. Begin mashing and adding milk a little at a time, until smooth. Add parsley. Spread evenly over filling. Sprinkle evenly with paprika. Bake uncovered 20 to 30 minutes until the dish is hot and the edges are slightly golden.

from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook

who told my friend, Natalie, who told me

Butternut Squash Soup

Looking for a good crockpot recipe that I can put together before church, I found this one from my friend Brooke's food blog... which she got from Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It was perfect for after church and took no time getting it all together. I love butternut squash, and this creamy soup was sweet and different.

Belly Biters
[me: yum] [nolan:yummy] [shayne: alright] [coco: eh.] [ava: yuck]

with half and half, I'll for sure be making it again.

2 lbs. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups vegetable broth
1 14-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon shy maple syrup (brooke used brown sugar)
1 tablespoon fish sauce, soy sauce, liguid amino's1/2 to 1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce (Sriracha sauce) or crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 recipe Thai Gremolata, [recipe below]

In a 3 1/2 or 4-quart slow cooker stir together squash, broth, coconut milk, onion, brown sugar, soy sauce, and Asian chili sauce. Cover; cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

At this point, the the crockpot, it looks pretty nasty. But keep it together and use an immersion blender to carefully blend soup until completely smooth. Stir in lime juice. Ladle into bowls and top with Thai Gremolata (below). If desired, serve with lime wedges.

Thai Gremolata
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or cilantro
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1 tablespoon lime peel, finely shredded


In a bowl stir together.

Hurry Up Alfredo.

Ya'll are going to love me for this one. Like, "L-O, L-O, L-O, L-O-V-E, L-O, L-O, L-O... I'm talkin bout... I'm talkin bout love!" (Any Ashlee Simpson Wentz fans out there? Nope? No one? Yeah, me neither!)

Anyhow, back to this amazing pasta. It's for sure going into the Hatch Family rotation. It couldn't be more delicious. It couldn't be more easy. And it couldn't be more any on-hand, go-to meal to make, whatsoever. [any Chandler fans catch that one?... Man, I have got to stop writing these up late at night!] Although if you're just starting up on this vegan/plant-based thing it won't seem at all 'on-hand' ingredients to you at first. But this one alone is well worth the investment of the ingredients.

I seriously wanted more and more of this one, and couldn't believe that it was vegan. Seriously, just try this tonight. Or, right now. I can't wait to play with it some and add roasted red peppers... or try it into a rose sauce... and try roasted garlic with it... yum!

The only downfall was the garlic is not cooked, so the garlic flavor is strong - be ready for that. Too strong for my little Ava... "it's so good Mom... but it's just too strong!" I'll tone that down or try some roasted garlic cloves next time.

1 cup soy or almond milk

1/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

3 tablespoons low-sodium tamari/soy sauce/bragg's liquid amino's

2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

1 tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon paprika (smoked is awesome)

1 pinch nutmeg

2-4 cloves of garlic, optional (used 2, will use 1 next time)

Black pepper, to taste

whole wheat thin spaghetti

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This may work best in a high-speed blender (like a Vita-Mix), but you can definitely make it in a regular blender. Just blend extra-long, or perhaps strain if you want it perfectly smooth. Tiny bits of cashews won’t hurt anyone though!

If you’re making this sauce for pasta, drain the pasta and return it to the hot empty pan. Pour the sauce over, place on medium heat, and stir until heated through. Serve with lots of fresh cracked black pepper. I love it with steamed broccoli added in!

belly biters: amazing!!

5 Star Hurry-Up Alfredo...

I just moved this already yummy dish up to 5 star yumminess... I cut up sundried tomatoes and added to the pasta water 1 minute before it's done. And sauted baby bella mushrooms and added them in after I mixed the pasta and sauce together. SOOOOOOO yummy!

SWEET AND SOUR THAI NOODLE BOWLS

From my girl Rachael Ray... modified for our belly bites. She will always and forever remain "my girl" for giving me some of my most favorite meals - even if we've changed what goes into our bellies. I'll just keep modifying.

Shayne loves this and said he could eat this once a week... It's a lot of the same ingredients as our favorite tilapia dish - so I figured it'd be a for sure thing with him. I told Shayne when we decided to change our eating that I'd die finding meals that left him fulfilled and happy the way his meat made him - and this is one of them. Yeah!! If you want to see the RR version, with meat - check it out here.

1 pound whole wheat or whole grain spaghetti
2 leeks, thinly sliced and thoroughly cleaned {I usually use just one}
A couple of generous handfuls shitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 inches ginger root, grated
1/3 cup Tamari (or Bragg's Liquid Aminos - healthier and a quarter of the sodium)
2 tablespoons agave syrup or honey
2 limes, zest and juice of 1, the other cut into wedges, divided
Sriracha or other hot sauce, to taste
2 cups shredded romaine or iceberg lettuce
Cilantro or basil, chopped, for garnish

Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Add salt and cook pasta to al dente.

When the pasta goes into the water, heat some water (enough to fill the bottom of the pan) in a large skillet over high heat add leeks and mushrooms to the skillet and stir-fry 2 minutes. Keep adding water once it's evaporated out. Add garlic and ginger, and cook a minute more. Stir in Tamari (or Liquid Aminos), agave syrup or honey, lime zest and juice, and hot sauce to taste.

In a large serving bowl, toss veggies with the meat, noodles and lettuce to combine. Garnish with cilantro or basil and serve with lime wedges alongside.

YUM!!

Ginger-Garlic Fish in Parchment

I had this the week before I had Corynn and thought I was in heaven it was so good. I was a little worried that post pregnancy taste buds wouldn't think it was so good, but it was even better.

Parchment paper
4 (6 to 7-ounce) portions sea bass {$$$, I use a cheaper but still yummy Tilapia}

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch scallions, cut into 3-inch pieces on an angle

1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

3 to 4-inch knob ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

4 large cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons tamari sauce {bragg's liquid aminios}

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Rip off 4 pieces of parchment to form packets each about 12-inches long. Season fish with salt and pepper. Place a piece of parchment in a shallow dish then in the center of the paper stack 1/4 of the scallions and shiitakes, layer with slices of ginger and garlic and top with fish.

Combine the honey, vinegar and tamari and pour 1/4 of the sauce over fish. Fold over the top of the parchment then roll the sides in to form a sealed pouch. Repeat with remaining parchment and ingredients.

Arrange the pouches on a baking sheet and roast in hot oven 12 to 14 minutes.

Rachael (b/c by now, we're on a first name basis) puts a Lemon Chive Noodle with this, which I've never made. I just cook up some thin spaghetti whole wheat noodles and dump the packet of fish, shrooms and juices on top of it. All the juices from the pack works perfectly for a sauce. Amazing. Plain and Simple.

a Rachael Ray