Penne with Chicken, Broccoli, and Sundried Tomatoes

Most of the time when I don't know what to make for dinner I resort to making pasta.

El Hubby:  What's for dinner?
Me:  I don't know.  Pasta?
El Hubby:  I don't really feel like pasta
Me:  Well I don't feel like making dinner.
El Hubby:  Pasta sounds good.

Okay okay this exact conversation did not happen but some sort of it has happened.  I would say "poor husband" but the likelihood of me not feeding his is usually quite small.

Pasta has been on my brain ever since I say my cousin in Taiwan post her Facebook about eating pasta.  Ever since then I have had pasta on the brain.  I wanted something simple to make.  Of course I had not gone to the grocery store in days.  So I went through my stack of "recipes to try" and luckily found this.  And luckily I had all the ingredients.  Oh at least I made it work.
  

Penne with Chicken, Broccoli, and Sundried Tomatoes
Adapted from Smells Like Home

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb chicken, boneless, skinless, trimmed, sliced thin
1 onion, small
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
8 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bottle Alfredo sauce
salt and pepper
1 lb broccoli, florets only
12 oz penne pasta

Directions:
1.  Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat until just smoking.  Salt and pepper chicken.  Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned but not fully cooked, about 2-3 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl.
2.  Lower the heat to medium and add 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil to the skillet.  When the olive oil is shimmering add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and red pepper flakes.  Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3.  Stir in a bottle of Alfredo sauce.  
4.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Add broccoli in 3 minutes before pasta is done.  Drain pasta and broccoli.  Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining. 
5.  Add the chicken to the sauce.  Cook chicken until done, about 2 minutes. 
6.  Add pasta and broccoli to sauce.  Toss to combine.  Stir in pasta water until you get desired consistency in sauce. 
7.  Serve hot!

This pasta came out amazing.  It is for sure going into the recipe binder.  Oh and let me tell you, the leftovers were even better.

I don't know about other pet owners but I talk to my pup.  This is her face when I talk to her.  Most of the time I think she thinks I am crazy.  Which I am.  Crazy in love with my fur baby.

Get ready for spring and fruits and baking with those fruits!

XOXO

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

 What's more comfort than corn bread.  Okay, maybe chocolate but that's another post.  Corn bread is always yummy.  But it seems that not too many place serve it anymore.  Marie Calendar's has a pretty yummy cornbread but their food is so bad that I pretty much never go there.  But since I like my food with a little kick jalapenos had to be added.

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread
Adapted by The Yummy Life

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups ground yellow cornmeal
3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 egg
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 cup corn
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray
2.  Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. 
3.  Beat eggs, buttermilk and honey.  Add dry mixture.  Stir until just mixed.  Do not over mix.
4.  Add onion, corn, jalapeno and cheese.  Fold into batter until mixed. 
5.  Pour into baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted in comes out clean.
6.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. 

This corn bread was delicious.  I think the only thing I would change would be to bake it with a little less time.  maybe 20-25 minutes next time.  Other than that this recipe is a keeper.  I love that actual pieces of corn.  It goes the cornbread some grown up texture.  This would be wonderful served with some chili. 

Enjoy!
XOXO

Korean Pork Ribs

Easy recipes are my favorite.  Oh this recipe is easy.  It requires a little prep work but the end result is much worth it.  I bought ribs and instantly marinaded them when I got home from the store.   You see, this recipe requires 8-24 hours of marinating.  Hence the yummy end flavor. 

When it comes to dinner and never know what to make.  My worst nightmare is when the husband texts "what's for dinner?"  Bah!  I am also indecisive.  So if I don't marinate meat or set a meal plan for the week I have known to let meat go bad in my refrigerator.  I know I know.  Bad!  I must work on this.

Korean Pork Ribs
Adapted from Runs with Spatulas

Ingredients:
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons garlic hot sauce
1 pound pork ribs

Directions:
1.  In a large ziploc bag, combine all ingredients including pork.  Marinate in refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
2.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a baking pan with foil for easy cleaning.
3.  Bake for about 40 minutes. 
4.  Ribs should fall off the bone.

These ribs made a amazing dinner.  The meat fell off the bone and was super tender.  The husband really enjoyed this dinner. 

Enjoy!

XOXO

Mapo Tofu

Oh one really can't go wrong with Mapo tofu.  I mean, what can be better than the meat-tofu-spicy combination.  Actually chocolate and peanut butter can probably beat it.  But we are talking savory right now.  So remember when I said I could only make a handful of Chinese dishes?  Well if you couldn't tell already the husband and I are having Chinese night for dinner.  Here is my version of Mapo Tofu:

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground turkey (combine with 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch)
1 box extra firm tofu, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 inch piece of ginger, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks green onions, diced
4 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon garlic chili
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 jalapeno, minced

Directions:
1.  Fry tofu in oil.  Cook until firm. Set aside.
2.  Saute ginger, garlic, and green onions until fragrant.
3.  Add ground turkey and cook.
4.  In a mixing cup, combine soy sauce, garlic chili, cornstarch, water, and jalapeno.
5.  Add fried tofu to meat.  Pour sauce over tofu and meat.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes.
6.  Serve with rice.

Now I used ground turkey instead of the traditional pork because ever since the husband had ACL surgery we have not worked out as much, but of course did not eat any less or healthier, so now we are getting back on track.  So turkey is my way of making this dish healthier.  This would taste much yummier with white rice but once again I served it with brown rice.  All in all it's a pretty healthy dish without having to sacrifice too much on flavor.  This dish is extremely easy to make.  One of those even a college student could do it kind of recipe. 

Enjoy!
XOXO

Honey Soy Pepper Wings

I have always been a dark meat kind of girl when it came to my chicken.  So naturally I love chicken wings.  How can one not like dark meat?  When cooked correctly the chicken meat is tender and juicy.  My mom use to make chicken wings all the time when I was a girl.  Mom always said chicken wings are the best because they are easy to cook and easy to serve.  Oh I love my mom.

This is a super easy recipe for chicken wings.  However it does require 12-24 hours to marinade. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons siracha sauce (hot sauce or rooster sauce)
3 lbs wings
Sesame seeds and chopped green onions for garnish

Directions:
1.  Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2.  Dry wings and place in plastic bag.  Pour marinade over wings.  Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
3.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
4.  Arrange wings on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
5.  Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake for 12-18 minutes, until the skin is brown and crispy.
6.  Sprinkle with garnishes and serve!

These chicken wings are super yummy.  The chicken wings are sweet with a kick.  When they first came out of the oven the husband announced that he was not in the mood for chicken wings and ate a sandwich.  What a fool!  He sure missed out.  However, 2 days later he decided to eat the left over chicken and realized that he sure missed out.  Don't be a fool like my husband.  Eat the chicken when it come out the oven.  It is delicious!

Enjoy!

XOXO

First Slow Cooker Recipe!! Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Okay so a few people I know always brag about how they use a slow cooker to cook dinner and it's so amazing and so easy. Being a Asian woman I have only used my slow cooker to keep food warm. So here I go to try this out. I found a buffalo chicken recipe to try. Now I was convinced this would NOT work. I mean it just sounds too weird to me to not slave over a stove for dinner.

Ingredients:
4 skinless boneless chicken breast
1 bottle buffalo wing sauce
1 package dry ranch salad dressing mix
2 tablespoons butter

Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker. Pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Once the chicken has cooked add the butter and shred the meat with two forks. Pile the meat onto a roll and remaining buffalo wing sauce to serve. I also added diced tomatoes mixed with shredded lettuce and ranch.

So my husband take a bite. Makes a face. Then tells me "you need to take a bite". I take a bite and almost vomit in my mouth. This is gross. In the sense that it is too spicy (and I never say that) and just a lot of "blah". Then the husband says "if you had served this to me 11 years ago we never would have gotten married". Sad! Needless to say this recipe will never be used in my house again.

All you crazy slow cooker people ... SEND me your recipes!

XOXO