Thank you! (Spinach Fettucini with Sautee Spinach and Mushroom - A Recipe!

I was at work chugging along on the website I've been working on for about two months now. As I check the stats of the old website, I happened along the stats of this blog. To my surprise, it's still getting hits. Every time I posted a post (the few that I posted last year), there would be a spike in hits. It warmed my heart. There were a few comments I neglected to answer. To whom this is concerned, I am sorry. Last year was quite a wild ride. Things are calming down and turning into a rhythm. I will try to post more regularly and to answer comments and questions that happens along the way.

It's been quite since I've posted a recipe. Now that I started cooking regularly again. I thought I should share a recipe with the world. It's my dinner tonight. (The stuffed pork is slowly cooking in the oven. Yum!) To those that frequent my blog knows that I do not measure. So, all the measurements here are guess-timates. I cook like a homecook. I just throw ingredients together and hopes it comes out delicious. Whatever combination works well, I post them here.

Spinach Fettucini with Sautee Spinach and Mushroom

Spinach Fettucini - I used half a 12 oz bag
1 12oz bag of spinach
1 tray of mushrooms
1/2 - 1 cup of Vegetable stock
Romano cheese
Manchego cheese
half onions - chopped
3 cloves of garlic - chopped and diced

1. heat up some olive oil
2. brown the garlic
3. turn down the heat to about medium and throw in the chopped onions.
4. wait for about 30sec to 1 min throw in the mushrooms.
5. sprinkle a little sugar and carmelized the mushrooms and the onions. (there's a little bit of timing right here) As the onions and the mushroom cooks boil the water. and cook the pasta
6. when the mushrooms and onions are nicely caramelized and browned throw in the spinach. When the spinach is about half way wilted, pour in the
7. when the spinach in nice and wilted, the pasta should be done, throw in the pasta. sprinkle with the cheese.

I also added a some finely chopped apples. I thought it would compliment the pork very well. Now, you're probably asking about the pork. Well, I bought pre-stuffed and pre-marinaded pork yesterday. All I did was popped it in the oven.

I can't wait for my husband to get home and chow down on this delicious dinner. Thanks for all the support.

As always, happy cooking!!!

Back in the habit.

I haven't posted in a while, and that's because I haven't cooked in awhile. A lot had been going on with my life that prevented me from doing that. Plus, I'm back in California now. Also, living with a family that cooks and working a full time job will keep you from spending your precious time in the kitchen.

Though, to be fair, I have made a few things now and then for birthdays, but it wasn't anything too fancy. Today, I decided to make put a few things in the slow cooker to whip up a good fish stock.

Hopefully tomorrow or the next day, I will turn that into either a bouillabaisse or a ramen dish. We'll see. Until next time, to every one else...

Happy Cooking!

Budget Cooking 101: Meatloaf! (recipe)

As I have stated before, funds are limited. We barely have enough money for rent. So, money for food is next to non-existent. For the first time in my life, there is absolutely no rice in the house, not even those weird rice they sell at American market. If I have rice, dinner would be very easy. Rice and some sort of vegetable stir fry. See? Yummy meal. Left over rice plus left over meal equal fried rice. See? Equally yummy meal. Without rice though, I'm at lost of what to do. I have two chayote that is going bad because the only thing I know how to make with them is with rice.

With my current situation, I'm glad that it was my mom that taught me how to cook.
That means our cupboards aren't that bare, and I can whip a meal with very little. Again, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing for me as cook.

I've been thinking all day trying to come up with dinner meal plan, as dinner time comes along, I opened the fridge, for the fifth time today, to see what's inside. So, in my fridge are the following: half a pound of ground beef, some celery, some carrots, one slice of bread, 3/4 of an onion, garlic, and ginger.

I came up with two things to make: sloppy joes, but no buns, and meatloaf. So, meatloaf it was.

The way I learned how to cook was through my mom. She would sit and instruct me what to do and I would do it. The first meal i cooked was cabbage and carrot stir fry with pork. Then, I made muffin mixes from boxes. Then, I would scour the cooking books for things to make, but most of the time, my house, being asian, wouldn't have a lot of the ingredients, so I would always have to make do. So, when I cook, I rarely follow recipes too closely. As I grow older, I tend to be more and more creative and instinctive. I would replace things and come up with new ways to make certain things.

So, when ingredients are fewer and fewer. I just need to be more creative. Thus, with this meatloaf. It would be a meatloaf like no other. After just going through the fridge just pulling out what's left of all the ingredients, this is what I came up with. Remember, measurements aren't exact. Just, you know, do what "feels" right.





Budget Meatloaf Number 2

A few stalks of celery
half an onion
four cloves of garlic
half a pound of ground beef
breadcrumbs
1 tbs baking powder
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp molasses
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbs butter

-preheat oven to 375 degrees
-mince the onion and garlic in a food processor
-saute the onion and garlic with butter for a couple minutes
-chopped up the celery - i like to add a lot of the leafy part
-mix in well the ground beef, baking powder, bread crumbs into with the celery
-add the rest of the ingredients
-grease baking pan
-shape mixture into loaf - i made a bed of chopped celery sticks and onion rings to add a little something and i greased the pan with sesame oil
- bake for 35-40 mins

I think this meal wasn't too bad. For a side dish I blanched some carrots, saute up some garlic in oil and add about a couple of tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese and a pinch of key lime peel, and mixed them together.

It was pretty good.

As always, Happy Eating!