Asian Beef and Noodle Soup

If you're in the mood for some amazing Asian flavor combinations, this is the soup for you. However, if you aren't in the mood to flash back to college, livin on the cheap, eatin ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner, you might want to skip this one, or find a noodle substitution (which is what I plan to do next time).

I used a few ingredients for the first time in this recipe: fish sauce and Chinese five-spices.

I have to admit, the fish sauce weirded me out. It was a tan color and a water consistency. I pictured someone pulling a fish from the lake and squeezing it over a sieve. I didn't taste it directly, but the bottle said you can use it like soy sauce and it's popular in Thai food.

The Chinese five-spices is an interesting mix of spices, including cinnamon and fennel. Even a little clover. Heck, if you wanted to, you could probably put it in your pumpkin pie. That would be interesting.

The noodles were straight up ramen, although you didn't use the seasoning packet. But, I wasn't fooled and I have too many memories of eating ramen in my dorm room when there was nothing else to eat. So I think next time I'll try some chinese egg noodles instead or even vermicelli.

This recipe also includes flank steak and I was surprised that you cooked it by simply throwing it into the broth and not in a skillet ahead of time. I was pleased since I feel like I usually mess up steak when I try to cook it in a skillet. The broth method made for really tender steak.

All these flavors combined, plus fresh ginger and cilantro, made this soup a party for my taste buds, which is why I'm sharing it with you. Enjoy!

Asian Beef and Noodle Soup

8 c low-sodium chicken broth

1 Tbs grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbs fish sauce

1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder

4 (3 oz) packages ramen noodles, broken into large pieces, seasoning packets discarded

1 lb flank steak, cut lengthwise into thirds and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices (see note)

1/2 medium head Napa cabbage, sliced thin crosswise (about 4 c)

1/4 c finely chopped fresh cilantro

Bring broth, ginger, garlic, fish sauce and five-spice powder to boil in Dutch oven. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer until flavors meld (about 10 min).

Add noodles to simmering broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until nearly tender (about 2 min). Stir in beef and cabbage and simmer until cabbage is wilted and beef is cooked through (about 2 min). Add cilantro. Serve.

Note: Freeze the steak for 15 min before cutting to ensure thin, even slices.

Baked Manicotti with Meat Sauce

So I'm home full-time now and I find myself with a new energy and excitement in the kitchen. I love to cook and try new recipes, but haven't had the patience (or kids with patience) to bust out a meal like this in some time.

I made my grocery list this week and on it were the ingredients for 3 new recipes from my favorite cooking resource, Cook's Country. I've never made a recipe out of these magazines that wasn't divine.

First on the list was manicotti, made with a few ingredients that made my taste buds happy before I even opened my mouth. With the big girls as helpers and Little Toothache in her high chair with a snack, we tackled this recipe with delicious results.

I hope you enjoy and devour this recipe as happily as my family did.

Baked Manicotti with Meat Sauce

Meat Sauce

1 onion, chopped

6 oz sliced deli pepperoni

1 lb 85% lean ground beef

1 Tbs tomato paste

5 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 (28oz) cans crushed tomatoes

salt and pepper

Manicotti

3 c ricotta cheese

2 1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 c shredded provolone cheese

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 c chopped fresh basil

16 no-boil lasagna noodles (see note)

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. pulse onion and pepperoni in food processor until coarsely ground. Add beef and pulse until thoroughly combined.

Transfer beef mixture to large saucepan and cook over medium heat, until no longer pink (about 5 min). Using slotted spoon, transfer 1 cup beef mixture to paper towel-lined plate and reserve. Add tomato paste garlic and pepper flakes to pot w/ remaining meat mixture and cook until fragrant (about 1 min). Stir in tomatoes and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened (about 20 min). Season with salt and pepper.

Combine ricotta, 2 c mozzarella, 1 c provolone, egg, salt, pepper, basil and reserved meat mixture in large bowl. Pour 2 quarts boiling water into 13 x 9-in baking dish. Soak noodles until pliable (about 5 min). Drain noodles on kitchen towel, pour of water and dry baking dish.

Spread half of meat sauce over bottom of baking dish. Top each soaked noodle with 1/4 cup cheese filling, roll and arrange, seam-side down, over sauce in baking dish. Spread remaining sauce over manicotti. Cover with foil and bake until bubbling around edges, about 40 min. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and provolone. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 min. Let cool 15 minutes. Serve.

Note: You need 16 no-boil lasagna noodles. Get the Barilla brand (comes 16 to a box, other brands only have 12). I found these in the dry pasta aisle, even though I started looking for them with the refrigerated and frozen noodles.

My notes: 1) I skipped the red pepper flakes, even though it was just a smidge. I didn't want to risk the heat turning off the little palettes in the house 2) I only have a small food processor, so I only did the onion and pepperoni in the food processor and then mashed it in with the beef by hand.

Cupcakes!

I'm a little embarrassed to admit how much time I spent on these, but I'm just getting familiar with fondant and I learned a lot on this project.

These were yellow cake and devil's food cake cupcakes, with tinted buttercream icing. The toppers are all handmade with tinted fondant and black gel icing.

I enjoy projects like this so much. It's a total creative outlet for me. Plus, these were for our friend's baby shower - and she's expecting boy/girl twins! So fun!

Fancy-up Your Flavors

What are your pantry staples? For me, I always have some ingredients on hand for stand-by meals. Pasta is a pretty standard staple. I love cooking pasta dishes, but I get stuck on red sauce, pesto or cheese, as my options for toppers.

So, when I tried this new, super-easy pasta recipe for dinner the other night, I couldn't wait to share it. It's a simple pasta dish, with two ingredients I've never paired before: red pepper and italian sausage.

Sausage with Peppers and Pasta

3 c. rigatoni pasta, uncooked
1 lb. Italian sausage, sliced
1 each red, green and yellow pepper, roughly chopped
1 can (14.5 oz) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 c. shredded Italian mozzarella-parmesan cheese blend
1/4 c. parmesan cheese

Cook pasta as directed. Meanwhile, cook sausage in large skillet on med. heat, 10 min., stirring frequently. Add peppers; cook and stir 7 min. or until sausage is done and peppers are crisp-tender. Stir in tomatoes; cook 2 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta. Add to sausage mixture with shredded cheese; mix well.

Top with parmesan.

What did I do different? I think peppers are WAY overpriced, so I opted to get only ONE red pepper (and no green or yellow pepper). I felt like we still were able to appreciate the yummy unique flavor. In fact, it made me feel like three peppers would be totally overboard. I only had plain diced tomatoes on hand, so I chopped up some of my yummy fresh basil and I really liked the flavor that added, too.

Also, I already had shredded mozzarella in my fridge, so I didn't get the Italian blend, but I with I had, because I think the taste of parmesan is amazing and would have made this dish even yummier.

If you'd like to watch a video that demonstrates this recipe, Kraft has so kindly provided it.

Two reasons why I love summer...

Summer tomatoes and fresh basil! See them in my window?

There are so many ways you can enjoy tomatoes and basil. First, you'll want to get a really good cheese. I enjoy Feta or Chevre (Goat Cheese) or Fresh Mozzarella will do (and I'm not talking the shredded stuff, either).

You can top it with a little Italian dressing or get really fancy and pour on a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt/pepper. Seriously, my mouth is watering.

I have this great Black Currant balsamic vinegar from the Olive Mill. We discovered this little shop on our trip to Saugatuck last year. Holy crap! It's so delicious.

The other night, I simply poured that vinegar over my sliced tomatoes at dinner and devoured them. Then I poured it all over my strawberries and it was equally delicious.

When you're working with fresh basil, do me a favor and cut it the fancy way, by giving it a little chiffonade. Take the leaves and stack them on top of each other. Then, roll them like a tortilla and cut them to make long, thin strips.

I plan to eat so much of this stuff, that by the end of the summer I'll be thankful that tomato season is over. But, until that day, I'm gonna savor every bite.

The Cupcakes

My nephew just turned 5! I still can't believe it. Shannon asked me to make some cupcakes for his party and I was happy to oblige.

I took the opportunity to attempt fondant for the first time. Due to limited time, I bought the pre-tinted kind from Michael's. So, all I had to do was roll it and cut it out. It was really fun to work with. Like Play-doh for bakers.

I even free-handed little "5"s and "J"s.

Blueberry Pancakes

A couple weeks ago I tried a new pancake recipe. They were the best pancakes I've ever made. I guess that's not saying much, since I've always used a mix to make them. But, these were from scratch, real butter in the batter, unique ingredient, light and fluffy delicious. And my girls eat blueberries like candy, so we added fresh blueberries and oh-yeah, you get the picture.

Better-than-the-box Pancake Mix

note: This recipe makes 6c or mix, enough for 3 batches of 8 pancakes each. You can divide and freeze the mix to use another day. I actually halved this recipe to make one recipe of 12 pancakes.

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 c. cake flour

1 c. nonfat dry milk powder

3/4 c. malted milok powder

1/3 c. sugar
2 Tbls baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

1 Tbls salt

12 Tbls unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-in pieces

Process all ingredients in food processor until no lumps remain and mix is the texture of wet sand, about 2 minutes. Can freeze in airtight container for up to 2 months.

To make 8 pancakes: Whisk 2 c. mix, 2 lightly beaten eggs, and 1/2 c. buttermilk in large bowl until smooth. Pour 1/4 c. portions of pancake batter onto lightly oiled nonstick skillet or griddle and cook over med-low heat until golden brown, about 2 min per side.

(If you don't have buttermilk, make clabbered milk by whisking 1/2 Tbls white vinegar or lemon juice into 1/2 c. whole or low-fat milk and let the mixture thicken for 10 min.)

Tomato Lentil Soup

Last night, my husband says "Soup is the perfect food." I'm pretty sure he was trying to be funny, but, I agreed. Especially during winter time.

Soup has been one of my greatest weight-loss secrets. I've found these Progresso soups that only have like 120 calories in the whole can. Loaded with veggies and warm brothy goodness. What's that commercial? - Dieting lady: "It's the Manhattan Clam Chowder diet!" Supportive friend: "It's workin for ya!"

I've been cooking a lot of soup this winter, too. Now that my big girls can sufficiently work the spoon to their mouth with only minor spillage, I'm breaking out some old (and new) recipes.

Here's a new one I tried last night. It has lentils in it. This was my first experience working with lentils. So, if you're nervous, I'll just tell you, they look and taste like little round, flat beans. They're chock full of fiber, too. Not much taste, but they definitely hearty-up this brothy soup.

The best news is that this recipe makes 6 servings (probably about 1 cup size) at only 150 calories! I ate a half of a grilled cheese sandwich and a big bowl of this for dinner last night and I was completely satisfied!

Tomato Lentil Soup

1 Tbs olive or veg oil

1 large onion, finely chopped (1 cup)

1 med stalk celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1 cup)

1 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed

4 cups water

4 tsp chicken or veg bouillon granules

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/4 tsp pepper

1 dried bay leaf

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

Heat oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook onion, celery and garlic in oil about 4 min, stirring occasionally, until softened.

Stir in remaining ingredients, except tomatoes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 min.

Stir in tomatoes; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 15 min or until heated through. Remove bay leaf.

I love fall cooking

Fall is here... not in the calendar sense (that was awhile ago), but in the curl up beneath a warm blanket with a warm beverage sense. I am so excited to break out my Crockpot and try some new recipes.

My Grandma Dee was in town this last week. I love my Gma Dee for many reasons, but one is that she is a great cook. She's the one who taught my mom and my momma taught me... and the tradition continues.

She brought a cooking magazine with her and I snagged it to copy some recipes and tried this one tonight:

Potato Kielbasa Skillet

1lb red potatoes, cubed
3Tbs water
3/4lb smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 c chopped onion
1 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs cider vinegar
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
4 c fresh baby spinach
5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled


Place potatoes and water in a microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until tender; drain.

In a large skillet, saute kielbasa and onion in oil until onion is tender. Add potatoes; saute 3-5 minutes longer or until kielbasa and potatoes are lightly browned.

Combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, thyme and pepper; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Add spinach and bacon; cook and stir until spinach is wilted.

Jenni's notes: I'm dieting, so I used Turkey Sausage, only 90 calories/serving. This is a fast, all-in-one recipe. I loved that it used red potatoes and fresh spinach (lots of vitamins). I'm definitely adding this one to my fall recipe repertoire.

Menu Monday Revived!

Oh bloggy, how I have missed you. I'm working so hard right now to get back into a good blog habit and what better way than to revive Menu Monday?

I recently got the fall issue of Kraft Food's food&family magazine and became SO inspired to cook. I usually get this magazine and can't wait for the girls to go to bed so I can read it cover to cover. The recipes are easy, fast and usually pretty healthy.

So here's one I tried the other night:

Ham and Cheese Calzones

What I love about this recipe is that you could put ANYTHING inside this crust and bake it. This recipe called for you to mix your shredded cheese with ranch dressing (different), but it added some flavor and was pretty good.

We're not big ham fans around here, so next time I might try some of these other combinations I came up with:

Turkey, provolone, tomato, mayo
Peanut butter and jelly
Tomato, basil, mozzarella (with the crust brushed with olive oil)(my mouth is watering!)
Chicken, feta, olives, greek dressing
Scrambled eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, salt/pepper

See, what I mean? Endless possibilities.

In fact, the first night we tried them, I made some with tomatoes and some without.

Fold the edges and seal with a fork and wa-lah! Oven ready!

Another note: These made great leftovers for the girls. I just reheat them in the micro and it's a no-fuss lunch!

So, here's the recipe... let me know what yummy combos you come up with :)

1 can (13.8oz) refrigerated pizza crust
16 slices shaved honey ham
1c shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese
1/4c ranch dressing
1 tomato, cut into 8 thin slices

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Unroll pizza dough on lightly floured surface. Pat out dough to form 16x12-inch rectangle. Cut into quarters.

Top dough with ham to within 1/2 inch of sides. Mix cheese and dressing; spread on ham. Top with toatoes. Fold each rectangle in half; seal edges with fork. Put on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 16 to 18 min. or until golden brown.

Make ahead tip: Prepare clazones up to 8 hours in advance. Wrap bking sheet with palstic wrap and store in fridge. When ready to eat, unwrap and bake one or more as directed.