Chili

Inspired by this award winning recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, diced

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon cumin

3 tablespoons chile powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon cinammon

1 packet taco seasoning

1 jar of medium salsa

1 tablespoon Chipotle Tabasco

1 tablespoon Sriracha

3 tablespoons Asian sweet chili sauce 

2 cans kidney beans, drained

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can diced tomato

salt & pepper

1. Brown sausage and ground beef in a big pot. Drain fat when almost done cooking.
2. Add onion, peppers, and garlic to the meat. Salt & pepper. Cook until veggies are tender.
3. Mix in all of the dry spices with the meat mixture. Stir until fragrant.
4. Mix in sauces, beans, and tomatoes. Salt & pepper.
5. Let the chili simmer on low for three hours. For toppings I used sharp cheddar, green onions, diced radishes, and crushed tortilla chips.

Photo: Jangjorim Hash

It's been a while since I made this but I wanted to post the picture so I remember that I had made it. It was one of those "clean out the fridge" meals and turned out really good. There was leftover jangjorim from my mother in law in the fridge so I added it to my hash. Jangjorim is a popular Korean side dish and so good with white rice. It's basically beef braised in a soy sauce concoction and served cold. I used to get really excited as a kid when my mom would make this at home.

Maangchi's recipe

I think these are the ingredients I used or at least most of them:

• diced potato
• onion
• garlic
• spinach? some kind of greens
• eggs
• cheddar cheese
• jangjorim
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Shrimp Pesto Panini

Makes 2 small sandwiches

Ingredients
5-7 tablespoons pesto
about 15 medium shrimp
garlic
shredded mozzarella
mayo
2 Kaiser rolls
olive oil
salt & pepper

1. Cook shrimp with olive oil and garlic in a pan. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Mix the shrimp with pesto and reserve 2 tablespoons for the bread.
3. Spread pesto on one side of the bread and mayo on the other. Sprinkle cheese on the bottom half of the bread, arrange shrimp on top, sprinkle more cheese, and close the top half.
4. Brush olive oil on top of the bread. Toast in a panini press or toaster until the cheese is melted.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients:

2 portobello mushroom caps
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons chopped sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup zucchini, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup toasted panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
cilantro
red wine vinegar
olive oil
salt & pepper

1. Cook zucchini with the garlic until tender.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix in a few dashes of the vinegar.
3. Rub a little olive oil on the mushrooms. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
4. Fill each mushroom cap with the filling and drizzle olive oil on top. Leftover filling can be arranged around the mushrooms.
5. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. 

Salmon Israeli Couscous Salad

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked Israeli couscous
1 1/4 cup chicken broth
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, chopped
1 cup cooked salmon, flaked
1 green onion, sliced
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

1. Toast the couscous in a little olive oil until golden. Add the chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer until all liquid is absorbed.
2. Halve tomatoes and mix with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes.
3. Mix the couscous, tomatoes, olives, salmon, and green onion. Gently toss with a few dashes of the vinegar and add salt & pepper as needed.

Steak Sandwich

This is based on Ina Garten's steak sandwich recipe. My friend Xuan made it for me once and I loved it which is why this is one of those recipes I make again and again. I made a few changes to the recipe but for the most part stays true to the original. 

4 servings

Ingredients:

2 one inch New York Strip steaks

1 onion, sliced

1 focaccia bread

Arugula dressed with lemon juice, salt, pepper

Mustard-mayo spread

1. Caramelize onions. 

2. Make the spread. Mix 3 tablespoons mayo, 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard, and 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard. 

3. Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Cook to desired doneness. Let steaks rest for 10-15 minutes and slice. 

4. Drizzle olive oil on halved focaccia and toast. 

5. Spread mustard-mayo mixture on both sides of the bread. 

6. Assemble ingredients and eat!

Macaroni and Cheese with Sun Dried Tomato

I based this recipe very loosely on Ina Garten's recipe which I would love to try sometime.  I basically used her recipe as a guide for making the cheese sauce and tweaked the ingredients a bit depending on what I had on hand at home.

Melt a stick of butter, minus 2 tablespoons.  Add 1/2 cup flour and whisk.

Pour in a quart of warm milk.

Whisk.

Put in six cups of grated cheese.  I used half fontina and half sharp cheddar.

Season with garlic salt and pepper.

Take a cup of sun dried tomatos packed in oil and chop after draining.  You can skip this part or substitute with something else like bacon or shrimp.

I used a pound of gemelli, boiled 2 minutes under the suggested time.  I also used Xuan to transfer the pasta from the colander to the baking dish. 

Mix the pasta and cheese sauce.

Top with breadcrumbs.  I made whole wheat breadcrumbs using leftover bread I had.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  

I had it with baked scallops and roasted veggies for dinner.  Even after serving four people I had more than half of the baking dish left over.  If you're not planning on eating a whole pound of pasta (although there's no shame in that) I would cut the recipe in half to avoid having too much left over.