Category Archives: Cooking

Beef Yakisoba

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 February, 2014 None comments

This is my first attempt to make yakisoba. I attempted rice noodles awhile ago and absolutely hated them. I’ve avoided making yakisoba for that exact reason. Tonight I decided to be brave and make this meal but using Top Roman noodles. No seasoning packet as they are entirely unhealthy and have nothing to do with this dish so to speak, but I figured I would try this route and ease my anxiety about cooking with rice noodles again.

As the night progressed we decided this recipe would be great without noodles and as a simple stir fry. We had a yakisoba noodle free night and the following day for leftovers I added the noodles. Both were delicious. Although I am obsessed with carbs that I preferred the noodles. My husband on the other hand is a carb hater for the most part and preferred his leftovers as is.

My husband cooked the beef as I think he believes this makes him more “manly.” :) Ha, he’d die if he knew I just said that to ya’ll.

Instructions are below. If you have time to let the meat marinade do so overnight. Otherwise allow for a couple hours to sit in the juices before cooking.

Stir Fry:

1 tbsp sesame oil
½ head of Red Cabbage
Brussels Sprouts
1 yellow onion
1 Red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
1 lb fresh green beans
2 Carrots

Chop all vegetables except green beans and place in the Wok with sesame oil, set aside. Meanwhile prepare your sauce.

Sauce:

¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp sriacha sauce
1 tbsp sugar
Garlic salt
Salt and pepper

In a small bowl combine all ingredients and set aside.

Beef Marinade:

2 Garlic clove, minced
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sriacha (optional, if you want a little spice)
¼ tsp Red Pepper flakes

In a ziplock bag add beef (tenderloin, sirloin, rib-eye cut into stir fry strips), garlic, soy and Worcestershire sauce, sriacha, and red pepper flakes. Close tightly and let sit over night or if you are making for tonight’s dinner let marinade for 2-3 hours; overnight is best.

Cooking the Delicious Meal:

Heat Wok on medium heat and begin to cook to desired tenderness; I prefer a bit of a crunch to sautéed vegetables.

While the vegetables are cooking, place meat and partial marinade into a fry pan and cook to desired color or lack thereof if you prefer well-done.

2-3 minutes before your vegetables are finished cooking, add sauce and the cooked meat. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes to soak up the flavors.

*If serving over rice noodles follow directions on package. If using Roman noodles, bring water to a boil and boil roman noodles for 2-3 minutes making sure not to overcook. Toss in the Wok and mix well.

My husband took the liberty to chop some mixed nuts to top our yakisoba with. It actually was very delightful.

Eggs Benedict

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 17 February, 2014 None comments

Eggs Benedict coming up! Yesterday was my husbands 35th birthday. I decided to start the morning off by cooking him eggs benedict since he absolutely loves breakfast and a good eggs beni.

Cooper was sleeping, Michael was working out and I stood in my stomping grounds whisking up a delicious breakfast right here in the kitchen. Eggs benedict, fresh fruit and asparagus with hollandaise sauce.

This breakfast was absolutely delicious. I was very happy with this meal and so was my husband. Happy Birthday Honey!

Ingredients:

2 English Muffins
4 slices of cheese (I used habanero pepperjack as we love spice)
1 avocado
1 tomato
1 package Canadian Bacon
4 eggs

Open the English Muffins and lightly butter them. Top each half with a slice of your favorite cheese. Place on a broil pan and set aside.

Slice avocado and tomatoes, set aside.

To crisp up the Canadian bacon, fry for a couple minutes each side.

Broil the muffins until crispy and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with Canadian bacon, avocado and tomato.

Begin the sauce now.

Meanwhile in light boiling water add one egg at a time. This will help poach the eggs. Make sure the egg whites are thoroughly cooked and the yolk becomes slightly done. I prefer a runny yolk. Remove eggs with a fork and place atop the English muffins. Drizzle with hollandaise sauce.

Sauce:

You can simply buy a packet of hollandaise sauce to alleviate the tension of making it yourself.

4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh tastes best
½ cup butter, melted
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp salt

Whisk egg yolks and lemon juice together in a stainless steel bowl or kitchen aid mixer until the mixture has doubled in size. Place the bowl over a small saucepan containing 1/2 inch simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bowl. Continue to whisk rapidly making sure the eggs don’t get too hot resulting in scrambled eggs. Slowly add in the melted butter and continue to whisk until the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume once again. Remove from heat, whisk in cayenne and salt.

Serve with asparagus and fresh fruit; mango, pear, oranges and grapes.

Mediterranean Pasta

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 15 February, 2014 None comments

Okay, let me start by saying I am not the biggest pasta fan but certain recipes I can’t live without. Although, if you served me pasta I would probably eat it as in my book, you can’t go wrong with carbs. But for some reason it’s not a high priority for me to cook pasta as I would prefer other things first.

With that said I was craving pasta the other night and had no idea what I wanted to make. I normally love Chicken Alfredo but was definitely not in the mood for that dish. I wanted something that was full of rich delicious flavors. Let me say “OH WOW!!!” For some reason this was so satisfying to my soul last night I had two servings!

Mediterranean Pasta

1 lb macaroni pasta
2 chicken thighs (breasts work great too)
¾ cup cherry tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
3 tbsp mushrooms, this helps create the “sauce”
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
½ cup red pepper, chopped
1 can olives, chopped
Sundried tomatoes (Casa Di Oliva is fabulous)
¾ cup artichoke hearts, chopped
Salt and pepper
1-2 cups fresh parmesan cheese
Avocado, diced for topping
Mozzarella cheese for topping

Cook chicken until no longer pink. Chop into small pieces and set aside.

In a large fry pan, add EVOO cherry tomatoes and onions. Cook over medium heat until tomatoes begin to burst.

Once almost all have burst, add butter, mushrooms and peppers.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

Drain pasta. While pasta is still hot place in a large glass serving bowl and add olives, sundried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. I used Casa Di Oliva it’s more a bruschetta mix which is helpful for the sauce.

Add sautéed veggie mix to pasta, sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix well.

Sprinkle 1-2 cup fresh parmesan cheese on hot pasta and give it a good stir.

When serving sprinkle with freshly grated mozzarella cheese and diced avocados.

Serve with garlic bread an enjoy!

Leave and Let be Chicken

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 13 February, 2014 None comments

Friends! Friends! Friends! This is by far the EASIEST meal yet! I must say one day when you don’t quite have the time to step into the kitchen, you can throw chicken breasts into the crockpot along with cream of chicken soup. Now I know these cans of cream of chicken and cream of mushroom are not the healthiest for you, but every now and again it’s wont hurt you. My motto: EVERYTHING in moderation! Don’t forget this and you won’t feel guilty on nights when you use the unhealthy options. :)

It is almost impossible to eat Paleo, Atkins, gluten free and all the other diets out there on a continual basis without cheating. The same days you cheat on your “diet” are probably the same days you eat many chemicals that are saturating our food products. So with this said, the sweets you crave, the carbs you run to, and so on and so forth are no better than a can of cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup, in fact they may even be worse for you. So again, moderation is key. If you live by this rule you wont go astray. And lets be honest, you are consuming very little of this product when eaten by an entire family.

Okay enough of my rant, you all know I try and be as healthy as possible but reality is when you simply don’t have the time, cooking will always be better for you than eating out or grabbing fast food. So here is a great meal for those busy days.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
Parsley
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Garlic salt
½ cup sour cream
Rice

In a crockpot place chicken and cream of chicken soup. You may use frozen chicken (I did tonight) as the crockpot is our miracle worker.

Sprinkle with parsley, garlic salt, cayenne pepper or any other seasonings that you prefer. No need to stir. Cover and let cook for 3 hours on high.

Yup that’s right, I didn’t stir it!

Get out the rice maker, yes I told you this was an easy meal. Everything is done for you. No standing over the oven cooking, chopping, and pealing other ingredients. Begin cooking your rice.

5 minutes before serving add 1/2 cup sour cream and stir well.

Serve over rice or stuffing and VIOLA this meal is complete! Serve with salad to get your fresh greens in for the day or fresh green beans! :)

Hickory Smoked Mahi

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 11 February, 2014 None comments

This meal has become one of my favorite meals to date. The delicious flavors wrapped in the sweet crunch of bacon- awe Yes bacon completes this meal. The homemade smoked hickory rub gave the mahi the greatest flavor. Beyond healthy in an unexpected way. Most the time I feel “healthy” meals are not satisfying to my soul, well this my friend accomplishes those feelings.

I buy my fish from Costco as they have very good products with no added hormones and so on and so forth. I had two pieces remaining for last nights dinner and sought out to make it the last best meal. Mission accomplished… this meal was fabulous and the best part of all was it was so simply!

Ingredients:

Mahi
Bacon, uncooked
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp Caribbean jerk
Salt and pepper
Cauliflower
¼ cup shredded cheese, for topping

Cut Mahi into serving size if not already done. Pat dry.

In a small bowl combine cinnamon, coriander, paprika, garlic salt, Caribbean jerk and salt and pepper.

Dip Mahi into seasoning- coating every side.

Take bacon and wrap around the fish, I used 4 pieces per serving as we are bacon lovers.

Place on a broiling pan. This helps to catch the bacon grease.

Bake at 400 degree for 20-25 minutes or until flaky.

Serve with fresh garden salad and steamed cauliflower topped with cheese.

Sausage Bean Burritos

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 9 February, 2014 None comments

What’s for dinner tonight? This 30 minute meal is pretty healthy and brings Mexican food to a whole new level. Okay maybe not, but this meal is simple, easy and very tasty and satisfying.

Ingredients:

1 lb spicy sausage
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained
1 ½ cup chopped tomatoes
½ cup green pepper, chopped
1 can olives, chopped
1 cup salsa
1 ¾ cup cooked rice (I use Spanish rice)
6 whole wheat tortillas

Toppings:

Cheese
Salsa
Sour cream

Cook sausage and onion together. Once the meat is almost cooked add green peppers. Add black beans, tomatoes, and olives. Heat through. Stir in rice and 1 cup salsa. Spread on tortillas and sprinkle with cheese and sour cream.

Freezes well if you have too many leftovers to try and tackle.

Goes good with nachos for an alternative leftover meal.

Meatball Subs

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 6 February, 2014 None comments

For some reason I have been CRAVING meatball subs and not just your typical meatball sub but the unhealthy version. For some reason I have really wanted Subways meatball sub and I honestly can’t tell you why. But…..since I try to avoid eating out as homemade meals are healthier for you and all around simply taste better, I chose to make my own for tonight.

Now what I mean by unhealthy meatball subs is that I want everything on them as subway provides; mayo, cheese, pickles, lettuce and onions. Mmmmm makes me salivate just thinking about it. I have the bread baking as we speak and the crockpot simmering while I simply wait for dinner time to approach. The snow is falling in the back ground as it is an extremely cold day and our snow storm has finally hit. :)

There are two ways you can make meatball subs and honestly both are great. The first exciting way is the way I prepared them tonight, already prepared meatballs and homemade sauce (you can use prepared sauce but frankly I don’t like the taste). Sounds easy right? Well it is! :) The second way they can be served up is with homemade meatballs and homemade sauce. I’ve done both but for a quick dinner in the crockpot I make my own spaghetti sauce and added the meatballs. Let them simmer all day on low and served over my homemade English muffin bread (click here for recipe). Kind of like an open face sandwich.

This versatile meal helps in a pinch when you are not sure what to make but know everyone will enjoy.

If making your own meatballs and sauce follow the directions below beginning with the meatballs as they take longer.

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1 16oz can olives, chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes
8oz fresh mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
1 6oz can tomato paste
2 cups water
1 tbsp. Parsley
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
2 tsp Oregano
3 tsp garlic salt
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of Paprika
3/4 tsp sugar (to taste, but add a little at a time as you can’t undo the sweetness)

In a fry pan add a little EVOO and cherry tomatoes and begin to cook on medium heat. Meanwhile chop onions and add them to the tomatoes.

When the tomatoes begin to burst add the mushrooms.

Add a small palm full of sugar to help caramelize the onions a bit.

Once tomatoes fully burst add olives and transfer to crockpot.

Add tomato paste and water. Mix well and add parsley, Italian seasoning, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic salt and a 1/2 tsp sugar. Mix well, taste and decide if the remaining 1/4 tsp of sugar needs to be added.

Let simmer for 4-6 hours in crockpot on low heat.

Meatballs (if making your own):

1 lb ground turkey or beef
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup soda crackers, finely crumbled
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Begin chopping the onions and crumbled the crackers. Set aside.

In a large bowl or kitchen aid mixture combine raw meat, with remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile use a cookie scoop to form your meatballs and place on a rimmed, foil-lined baking sheet OR if you don’t have a cookie scoop you can lay foil on your cookie sheet and spread out the meat until fully flattened; about 1 inch thick. Take a butter knife and lightly cut 1 inch squares and form into balls. My mom taught me this trick as it’s easier to do rather than dig into the bowl and get extremely messy trying to make all your balls uniform.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until no longer pink. Place in the crockpot and cover with the sauce from above and let simmer on low for a couple hours to help soak up all the flavors.

When serving, butter your bread and/or rolls and broil until lightly crispy. Place meatballs and sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese and broil for another 1-2 minutes until cheese is fully melted and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Everyday Chicken

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 3 February, 2014 None comments

The other night I was unsure what to make for dinner as this thought often comes across my head. I am trying to cater our eating to more basics and hoping to be a titch more healthy.

While making dinner I allowed Cooper to play on the counter top in our glass cupboard as he loves to organize his cups and put straws in each and every glass. He could play here for hours and often does when I allow it. :)

Lately, as you all know I have been addicted to salads with all the yummy toppings my mama had got me hooked on at Christmas. This has been beneficial for us to get our veggies for the day as well as our green smoothies. Trying to get back to the basics as we don’t eat unhealthfully but not enough veggies and fruit. Tonights dinner was back to the basics, salad, quinoa rice blend and chicken.

I made two types of chicken dishes, here’s the first method:

Ingredients:

2-4 chicken thighs (breasts work great too)
¾ cup mustard (I used hot and sweet mustard and Dijon mixed)
1 tbsp red vinegar
Dash of salt and pepper
Fresh Parmesan cheese

Lay chicken in a 8×8 greased pan. Season with 1 tsp of each: parsely, garlic salt and Italian seasining. In a small bowl mix everything together except parmesan cheese and spread atop chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Mustard mixture

Ready to bake!

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until no longer pink.

Second Method:

Ingredients:

2-4 chicken thighs or breasts
¾ cup mayo
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic salt
4 tsp parsley
1 tsp Itallian seasoning
Fresh Parmesan cheese

In another 8×8 greased pan lay the chicken. Season chicken with 1 tsp of each: parsley, garlic salt and Italian seasoning. In a small bowl mix together mayo along with remaining seasonigns except parmesan cheese. Spread on top of the chicken and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Ready to bake!

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until no longer pink.

Serve with quinoa rice blend and salad. I used the sauce in the pan from the chicken on top of the rice to add a consistent flavor.

Enjoy!

Taco Bake

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 January, 2014 None comments

I love Mexican and along with this tasty dinner, I’ve also made Twice Baked Tacos and Lime Chicken Avocado Enchiladas, all in which are pretty heavenly. I made this one for the first time the other night. Pretty simple but not necessarily the healthiest. It does call for Con Queso but you don’t have to use this. You could substitute for refried beans and extra cheese. So don’t exit this recipe just yet. There are other options.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey or beef
1 12 oz jar salsa
1 cup con queso*
1 6 oz can diced green chilis
1 can olives, chopped
2 cups shredded cheese
2 tbsp cumin
3 tbsp paprika OR sub Taco Seasoning packet for all seasonings
1-2 tsp garlic salt
3 tortillas

*Substitution: 1 16 oz can Refried beans OR pureed black beans and 1-1 ½ cup Shredded cheese

In a large skillet cook meat thoroughly. Add taco seasoning or above spices to create your own taco seasoning and add 1/4 cup water, let simmer.

Once heated through add con queso, chilies and olives

In a greased pie plate layer one tortilla and 1/3 meat mixture and repeat leaving meat mixture on top reserving 3/4 cup cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Add cheese and cook until melted.

Steak and Egg Burritos

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 26 January, 2014 None comments

We made steak the other night and had leftovers. I was able to get 2 leftover meals after all we ate the first night. The first left over meal was Steak sandwiches on Ciabatta rolls with a delicious spread. Yesterday I decided I would make steak and egg breakfast burritos as steak goes insanely great with eggs.

This simple yet delicious meal was a great way to end my leftovers of steak.

Ingredients: