Asian Rice Noodle Soup

The pictures say it all :Yum! I love Asian Noodle soup! It costs about $5 a bowl at restaurants though and that can definitely add up! I made this little creation and I love it! It made about 10 bowls of soup and the ingredients are very inexpensive!

Ingredients:

- 1 package of rice noodles (I choose the thin kind)
-1 bunch of green onions
- 1 lb of thinly sliced steak
- 1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger root
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 10 cups of beef broth (I prefer the "better than bullion" beef base stock)
- 1 container of fresh mushrooms

Directions:

In a large pot, pour in the beef stock, garlic minced ginger, chopped green onions and sliced mushrooms. Place on high heat and allow to boil. Once it hits a boiling point, reduce to low-medium heat. In a separate large pot, fill half way with water. Place on high and allow the water to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the rice noodles and lower to medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Allow the noodles to cook through (about 8-10 minutes.) Drain the noodles. Coat a medium sized pan with EVOO and place on low-medium heat. Gently fry the steak, flipping half way. Do not over cook your steak, it is thin and will remain cooking once you have set it aside.No one wants tough chewy steak in their soup!Chop up the cooked steak into bite-sized pieces.

Now for the presentation I like to keep all of my ingredients separate for a couple of reasons. One is so that the rice noodles don't get soggy in the broth and the other reason is in case someone doesn't like an ingredient or wants to add extra of an ingredient, they can. I like to add the broth to the bowl first, then place the other ingredients on top.


Feel free to be creative with this recipe and mix things up! Try chicken broth instead of beef broth, shrimp or chicken instead of steak and onions instead of mushrooms!

*UPDATE* - I made this soup again last night and substituted the steak with shrimp and it was just as delicious!

Crock-pot Kielbasa

Kielbasa is so delicious and so dang easy to make! It's perfect for football parties because it doesn't require much work and in the crock pot, it stays hot all day long! Not to mention, it makes your house smell wonderful! Here is my recipe for fool proof Crock-pot Kielbasa!

Ingredients:

2 links of uncooked kielbasa

1 medium white onion

1 jar of grape jelly (32oz)

1 jar of chili sauce(12oz)

Directions:

In your crock-pot, combine the jar of grape jelly and the jar of chili sauce.

Cut up the Kielbasa into slices (about 1/4 inch in thickness) and place on top of the grape jelly and chili sauce mixture. Mix well.

Slice up the onion and place on top. Mix around and place the crock-pot on high for about 3-4 hours or until the Kielbasa is cooked through and looks seared on the edges.

You can keep the crock-pot on the "keep warm" or "low" option until you are ready to serve!

Coconut Shrimp Caesar Salad

Yum yum yum! My boyfriend said this dish was in his "top 5" of the meals I've made him. This is the same Coconut Shrimp that I use in my Coconut Shrimp Over Mango Salsa With Zesty Orange Dressing. 

Ingredients:

1 lb of shrimp cocktail

1/2 cup of all purpose flour

a teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

2/3 cup of water

2 cups of shredded sweetened coconut

1/2 cup of plain breadcrumbs
2 heads of hearts of romaine lettuce
4 Tablespoons of shaved Parmesan cheese
8 tablespoons of Caesar salad dressing

Directions:

Heat up your deep fryer to 325 degrees. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and water. Let this sit for 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the shredded coconut and bread crumbs and mix together. Butterfly your shrimp and form an assembly line of shrimp, batter, the coconut and break crumb mix, then your deep fryer.

Take 1 piece of shrimp and dip it in the batter, coat in the coconut and breadcrumb mix and then slowly drop it into the deep fryer. These should cook for about 2 minutes in the deep fryer or until they are golden brown. Lay out a paper towel on a plate and place the cooked shrimp on there for about 2 minutes after cooking to allow them to dry out a little bit. While the shrimp is cooling, wash and cut the romaine lettuce. On 4 large plates, top with the lettuce and 1 tablespoon of cheese on each plate. Top each plate with equal amounts shrimp and drizzle 2 tablespoons of the Caesar dressing on top. Serve!

Copycat Panera Bread Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I LOVE Panera Bread's Brocolli Cheddar Soup, however - it can get pricey! $4-$5 for a bowl of soup is a bit steep! This recipe makes about 10 cups so feel free to share ;)

Ingredients:

-2 cups of shredded cheese ( I used a 3-cheese blend of asiago, parmesan and cheddar)

- 2 bunches of brocolli

- 1 white onion

- 1 cup of shredded carrots

- 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

- 3 cups of water

-4 tablespoons of butter

-3 tablespoons of flour

- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

- 1 cup of heavy cream or half and half

Directions:

Chop up the broccoli and carrots.Place in a pot with a steamer on high and let cook until broccoli is a bright green color like pictured below.

Dice up the white onion. In a separate large cooking pot, combine the diced up onion, minced garlic and 1 table spoon of butter and place on medium.

Once all of the butter melts, add in the chicken stock and water and mix.

In a smaller sauce pan, being making your roux and melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Slowly mix in the flour, whisking until it makes a paste-like mixture. 

Add the steamed broccoli and carrots to the big pot with broth. Slowly add in your roux and stir. Slowly add your shredded cheese and mix well. Once the cheese is all melted, add in the 1 cup of cream. Lower the heat to low and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Serve with your favorite bread. I went and bought a stick of bread from Panera to make it taste more like the real thing!

 

Asian Pasta Salad

My grandmother used to make a dish similar to this and it was one of my favorites! It's a mix between pasta salad and Chinese food - two of my favorites! Feel free to add chicken to this. Sometimes I do but was in the vegetarian mood today!

Ingredients:

- 1 can of diced water chestnuts
- 1 bunch of green onions
- 1 box of bow-tie pasta
- 1 Cup of low fat mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce

Directions:

Cook pasta as per instructions on box and drain. Slice up scallions and water chestnuts and place in a large mixing bowl.

 In a small mixing bowl, combine mayo and soy sauce and mix until smooth.

Combine the pasta, sauce green onion and water chestnuts in a large bowl and mix well. Let sit in refrigerator for 3 hours and serve cold. Easy enough right?

Nutrition Information for 1 serving - This recipe should make about 10 servings at 1 cup each

Calories - 216
Carbs - 31
Fat - 7
Protein - 7
Sodium - 409
Fiber - 3