Five-Spice Noodle Bowls

(adapted from Clean Eating March 2011)

2 tsp sesame oil
1 white onion, very thinly sliced
2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
4 C low-sodium beef broth
3 C baby bok choy, chopped
8 oz brown rice vermicelli noodles, soaked in hot water and drained
8 oz beef, trimmed of fat and very thinly sliced (best to do this while partially frozen for thinner pieces)
4 green onions, thinly sliced (seems to be a common theme here)
tons of cilantro (especially for Rhonda)
soy sauce to taste
sambal oelek to taste (aka Rooster Sauce) - or another hot chile sauce
fresh limes, sliced

In a large pot, heat oil and cook onions, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add five-spice powder, cooking and stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add meat and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add bok choy. (Don't worry about your meat not being done. It is very thin and you don't want it tough)

Cook until bok choy reaches desired level of crunchiness. :-)
Right before serving, add noodles.

Garnish with cilantro, lime, green onions and hot chile.

This is so easy and so tasty. My kids loved it, without the hot sauce of course.
This is something you probably have to plan ahead for to pick up the ingredients, but it is worth it!
Delish.

Asian Chicken Salad (or wraps!)

(I had to hurry and finish eating this so I could post the recipe!)

leftover shredded chicken
nappa cabbage, sliced very thin
green onions
cucumber
shredded carrots
fish sauce
soy sauce
lime juice (fresh, don't use bottled - yuck)
fresh mint or basil or cilantro, or a combination of any or all!
dash of olive oil

almonds or peanuts to garnish
wraps if you so desire!
canned oranges and crunchy noodles would be nice too (I didn't use them)

For those of you that are counting calories, this has approx. 100 cal/cup

French Bread

• 1 1/4 cups water (70 to 80 degrees F)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 
  
• GLAZE:
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
• 
  
• Mix water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit til bubbly. Combine yeast mixture with salt and flour. Divide in half. Roll each portion into a 10-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal. Sprinkle a greased baking sheet with cornmeal; place loaves seam side down on prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes. Whisk egg and water; brush over loaves. With a sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across the top of each loaf. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

My notes: I usually just make one big loaf, either long or round. I rarely use cornmeal on the bottom, although it's good. I've used 1/2 whole wheat flour and it's just as delicious. 

Double Orange Scones

1 C all purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp grated orange peel
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 C cold butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1/3 C milk
1/2 C chopped mandarin oranges, well drained
additional sugar

Orange butter (note: I have not tried this part)
1/2 C butter, softened
2 Tbsp orange marmalade
Beat until fluffy and serve on warm scones.

Scones: Combine dry ingredients and orange peel. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Combine the egg and milk; add to crumb mixture. Stir in the oranges just until moist.

Knead gently, using more milk or flour as needed (I had to add a bit more milk). Pat into 2 6-in. circles; sprinkle with additional sugar and cut into eight wedges (or one big circle for larger scones). Separate wedges gently and place on greased baking sheet.

Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

(Steel-cut) Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 C rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1/3 C steel-cut oats (not cooked)
3/4 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 C butter
1/3 C granulated sugar
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 C raisins or dried fruit of your choice

Bake at 375F for 10 minutes
*I think you can cut down on the sugar, or leave the white sugar out. They're really sweet.
Pretty basic recipe...I think the main difference is the steel cut oats - really a nice crunch in them.

Thai Curry Soup

3 c. chicken broth
1 c. bottled clam juice
1 to 2 T. fish sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
2 t. minced fresh ginger
2 1/2 t. red curry paste
1 (8 oz). Cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb. peeled and deveined large shrimp
1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pcs.
1 (3 oz.) pkg trimmed snow peas
1/3 c. fresh lime juice
2 T. sugar
4 T. sliced green onion tops
4 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large Dutch oven, stirring with a whisk. Add mushrooms; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes. Add the shrimp, chicken, and snow peas; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in lime juice and remaining ingredients. Cook 2 minutes until heated.

**My notes: I had to change a few things, mostly because of Lack of Ingredients. I couldn't find clam juice, so I substituted some oyster sauce and a bit more water. I used about 2 Tbsp of ginger and a whole can of curry paste. I didn't use shrimp or green onion tops. Let me say that this was so, so good. Thanks and blessings to cousin Michelle for sharing it with me.

Twice-Baked Potatoes

4 or 5 large baking potatoes
6-8 slices bacon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, sliced, divided (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake potatoes for 1 hour. Meanwhile, cook bacon. Drain, crumble and set aside.
When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon. Bake for another 15 minutes.

Fattening and totally delicious. Again, I got it from allrecipes.com.

Gnocchi

4 medium potatoes
salt, to taste
3 Tbsp butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour

Peel and chop potatoes. Boil until soft. Mash with butter and salt until smooth or mostly smooth. Add egg and mix well. Add flour, a little at a time, just until you have a dough you can work with. Roll into 1/2-inch ropes on lightly floured surface; cut into 1/2-inch pieces, and drop into salted boiling water. When the gnocchi floats, it's done.

This is adapted from an allrecipes.com recipe. I got the basic instructions and then just went from there. We ate it with alfredo sauce, but I wasn't crazy about the recipe we used. It was decent, but there are better recipes. What I was crazy about was that we added chopped, fresh spinach at the end and sundried tomatoes (to the sauce).

Easy Slow Cooker French Dip

4 lbs. beef roast
1 (10.5 oz.) can beef broth
1 (10.5 oz.) can condensed French onion soup
1/2 can or bottle beer
Worcestershire sauce
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder, all to taste

6 French rolls
Butter
Cheese

Cook the first nine ingredients in the slow cooker on low for 7 hours. Remove roast from the slow cooker and slice thinly. Return meat to slow cooker and continue to cook for at least a half hour. Split rolls, spread with butter, and toast under the broiler. Place cheese on buns immediately and pile the meat on. Use the sauce for dipping, of course.

You might need to add spices at the end to get it tasty enough, but once you make it into a sandwich, it becomes pretty darn good. This is a slightly adjusted recipe from allrecipes.com. The original recipe is here http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Slow-Cooker-French-Dip/Detail.aspx

Apple Pie Bars

Crust:

2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 c. butter

Mix together and press into a greased 9x13 pan. Chill in refrigerator until you have the other parts ready.

Filling:

5 c. apples, peeled and diced

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 c. flour

2/3 c. sugar

1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

Sprinkle apples with lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently. Spread apples evenly over crust.

Topping:

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. quick oats

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter or margarine

Mix dry ingredients together, then cut in butter until crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over apple mixture.

Bake at 375 F for 40 minutes, or until apples are soft and the bottom of the crust looks golden. Cut into 24 squares

That last line is just a complete guess, because I don't know how long I baked them. I started them at 375 and then was in a hurry and cranked it up to 400 F...just bake them.

I was dreaming up these bars for awhile, and I couldn't find any recipes that looked like what I was dreaming of. Out of pure desperation, I pulled from two different recipes and made adjustments and OH MY WORD they turned out soooooooooooooooo good! Kirk and I were quite blown away by them and I think they might be the best dessert I've had in a good long while. Please make them and tell me if you love them the way I do.