This Thai pasta is very easy to make and is full of flavor. Before you make this dish there are a few things to note. First, you can use other Thai noodles for this recipe, but even Thai noodles should be soaked before finished in the pan with the sauce. Second, prepare everything before hand. The spices in the oil can burn if cooked for too long or too hot. You could also start by cooking the pork first, then throwing it together after, but it’s important to let the garlic and cayenne be able to cook and infuse with the oil. The garlic pepper oil is the focus of this dish. Third, you can make this dish as hot or as mild as you like. This recipe has a bit of spice as an aftertaste, but it’s not nearly as spicy as traditional Thai cooking. Finally, this recipe is easy to make if you are in college or work a demanding job. This recipe makes 4 adult servings.
1. Open 2 packets of ramen noodles. Place in a large bowl and cover with water, let sit. Prep your ingredients. Begin heating wok over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the oil, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and ground cayenne. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add Pork and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add carrots, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and hot sauce, and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add your strained ramen noodles. Toss and cook for 4-5 minutes or until hot. Remove from heat and serve.
This was my first attempt making a breakfast casserole. I really liked the flavor of the added peppers and onions, and it tasted great with some ketchup. I used mozzarella for this casserole, and it was somewhat boring. I would recommend a Jack cheese or a Sharp Cheddar cheese. This casserole could use some stronger flavor, so a semi-soft cheese that melts well with a strong flavor would be best. Because this casserole had a weak cheese, the casserole really need help with some ketchup. If you did want to use a lighter cheese, I would recommend adding some cooked breakfast sausage or diced ham. However adding the extra protein isn’t necessary if you don’t want. For this casserole, I used a 7×11 casserole dish, and I was able to get 8 adult sized servings. You could add a bit more of everything to use a 9×13, which would 10 servings if desired. The leftovers can be stored in the fridge, plated, and reheated for 1 minutes in the microwave.
1/3 Bag of Frozen Peppers and Onions (or 1 fresh pepper and 1/2 onion sliced)
4 Potatoes, Cleaned and Shredded
5 Eggs, Beaten
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
Mixing Bowl and Fork
7 x 11 Casserole Dish
2 Tbsp Butter
1 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheese of your choice
Aluminum Foil
Directions
Heat Oven to 350 F. Shred your potatoes and cover the bottom of your casserole dish. Thaw your peppers and onions in a microwave save bowl with the butter. Or, heat your butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat; Once melted, add your sliced veggies and cook until tender. Add your veggies to your potatoes, and mix. Then evenly spread mixture over the bottom of dish.
2. Crack your eggs into your mixing bowl, add your sour cream, and mix until the sour cream incorporates. Pour mixture evenly over shredded potatoes and veggies. Evenly cover with your shredded cheese.
3. Cover with Aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil then bake for another 10 minutes or until the center is fully cooked at 160 F. Let cook 15 minutes before serving. Serve with ketchup or salsa.
A cold front moved through the area this weekend, and boy was it cold. Causing our first frost to come 2 weeks early, we needed something to warm us up from all the things we were doing before winter. This recipe is a twist on the American classic Chicken and Dumplings. You can make this dish with chicken, and the recipe below allows you to do that, but I used turkey and turkey stock. Last thanksgiving, I saved all my leftover meat and froze it. I also made stock from the bones to have stock for this year. I used frozen and canned vegetables, and I made everything else according to the recipe below. This recipe was very good, and I will make this dish again in the future. Dumplings are surprisingly easy to make. This recipe makes 5-6 adult sized servings.
Heat your dutch oven/stock pot over medium high heat. Add your butter and flour. Stir constantly until mixture turns golden.
Add your vegetables and 1/4 cup stock, then cook for 5 minutes. Add your remaining stock and spices, then bring to a boil and stir occasionally.
While Soup is heating, Mix together dry dumpling ingredients into a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly, then add milk. Mix.
Add shredded meat to your soup and return to a boil. Once boiling, add batter a spoonful at a time to boiling soup. Once all batter balls are added, sprinkle with thyme, then cover and boil for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, and let cool 15 minutes before eating.
As the weather begins to cool down, nothing is more comforting than a warm meal. Fried rice is a great way to use leftover rice and there are so many ways to make it, that there is no reason to get tired of the flavor! For this recipe I used up what I had left of a green pepper, then added just under 1/2 a bag of chopped and frozen peppers and onion. I also used 1/3 of a very large zucchini and I can say I now enjoy the flavor and consistency a lot more than before. I also sliced my kielbasa without removing the casing. If you are serving someone who may have a hard time chewing, you will want to remove the casing, if not, the kielbasa is only harder to chew and the flavor is no different. This recipe made many servings! It made 5-6 Adult sized servings.
1 13 Oz Package of Kielbasa, Sliced (opt. remove casing)
1 cup sliced peppers
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced Zucchini
3-4 cups cooked rice
1 cup beef broth
1 Tbsp Curry Powder
1/2 Tbsp Turmeric powder
2 tsp Garlic powder
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
Wok/Large Dutch Oven
Directions
Prepare your ingredients. Heat wok/dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil.
Once hot, add zucchini, peppers, and onion, and cook until heated through. Add kielbasa and spices. Coat everything with seasoning and cook Kielbasa until heated through, 3-4 minutes.
Add rice and broth. Cook for another 4-5 minutes until everything is incorporated and heated through. Let cook 5 minutes before serving.
Last spring was the first time putting in a spring garden. Like many others, I went to the store and bought a variety of seeds for plants I wanted in my garden that year. So, below are 5 variety of seeds I’ve saved so far this spring. Four varieties are from plants I had in the garden this year, and the other was from a veggie I got at a local farmer’s market. I hear starting from seed is best for most plants, and if you do have problems with germination, then you could always go out and buy the plant. All seeds can also be stored the same way. If you plan to use them within the next year or two, seeds should be stored somewhere cool and dark. If you want to preserve seeds for 5-10 years, you will want to vacuum seal your seeds or place them in a labeled jar with an oxygen absorber, and store in your fridge or freezer.
Green Beans
I bought these green bean seeds this spring. I’ve stored them in a cool and dark place the keep their viability high for next year. I also got several more seeds from my plants this year. If the pod becomes overly ripe and the seeds are viable, the pod will turn yellow on the vine. The seeds have begun going into development when the pods begin to turn waxy and the skin becomes rubbery. I cut my green beans up as soon as I pick them, and suspicious pods, I will cut around the bean to see if the shell has the rubbery texture. Green bean seeds should be sown directly into the ground.
Onion Seeds
My onions this year were started from sets. They did OK, but they didn’t do great. My soil was part of the problem, and I will be addressing that. I also had 3 bulbs go to seed. When Onions go to seed, they develop a big flower stem out the top, and from there they develop a flower that looks like a yarrow or queen Anne’s lace. Once the flower has been pollinated and begins to close up/turn brown in an area, you can cut off the head and place it in a paper bag for a week or two to finish drying. Once dry, you can shake the flower the drop all the tiny little seeds. The flower can be disposed of, and the seeds stored as desired. Onion seeds should be started inside before being transplanted outside.
Radish Seeds
Radishes are a fast growing crop that are supposed to be the best for first time growers. This variety is cherry belle radishes. The seeds are sown directly into the ground. They are ready to harvest 22 days after they sprout and they only like cool weather. If you leave them in the ground for longer, they will begin to go to seed. I kept 3 radishes in the ground, and as they matured they grew considerably! They grow a main stock with many branches of flowers. After about a week or two they begin to form pods. You should let the pods turn red before harvesting the pods, and you should wait for the pods to dry and become brittle before harvesting all the seeds. You can crush the pods and break them open to extract the seeds. The seeds can then be placed in a bowl or bucket. You can then swirl the seeds and blow onto them to remove any chaff that ended up with the seeds. You may lose some seeds too, but they were likely light and inviable.
Green Pepper Seeds
Green peppers are the one plant I didn’t grow in my garden this year. I bought several green peppers from a local grower at a local farmer’s market. These seeds can easily be saved. When you cut a green pepper, cut around top of the pepper. You should make the circle about 1/2 way from the stem and outer edge of the pepper. Cut down enough to sever the ribs, then you can push down on the stem and pull it clean out. You can then remove any remaining seed from inside the pepper and set aside your top to save seeds after you finish cooking. Place your seeds on a paper towel/ paper plate. Place your paper towel/plate on a sunny windowsill. After about 1-2 hours, come through and stir your seeds to dry any seeds that may be underneath. Let dry another 1-2 hours before storing. Green Pepper plants should be started inside 6-8 weeks before your last frost. If available, buy your pepper locally and not from a supermarket, because then you will know the pepper breed will do well in your climate.
Marigold Seeds
When I first planted marigolds this spring, I was shocked with the seed shape! I had never grown anything from seed before, but I assumed all seeds look similar. I was even more shocked to seed how easy it is to harvest more seeds, and how many seeds you get from just one flower! Use a dead or dying flower. Cut the flower from the plant and take it inside. remove the stem by holding the dried petals at the top. Then, grab the black seeds, and pull off the petals. That’s all! Now you have marigold seeds. These are sown directly into the ground in spring and grow all year.
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