MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - HEALTHY EGG ROLL IN A BOWL

A transfer from my old blog (now closed) originally published on March 4th, 2014

I found this recipe here at a blog called "Mostly Homemade Mom" (fortunately the link still works). We have made it quite a few times since its original posting, the second time modifying it more to suit our own tastes. 

Healthy Eggroll in a Bowl

1 lb. ground sausage (we used ground pork the first time, ground turkey the second and both were very good)
1 bag fresh coleslaw mix with shredded cabbage and carrots
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon ginger
A sliced green onion

In a large, deep skillet, brown the sausage.  Meanwhile in a small bowl combine garlic, soy sauce and ginger; set aside.  

Once the sausage is cooked through and no longer pink, add the fresh coleslaw mix to the skillet and stir to combine.  

Pour soy sauce mixture into the skillet and stir, continuing to cook over medium heat for five minutes, or until the cabbage is wilted but still a bit crunchy.  

Serve with sliced green onion.

I liked the fact that this was a fast, simple and nutritious meal.  It was on the table from start to finish in 20 minutes.

You can add a few drops of hot sauce, or not.

And yes we loved it so much we made it yet again only this time with Tofu which I crisped up a bit in a small amount of peanut oil.  Have to say, that version was my favorite and even my non-tofu lover enjoyed it this way.  In fact, I think from now on we will use the Tofu as I am trying to add more meatless dishes into our weekly menu.

Instead of using fresh ginger I put in a teaspoon of powdered.  Only because I had forgotten to put the fresh on my list and just left it that way for the other meals.  I will be trying the fresh next time.

To the coleslaw mix we also added extra vegetables, sliced celery and mushrooms, sliced bamboo shoots, beansprouts and sweet basil leaves.   There were even more leftovers which we enjoyed eating for a few days.  

This is a good recipe to adjust ingredients to fit your own taste. 

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - TOFU PEANUT SATAY

 This was made several weeks ago and was in my draft folder. I originally found it on Instagram and if you are a member and would like to take a look, you can see a quick version of the recipe in motion at this link. An excellent dish, the first Thai meal we had fixed for a while, and looking forward to trying it again.

3 heaping tablespoons of peanut butter

2/3 cup of coconut milk

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 to 2 tablespoons of sriracha 

(the amount depends on how spicy you like it 

you could leave it off if you prefer)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce (we used low sodium)

2 tablespoons grated garlic

1 tablespoon grated ginger

2 limes, one juiced to add to the cooking process,

and 1 lime sectioned for garnish

1 block extra or super firm Tofu, 

drained, dried and cut into 16 evenly sized cubes

Oil, salt and pepper as needed (we left the salt out, tasted great)

1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped

2 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced on the bias

1/2 cup crushed peanuts

1 tablespoon black and white sesame seeds

1 tablespoon chili oil crisp

Rice for serving

4 Skewers for Tofu Cubes

In a large bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, coconut milk, maple syrup, sriracha, sesame oil, soy sauce, 1 large pinch salt, black pepper to taste, garlic, ginger and juice of 1 lime. Set aside until needed.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium-high heat and allow to heat up for 2-3 minutes.

Place 4 cubes tofu on each small skewer.

Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of neutral oil (we used avocado oil and just enough to cover the bottom of the pan). 

Sear the tofu cubes in the oil.

Season the tofu in the pan with a large pinch of salt (we left this out) and pepper to taste. 

Sear on all four sides of the tofu for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until each side is golden brown.

Pour half the peanut sauce over the tofu in the pan. 

Continue to flip the tofu searing for another 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until it has reached the color and texture you like.

Serve tofu skewers over rice and garnish with the remaining peanut sauce, cilantro, green onions/scallions, crushed peanuts, sesame seeds and chili crisp.  Squeeze juice from the remaining lime sections on top. 

We don't have skewers and instead cubed the tofu and cooked in the pan separately, searing on all sides like we normally do. We followed the recipe exactly after these changes.

There were enough for four servings and we will have the other two tomorrow for lunch or dinner.

I think that's about it. 

MONDAY RECIPE POST - EGG FRIED RICE

This is another YouTube recipe hosted by Sisi Jemima.  The link to this Egg Fried Rice is here.  We did quite a lot of stopping-and-starting while making it, especially as we were doing this for the first time, to get her guideline.  We gave it a ten out of ten by the way.  Our kitchen is relatively small so I usually sit at the kitchen table and Gregg is at the stove top doing the cooking.  I have a cutting board with me and will share in the preparing stage of cutting up veggies, also done at the kitchen table, while giving step-by-step instructions to Gregg as I listen to the video.  I push pause a few times and rewind if I miss anything, so it was a slower process than it normally is.  

Sisi has a recipe blog and this is her website.  I couldn't find this particular recipe but I may have overlooked it.

Some of the ingredients are metric.  I have put what I thought the amount would be for what we used.   For any food I didn’t use I marked in red lettering.  We didn't stick to the exact measurements as we wanted leftovers the next day.  You just use what you think you might want for each serving or if you like leftovers yourself, make extra.

 Sisi Jemima’s Egg Fried Rice Recipe 

Vegetable oil for sautéing (we used avocado spray)

100 gm diced pork 

100 gm diced chicken (we used whatever leftover meat  there was on an already cooked rotisserie chicken from our local supermarket)

1/2 cup diced and cooked prawns (or for us, a 10 oz. packet of firecracker shrimp - Wegmans brand - see below)

3 eggs, slightly whisked

4 cups cooked rice (here we used 2 packets of Trader Joe's already cooked frozen Jasmine Rice.)

1 cup diced carrots 

1 cup green peas

3 cloves garlic, minced (we used 3 Dorot cubes - see below)

1/2 cup chopped onions

Handful of spring green onions

3 tablespoons dark soy sauce

2 tablespoons light soy sauce (low sodium if you have it)

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil (I will use a tablespoon next time as we enjoy the taste)

The nice thing about stir fry is that you can use any of the vegetables in your fridge.  You can also leave out the protein to go vegetarian.

Prepare and measure ingredients so you have them right next to you when you begin cooking. 

In separate bowls add the dark soy sauce to your chicken and marinate for 30 minutes.  Next, do the same with the pork.  Set aside.  (we didn't follow this part as we were using the cooked leftover rotisserie chicken and already cooked shrimp.  We also did not use pork this time).  

Add oil to a wok or frying pan.

When oil is heated add the eggs.  Scramble the eggs.  I like the way Sis Jemima did hers.  She describes them as scrambled but still a bit chunky.  Take them out and set aside.  

Add the marinated pork to the pan and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until pork is brown on all sides.  Transfer into a bowl and set aside.

Put the pan back on the stove top.  Next a tablespoon of vegetable oil goes in and when that is heated, add the chicken.   Season with salt and pepper being careful about how much salt you use.  Cook chicken until brown on all sides.  This should take about 6 minutes. 

Transfer the marinated pork back into the pan and combine with the chicken.  

Add and combine the onion and minced garlic.  Cook for about three to four minutes.

Add and combine the carrots and peas for another two minutes.

Add the rice and scrambled eggs.  Mix in well.

Add the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and sesame oil, black pepper and spring onions.  Combine thoroughly and add more soy sauce if you think it is needed.

Now add the cooked prawns which goes in last.  You just need to cook about a minute, long enough to heat the prawns through.

Sis Jemima's tip about the rice: she doesn't like using Jasmine and substituted Basmati rice.  If you are using Jasmine rice you need to cook it the day before and refrigerate until needed.  If you use Basmati you can cook it as normal before you make your recipe.

I highly recommend watching her video before you start, just in case I have left anything out, and because we made our own version.  She has great tips. You can cut and paste the following address which will take you straight to the video.

https://youtu.be/Ql8h49eP-gA

Our shortcuts on this recipe were:

Pre-cooked rotisserie chicken which we bought from the supermarket the day before for that night’s dinner, and diced and used what was left for this meal.

Firecracker Shrimp from the frozen section at Wegman’s (their own brand).  

These we cooked to the directions on the box, and added to the stir fry at the same time as our cooked chicken. This only takes a few minutes to heat through.  The shrimp were small and we left them whole.  You can also use already cooked steamed shrimp that we occasionally buy from the seafood section of any of our local supermarkets.  It usually comes with a container of cocktail sauce and we eat it as an appetizer.  We have added them to other dishes too.

We will use mushrooms next time.

Instead of fresh minced garlic cloves, we used 3 cubes of Dorot crushed garlic which we store in the freezer.  The cubes are tiny and they thaw quickly in the pan. 

We also used 2 packets of Trader Joe's already cooked Jasmine Frozen Rice.

I realize you might not have these brands in your area, but there will probably be an equivalent if you want to make your own shortcuts.  Sometimes, depending on how you feel, the less fuss the better.

We didn't marinate the pork or chicken as shown in the video (didn't have any pork).  This meal was done on impulse as we wanted something relatively fast to put together.  Next time we will follow everything to the letter after a shopping session.   

Because we didn't need to marinate the meat, the liquids were added to the ingredients in the pan almost to the end of cooking time, and gently mixed so that all was combined.  Then we put in the cooked chicken and firecracker shrimp, again gently mixed to combine. We cooked it a minute or two which seemed long enough to heat through.  It worked out well for us.  My advice though is to add a little liquid at a time and taste test as you go along.

This is Gregg's meal the second night.  He sautéed cubes of steak and added them to the pan of leftovers for two or three minutes.  They were still hot and there was no need to reheat.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comment section and I will be happy to answer them.  I feel like I am all over the place with this recipe but next time it should go more smoothly, and we sure did enjoy it.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - SOY GLAZED SALMON (BAKED IN THE OVEN) - SERVES 4

I haven't shared a salmon dish lately, but I put it on the shopping list.  I found the recipe at Rasa Malaysia and when I read the ingredients, I had most everything.  I would like to thank Rasa who has a lot of good tips, also good advice on buying salmon. Very interesting and I learned a lot.  You can find her recipe here.

Soy Glazed Salmon - serves 4

1 1/2 lbs. (0.6 kg) salmon fillet

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For garnish:

White sesame seeds

Chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). 

Rinse the salmon with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. 

Cut the salmon into two pieces if they are too big. 

Transfer the salmon fillets (skin side down) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. 

Combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and red pepper flakes together. Stir to mix well. 

Brush the soy sauce mixture on the surface of the salmon fillets. 

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through. 

Top the salmon with white sesame and parsley, serve immediately. 

The only thing I changed was the garnish, which you can see in my first photo.  The second photo doesn't have it.  Before eating I sprinkled chopped green onions over the top, and a dash or two of red pepper flakes.  Next time I will try the parsley and sesame seeds.

It was very enjoyable and will definitely be making this again.

Thanks so much for looking, enjoy the rest of the week, and Bon Appétit!

MONDAY RECIPE POST - SLOW COOKER BUTTER CHICKEN

A lot of the time when we sit down for a meal,  I don't follow a recipe and fix our old favorite standbys.  However, when I do have the extra time, and more to the point, the inclination, I enjoy browsing through food blogs on line, for those times when we want something a little bit different.  Gregg loves trying ethnic foods, he actually started me on that path, but it took a while as I grew up in a very plain cooking household.  

My Mother was an exceptional cook and her meals were always ones to look forward to (her Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding will never be surpassed in my eyes).  However, after my marriage and with all Gregg's traveling from his navy days, he developed a taste for more exotic cuisine, and introduced me to it.  His Mother also was a great cook and used more seasonings and I had never been used to anything other than salt and pepper, but she taught me about such things and I took note.

I always remember a conversation with my Mum after I had lived in the States for a few years, and at the risk of repeating myself here because I have been writing this blog for a long time now, Mum and Dad were visiting and had been with us for about a week. Mum and I were in the kitchen, chatting over a cup of tea after she had watched me prepare another meal.  I remember going all out with the menu plan, trying to make my Mum proud of my developing cooking skills.  

After looking at all the ingredients I had on my counter, Mum said, with this kind of quizzical, very thoughtful look on her face, "You don't cook English any more do you Neesie?"  (My family nickname since I learned to talk and walk.)

It kind of took me aback because I hadn't thought about it up until that point.  I actually think I was making a spaghetti sauce and now it makes me smile because spaghetti and meatballs was an exotic dish to my Mum and Dad, and they remembered all the pasta they ate when on a vacation to Italy.  We didn’t get pasta in our growing up years, never even crossed our minds.  

If they could have bought all their English groceries with them they would have but obviously would never have gotten it through the customs, not that they would have tried in the first place.  They were allowed to bring tea -  I think - and as we couldn't get English tea here back in those days, they always came with a suitcase full to the gills with PG Tips.  This was all gone by the time they went back and their empty suitcase was filled with all kinds of souvenirs to take home to family and friends.  

I love thinking back to that conversation Mum and I had in the kitchen all those years ago.  She would have been proud of the fact that Yorkshire Pudding was still on our menu, and I make many traditional British dishes.   

At heart I am still a plain cook but I always find several recipes to browse through, and I asked Gregg to choose tonight.   His choice was Slow Cooker Butter Chicken by Chung-Ah at DamnDelicious.   You can visit the original recipe here.

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
6 Servings

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 hours 5 minutes
total time: 5 hours 15 minutes.

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, diced
1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high high.  Add garlic and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Stir in coconut milk, tomato paste, flour, garam masala, curry powder, chili powder and ginger powder until well combined and slightly thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place chicken into a slow cooker.  Add sauce mixture and gently toss to combine.  Cover and cook on low heat for 5 hours.

Serve immediately.

What did we think of this meal?  It was another hit.  I won't share anything that we haven't enjoyed.  The main reason I put recipes on here is that it is another way to save those that we enjoy, and can easily look up when we are in the mood to try again.

I love getting the slow-cooker out.  Fixing things early in the day is a big plus, and by the time you sit down you can relax enough to enjoy the meal. Everything is in the pot before noon, and this leaves the afternoon for other things.  We also avoid turning the oven on in such hot weather.  

Gregg asked if I could cook chicken thighs instead of breast and that was the only thing I altered. It cooked in the same amount of time.

This is the first Indian dish I have prepared.  It wasn't hot at all and if you do enjoy a little more heat, you can add extra chili to taste.  I offered to add more chili the next time but Gregg said no, he wouldn't change a thing.  

Thank you Chung-Ah for sharing this delicious Slow Cooker Butter Chicken.   Please check out DamnDelicious.  Her meals are varied and they look excellent.  I will definitely be going back to find more yummy meals.  You can find her blog here.

Thanks for looking, and have a great week.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - BAKED TOFU

We have started eating more meatless meals lately, and one of the items that always seems to be on our list is tofu.  I saw a recipe for Baked Tofu at Gimme Some Oven hosted by Ali.  

Thank you Ali, we enjoyed this version very much.  I recommend reading Ali's recipe and she tells you all about tofu.  Also I enjoyed looking at all the other recipes she has on her food blog.  

Baked Tofu

Ingredients

1 block of tofu, firm or extra firm
Olive Oil, or another oil you may prefer
Cornstarch
Suggested seasonings: garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper.  You can also use your favorite combination.

Our first step is to drain the tofu and press as much liquid out as possible.  The more dry the crispier it will be.  

Slice the block of tofu into two or three slabs (depending on your block of tofu each slab should be about 3/4 to 1-inch thick).  Then lay some paper towels or a clean tea towel on a flat surface (I used a cutting board).  Wrap the tofu in the paper towels/clean tea towel.  Place another cutting board on top, and stack a heavy-ish pot (or cans of food) that you can safely balance on the cutting board without them toppling.  The more weight you put on the tofu, the more liquid you will get out.  Leave this for at least 15 to 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 deg. F.

When your tofu is drained, time to remove all the layers of paper towels/kitchen towel and what you have used to weight down the tofu.  Cut tofu into cubes, about 3/4 inch to an inch.  You can also cut them into more decorative shapes if preferred.  Ali says the shape will make a difference in the crispy-outside to soft-inside texture.  If you want even crispier bites of tofu, make these shapes a bit thinner.

Put tofu into a large mixing bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil (or your preferred oil).  Sprinkle evenly with cornstarch and seasonings.  Toss gently until the tofu is evenly coated.

Put tofu in a single layer (no overlapping) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put in the preheated 400 degree oven, and bake for 15 minutes.  At the end of the 15 minutes carefully remove baking sheet (don't forget those oven mitts), put on a safe surface and turn each piece over to the other side. Put sheet back into the oven and cook for another 15 minutes.

When done to your liking (see my notes below) carefully take tofu out of the oven.

Serve warm and enjoy.

My notes: I have been adding tofu to our regular shopping list for quite a while, trying several different variations of cooking style.  

Gregg said this way was by far his favorite, baked and cooked until really crispy.  I liked it but I think I would have taken it out of the oven at the time suggested.  The original recipe calls for 15 minutes on one side, turn over and cook for another 15 minutes.  I ended up cooking it for ten minutes longer than that, as I know Gregg likes things a little crispier than I do.  

He actually said this was the best tofu recipe he had ever had to his taste, and gave it a ten out of ten, and to please cook it this way from now on. 

Next time, however, I will take my portion out of the oven after the 30 minutes total time, and leave his in the ten minutes longer.  I am only adding this in case you and your other half have different likes about tofu as we do.  

We weren't very hungry that night, and just wanted a snack.  This made a very nice appetizer served with two dipping sauces, a small dish each of sweet chili sauce and blue cheese dressing, having our own choices.  

I am looking forward to trying this again with my adjustments.

Thank you for stopping by.  Stay safe, stay healthy have a great week.

Added note: I found another interesting blog here that shares more information about tofu.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - VEGGIE TOFU STIR-FRY

I gave this dish a 10 out of 10.  Gregg gave it a 9 out of 10 which is still darned good.  I will give his reasons for dropping that point at the end of the post, which might be helpful in making your own decisions.  This week's recipe came from a food blog called The Minimalist Baker. 

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Servings: 2


1 14 oz. package firm or extra firm tofu
2 cups roughly chopped green beans 
1 cup diced carrots or a sweet red pepper (or both)
2 tablespoons sesame oil for sautéing, or you can use peanut or coconut oils

Sauce:

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce (you can buy gluten free)
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoons organic brown sugar (reduce slightly for a less sweeter sauce)
1 tablespoon of Agave Syrup (or honey if not vegan and reduce amount for a less sweeter sauce)
1 tablespoon cornstarch

For serving (optional)

Brown rice
White rice
Quinoa
Peanut Sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C), and begin drying out your tofu.  Drain, remove it from the package.  Place it between two thick towels folded snuggly but not too tight around the tofu.  Place it between two plates and put something on the top plate like a book, heavy can of something, or a frying pan (whatever you think will do the job).  The more liquid you can get out of the tofu, the crispier it will be.  Let it dry for 15 minutes and if the towels get too wet, repeat with two dry ones.

When dry cut into 1 inch cubes or rectangles.  (You can check the photos on Minimalist Baker and see additional tips.)

To prevent sticking arrange the tofu on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet for a total of 25 to 30 minutes, turning over once for even cooking.  This will help dry out the tofu and give it a more meat-like texture.  If you want a firmer texture add a few minutes, for a less firmer texture, lessen the time.  When it is done to the way you like it, take it out, put it in a bowl and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Start cooking your rice according to package directions.

In a small bowl whisk together all sauce ingredients and set aside.

To a large skillet over medium-high heat, add sesame oil and swirl around to coat the bottom of the skillet.  Add the veggies and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often.  When the vegetables have softened a little, add the sauce and stir gently to evenly coat the vegetables.  It will begin to bubble and thicken.  Add the tofu and incorporate it into the veggies-sauce mix to coat.  

Cook for a further 3 to 5 minutes.  Hopefully the veggies are cooked to how you like them but check just in case.  

Serve with rice or other ingredients mentioned above.

Our host says this is best when eaten fresh, but will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

In our humble opinion this was top notch and delicious.  We did change a few things to fit in with our own taste, and there were adjustments depending on what we had in the fridge and pantry.

With the ingredients we changed them to the following:

1 chopped yellow onion

A handful of frozen peas

1small sliced zucchini

No green beans but kept the carrots

Sauce ingredients:

1 teaspoon ginger powder as we had no fresh

(we decided we would add 2 teaspoons next time)

Agave syrup and honey in the pantry but we chose the Agave

1 tablespoon of Chili paste which made it nice and hot but not too hot

We both would like more sauce next time, and thought maybe adding a little vegetable broth would be good.

This sauce wasn't too sweet and we will keep the brown sugar and Agave as is.

We used our favorite Jasmine Rice from Trader Joe's because A) it is tasty as rice goes and B) it is super easy to do.  One box has three packets and each packet has enough for both of us.  You just pop it in the microwave for three minutes and that's it.  Very nice and fast, though we do have regular Jasmine Rice in the pantry.  I daresay we will be using that when we run out of the frozen, as I am not sure when we can get back to Trader Joe's.

Now for that one point I mentioned at the beginning of this post.  Last time we cooked tofu the recipe called for us to marinate the tofu in a sauce.  Gregg liked that and so did I.  In this recipe he thought the tofu was a bit bland. I didn't but then my tastes run to the plainer side of things. Well, it would be a boring old world if we all thought the same wouldn't it?

There you go, I hope you like the sound of this dish and that I haven't overwhelmed you with all our thoughts and changes.

I also hope you are doing okay out there considering what we are all dealing with around the world.  Take good care of yourselves and thanks for stopping by.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - SHRIMP CHOW MEIN

We made this for Valentine's Day.  I found the recipe here.  It is a vegetable Chow Mein but we cooked the shrimp separately in a little oil and served it with the meal.  

Chow Mein by Rea Drummond - 4 servings

This was easy and it cooks quickly.  It was on the table 30 minutes after we started preparation.

8 ozs. thin lo mein noodles 

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 carrot, julienned

1/2 head Napa cabbage, sliced thin

1/2 onion, sliced

1/4 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth) 

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 teaspoon Sesame oil

Sliced green onions for garnish

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the package directions.  This only took five minutes for ours. Drain and set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the peanut oil.  

Add the carrots, cabbage and onions and cook for 1 minute.

Add the chicken broth, soy sauce and sesame oil, then toss in the noodles.  

Top with sliced green onions.

How to quickly cook shrimp on the stovetop, a recipe found at this link.  

Serves 4

1 lb. raw medium shrimp (17 to 21 per pound), peeled and deveined.  (At this point you can either leave the tails on or remove depending on preference.)

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter, or a mix

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Place the oil or butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Tilt the pan as the oil warms or butter melts, to coat the bottom of the pan.

Add the shrimp to the hot pan.  (They should sizzle on contact).

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper, or any favorite seasonings (suggested choices; chil spice, curry spice, a sprinkling of harissa).  We just used salt and pepper. 

Sauté the shrimp until pink and opaque.  The shrimp will start off looking grey and translucent, but will gradually become pink and opaque as they cook through.  The tails will also turn bright red if you leave them on.  

Cook the shrimp, stirring occasionally, until the flesh is totally pink and opaque, and you see no more grey.  Depending on the size of the shrimp and how many you have in the pan, this will usually take 4 to 5 minutes.

Transfer to a serving dish.  Serve sautéed shrimp immediately with pasta, over grains or as in our case, noodles.

Leftover shrimp is excellent as a snack or in cold salads.

The shrimp can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

I enjoyed this meal very much and although hubby did also, he is used to spicing his meals up a little more and found this a bit bland.  To counteract he added Sweet Chili Sauce as a condiment, and I did the same, though did not use quite as much. It is a delicious addition and made our meal a little sweet and hot. You can obviously add as much as you want depending on how spicy you like it.   If you prefer wholesome, plainer tasting food that tastes great as is, leave it off.

There are leftovers so we won't have to cook tomorrow.  At this website it will give you information on storing shrimp. 

Just for fun I have added one of my salt and pepper shaker sets.  I have a collection of seasonal ones that I use throughout the year. 

MONDAY RECIPE POST - PINEAPPLE AND CHICKEN SKILLET

This is a meal I got off Instagram but forgot to take note by whom.  I am glad I made notes of the recipe as when I went back to ID the person who shared,  I couldn't find them.  There are variations on line, which I found after searching Google, but not this particular recipe, so I want to thank the person who came up with this one and hopefully I will find out who you are eventually.  

The instructions for this recipe reads:

Heat a skillet over medium heat.  

Cut up 1/2 red pepper and slice into strips, the same with 1/2 onion.  

Add some olive oil or avocado oil to the skillet, add the pepper, cook for 3 minutes, add the onion for another minute.

Cut 2 chicken breasts into strips and coat with 1 tablespoon of avocado oil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon coconut aminos (which I didn't have, not too familiar with anyway and did not use), 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes.  Shake up in a ziploc bag and let it marinate.

Cut up half a pineapple into cubes.  Add the chicken to the skillet, cook for 10 minutes then add the pineapple into the skillet with the onions and peppers, add 1 tablespoon of coconut aminos (if using).  Cook over medium heat until the pineapple is soft, about 5 more minutes.  

Serve with cilantro and lime wedges.  

We enjoyed this meal but added a few things. 

1 teaspoon of pepper flakes instead  of 1/2 teaspoon.  

The pineapple was a wonderful part part of the dish, we both loved that addition.  We actually used a can of pineapple as we had one in the pantry.  

Also in the pantry there was a bottle of sweet chili sauce, which we opened and put a couple of tablespoons on the side of our bowl for dipping (this can be very spicy so use to taste).

The lime wedges gave a nice zip.  

I also thought that green onions instead of a regular onion would add a bit more color to the dish.  

Chef Gregg said he would like to add sweet Thai Basil next time, to the pan as it is cooking.  He thinks the basil and the cilantro would not be too much and we like both, so will give it a try.  

We spooned the finished dish over Jasmine Rice.  

These are guide lines and a record for us for the next time we make this dish.  If you do make it you can obviously add your own ingredients, go vegetarian, add tofu instead of chicken or add shrimp or pork, which is something I am thinking about.  And you can use your favorite veggies and accompaniments.  

This gets better with age.  For our next meal we went Bahn Mi style with the leftovers, and put it on hot dog rolls for a very tasty supper.  It was excellent!

Thanks for looking and bon appetit!

MONDAY RECIPE IS BACK - 20-MINUTE SPICY THAI NOODLE BOWL

This is not a recipe for people who have a peanut allergy. 

I am not sure if you are still interested in the recipe posts, but these are ones I like to add so that they are readily available for the next time we make it.  It is always fun to tweak the ingredients to your own enjoyment and tastes.  

20-Minute Spicy Thai Noodle Bowl
6 to 8 servings

I found my recipe here at Life Made Simple.  Thank you Natalie for a wonderful meal.  Natalie suggested you might like to add cooked chicken or shrimp.  I used whatever I had in the pantry, and didn't want to go back up to the store.  It was a delicious, meatless meal.

Preparation time: 12 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

1 lb. spaghetti (we already had a packet of Thai Rice Noodles in the pantry, and cooked them following the package directions)
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1-1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
5 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 teaspoons of rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of Sriracha (I added a teaspoon but it still wasn't very hot, and will add 2 teapoons next time.  Other half also adds more at the table.)
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons of honey
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 green onion, minced and extra sliced thinly for garnishing
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 carrot, julienned
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped (we changed this to Thai Basil as it is our favorite.  We tore the leaves off the stem and left them whole.)
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts (Planters), chopped and whole.
1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add the spaghetti (or rice noodles) and cook until al dente.  

Meanwhile in a small mixing bowl combine the vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sriracha, peanut butter, honey, minced garlic and minced green onion.  Whisk vigorously until smooth.

Drain the noodles and return to the same large pot.  Add the sauce, red bell pepper, carrot, cilantro (or Thai basil), peanuts, crushed red pepper flakes and sesame seeds.  Toss until combined.  

Garnish with extra chopped peanuts and/or sliced green onions if you like.  Thai basil leaves also make a nice garnish.  It all depends on your own taste.

Delicious meal and one we will be adding to our list of favorites.  We found that because we had changed over to rice noodles, and the directions on the package called for draining thoroughly and rinsing them in cold water, that we needed to warm them back up again in the pan with the other ingredients.  We served up once they were heated through nicely.  Some might enjoy these cold and I am sure they taste very good.  At this point in time, we prefer our noodles heated.

There are leftovers for other meals and they only seem to get better the day after.

We still do the buddy system when cooking. I prepared all the ingredients so that they were ready to go when Gregg got home.  I didn't go any further because he enjoys cooking since retirement, and he finished the meal.  We were shocked when we realized that, as of June he will have been retired for five years.  

All that preparation and cooking time took longer for me.  I never seem to be able to get it all done in the time allotted, which is fine because I always enjoy the process.  I start early with all the veggie  and sauce prep, when my energy level is high, refrigerating where necessary, then when it comes to actually putting everything in the pan, it is very easy.