Sweet and Savory Tofu Marinade

Another, New, Tofu Marinade. When I asked what Dave wants for dinner and he says, "lets have that tofu," I cringed. I do love tofu but I just wasn't in the mood. I could have objected, but something inside me just said try something new. I looked online for a new combo, nothing seemed right but I had a few good flavor ideas and put them together very simply.

Marinade:

1/4 cup of soy, tbspn of honey, 1 tsp (or more) of red pepper flakes. Whisk. Marinate.

Marinate for 1-3 hours

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes ** Carefully checking and rotating. You want them to almost crisp up on the edges.

Notes:

- This was a funny keeniekitchen experiment because I thought I totally screwed up the tofu before the tofu made it to the marinade. I went to press the tofu and wanted to speed things up a bit. When I put my first paper towel on top I gave it a press with my hand. As my hand started to get wet, as the paper towel was absorbing so much liquid, I ended up pressing harder.

-Genius. Right? Well the tofu was kind of smashed. oops! The increased surface area ended up being great! And I think the new key to successfully cooking tofu!

I have provided many "this and that recipes" for a great stirfry, I will not bore you with the details, but here is a visual presentation of how the tofu stir fry was completed. If you want details let me know!

 

Caprese Panini with Roasted Sweet Bell Peppers

Now that I have announced that a new goal in the keenie kitchen is to be more sustainable, it wouldn't be good to not use those saved grocery items! Last weekend I craved a panini, this weekend I had the motivation to finally satisfy that craving and make them.

Shopping List/ Pantry:

• Fresh Mozzarella
• Fresh tomatoes
• Basil
• Your homemade roasted sweet bell peppers
• Bread

Putting it together:

1. Preheat your panini grill to a medium/hot temperature
2. Slice the tomatoes, chop up the fresh basil and assemble the panini, top with a few cracks of fresh ground black pepper.
3. Put the sandwiches on the panini grill (I have a Cuisinart Griddler)
4. Once you can see the mozzarella starts to melt, turn up the heat for a minute or two to put a nice crispy golden finish on the toasted bread.

Freezing Spinach

I realized that I starting wasting a lot of good food a while back. I haven't been perfect, but I have been increasingly better at saving the food in my home from souring, rotting, or developing the funky stuff. 

What happens when you are faced with this? :

This week's refrigerator save is spinach! It is such an incredibly easy thing to do, and will be a great start to a nice creamed spinach in the coming week or weeks. ahhh..

Pantry/Fridge List

• Lots of spinach that you want to save
• Freezer bag

Putting it together:

1. Start an ice cold bath for blanching the spinach.
2. Start a big pot of boiling water ( I threw a little salt in the pot).
3. When the pot comes to a full boil add the spinach

4. As it starts to brighten up after about 1-2 minutes quickly move the spinach with a ladel into the cold bath.
5. Pour the spinach and cold bath threw a strainer.
6. Use a few absorbant paper towels to pull most of the moisture out of the spinach so you don't have too much ice in your frozen chopped spinach

7. Chop the spinach
8. Transfer chopped spinah to a freezer bag and freeze away!

NOTES: (!!) Make sure you squeeze out as much water as possible. My creamed spinach was a little too watery because I did not squeeze out enough water.

Roasted Bell Peppers

What happens when the peppers you bought in excess start to go bad? You notice a little shriveling on the the outside, they are still crisp, but you know they won't last all week. Roast them! I am trying not to be wasteful, don't let all that extra food go bad.

Shopping List:

• Peppers
• 1/4 cup of olive oil.
• 2 coarsely chopped garlic cloves
• 1/4 tsp of pepper
• Salt

Putting it Together:

1. Slice the peppers and half and clean the insides riding it of seeds and spines.
2. Crush the peppers with the palm of your hand so they lay flat.

3. Put the peppers on a lined baking sheet and put under the broiler.
4. After about 5 minutes you will start to smell them crisp up, check if they are starting to brown and blister on the top. Keep them under the broiler until they get pretty brown on top.
5. Flip once so the skinless side gets little extra heat. About 2-3 minutes

6. Turn back until the tops are nice and blistered. Even more so then the picture I have here.
7. Put the roasted peppers in either a brown paper bag or plastic bag and cover for about 5-10 minutes until it is easy to handle.

8. Peel off the skins and slice into thin pieces to your liking.
9. Combine roasted peppers and remaining ingredients in a small tupperware and save for a salad, sandwich or other delicious meal. 

10. We just saved our peppers!

Indonesian Corn Fritters

I went to the Border's store closing sale and picked up a new cookbook at quite a steal.  I got an Asian cookbook that features cuisine not is just Chinese or Thai, but it also includes Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, and beyond.


I scanned the pages and found Indonesian Corn Fritters. stop. must make. dying to make. making...


Shopping List:

• 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 1 tsp of sriracha (and if you are feeling dangerous an extra squirt or two)
• 1 tblspn of rice wine vinegar.
• 1 shallot chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of freshly ground ginger (or the stuff in the jar)
• 2.5 cups of corn kernels
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp of grated coriander
• 1 tbspn of sugar
• 1/2 cup of flour

Putting it Together:

1. Dipping Sauce: Mix the first three ingredients, set aside.

2. Mix the shallots, ginger, garlic, and Serrano pepper in a food processor until it is the consistency of paste.

3. Mix the paste with corn, egg, coriander, and sugar.

4. Right before frying mix in the flour.

5. Fry for 3-5 minutes at 370 degrees, until golden brown.

6. Devour!!!!!

Notes:

- I used frozen corn, the recipe called for fresh, it would have been more crisp and crunchy with fresh. Mine were a little chewier than I prefer, but still delicious!

- Recipe modified from the William & Sonoma Asian Cooking Cookbook.

Dijon Mustard Roasted Chicken

On a beautiful day, on a refreshing hike, the conversation of dinner began... we have tofu, sausage, and a whole chicken. Oh it is Sunday night! Lets make a chicken.


Defrosted, Marinated, Roasted!


Shopping List:

• 1 thawed chicken
• 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard (approximately)
• 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 1/4 tsp of fresh cracked pepper

Putting it Together:

1. Mix the Dijon mustard, garlic, and pepper in a bowl, mix thoroughly and set a side.

2. Prepare the thawed chicken, clean the inside and out with water and paper towels, cut away extra fat if necessary. Next salt the entire bird.

3. Marinate the chicken with mustard rub, massaging it into the bird on the inside and out.

4. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 375.
5. Cover the bird with some aluminum foil and put that sucker in the oven.
6. Cook as per the directions, basting occasionally through out with the remaining mustard sauce.
7. In the last 45 minutes take the foil off the bird so it crisps up.

8. Carve and chow down !

Oven Grilled Asparagus

You don't always want to heat up the grill to have great asparagus. A quick recipe worth mentioning. Simple. Short & Sweet.


Shopping:

• Asparagus
• Light oil
• S&P

Putting it Together:

1. Cut off the ends of the asparagus

2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Cover lightly with oil and S&P
4. Heat the broiler to Hi and shove those stalks in.

5. let cook for about 10 minutes, plate and dollop with butter.

Mixing Meatballs and Sauce

Scott brought over some meatballs for dinner the other night. I said to him, "these are so freaking good, they are like mom's!...?" Who else can make something like you had in your childhood? He responded by saying "That's what I was trying to do!"


He left 5 behind for me (what was left), so what do you do when you get the gift of these glorious meatballs? You make more sauce and enjoy every bite just one more time.


Shopping List:

• Meatballs
• Half an onion chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 7 large cremini mushrooms diced
• half a bay leaf
• 4 dashes of cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 small can of tomatoes
• S&P

Putting it Together:

1. Start sizzling the onions in a pot or dutch oven
2. Add the mushrooms, as they start to golden up, add 3 cloves of garlic, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, and oregano.
3. Let that sizzle for about 3-4.5 minutes
4. Add the tomatoes and meatballs
5. Cook until the meatballs are warmed through and the hungry appetites can't wait any longer!

Notes:

- This is not overly simplified, it is really that good. 

- Add your own meatballs or precooked meatballs, either way it is going to be fast and delicious.
- Maybe Dave is right, we eat a lot of Italian, Mexican, and Chinese...

Pork Adobo

This is the Chicken Adobo from the NYT with a twist. I wanted to try it with pork, and thought it would be a great experiment and continue improvising in the kitchen whether I am using someone else's recipe or not.


We took one of our frozen pork loins and let it marinate in the Adobo sauce for two days! It was supposed to be super efficient for Sunday night dinner, but we got sushi with friends instead! Monday night dinner here we come...


Shopping List:

• 1 cup coconut milk
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1½ cup rice vinegar
• 12 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 whole bird’s-eye chilies or other fiery chili
• 3 bay leaves
• 1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pork tenderloin

Putting it Together:

1. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large, nonreactive bowl or resealable plastic freezer bag. Add the pork and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 2 hours to 2 days.

2. Place pork and marinade in a large lidded pot or Dutch oven over high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pork is cooked through and tender, around 30 minutes.

3. Remove, carve, then place on a platter and drizzle heavily with sauce.

Notes:

- This is important to note(!), I decided I didn't like the chicken cooking method from the Chicken Adobo recipe because it was too "tough" on the skin that was braised... so I skipped the following steps, you can use to your liking:

3. Heat broiler. Transfer the pork to a large bowl, raise heat under the pot to medium-high, and reduce the sauce until it achieves almost the consistency of cream [I reduced the sauce to a creamy consistency with the pork in the sauce], about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and chilies.

4. Place the pork on a roasting pan and place under broiler for 5 to 7 minutes, until it begins to caramelize. Remove, turn pork, baste with sauce and repeat, 3 to 5 minutes more. Return the pork to the sauce and cook for a few minutes more, then place on a platter and drizzle heavily with sauce.

Pasta with Lasagna Noodles

I was going to take a break from blogging about a dinner I wasn't excited about. Pasta with lots of veggies. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but not worth another "this and that" of the pantry. UNTIL, we ran out of noodles. What?! All we had was lasagna noodles. It was a Keenie Kitchen first and had to be documented. You don't have to read notes this time- the noodles were great, thank goodness we had them, the bad part was they were flat and didn't capture the extra sauce, so eat it with a large spoon.

Pantry List:

• Yellow pepper
• 7 Cremini mushrooms
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup of a good red wine
• 2 small cans of diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 2 to 3 handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 tsp of crushed red pepper
• S&P
• LASAGNA NOODLES HAND BROKEN INTO BITS

Putting it Together:

1. Dice the yellow pepper
2. Add the pepper, crushed red pepper, and S&P into to a sizzling pan of oil until softened
3. Add the mushrooms and after about 2-3 minutes when they turn a little golden add the garlic.
4. After one minute of gentle stirring sizzle that pan with your splash of red wine, let it cook down and mix about so the mushrooms take on a beautiful red color.
5. Add everything else except the spinach.

6. Let it marry together for about 5-6 minutes. Add the spinach.

7. Cook for as long as you want.
8. Cook the lasagna noodles to the specifications.

9. Eat! Yum Yum in the Tum.

Chicken & Rice Casserole with lots of veggies

Two Things: 1) I have kept to my new year resolution, to cook leftovers from the Sunday night dinner. 2) (and more interesting) Dave mentioned the other week that all we eat is Italian, Mexican, and Asian. I am not sure what other genres of food he wants to eat, but I was determined to cook something that didn't fall into those.


 A good old roasted chicken counts, this dish he tried to label as Italian, I totally disagree. It is a good American casserole. Any thoughts on how you might classify it are welcome. ?? 


So, lets take what is in our fridge and make an awesome leftovers, chicken and rice casserole:


Shopping List (Pantry/Fridge List):

• 3/4 cup of uncooked rice, cooked
• 1 red pepper
• 1 Serrano pepper
• Left over chicken chopped (about 2 cups)
• 6 large baby bellas chopped
• Fresh baby spinach ( a few handfuls)
• 3 to 4 handfuls of frozen peas
• 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/2 tspn of garlic powder
• 1/4 tspn of crushed red pepper flakes
• Fresh cracked pepper.
  

Putting it Together:

1. Cook the rice as per instructions.
2. Meanwhile... Chop up all the veggies.
3. Heat a pot to a medium heat and add your favorite oil. Add the red peppers and Serrano pepper.
4. Next add the garlic powder, red pepper flakes and fresh cracked pepper so it dusts the top of the peppers.

5. As they start to really soften up add the chicken and mushrooms. Let sizzle for another 5 minutes.

6. Add the frozen peas, stir.
7. Add the rice, stir.
8. Add the spinach, stir until wilted.
9. Add the cheese, stir until melted.

10. Bon Appetite!