Goat Cheese and Broccoli Ravioli

Well, whaddya know-- wonton wrappers are international! Not only are they great for dumplings, these handy wrappers can travel all the way from China to Italy. 

Of course, what doesn't get shipped from China these days? 

I love those lovely fresh pasta packets grocery stores sell. They come with all kinds of fillings and flavors-- but, yeesh, they can get expensive. Luckily, these don't take much longer to prepare than the pre-packaged fresh pasta.  Really! I made these for dinner, pumped out two A-quality papers, and even had additional time to ponder U.S.- China relations. 

Then I ate some Prairie Farms ice cream from the Heartland. God Bless America.

Goat Cheese and Broccoli Ravioli    Serves: 1

8 wonton wrappers

1/3 cup broccoli, roughly chopped

1 oz. goat cheese

1/3 cup of your favorite marinara sauce

1 T. fresh chopped parsley

Salt

Pepper

1.) Add broccoli, 3/4 of the goat cheese, half of the parsley, salt, and pepper into a food processor. Pulse until finely ground.

2.) Scoop 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of a wonton wrapper. Wet the wrapper's edges with water, then place a second wrapper on top, making sure to press out any air. Repeat until you have four raviolis. 

3.) Boil ravioli in a pot of salted water for 1-2 minutes, or until they float. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve with marinara, the remaining goat cheese, and parsley.

Homemade Asian Dumplings

For months I stood convinced my local grocery was on an anti-Katie campaign. Honey Bunches of Oats with Peaches? Not carried. Ground lamb meat? Never heard of it. Peanut Butter Snickers? I don't think so.

So when I needed wonton wrappers, of course, I couldn't find them. Only by eventually wandering past the tofu refrigerator did I spot them. Illuminated by a shining, however fluorescent, heavenly refrigeration light, I snagged the last package. And remember my obsession with frozen, pre-cooked meatballs? They work spectacularly for this. Otherwise, 1/4 cup of cooked meat would be just fine.

Homemade Asian Dumplings  Serves: 2 as an appetizer, 1 as a main course
2 frozen, precooked meatballs
1 small carrot
1/4 red bell pepper
1 scallion
1 t. soy sauce
1/2 t. rice wine vinegar
1/8 t. garlic powder
1/8 t. ground ginger
6 wonton wrappers
1.) Roughly chop the bell pepper, scallion, carrot, and meatballs. Toss into a food processor with the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic, and ginger. Pulse until finely ground.
2.) Lay the wonton wrappers on a clean surface. Add a heaping teaspoon of filling to the center of each wrapper. Then, dipping your fingers into a bit of water, wet the wrappers' edges. Fold into a triangle and seal, pressing all the air out.
3.) Add the dumplings to a pot of boiling water. Remove with a slotted spoon once they float, about 1 minute. Serve with chopped scallion and soy sauce.

Pizza Salad

Pizza Salad. There's something inherently wrong with that statement. It's even, I'd argue, a philosophical inquiry: should pizza be confined to the definition of a calorie-laden, cheesy, meaty, doughy powerhouse? Should salad be synonymous with delicacy? A light fare for those with dainty taste buds?

Well, according to this recipe, the answer is no. It's like a consensual mating between your local pizza joint's side salad and main slice of pepperoni. The result? A totally bomb salad. Enjoy sans post-pizza scarfing guilt.

Pizza Salad   Serves: 1
1 cup mixed salad greens
8 slices pepperoni, cut in strips
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
2 T. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 inch chunk of french bread (stale is ok)
1 t. olive oil
2 T. italian salad dressing.
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut french bread into cubes and toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread on a baking sheet and toast for 5-8 minutes, or until golden brown.
2.) Meanwhile, toss salad greens, pepperoni, red pepper, mozzarella and salad dressing together in a mixing bowl. Add the freshly toasted croutons and mix well. Place in a salad bowl and enjoy!

adapted from: Bon Appetit

Shrimp Po'boy with Jalapeno Remoulade

I've been wanting to make some version of a po'boy for a while now. Sandwiches are such great college food-- the space between two pieces of bread provides endless (and pretty affordable) possibilities.

My original plan was to bread and bake the shrimp myself, but that plan plummeted into a downward spiral when I first caught smell, then sight, of the crustacean selection at my grocery store. Ho.ly. Crap. It was like looking at 2,495 separate USDA and FDA violations simultaneously.

So I went the Gorton's breaded shrimp route. Hey, the guy on the box is waving in a cheery yellow rain-slicker. How bad can he be? Especially with the Gorton's guy on your side, this is a super simple sandwich to make. The remoulade can be as spicy as you like it to be-- from tame to a Lady Gaga-esque wild. Now that's my kind of sandwich.

Shrimp Po'boy with Jalapeno Remoulade   Serves: 1
1 piece of french bread, split
1/4 cup shredded cabbage
3 frozen, breaded shrimp
1 T. mayonnaise
1/2 scallion, sliced
1 T. fresh chopped parsley
1-3 rings of jarred jalapenos, diced (depending on your spice tolerance)
Lemon zest
Salt and pepper
1.) Prepare shrimp in the oven according to package directions.
2.) Meanwhile, make the remoulade. Stir the mayo, scallion, parsley, jalapenos, and a few strips of lemon zest together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
3.) Place the shredded cabbage on the bottom of the bread, top with the cooked shrimp, and dollop on the jalapeno remoulade.

Asian Style Black Beans

I've had an unexplainable craving for asian food lately. Maybe it's because China's President Hu came to visit Chicago? Or maybe I've seen that orange-chicken lobbying Wanchai Ferry panda commercial one too many times? Hm, a mystery.

Anyways, these beans hit the spot. I can't even tell you where I saw the recipe-- I must've glanced at it online somewhere and packed it into my unconscious.  (Another asian mystery!) So, there's definitely no telling it's authentic. But on the bright side, it's a simple and yummy side dish. Toss in some toasted sesame seeds if you've got 'em.

Asian Style Black Beans   Serves: 2
1 cup canned black beans, drained
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced thinly lengthwise
1 small carrot, sliced thinly lengthwise
1 scallion, sliced
1 t. oil
1/2 t. sugar
2 1/2  t. low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 t. rice wine vinegar
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. garlic powder
1.) Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add bell pepper and carrot and cook until slightly softened, or about 3-4 minutes.
2.) Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, garlic, and sugar in a small bowl and stir in the black beans.
3.) Once the vegetables are soft, pour in the black beans and half of the sliced scallion. Heat through. Top with reserved half of the scallion.

Simple Poached Egg Salad

I promised to add more "5 ingredient" recipes at the start of 2011, mainly to compete with Ramen and Easy Mac's ease of assembly.  But I'm breaking the five ingredient rule because this recipe contains...

Three ingredients!

And it's pretty, too.  The most challenging part of the recipe is poaching the egg. I've had poached egg disasters in the past (is there such thing as a scrambled poached egg? I think I did that.), but this video was a godsend.  It lays out all the little details you need to know for a perfectly poached protein.

Oh, yeah baby. That's a frozen waffle. Straight outta '95. 

Poached Egg Salad    Serves: 1
1 egg
1 cup mixed salad greens
1 T. shaved parmesan
Salt and Pepper

1.) (Watch the video. or...) Fill a pot 2/3 full with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium until the water is just barely bubbling so the egg doesn't break apart.
2.) At this point, you can add in a splash of white vinegar (about 1 T.) to keep the egg white closer together. Crack egg into a cup and gently slide into the water. Cook for four minutes.
3.) Remove egg with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Pat egg dry and place over salad greens. Top with parmesan and season with salt and pepper.

Pork in Creamy Mustard Sauce

I saw a similar recipe to this one on The Kitchn and first thought, "mustard cream sauce? That's weird." Thankfully, I reconsidered my overly judgmental stance and gave it a shot. I had leftover smoked pork in my freezer and a shot of dijon left in the fridge-- nothing to lose but a handful of pork and squirt of mustard. I could deal.

Turns out creamy mustard sauces aren't weird, after all. In fact, they're pretty dang good. Who knew mustard could go on something more than a burger? But sorry, Ketchup, I don't plan on using you in a cream sauce in this lifetime.

Pork in Creamy Dijon Sauce   Serves: 1
1/3 cup shredded cooked pork
1/3 cup broccoli florets (frozen is fine)
1 T. butter
1/2 T. flour
1/2 cup milk
1 T. dijon mustard
Pinch of dried rosemary, crushed
Salt and pepper
1 cup egg noodles, uncooked

1.) Melt butter in a pot over low heat. Once melted, whisk in flour. Increase heat to medium-low and let cook for 2-3 minutes, allowing the floury taste to dissipate.
2.) Whisk milk into the pot in a steady stream. Add mustard, rosemary, salt, and pepper and let the mixture thicken, stirring occasionally--about 5 minutes.
3.) Meanwhile, cook egg noodles in salted boiling water according to package directions. Near the end of cooking, toss in the broccoli and let it get tender. Drain and set aside.
4.) Stir noodles, broccoli, and shredded pork into the mustard sauce. Season with more salt and pepper, if necessary.

Chickpeas in Buttery Tomato Sauce

I originally bought a can of chickpeas to make a pureed bean soup with bacon. Logic interfered, however, warning me that I'd made an egg and black bean burrito for lunch. And the night before that, a pork and black bean chili was on the menu.

Black Beans + More Black Beans + Additional Garbanzo Beans= A Gastrointestinal Recipe for Disaster.

I cooled my bean-loving heels and shoved the chickpeas to the dark depths of the pantry. Now that going to the grocery store requires a team of sled dogs, those beans came in pretty darned handy in the fury of a blizzard. Cheap, hearty, and healthy-- now that's a Recipe for Success.

Chickpeas in Buttery Tomato Sauce    Serves: 1
1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup frozen pearl onions
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
2 t. butter
1/8 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
Pinch of hot red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper
1 T. crumbled goat or feta cheese
Hot cooked white rice
1.) In a small saucepan, add chickpeas, onions, tomato sauce, butter, water, red pepper flakes, and oregano. Heat to a simmer and let cook for 5 minutes. Cover and cook 5 minutes more.
2.) Meanwhile, prepare your rice. Season the beans with salt and pepper, scoop over the cooked rice, and add the cheese of your choice.

Smoky Sloppy Joes

This post has been brought to you by Snowpocalypse 2011.  My University rarely shuts down for snow (not since '67!), giving me free time that I haven't seen since the Y2K freak-out.  And we're also in the midst of midterm exams, so it's a pretty big deal. I want my Mommy.

Good thing I've got a little extra of these 'joes in the fridge. I'll need them for comfort later while howling winds finagle their way through my drafty window.

In other news, liquid smoke is my new favorite seasoning. It's actual smoke that's been condensed and passed through water-- no weird chemicals involved. I love smoked foods, and this is a spectacularly easy way to get the same flavor without the effort. Try 'em out for your Super Bowl party! Mandate fork usage, though, because these sandwiches really live up to their name.

Smoky Sloppy Joes   Serves: 2 hungry people
1 t. olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 lb. lean ground sirloin
1 (7 oz) can tomato sauce
1 T. tomato paste
1 T. brown sugar
1/2 T. red wine vinegar
1/2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. chili powder
1 T. liquid smoke
Salt and pepper
Chopped pickles (optional)
1.) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook for about 2 minutes, or until softened. Add the beef and cook, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat, until evenly browned.
2.) Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, chili powder, and liquid smoke. Season with salt and pepper.
3.) Turn heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Divide mixture among toasted, buttered rolls. Serve with chopped pickles, if desired.

adapted from: Cook This, Not That!