Delectable Dishes & Desserts

Last night I tried making this and it turned out to be a pretty good stand alone meal. It has nice textures, flavors and it also happens to be pretty low cal for those chefs looking to keep it healthy. I made some alterations when I made it so check out the notes at the bottom of the recipe before you make it.

Ingredients:

Sesame Dressing

• 3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic or rive vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
• 4 1/2 Teaspoons Sugar
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons of grated gingerroot
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

Salad

• 8 TO 9oz Uncooked soba (buckwheat) noodles or angel hair pasta
• 2 Medium carrots, shredded (1 Cup)
• 1 Small Cucumber, cut lengthwise in half, then cut crosswise into thin slices (1 Cup)
• 2 Medium Green Onions, thinly sliced (2 Tablespoons)
• 1 Tablespoon sesame seed, toasted
• Crunchy Noodles

1. In a small bowl, stir all dressing ingredients until well mixed; set aside
2. In a 4 quart Dutch oven, heat 2 quarts water to boiling. Cook soba noodles in boiling water 6 to 8 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. If using angel hair pasta, cook as directed on package. Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. In large serving bowl, toss noodles, dressing and remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

When served, add some crunchy noodles on top of each serving for an extra delicious taste.

Miss J’s notes:

To make it more hearty, prepare chicken to your liking and then cut it up into small pieces and toss with the ingredients. It adds a nice flavor and adds some protein into the meal.

When I made the dressing, it seemed too oily so I eyeballed a little extra soy sauce to make the proportions work a little better.

When it came to the vegetables, I felt I cut the cucumber too large so be sure to get the pieces thin so it blends in better with the noodles.

Overall, an extra splash of soy sauce never hurts or even siracha hot sauce also adds a kick to it.

Have fun with it! :D

Enjoy!

-Miss J

Tonight I am making something new!

Sesame Noodle Salad.

An update with the recipe and a picture will happen later. Not to mention, thoughts and opinions of the dish.

Until then, happy cooking!

Love,

Miss J

Super Easy and Delicious Vegetable Stir Fry!

If I could, I’d eat stir fry for every meal. This recipe is so easy that may no longer be just an unattainable goal.

What you’ll need!

• Your favorite veggies (I usually use cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, onion, green peppers, water chestnuts, etc. You can add or subtract any of these. This is your stir fry.)
• 2 TBS canola oil
• 1 TBS corn starch
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 TBS ground ginger
• 1 cup chicken broth

What you do next!

• Cut up the vegetables. The thinner the better.
• At a high heat, put in your canola oil and veggies.
• Cook for 5 minutes

While that is cooking!

• Mix the corn starch, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and chicken broth in a separate bowl.

After the vegetables have cooked for 5 minutes!

• Add the water chestnuts and your bowl of mixed yumminess in with the vegetables.
• Cook another 5 minutes.
• Bam! You now have some delicious stir fry.

You can either eat it as is or it goes great on top of rice.

And what’s even better, if you then top it all off with a handful of chow mein noodles.

Enjoy, folks!

-CJP

I wrote you back about how unclear the recipe was and all that jazz. Just re-write it so it is a little more thorough and of course I will post it. Thanks!

-Miss J

If you would also like to tell us the recipe using your favorite food, SUBMIT here!

-Miss J

<3

Another great find for the day. Basil is one of my favorite herbs. I use it in so many different recipes to begin with. Basil actually comes from the Greek word, basileus, meaning “King” so essentially it has been known as the “king of the herbs.” The most common basil that we are used to is Sweet Basil and that is used in most Italian dishes. There are also other types of these like Thai basil, lemon basil and holy basil used in Asia but for the most part we use the Sweet kind. In this recipe, we see a great use of the herb in a dressing of the sort used to top salad or even various meats.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped basil leaves
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup olive oil

1 Place the salt, sugar, mustard, shallot and basil in a blender or food processor. Pulse several times to combine. Scrape the sides of the blender down with a spatula. Add the vinegar and pulse again.

2 Turn the blender on low and take off the cap in the center of the blender’s lid. Slowly pour in the olive oil. It may sputter a little out of the open cap, so hold you hand over it to minimize splashing.

3 When the olive oil is incorporated, turn off the blender and scrape the sides down one more time. Cover and purée everything for 1-2 minutes.

Store covered in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes a little more than one cup.

(via Simply Recipes)

Bon Apetite!

-Miss J

Submissions are always wide open! Break out your favorite recipe, share your favorite eatery or just say hello! I love hearing from you guys!

-Miss J

I made these cookies over the weekend and they were utterly amazing. I was very skeptical of the outcome since it’s the only recipe I’ve seen used with Nutella. The chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips definitely added a well balance touch to the already chocolatey combo. They came out soft, chewy, and overall I highly recommend you all trying this recipe if you already love spreading this on your favorite type of bread.

Rating: 5 out of 5

-Miss J

While I was looking for some new interesting recipes to add to the blog today, I came across this delicious looking meal on Simply Recipes. It looks utterly fantastic and it’s another go to meal to cook when I have a get together. According to the recipe inventor, you should follow this recipe exact or else the results might not turn out as expected as stated, By the way, I know there are probably some mayo haters out there. I tried it without mayo, and it was too dry. If you don’t like mayo, then mash up the avocados into a guacamole. You need the creaminess of either the avocado or the mayo to balance the spiciness of the chile and the roughness of the grilled bun.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbps olive oil
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (less or more depending on how much heat you want)
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 breast halves)
• 4 small slices of Monterey Jack cheese
• 4 sets of hamburger buns
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced
• Iceberg or lettuce of preference
• Mayonnaise

1 In a shallow bowl, stir together the olive oil, lime juice, and chipotle chile powder.

2 Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper. Use a meat pounder to pound the breasts to an even thickness of about 1/2 inch. Cut off excess fat. If you are starting with 2 half-pound chicken breast halves, cut each one in half so that you have 4 pieces (to better fit the buns). Place the chicken breasts in the marinade, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes, preferably an hour.

3 Heat your grill on high heat if you are using a gas grill, or prepare coals for direct heat if you are using charcoal. You can also use a cast-iron grill pan on your stove if you do not have a grill. Grill the chicken pieces a couple minutes on each side, until cooked through. Once you have cooked the chicken pieces on one side and flipped them, add a slice of cheese to the chicken. Cover the grill for half a minute to melt the cheese. Toast the buns on the grill as well.

4 Assemble the sandwiches - bun bottom, chicken with melted cheese, avocado and lettuce, mayonnaise on the top bun.

Serves 4.

(via Simply Recipes)

I was out in California a few weeks ago and my friend introduced me to something I have never heard of. Self Serve Yogurt. The essential gist is you grab a cup, serve yourself as much yogurt as you would like, then add any toppings you want. You are charged by how heavy your cup is at the end and they charge by the ounce. I was trying to think of there were any places in the Capital Region of New York, where I live, like this. Sure enough, she found me one that literally just opened this month in Saratoga Springs called Plum Dandy. I got back home and about a week later I was able to get myself there and try it.

Their mission statement and history is as stated:

“All of our products are made fresh daily using only the highest quality ingredients. Seriously.  As a family-run operation, we care about the health of our customers and take pride in putting out the most fresh, delicious and nutritious product every single time.  Serving the Saratoga community is our top priority and we choose to use local produce and food purveyors whenever possible.”

It’s a small but hip looking business and makes for a good atmosphere. The staff was very friendly and were willing to help out with any questions, comments or concerns which was great considering one of the machines was acting up. They had about 7 different flavors of yogurt varying from chocolate to vanilla to fruity to minty and are sure to change most likely each season. They even let you sample the flavors if you feel wary towards what yogurt is. Some people were like that when I was in. I started off with a “Wild Berry” yogurt because it tasted cool and refreshing. Here comes the fun part: Toppings. They had almost any thing you could think to put on frozen treats. It varied from chopped fresh fruit, cereal, nuts, candy and pastries like brownies, cheesecake, cookie dough, gummi bears and syrups like strawberry, chocolate, and marshmallow for example. Here comes the fun part the charge. I can’t really put a price range because they charge .55 cents an ounce so really it could be a lot to spend depending on how much you put in. I got a very light amount of everything simply because I am watching my figure put about 3.50 worth in mine but it was well worth it. Check it out:

Mine consisted of the following:

• Wild Berry Yogurt
• Fresh Strawberries
• Fresh Blueberries
• Chopped Walnuts
• Coconut Flakes
• Oreo crumbles

It was pretty amazing. Just an example of the endless possibilities you can make. On top of the yogurt, they also have Bubble teas, Fruit Smoothies, Iced Teas and Juice Drinks. I had a pleasant experience overall and if you are looking for a refreshing treat while visiting Historical downtown Saratoga Springs, Ny check out Plum Dandy, where you can feel like a kid again picking your own flavors.

Located: 419 Broadway Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

Phone: (518) 871-1525

Website: Plum Dandy

Price Range: Moderate to Pricey

-Miss J