Shrimp Tacos

Source: adapted from Natasha's Kitchen (I have no idea how I stumbled on this in the first place, but it is a go-to in our house, so I'm so glad I did!)

Ingredients: 

For the shrimp:

1 pound raw shrimp (peeled, deveined and tail off) (I always get the extra small because there are more in a bag and it feels like everyone gets more for their tacos)

1 garlic clove, pressed or minced

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 Tablespoon olive oil

For the sauce:

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayo

1 lime, juiced

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon sriracha sauce (I usually use maybe 1/4-1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce because I don't usually have sriracha)

For the tacos:

8-12 tortillas, heated (we love small corn tortillas warmed up on the griddle for these)

cabbage, shredded (green or purple, whatever you like)

avocado, sliced

cotija cheese, crumbled

cilantro, chopped

lime, wedged

onion, diced (red or green, either is lovely)

Directions: 

First, thaw your shrimp if they're frozen. You can do this overnight in the fridge or in a colander under cool running water. Add seasonings, oil and shrimp to a medium bowl and toss to combine.

Next make your sauce: whisk everything together. Bam. Easy. You can put it in a squeeze bottle if you have one and you want to, but it's just as yummy coming out of a re-used sour cream container with a spoon.

Prep your tortillas and toppings by heating, shredding, slicing, crumbling, chopping, wedging and dicing as needed and desired.

Cook your shrimp in a singled layer in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat, 1-2 minutes per side, until just cooked through (they'll turn pink when they're ready).

Assemble your tacos by placing a few shrimp and a good drizzle of sauce and whatever toppings you like (I like ALLLL the toppings!) and chow down!

Notes: 

This is one of those recipes that is seriously so easy, but seriously SO good! And it's pretty quick once you have all the prepping done. We make them at least monthly, especially in the spring and summer, and they even worked pretty well as a meal for the family, cooked on a cabin stove at Red Canyon a couple summers ago with the Blanchards. (Scale ingredients as needed.)

Bibimbap aka Korean Beef Bowls

Source: Adapted from my friend Alli at Longbourn Farm

Ingredients: 

1/2 lb ground beef

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1 cup beef broth (or 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon beef bullion) 

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 pinch (or shake) red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons cornstarch 

2 teaspoons cold water

Serve with:

hot cooked rice

sliced green onions

shredded carrots

cooked spinach

"egg pancake" (just shake up a few eggs and pour a bit into a small frying pan and cook it like a pancake then slice it up into strips)

diced cucumbers (my family is not the hugest fan of these so we haven't used them lately)

sesame seeds or everything seasoning

Directions: 

Brown the beef, onion and garlic in a small saucepan. Drain the grease. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, mix the sauce ingredients (sesame oil, broth, soy sauce, sugar, vinegars, ginger and red pepper flakes). Add sauce to meat mixture and bring to a simmer. Mix the cornstarch with the water in a small dish and then add to the sauce. Simmer until slightly thickened. Serve over hot cooked rice with toppings of your choice (you could think of it like a "Korean haystack"). (Don't forget to "mix it! Mix like crazy [. . .] for your bee-bim bop!")

Notes: 

I'm back again with another Asian bowl dish (not noodles this time, but rice). We first were introduced to Bibimbap way back in 2015 (I believe) in the children's picture book Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park. Then, in 2019, I saw a recipe in the Friend Magazine and on my friend's blog around the same time. I figured it was time to give it a try. I used Alli's beef and sauce recipe and lots of the toppings from the Friend and the picture book. And everyone loved it! We have been making it ever since. I'm not saying it's authentic, but it's close enough for us. ;) What you see above is how I've tweaked it over the years. The jotted notes on a scratch paper in my recipe binder are getting hard to read, so it's about stinkin' time it made it to the ol' blog.

TikTok Ramen

Source: Adapted from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

5 packages ramen (discard the seasoning packet) (I just discovered you can buy a big bag of just the noodles at our local Ocean Mart, which is brilliant!)

3 1/2 Tablespoons butter

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 rounded Tablespoons brown sugar

5 Tablespoons soy sauce

5 Tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

2 green onions, sliced

6 eggs

Everything bagel seasoning or sesame seeds

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the ramen noodles for 2-3 minutes. Drain and return to the pot.

Whisk together the ginger, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, and chili sauce and set aside.

While the water is boiling and the noodles are cooking, melt the butter in a tiny saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is bubbly, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the the soy sauce mixture. Cook until bubbly (about 1 minute). 

Add to the noodles and stir to coat completely. Add green onions.

In a large skillet or frying pan (or you could even just push the noodles to the side of the big pot and do it in there if you don't want to dirty another pan), fry or scramble the eggs the way you like them.

Divide the noodles among 4 bowls. Top with egg(s). Sprinkle with Everything seasoning or sesame seeds.

Notes:

This is the other Asian-inspired noodle recipe we love and make often (and my notes on a card in my binder are unreadable, thus my finally posting it here for posterity). No, I have no idea why it's called TikTok Ramen (I've never been on TikTok), but I do know it's easy, quick and delicious! It's definitely one that the kids request whenever I ask for ideas for the dinner plan. I have tweaked it above from the original recipe to make the amount that we like and will eat. (Sometimes we have a bit left over, but usually this is juuust right for the four of us - two kids, two adults.) But you can adapt it as you see fit!

Thai Peanut Noodles

Source: Adapted from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken broth

1/3 cup peanut butter (can use either creamy or crunchy)

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (I tend to go higher with Lee Kum Kee brand, and lower with Huy Fong brand)

1 1/2 Tablespoon honey

1/3 cup soy sauce (maybe a splash more if needed)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

16 oz linguine rice noodles

2-3 green onions, chopped

1/2 lime, wedged

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

Directions:

Cook noodles according to package directions.

As the noodles are cooking, chop garlic, green onions, cilantro and peanuts and set aside.

To prepare the sauce, in a saucepan mix broth, peanut butter, chili garlic sauce, honey, ginger and minced garlic. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly until the peanut butter melts and the ingredients are combined. Simmer gently for 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened. The sauce will thicken as it stands.

When the noodles are cooked, drain and return to the pot. Add sauce, green onions, cilantro and peanuts and gently toss with tongs to coat noodles and distribute toppings.

Serve with lime wedges. If it sits for a bit before serving and gets too thick, just add a splash of broth or hot water to loosen it up. (Also helpful when reheating the leftovers.)

Notes:

This has been a go-to recipe for our family for years. Sam even requested it for a birthday dinner with grandparents back in the day (I think back then we served it with cooked cubed chicken, but normally we keep it meatless, which I like to have in the dinner rotation). I've tweaked ingredients and amounts according to what I like, and I have those jotted down on a splashed and running scratch paper in my recipe binder. Today I decided it was high time to get it posted on the ol' blog so I can remember my version and someone else can make it, too. Wow, it's been a while, but I think I'll be back soon with another asian noodle recipe that is in the same state of hard-to-read-ness in my file as this. Stay tuned!

Shrimp and Veggie Coconut Curry

Source: adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:

for the shrimp marinade:

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (I usually just do a pinch)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined (sometimes I do half chicken and half shrimp if I don't have quite enough shrimp or I want more meat - I don't marinate the chicken when I do that, I just dice it, season it with salt, pepper and ginger powder, and saute it in some olive oil before everything else, then set aside till the sauce is ready)

for the sauce:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 medium red or yellow onion, finely chopped

Veggies of your choice to fill your pot (I use my 8 quart soup pot when I make this, and I just eyeball it to make up for the meat if I'm leaving it out, and even if I'm leaving it in, I like to have lots of veggies) some delicious ideas:

    chopped cauliflower

    diced potatoes

    sliced carrots

    chopped zucchini

    peeled and chopped eggplant

    diced sweet potatoes

    diced bell pepper

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced

2 teaspoons ground coriander

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced or stewed tomatoes, undrained (I use Italian style and it's yummy)

1 can coconut milk, light or regular

1 cup - 1 can chicken broth, to cover veggies (if they aren't covered by the coconut milk alone)

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Hot cooked rice for serving, if desired

Directions:

For the simple shrimp marinade, toss the shrimp with the salt, pepper, cayenne and lemon juice in a resealable large bag or in a bowl. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat until rippling and hot. (If using chicken instead of/in addition to shrimp, saute the diced chicken breast and then remove to a bowl, leaving as much oil and juice in the pot as possible). Add the onion and whatever other veggies your heart desires and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the pepper, ginger, salt, garlic, coriander, turmeric and curry powder. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture is very fragrant and the onion is soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the undrained tomatoes to the pot and cook, stirring and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, for about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and broth (if needed to cover the veggies), stirring to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer covered till the veggies are soft. Add the shrimp and any accumulated juices from the marinade (and/or if you're using chicken in addition/instead, add it now).

Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the shrimp are curled, lightly pink and cooked through, about 2-4 minutes. Stir in the cilantro (I forgot the cilantro last time! and I usually just serve it as a garnish). Serve over hot, cooked rice, if desired. (And don't forget the naan - it's the main reason I make curry in the first place!)

Notes:

Wow! It's been a long time since I've posted a recipe on the ol' Bistro! But when I made this curry for Sunday dinner and both my mom and Gregg's mom asked for the recipe, I knew it was time to get it up for posterity. I started with Mel's recipe, but if you click on her link you'll see that I have made this one my own by throwing all the veggies I can think of into the pot. I love the variety. But if you don't, you can leave them out. If you do add lots of veggies, and thus add more broth, then you'll end up with a TON of curry and you'll probably be eating it every single day for lunch for a week. Which is not a bad thing, but if you hate that idea, then maybe somehow only do half. (Good luck!) Enjoy! It's delicious!

Elsässer Hackfleisch

233 / 5000

Translation results40 g bacon

A family favorite for as long as I can remember. The first thing I cook when the weather gets colder and something my mom makes whenever I come home from long travels. 

40g bacon
20g butter
400g ground beef
2 onions 
1 glass of red wine 
3 tablespoons of tomato paste 
Salt, pepper 
1 pinch of grated thyme 
300 g sauerkraut (Hengstenberg Mildessa is nice)
30 g grated parmesan cheese 
20 g butter/sour cream 
Sides: Salt potatoes with melted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400F.

2. Dice the bacon and onions. Heat the bacon in a large pan. Add the butter. Then mix in the ground beef and onions while stirring. Roast for 10 minutes. 

3. Deglaze with red wine. Stir in tomato paste—season with salt, pepper, and thyme.

4. Grease the baking dish well. Pour in half of the beef mixture. Spread the sauerkraut on top.

Spread the remaining beef mixture, grated cheese and, the butter / sour cream in flakes on top.

5. Place in the preheated oven on the middle rack and bake for 45 minutes.

Caramel Brownies

Source:  My friend, Gina Dansie

Ingredients:

• 1 box German chocolate cake mix
• 2 bags (11 oz each) caramels, unwrapped
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk, divided in half
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9-13-inch baking pan. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together cake mix and 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk. Add melted butter and mix together. Mixture will be thick.
3. Divide dough in half and press one half into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until just slightly set, about 7-8 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, melt the caramels and remaining evaporated milk in the microwave. Stir occasionally, until caramels have melted and mixture is totally smooth. 
5. Sprinkle the first brownie layer with chocolate chips, then pour the caramel mixture over it, making sure it’s evenly spread out. 
6. Piece remaining brownie dough on top of the caramel layer. Bake for 15-18 minutes, then let brownies come to room temperature. Cover and chill in refrigerator for several hours to set caramel layer.

Comments:  

These brownies are ridiculously good.  I texted my friend Gina so many times to text me the recipe, then I kept forgetting to write it down.  So, it is now saved here for your and my brownie baking pleasure!