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Saturday, May 26, 2018

Easy Sausage and Potato Sheet Pan Meal


Sheet pan dishes are a fantabulous idea for busy weekday meals. 
They only take about 5 minutes of prep, only dirty one pan, are healthy aaaaand, they are delicious. OH, and this particular dish is very inexpensive to make as well. Can't complain about that. 
 I've only lately started making them and I am kicking myself for not doing it earlier. 
You can use whichever veggies you like, whichever spices you like, and you can switch up the meat as well - meatballs, hamburgers, sausages, chicken breasts/legs, etc...
The easier the better, I always say. 


Easy Sausage and Potato Sheet Pan Meal

Ingredients
1 large onion, cut into wedges
1 red pepper, cute into wedges
1 yellow pepper, cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb potatoes, cut into chunks
2 - 3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp white wine
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
1 Tbsp dried parsley
10 - 12 sausages

Directions
Preheat oven to 400. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
Place all ingredients, except sausage, into a large bowl and gently toss to coat everything well.


Spread in a single layer on cookie sheet. 
Top with the sausages. Poke each sausage a few times with a fork. If desired you can spray the sausages with a little cooking spray to help them brown up. 


Place in preheated oven and bake at 400 for 30 minutes. At the 30 minute mark, remove the sausages, stir the potatoes and veggies, then place the sausages back on top (flipped over). 
Cook at 400 for another 20 - 30 minutes - until the potatoes are fork tender and sausages are browned and cooked through.


Serve hot. (Makes 5 - 6 servings)


How simple was that? I know when I have worked all day that the easier it is to put a meal on the table, the better. 


We're going to be experimenting with different veggies and proteins so stay tuned for more sheet pan meals! If you have a favorite one pan meal, we would love to hear about it! Leave us a comment below. 

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Garlic Green Beans


Looking for a flavorful, inexpensive, easy peasy dish to serve with your next Chinese inspired meal? 
Look no further!
These green beans only take about 20 minutes from start to finish and taste soooooo good. 
They also make a great addition to a Chinese food dinner...


This recipe is also very easy to double, or even triple, if you have company or need something unusual to bring to a potluck. Increasing the recipe would mean an increase in cooking time, but not too much - maybe another 10 minutes or so. 


Garlic Green Beans

Ingredients
1 Tbsp sesame oil
4 shallots, diced
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 lbs green beans, ends trimmed
1/4 cup rice wine
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp ginger, minced (or ginger paste)

Optional
toasted sesame seeds

Directions
Heat oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Cook shallots and garlic for 3 minutes, stirring often.


 Add in green beans and cook for about 8 - 10 minutes, stirring often, until beans start to soften.


Make sure your rice wine is measured and ready to pour, and your oyster sauce, soy sauce, and ginger are mixed and ready to go.


Deglaze the frying pan with the rice wine. 
Add in the sauce/ginger mixture. Stir well into the beans.
Continue to cook until beans are as done as you would like - mine only took another 5 minutes. 
Remove from pan and serve hot. If desired, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. 


See what I mean about easy peasy?
Hardly any prep and only a few dishes. What's not to love? 

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Paneer Pepper Masala


Until very recently I had never tried paneer. It looked like tofu so I always thought it would have the same texture and I reeeeeeally, really don't like the texture of tofu. Turns out I was wrong. Turns out I should probably not make judgments about foods without first doing a little research and, you know.... trying them first. 
The texture of paneer is not like tofu. It is more like a cheese curd like the squeaky ones they use on poutine. Which makes sense. I mean... it is a cheese. 
One of my coworkers said that he would whip me up some paneer if I would in turn make a dish to bring to the office using the paneer. Challenge accepted. 


Paneer Pepper Masala

Ingredients
1 Tbsp oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 canned chopped green chilies
1 tsp ginger paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, cut into slices
1 Tbsp ketchup
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garam masala
2 (to 3) cups paneer, cubed

Directions
In a large frying pan/skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add in onions and fry, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Add in green chilies, ginger, garlic, and jalapeno pepper. Saute for 3 - 4 minutes.


Turn heat down to low. Add in ketchup, tumeric, black pepper, and garam masala. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. 


Above is the paneer still in cheesecloth. 


Flip it onto a cutting board and remove the cheesecloth. 


Cut into cubes. 
Add your cubed paneer into the frying pan. Cook and stir very gently until the paneer is coated and heated through - about 5 or so minutes. Serve hot. 


In case you needed more convincing to give this a try - it only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish and, it reheats very well the next day in the microwave as well!
Like things hotter? Add more black pepper and jalapenos. As written, I found this just the right amount of spice. I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to heat though, so....... 
Apparently making the paneer is quite simple so I definitely want to give it a go. On it's own it is quite flavorless - it takes on the flavor of whatever you are cooking it in, not unlike tofu - BUT, it definitely has a more squishy, cheese-curd like texture than tofu. Thank goodness for that, I say.