Kitchen Adventures

In the summer I've been making a lot of vegetarian and or seafood dinners.  There is something about eating light in summer that is just feels right. 

I love rice noodles, or any asian inspired noodle dish.  I found this one in Cooking Light Magazine.

Sweet and Spicy Shrimp with Rice Noodles

Hands-on time 30 min.

Total time 60 min.

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste, such as Huy Fong)
• 1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce
• 12 ounces peeled and deveined medium shrimp
• 4 ounces uncooked flat rice noodles (pad thai noodles)
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped unsalted cashews 
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic
• 2 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1 green Thai chile, halved
• 12 sweet mini peppers, halved
• 3/4 cup matchstick-cut carrot
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup snow peas, trimmed
• 3/4 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add shrimp to vinegar mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• 2. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain.
• 3. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add cashews, garlic, ginger, and chile to pan; stir-fry 1 minute or until garlic begins to brown. Remove cashew mixture from pan with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
• 4. Increase heat to high. Add sweet peppers, carrot, and salt to pan; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add shrimp mixture (do not drain); stir-fry 2 minutes. Stir in noodles and peas; cook 1 minute, tossing to coat. Return cashew mixture to pan. Add bean sprouts; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, tossing frequently.
• Serves 4.  Calories 299. Fat 8.5g.

This was simple and yummy.  I always use sriracha instead of a chile paste. 

Too Get Fat!

Sometimes I just get the bug to bake something delicious.  For a long time I've wanted to make cinnamon rolls.  I've had the Pioneer Woman recipe saved for a long time.  Tonight I wanted something quick.  So I googled cinnamon rolls without yeast and here is what I found.

I did substitute half of the flour for whole wheat flour.  It made it taste more like a scone.  It's pretty good either way.  I would also bake it at a much lower temp and for a shorter amount of time. (it may just be my super hot and fast oven though)

Here is a Kirkland favorite....

Instead of the milk/sugar glaze I made an orange glaze!  Get a cereal bowl full of powdered sugar and slowly add a little bit of orange juice and stir.  Now fall in love with orange glazed cinnamon rolls.  You'll never be able to eat a plain cinnamon roll again.

Adventures in Cooking

I am so excited to get married to Brian, don't get me wrong.  But I've been living in the comfort of my parent's house for the last two years.  I've somewhat forgotten how much work it takes to take care of one's self in a sense.  Really what I'm a little nervous about is cooking for Brian on a daily basis when I don't even do that for myself right now!  Yesterday I told Brian I would cook him dinner.  I was looking for a healthy recipe, but nothing looked good.  Then I went to Pioneer Woman and something caught my eye... the cajun meatloaf.  Brian and I love all things with the word cajun in it.

(When I was little I HATED meatloaf.  It would make me gag and I would throw it up in the trash can.  It was the one food that my mom didn't make me eat.  Everything else she would make me at least try because "your tastes change when you grow."  Mom was right.  I have since become a fan of meatloaf.  I would have never guessed. ) PW's was pretty tasty.

I made a few supplements though.  I only made half the recipe which would have served a family of 6.  I made it with half ground beef and half ground turkey to make it a little bit better for you.  It tasted great I couldn't even tell that there was turkey in it!  I would have liked to add wheat bulger or some kid of whole grain instead of the breadcrumbs but I forgot it at my house when I made it at Brian's.  But I've made meatballs with the bulgar and it was fantastic.
I'm going to be a good wife someday.  Someday I'll venture into healthy cooking.

inspiration + Lois Lowry+love

I'm working on some SheOne inspired art right now. I'm also listening to this. I just finished listening to Messenger by Lois Lowry on my ipod. I'll level with you, Messenger was awesome. I loved it. It is a book that contains some of the main characters from The Giver by Lois Lowry. The Giver is the book that inspired me to read. From what I've heard of Gathering Blue, it's not as good. If anyone wants to know what I end up thinking about it you can add me on goodreads.com and see my rating.

I'll post something about how my artwork ends up, if it is okay looking.

I'm also cooking a quiche right now. I LOVE summer! I have time to do the things I want to do! FINALLY