I just came back from our friends place where we created an amazing gourmet meal entirely over the campfire. It was our newest Secret-Secret Geography Club event....one where we deviated from the International cuisine a little bit to take advantage of the summer weather and try something new. It is WAAAY past my bedtime, so I will make this short and sweet. Here's the plan for the week:

Day 1: Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala* with Yellow Basmati Rice, Peas and Naan
I have been working on perfecting this recipe for the last couple weeks. I'm so excited to share it with you! It's extremely delicious.


Day 2: Mom's Greek Ribs with Tomato/Avocado/Mozza Salad
This is the epitome of summer for me.


Day 3: Spice-Rubbed Beer Can Chicken with Pasta Salad and Corn on the Cob
My Dad just visited, so there's a can of beer left in our fridge that my husband will not drink. It also gives me an excuse to fire up the BBQ one night, and have leftovers the next.

Day 4: Indian-Spiced Beef with Warm Curry Potato Salad
Oh man, this curried potato and chick pea mixture is freakin' amazing! I plan to re-do the beef with different spices and use ground beef instead and post an updated version of the recipe this week.

Day 5: Ground Beef Wellington* with Garden Salad and Minty Peas
I'm revamping a very pricey dish into an affordable and delicious fancy meatloaf using ground beef. The minty peas are a favorite of my English Granny and are a must when making something so English as Beef Wellington. Just take your run of the mill frozen peas, prepare them, add butter and a good 1/2-1 tsp of dried mint (or 1 tbsp fresh mint).

Day 6: California Chicken Burgers with Garden Salad
This is making me drool already. I love me some guacamole.

*Recipes to come later this week.


For more meal plan ideas check out my Complete List of Meal Plans or the Menu Plan Monday Links hosted at Orgjunkie.

I've totally be sleeping at the wheel! I'm sorry it's been forever since I last updated, summer has been busy around here. But I'm back with an incredibly delicious and refreshing "Spring-y/Summery" dish. I made this awhile ago when it was still officially Spring, but Summer pushed it's way through on June 21 so I'm a little behind :) Whether prepared in Spring or Summer these vegetables are in-season and at peak perfection for their taste. This is such a lovely meatless recipe....I almost passed it by my husband. But eventually he noticed there was not a sliver of animal carcass to be found. He protested a bit, but did finally relent and say "it's really good."


Recipe adapted from The Foodies Handbook
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*Makes 2 servings as a main course


3 dried lasagna sheets (not the no-boil kind)
1 big bunch asparagus
2 big handfuls of fresh green beans (I'm guessing about 1/2 a pound)
2 tbsp butter
2 cups of fresh spinach
1 cup of sour cream
2 tbsp fresh dill
1 lemon, zest and juice
Some shavings of parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and black pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. When it boils, add the lasagna noodles and cook to package directions. Drain and cut the lasagna sheets in half.

Trim the bottom 1-2 inches off the asparagus and set aside. Chop the ends off the green beans. In a large saute pan, add about a tbsp of olive oil over medium heat and then add the asparagus and green beans. You'll want to saute them for approximately 8 minutes. You want them to have a nice bright green color and be tender yet slightly crisp.

While the asparagus and beans are sauteing, in a separate pan heat about 2 tbsp of butter over
medium heat. Add the zest of the lemon and the spinach. Squeeze the juice over the spinach and let wilt down for about a minute. If you cook the spinach too long it turns a nasty olive green color. Then add the sour cream and dill. Let this simmer for a couple minutes and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

To assemble, place a 1/2 lasagna sheet on the plate, put a few asparagus spears and beans on top, spoon over the dill-lemon cream sauce and repeat until you have three layers. The top should be asparagus spears/beans and then garnish with a little bit more fresh dill and shavings of parmesan cheese.

Serve with a salad and crusty bread.

Click here for printable version of Spring Vegetable Lasagna
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THE RESULTS?
I LOVED the flavors of this dish! It was so fresh and summery tasting. The sauce has a real tang from the lemon and sour cream and it works so well with the nutty asparagus. Our only complaint (both mine and my husbands) was that it was slightly difficult to eat. A fork and a knife work great, but you ruin your beautiful work of art. It bothered my husband a lot more than it did me, but like I said, we both thought the flavors were totally scrumptious.

A little mess never hurt anyone....it's all gonna end up in the same place anyway ;)

I always love to find a deal on an already cheap cut of meat....but the creativity comes when figuring out how to turn that tough meat into a tender, delicious supper. This was my culinary dilemma when I found beef blade steaks for $1.50 a pound. I was pretty sure I had solved the problem with this recipe though....I mean come on....smothering the steak in a sauce made of balsamic vinegar and sauteed mushrooms? Seriously.

The sauce was just as heavenly as I thought it would be. Tart, slightly sour but full of rich body from the mushrooms and beef broth. And my cheap steak find? Horribly tough and chewy!

So here's the lesson to the story: use a quality steak when frying or grilling, and use tougher steaks like blade for stewing and slow cooking. Just because you douse a cheap steak in a delicious sauce does not make it less like a meaty bubblegum...it just makes it a tasty meaty bubblegum :)

This recipe is definitely worth making...just don't use meat as tough as rubber.

*Recipe from Gourmet Magazine
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Serves 4


4 steaks or 2 large steaks cut in half (about 1 1/4 lbs in total) Use whatever cut you like best
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp finely chopped shallot, or 1/4 finely diced onion
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup plus 2 tsp chicken broth
3/4 tsp cornstarch


Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat with about a tbsp of oil until nice and hot. Put the steaks in the pan and cook about 4-6 minutes per side. This should make them about medium-rare. Remove the steaks from the pan, place on a platter and cover with aluminum foil. Sitting on the platter they will cook to medium. If you like your steaks more done than this, feel free to adjust the cooking time.

While the steaks are resting, add butter to the frying pan along with mushrooms and shallots (or onion) and saute until the mushrooms are browned and tender, about 4 minutes. Once they are done cooking, add them to the platter with the steaks.

Add the vinegar and soy sauce to the pan, making sure to scrape up the delicious browned bits on the bottom. Let cook about 2 minutes and then add broth and let simmer. While the sauce is simmering, add remaining 2 tsp of broth to a cup with the cornstarch. Stir them together and add to the pan and stir well. As it starts to simmer it will thicken up the sauce. Take the entire plate of steaks and mushrooms and return them to the pan along with any meat juices that have accumulated. Turn the steaks over in the sauce letting them get covered and delicious. Serve the steaks with the sauce and mushrooms smothered over top.

Click here for printable version of Steak with Balsamic Mushroom Sauce

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THE RESULTS?
Like I said, the sauce was tasty and delectable but the meat was tough and grisly since we used blade steaks. With a nice piece of sirloin this would be an awesome summer meal best enjoyed with a cold drink on the patio ;)

I really love the tastes of summer. Even though I have a carnivorous meat-loving husband, I seem to get away with meatless meals easier in the summer when produce is so delicious and abundant. Combine that with eating out on the patio on warm, sunset nights and I can't wipe the smile off my face. It's gonna be a great week.

Day 1: Steak with Balsamic Mushroom Sauce, Corn on the Cob & Ceasar Salad
Mmmm....anything with balsamic vinegar in it and I am hooked. This meal will be best enjoyed out on the patio.

Day 2: Thai Green Curry over Jasmine Rice
My husband loved this curry so much, I couldn't get away with not making it again this week.

Day 3: Broccoli & Cauliflower Gratin* with Garden Salad & Rosemary Flatbread dipped in Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil
Broccoli and cauliflower have been on sale lately, so throwing them together with butter, cream and cheese makes this dish pretty hard to say no to. And maybe I'll throw in a little bacon to satisfy my husband's need for meat ;)

Day 4: Pecan Chicken over Salad with Maple BBQ Dressing
A wonderful salad that is so satisfying. I HEART the pecan chicken tenders.

Day 5: Spring Vegetable Lasagna with Garden Salad
Some of my favorite vegetables together in a lemon dill cream sauce and layered with lasagna noodles. Divine.

Day 6: Ginger Maple Glazed Chicken with Japanese Sticky Rice and Broccoli
A super easy, delicious and laid back dinner for the end of the week.


*Check back this week for recipes.


For more meal plan ideas check out my Complete List of Meal Plans or the Menu Plan Monday Links hosted at Orgjunkie.

Dan and Lisa have been inviting Steve and I over quite often and cooking us some authentic Thai food that they learned to make while they were missionaries in Thailand. I can't tell you how obsessed I have become with Thai food. So when the suggestion came to make Thai food for Secret-Secret I jumped all over that. With apprehension. Only because I wanted to make sure I made something delicious and authentic that Dan and Lisa wouldn't turn their noses up at. Not that they ever would, I was just feeling intimidated since I knew they would make something incredible.

Luckily I got over myself and made one of my husband's favorite dishes: Thai Green Curry. It was spicy and rich and coconutty, just the way we like it. I was so happy to have found frozen kaffir lime leaves at our Asian Supermarket. It really added authenticity.


While peppers are hard to come by in Thailand I added them for color and extra flavor. A more authentic vegetable would have been Thai eggplant, but our local grocery store that usually carries them was fresh out. The bamboo shoots were crunchy and a wonderful addition to the curry.
It was served over fragrant Jasmine rice which is one of my favorite rices.


Lindsey busted out these amazingly flavorful and crispy fish cakes with cucumber/peanut relish.

I had seconds of this it was so good. The warm and crispy fish cake was complimented by the cool and crunchy cucumbers. Just lovely.


While living in Thailand, Dan and Lisa had a favorite restaurant they liked to frequent called Jumbo. They loved it so much, one of their cats is named Jumbo. One of their favorite dishes was called Ba Mee Giao Moo Dang. It's essentially a wonton soup with noodles and bits of pork. They said they used to be able to get a large bowl of this at Jumbo for just $0.60!! They have since learned to make it at home here in Canada, but it's not as cheap or quick to make. They said in Thailand when you ordered a bowl of Ba Mee Giao Moo Dang it was quickly assembled and on your table within 2 minutes. At home, it requires the preparation of about 8 or 9 different elements and becomes an all day affair. But it's sooo good and soooooo worth it!

Dan wouldn't tell us everthing that was in it (he was too busy savoring every bite), but what I do know is that the wontons are made of a pork and shrimp mixture, there was red pork (BBQ'd pork), chinese green vegetables, egg noodles, fried garlic and shrimp crisps on top.

The addition of these condiments was really what sent the flavor of this dish over the moon. You had to just keep adding and adjusting the flavors until you got it just how you wanted it.

Everyone's loving the Thai feast.


As a refreshing drink after supper, Joel and Lindsey brought young coconuts. Dan busted out his meat cleaver and chopped a hole in the top of it.



Add a couple of straws and you've got some refreshing coconut water to drink. Very earthy and delicious.



For dessert, Lisa made us some Mango with Sticky Rice and Coconut Milk. It may not look like much but it was SO GOOD. The ripe mango is sliced fresh and placed on top of the sticky rice and warm, sweetened coconut milk is drizzled over top. Lisa didn't have an exact recipe but I found one here.

This night was a fantastic way for me to satisfy my strong Thai cravings. Every dish was so scrumptious and you can bet there'll be more Thai food in our future.

What Thai dishes are your favorite?



*By the way, Sawadee Ka is Thai for hello.

Thai food has become a new obsession for my husband and myself. Our foodie friends Dan & Lisa invite us over every couple of weeks for supper and usually end up cooking us scrumptious and authentic Thai food. I was craving one of the dishes they made so much that I made sure that we went to a Thai restaurant when we were in Vancouver in April. Steve ended up loving his friend Tim's green curry so much I'm pretty sure his "can I have a bite?" turned into eating the rest of the bowl.

He just about crapped his pants when I told him I was going to make it at home.


*Recipe from Rasa Malaysia by Bonbini
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Serves 4


3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 tbsp green curry paste (if you don't like super spicy use less curry paste)
1 can of coconut milk
1 cup bamboo shoots (these are canned and you'll find them in the International food aisle)
3 kaffir lime leaves, split and thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil

In a frying pan over medium heat, add the oil and curry paste and saute. Once you can really smell the curry paste and it's nice and fragrant, add about 1/2 the can of coconut milk and keep stirring until the oils in the curry paste surface. Then add the chicken and lime leaves and let cook until the chicken is almost done. Add the rest of the can of coconut milk, fish sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil. Add the bamboo shoots and red pepper and simmer for 5 minutes just until the bamboo shoots are soft but the red pepper still has a bit of a crunch. Remove from the heat.

Serve over jasmine rice.

Click here for printable version of Thai Green Curry.

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THE RESULTS?
Spicy and incredibly delicious! My husband kept exclaiming how amazing it was and has asked me several times in the last week when I'm going to make it again. I love that it's super quick and easy to throw together yet yields such delicious results.

Oh man, oh man I totally saved the best for last! They were crunchy and sweet and savory and tangy and everyone loved every bite of these amazing wraps. While I don't often make recipes over and over again, this recipe could easily become one of the ones I do. It's extremely easy and fast to make with incredible results.

There's really not much more to say on the subject. Just make 'em!


*Recipe adapted from The Kitchn
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Makes 6 wraps



Hoisin-Ginger Pork:
2 cups shredded pork
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 inches of ginger, grated
1/4 cup hoisin sauce (or more as needed to cover the pork)

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tsp oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir until fragrant about 30-60 seconds. Then add the pork and hoisin sauce. Turn heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 5 minutes until heated through and all the flavors have combined.

Crunchy Peanut Slaw:
1/2 medium head green cabbage, outer leaves removed (or 1 bag of angel hair coleslaw)
3/4 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup light oil, like canola
1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp sugar (or more, to taste)
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce (or more, to taste)

Slice the cabbage as fine as you possibly can, so you have little threads of cabbage (I just bought a bag of angel hair coleslaw where this was already done for me). Toss in the peanuts, green onions, and cilantro. Place the oil, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and soy sauce in a resealable jar and shake. Pour over cabbage mixture and toss until coated.

Serve the hoisin-ginger pork along with the crunchy peanut slaw with whole wheat tortilla wraps. Place both inside of a tortilla and roll up.


Click here for printable version of Hoisin & Ginger Pork Wraps with Crunchy Peanut Slaw

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THE RESULTS?
These were freakin' awesome! My whole family exclaimed this recipe as the favorite among the Slow Roasted Pork Challenge (which actually says a lot, since the other recipes were so yummy as well). The peanut slaw is so good it can stand alone as side dish itself....I actually made it for a family get together not too long ago and everyone loved it. All around this recipe is just fabulous.