Can't Get Enough of Korean Food

My mom just went back home yesterday, after having spent 15 days visiting with us, and I must say that I'm a little bit sad :-(

One of the things that we did while she was here was eat lots and lots of Korean food. Although, my mom makes the best Korean food-in my opinion-being that she was on vacation we just decided to pick up a bunch of side dishes over at H-mart.

Here is how my tiny dining room table looked almost everyday while she was here:

I love the concept of family style dinners.  Everyone has there own bowl of rice or noodles and then shares from each of the side dishes.

Yellow pickled radish

Spicy pickled radish

bulgogi

Great Side Dish

As of recent I've become a fan of Dutch Yellow Baby Potatoes.

Chop up some onions

I also used carrots and spinach.

I sauteed the potatoes, onions and carrots in low-sodium chicken stock at medium heat making sure to add more liquid if the pan started to dry out.

When all of the veggies were to the point of being fully cooked, I added the spinach.

We had our potatoes with a plain chicken breast sandwich (a bit of miracle whip and organic ketchup)

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Lazy Sunday with Papa John's

I love to cook, but there are days when I simply don't want to get out the chopping board, knives, pots and the pans in order to create a family meal. As matter of fact, I sometimes feel like not really doing absolutely anything around the house.

Today happens to be one of those days! I have decided to officially name this day, Lazy Sunday.

In honor of Lazy Sunday, my son and I have dedicated ourselves to watching Bob the Builder and Barney the Dinosaur episodes along with reading and playing-with-blocks breaks.

To complete our Lazy Sunday, we decided to order some carry out pizza. Although I don't discriminate with pizza, I chose to order a 3 ingredient pie from Papa John's. The coolest thing was, that I didn't have to pick up the phone to order the pizza.



Papa John's has this amazingly efficient online order system. We have Papa John's in the Caribbean, but not the online system. I was thrilled to know, that now living in the U.S.A., this system would be active. In the past, when ordering pizza from any place, it was always a hassle to make a phone order because the communication between us (client) and the phone attendant would not be clear, which would result in errors in the order. With this online order system, there was no mistake.

Not only did we get a yummy large pizza, but we avoided any mishaps in our order.



What we ordered: Large original crust pizza
1st Half: Bacon, Ham, Mushrooms
2nd Half: Grilled Chicken, Onions, Green Peppers

What do you like to eat on Lazy Sunday's?

Easy Made Pasta Alfredo

I'm a big pasta lover, although I try not to over indulge! I especially like pasta with Alfredo sauce. As many people out there, I've always recurred to using jarred Alfredo sauce. Although good, I've always found it to be a bit too rich, cheesy and salty.

Last week I found a recipe for a quick Alfredo sauce on the back of a box of Food Lion fettuccine.

[First, I boiled some water and then added the pasta.]

[As my pasta was cooking I chopped up some vegetables to add a bit more flavor and color to my pasta- garlic, fresh spinach, red peppers]

[Here's where I got my inspiration]

[I sauteed all of the veggies in a skillet with some unsalted butter]

[After the pasta was cooked and drained, I tossed it into the skillet with the veggies. Then I added some pepper]

[ I added a bit of whipping cream. Just enough to lightly coat the pasta, but not drench it]

[I added a handful of shredded low-fat mozzarella]

[Move the cheese around with a wooded spoon until it melts. Then, serve in your bowl of choice]

The end result was deliciously yummy! The pasta had the right amount of veggie flavors combined with a light cheesy goodness without being to overpowering. You could savour all of the ingredients. Even my 17 month old liked it and he can be a bit picky sometimes when it comes to his food.

What is your favorite pasta dish?

Summer Salad

Vacation time is over and we are settled into what will be our home for the next two years. Now, it's time to get back in the kitchen and start preparing meals three times a day.




I love vegetables and fruit so why not combine them in a wholesome salad! I basically took every vegetable and fruit that I had in the fridge and started chopping and measuring away.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of spinach
1 cup of romaine lettuce
1/4 cup each of the following(diced or chopped):
red onions
radishes
button top mushrooms
green peppers
cherry tomatoes
mozzarella cheese
apples
strawberries
1 chicken tenderloin (broiled)

DRESSING:
3 Tbs of pomegranate vinegar
1 Tbs of EVOO
sea salt (to your taste)
1 Tbs of honey
1 Tbs fruit preserve (of your choice)
garlic powder

Combine all of the ingredients (except salt and garlic powder) in a small bowl and whisk. Taste and add salt and garlic to your liking


PROCEDURE:

1. Arrange the spinach and lettuce on a big plate.
2. Arrange the mushrooms (or any other vegetable of your choice) on the center of the greens.
3. Arrange the rest of the vegetables, the cheese and chicken around the mushrooms.
4. Garnish with dry parsley.
5. Drizzle dressing at will.

Summer Affair

My husband wasn’t too hungry when it came time for lunch so we decided to eat something light.  I decided to take everything that I could find in the fridge that would be viable for a wrap.  Here’s what I came up with.

 

{sauté in a pan: mushrooms, low sodium honey ham, chicken strips, red onions, raspberries, carrots & when everything is said and done add some fat free cheddar cheese and allow to melt}

 {take everything from the pan and spoon it on to a whole wheat wrap along with your favorite greens}

 

 {final result: summer affair whole wheat wrap with cranberry salsa on the side along with a glass of Calimocho- diet coke & red wine}