garlic – Page 10 – The Pajama Chef

Greek Dressing

August 13, 2014August 15, 2014 Sarah

Who says simple is boring? This quick and easy greek dressing takes just a few minutes and a few ingredients but is so good that you’ll never want to buy bottled dressing again!

Greek salad has been my LIFE recently. I’ve eaten a huge bowl for lunch everyday the past couple weeks, and think that’s going to happen again soon. [But I need more tomatoes!] My philosophy is… a big salad for lunch means dinner can be whatever I want. Even mac & cheese from Panera. That stuff is so good and I’d never ordered it myself until last Wednesday, much to Ben’s relief [on Panera dates before I’d always steal like half his bowl]. Because salad for lunch = indulgence for dinner. Or something like that. Right?!?

Anyways, salad. And this dressing. I just can’t get enough! It’s creamy and tangy and so so fresh. I know my Greek salad isn’t exactly authentic and this dressing isn’t either, but it’s close enough. It’s full of flavor–all garlicky and lemony and herby! Just perfect. Some salad dressings are a little too oily without enough vinegar and acid to balance things out, but this half and half combo is just how I like it. I adapted a grandma recipe [not my grandma, but Laurie’s] so that’s why it must be so good! 🙂

I use this dressing to top off a simple Greek salad of romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, red onion, and feta. Heavy on the chickpeas and feta for me, please! If you like, you can add olives or chicken or whatever else sounds good. Apparantly the dressing is also a killer chicken marinade. Filing that bit ‘o info away for next time! BTW this dressing keeps for about a week in the fridge, so feel free to make a double batch. You’ll need it!

three years ago: Cinnamon Bacon Carbonara
four years ago: Lime Yogurt Cake with Raspberry Sauce

Greek Dressing

Servings: 8 ounces
Time: 5 minutes
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adapted from Simply Scratch
Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup oregano, loosely packed [or 1 teaspoon dried oregano]
1 large clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
generous amount of freshly ground black pepper
to serve with a simple salad: torn romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, red onion, feta

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. I love my immersion blender for this! Taste and season with additional salt or pepper if necessary.

You can also finely chop the oregano and mince the garlic and shake all ingredients together.

Store in a jar, refrigerated, for up to a week.

Linked up with Weekend Potluck.

Appetizers, Recipes

Layered Asian Dip

July 21, 2014July 25, 2014 Sarah

This layered dip is chock full of crunchy vegetables and chicken drenched in a yummy Asian-inspired sauce. The creamy peanut butter base adds a fun twist! Enjoy with crackers at your next party!

There’s nothing like a good appetizer to get the party started, right? I have a confession to make: I am terrible at appetizers. Most seem so finicky. If I’m hosting, I can totally make some hot little bites in the oven. But as things have it, in this stage of life, I rarely host [even though I’d love to]. We’re usually tasked with bringing x, y, or z to a gathering…and it’s just a pain to try to transport a hot dish, and sometimes those cute little bites just get gross if they sit for awhile. So cold dips are my go-to appetizers. Hummus, guacamole, salsa, I love them all. But they aren’t very fancy.

This Layered Asian Dip takes a normal dip up a notch! It’s a play off of Mexican Seven Layer Dip, even though it’s only a three layer dip. But it’s three layers of awesome: a creamy base of peanut butter and cream cheese; a wonderful medley of chicken, carrots, peanuts, cilantro, scallions, and aromatics like ginger and garlic; and last but not least–a slightly sweet, slightly spicy Asian dressing on top. This dressing is really what makes the dip, imo. Sure, chicken and peanut butter are staples of my diet, but the sauce brings everything together in a nice package. It’s tangy and delicious!

This dip is perfect for a party because you can make all the components ahead of time and chill them in the fridge, then go get ready, and then assemble at the last minute. I love it when things work out that way so I don’t have to worry about the dish losing its beauty while we’re waiting for things to get started. This dip is best enjoyed the day it is made, but the leftovers are still tasty the next day. By the way, you’ll have some extra sauce leftover–it’s perfect for tossing with some plain white rice and cooked veggies [I love those bags of frozen Asian vegetables] for a quick side dish during the week. Enjoy!

one year ago: Grandma’s Banana Nut Bread
two years ago: Jamaican Jerk Chicken & Pineapple Black Bean Rice
four years ago: Butterscotch and Chocolate Yellow Cake

Layered Asian Dip

Servings: 8
Time: 2-4 hours but only about 20 minutes active time
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from The Sweets Life

Ingredients:

for sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons rice wine or white vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 drops hot sauce [like Sriracha]

for topping

3/4 cup cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts
2-3 sliced scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced

for base

8 ounces softened cream cheese
2-4 ounces creamy peanut butter [depending on how strong of a peanut butter flavor you like]
2-3 tablespoons milk
crackers for serving

Directions:

First, prepare sauce. Whisk brown sugar and cornstarch together in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Pour in water, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire, and hot sauce. Cook for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Transfer to a small bowl to cool. When cool, cover and refrigerate to further thicken for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours in advance.

Next, stir together all topping ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Just before serving, beat together cream cheese, peanut butter, and just enough milk to make mixture smooth. Spread on the bottom of a 10 inch pie pan or serving dish. Sprinkle topping over cream cheese mixture, then drizzle 1/2 cup sauce [there will be leftovers] on top.

Serve with crackers immediately.

Linked up with: Weekend Potluck.

Beef, Main Dishes, Recipes, Sandwiches and Wraps

Easy Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches

July 14, 2014July 10, 2014 Sarah

These French Dip Sandwiches cook all day in your crockpot, making a delicious dinner with almost no work!

I almost hate to admit that I made these yummy sandwiches in March, for Ben’s birthday. And I’m just now getting around to sharing them. #whoops! Sorry guys, sometimes I just blog about what I made recently… what sounds good… and forget about what’s been sitting in iPhoto for ages. What will be really bad is when I start blogging about recipes that I made when we lived in Indiana–more than 9 months ago! Oh wait, that’s happened already. #whoopstimestwo

Anyways, back to these sandwiches. As it often goes in our house, the only time I cook “big hunks ‘o meat” are for special occasions or on the weekends. The rest of the time it’s vegetarian fare or meat on the side sort of meals. Obviously, Ben’s birthday qualifies as a special occasion, and he chose French Dip Sandwiches. I know alot of people eat them at restaurants all the time, but I’m not sure I’d ever had one before. Now I’m hooked! I loved how tender and flavorful the beef is in this dish, but my favorite bites included all the extras: a little bit of meat, some soft, meaty onions, and a big hunk of chewy baguette. I used these cute mini baguettes for extra crust on each sandwich. 🙂 Deeeeeelish! I need to make this meal again soon. You can add cheese to the sandwiches if you like too, but it’s flavorful enough as is so we left it off. Enjoy!

one year ago: Kale Pesto Pasta
two years ago: Fresh Tomato & Mozzarella Crostini

Easy Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches

Servings: 4
Time: 6-8 hours
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from What Megan’s Making
Ingredients:

2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds beef brisket, trimmed
freshly ground black pepper
1 large baguette—cut into 4 pieces, split horizontally or 4 mini baguettes
4 slices mozzarella cheese, optional

Directions:

Add broth, onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and flour in the bottom of a large crockpot. Whisk to combine. Season the brisket with a generous amount of pepper, then place in the crockpot. Turn to coat with broth, then cover and cook until very tender, approximately 6-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. I cooked mine on low for about 7 hours.

Ten minutes before serving, place brisket on a cutting board and thinly slice against the grain. Alternatively, you can gently shred meat with two forks [this is what I did]. If desired, strain the cooking liquid and reserve onions, then bring cooking liquid to a boil and cook about 5-7 minutes until reduced. [I didn’t do this.]

If using cheese, place cheese on bread and toast at a low broil for a couple minutes, watching carefully. Serve brisket on bread with onions, and serve cooking liquid as au jus on side for dipping.

Main Dishes, Pasta, Pasta, Recipes, Sides

Spicy Peanut Noodles with Kale and Edamame

July 9, 2014July 8, 2014 Sarah

Spicy peanut sauce, noodles, kale, and edamame meet in an addictive, easy pseudo-takeout meal that can be enjoyed hot or cold–what’s not to love?!

This spring/summer Ben and I have been eating sesame or peanut noodles all. the. time. [Side note: is there an actual difference between them? I’m sure there is. The librarian part of me is itching to google this up and see what I find out, but I’ll restrain myself.] They have replaced our easy mac & cheese from a box dinners. I have a hard time telling you what recipe I’ve used because a) I have many pinned on Pinterest and b) don’t really measure ingredients for sauces like this because I’ve never taken the time to take a few pictures to share the recipe here! But this time I did. Measure and photograph. 🙂 And this time I didn’t use any recipe except what sounded/looked/tasted good to me. It’s a good thing I did, because my noodles were utterly amazing.

Inspired by the lovely Amy of fearless homemaker and HER spicy peanut & sesame noodles, I added mix-ins to my noodles for the first time ever. What a good choice! Adding some kale and edamame made the textures of everything just pop and look pretty. Dontcha just love all that green?! 🙂

Ben walked in the door just as I was mixing everything together and was like, “what in the world is that fabulous smell?! You must be the best wife ever for cooking such an incredible dinner.” Okay, maybe his words didn’t come out exactly like that, but the sentiment was there. I know it. But seriously–these noodles DO smell fabulous. The sauce is the perfect balance of spicy, sweet, and fresh flavors. I used ground ginger in the sauce but if I had had fresh ginger… oh man. Use that if you can.

Though I served these noodles as a vegetarian main course, this is a great base recipe to add some meat. I think grilled chicken or thinly sliced steak would be great. Or even shrimp or tofu. This could even be a side dish if you like. We loved every last one of these yummy noodles, and like all good Asian-ish recipes…you can enjoy them hot or cold. They’re great both ways. In the recipe below I included notes about how to prepare them to be more picnic friendly, but no matter how you make them, I’m sure you’ll love ’em! Enjoy!

one year ago: Ginger Banana Waffles
two years ago: Minty Asian Slaw
three years ago: Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Spicy Peanut Noodles with Kale and Edamame

Servings: 8
Time: 20min
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Ingredients:

16 ounces thin spaghetti noodles [any sort of thin noodle would work–Asian of any type, linguini, etc.]
3 cups kale, tightly packed & thinly sliced
1 cup Thai basil, loosely packed & chopped
1 cup edamame, shelled & room temperature
green onions, sliced, for garnish

for sauce

1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
juice of half a lime [roughly 2 tablespoons]
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger [use 1 inch grated fresh ginger if you have it]
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
~1/2 cup pasta water, to thin sauce

Directions:

Prepare noodles according to package directions. Be sure to reserve about half a cup of pasta’s cooking water to thin the sauce.

While noodles are cooking, whisk together all ingredients for sauce except for the pasta water.

When pasta is ready, drain, and return to pot [or a large bowl]. Add kale, basil, and edamame and toss. Thin dressing with 3 tablespoons of pasta water, whisk, and the pour over noodles and vegetables. Toss well to coat. If necessary, add additional pasta water to thin sauce further, up to a full half cup.

Serve noodles with green onions for garnish.

Note:

Can be enjoyed warm or cold, but the dressing does really absorb into the noodles after refrigeration [which doesn’t bother me but does affect presentation] so if you’re making these noodles for an event and want to serve them cold, be sure to rinse well after draining to get rid of starch, toss with a bit of sesame oil, and then refrigerate separately from the sauce and veggies. Toss together before serving. I haven’t tried this technique with this recipe, but I have done similar things for other dishes so I assume it’d work well! Using rice noodles [that you don’t boil to cook, thus, they stay cold] might be a good option too.

Main Dishes, Recipes, Soups

SRC: Black Bean and Rice Soup

June 1, 2014August 28, 2014 Sarah

This month for the Secret Recipe Club I was given the wonderful Sarah’s blog, Things I Make (for Dinner). Note that the URL of her blog reads “oreos and cool whip.” How fun! Be sure to read her about page for an explanation of that! 🙂 Sarah’s blog is full of tasty recipes, which isn’t a surprise since she has such a great name! She lives in Ontario with her husband and loves challenging herself to try new recipes, especially from magazines. As always I found many many recipes to try, but had to choose one–this awesome Black Bean and Rice Soup! If I had had more time, I would have made this Strawberry Cream Cake Roll. If I had needed to make an appetizer, these Buffalo Chicken Wontons look incredible. And when peaches are in season, this Peach Cobbler will definitely be on my table! But back to this soup.

If you follow my blog, you’ll know that we often eat black beans and rice for dinner. It’s easy, fast, inexpensive, and we almost always have the ingredients on hand. Plus, if you add some salsa and taco seasoning, it’s basically Mexican food, right? And I love love LOVE Mexican. So naturally I had to make this soup, even though it’s been in the 80s here in Nashville. Naturally.

This soup is just as good as it sounds. I changed up Sarah’s recipe a little to exclude chicken [because I didn’t have any cooked] and to include some extra rice [wild and white]. All in all, this is a hearty, flavorful soup that gets better with each bowl you enjoy for leftovers. In her post about it, Sarah mentions that her husband wanted to put cheese on it but she thought it was flavorful enough without. For the record, I totally agree with you, Sarah! You definitely don’t need cheese with this soup. We enjoyed it with some english muffin bread and were more than satisfied. Thanks for the great recipe, Sarah!

one year ago: Blueberry Burg ers
two years ago: Parmesan Garlic Rolls
three years ago: Lemony Kale Pasta

Black Bean and Rice Soup [from Things I Make (for Dinner)]
click to print

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil [I used the Mediterranean Chili Pepper Oil from Star Fine Foods]
1 large onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
7 cups chicken broth
3 cups black beans, drained and rinsed [about 2 – 15 ounce cans]
2 cups salsa
2 1/2 cups cooked rice [I used 1 cup white rice + 1 1/2 cups wild rice]
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons lime juice
cilantro, for topping
green onions, for topping

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add onion and saute until soft. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Then add chicken broth, black beans, salsa, rice, cumin, and lime juice. Stir together, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and then simmer until heated through, at least 20 minutes or longer if possible. Serve with cilantro and green onions.

Time: 30 minutes.
Yield: 8-10 servings.

Check out other SRC recipes in group A by clicking below!