Egg Rolls

Nothing brightens my day like Chinese food. But since it's neither healthy nor cheap to order it as often as I want, I've done my best to learn to make a bunch of dishes. One of my favorite to make is egg rolls since it allows me to control what's in them - which is perfect for a slightly picky eater. :)

I've made these both deep fried and baked, and they're good both ways. My mom prefers them baked as they do absorb less oil in the oven and are slightly healthier. Jeremy says they're both good. And it seems that they never last very long. They do freeze and reheat well if you want to make a large batch. Defrosting is easy in the microwave. When reheated in the oven they come out deliciously crispy and are a perfect accompaniment to a nice stir-fry.

Egg rolls:

20 oz. ground pork (ground turkey is delicious too)

1/2 head green cabbage, sliced into small pieces

1 lb. matchstick carrots

6 green onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced 

2 tbs. soy sauce (low sodium)

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 tbs. sriracha (this can be omitted if you don't like spicy food)

2 tbs. mirin

1 package egg roll wrappers (mine come from the refrigerated section - 21 wrappers in a package)

1. If baking, preheat oven to 400 degrees. If deep frying, preheat deep fryer (or a pan with 3-4 inches of oil) to 375 degrees.

1. Brown meat in a wok, drain if necessary. Add cabbage, carrots, green onions, and garlic and saute until the veggies are tender.

2. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, and mirin.

3. Continue to stir fry until the liquids have evaporated. 

4. Transfer to a bowl and cool.

5. When cool, add 2 tbs of filling (approximately... I add whatever seems to fit.) to each wrapper. Roll by folding in the sides, add water to edges to seal. (The instructions are usually on my package, too.)

6. If baking, grease a baking sheet (I use pam). Place egg rolls on baking sheet leaving 1/2 inch between them. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, turning halfway through. If frying, fry in batches for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown all over.

Dipping Sauce:

1/4 c. soy sauce (low sodium)

2 tbs. sriracha

2 tbs. mirin

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbs. green onion tops, minced (I usually just reserve this from the filling)

1 tsp. brown sugar

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl. Let sit for at least an hour for flavors to begin to combine. (This can be made ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.) 

Spinach Pasta with Marinara Sauce

Last night I made my first homemade pasta. My bread machine cookbook had a recipe for spinach pasta and I had some fresh spinach lying around. Overall, it turned out very well. Since I don't have a pasta machine, I had to roll it out by hand. I will definitely be rolling it thinner next time. And there will be a next time. :)

The sauce I made to accompany it was ok... not great but good enough. So I won't include the recipe... just top with marinara or any other sauce.

Recipe:
3 tbs. pureed spinach, juice squeezed out (I started with 6 oz. of fresh baby spinach, chopped it in a food processor and had some left over to add to my sauce.)
2 tbs. spinach juice (squeezed from the pureed fresh spinach)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbs. olive oil
3 c. AP flour
1 tsp. salt

1. Add all ingredients to the bread machine (or start mixing them). Let machine knead them for 7 minutes, then check the texture of the dough. If needed, add either more spinach juice/water or flour.
2. Kneed for another 3 minutes.
3. Remove from machine and wrap with plastic wrap. Let sit for 30 minutes.
4. Divide dough ball into thirds. Roll each third to 1/8" thickness.
5. Slice as desired.
6. Boil a large pot of water and add pasta.
7. Cook for 3-4 minutes until pasta is firm.
8. Drain, mix with sauce, and serve.

Sausage, Pepper, and Onion Marinara

This is a recipe that I have made a few times now. It started as a simple experiment and has become a regular thanks to rave reviews from Jeremy. Now I make this whenever I have the time to sit around the apartment and stir every once in a while. This freezes well if you have leftovers.

5 Italian sausages (I use hot Italian turkey sausages but sweet would work well too)

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large can crushed tomatoes

½ tsp crushed red pepper flake (adjust to taste)

1 tbs oregano

2 tsp parsley

2 tsp basil

salt and pepper

1.       In a medium-sized pot with a lid, sauté sausage in olive oil until browned and cooked through. Remove from pan.

2.       Dice sausage into bite-sized pieces and reserve.

3.       Add onions and pepper to the pot, sauté until slightly softened, add garlic, sauté lightly

4.       Add crushed red pepper, oregano, parsley, basil, salt and pepper

5.       Add crushed tomatoes

6.       Simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours until flavors combine and vegetables are soft

7.       Serve over pasta

(This also makes a fabulous sandwich filling if you want a sausage, pepper, and onion sandwich... just use some nice crusty French bread.) 

Chile Rellenos

I love Mexican food... among many foods. :) It's quick, tasty, and fairly inexpensive. One of my favorite dishes when we go out is chile rellenos. Well, Jeremy and I are cleaning out the fridge in preparation for Christmas and I needed to use up some poblanos. So I decided to try to make chile rellenos myself.

I had a guiding recipe but ended up changing things around because I wanted a more substantial batter, didn't want to deep fry them, and wanted to cover them in chili like my favorite Mexican restaurant does. These turned out fantastically. Next time, I will make sure I have toothpicks to 'sew' the chiles closed (I included this in the recipe as the cheese melted out a little without doing this). I will also make sure I have more poblanos on hand as Jeremy's only complaint was that there weren't enough.

Recipe:

Chiles
2 poblano chiles
3 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded
3 ounces mozzarella, shredded
1 egg
1/4 c. flour, plus a couple tablespoons for dredging
1/3 c. cornmeal
1/4 c. water (approximate)
Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetarian Chili
1 large bell pepper, diced
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbs. chili powder
1 1/2 tbs. onion powder
1 tbs. garlic powder
1 tbs. ground cumin
1 tbs. dried parsley
1/2 tbs. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add bell peppers and saute until slightly softened. Add chipotles and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and lower heat to maintain a simmer.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place poblanos on a sheet tray and roast, turning frequently, until blistered all over.
3. Place poblanos in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam for 20 minutes.
4. Slice poblanos down one side and rinse under water to remove skin, seeds, and ribs.
5. Mix cheeses and stuff into the peppers. Sew peppers shut with long toothpicks. Return to sheet tray and freeze while making the batter, 5-10 minutes.
6. Beat egg in large glass bowl (large enough to dip the chiles in) until foamy. Add flour and cornmeal. Add water while mixing until a batter forms (it should resemble pancake batter). Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Heat a frying pan on medium heat, cover bottom with vegetable oil.
8. Place dredging flour on a plate, remove chiles from freezer. Roll the chiles in flour, then dip in the batter.
9. Fry chiles, turning until golden brown on all sides. Remove to a paper towel to drain.
10. Serve chiles covered with chili.

(I also served this with some simple steamed rice. It served as a nice palate cleanser and helped to balance the heat from the chili.)