My Recipes!

Salmon Cakes that Megan made

Here’s the Recipe!..of course ..I make it a little different every time

1 lb Salmon

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 of a small orange bell pepper

4-5 whole pieces of water chestnut

1 green onion

1 egg

2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs

salt, pepper, garlic powder :)

chop everything into little pieces and mix together

pour a bunch of breadcrumbs on a plate

roll salmon cakes like squished meat balls, pressing each one into the bread crumbs before placing it on the plate…

pour oil into pan and fry salmon cakes until golden brown :)… eat and enjoy!

<3 Megan

The finished product

Almond Crust for Tarts or Pies

We’re making a mascarpone fruit tart with almond crust for Tom and Aunty Maggy’s birthday today. Here’s the first and most important (in my opinion) part of the pie: THE CRUST!

I N G R E D I E N T S
Tart Crust
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and finely ground
1/2 cup sugar
8 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
Pinch of salt

I N S T R U C T I O N S
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Spray 8” fluted tart pan with removable bottom with nonfat cooking spray. 

Crust
To make the pastry mix the flour, almonds and sugar in a medium bowl.  Add the butter and mix with a fork until pebbles form.  Add the egg and salt and mix well.

Press the dough into the pan fitting dough into the edges of the pan.  Line the bottom of the pan with foil and fill with 2 cups of dry beans (to weight the crust down while baking).  Bake for 10 minutes then remove foil and beans and place on rack to cool.

Reduce oven temp to 325 degrees

So we had an international pot luck and i made international wontons!

Ingredients

Wonton wrappers (premade from HEB/KROGER/ALBERTSONS)

1 pack of cream cheese

1 pack of pre grated parmesan cheese

1 orange bell pepper

Parsley

salt

onion powder

milk (for sealing wontons)

butter/oil

1. mix 1 pack of cream cheese with 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon of onion powder, 3/4 of the bell pepper (FINELY diced), and a handful of parsley.  Salt to taste
2. place wontons flat on board and add a little less than a tablespoon to the center … just judge it.. enough so you can fold over the sides to look like triagles  :)
3. add a sprinkle of premsan on top for extra meltyness!
4. dampen edges with milk and fold corner to corner
5. THEN to make envelope square shape.. if you want.. fold the top corner back and the sides in (add milk to keep shape)
6. fry in pan until golden brown
7. use remaining bell pepper and parsley to garnish :)

enjoy!

For a Threadbanger Halloween party that I organized, I made 200 mini cucakes. Just follow the recipe on the box!

For the icing:

1 and 1/2 cup of softened (not melted) butter
3 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/4 cup of milk
dash of sea salt
1 and 1/4 tsp of vanilla

I ended up using more confectioners sugar to make the icing thicker and easier to work with.

I made vietnamese food at my friends house this weekend!

Its called Bun Thit Nuong its supposed to be vermicelli noodles + pork but I used beef instead :D oh and sometimes ppl slice up egg rolls in it!! its good that way too haha :D

• Beef, partially frozen, then thinly sliced — 1 pound
• Shallots or scallions, minced — 3
• Garlic, minced — 2 cloves
• Thai or serrano chile peppers, minced — 1-3
• Sugar — 2 teaspoons
• Fish sauce — 2 tablespoons
• Lime, juice only — 1
• Salt and pepper — to taste —> i used soy sauce instead :D
• Carrots, julienne or grated — 3
• Rice vermicelli — 1 (8-ounce) package
• Oil — 2 tablespoons
• Mung bean sprouts — 2 cups
• Greenleaf or romaine lettuce, shredded — 1/2 head
• Cucumber, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced — 1/2
• Cilantro — 1/2 bunch
• Mint — 1/2 bunch
• Roasted peanuts, roughly chopped — 1/4 cup
• Nuoc cham — 1 cup

1. In a large bowl, mix together the pork, shallots or scallions, garlic, chile peppers, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate for 15-30 minutes.
2. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Add the carrots and blanch for about 30 seconds. Remove the carrots with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking.
3. Place the rice vermicelli in a heat-proof bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let them set for 5-8 minutes until softened through. Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside. —> when i did this it didnt work very well.. so you might just want to boil them like regular noodles :P
4. Heat the oil in a sauté pan or wok over medium-high flame. Remove the pork from its marinade and sauté quickly until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Add equal amounts of the carrots, sprouts and lettuce to each 2 or 3 deep serving bowls. Place equal amounts of rice noodles on top of the vegetables. Then place a spoonful of pork on top of the noodles to cover them about 1/3 of the way. Place the sliced cucumber neatly over another 1/3 of the noodles. Finally, lay sprigs of cilantro and mint over the remaining 1/3 of the noodles.
6. Sprinkle peanuts over each dish and serve with nuoc cham to pour over the noodles to taste.

To make the Nuoc Cham just mix all this stuff together!

• Water — 1/4 cup
• Fish sauce — 1/4 cup
• Lime juice — 3 tablespoons
• Unseasoned rice vinegar, unseasoned — 2 tablespoons
• Sugar — 2 tablespoons
• Garlic, crushed — 1 clove
• Chile pepper, sliced into rounds — 1
• Carrot, shredded or julienne — 1 tablespoon

* Megan*

Mushroom stuffed Mushrooms!

These are delicious to make, super easy and great for a party

I used about 12 stuffing mushrooms - they are bigger than regular button mushrooms.

First cut out the stem and chop it finely. In a large mixing bowl, add about a 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, a few tablespoons of olive oil, a few tablespoons of mayonnaise, some salt, pepper, oregano and about a 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.

Brush the mushrooms with olive oil and arrange them on a aluminum foil covered baking sheet. Stuff the mushrooms generously. Bake at 375 for about 25 min.

Bow Tie Pasta with Marinara Vodka Sauce… along with crab stuffed Tilapia!

Andrew made this for dinner last night. Turned out great!

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup vodka
• 3/4 cup canned tomato puree
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 pound cooked ham, finely chopped
• 2 drops hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco), or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1 pound penne
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

Melt butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in vodka, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 4 minutes. Add tomato puree and cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in ham, Tabasco, salt, and pepper. Keep sauce warm over very low heat.

Cook pasta in 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt per every 4 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water and drain pasta.

Add pasta to sauce and toss with sauce and cheese, adding some of reserved cooking water if pasta seems dry.