July 2011
26 posts
3 tags
Korean-Style Pork Wraps with Chili Sauce
I can’t believe I’ve never made lettuce wraps before. They’re so easy to make and so much fun to eat! I really enjoyed the chili sauce, although I completely underestimated its spiciness the first time around because I was suffering quite a bit, even after stuffing 10 banana chips into my mouth to offset the spiciness. But the best part of these lettuce wraps are the leftovers...
3 tags
Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
Baking muffins are always a delight. You can make so many variations of it and they can be eaten at any time during the day. I also tried freezing them and ate them at another time and they tasted just as fresh! (Just be sure to defrost them in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds).
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These banana espresso chocolate chip muffins were very moist and spongy, filled with melted chocolate...
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Corn and Pasta Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing
The boyfriend went on a guys trip to Vegas this weekend so I wasn’t really in the mood to make a crazy, elegant/sophisticated dinner for myself so I decided to make this simple pasta salad. I really enjoyed the homemade ranch dressing, which was a lot simpler than I imagined. I love making homemade sauces because it really gives you you a chance to control the fat and salt content and in...
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Chicken Marsala
I’ve had chicken marsala just once before and I absolutely loved it so I couldn’t wait to recreate it when I saw this recipe on one of the blogs that I follow, Annie’s Eats. I was initially a bit flustered when I first read through the recipe but it’s not as bad as it seems. Once everything is prepped, chopped, sliced, and minced, it’s very simple to throw...
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Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
These muffins were an absolute delight. It was the lightest muffin I’ve ever had that wasn’t overpoweringly lemony with a very enjoyable crunch from the poppy seeds. The muffins tasted great as is but once the glaze was applied, it was absolute heaven. After all, how can you go wrong with sticky, sweet, lemony powered sugar goodness?
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Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (adapted from...
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Linguini with Clam Sauce
This dish was a very easy, simple dinner to make that used up so little ingredients. It took less than 30 minutes to make and made the house smell wonderful. I especially enjoyed the chunks of clams within each bite, which was a party of salty flavor that was very well balanced with the linguini. But what I really loved about this dish was how inexpensive all the ingredients were. I already had...
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Grilled Breakfast Pizza
This dish has definitely become my new favorite breakfast item. It’s a pizza with the perfect breakfast toppings of eggs and bacon complemented by mozzarella and Parmesan, giving it a bit of a salty kick. The green onions and parsley were a wonderful addition, which provided an enjoyable freshness to the dish. But my favorite part of the pizza was when I got to the runny yolk and I was...
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Lemon Sugar Cookies
The boyfriend and I were going over a friend’s house for some good food and wine so I decided to make these simple lemon sugar cookies. I loved how they were not overpoweringly sweet and had the perfect subtlety of lemon flavor. They were also very thin cookies with just enough softness to them. These have become a favorite of mine and were such a hit among our friends. I’ll be sure...
2 tags
BBQ Chicken Salad with Cilantro Ranch Dressing
I usually don’t like to make homemade salads but I just couldn’t resist a recipe that calls for your favorite barbecue sauce, only because I still had some leftover Phil’s BBQ sauce from San Diego, which is by far the best barbecue sauce I’ve ever had in my life. It was wonderfully complemented by the dressing, which was a nice twist on Ranch. It was a simple, hearty,...
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Mongolian Beef
I had some leftover flank stank from the Chinese Beef with Broccoli so I decided to continue fulfilling my Chinese food cravings and make Mongolian beef. This dish was just as simple to prepare and tasted amazing without that greasy-oily texture from take-out. I really enjoyed the sauce, which was more of a glaze since it was both wonderfully savory and sweet. I just wish I could make it a bit...
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Zaru Soba (모밀 국수)
Zaru soba is a very popular dish in Korea, especially in the summertime. It’s a simple buckwheat noodle dish with an easy chilled dipping sauce with some grated radish, green onions, and wasabi to give it that nice refreshing spicy kick to it. There’s this one place near my parent’s apartment in Korea that has the absolute best zaru soba I’ve ever had in my life. On my...
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Glazed Donut Muffins
A doughnut muffin has become my all-time favorite muffin. Don’t get me wrong, I love the muffins with fresh blueberries and strawberries and lemon zest and all but incorporating a donut into a muffin is the most genius idea ever. It has more goodies than just healthy fruits, which gives you a chance to indulge a bit for breakfast.
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These glazed doughnut muffins were such a...
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Chinese Beef with Broccoli
I have no shame to admit that I love Panda Express. I know that it’s really bad for you but that’s what ultimately makes the food taste so good, especially their orange chicken. But the boyfriend and I have been staying away from all kinds of fast food so we haven’t had our Chinese food fix in quite some time.
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So to fulfill our cravings, I decided to make homemade...
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Strawberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
I’ve always wanted to make scones but for some reason, I was so intimidated by them. I thought they’d be the hardest things to make but that wasn’t the case at all. You simply make the batter (and you don’t even need a mixer for this one), form the dough into a rectangle, cut it into 8 pieces, and pop it in the oven. Yes, it’s that easy. And not only does the house...
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Spiced Pork Chops with Sweet and Sour Glaze...
This dish not only tasted amazing but it was so easy and quick to make. It literally took less than 30 minutes to create such an elegant and sophisticated dish and it didn’t require much ingredients either. I adapted the recipe a bit and used bone-in pork chops instead of boneless because it adds more flavor and juiciness. Plus, I love the thickness on these bone-in pork chops. As for the...
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Corniest Corn Muffins
I love baking muffins but for some reason, I’ve never baked corn muffins until today. It was a very quick and simple recipe, made the house smell amazing, and tasted wonderful, especially because of the addition of the corn kernels. I loved how it was moist, light, and not too sweet, making it perfect as an appetizer, a breakfast item, or even a simple midnight snack.
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Corniest...
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Shrimp, Lemon and Herb Macaroni and Cheese
This was the first time where I incorporated shrimp into a macaroni and cheese dish and I absolutely loved it. I just wished I had added more shrimp because it was not enough! But other than the delightful chunks of shrimp scattered here and there, I really enjoyed the creamy cheesiness to this dish. The lemon gave it that nice burst of freshness, the goat cheese produced such a smooth texture,...
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Crab and Cream Cheese Wontons
I had such a blast making these wontons. They were so simple to make and adorably bite-sized that I just wanted to eat them on the spot! They also turned out to be so unbelievably creamy inside with an amazing crunchy, crisp exterior. I used peanut oil for the first time and it made these wontons noticeably less greasy than other frying oils like canola. It is a bit expensive but I highly...
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Homemade Strawberry Nutella Pop Tarts
I absolutely loved everything about these simple, homemade pop tarts. It had such a wonderful flaky, crisp crust surrounding the oozing warm Nutella filled with chunks of strawberries. I’m excited to make variations to these pop tarts, like adding white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Mmmmm.
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Homemade Strawberry Nutella Pop Tarts (adapted from For the Love of Cooking)
Yields...
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Buckwheat Noodle Salad
Since I loved the Soba Noodle Stir-Fry with Spicy Almond Butter Sauce, I thought I would try another soba noodle recipe. I specifically chose this recipe because it was packed with so many healthy ingredients, like bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, and green onions. It also included cilantro, which is very beneficial to the digestive system. But what I really liked about this dish was the salad...
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Red, White and Blue Cookies
For July 4th, I was inspired to make red, white, and blue cookies, incorporating strawberries, white chocolate chips, and blueberries. They turned out to be so incredibly fruity with a nice crunch from the white chocolate chips. I especially enjoyed the subtle hint of cinnamon, which created a nice balance of sweetness along with the brown sugar. Although these cookies may seem like delightful...
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Bulgogi Philly Cheesesteak
Since I loved the Bulgogi Burger from Closet Cooking, I decided to make the bulgogi Philly cheese steak as well. The marinade for the bulgogi was a little bit different from the burgers, especially because a different kind of meat was used. It had to be marinated for several hours, which created such juicy chunks of flavorful meat. Once that was topped with tender strips of onions and bell...
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Banana Raspberry White Chocolate Chip Bread
I have a tendency to buy bananas every time I go to the grocery store, even if I already have a dozen of them just sitting in my fruit basket at home. I think I’m comfortable overstocking on bananas because you can always find a use for them, like making banana muffins or banana bread. But sometimes I’m just too busy to bake something so the bananas just pile up, ripe to it’s...
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Hungarian Mushroom Soup
The boyfriend’s mom has been sick with a cold for the past couple of days and since she cooks me the best homemade Korean food (sorry, Mom), I thought I would return the favor and make her a nice, hearty soup. I originally wanted to make a chicken noodle soup but I wasn’t really in the mood to get a store-bought roasted chicken or roast a chicken myself so I tried something a little...
4 tags
Orange Blueberry Muffins
Orange zest might just be my favorite ingredient. It brings out so much vibrant, fresh flavor and I especially like them in baked goods, like the Orange Buttercream Cupcake Cones and the Strawberry Banana Orange Muffins. I came across another muffin recipe that also uses orange zest and I couldn’t wait to make them. These were so spongy and moist without being too sweet and the blueberries...
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Cheesy Bacon Biscuits
These biscuits were super easy and quick to make and tasted amazing with all that buttery, cheesy-bacon goodness. They are a nice spin from the simple, store-bought refrigerated biscuits and can be served as an appetizer before any meal. Be sure not to eat too many of these before dinner because they are VERY filling. The boyfriend devoured 4 whole biscuits before claiming that he was “too...
