Hot Pot night

Another self-explanatory dish on a family night. It is not too often I do hot pot night but my brother wanted the change from our usual family bbq. Sooo, here's a simple breakdown on what we did for our hot pot event. If you aren't aware of what hot pot is, it is a primary Asian dish similar to fondue that consists of dipping vegetables and meat into a flavored of choice hot boiling pot until cooked. It is basically a stew. You cook as you eat along.
We used an electrical hot pot and burner to make our hot boiling water. Now you can create your own version by adding or taking away what you don't like. It is all about what you'd like in it. Meat, veggies, and sometimes seafood are just some of the common ingredients.
**Sauce is often a bland, a tint of salt, a savory mix of seafood paste (curry like paste) or spice if you prefer!

The purpose of this whole idea is to have the boiling hot pot in the middle of a table surrounded by vegetables and meat, therefore as you eat, you may dip ingredients and then put it into your own bowl, by adding rice noodles and the soup into one. This is a good dinner idea for a group of friends or small family to enjoy around the table as we chat.



Ingredients:

1) Veggies: Lots of spinach, green onions or scallions, mushrooms (sorted), bok choy, tofu, cilantro or parsley

2)  Coconut juice, crab paste or shrimp paste (often found in the international stores)

3) Beef briskets, meatballs, squid, baby crawfish

4) Rice noodles(optional). Boil beforehand in separate pot til tendered enough

5) hot pepper spice, salt or favorite side seasoning sauce, black pepper


Burner (propane or eletrical)

This second option is an electrical burner has two sided giving you two options of soup base. As you may tell one looks spicier than the other.

These vermicelli like noodles are doable but it is not necessary if you prefer without it. The ingredients below the noodles are coconut and a crab paste that has a great flavoring to the soup base. You may find it in your international stores. If you do not prefer it, a home base of salt and olive oil mix poured into the base works just fine. 

I hope that was a simple understanding what of hot pot is from my pictures. It was a fulfilled night with the usual gang.

Do it yourself mini sliders

My sliders aka mini burger were inspired by this past summer's food truck visit. It was a food truck galore all around. I cannot recall the truck name but I enjoyed the mini burgers more than I thought I would. I even made my own sauce, simply 2 sauces combined. No brainer on that. These mini bites are fun for lunch with friends over or dinner. Easy to put together and anything goes! No wrong way to make them. Here's my simple recipe.



Ingredients:

Mini burger buns
Beef
Bacon* optional
Salt & pepper
Yellow onion
Green & red bell pepper
Mozzarella cheese
Sauce (Sriracha hot red sauce & mayo mix)

Chop and shred up your bacon and beef into threaded pieces. Do the same to your bell peppers & onion. Mozzarella can be in round or square slices. Sauteed meat til desired taste. Throw in bell peppers and onion. I like little onion therefore only threw in a little but maximize your preferences! Add your pinch of salt and pepper.  Heat up the buns in oven for 5 to 8 minutes, depending on how crisp and hard you like them. Lay them opened. Place sliced mozzarella pieces between buns and let sit til almost melted. Take it out and throw your cooked sauteed meat and veggies in your buns and you are about done. You can either brush on your sauce unto the inside of buns or dip them instead which is how I usually like it.





Love, peace & eats!

Kay

Baked marshmallow sweet potatoes

I normally prefer yams over sweet potatoes when making this dish however this time around I decided to use sweet potatoes and it was just as good. Thats also known as candied or marshmallow-ed yams! Sometimes its hard to define the taste but as long as the results are the same, right? Anyhow,  its easy to whip for the holidays when you need to add another side dish with your turkey or ham. Also this is my first time making from a can. Years before I have always used fresh yams or sweet potatoes do this dish. It takes just a little longer to bake but its just as good, if not better.

Ingredients: (serving for  10)

2 Can of sweet potatoes or 4-5 fresh raw sweet potatoes
1/2 bag of marshmallows
brown sugar
butter
*option-Throw bread crumbs/stuffing on top for a crunchy taste

Find a non baking tray and butter it up a little before you throw in your canned sweet potatoes. They should be pre cut in a bite size but you make smash a little more if you like it smoother. Add brown sugar on top of dish. Amount is up to you but I like alot so I make sure to cover the whole top. Leave in oven for 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes and then throw marshmallows on top minutes after. Let sit in oven for another 5-10 minutes until marshmallow area almost melted but not gone. Pull out and let sit to cool off.
Everyone loves this easy dish everytime. It has a nice balance to the salty dishes served at the table.




Love, peace & eats!

Kay

Grits vegetable salad

Ingredients:

grits or rice for option (2 cups)

1 onions (sliced)

2 medium size tomatoes (sliced)

Half can of black olives (sliced)

olive oil (about 4 tsp)

vinaigrette *optional

red & orange bell pepper (sliced)

Salt and pepper

Boil your grits in a pot with water til fully cooked. Water can be over grits of an inch. Turn down to medium as it boils and then simmer as it starts to cook so it does not burn fast. Stir periodically on bottom. Add 2 tsp of olive oil into the pot as all water have dissolve. Stir gently well.

Then add all your chopped up vegetables in. Add pinches of salt & pepper. Mix well and let cook for another 5 minutes on low until vegetables has soften some. Make sure all water has dissolves some so it does not became too soggy. Add additional 2 tsp of olive oil if needed and vinaigrette towards end for optional flavoring. 

Peace, love & eats!

Kay

Spinach Pork Stew (pressure cooker style)

Nothing better than homemade comfort food entering this fall season. Tonight's dinner is simple yet filling and with what I had in the fridge. I needed to also get rid of the last potatoes and carrots before they go bad so this was the easiest dish on a tiring and crammed Tuesday night.

Ingredients: (8-10 servings)
5-6 potatoes (standard size)
carrots (couple thick stalks)
1 yellow onion
spinach (store bundle)
1.5lbs of pork (bottom or shoulder is fine)
garlic (2-3 cloves)
Salt & Pepper
Pressure cooker
Pot
*Without pressure cooker, boil meat for 1.5hr or 'till tender

Chop up the pork to bite size portion. Pressure cook with water just an inch above meat for 30-40 minutes. After tenderized, drain meat out into pot. *You may cook all into pressure cooker however it leaves a lot of oil, therefore, I decided to throw it into a separate pot. Fill new pot with water of 3/4. Bring to boil then add chopped veggies. Boil for 20 minutes or till veggies are tenderized. Don't forget to add salt and pepper.

Chop up veggies as seen in picture below.

Peace, love & eats!

Kay

Venison Chili - hubby's style

Ingredients:

1 can black/brown bean
1 can kidney bean
1 can pinto bean
1.5 lb Venison meat (Beef for substitute if prefer)
Salt & black pepper
1 V8 vegetable bottle juice (standard size - see pic below)
Monterey/ Cheddar Jack cheese
1/2 can of Beer
1 Onion
1 green pepper
2 jalapeno pepper
2-3 garlic cloves
Steel pot

My husband makes the best chili bean ever! And Im not bragging, just experiencing the truth. So when the neighbors came home from elk/deer hunting one day, he handed my husband some meat. The hubs then decided to make it for lunch this past weekend so of course, I had to blog about it. But let me tell ya, he was hesitant about sharing his recipe. Haha.
The smell invited the whole neighborhood. Our neighbors said they were so surprised at how easy it was to make after we gave them our ingredients. They couldn't taste the gaminess of the venison at all. It was so addicting, they boundlessly had seconds and thirds.

Instructions:

1) Chop & slice up all your side ingredients

2) Ground half of the meat in grinder/blender. Chop up the other half in small cube chunk.
Sauteed into a steel pot with garlic until well cooked. Add 1/2 can of beer into pot. Add 1/2 bottle of a standard size V8 vegetable juice.  Lastly, throw rest of side ingredients in. (Black, kidney & pinto beans, jalapeno, green pepper, onion)

* If you don't have a steel pot, boil for 2-2.5 hrs in a regular pot.
* Pre-pressure cook the meat is an option for a faster result.


3) Let sit and cook for an 1.5 hr. Add more juice if you should need more later. Donot add water. 
*If you like it spicier, add more jalapeno.
*Salt and pepper as tasting.

3) Serve. And shred cheese over serving bowl while hot





Peace, love & eats!


Kay

Basic handmade Vietnamese sandwich

One word. Yum. Ok, three words. Yum & Sooo Easy.

Ingredients:

Green onion stalk or scallion
French bread (see pic below)
Jalepeno peppers (optional if you are a spicy person)
Carrots
Cucumber
Pre-cook Pork ham or just plain ham for substitute
Cheese cured pork (optional)
Best Foods Mayo (Relish flavor for tartness)
Cilanto or parsley

Toast your bread in oven until almost golden brown for a few minutes.

Slap mayo on both sides of bread.

Cut up your ingredients according to how much you want in your sandwich, including ham in thin slices about 3-4  inches long. Throw all your ingredients in. The greens, ham and even extra mayo if you want more.



You can find cured ham in your local international stores



Love, peace & eat!


Kay

Olivia's Stuffed Bell Pepper w/ cheese topper

This is my sister's version of stuff bell pepper for dinner last night. I especially loved the last minute cheese over the bell pepper. Again, another easy dish for last minute dinner idea in just 4 steps. There is no really wrong way to make it, add or subtract what you'd like!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Rice
1 pkg. Ground beef
1 Tomatoes
1-3 garlic
1 egg
Pinches of salt/pepper
1 yellow onion
1 tsp olive oil
1 can 8oz tomato sauce
Cheese (optional* We used chedder but use your favorite)
Bell Peppers (We used about 5-6 bells for our serving)


1) Pre-cook the rice. And pre-cook the ground beef in a pan for a few minutes. Optional: You dont have to cook the beef alone if you don't mind the turn out from just cooking it in the oven.
2) Then mix both together with the rest ingredients.
3) Boil the pepper with pinch salt in water for 5 min or until boiling. This helps it soften a little. Then stuff the peppers with the rice/beef mix and stick it on a glass perferably tray baking it over at 350 degrees for 1-hour.
4) Once close to done, pour a little more sauce(tomato) before taking out of oven to keep it moist. And lastly, right before serving while still hot, top it with your favorite cheese on plate. Cheddar has the rich fatty taste so its works well but you may use any favorite cheese of your own.

 Hope you enjoyed this!

Love, peace & eat!


Kay