Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken

So, I decided to try Blue Apron, simply because I am currently on a string of nights and didn't want to try to plan my meals. I got three meals in my first shipment, this being one of them. It's in the same theme as many other dishes I've made the past couple weeks. Apparently, the dish gets its name because the original recipe requested a cup each of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. Obviously, those portions have been adjusted significantly in this dish, but it's nice all the same.

Apologies for the horrendous photo. I promise these photos look much better on the screen of my device than they do on the computer screen... :/

Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken
Adapted from Blue Apron
Serves 2

2 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 pound choy sum
1/4 cup water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 scallions, sliced thinly
1 inch piece ginger, grated
1 bunch Thai basil, stems removed and sliced
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 cup brown rice, cooked

Cut off and discard the ends of the choy sum stems and half lengthwise. Heat 2 tsp oil on medium-high heat until hot. Add choy sum and water. Cook 5-7 minutes until the leaves are wilted and the stems are tender. Set aside.

Heat 2 tsp oil in skillet on medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken and allow to brown on one side. Flip, then add the garlic, ginger, and the white portion of green onions to pan. Add more oil if necessary to lightly coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute, until garlic is fragrant and soft. Add vinegar and soy sauce. He to boiling, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in half of the basil. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with choy sum and rice. Garnish with remaining Thai basil and green onion.

My Notes:
The original recipe asked for only 3 cloves of garlic, but they sent me a whole bulb, so I got a little excited about chopping it all up. Very garlicy in the end, but I quite enjoyed it. I was a little suspicious of the choy sum, just because most greens I've wilted have been rather bland tasting, but it was quite a nice accompaniment to the saltiness of the chicken. All in all, it is a recipe I will definitely try again, and it's nice to have it in portions that are small enough that I don't feel terribly guilty for wasting so much food when just cooking for me.

And yes, I realize I haven't posted a recipe in over a year... I do actually have a couple in the queue that I never got quite around to getting photos for, so I'll back-date those posts some. Also, apologies for the photo, it isn't all that great, but it looks so much better on my iPhone than it does on the computer screen. One of these days I'll get around to updating my phone and getting a slightly better camera in the process.

Sloppy Joes

I'm usually not a fan of sloppy joes, or beef in general, but I was browsing through one of my cookbooks and found a recipe that seemed interesting. So I thought I'd give it a shot. It also happens to be another one that you can freeze without much issue.

Sloppy Joes
Modified from Southern Living 2007 Annual Recipes

1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb turkey sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 cup water
Hamburger buns

Brown beef and sausage with onion and bell pepper. Drain well. Add next 6 ingredients, cover and bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To freeze leftovers, cool and place in freezer bag. Lay flat in freezer. Thaw overnight or defrost in microwave and heat through before serving.

My Notes:
I was skeptical, but this recipe is awesome. The sweetness from the sugar mixed with tartness from the vinegar makes the sauce addicting. My sisters weren't too excited about it initially, but I think I won them over. My older sister likes it more with chips than on a hamburger bun, though I think this might be my mom's influence on her. Overall, definitely a recipe I'll make again.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Original recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350*F. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Add to the wet ingredients. Mix well. Fold in the dark chocolate chips.

Take a couple tablespoons of batter and roll it into a ball (it will be sticky, so dust your hands with the powdered sugar). Roll in the powdered sugar, ensuring a thick coating. Place on cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining dough.

Bake cookies at 350*F for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before removing them to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
This recipe was inspired by Panera. They have a red velvet crinkle cookie that I fell in love with. Since I've yet to have any success with red velvet anything, I figured a straight up chocolate crinkle cookie wouldn't be a bad thing. They're not bad tasting, but I'm not sure I like the crinkle-ness. The ones at Panera have like a dusting of powdered sugar that skillfully avoids the cracks in the cookie. The only way I figured they could do that was to bake the cookie with the powdered sugar on it. But it didn't turn out that way when I pulled the cookies out of the oven.

I'll work on it some more, I suppose. I also probably need a bit more flour. I always add too little when I'm doing these recipes.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

My family is in town this week, which means my mom brings her own version of recipes along with her. This time, it's this bread and a new twist on chicken salad, which I'll share in a bit. I was skeptical of the bread, since every yeast bread I make turns out really dense and tough. But, it turned out pretty well and was really easy to make, hence I'm sharing it. Enjoy!

Rosemary Foccacia Bread
Originally found at Alexandra Cooks

2 cups lukewarm water
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp active-dry yeast (or 1 packet)
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp butter, warmed to room temperature
2 Tbsp olive oil
Sea Salt
Dried Rosemary (about 1 tsp)

In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. Allow to sit 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy or bubbling. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. When the yeast mixture is foamy, add it to the flour bowl and mix until just combined. Cover and set aside in a warm spot for at least an hour.

Grease a 9x13 inch pan with the room temperature butter. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Punch down the dough and scrape it from the sides of the bowl, then transfer dough to the buttered dish. Pour olive oil over the dough and press out with your fingers to an even thickness throughout. Sprinkle the top with rosemary and sea salt. Allow the dough to rise 20-30 minutes, until approximately doubled in size again.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then decrease temperature to 375 and continue to bake until the top if golden brown. Turn out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

My Notes:
I was skeptical of this when my mom first made it, but it's pretty good. So good that the entire loaf disappears by the next morning, with four of us there to eat it (well, three and a half, since my baby sister eats like a bird and hides herself away in my room).

Iced Chai Latte

I've been going a little crazy with the recipes these past few weeks (if you couldn't tell from the multitude of photos posted in the past couple days) because I know I'm not going to have a whole lot of time once I officially start my job next month. Seems like a perfect time to stock up my freezer with pre-made foods in an attempt to eat somewhat healthy when I get home from work (my job provides lunch every day, so I don't have to worry so much about that).

I've also found a much easier way to transfer the photos on my phone to my computer, and then to add them to the blog than what I had been doing. If you can get it, the Transfer Pro app is amazing. It allows you to share photos between devices (phones/tablets/computers) over the same wireless network. It's pretty awesome.

This one is more of an original recipe. I was hanging out with one of my coworkers, and we decided to try a new coffee shop around where we live. Since I don't drink coffee, my go-to drink everywhere except Starbucks is a chai latte. The mix of tea and spices is just amazing and so I get it whenever I see it on the menu. But, the barista gave me the option of doing it iced. I'm not sure why this didn't occur to me before, but it was brilliant. Refreshing on the unbearably hot day, but still a nice pick me up.

So while I was out grocery shopping, I went down the tea and coffee aisle and decided to remake it. I think I did a fairly good job.



Iced Chai Latte
Copycat Recipe

5 tea bags chai
3 cups boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Pour the water over the tea bags and allow to steep 4-5 minutes. Remove bags and mix in sugar. Cool in fridge. This is your concentrate.

To prepare latte, fill glass with ice cubes. Mix equal parts concentrate and almond milk. Stir to combine. Enjoy!

My Notes:
Simple, yet oh so yummy. You can easily substitute the almond milk for soy, regular milk, or even cream, and adjust the mixture to your liking. I prefer the unsweetened almond milk because I use it in my cereal as well, but if you use sweetened milk, you might want to cut back on the sugar a bit. I make it a little strong, knowing that the ice cubes will melt into it and dilute the flavor some.