Thinning the Recipe Stockpile

nickssweetheart

I love trying new recipes...but I've gotten into the habit of eating the same things over and over lately. As much as I enjoy asian peanut noodle slaw and the other things in my regular rotation, I have tons of Pinterest recipes, cookbook recipes, favorited recipes that are just sitting around waiting for me to try them.

I can't be the only one, can I? If anyone else is interested, I'd like to set a goal of trying one or more stockpiled recipe a week and reporting the results to this thread.

As it happens, I was going through Pinterest today and realized I had absolutely everything I need to make Glowing Spiced Lentil Soup already in my pantry. So I'm going to try that on Thursday.

And if I pick up a chile between now and next weekend, I'll have everything I need to make Sweet and Spicy Orange Tofu.

And one day soon I hope to try my hand at Ethiopian cooking, if I can source teff flour and berbere spice affordably.

Anyone else that would find this fun? What have you bookmarked/pinned/saved/clipped that you haven't taken the time to try out yet?

janejellyroll

Oh, I'm in for sure. My Pinterest recipe board is huge and I have so many untried recipes in cookbooks!

I want to try this Japanese Curry.

RadishEater

I just started this! Two weeks ago.

Last week I made "Quinoa Kale Pesto Bowl with Poached Eggs" (http://www.theironyou.com/2015/02/quinoa-kale-pesto-bowls-with-poached-egg.html)

I thought it was a bit bland, but I cutout the cheese and walnuts in the pesto and added another egg to the bowl so I could meet my protein requirements but not be over in calories. I also topped it with a bunch of cauliflower (roasted it added good flavor but it got too hot so I couldn't have the oven on without sweltering).

Ethiopian cooking is great! The only thing to be wary of is the amount of salt in recipes. I made my own berbere spice mix, recipe found in the site listed below. I'm always on the lookout for another Yater Kit Alicha recipe because what I have made in my kitchen doesn't match the amazingness of the local ethiopian restaurant here.

I've done this recipe for Doro Wat https://www.daringgourmet.com/doro-wat-spicy-ethiopian-chicken-stew/
with some tweaks to up the protein and cut down on the oil&butter/salt

RadishEater

janejellyroll wrote: »

Oh, I'm in for sure. My Pinterest recipe board is huge and I have so many untried recipes in cookbooks!

I want to try this Japanese Curry.

I can't get the japanese curry link to work , could u repost?

nickssweetheart

Yes, I'm curryous too!

(I know, I know...but I can NEVER resist a pun and the worse they are the bigger I smile!)

Thank you for the link to the Daring Gourmet! I'm a bit intimidated by the sheer amount of spices in Berbere, but I know I can get all of them pretty easily, except maybe for the fenugreek. If I have to order the fenugreek from Amazon, though, I'll probably just order the Berbere itself.

Quinoa is another thing I need to add back into my rotation. I used to make this regularly:

Peanutty Quinoa Bowls

Funnily enough, I also used cauliflower in it in place of the broccoli. It sounds like we enjoy similar things.

nickssweetheart

I made the glowing lentil soup today. It was very good but I expect it will be better tomorrow after the flavors have set up a little more. It was quite filling and just as gorgeous as the blog picture. It was also incredibly filling. The recipe originator recommended serving it with bread but it definitely didn't need it. Of course, that may also be due to the fact that the recipe calls for 3/4 cup red lentils, and I had a cup so I just chucked the whole thing in there.

I wasn't going to save 1/4 cup of red lentils for another use.

Other than that, I made as directed except for subbing 5 oz frozen spinach for the baby spinach.

Verdict: I'll probably make it again when I'm in the mood for something creamy and comforting, but it's not so extraordinary I'm going to reach for it all the time. The full fat coconut milk makes it pretty rich and calorie dense and all things being equal, I'd rather spend my coconut milk calories on a Thai soup of some kind.

RadishEater

oooh full fat coconut milk even I don't put that in my thai chicken peanut wraps, that would definitely boost the richness more of a treat for me than a regular day to day lunch.

nickssweetheart

For me too, generally speaking, but I've been experimenting with upping my calories and especially fats a bit over the past few weeks as I've been unusually hungry. Normally I cut the coconut milk with an equal amount of broth but the blogger raved about the "full fat" version so I thought, what the heck I'll go for it.

That said it's now about 5 hours after I ate it and I'm not ready for dinner yet, so I definitely have to give it points for satiation!

hesn92

My problem is I find stuff that I want to try but making stuff that my husband would like makes it difficult. He is kinda picky and has to have lots of meat. There’s a lot of lighter/non meat type meals that I would really like to make but he would look at it and be like... ok now where’s the main course?

nickssweetheart

Oh, those pesky SOs and kids who think they should get to eat too...

are the meal ideas light enough for you to have them for lunch sometimes? Or simple enough to accommodate making them while also roasting something meaty in the oven? Just throwing out some ideas, but I get where you're coming from.

I got my chili pepper for my orange tofu, and I had another helping of the soup today. I am more impressed than yesterday. The flavors really blended beautifully overnight. Yummy!

RadishEater

hesn92 wrote: »

My problem is I find stuff that I want to try but making stuff that my husband would like makes it difficult. He is kinda picky and has to have lots of meat. There’s a lot of lighter/non meat type meals that I would really like to make but he would look at it and be like... ok now where’s the main course?

Any chance he could could some meat for himself additional to the meal? Or every once in a while try a lighter non meat recipe but get a rotisserie chicken too?

RaeBeeBaby

@nickssweetheart - you might be sick of the Asian peanut noodle slaw, but that sounds divine to me! Can you share the recipe? And do you think it would be a success using gluten-free noodles?

I recently stumbled upon an amazing sale of gourmet beans and lentils at my local "fancy" grocery store, so I'm on the hunt for new recipes for those. Must stop looking at painted rocks and inspiration quotes on Pinterest and refocus on legumes!

nickssweetheart

Sure, I'm happy to share...although it's more thai flavor "inspired" than asian, to be fair. And I make it all the time but seldom the exact same way twice so calling it a recipe is kind of a stretch. And I'm sure gluten free noodles would work.

Last time I made it was this:

shredded cabbage--I like a 1:1.5 ratio with my noodles: so for 2 cups of noodles I use 3 cups of cabbage, for 4 cups, 6 cups etc, but you could certainly use 1:1 or whatever sounds good to you
shredded carrot--a bit for sweetness
1 very thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 can sliced water chestnuts (have also used jicama or omitted entirely, doesn't really matter)
sprinkling of cilantro (to taste)

I dress it with this most often, but I add a bit more sugar as I use no sugar added peanut butter, and 2-3 tablespoons more of water (warm water to make it easier to blend it all together.) I cut back on the tamari/soy sauce a bit to 1.5 tablespoons. Then I like to let it sit in the fridge for a few hours or all day, whatever's convenient to really let the flavors blend, shake it and pour it over the cooked noodles and veggies. If you make the whole recipe, it's enough to dress 4 cups of cooked noodles and 6 cups of cabbage. It's nice with a few chopped peanuts if you use creamy peanut butter, but with chunky I find that I don't need them.

Is this all too vague? I tend to cook by taste, so I taste it and see if it seems a little too sharp or a little too salty and then adjust.

RaeBeeBaby

nickssweetheart wrote: »

Sure, I'm happy to share...although it's more thai flavor "inspired" than asian, to be fair. And I make it all the time but seldom the exact same way twice so calling it a recipe is kind of a stretch. And I'm sure gluten free noodles would work.

Last time I made it was this:

shredded cabbage--I like a 1:1.5 ratio with my noodles: so for 2 cups of noodles I use 3 cups of cabbage, for 4 cups, 6 cups etc, but you could certainly use 1:1 or whatever sounds good to you
shredded carrot--a bit for sweetness
1 very thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 can sliced water chestnuts (have also used jicama or omitted entirely, doesn't really matter)
sprinkling of cilantro (to taste)

I dress it with this most often, but I add a bit more sugar as I use no sugar added peanut butter, and 2-3 tablespoons more of water (warm water to make it easier to blend it all together.) I cut back on the tamari/soy sauce a bit to 1.5 tablespoons. Then I like to let it sit in the fridge for a few hours or all day, whatever's convenient to really let the flavors blend, shake it and pour it over the cooked noodles and veggies. If you make the whole recipe, it's enough to dress 4 cups of cooked noodles and 6 cups of cabbage. It's nice with a few chopped peanuts if you use creamy peanut butter, but with chunky I find that I don't need them.

Is this all too vague? I tend to cook by taste, so I taste it and see if it seems a little too sharp or a little too salty and then adjust.

No, this is perfect! I've made similar salads in the past but it's one of the things that has gone by the wayside (for some unknown reason). What kind of noodles do you use? I have some rice ramen noodles that might work. Gluten-free pasta is a crap shoot. Sometimes it turns out well and others, not so much. It's much better fresh than after it sits for awhile, which I think is the exact opposite of regular semolina pasta.

I also cook by taste and rarely use a recipe except as a guideline. I'm even a "formula" baker which drives people crazy. I know what ingredients go into a recipe but not necessarily the quantities. I make muffins or quick breads a lot for my husband to take to work and his co-worker's will often text me asking for the recipe. Uhhhh. . . . . a little of this, some of that, some more of that until the consistency is right.

nickssweetheart

I generally just use angel hair pasta, either white or whole wheat, and break it in half before cooking. I don't like to break most long pastas in half, but for this dish it seems to work. I think ramen noodles would probably be perfect, in fact better than the angel hair when I "taste" the texture in my mind.

nickssweetheart

So it would be an exaggeration to say I made this for lunch today. What I actually did was change it all around.

I'd still like to make the original version, but I woke up today feeling like utter and complete crap. I struggle with depression and some days it's just hard to make myself do anything at all. But I had tofu that had to be used up, a jalapeno pepper I bought special for the recipe, and a red bell pepper that was starting to look a little sad. So I cheated and made the lowest possible effort version I could. I baked the tofu on my silicon mat, made the sauce in a little sauce pan on the stove and reduced it, and put leftoveer rice in the microwave topped with the diced bell pepper. Then combined them all, tasted it, and added a few drops of sesame oil and a little more soy sauce. It needed a little oomph, probably because the way I fixed it eliminated all the oil. And only one tiny pan to wash.

Verdict: very good! Would probably be better if made in the original method, but I enjoyed it very much. I need to go get some sunshine and exercise and see if I can drag myself out of this.

RadishEater

nickssweetheart wrote: »

So it would be an exaggeration to say I made this for lunch today. What I actually did was change it all around.

I'd still like to make the original version, but I woke up today feeling like utter and complete crap. I struggle with depression and some days it's just hard to make myself do anything at all. But I had tofu that had to be used up, a jalapeno pepper I bought special for the recipe, and a red bell pepper that was starting to look a little sad. So I cheated and made the lowest possible effort version I could. I baked the tofu on my silicon mat, made the sauce in a little sauce pan on the stove and reduced it, and put leftoveer rice in the microwave topped with the diced bell pepper. Then combined them all, tasted it, and added a few drops of sesame oil and a little more soy sauce. It needed a little oomph, probably because the way I fixed it eliminated all the oil. And only one tiny pan to wash.

Verdict: very good! Would probably be better if made in the original method, but I enjoyed it very much. I need to go get some sunshine and exercise and see if I can drag myself out of this.

Ohh that looks very scrumptious! Also making sauce alone is more effort than I know some people like to put into making food so don't cut yourself short!

I am making these quinoa burgers for dinner tonight, but just the quinoa patty with egg on top and an ounce of cheese on top with a side of broccoli. The carmelized onions + sweet potato fries + bun sounds like great additions but I only aim for 400 calorie dinners so it is a bit too much for a daily dinner; will have to make the whole thing again sometime for a treat night .

janejellyroll

kballsocc wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

Oh, I'm in for sure. My Pinterest recipe board is huge and I have so many untried recipes in cookbooks!

I want to try this Japanese Curry.

I can't get the japanese curry link to work , could u repost?

Sorry - it's this: https://www.veganricha.com/2018/04/vegan-japanese-curry-in-instant-pot.html

nickssweetheart

kballsocc wrote: »

[snip]

I am making these quinoa burgers for dinner tonight, but just the quinoa patty with egg on top and an ounce of cheese on top with a side of broccoli. The carmelized onions + sweet potato fries + bun sounds like great additions but I only aim for 400 calorie dinners so it is a bit too much for a daily dinner; will have to make the whole thing again sometime for a treat night .

That sounds lovely! Both versions of it sound really good, actually. And "beer caramelized onions" this is something I need to try...

ValeriePlz

I am doing the same thing with my recipe stockpile. This weekend I made the Dutch baby pancake recipe from the New York Times, which I decided to keep. I served it for breakfast by cutting in half for me and the husband and spreading each serving with 1 tbsp. Nutella and 1 sliced banana.

You didn't ask for light recipes... haha

nickssweetheart

Sounds delicious! No judgment here on the recipes you choose to make!

@kballsocc how did your quinoa burgers turn out?

RadishEater

nickssweetheart wrote: »

Sounds delicious! No judgment here on the recipes you choose to make!

@kballsocc how did your quinoa burgers turn out?

They were pretty tasty, the bit of horseradish cheese on top gave them a nice kick. Definitely will be adding them into the rotation.

vegmebuff

https://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/2014/01/dhokla-recipe-khaman-dhokla-recipe.html
I want to try this one

http://www.fitnesstreats.com/2012/06/savory-lentil-cake/
This one is very good

I steamed it in a bamboo steamer...so easy!

ValeriePlz

Two weeks ago I got a lot of parsnips in my CSA box, so I used them up with a recipe for roasted parsnips with lemon and herbs. It was really good. The lemons cut the bitterness of the parsnips.

acpgee

I made a version of this for the first time tonight with some modifictions.

https://dinnerthendessert.com/general-tsos-chicken/

I only used 2 tablespoons of sugar but it was still to sweet for my taste to will try only 1 tablespoon next time. No need to deep fry the chicken. Dredge with flour or cornstarch and arrange on hot greased flat pan in a single layer. Pan fry 2-3 minutes and then flip pieces over to fry on the other side. Cuts down on both calories and cleanup.

nickssweetheart

I am fighting the "don't want to do it"s this week, so my plan for the upcoming week is the exact opposite of ambitious, but I still managed to work in some new things to try...

chickpea pasta with sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts
tofu bacon blt on sourdough bread with avocado
avocado white bean sandwich
slaw of cabbage, oranges, apples, almonds, sweet onions, and creamy chipotle dressing (thank you @janejellyroll )
apple pancakes topped with banana and maple syrup

janejellyroll

nickssweetheart wrote: »

I am fighting the "don't want to do it"s this week, so my plan for the upcoming week is the exact opposite of ambitious, but I still managed to work in some new things to try...

chickpea pasta with sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts
tofu bacon blt on sourdough bread with avocado
avocado white bean sandwich
slaw of cabbage, oranges, apples, almonds, sweet onions, and creamy chipotle dressing (thank you @janejellyroll )
apple pancakes topped with banana and maple syrup

Your meals sound really delicious. I love pasta and sun-dried tomatoes. I have a box of chickpea pasta but I haven't tried it yet. Have you tried it before? If so, how do you like it compared to "regular" pasta?

hipari

hesn92 wrote: »

My problem is I find stuff that I want to try but making stuff that my husband would like makes it difficult. He is kinda picky and has to have lots of meat. There’s a lot of lighter/non meat type meals that I would really like to make but he would look at it and be like... ok now where’s the main course?

I’m in the same boat! For us, it helped that we kinda made a deal that we’d try a new thing once a week. Sure, we don’t always do that, but it’s still a possibility. It also took me pretty much a full year of patient trying, getting used to things and figuring out his taste and texture palate, but we are now in a situation where he observes Meatless Monday even when I’m not home, and has developed an independent love of tofu. I found it helpful to just stick with well-loved cuisines and expand from there. For example, he loves tex-mex and indian food, so trying recipes that use the same spices and have similar textures really helped.

nickssweetheart

janejellyroll wrote: »

nickssweetheart wrote: »

I am fighting the "don't want to do it"s this week, so my plan for the upcoming week is the exact opposite of ambitious, but I still managed to work in some new things to try...

chickpea pasta with sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts
tofu bacon blt on sourdough bread with avocado
avocado white bean sandwich
slaw of cabbage, oranges, apples, almonds, sweet onions, and creamy chipotle dressing (thank you @janejellyroll )
apple pancakes topped with banana and maple syrup

Your meals sound really delicious. I love pasta and sun-dried tomatoes. I have a box of chickpea pasta but I haven't tried it yet. Have you tried it before? If so, how do you like it compared to "regular" pasta?

I haven't actually. I've been a bit skeptical because I am such a fan of traditional pasta but the chickpea was on a good sale this week and I've been running a bit light on the protein lately so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I'll let you know how it turns out.

acpgee

I finally got around to trying this last night.

https://dinnerthendessert.com/general-tsos-chicken/

Things I did differently:
Salted the chicken while it was sitting in the corn starch.
Didn't deep fry the chicken but arranged cornstarch dredged pieces in a single layer in a flat frying pan and fried without stirring on one side for 2 minutes, then flipped and fried the other side. Fewer calories and easier cleanup.
Used 2 tablespoons of sugar in the sauce instead of 3.
Added a 2 tablespoons of Chinese rice wine, and skipped the water.
Added a small handful of green beans and spring onions lurking at the bottom of the fridge, blanched in the microwave for 2 minutes.

Things I will do differently next time:
Reduce sugar to 1 tablespoon. It was still pretty sweet for my taste.

Photo:
Served with rice and roast asparagus.

nickssweetheart

So for breakfast this morning I made the apple pancakes from the mfp blog. They turned out pretty well but mfp's quarter cup must be smaller than mine because I got nine pancakes, not twelve...so I had to recompute the calories of the meal. They were thicker than the picture too, and I prefer thinner crispier pancakes, so I think I will add a little extra liquid next time.