Tormented Kitchen

I'm going to share one of the easiest recipes I have. It's not even really hard enough to be called a recipe by my standards. Don't be fooled though. Simple food can still taste amazing. Check out this "recipe" for egg drop soup. I usually use whatever frozen, cut-up vegetables I have in the freezer. I particularly like peas and diced carrots, but the combination of corn, beans, peas, and carrots is good too. Some restaurants around here might use diced fresh zucchini and canned water chestnuts, too. (Smiley Jenny) There are even a few places that add chopped evil mushrooms...so no soup for me at those places. (Frowny Jenny). Darn food allergies! As for the cornstarch, you can add more if you want it thicker, or leave it out completely.  The soup is great either way. Cornstarch is gluten-free if that is a concern for you. Ingredients 1 32-oz carton low-sodium chicken broth 1 cup mixed frozen vegetables, (or frozen peas & carrots, or corn-beans-pea...

Tonight, I wanted to use up some left-over dinner rolls. Since Justin is working late, I decided to challenge myself, sort of my own take on a Mystery Box Challenge. I made tiny cheeseburgers! Sliders! My sliders contained beef patties seasoned with Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Then, I made a tangy tomato-onion jam by sauteing some of my last garden tomatoes with onion and olive oil. I topped the meat with Tillamook cheddar cheese, then the tomato jam, a sweet zucchini pickle (made by Justin's step mom Cheryl), and a little ketchup. Easy food rocks! PS The kids did not eat the tomato jam. Or the pickles. Typical kids! They don't know what they're missing!

It's starting to cool down where I live. It's fall. That means it's comfort food season. One of my favorite comfort foods is clam chowder.  Dear hubby Justin is off hunting. My folks came up to help with the kids while he's away. I made this for dinner since they are very fond of chowder. The kids are still in their weird food phases, so they wouldn't touch it. Silly kids! I wonder how long it will be until they figure out what they've been missing.   Ingredients 1 white onion, minced 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled 1 tablespoon butter 4 large potatoes, peeled and diced 2 cans clams in juice, (1 can chopped, 1 can minced) 1/8 teaspoon ground thyme 1/8 teaspoon white pepper 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules 2 cups milk 1 cup heavy cream 2 Tablespoons flour 1 tablespoon minced parsley Method 1 Saute butter and onion until onion has softened. Add the bacon, potatoes, and juice from the canned clams t...

Chicken lettuce wraps aren't the most unusual things, they are actually quite common these days.  My main problem for eating them at restaurants is the mushrooms. Being allergic, this is one of those dishes that I have recreated at home, mushroom-free. It's my own original combination. It's what I like together. If it tastes like some famous restaurant, it's purely by accident. Ingredients 1 lb chicken, sliced in small chunks, either white or dark meat is good 1 Tablespoon neutral-flavor oil (I used vegetable oil) 2 carrots, peeled and diced 1 small white onion, diced 3 Tablespoons sake or rice wine 2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce 3 Tablespoons tamari or soy sauce 3 green onions, chopped, green part only black pepper 1 head lettuce, washed with individual whole leaves separated small knob of fresh ginger, peeled sesame seeds cellophane noodles (optional) Method 1. In a medium hot frying pan, heat oil. Add chicken, season to taste with pepper, and cook un...

Potstickers, sometimes called gyoza, are a staple food in my house.  It's nice to come home from a busy day and toss some frozen potstickers in the pan, start some rice, and make a real easy small meal. My son sometimes says words incorrectly, which is normal for kids.  He wouldn't eat these if I called them potstickers. By calling them dumplings, they are suddenly delicious and he will ask for Chinese Ducklings. Yes, he means dumplings but it comes out as ducklings. I think that's pretty cute. This is enough for 50-60 potstickers, depending on the size of your wrappers.  Mine were on the small side compared to those I get in restaurants. I froze about half the batch for later.  Just a note on the potsticker versus gyoza name, it has to do with the seasonings.  This recipe is slightly more Chinese since I used Shaoxing rice wine. Japanese gyoza may contain miso paste, green onions, and sake. I think that is the difference. At least f...

Some days, I get tired of eating regular salsa. You know, the kind with tomatoes. I'm also not a huge fan of cilantro. A tiny bit is OK, but too much tastes weird to me.  (I know this could be considered a "defect" of my taste buds. Or a defect in my brain processing taste-bud information.  Whatever.)  Anyhow, I decided that mango salsa would be a really easy alternative to normal salsa. I went pretty mild with batch, but you could amp it up with more onion, more pepper, and switch the herbs.  I used mint so it was much fruitier and more refreshing than the typical cilantro bite. Also, the heat in peppers comes from the inner membrane and seeds.  Remove all that to keep it mild, or leave it in for some fire. Ingredients 1 ripe mango, peeled and diced 1 green jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed 1/2 cup diced red onion 2 sprigs of mint, stems removed and finely chopped 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar sprinkle of salt Method 1. Combine all the ingre...

I was on a cooking spree this weekend. I had so many plans, that I didn't get to everything.  However, I managed to make this, which happens to be one of Justin's favorite pasta dishes.  It's great for a quick lunch or as a side to something else. This versatile pasta salad has been a hit whenever I bring a bowl of it to a pot-luck. It's mayonnaise-free so food-poisoning chances are slim. Also, you can change up the additions, say roasted red bell peppers are one of your favorite foods.  Go ahead and add some!  Change up the cheese.  I used Colby-Jack this time. Ingredients 1/2 pound shaped pasta, like rotini or fusilli (corkscrew-shaped pastas) 1 garlic clove, peeled 1/2 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard 3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1/2 tablespoon water 1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped 1/4 pound cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, provolone, or Colby-Jack) cut into 1/2-inch cubes 3 ounces sliced ...

This past weekend, Justin, the kids and myself took a few days off and went camping. We travelled from Reno to Winnemucca and spent some time with our families before heading up into the mountains near Orovada. We set up camp with our tent and the canvas fly that attaches to the truck. We took the ATV's out and enjoyed the fresh air. Our second day up, we made pancakes and hot tea for breakfast.  Justin's family drove up mid-morning.  Any more, this has been an annual trip near Father's Day. Everyone fished for brook trout and took turns riding the ATVs. Eric was absolutely begging to go fish and take a ride. In the late afternoon, the guys cleaned the fishies and did the cooking. Grandma Rose fixed a salad, which we all enjoyed with fresh trout pan-fried with French bread. We set up a propane camp stove and cook the fish in a cast iron frying pan. You can recreate this at home on the stove. Just be aware frying splatters a lot, so protect yourself with long s...

Food. Ah, food. I've had a weird relationship with you lately. Some days nothing sounds good, but I know we all need to eat. I'm tired of eggs. We've had way too much food with eggs. Breakfast burritos, egg salad sandwiches, fried egg sandwiches, omelets, quiches, frittata. BLEH. Today I'm sharing my recipe for quesadillas. I got creative with the sauce and placed layered, thin slices of avocado on top. Eric had fun dabbing the sauce on top of his wedges. It was cute when he'd take a bite and go "Spicy!" and then dig in. Eric actually likes spicy food! Ingredients: flour tortillas, 2 per person (1 for a kiddo) shredded cheese, either cheddar or a Mexican blend sour cream salsa avocado oil other optional items: leftover shredded or chopped meat, onion, cilantro, refried beans Method: 1. Heat a skillet over high heat. Add about 1 tsp of oil to the pan. When hot, place one tortilla in the pan. Immediately top with shredded cheese and other optional ingredien...