Xiao Long Bao at Home

August 24th, 2012. Xiao Long Bao at Home 

frozen xiao long bao

 

 

 

I love Xiao Long Bao as much as the next person, but sometimes you just can’t get your sorry ass out to Richmond for a decent soup dumpling.  So what did I do?  Picked up a bag of these babies from T&T!

frozen xiao long bao

 

 

 

 

 

I also picked up a head of cabbage for the sole purpose of lining my steaming pot.  Placed the frozen dumplings down and proceeded to wait.

frozen xiao long bao

 

 

Voila!  Not the most amazing certainly, the dumpling skin wasn’t too thick or doughy, the filling inside WAS a little too clumped and just one little blob, and a few of the dumplings cracked as they were defrosting and the soup leaked…but by no means was it terrible.  It still had good flavor, the soup was not bland, and it may be that I just needed to thaw them a little before steaming them.  3/5  🙂

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Roasted Chicken Creamy Lasagna

February 9th, 2012. Roasted Chicken Creamy Lasagna

roasted chicken creamy lasagna

 

 

 

 

It’s been a while since I’ve cooked and I was craving some pasta…so I picked up a few things at the store to go with what I already had at home.

roasted chicken creamy lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heavy Cream, Marinated Artichokes, Spinach, Smoked Gouda and Lemons to go with Chicken Breasts, Lasagna, Onions and Bacon.

roasted chicken creamy lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

First I roasted the chicken with strips of bacon and slices of lemon. Of course I made sure to douse the chicken with fresh squeezed lemon juice as well

roasted chicken creamy lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also cooked the lasagna strips for layering and made some smokey-gouda-y-cheesy cream!

roasted chicken creamy lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the ingredients were prepped I started layering it all down. Oh~~ yeah….smells and looks good already!

roasted chicken creamy lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made sure I had plenty of grated cheese on the side to sprinkle in between the layers and on top.

roasted chicken creamy lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In to the oven it goes~~

roasted chicken creamy lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I pull it out and it looks simply delicious!  Piping hot, golden brown and ooey gooey~!

 

roasted chicken creamy lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now for the big reveal…..YUMMINESS!!!  Rich, savory and very filling 🙂  Dang this is good!!

Mini Jalapeno & Pork Meatballs

August 1st, 2011.  Making Mini Meatballs

making mini meatballs

 

  I love bite-sized food.  I enjoy meatballs…I figured, why not take a crack at making some!  I got some ground pork, eggs, jalapeno pepper for some kick, parmesan cheese and Italian herb breadcrumbs.  I had recently bought a silicon mini cupcake “sheet”, which also was the reason for the sudden urge to make food!

making mini meatballs

 

 

 

 

 

  Seasoned the meat with some salt and pepper.  Mixing it all up!

making mini meatballs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Cute kitchen products make me want to cook~!! 

making mini meatballs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  I liked that the jalapenos were still slightly crunchy but overall the meatballs were slightly drier than I wanted.  How can I make these more moist next time?

Korean Shaved Ice (팥빙수)

July 19th, 2011.  We Love 팥빙수~ 

korean shaved ice (팥빙수)

 

 

  Summer+Lifegroup+Dan’s House=Gotta make some Korean Shaved Ice!!  Everyone brought an ingredient and then after Bible study we proceeded to grab some ice, shave some ice, and create our own delicious bowls of shaved ice~!!

korean shaved ice (팥빙수)

 

 

 

  Shaved ice, homemade red bean paste, mochi, watermelon, blueberries, strawberries, strawberry syrup, lychee, vanilla ice cream, pineapple and condensed milk.  Basically, as long as you have the ice, mochi, red bean paste and condensed milk everything else is a go!

korean shaved ice (팥빙수)

 

 

 

 

 

 

  A big bowl of YUM!!

S’mores Make a BBQ Better!

September 2nd, 2010. The Summer’s Final BBQ Blowout!!!

d.i.y. s'mores

  Our final hurrah to what has been a really great summer!!  We got Daniel to host one last backyard bbq.  This time he pulled out all the stops!  We had 2 different types of Samgyeopsal, plus a spicy kind as well as some Bulgogi!  Everyone amped the bbq up with even more eats than last time, too, and we had a great turn out!  Bryan and I arrived earliest before anyone else, and upon seeing the little charcoal grill I instantly thought “man….this BBQ would be even better with some s’mores…!!!” so we all headed to the store to grab some more beverages and s’mores fixings!  So here’s how to do a s’mores

 

1. Skewer a jumbo marshmallow on a stick (preferably a clean one) and toast over a grill.  Rotate Marshmallow periodically so that all sides are evenly toasted and turn a bubbly, crisp brown (this is harder to do than you think!!)

d.i.y. s'mores

 

2. Rip off a piece of aluminum foil and onto it place graham crackers with chocolate of choice on top (white chocolate rules!!).  Place foil on the grill and watch the chocolate develop a light sheen.

 

 

d.i.y. s'mores

 

 

 

3. Remove foil from grill and tenderly squish the marshmallow in between the two chocolatey crackers!

 

4. Devour & be transported to heaven

Burgers at Cultus Lake

August 14th, 2010. Grilling Burgers at Cultus Lake

grilling burgers at cultus lake

 

 

  This year we vowed we’d go camping.  We decided on and then switched dates more than 4 times.  Finally we just decided to spend a day BBQing by Cultus Lake.  Hey, it’s better than nothing!!  Besides, how often do we all get to go to Cultus Lake together~~!

 

grilling burgers at cultus lake

 

 

  Being me, I invited some extra friends to join us.  We arrived early enough to get a pretty good area with 2 tables and some decent shade.  Unfortunately the car with all the food was running late!!  Ahhhhh~~ hungry waiting is the worst!

grilling burgers at cultus lake

 

 

 

  These burger patties were AMAZING!!  President’s Choice Smokin’ Stampede Beef Burgers: They had an amazing flavor, smokey, and super juicy!  So good I had seconds later that afternoon!  

grilling burgers at cultus lake

 

 

 

  So, while the boys were grilling the burger patties I set up an assembly line.  We had a head of lettuce that i pulled apart, sliced some tomatoes, and yes, there was cheese!  The cheese actually looked really unappetizing….I think they’d been frozen in Shawn’s freezer and he just dumped them in the cooler bag, so they were kinda melted in a strange way and didn’t peel off the cellophane very well.  Oh, well, cheese is cheese!  He also brought a tube of what he thought was mayo…turned out to be Miracle Whip!  *sigh*  Never let a guy do the gorcery shopping!!

 

grilling burgers at cultus lake

 

 

 

 

(Mario doubled up.  This looks soooooo mouth watering right now!)  

  The weather was perfect!  Sunny and hot but with a slight breeze.  The water was great.  We had a great turn out.  Lots of friends, old and new, and the burgers were AWESOME!!  What a fun day~!!

 

Dinner at Home: Steak & Potatoes

August 11th, 2010. Dinner at Home with Jenn & Henry~!  

steak & potatoes

  So Brother came back from Kitsumkalum and with Mother still away we had to fend for ourselves…Never fear, we are a dynamic duo!!  We definitely didn’t have to worry about starving to death..especially since Mother made sure to stock up and freeze premade stuff!  Tonight’s dinner: Pan Fried Steak, Deconstructed Baked Potato and Romain Salad!!! (The salad doesn’t get a picture just for being boring.

steak & potatoes

 

  I marinaded the steak in olive oil, fresh squeezed lime, steak salt, garlic powder and thyme.  Yum!  And yeah, we were too lazy to get the grill going…so in the pan it goes!  Again, medium rare, medium rare, medium rare!  A guy will lose serious macho points from me if he takes his steaks well done 😛

steak and potatoes

  As for the Deconstructed Baked Potaotes: first drizzle cubed potatoes with olive oil, throw in some halved garlic cloves, throw on a bit of salt and pepper and a few bay leaves.  Then stick into preheated conventional oven (I think I had it set to 375 degrees)…..basically until cooked through! 

steak and potatoes

 

  In our case…it didn’t cook through, the steaks were done and we were getting hungry..so I threw them in the pan we fried the steaks in and finished them off there.  Yes, I cheated.  Whatever, cooking them in leftover steak fat was awesome!

steak & potatoes

 

  After baking and then pan frying the potatoes I put them back in the dish, put a handful of cheese over it, some real bacon bits and then baked it.  Once the cheese was melted I popped it out, dolloped some sour cream on top and cut up some green onions to garnish. It was yummy!

 

  Yeah, health nut I am NOT!  However, Brother and I had a really wonderful meal together and that, my friends, is what counts 😉