Category Archives: Dinner

Mondays Pho-cking Suck

It’s not a bad word if it’s spelled differently, Mom.

pho-cking delish

pho-cking delish

It’s a fact. Mondays suck. I don’t care if you are Debbie Downer and do nothing over the weekend, I still assume that you hate Mondays as much as I do. They are the worst. The only thing that’s worse than Monday is a bad weather Monday. Rainy Monday = hibernation. This soup will make your Monday much better, especially if you have a cold or feel like sh*t. Also, I just said Monday 7  8 times in one paragraph. Pho-k you day after Sunday. Also, in no way is this authentic pho, or authentic anything. It’s fridge pho, and it is delicious

  • 32 oz. garlic beef broth
  • 12 oz. low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 chicken wings from a rotisserie chicken (ya, I’m serious)
  • ½ white onion, diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
  • Handfuls of- cilantro, basil, mint, sliced green onion
  • 1 cup of Asian noodles (like the kind from ramen)
  • 3 tbs. chili paste (sambal oelek) less if you’re a puss and don’t like hot stuff
  • 1 tbs. oyster sauce
  • 1 tbs. hoisin
  • 1 tbs. tamari (low sodium) or soy sauce

In a large soup pan simmer onions and garlic with 1 tbs. coconut oil until soft. Add in tamari, oyster sauce and 2 tbs. chili paste and coat the onions and garlic. Sautee for another minute. Add in the chicken wings and just let them sit with the mixture for like 4 minutes on medium heat. The chicken is already cooked, so you don’t have to worry about that, I just like the flavor. Add in broths and simmer for an hour. Cook noodles separately and put in the bottom of a big bowl. Top the noodles with the broth (discard the wings after an hour). Garnish with chili paste, hoisin and all the herbs. If you want to look like a badass, add chopsticks and a Chinese soup spoon and you’re golden.

Also—Have tomato soup and grilled cheese materials handy in case your significant other doesn’t really dig Asian. What’s that? You don’t have a significant other? Shit, sorry. This recipe makes enough for 2 with lots of leftovers….awkward. I hear match.com is having a sign up special?? Good Luck!

pho1

Chopped Salads for the Win

salads

When you don’t feel like making anything fancy, just grab anything in your fridge that you can chop up and grab it. I didn’t feel like more Mexi, but Craw did, so I made two different choppers. The star was the fat free jalapeno ranch, which I tried to make taste as close to Chuy’s as possible. Chuy’s jap ranch is the shiz, but most likely has mayo in it and it full of calories, so here is a less fatass version for you to enjoy.

Literally just blend it all together. If you want a thinner dressing, add a bit more water and blend until you get the right consistency. Here are the salad ingredents…

Mexicanish Chopped Salad

  • 2 cups chopped iceberg
  • 1/2 c. black beans
  • 1/2 c. sauteed corn
  • 1/2 c. chopped chicken
  • 1/4 ripe avocado
  • however much dressing you want

Toasted Quinoa spinach salad

  • 1/2 c. toasted quinoa (take cooked, cooled quinoa and saute in skillet with 1 tsp basil oil until crunchy)
  • 2 cups spinach, here’s best way to chop–I put a handful of spinach inside butter lettuce and chiffonade, like so http://www.finecooking.com/articles/cutting-chiffonade-basil.aspx
  • 1/4 ripe avocado
  • 1 tbs. low sugar craisins
  • 1 tbs. chopped candied pecans
  • 1 tbs. aged balsamic
  • 1 tsp. olive oil

**I use more of the balsamic because thick, aged balsamic is the bomb. The above salad is great with any protein, but filling on its own.

 

Oh, and I forgot to rant about Rosa’s in the previous post…. All my West Texas peeps will understand.

Dear Rosa’s,

I understand that the point of a restaurant is to turn a profit, but cutting corners in the queso fillage department is NOT the way. When I spend $40 on an order (for one…), I expect to have enough queso in the “bowl” of queso to have leftovers. When you make me finish off an entire bowl alone, it angers me. And also, wrap your tortillas in foil, not paper. It’s just common sense. And when I order 15 things and only 1 drink, I can hear the judgement in your tone when you repeat my order. I’m already judging myself on Fat Sunday (yes, capitalized the F in Fat, it makes sense), and I don’t need you to do it for me. I have mirrors and family for that. That being said, you da bestest, see you Sunday.

Yours today and Always,

Chubby Caroline

Skrimp Tacos for Skinny People

 

healthy never looked so good

healthy never looked so good

Looking back at my posts, it seems like I am always writing after a long weekend, and am either hungover or hungry. Truth be told, at this point in my life, it’s 100% true. If idiots would stop getting married, my life would probably be a bit less bloaty. Recently, my Sundays have been a Sophie’s choice deciding between Gattis and Dominos for lunch, and Texas Burger or Rosa’s for dinner. Obvioulsy Dominos wins, since the Tall City doesn’t have a Gatti’s that delivers, and Rosa’s usually wins because it’s closer. More of a Rosa’s rant after the actual recipe. So Fat Sunday leads to Meaty Monday, and we wind up trying to starve ourselves on Tiny Tuesday. I. HATE. Tiny Tuesday. So, to make up for eating something that didn’t have crust, a bun or queso, I made shrimp tacos, or more like shrimp lettuce wraps. Use butter lettuce, for two reasons: Butter in the name makes it sound more pleasant, and they already are taco shell shape (ish). Here’s the recipe for the shrimp, there’s enough for two plus leftovers the next day.

Mix the shrimp and seasonings and lime together and let it marinate in the fridge for 10 minutes–no longer, because the acid in lime juice will start to cook the shrimp. Heat oil in a skillet until hot. Add shrimp and saute for about 5-7 minutes until cooked through. Serve in lettuce cups with a slice of avocado and some poblano salsa, recipe here: http://thewifewithaknife.com/2014/03/03/salsa-and-sav-b-saturdays/

Beef it up with some fat free re-fried beans–I jazz mine up by adding some roasted garlic and ground pepper and blend it until smooth like Tex-Mex restaurants, and top with cotija cheese.