I love the idea of making my own salad dressings. They are quick, easy and always taste better than the bottled kind. Plus its a great way to use ingredients that you are sure to have in your pantry or refrigerator. I also like the fact that you can mostly eliminate the preservatives in your food.
So here's my own recipe that I came up with one evening when I was making an Pepper Crusted Ahi Tuna Steak Salad. I wanted something to compliment the tuna, but add a slightly sweet, hot & sour Asian style flavor to it.
Just simply whisk together the following ingredients. This is really enough for one large dinner salad, so be sure to double it for more servings.
1 TBSP peanut butter
1 scallion (chopped finely - or less to taste)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 TBSP rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp chili paste (or less to taste)
1 TBSP honey
1 TBSP soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground garlic
Feel free to use this on grilled chicken, tofu, pork, beef or whatever suits you.
Enjoy!
cheers!
xo diane
contact: thepantrychallenge[at]gmail[dot]com
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Quickie Recipe 1 - Easy Hummus
Labels:
hummus,
masaman hummus,
quickie recipe,
the pantry challenge
From time to time, I will interject and just add a little "quickie" recipe that uses pantry ingredients but might not be an entire meal per se. I have several of these recipes in my arsenal that I go to on a moment's notice when I have unexpected guests, need a quick snack or want to make something simple and delicious to take to a friend's house for a party.
The other night I was on the phone with my friend Caroline and we were talking about being hungry and she mentioned that she was going to eat some hummus that she had and I got excited because I realized that I had a can of chick peas (or garbanzo beans)in my
pantry. So in a few short minutes I whipped up not one but two different styles of hummus for my snacking pleasure.
Here are the very few ingredients that I use when making my hummus:
I do this all in a food processor which makes preparation a snap! So start by peeling your garlic (one or two cloves depending on how strong you like it) and add it to the food processor fitted with the "S" blade (or multi-purpose blade). Pulse a few times to chop the garlic a bit.
Drain your chick peas reserving some of the liquid in case you need to add it back later. Add the chick peas, tahini, lemon juice & lemon zest to the bowl. Pulse until
you reach a lovely, creamy consistency. Now is when you would add a little of the liquid back in if need be to thin the mixture out. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Now I was getting a little creative when I was thinking about making the hummus wondering what it would be like with a bit of masaman curry paste that I still had. Its got the right flavor profile as far as I'm concerned so I left 1/2 of the finished hummus in the food processor and added 2 TBSP of the paste and blended well. Wow! I was so pleasantly surprised. I haven't seen this flavor elsewhere, but will definitely be making it in the future. It added a lovely earthy, slightly piquant, tangy, aromatic flavor that was amazing.
So give that one a try if you like. Here is the recipe card for this "quickie".
Cheers!
xo diane
contact: thepantrychallenge[at]gmail[dot]com
The other night I was on the phone with my friend Caroline and we were talking about being hungry and she mentioned that she was going to eat some hummus that she had and I got excited because I realized that I had a can of chick peas (or garbanzo beans)in my
pantry. So in a few short minutes I whipped up not one but two different styles of hummus for my snacking pleasure.
Here are the very few ingredients that I use when making my hummus:
I do this all in a food processor which makes preparation a snap! So start by peeling your garlic (one or two cloves depending on how strong you like it) and add it to the food processor fitted with the "S" blade (or multi-purpose blade). Pulse a few times to chop the garlic a bit.
Drain your chick peas reserving some of the liquid in case you need to add it back later. Add the chick peas, tahini, lemon juice & lemon zest to the bowl. Pulse until
you reach a lovely, creamy consistency. Now is when you would add a little of the liquid back in if need be to thin the mixture out. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Now I was getting a little creative when I was thinking about making the hummus wondering what it would be like with a bit of masaman curry paste that I still had. Its got the right flavor profile as far as I'm concerned so I left 1/2 of the finished hummus in the food processor and added 2 TBSP of the paste and blended well. Wow! I was so pleasantly surprised. I haven't seen this flavor elsewhere, but will definitely be making it in the future. It added a lovely earthy, slightly piquant, tangy, aromatic flavor that was amazing.
So give that one a try if you like. Here is the recipe card for this "quickie".
Cheers!
xo diane
contact: thepantrychallenge[at]gmail[dot]com
I went grocery shopping the other day to Central Market just to pick up a few basic items and as usual had a blast. For those of you who don't live in Central Texas, Central Market is a grocery store where they offer unique specialty items along with their regular stock items. It's such fun to shop there especially when I need to be "inspired" for great meal ideas.
I purchased my normal array of fresh fruits and veggies and saw that they had a Hatch green chile pork sausage link. That was the inspiration behind this dish. The pantry items I used today were red kidney beans & dried orzo pasta. The other ingredients were a carrot, fresh corn, zucchini, vegetable stock, onions, garlic, spices and even a lemon wedge. (Not shown here, but was an afterthought that I HIGHLY recommend!)
Start your soup by browning your sausage in a drizzle of olive oil. Make sure to remove the meat from the casing so that it breaks up evenly into your soup.
Next add your onions & garlic and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes until they are softened.
Now add your carrots, corn & zucchini and cook those for about 3 minutes.
Add your beans, vegetable stock and spices. Cook for another 4 minutes then add the orzo pasta and cook for another 7 minutes until the pasta is ready. You may finish the dish with a tablespoon of butter and let it melt into the soup to make it richer and a bit more velvety. That step is optional, but I highly recommend it.
I garnished mine with some ribbons of fresh basil and a squeeze of fresh lemon. The basil added a nice fresh touch, but the lemon really made the dish explode! It opened up the flavors of the vegetables and added a nice acidity to the soup. I wouldn't skip that part if I were you. :)
Here is the recipe card for this dish:
Cheers!
xo diane
contact: thepantrychallenge[at]gmail[dot]com
I purchased my normal array of fresh fruits and veggies and saw that they had a Hatch green chile pork sausage link. That was the inspiration behind this dish. The pantry items I used today were red kidney beans & dried orzo pasta. The other ingredients were a carrot, fresh corn, zucchini, vegetable stock, onions, garlic, spices and even a lemon wedge. (Not shown here, but was an afterthought that I HIGHLY recommend!)
Start your soup by browning your sausage in a drizzle of olive oil. Make sure to remove the meat from the casing so that it breaks up evenly into your soup.
Next add your onions & garlic and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes until they are softened.
Now add your carrots, corn & zucchini and cook those for about 3 minutes.
Add your beans, vegetable stock and spices. Cook for another 4 minutes then add the orzo pasta and cook for another 7 minutes until the pasta is ready. You may finish the dish with a tablespoon of butter and let it melt into the soup to make it richer and a bit more velvety. That step is optional, but I highly recommend it.
I garnished mine with some ribbons of fresh basil and a squeeze of fresh lemon. The basil added a nice fresh touch, but the lemon really made the dish explode! It opened up the flavors of the vegetables and added a nice acidity to the soup. I wouldn't skip that part if I were you. :)
Here is the recipe card for this dish:
Cheers!
xo diane
contact: thepantrychallenge[at]gmail[dot]com
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Recipe 3 - Meatballs with Penne
Labels:
penne and meatballs,
recipe,
the pantry challenge
Sorry for the delay of this recipe. I actually made this dish last Thursday night but with the upcoming events of my weekend, I just didn't get a chance to get it posted.
For this dish I used some of the ingredients that I had left over from the baked manicotti recipe and then added some vegetables and a frozen hamburger patty that I had.
I start by getting the water heated for the pasta. While that is working you can get the meatballs & sauce going.
Since I used a frozen hamburger patty the meat had more moisture than regular ground beef. I decided to use bread crumbs to help keep the meatball together.
I prefer to make smaller meatballs since they cook quicker. These are approximately the size of a ping pong ball. I used one 1/4lb beef patty.
Start by browning the meatballs with a few tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan. Make sure to get some good color on them to add more flavor.
While the meatballs are cooking, chop up the carrots and zucchini. Once the meatballs are ready add the vegetables in with the meat to start them cooking.
Cook the vegetables for a few minutes then add the pasta sauce. Cover and simmer for the time it takes the pasta to cook. This will vary by style of pasta that you decide to use, or how you like your pasta done. I prefer mine al dente.
Once the pasta is done add it to the sauce and toss. I used the last of the fresh mozzarella that I had and grated that on top as a garnish. Yum!
Here is the recipe card for this recipe:
Cheers!
xo diane
contact: thepantrychallenge[at]gmail[dot]com
For this dish I used some of the ingredients that I had left over from the baked manicotti recipe and then added some vegetables and a frozen hamburger patty that I had.
I start by getting the water heated for the pasta. While that is working you can get the meatballs & sauce going.
Since I used a frozen hamburger patty the meat had more moisture than regular ground beef. I decided to use bread crumbs to help keep the meatball together.
I prefer to make smaller meatballs since they cook quicker. These are approximately the size of a ping pong ball. I used one 1/4lb beef patty.
Start by browning the meatballs with a few tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan. Make sure to get some good color on them to add more flavor.
While the meatballs are cooking, chop up the carrots and zucchini. Once the meatballs are ready add the vegetables in with the meat to start them cooking.
Cook the vegetables for a few minutes then add the pasta sauce. Cover and simmer for the time it takes the pasta to cook. This will vary by style of pasta that you decide to use, or how you like your pasta done. I prefer mine al dente.
Once the pasta is done add it to the sauce and toss. I used the last of the fresh mozzarella that I had and grated that on top as a garnish. Yum!
Here is the recipe card for this recipe:
Cheers!
xo diane
contact: thepantrychallenge[at]gmail[dot]com
I have another recipe and meal in the works...life just seems to get in the way sometimes (which I am grateful for).
I will be going out of town this weekend to my Dad's house to do a little grilling with my sister and her kids before they head back to Europe. (Paris to be exact...lucky.) We're going to be making our family's favorite marinated flank steak which is to die for.
Here is a pic to get you going, not of my actual steak just yet:
So I think instead of doing a pantry thing, I might just let you know what we make while I'm there. I'll take photos and post a recipe or two when I get back in a few days. So many great things in the works.
Have a great weekend y'all and I'll see you on the flipside!
xo Diane
contact: thepantrychallenge[at]gmail[dot]com
I will be going out of town this weekend to my Dad's house to do a little grilling with my sister and her kids before they head back to Europe. (Paris to be exact...lucky.) We're going to be making our family's favorite marinated flank steak which is to die for.
Here is a pic to get you going, not of my actual steak just yet:
So I think instead of doing a pantry thing, I might just let you know what we make while I'm there. I'll take photos and post a recipe or two when I get back in a few days. So many great things in the works.
Have a great weekend y'all and I'll see you on the flipside!
xo Diane
contact: thepantrychallenge[at]gmail[dot]com
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