cooking ala mel

Lo Mein

February 7, 2011

For dinner last night, Alex decided to make some lo mein with ramen noodles. I was content with a roasted tomato salad and let him have at it. I was pleasantly surprised when he finished making it; aside from being rather colorless from a lack of extra veggies, it looked rather tasty. It was.

He added some baby bellas..yum yum.

Lo Mein
1 package ramen noodles, without seasoning
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
baby bella mushrooms, sliced (Alex used 3)
any other veggies you’d like
3 T olive oil (although Alex says you should use sesame, which we did not have)
2 T soy sauce
salt & pepper, to taste

Soak the ramen noodles in warm water to soften slightly. Fry up the egg with a little bit of soy sauce in oil, scrambling while frying. Add in the veggies and about 1 T of each oil and soy sauce and cook until softened. Add in the softened noodles and cook until fully softened and well mixed. Add the remaining oil and soy sauce, cook until well absorbed. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

February 6, 2011

What with the Super Bowl being today, I had to make some buffalo chicken dip! This is definitely my favorite dip I’ve ever tasted. No game day should be without it!

The combination of spicy, tangy, cheesy..you’ll have trouble stopping with this one!

And dunk!

I like making my own tortilla chips, too, with multi grain wraps and some salt (& some seasonings), baked at 400ºF for about 10-12 minutes!

Buffalo Chicken Dip
8 oz. package cream cheese
½ cup ranch dressing
½ cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I do a combination of mozzarella and cheddar!)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Heat oven to 350 F. Place cream cheese into deep dish 9-inch pie plate. Microwave 1 minute to soften.
Whisk in salad dressing, RedHot and cheese until smooth. Stir in chicken.
Bake 10 minutes or until mixture is heated through; stir. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

You can also make it in the microwave – heat it for about 5 minutes, stirring part way through!

Egg-in-a-Hole and Hashbrowns

February 6, 2011

My dad always made us eggs-in-a-hole when I was younger. You may call them Rocky Mountain Eggs, or eggs in a basket. To me, it’s always been an egg-in-a-hole. Not very original, but that’s the way I like it. These hashbrowns were extremely tasty, too. I don’t have a cheesecloth, so I didn’t drain any of the excess liquid, so they ended up looking a bit gummy, but the flavor was soo good.

Served up with some fried ham and sausage.

Hashbrowns

1 potato, grated

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Onion Onion & Garlic Garlic

salt

2 T olive oil

Grate the potatoes and squeeze in a cheesecloth to remove excess liquid. Heat oil in large skillet and add potatoes. Add seasonings and cook until slightly softened. Add onion and garlic and cook until onions and potatoes are slightly browned.

Egg-in-a-Hole

eggs

bread (one piece of bread for each egg)

salt, chili pepper flakes, Onion Onion

olive oil spray

Heat skillet over medium heat and spray with olive oil. Cut out hole in each piece of bread with a shot glass or other small round. Place bread in skillet and crack egg over it. Add seasonings and allow the egg white to set. Flip and cook until whites completely set. Toast the rounds that you cut out and use them to dip into the runny yolk.