Spicy Asian Hamburger

Final number one is out of the way. I have three finals and a paper until I’ll no longer be a law student, but will start studying for the bar exam instead. I guess that’s still sort of a law student though, isn’t it? I probably should be studying for my exam for tomorrow, but I feel sort of brain dead after the one I had today.

On Sunday of this week I made this delicious hamburger. Infused with Asian flavors, this made such a great meal. And instead of serving it just with french fries, I roasted some asparagus as well and tossed the french fries and the asparagus in Argyle Street Asian Blend, which I had received from a Foodie Pen Pals some months back. And instead of ketchup for the fries, I mixed up some sriacha, mayonnaise,  and ketchup which also was the spread on the burger. Both the fries and the asparagus tasted good with the dip.

All in all, this was a very satisfying meal!

Spicy Asian Hamburger
(source)

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1 tbsp vegetable oil
all-purpose flour (for dusting)
4 hamburger buns
2 green onions, roughly chopped
1 tomato, sliced
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp sriacha

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine the ground beef, garlic, ginger, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, and egg. Mix together with your hands. Shape the mixture into four patties and dust with flour.

2. In a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil. Once hot add the patties. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side.

3. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, and sriacha.

4. Toast the buns. Spread each bun with some of the sriacha spread. Place a burger on each bun and top with tomato. Cover with other half of the bun.

* serves 4
* Shared with Kahakai Kitchen’s Souper Sundays, Wednesday Whatsits, Cast Party Wednesday, & The Busy Bees

Pantry Party May 2013 Announcement

Welcome to a round up featuring recipes you cook with ingredients found in your pantry. On the 1st of each month (well, this post is going up early because I got excited) I’ll announce the pantry party challenge of the month.  All you need to do is cook something based on the theme with at least one ingredient found in your pantry. Have some pasta? Some jelly? Some sauce? Flour? Sugar? Canned foods? We all have stuff pushed in our pantries that get forgotten about, so now is the time to make use of these otherwise forgotten foods.

On the 29th of each month I will post the round-up, with all the recipes and links to your blogs showcasing your contribution to the party.

I hope you’ll join me and explore your pantries!

How to Participate:

1. Visit The Law Student’s Cookbook on the 1st of each month to find out the Pantry Challenge Theme of the month.

2. Cook up something delicious based on the theme for the month with at least one ingredient found in your pantry.

3. Post the recipe on your blog. You can submit more than one recipe in a month if you wish, but all recipes must be current. If you don’t have a blog, you can still participate! Just send me an email with a write-up of your recipe, a picture, and any other information. I’ll make a post with recipes from readers who participated.

4. You must link to the announcement post for the given month in your blog post. If you wish, you can also use the graphic above in your post or sidebar (which you can find here.)

5. Email your recipes to elizabeth@crabtech.net no later than the 28th of each month. In the email include:

* Your name
* Your blog name
* Permalink to the blog post
* A photo of your recipe or permission to pull one from the post

6. On the 29th of each month visit The Law Student’s Cookbook for the recipe round up!

The theme for May is STUFFED.
You decide what you’re going to stuff and what you’ll stuff it with. Stuffed pork chops for instance? Let your imagination run wild! Just utilize your pantry!

Foodie Pen Pal Reveal: March

Wow. I completely forgot that I needed to reveal my foodie pen pal box this month until right now! Things have been super hectic this weekend with Easter. My spring break was actually last week, so I’ve been going to my parents’ a lot in the past few weeks. I feel like I’m getting behind in everything else.

This month’s box came to me from April. Unfortunately I just haven’t had the time to try most of it, but she packed me a great box!

Foodie Pen Pals is a program that Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean put together, where she pairs people together to send boxes of food to each other, based on likes and dislikes.

• 
  On the 5th of the month you receive an email pairing you with information about who you’re paired with. You email that person to get information pertaining to allergies and dietary restriction.
• By the 15th you put together a box of treats and mail them to your partner.
• On the last day of the month you post a blog post about your box of treat

Before we get to my box, go check out the box I sent Molly! It was full of San Francisco treats.

The box April sent me was full of things I can use easily. It actually arrived while I was out of town. Matt ate the Quakes Rice Snacks before I could try them. So that bag.. It’s empty.

This French vanilla mousse mix will make a nice dessert one night! Since I’m in the process of losing weight, I much appreciate that it’s both sugar free and low fat!

This LaraBar was eaten. Quick snacks for school days are crucial.

I haven’t used these croutons yet, but I bought some salad supplies today and plan to include these!

I love egg noodles. I planned to make some beef stew last week with buttered egg noodles, but it didn’t happen due to my hectic life. I have the big piece of beef in the freezer that will be made into a stew with these noodles.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to try these! Matt enjoyed them though.

Pantry Party March Round Up

For March Pantry Party made the request to share breaded dishes. There weren’t as many participants as usual this month, but there was still a wide variety of dishes shared utilizing those trusty pantries. This theme was really broad – breaded essentially could cover a ton of things. So what did the participants this month bread?

The next theme will be posted April 1st, so be looking for it! I’m excited for it.

Our first dish this month comes from Summaiyah Hyder of From My Perspective: Life Through My Eyes. These Homemade [Baked] Chicken Nuggets remind me a lot of nuggets I used to make in college and has made me want to make them for dinner again. This easy recipe is a great way to show off breaded food.

Let’s not stop there though! There needs to be more in life than just breaded chicken. What about Baked [and crusted] Tilapia? Summaiyah Hyder knows how to bread things, that’s for sure! These fish pieces look delightful.

Chicken is a prime source of breaded meals. This Oven Fried Chicken made by Summaiyah Hyder shows how crispy breaded chicken can be.

Besides baking breaded dishes Summaiyah Hyder shows how easy it is to fry chicken nuggets with her Homemade Chicken Nuggets.

I got nuts here at the Law Student’s Cookbook this month and made two dishes suited for this month’s theme. My first creation was a Cracker Crusted Pork Chop. I had used a garden veggie chip for a fun variation on a breading.

Over at Lovefoodies, a different take on breaded food was approached. This Cantonese Sweet and Sour Chicken shows how breading can be used on different cuisines – everything isn’t always southern fried chicken! I love sweet and sour chicken myself and want to give this one a try.

Michelle over at Ms. enPlace made a yummy sauce that she served over pork. These Pan Fried Pork Chops with Parsley Mustard Sauce look delicious to me. I like the idea of a sauce on a breaded dish so much! With my pesto kick as of late, I’m going to have to give this a shot.

Shannon from Giraffe Days shared two dishes this month. First Shannon shared the Parmesan Sesame Chicken Strips. Shannon made these during a review of Six Sisters’ Stuff cookbook. Despite it not being her favorite cookbook, Shannon made wonders with these breaded pieces of chicken.

Shannon also shared a recipe for Chicken Nuggets from Top 100 Finger Foods: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy, Happy Child. For as many nuggets as we got this month, each kind has its own appeal. Shannon’s son seems eager to get this one into his mouth!

 

My final recipe (and the last recipe of this month’s round up) was Breaded Tomato Pasta. I knew there would be a lot of breaded chicken, so I opted for something incredibly different. The fried tomatoes were delicious paired with this pasta.

I love all the breaded dishes! It’s nice to see the variety even between different types of breaded chicken. Next month’s theme will be announced on April 1st. Thanks for participating and I hope to see you again next month!

 

Top 12 For 2012

THE TOP 12 DISHES OF 2012!

I decided that like a lot of blogs, I should showcase the most viewed recipes for the year. It’s been a great year of food and I’m looking forward to another.

Peanut Butter Chili
Funfetti Cake Batter Milkshake
Cheesy Chicken Parmesan
Lemon Rolls
Broccoli-Cheddar Soup
Beer Battered Grilled Cheese
Coupe Coupe and Yucca Fries
Butternut Squash Pizza
Fish Stew and Flat Bread
Jerk Chicken, Vegetable Patties, and Banana Fritters
Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie Stew
Slow Cooker Lentil Vegetable Stew

Christmas Dinner Menu

My favorite thing about Christmas is the dinner I have with my family. Unlike Thanksgiving, for Christmas we do a fancier, most intimate dinner with just my nuclear family. We don’t have a Christmas tradition that we partake in every year, but the main part of our holiday is to spend time together.

This year we have decided that on Christmas Eve we are going to the Fairmont Hotel to oggle at the massive gingerbread house in the lobby. Afterwards we’re either going to the bar in the Fairmont or another bar around to have a cocktail (it’s so weird that my brother and I can drink with our parents.) When we get home we’ll probably play a game of Hearts.

On Christmas we wake up at about 9. Mom will make some coffee. We’ll sit around and open presents and Mozart (the beagle) will actually do all of the unwrapping. And then we’ll have Eggnog and Cranberry Rolls for breakfast.

The rest of the day will be spent in the kitchen preparing a beautiful dinner.

The main dish isn’t quite decided yet because it depends on whether my mom decides to spend the money on a rack of lamb. If she decides against the price, we’re having a crown roast instead.

CHRISTMAS DINNER 2012

Glazed Racks of Lamb OR Crown Roast of Pork with Apple Stuffing
Burgundy Mushrooms
Sweet Potato Rolls
Breaded Brussels Sprouts
Creamed Onions
Panna Cotta with Berry Sauce

What are your Christmas traditions?
What are you having for Christmas dinner this year?

* Shared with Weekend Cooking

SPEAKING OF WHICH…
ENTER MY CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY

Merry Christmas

On a non-food related note, Merry Christmas! My tree is up! And I decorated it with owls I saw online.

How did you decorate your tree?

 

A Note From The Owner: Proposition 37

On California ballots this November we will be voting on Proposition 37, an initiative that would make food companies that use GMOs in their food to include labeling that would inform consumers who want to know that the food is not in fact ‘natural’ but was made using GMOs.

I’m really not all that concerned about eating processed food or genetically modified food. I feel like I’ve been eating it for the most of my life anyway – so whatever. But at the same time, I think it’s important to know what’s going into your mouth and fueling your body. I think it is the responsibility of food companies to allow us this knowledge, so people can make decisions about what they’re eating without being misled. And I find it disturbing that they want to continue being sneaky and dishonest with their labeling.

Starting this week I have decided to not purchase products sold by any of the companies that have paid to oppose the Proposition 37 campaign. I don’t feel comfortable knowing my grocery money is going to oppose a proposition that I think is important to Californians, and everyone.

If these companies want to continue using GMOs in their foods, I really don’t care. But if they want to continue to use GMOs they need to be honest about it and allow people to easily look at a package and know one way or the other.

For a list of major food companies against GMO labeling you can look here.

All I can say is grocery shopping was pretty hard today.

Liebster Award

Much to my surprise I checked my blog recently and saw that I was awarded the LIEBSTER AWARD! Kate, of Katie-Kate’s Kitchen awarded me with the Liebster for my 52-week challenge of traveling around the world in food. While I will fully admit, I have entirely slacked off with this you should be expecting to see me travel to Haiti in food this week. Thank you Kate for this honor!

Once you receive the Liebster there are several requirements for what you must do:

1.  You must thank the blogger who gave you the award, and link back to their post.

2.  You must post the Liebster icon on your Thank You post.

3.  You must present the Liebster to five other blogs, and they must have under 200 followers to be eligible.

4.  Let those awardees know you gave them an award by leaving them a comment on their blog!

I am awarding the Liebster to:

- Couscous & Consciousness gets the first of the awards I am to give out! Over at Couscous & Consciousness you can participate in Cookbook Sundays. Cookbook Sundays provide a great opportunity to use those cookbooks on your shelves!

- KB & White Snake Home gets my second award this evening! Every week these two post up Simply Delish, allowing other bloggers the opportunity to share things made in their own kitchens! They deserve an award for this great link up!

- Made Famous By… gets an award also! I love the food photos throughout this blog. More people need to go look at the lovely food photography!

- The Desperate Chefwife gets award number 4. I love how her blog is laid out, making different types of recipes easy to find!

- Last but definitely not least the last award goes to A Baker’s House. Her recipes are easy to follow and she even provides how-tos (like how to cut a mango!)

Velata Chocolate Fondue

In February I started selling Scentsy, a wickless candle with a variety of warmers to choose from and 80 some scents to choose from. I started selling Scentsy because I realized that with as much as I liked the product, I would be purchasing a lot of it and it only made sense for me to sell Scentsy also. So far I’ve fallen in love with the scents Pixie, Black Raspberry Vanilla, and Cerise.

With that background, today Scentsy released a new brand . . . Welcome to Velata! Velata is a fondue system, similar to the Scentsy in that it warms and melts with a 25-watt lightbulb, Velata melts Belgian chocolate for you to dip yummies in. Currently Velata makes chocolate in Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Caramel Milk Chocolate, and White Chocolate.

I’ve only tried the Velata once so far, namely because I don’t want to eat through all 6 bags of chocolate in less than a week. Trust me, that is possible. Starring in this picture is my Noir Velata melting the Milk Chocolate. I had pretzels and donut holes to dip.

Delicious!

Velata is perfect opportunity for slumber parties, girls’ nights, date nights, and the list goes on!

If you’re interested in purchasing a Velata my site is here. I currently only sell to the US, however, I can expand to Canada if there’s interest.

Additionally, I realize I’ve been completely non-existent from my blog as of late. School and work have overwhelmed me. Finals are currently in progress and will be over next Monday. With that said, I’m about to actually post a recipe.