Slaw of Opportunity

Links to the honey lime chicken thighs and coconut lime cilantro rice recipes will be provided below.

So I've been making variations of this slaw for the past few years, and I have recently come to the conclusion that, aside from one constant, the rest of the recipe is infinitely variable.

The one constant is... drumroll please...

A package of instant ramen. Top Ramen... Maruchan... doesn't matter what brand... you know what I'm talking about.

Depending on the ingredients you add, it may not taste remotely Asian at all. 

Here is the recipe for the slaw pictured above, along with a few suggested substitutions...

crucial ingredient-

1 package of instant ramen, noodles crushed onto foil-lined baking sheet

seasoning packet, reserved

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast crushed noodles until slightly golden, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

dressing-

In a small bowl/tightly sealed container, combine the following:

instant ramen seasoning packet

2 T freshly grated ginger

1/4 C rice wine vinegar

1/4 C canola oil

1 T soy sauce

1 T white sugar

1 T mirin

1 T toasted sesame oil

10 heavy dashes Maggi sauce

Whisk or shake until well combined. Set aside.

*Notes- if you don't have fresh ginger, use powdered. If you don't have powdered, omit completely. No big. No rice wine vinegar? Use whatever you have. No mirin? Add a smidge more sugar (or not). No Maggi? Got fish sauce? No? Fuggetabouddit. Make the flavor profile your own.

WHAT I HAD IN THE FRIDGE---

2 large stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 large carrot, grated

2 large green onions, sliced

however much shredded cabbage... I was just free-wheeling at this point...

choppped cilantro

WHAT YOU MIGHT USE---

Any vegetables you can cut into slaw-like pieces (including peas)

Don't forget fruits (including dried)

Toasted or candied nuts. Go nuts.

Proteins... diced chicken, bacon, USE YOUR IMAGINATION

Don't be afraid to add cheeses.

Combine toasted noodles, dressing, and whatever happened to jump in the bowl. Toss vigorously. Cover and chill until you feel the correct vibe coming from the bowl, at least one hour. Taste for seasoning. Accept that it's good enough for now, but start thinking about future corrections. Serve.

Skillet Honey Lime Chicken

This is honestly one of the fastest, easiest, most delicious recipes I've ever made. 

Cilantro-lime Coconut Rice

One of my go-to recipes!!

Mango Avocado Salad

In my ongoing quest to use up the lovely items I've been getting from Imperfect Produce before the fruit flies get to them, I came up with this salad. It is light, creamy, and refreshing, especially when paired with a well-seasoned grilled protein.

Jerk-seasoned pork chop, cumin grilled zucchini, jasmine rice, and mango avocado salad

2 T. mayo

1/2 lime, juiced

1 t. Dijon

few dashes hot sauce

salt & pepper, to taste

2 large mangoes, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced

2 avocados, diced

3 green onion, sliced

1/3 C. fresh basil, chopped

In medium bowl, gently combine all ingredients until well mixed. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Liver... and... onions... ew

I'm just going to come right out and tell you, I hate liver. Hate eating it. Hate cooking it. Absolutely loathe it. Hate everything about it from beginning to end. However, it was my ex-husband's favorite thing ever, so we came to a compromise. I would cook it once a year for his birthday. In the 30 years we were together, I kinda nailed it. There will be no photos in this post, as I am never going to touch that stuff again in my life, but I can't let my recipe just die either.

Here it is... the ultimate liver recipe...

1 lb beef liver... or calf liver... or whatever the fuck OMG JUST GET SOME DAMN LIVER, YOU MONSTER!!!
1 qt buttermilk
2 t salt
1 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
1 c flour
2 t salt
fresh ground pepper
2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
1/2 lb thick sliced bacon, cut into 1" pieces

The SECOND you get in the house with your supplies, head directly for the kitchen. Find a medium sized bowl (preferably with a corresponding lid). Remove liver slices from original container and place in bowl. Pour half the carton of buttermilk over. Add salt, onion, and garlic powders. Toss and mix everything until completely coated. Cover and let it sit there and think about what it's done.
In a large frying pan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain and reserve all fat and drippings.
Saute onions in 2 T. bacon fat, sprinkling with a little salt, until transparent and just starting to caramelize. Remove onions from pan and hold with bacon.
Place flour, salt, and pepper in a plastic bag, shaking to mix. Carefully... very carefully... grab the smallest corner of the nearest piece of EW!!! Shake off as much buttermilk as you can and throw it in the bag of flour. Shake shake shake the bag... grab a corner and shake the liver slice some more... ew... then put it on a rack to, once again, contemplate it's life choices. Repeat with remaining slices.
Heat remaining bacon drippings, adding more butter if needed, until almost smoking. Dip each liver slice back into the buttermilk mixture, then back into the flour, then omg IthinkIneedatherapysessionrightnow... carefully lower into hot fat. Fry until coating is golden and blood is just starting to rise to the top. Turn and fry for another few minutes, until golden brown. The liver should be barely pink in the middle when cut. Set onto warmed serving plate to rest. Throw onions and bacon back into hot pan to reheat. Scoop over fried liver slices. Serve to the child of Satan who eats that crap.

I don't eat it... I just work here.

Creamy Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad

For those days when you've got everything to make a salad... except lettuce...

Creamy Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2" dice
1/2 t. kosher salt
1 large tomato, seeded and cut into 1/2" dice
1 large avocado, cut into 1/2" dice
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 C. sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
2 T. mayo
2 t. sugar
1 T. white vinegar
1/2 t. dried dill
ground pepper to taste

Place cucumber in a strainer and toss with salt. Let stand for 30 minutes, then rinse under cold water. Dump into a few layers of paper towels and squeeze lightly to drain. Combine dressing ingredients in a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Salad with Citrus Dressing

After months of eating winter food (aka basically meat and starch), my body finally got through to my brain and screamed "YOU NEED SOMETHING FRESH!!" Thanks to my Imperfect Produce deliveries, I had the inspiration to come up with this dressing and most of the ingredients for the salad. It was, of course, DELICIOUS! Using standard citrus is fine... I just had Cara Cara oranges and Meyer lemons, so that's what I used. Mix it up with whatever you have and/or like.

Citrus Dressing-

1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 C. vegetable oil
2 t. orange zest
1/3 C. fresh orange juice (Cara Cara or blood orange, if available)
2 T. fresh lemon juice (Meyer lemon, if available)
2 T. fresh lime juice
2 T. honey
2 t. Dijon mustard
1/4 t. salt

Combine ingredients in jar with tight-fitting lid. Shake until emulsified.

Lightly toss greens of your choice with dressing, just to coat. Top with items of your choice, and drizzle with a little more dressing.

This particular salad contained-

baby spinach
arugula
roasted beets
avocado
diced pears
dried cranberries
goat cheese
candied walnuts (click HERE for recipe)

Want to learn more about Imperfect Produce? Click here to get $10 off your first delivery!

Baked Chicken Thighs With Creamy White Wine Tarragon Sauce

Yesterday, I got a flat tire. Fortunately, I was close enough to the house to get home safely. Unfortunately, I no longer had a way to pick up the pizza I was going to get for dinner, or go to the grocery store. Time to get creative with what I had.

This turned out so much better than I ever expected, and is definitely going into the "keeper" file!!

 3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
onion powder
salt
pepper
1 T butter
1 C white wine
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 t dried tarragon
more pepper

Preheat oven to 350°. Season both sides of chicken with onion powder, salt, and pepper. Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high. Brown chicken (in batches, if needed); place in 9"x13" baking dish. Deglaze skillet with wine. Combine soup and seasonings in medium bowl. Add wine/pan drippings to soup; whisk until smooth. Pour evenly over chicken. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Imperfect Inspiration

I've been in a cooking slump lately. No time... no energy... but mainly, no inspiration. Then, a friend of mine posted about a service I'd never heard of before - Imperfect Produce. They source produce that would otherwise be wasted because it doesn't meet grocery store standards (or it's just surplus), and deliver it to your door for 30-50% less than retail prices.

I was intrigued.

I asked for her referral link and went to the site to see if they delivered in my area. Sure enough, they did. Reading through the site, I got more and more excited. I have to admit, I have not been great about keeping fresh produce in the kitchen lately, so I figured this would force me to use whatever came before it went bad. I signed up for one medium box of mixed fruit and veggies, delivered once a week. Our delivery day is Wednesdays, so I customized my box and waited.

It was torture.

Delivery day finally arrived. I was out of the house, but I received a text saying the driver was nearing my house. I start heading home. I get another text saying the box had been delivered. I start driving faster. I pull up to the house, dash to the porch, and grab my box with all the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning (even though I knew exactly what was in it... lol!).

Holy mackerel... isn't it beautiful???

The first meal I made was pork chops with wild mushroom, herbes de province, and marsala sauce, black truffle oil mashed potatoes, and buttered peas (because I forgot to grab asparagus when I was at the store). Absolutely heavenly. Items used from IP box- organic shitake mushrooms, Italian parsley, potatoes.

The next night, I made Meyer lemon chicken Piccata, roasted asparagus with gremolata, and parmesan angel hair pasta. Items used from IP box- Meyer lemons, Italian parsley.

Then, I really got on a roll and made crispy pork belly tacos...

If heaven were made of meat, this is what it would look like.

Crispy pork belly tacos with cabbage/apple slaw and avocado. IP box ingredients used- Pink Lady apple, avocado.

At some point, I plan to post the recipe for at least the pork belly tacos, but that will take more plotting and planning than I care to do right now (especially since the fonts and spacing on this post seem to have suddenly gone wonky... it's really grating on my OCD).
If you're like me and want to add more fresh produce and inspiration to your diet, check this company out! Also, please feel free to use my referral link below to get $10.00 off your order!

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