Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers

Recipe makes 6 stuffed bell peppers (Feeds ~ 3 people)
(This recipe can also be vegan if you don't add cheese)

Ingredients

6 Green Bell Peppers (could be red or yellow also to add color)
1 large onion
1 Packet Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo (any soy chorizo or ground meat also works)
1/2 cup shredded mozarella or asiago cheese
1 tbsp garlic
4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Cilantro/parsley flakes

Cooking Instructions

1. Prepare the peppers
• Place water in a pot and set to high heat until it starts to boil
• Carefully cut the top portion of the pepper (as high as you can). Remove the stems and seeds to make it hollow. 
• Blanch the peppers by putting them in the boiling water for about 5 minutes. This will reduce the raw taste of the peppers significantly. Make sure to scoop the boiling water into the pepper and cook them as thoroughly as possible
2.  Heat oil on high in a large flat skillet or wok
3. Add garlic, oninos, and soy chorizo to hot pan and stir vigorously
4. After 30 seconds on high heat, turn the heat down to medium high to avoid burning the mixture
5.  Add cayenne pepper
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. After about 5-10 minutes add soy sauce and continue mixing.
8. Spray a large baking pan with nonstick baking spray and arrange peppers.
9. Scoop chorizo mixture into the bell peppers evenly 
10. Sprinkle generous amounts of cheese into the peppers so that the top is coated with cheese
11. Bake for 25-30 minutes until peppers are tender and cheese is melted evenly. 
12. Serve 2 bell peppers per plate and garnish with cilantro/parsley.

 Tips

• Make sure you buy bell peppers that are big or long, so they can be stuffed appropriately when you buy your groceries
• Any ground meat or chorizo can replace the soy chorizo, I Just wanted to make something vegetarian!
• You can add other vegetables or herbs that would go well with the chorizo mixture (like mushrooms, spinach, green onions, etc), feel free to experiment!
• Make sure you have a napkin handy when you eat, because it can get kind of messy!

Easy Cheesy Chicken Sausage Scramble

Picture above serves two people.

Ingredients

2 Chicken Sausages (any flavor is fine; might also be able to substitute regular sausage)

1-2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt (ground salt is better)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or any oil)

2 tsp garlic

Fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped spinach (or a handful of spinach leaves, whatever works)

1/4 cup chopped arugula 

1 cup shredded mozarella cheese (any cheese works too; cheese slices work too)

Instructions

1) Heat oil in a pan. Make sure it is a pan that you have a matching (or larger) lid for!

2) Cut up chicken sausage into thin slices and throw onto pan. 

3) Add garlic, salt, and pepper and stir vigorously. Keep the heat medium-high and make sure to be aware that the chicken does not burn while cooking thoroughly.
4) After waiting for a few minutes for the chicken to get cooking, add mushroom slices. Make sure to wash mushrooms before you add them. 

5) Once the chicken sausage has turned a golden brown color and is starting to look crispy, add in spinach and arugula. If you would like a layered taste, try adding them at different times. Spinach is more leafy so make sure to add it first.

6) Here comes the key step: sprinkle copious amounts of cheese onto the mixture, covering as evenly as possible and a little more heavily in the center.

7) Put lid on pan and turn down to medium heat. Check every minute to see if the cheese has melted thoroughly and turn heat off once it has. 

8) Finally, plate the scramble and garnish with fresh basil. 

Tips:

• Make sure you have a lid to your pan before you start cooking
• Keep the oil hot enough in the beginning to cook the chicken quickly (crispiness) while being careful not to burn it. Medium heat and a watchful eye is the best prescription.
• Don't skimp on the cheese unless you're lactose intolerant or don't like cheese!
• Cut the sausage first (takes longest) and then cut the herbs while the chicken is cooking. 
• Mushrooms come pre-sliced (not diced) and are as about as cheap as raw mushrooms, so try to get these to speed up cooking time. 
• Do not be afraid to substitute other things if you lack something on this recipe or add something if you feel like it. Be creative!

The Little Things that Matter

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."

-John Wooden

In cooking, as in life, there are a plethora of things to choose from. Sure everybody knows some combination of meats, grains, and vegetables is the essential for any dish. However, we take for granted the little things that every kitchen should have. These are the things your mom put into dinner that you didn't even realize were there.

Now that its time to improve (or start) your own kitchen on the journey of food exploration, the first step is to acquire the basic little things that are a big part of every dish. Here I've tried to minimally show the essential ingredients that I use. It may not have everything, but I believe it has at least the essentials!

Spices:

Cayenne Pepper - My favorite go-to spice, because it adds the minimum amount of flavor (along with salt) to absolutely anything. 

Chili powder - An alternative and a complement to cayenne pepper, it is typically spicer with darker undertones. Highly recommended if you are making a spicy curry of any kind. 

Black Pepper - A strong spice that will beckon "Gesundheit!" if you're not careful. I love black pepper on things that would be bland without, but it should be used wisely. You never want too much black pepper in your food, because it is difficult to fix. 

Salt Grinder/coarse salt - You probably have table salt (Morton's or whatever), but it can really up your cooking game if you get salt rocks in a grinder. It allows for easier control on how much salt you add, since too much salt is the easiest terrible cooking mistake. I found a grinder with himalayan salt rocks that adds a wonderful mineral taste to everything I use it in. 

Crushed/Minced garlic - This one ingredient has probably saved me hours. Literally. I like garlic and it just so happens that most recipes ask for it. Instead of having to peel and cut fresh garlic, I like buying minced or crushed garlic for cheap and spooning it on to a pan. Fresh garlic is better, but not nearly as convenient!

Cilantro flakes - Alternative to fresh cilantro, you can just sprinkle it on top of many dishes. It is always a useful tool to have on hand to garnish a plate as well. 

Italian herbs and seasoning - I like using this in pastas and like the ease with which you have most of the essential herbs for a type of cuisine in one handy bottle!

Basil and Parsley flakes - same description as cilantro. Easy alternatives to cutting things is nice.

Leaves/Herbs

Fresh Basil - A key ingredient for any kind Thai and Italian food. It brings out a different flavor from both curry and pasta when used properly!

Spinach - I never used to eat spinach as a kid, but I realize now that was because I didn't have the right pairing to go with it. Cheese and mushrooms are amazing complements to spinach. Bonus points for being a super healthy leafy vegetable.

Mint - Everyone knows how this smells, but don't let that stop you from using it for visual garnishment as well as olfactory extravagance. 

Parsley - An excellent tool for garnishment, it can also add an earthy taste to any dish. 

Cilantro - A more powerful flavor than parsley, it can go on almost anything and looks wonderful sprinkled over a final plate.

Arugula (more fancy) - A more complex taste and should be experimented with to get the best idea of how to use it. It goes well with dishes that have spinach. 

Green Onions - arguably a vegetable, but it is really used more as an herb. 

Oils/Sauces

Sriracha hot sauce - Such an amazing tool for adding spice without having to use pepper at the right time. You can add this sauce at absolutely anytime during the cooking process making it invaluable.

Olive Oil - Extra virgin is better if you can get it! I get it in bulk at Costco/Sam's Club, because there is no recipe I have found where olive oil cannot be substituted for other kinds of oils. It has less effective cholesterol, because of high levels of HDL (good cholesterol). Just make sure you don't overdo it!

Soy Sauce - An essential ingredient in most types of oriental/asian cuisine. You don't want to not be able to make fried rice or stir-fry, because you don't have soy sauce around!

Spicy Baked Salmon over Asparagus

 

Makes 2 servings of plate shown above:

Ingredients

16 oz Salmon filet (found at most grocery stores without scales)

8 oz Asparagus (1/2 of 1 lb packet) or about 15-20 asparagus spears

1-2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt (ground salt is better)

2 tsp lime juice

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or any oil)

2 tsp garlic

1 tbsp basil (dried or fresh)

4 tbsp non-fat plain yogurt

1-2 tsp sriracha or any hot sauce (if you'd like to give it a kick!)

Cooking Instructions

It's important to start this recipe ahead of time, because marinating the salmon is key to making this bland meat taste good! 

1) Make marinade for the salmon. In a bowl mix together pepper, any spices, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, and yogurt. You can use a fork or a spoon to mix it all up, but make sure its a really even consistency before you apply it to the salmon.

2) Have salmon cut into two large pieces on a plate or in a separate bowl. 

3) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

4) Make 2-3 small diagonal incisions (don't cut all the way through!) in the salmon filets so that the marinade can soak in quickly. 

5) Throw a few pinches of salt (grinding salt is best to avoid getting too much) evenly on the filets

6) Apply generous spoonfuls of marinade onto the salmon or you can put the salmon directly into the bowl. 

7) Make sure to really get the marinade on both sides of the salmon, this is key. 

8) Asparagus instructions: rinse the asparagus in water and break off tips of the asparagus. There is an art to this but its easy to learn. Hold the fibrous (thick) end of a spear and push until it snaps off. If it is difficult, you are doing it wrong. Use this site for reference if you have never used asparagus before: http://www.oceanmist.com/products/asparagus/asparagusprep.aspx

9) In a large pan spread small amount of oil or use nonstick cooking spray and spread asparagus spears as a bed for the fish filets to lay on. Tip: if you care about presentation, try alternating the spears in direction. 

10) Place filets carefully onto the bed of asparagus

11) Spoon the remaining marinade you have onto the baking pan covering the fish and asparagus (depending on how flavorful you would like it to be)

12) Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. 

13) Garnish with basil leaves or ground basil 

Voila! Healthy in every possible way and pretty simple if you plan ahead.

Intro and About Me

Hello! My name is Manu and I'm starting this blog to show others some interesting ways to cook food in a healthy, cheap, and hopefully exquisite way. I can't promise that every recipe will be all three of things, but hey you can't have it all right?

I'm hoping this blog will be a resource for people trying to find new recipes or inspiration for their eating habits. Everybody's gotta eat, so it might as well be healthy right?

Some of the posts will be recipes and some of the posts will be advice for those of you new to cooking (young bachelors for example) who are seeking a healthy lifestyle. I hope I can impart some thoughtful ideas, recipes, and an occasional ounce of wisdom!

Cheers,

Manu

Thai Ground Turkey Curry Lettuce Wraps

Thai Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, cut in strips

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 cup mushrooms (sliced)

2 green/red bell peppers (sliced)

1 tablespoon minced or chopped garlic

4-5 leaves of iceberg lettuce

2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp oyster sauce or stirfry sauce (you can also substitute worcestire or hoisin sauce)

Basil leaves

Thai curry (green, yellow, or red) mix or paste
(Easily found at grocery stores and can reduce cooking time by a lot. You can mix it up between green curry, yellow curry, red curry, etc). Here is a link if you would like to make it yourself:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Coconut-Green-Curry-Sauce-15104

Cooking Instructions

1) Heat up oil in a large skillet or pan on medium-high

2) Add garlic, onions, and turkey and stir fry turkey

3) Immediately add cayenne pepper and salt as desired

4) Add stir-fry/oyster sauce. Less is more, since we want the turkey to have minimal sauce (served on lettuce not rice)

5) Once turkey has turned mostly brown, drain the excess water from turkey over the sink. 

6) Add in mushrooms and bell peppers (or any other vegetable that you think works). Basil is optional but adds great flavor both after its cooked with curry or as a garnishment at the end.

7) Once turkey is completely brown and has cooked for about 10 minutes on medium heat, turn heat off. 

8) Arrange iceberg lettuce leaves (make sure you wash them first!) on plate. Try to do stacks of two, since they usually have holes and are flimsy. 

9) Scoop curry onto lettuce in the center and garnish as necessary!