Creamy Spinach & Chicken Alfredo Sauce

Posted on October 4, 2009 by mrsh

So if you read my previous post, you know I still had this giant baby spinach leaf bag from COSTCO. So I checked my fridge again too see what else I can make with Spinach…

I found my favorite COSTCO pre-grilled Chicken, Milk & Heavy Cream, Linguine Pasta, shredded Pecorino Romano cheese from the brunch, a bag of salad, English Cucumber, Red Onion, Cherry Tomato, a bag of Tuna, OJ… The ingredients are almost identical to the brunch Frittata… but I decided to cook “Creamy Spinach & Chicken Alfredo Sauce with Linguine Pasta and the garden salad with Tuna dressing”

Ingredients
Creamy Spinach & Chicken Alfredo
1. 2 Large Eggs
2. 1 Cup Milk (Any kind of Milk but Soy…)
3. 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
4. 3 Cloves Garlic Chopped

5. COSTCO Pre-Grilled Chicken 1/2 Bag Diced

6. 4 Cups of Baby Leaf Spinach Chopped

7. 1 Cup Shredded Pecorino Romano Cheese

8. 1 Tsp White Pepper (The color of sauce is white so prefer White Pepper for this Recipe)

9 A box of Linguine

10. 2 ~ 3 Tbs Olive Oil

Side Salad
1. A bag of lettuce (Any kind)
2. 1/2 English Cucumber Julienned
3. 8 ~ 10 Cherry Tomato Quartered
4. For the dressing, 1/4 finely chopped red onion

5. 2 Tbs of Tuna

6. 2 ~ 3 Tbs of OJ

7. 1/2 Cup of Olive Oil (extra virgin)

8. 1/4 Balsamic Vinegar

9. Salt & Pepper to taste

Direction
Creamy Spinach & Chicken Alfredo Sauce
1. Cook a box of Linguine per the instruction on the box and set a side. (Al Dente please!)
2. In the medium size pot with the high heat, add about 3 Tbs of Olive Oil, chopped Garlic and sauteed together till Garlic will become fragrant.
3. Add chopped Spinach and diced pre-grilled Chicken to the pot and sauteed together till Spinach become 1/2 of the volume.

4. Meanwhile, in the medium size bowl, add 2 large Eggs, Milk, Heavy Cream, shredded Pecorino Romano cheese, White Pepper and whisk together well and set aside.

5. Lower the stove temp to medium-low, and pour the Egg Cream mixture to the sauteed Spinach and Chicken. Mix well till the egg cream mixture will become the consistency of “Sauce (Coat the spoon)”

6. Add cooked Linguine to the Creamy Spinach Chicken Alfredo sauce and mix well together.

Easy Garden Salad
1. Mix diced Red Onion, Tuna, OJ, Balsamic Vinegar, Salt & Pepper in the small bowl. Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil to this mixture and mix well. There we go, easy dressing!

2. Set the bag of lettuce to the salad bowl, place julienned English Cucumber and Quartered Cherry Tomato on top of the lettuce. Easy Garden Salad!

This Creamy Alfredo Linguine was very rich but tasty dish. You need to do some running after the meal though. Calorie is no joke. But the side Garden Salad makes me feel a little better (You know the vegetables make you feel eating well)

Our desert was a bowl of Ice Cream… No wonder we won’t lose weight lately…

Happy Eating!
Mrs. H

Trip to Los Angeles – Day 2

Posted on September 30, 2009 by mrsh

We started the Day 2 in Los Angeles at Manhattan Beach. There was sea fog at the beach… so it was kind of chilly and gray…

Here is the happy family minus me (cuz I was taking this pic, obviously…)

Even with the sea fog, it was fun being at the beach, smell the salty ocean wind, hanging out with sea gulls and my brother and his wife I grow up surrounded by the beach so this was difinetly a great treat for me.

After we wonder around the beach, we found this Italian restaurant at the Manhattan Beach called Pasta Pomodoro (www.pastapomodoro.com)

The store interior was very simple and clean with the color of Red and White. The menu was pretty simple and reasonable. My sister in law ordered a Small Lasagna but it was huge. And all the entree we ordered came with a side ceaser salad, which was pretty big plate as well. My sister in law’s meal was the cheapest (about $6.50) and most delicious among all of our dishes. So here is the picture of her wise choice Small Lasagna & Salad.

I don’t have a good comment on this restaurant either bad comment. It was an average Italian Restaurant. I guess the price wise, they were quite reasonable.

So after the Manhattan Beach, we went to get some grocery at the Trader Joe’s on Sunset Blvd. (http://traderjoes.com/) I LIKE Trader Joe’s. This store makes me smile BIG! Their own branded products are well selected and customer friendly price! We usually buy their Pecan Pralines and yes we bought two boxed this time. They are sooooooooooooooooooooo good and sinful but worth it, cuz it is only $4 ~ $5.
You cannot buy Pecan Pralines at other organic markets for this price.

Trader Joe’s Pecan Pralines

I hope that Trader Joe’s will open their stores here in Denver Metro Area. I cannot wait for their arrival!

The other store that we went was Nijiya Market Japanese Organic Grocery store. (www.nijiya.com)
They have variety of bento box (lunch box) with organic rice and vegetables. They even have some sushi (Maki & Nigiri) which are reasonable and great quality. We got some of sushi box for our appetizer for the night.

Nijiya Sushi

After the shopping, we went to my brother’s house and we decided to make some dinners. My sister is law is from Osaka, where the Okonomiyaki is very famous for. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okonomiyaki) We had enough ingredients that she made her famous Osaka Style Okonomiyaki for our dinner. Sorry everyone, I wish I had her recipe but I don’t… so here is the picture of what Okonomiyaki looks like…

Osaka Style Okonomiyaki

The best description of Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake. The pancake that has thin sliced pork, shredded cabbage, and some other Japanese ingredients. And eat with this bbq kind of sweet and salty soy base sauce with mayo on the side. It is delicious! There is a Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki but I like Osaka Style better.

Here is the brothers having good time with Japanese Beer Kirin & Okonomiyaki!

Overall, Saturday was full of events with good meals! Especially my sister in laws famous Okonomiyaki was really really good, completed my day! I cannot make Okonomiyaki as good as my sister in law, but when you visit our house, I can cook Osaka Style Okonomiyaki for you!

Happy Eating!
Mrs. H

Trip to Los Angeles – Day 1

Posted on September 29, 2009 by mrsh

Friday September 25, we arrived in LAX at 6pm. My brother was waiting for us at the airport and took us to his home in Hacienda Heights CA, which is about 30 minutes east of LAX. It was still upper 80F outside that we were all pretty tired by the heat. So we decided to go to this Izakaya Family Style Tapas Restaurant called “Ojiya” (http://www.ojiyausa.com) about 5 minutes from the house.

We ordered a lot of mini dishes “Japanese Tapas” Here is the part of what we ordered.

Real California Roll (Real Crab Meat!!!)

This California Roll melted in my mouth. It was SOOOOOO good. I don’t know what else I can describe this most wonderful California Roll I ever had in my life. The crab meat was tender and sweet and really good with “Shushi Meshi (Sushi Rice)” The light sourness of the vinegar was just right with the avocado. It was AMAZING! and Cheap! This plate was about $8.00… with the REAL Crab Meat!

Kababs Japanese Style

One on the left is “Kobe Beef Kabab” and one on the right is other Japanese Style Kabab (Chicken & Lever & Some Vegetables). They served these Kababs with Miso paste on the side. “Kobe Beef” was just as I expected tender, juicy, meaty, and great with the soy based sauce that they grilled with. Ahhhhh, if I can, I wanna eat this once a week to treat myself. Other Kabab was tasty as well. The soy based sauce was sweet but NOT Teriyaki. It was light but yet distinct soy flavor to it.

Agedashi Tofu (Fried Tofu)

This is Zach’s favorite Japanese dish “Agedashi Tofu (Fried Tofu in the broth)”. Their broth tasted like “Katsuo Dashi (Smoked Bonito broth)”, which was golden, very smooth, and sweet & salty. Tofu was fried very crisp and light. It was awesome match with the broth!! And it is Tofu that even though it is fried, you don’t feel guilty by eating it!!!

Crab Meat Fried Rice

We ordered Crab Meat & Japanese Pickle Fried Rice at the end. This was our closure meal of the day. The fried rice was mixed with Japanese Pickle called “Takana (Kind of mustard leaf)” and with Crab Meat Scramble Egg on top of that. The sweetness of Crab Meat was maximized by the sweetness of scramble egg, and the oiliness of the Fried rice was wiped out by the Takana Pickle’s sourness. It was a great choice to be the closure meal of the day.

As you may already notice, if you want to taste authentic Japanese Food, you don’t have to grab Passport and suffer over 10 hours in the aircraft. You can fly to Los Angeles to experience 95% of authentic Japanese Food. What is other 5%?? Well, you have to be surrounded by 100% Japanese people to experience 100% authentic Japanese Food. The atmosphere has a very important roll to the Food, don’t you think?

Happy Eating!
Mrs H

H’s Seafood Cake with Creamy Mustard Sauce

Posted on September 23, 2009 by mrsh

I was reading a cooking magazine and I found this beautiful Crab Cake recipe. But Crab meat is expensive, and here in CO, almost impossible to find the good seafood… So I was wondering what can I do to make Crab Cake like meal without Crab meat…

So I was checking my pantry and I saw the cans of Salmon that I bought at COSTCO… almost 6 months ago… I did not know what to do with this cans of Salmon, but now I know EXACTLY what I am going to do with this to make a Crab Cake like meal without Crab meat!

Here is my recipe for the day “H’s Seafood Cake with Creamy Mustard Sauce”

Ingredients
For the Creamy Mustard Sauce
1. 1/3 Cup of Sour Cream
2. 1 Tps of Real Mayo
3. 1 Tbs of Stone Ground Mustard
4. 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
5. About 3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

For the Seafood Cake
1. 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2. 1.4 cup finely chopped celery
3. 1/4 cup chopped Spinach
4. About 10 ounce peeled and deveined medium shrimp chopped
5. 1 can (6oz) of Pink Salmon
6. 1/3 Cup Grated Fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese

7. 2 Large Eggs
8. Panko (Japanese Breadcrumbs)

Instruction

Make Creamy Mustard Sauce

1. Combine sour cream, chopped parsley, stone ground mustard, mayo, ground pepper, and a pinch of salt
2. Mix well and set a side
3. This is the Creamy Mustard Sauce!

Let’s make Seafood Cake

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium to high heat and add 1 to 2 Tbs of Olive oil to the skillet.
2. When the oil looks ready, add chopped red onion, celery, and pinch of salt and cook about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
3. Combine chopped shrimp and a can of pink salmon in a large bowl.

4. Stir in cooked red onion and celery, chopped spinach, grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1/2 Black Pepper, 2 Large Eggs, and 1 Tsp of Dry Rosemary. Stir gently.
5. Add Panko (Japanese Breadcrumbs) to the mixture and stir gently more.
6. Divide the mixture into 6 to 8 portion and flatten to 1/2 inch thick patties.
7. Heat the skillet over medium to high heat. Add 2 Tbs of olive oil to the pan, and once the oil is heated, add patties to the skillet.

8. Cook about 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Carefully tun over and cook another 3 to 5 minuets or until done.
9. Serve with the Creamy Mustard Sauce.

So, I have to say this was one of the most delicious things I tasted that I cooked. The mustard sauce was tangy and just right balance to the seafood cakes shrimp sweetness. Dry Rosemary helped to erase the distinct smell of the can of Pink Salmon and added the fragrance to the seafood cake. Parmigiano-Reggiano created the cheesy crispy crust to the Seafood Cake and added the just right amount of saltiness. You may already noticed, I did not put any salt to the Seafood Cake!

I will try to make this again with fresh Rosemary instead of Dry next time. And maybe added fresh thyme as well. But over all, this dish was a SUCCESS!!

Happy Wednesday~!

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Posted on September 21, 2009 by mrsh

Today is Monday. I came home a little later than usual 6:30pm. It is cold outside with rain and wind… What will be a perfect dinner for day like this… oh and has to be quick, because my husband is still hungry…

So here is what I made for tonight’s dinner…

Ingredients

1. Chopped Celery (3 ~ 4 sticks)
2. 1/4 Medium Size Finley Chopped Onion
3. Half bag of the Grilled Chicken Strips by COSTCO (Great Time Saver and taste great!!)

COSTCO Grilled Chicken Strips

4. 1/2 Cup of Mayo
5. 1 tsp of Salt
6. 1 tsp of While Pepper
7. 2 Slices of Pepper Jack Cheese by Sargento

Sargent Pepper Jack Cheese

8. 2 Slices of Honey Wheat Bread by Great Harvest Bread Company

Great Harvest Bread Company

Instruction for 2 Sandwich

1. Chop Celery finley
2. Chop Onion finley
3. Chop Grilled Chicken Roughly
4. Mix 1, 2, and 3 in a bowl with Mayo, Salt, and White Pepper
5. Put mixture of 4 on the Honey Wheat Bread slice, and put a slice of cheese a top of the mixture
6. Put 5 in a toaster and toast until the cheese will melt and cover the Chicken Salad on the slice of bread

Let me tell you, COSTCO Grilled Chicken Strip is such a time saver. Especially like today, I certainly do not want to start chopping a piece of raw chicken on the cutting board after 6:30pm… I usually have this Grilled Chicken in my fridge and freezer as the back up plan for my dinner.

Zach likes Sargento’s Pepper Jack Cheese. It is spicy and tangy at the same time. I have to say, the Pepper Jack Cheese was not the perfect cheese for my Chicken Salad Sandwich. I’ll try Swiss or Provolone on my Chicken Salad Sandwich next time.

I will highly recommend to go get your bread at Great Harvest Bread Company. This is a franchise bread company through out the Nation. There is one store few blocks from our house. Every two weeks, we go there to get Wheat Bread and other treats! This time, we tried their Honey Wheat Bread and it is hardy and delicious! I enjoy the texture of their bread and much lower calories.

I don’t have a final sandwich picture because we both ate them right away and forgot to take a picture…
I need to train myself to take a picture of food before eating from now on…

Happy Monday Everyone!

Zach is still hungry

everything one man can eat, and then write about

Category Archives: Dinner

Creamy Spinach & Chicken Alfredo Sauce

Trip to Los Angeles – Day 2

Trip to Los Angeles – Day 1

H’s Seafood Cake with Creamy Mustard Sauce

Chicken Salad Sandwich