Black Pepper Stir Fried Noodles

I cannot believe how fast this summer is flying by! I've tried two new recipes recently that I loved and I'm excited to share them with you. :) You'll get the first recipe today and the next one will be coming soon!

This first recipe is a yummy Asian noodle recipe-- Black Pepper Stir Fried Noodles. I modified the original recipe in a couple ways.  First, I added bean sprouts! From making Pad Thai I learned that you can add a ton of bean sprouts and when they cook in with everything else it is essentially impossible to distinguish them from the noodles. What this means is that you can get a large serving of what looks like just noodles, but it's actually half bean sprouts! More nutritious without you even noticing. Also, the original recipe called for udon noodles which I couldn't find so I used lo mein noodles and they worked great. So the lesson is that the exact noodle you use is flexible.

The black pepper sauce has lots of flavor but isn't overly spicy. If you are craving a big bowl of Asian noodle comfort, go for this. It comes together relatively quickly and it's quite tasty! 

Black Pepper Stir Fried Noodles

serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:
Black Pepper Sauce:

• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper (or freshly ground black peppercorns)-- [tablespoon is not a typo!]
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3-5 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 tablespoons water

Stir Fried Noodles

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 8 ounces udon noodles (or lo mein noodles or rice noodles... even linguine if necessary)
• 1 bag of mung bean sprouts (mine was 12 ounces but  you could use a bit more or less depending on what you find)
• about 1/2 cup water
• 2-3 cups baby spinach leaves
• 1 pound extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into cubes (make sure to get out as much water as possible) [Note: You can substitute chicken if you prefer]
• sesame seeds for topping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook for just a few minutes. They should be soft but not at all done. They will continue cooking later with the rest of the ingredients and you don't want them to end up over-cooked. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
2. Place all sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a large cast iron skillet (or nonstick skillet) over medium heat. Once hot and shining, add tofu. Cook tofu, turning occasionally, until all sides are lightly brown. This will probably take about 10 minutes. At this point add about 1 tablespoon of the sauce, 1 tablespoon of water, and 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil to the pan. Stir or shake the pan around to coat the tofu in the sauce. Because the pan is hot, the added sauce/water/oil should pretty much immediately sizzle and coat the tofu as you stir it around. Transfer the tofu to a bowl and set aside.
4. Heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil in the skillet over medium heat. Once heated, add noodles, bean sprouts, and remaining black pepper sauce. Use tongs to help move the noodles and bean sprouts around so they are all getting coated in sauce. Cook, stirring frequently (you want to avoid the noodles/sprouts sticking to the bottom of the pan), for about 5-10 minutes until noodles and sprouts are cooked through and soft. Add small amounts of water as necessary to help everything cook and to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat.
5. Add the spinach leaves and cooked tofu and stir to combine. The spinach leaves should wilt pretty quickly from the heat of the noodles.
6. Serve topped with sesame seeds.

recipe adapted from Pinch of Yum

Baked Oatmeal

I've been making this baked oatmeal for breakfast for a couple of months now, so I apologize for not sharing it earlier! I got this amazing recipe from my mom who found it in this cookbook. I had seen baked oatmeal recipes before but didn't give them much thought because I'm perfectly happy with my regular oatmeal + coconut butter + frozen blueberries. I'm so happy I got a chance to try this when my mom made it because it let me see the beauty of baked oatmeal! 

If you've never had baked oatmeal before it does have a slightly different texture compared to regular oatmeal. But it is also very delicious and this recipe is surprisingly healthy (take a look at the ingredients!). Mark has been loving this and right now definitely prefers it over regular oatmeal. A bonus is that you can throw this together on the weekend and  then you've got quick breakfasts to reheat throughout the week. 

This is the sort of recipe you could definitely modify by substituting different ingredients for those listed in the original recipe. I haven't messed with it much because we both love it as is! 

Baked Oatmeal

serves: 8-10 (can also be halved and baked in an 8x8 square baking dish to serve 4-5)

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 cups rolled oats (for gluten-free make sure the oats are certified gluten-free)
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 apples, cored and grated (I grated them on a cheese grater and the peels came off in the process)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups almond milk (or milk of choice)
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup honey
• For Serving:  Mark likes his topped with some maple syrup and honey yogurt. I like it plain or with frozen blueberries and almond milk. Get creative! 

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, raisins, walnuts, grated apples, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Make sure the apples are distributed evenly throughout.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, almond milk, eggs, and honey. Do your best to incorporate the honey.
3. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
4. Transfer the mixture to an ungreased 9x13 baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil and put in the refrigerator.*
5. Take the oatmeal out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350F. Once preheated, bake the oatmeal for 30 to 40 minutes until lightly golden on top. Be careful not to over-bake or it will dry out.
6. Cut into slices and serve in bowls with toppings of choice.
7. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days. 

*At this point you can leave the unbaked oatmeal in the refrigerator over night if desired. This makes for a delicious breakfast in the morning. If you don't want to wait until morning, I've always let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before baking. I'm sure you could bake it immediately and it would turn out great, though perhaps not exactly the same texture.

recipe slightly adapted from Sleep on It

Roasted Mushrooms and Zucchini on White Bean Puree

This dinner was surprisingly delicious. I say surprisingly because as much as I like beans, a bean puree doesn't necessarily sound like the most appealing dinner! However, there were lots of great flavors in this dish that made it both tasty and comforting. Mark even went back for seconds! It was relatively quick to make with lots of good-for-you ingredients, so I definitely plan on making it again in the future.

This meal is a bean puree (cooked beans, milk, and spices that are blended) that is topped with a portobello mushroom, zucchini, and tomatoes tossed in some olive oil and spices. I made some that were also topped with mozzarella cheese (as shown above). Both versions turned out great! 

FYI- This meal is gluten free and vegetarian. If you leave off the mozzarella cheese, it is also vegan.

Roasted Mushrooms and Zucchini on White Bean Puree

serves: 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 large portobello mushrooms caps, stemmed
• 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 6 cloves garlic, minced and divided
• 1/2 cup unsweetened plain almond milk (or skim milk but then it won't be vegan)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper (if you don't have white pepper, you can omit or use more black pepper)
• 2 14.5 ounce cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (I used "tomato on the vine" tomatoes and I did not seed the tomatoes)
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced [omit or leave off of some of the mushrooms to make vegan]

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Place mushroom caps, gill sides down, in a single layer on a baking sheet (it's best if the baking sheet has sides as the vegetables will release liquid). Drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and rub the oil into the mushrooms. Once the oven has preheated, bake the mushrooms for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and sliced zucchini.
4. Remove the mushrooms from the oven and turn them over. Sprinkle mushrooms with 1/8 teaspoon of salt and half of the minced garlic. Layer zucchini slices over the mushrooms (you will need to make more than one layer). It's okay if the zucchini falls off a bit.
5. Bake for another 6-10 minutes until zucchini is cooked.
6. While the zucchini and mushrooms cook, combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining garlic, almond milk, black pepper, white pepper, beans, parsley, and thyme in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes on low heat. Finally, transfer bean mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.
7. Meanwhile, combine 1/8 teaspoon salt, oregano, and tomatoes in a small bowl and set aside. 
8. Once the mushrooms and zucchini are cooked, top with sliced mozzarella cheese as desired. Return to oven for 2 minutes until cheese is melted.
9. Divide puree among plates. Place mushrooms on the puree. Top with the tomato mixture. Serve immediately.

recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, discovered on Oh My Veggies