Stir Fry Vegetables with Noodles

I tried a noodle that I found in the vegetable section of our grocery store. I like it for a quick dinner. I had fresh vegetables on hand like baby bok choy and mushrooms.

I had some corn that I froze from this summer, as well as roasted red peppers that I also had in the freezer.

I had a small amount of Pork Roast that we had for dinner the previous night. The noodle package recommended shrimp or sea food.

These are the noodles. I had to heat them in Hot water, but I think they are already partially cooked or not dried like ramen noodles.

I stirred the vegetables while the noodles cooked, 3 minutes.

Drain the noodles. Add to the vegetables. Stir to mix the noodles and vegetables.

Grilled whole fish

This is a recipe from Splendid Table with Lynn Rosetto Casper.
We used a pretty large fish, and increased the cooking time to
8 minutes per side and feel it could have had a few minutes
longer. It was adventure-some and tasted really good. After
dinner we cut the fish into serving sections,and froze 6 portions
to use for future dinners.
The fish had a subtle smokey flavor.

Your Basic Whole Grilled Fish Strategy

Your Basic Whole Grilled Fish Strategy

Chris Schlesinger, John Willoughby

From License to Grill, by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby.

THE NINE-STEP PATH TO GRILLED WHOLE FISH NIRVANA

Choose the right candidate and make sure it's really fresh. If you're grilling one whole fish per person (which is the best plan), you should look for fish that weighs between 1-1/4 and 2 pounds. Any larger than that, and you'll have trouble flipping them.

Start with a big hot fire and let it die down, catching it just as it turns from medium-hot to medium.
Make sure your grill grid is hot and clean. The best way to do this is to put the grid over the coals just after you light the fire, scrub it well with your wire brush, and then leave it on as the fire heats up and dies down.

Oil the fish very lightly before you grill it, and make several horizontal slashes about 1" deep in the sides of the fish -- these will help it cook more evenly and also make it easier to tell when the fish is cooked properly.

Lay the fish over the fire and don't fool with it for 4 or 5 minutes. You want a good sear to form between the fish and the grill, which makes it easier to turn when the time comes.
After 4 or 5 minutes, use your tongs to sort of worry the fish free of the grill surface, Don't turn it at this point, just clear it from the grill.

Continue to cook on that first side as long as possible, until it's just in danger of getting overdone on that side. At that point, roll it over gently ­ don't flip it, just roll it, as you would a sleeping bed partner. This is the only time you'll be turning the fish.
If the fish should rip apart when you are moving it, it's time to bail. Get a spatula, lift the pieces off the grill and onto a baking sheet, and finish it in a 350 degree oven, It will still taste great, but the presentation is going to suffer.
To check for doneness, probe around in the slits you made in the side of the fish. The flesh should be almost completely opaque with just a hint of translucence. Remove from the grill and eat immediately: you have arrived.

Marco Polo Short Ribs

 This recipe is a crock pot recipe, but I cooked it in the oven because it was a weekend and I had time.  The prep isn't long, but the cooking time is about 4 hours.  I'll tell you at the end why I liked it better than the crock pot.

 The title comes from the addition of tomato sauce and ginger, plus horseradish.  The flavors work great together.  Ingredients:
4 lbs beef short ribs
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 cup beef bullion or water
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 onion sliced
2 TBSP prepared horseradish
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground ginger (or fresh grated)
2 TBSP cornstarch

 Brown the ribs on all sides, add sliced onions, and sauce.  Bake in oven heated to 350, then turn heat down to 325 or 300. The ribs were not frozen at all so I turned the heat down.  But if they were still thawing out I would have opted for 350 degrees.

 Bake for 2-3 hours.  The ribs will start to shrink and you can then add potatoes, and carrots.  Cook another hour or two.  When the potatoes are done and the fat on the short ribs has shrunk and made a transparent layer over the juice, remove the dish from the oven.

 Put the potatoes and ribs in a serving dish.  Then laddel the clear fat off the pan juices.  Make gravy with the cornstarch, water and pan juices.

Enjoy your tender meat!

Cajun Style Fish Steaks

This is really good for fish. Use Cod or Halibut or your favorite!
Serves four (or how many steaks you use)

Ingredients:
4 cod,halibut steaks each weighing about 6 oz
2 Tbsp plain yogurt
1 Tbsp lime or lemon juice
1 garlic clove crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp mustard power
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
Peanut oil

1 Rinse fish and pat dry on absorbent paper towels. Combine the yogurt and lime juice and brush lightly over both sides of the fish.

2. Combine the garlic, cumin, paprika, mustard powder, cayenne, thyme and oregano. Coat both sides of the fish with the seasoning mix, rubbing in well. I might have put the yogurt on a bit heavy. So I didn't rub too hard but made sure that all areas of the fish were covered.

3. Brush a ridged grill pan or heavy frying pan with a little peanut oil. Heat until very hot. Add the fish and cook over high heat for 4 minutes or until the underside is well browned.

4. Add more oil if necessary and turn over and cook for another 4 minutes or until the steaks have cooked through. I had my burner set on 7 and 4 minutes was just right. The steaks were about 1 inch thick. There is a large spine bone in the center which needs to get hot.

Serve immediately.
The "expert" sporting my new Apron!