Chinese Leftovers Brunch Hack

We ordered chinese from Win Garden the other night.  The dishes were: fried rice, mapo tofu, green beans.  The leftovers seems a bit lackluster and insufficiently healthy, so I did the following with them:
- added raw chopped lacinato kale into the mix before microwaving them
- topped with a poached egg, made with the help of this Jamie Oliver video

The result was delicious:

Apple Cider Old Fashioned

We made this drink, inspired by Brad's winter cocktails party.

http://www.completelydelicious.com/2013/10/apple-cider-old-fashioned-cocktail.html

We used freshly juiced cider, Japanese whisky, and brown sugar.  It was delish.

Potato Latkes

We made these for a visit to the Sparks:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/potato-latkes-recipe2.html

J. S. fried them onsite just prior to serving.  They were tasty.

Apple Roses

In my attempt at Apple Roses, I learned that phillo dough and puff pastry sheet are not the same thing.  It was a painful lesson that resulted in a labor intensive baked good of inferior quality.  And, while I still have no idea where to get puff pastry sheets, I now have more insight into how baklava is made.

Recipe inspiration: http://cookingwithmanuela.blogspot.com/2015/03/apple-roses.html

Result:

Quinoa & Hot Dog Quiches

Today, we made a version of this recipe, thinking they'd be healthy & cute: http://iowagirleats.com/2012/02/16/mini-ham-cheese-quinoa-cups/

Well, they were sorta cute, but a bitch to get out of the pan.

And, in the end, no one liked them :(

Deconstructed Stuffed Cabbage

N.'s Russian heritage inspired us to make this lazy man's version of a famous dish.

The recipe comes from page 109 of this cookbook: https://8b862ca0073972f0472b704e2c0c21d0480f50d3.googledrive.com/host/0Bxd6wdCBD_2tdUdtM0d4WTJmclU/good-and-cheap.pdf

The result is not very pretty, but fed us for nearly a week:

We used 1lb of ground beef & 1/2 a package of bacon as the protein component, skipping the lentils.

Overnight oats with chia seeds

Today I took my chia seed pudding to the next level, by working oatmeal into it.  the key to this dish is the right portions of the three key ingredients and their flavorings.  Here's what I put in:

Key Ingredients
- 1.3 cups TJ unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 2 under filled tablespoons chia seeds

Flavoring
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- pinch of salt

Toppings
- sliced apples, b/c it's fall

The dish was inspired by this article: http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/common-mistakes/article/how-to-make-overnight-oats.

Remade on:

Oct 9, 2015

Dec 4, 2015 topped w/persimmons and blood orange slices