Author Archives: cozycuisineblog

Spicy Peanut Noodles

Posted in Chicken, Meatless by

This recipe is one of my favorites when I don’t know what else to make.  There are a bunch of ingredients, but a little goes a long way, so even though you’re buying a lot of new things up front, they will last you a long while.

This one is a quick meal, but also super customizable.  In the recipe below, I used red and green peppers, but you can really throw in any fresh vegetables you have laying around (I sometimes use a cucumber or some green onions, but anything with a crunch will succeed here).   The original recipe is for shrimp, but I opt for some precooked chicken strips.  You could also forgo the meat all together and make this a vegetarian option.  Totally up to you!

Spicy Peanut Noodles

(Inspiration found here)

Ingredients:

Peanut sauce:

1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 to 2 teaspoons chile paste [Find this in the international foods aisle]

Noodles:

4 cups cooked spaghetti or linguine noodles(8 ounces uncooked)
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 green pepper cut into strips.

1 box pre-cooked chicken strips

photo 1

Preparation:

1.  Boil a pot of water and add noodles.  Boil until noodles are ready, about 10 minutes.  Drain noodles.

2.  To prepare sauce, combine the first 5 ingredients; stir until smooth (There will be chunks due to the peanuts, but the rest of the mix should be combined well)

photo 3

2.  To prepare the chicken, sauté in nonstick skillet coat ed with cooking spray over medium-high heat for 3 minutes on each side or until crispy on the edges.

photo 4

3.  Slice peppers into strips.  Set aside.

photo 2

4.  Combine chicken, noodles, and peppers in pasta pot.  Stir together.

photo 5

5.  Add peanut sauce and stir.

photo 1 (2)

6.  Serve and enjoy!

photo 2 (2)

Results:

The sauce is sweet and yummy and this one throws together in about 10-15 minutes.  It’s great when you don’t know what to prepare or you need to whip a lot of food up quickly.  This one is consistently in my meal rotation, especially on busy weeks.

Advertisement

Party Meatballs!

Posted in Beef, Gluten Free by

I had these meatballs at my friend Emily’s engagement party and I found myself so in love with them, I hovered over the serving dish and kept eating more when no one was looking.  I knew that I had to keep this recipe and use it to wow my own party guests someday.  The opportunity came at my annual holiday shindig last night, where (once again) these meatballs got the party started!

Party Meatballs

(Inspiration found here and also from Emily!)

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds ground beef

photo 1

SAUCE:
2 cups ketchup
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped onion

Preparation:

1.  In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients.
photo 2

2.  Mix in ground beef to bowl and knead all ingredients together until well mixed.  Get your hands messy on this one!

photo 3

3.   Shape into 1-in. balls. Place in greased baking dishes.

photo 4

–At this point, I put them in the refrigerator over night.  I had the luxury of preparing them the day before.  If you don’t have the time, you can continue on directly.  However, the fridge step allows for the meatballs to solidify and stay together a bit more than just cooking them directly.–

4.  Combine the sauce ingredients; pour over meatballs. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 1 hour or until meat is no longer pink.  Serve and enjoy!

photo 2 (2)

Results:

A big hit!  The sauce caramelizes while baking, which allows for a great sweet taste.  There are more than enough servings to go around and also provide leftovers.  Yum!

Root Beer BBQ Chicken

Posted in Chicken, Crock Pot by

As life gets busier, the crock pot becomes more and more essential to my well-being.  This one is quick, easy, and totally delicious.  It’s the combo of sweet and tangy that is the best about barbeque chicken and this recipe captures that balance perfectly.

Root Beer BBQ Chicken

(Inspiration courtesy of my friend Amber’s genius).

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breasts
1 16-oz bottle of barbeque sauce
1 16-oz bottle of root beer (Coke or other dark sodas work really well here too – just nothing diet!)
1/2 cup brown sugar
photo 1

Preparation:

1.  Mix barbeque sauce, soda, and brown sugar together in a bowl.  Consistency should be like a watered down version of the BBQ sauce itself.
photo 2

2.  Insert chicken breasts into crock pot and pour mixture over.

photo 3

3.  Cook on low heat for 8 hours.

photo 1 (2)

4.  Serve up and enjoy!

photo 2 (2)

Results:

Yum!  Perfect balance of sweet and tangy without being overwhelming.   Try not to shred the chicken on this one, though it’s basically impossible because it basically just falls apart.

I almost always use frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot.  This one is no exception.  I find that they are less likely to burn/overcook than non-frozen.  Frozen also store longer and allow you to throw together this meal at any time.

Grandma Sylvia’s Brisket

Posted in Beef by

As we come upon the holiday season, what better way to celebrate than with comfort food?  My grandmother passed down the BEST brisket recipe and so here I pass it along to you.

Grandma Sylvia’s Brisket

(Inspiration from my grandmother!)

Ingredients:

2 to 2 ½ lb. flat cut beef brisket
1 c. catsup
1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup water

photo 1

Preparations:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Mix  catsup, soup, brown sugar and water in a bowl.

photo 2

3.  Place brisket in a baking pan.

photo 3

4.  Pour mixture over.

photo 4

5.  Cover tightly and bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours*. [See note below on cook time]

photo 5

6.  Uncover and bake ½ hour more.

photo 1 (2)

7.  The brisket will shrink (totally normal!).  Baste with pan juices and slice to serve.

photo 2 (2)

Results:

*As a general rule, consider cooking 3/4 of an hour per pound.  In this case, I had a 2.5 lb brisket, so I did 2 hours.   If you use a smaller piece of meat, you can cook it for less time (and vice versa).  However, definitely be sure to do the 30 minutes uncovered, regardless of the rest of your cook time.

This is another Sunday one, because it’s easy but it takes a few hours to cook.  It’s definitely a quality comfort food and leftovers are even better the next day.  Serve with mashed potatoes and a veggie (in this case, I used asparagus).   It will warm you up and make you smile 🙂

Ginger Soy Flank Steak

Posted in Beef by

This is an episode of: Cozy Cuisine On Location!

While visiting my parents’ house for Thanksgiving, I was enlisted to cook a meal for the family pre-Thanksgiving dinner.  Though the kitchen looks different and does have a lot more counter space, this recipe can definitely be done within the confines of a tiny kitchen

Note: you’ll need a grill pan for this recipe.  I own this one (no official endorsement – though I do love it!).  This one in particular is a good one because it can be flipped over and be used as a pizza stone/skillet top.  It also has no handle which makes it easy to store in the drawer under the oven.  However, any grill pan will do.

Ginger Soy Flank Steak

(Inspiration found here)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon red chili flakes
Lime juice from one lime
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
1 (1 1/2-pound) flank steak [My thoughts on flank steak can be found here]

photo 1

 

Preparation:

1.  Peel ginger root and then chop into pieces.  Ginger can be a little tricky, but I find it easier to peel it with a potato peeler and then just cut it up into cubes.  I’m no mincer, but if you are, go for it!

photo 2

photo 3

2.  In a small bowl, combine ginger, garlic, chili flakes, lime juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and sesame seed oil.

photo 4

3.  Pour mixture over flank steak into a large ziploc bag and let marinate for a minimum of 1 hour.  If you have the time, let it marinate overnight or at least put this up in the morning and let it sit the whole day.  If you don’t have time, 1 hour of marinating will do just fine.

photo 5

4.  Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Heat the burner under the grill pan to medium-high heat (about a 7 out of 10)

5.  Grill the meat on the grill pan, about 7-8 minutes per side.

photo 1

photo 2

photo 3

6.  After a while, the sauce drippings in the grill pan will burn onto the pan and get a little smoky.  At this point, remove it from the grill pan.  The steak will be rare/medium rare.  Slice it into 1″ pieces.

7.  If you like your steak more done than that, lay the pieces out on a sprayed cookie sheet.  Put them in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the slices are done enough for you.

photo 4

8.  Serve it up and enjoy!

photo 5

Results:

This is a good, quick recipe that utilizes some great flavors.  It’s an great way to cook steak and grill, even in the winter!  I served it with some quick mashed potatoes and italian green beans – a well balanced meal.