Molly Stevens’ Best Braised Cabbage with Chicken Apple Sausages

I love a good braise!  A co-worker picked up these below for me and I was wondering what I should do with them???

Sriracha-Butter Cod with Garlicky Kale

I don't like to cook on Friday nights when starting the weekend.  However,  this was simple, so I gave it a go, tweaking it my way.

New York Steak Cauliflower Fried Rice

I know, sounds weird, right?...  One of these throw together dinners I probably won't do again.  I bought this below, from Costco.

Vegan Lasagna with "Ricotta" and Mushroom "Meat" Sauce

This became my Sunday dinner project.  If it was good, I'd have lunch for the work week to come.  Well, even if it was bad, I'd have it for days to come, so fingers crossed... I'm a sucker for béchamel sauce in lasagna, so this recipe really appealed to me.  Also I've tried some store bought vegan "mozzarella" cheese (Daiya brand) and it did not taste good in the slightest to me.  I did a couple of minor edits, which I changed below.  It made me laugh when I told my son about it, he simply said very hesitantly, "...interesting".  😏

Vegan Sichuan Shirataki Sesame Noodle Salad

Yup, those shirataki noodles are a godsend when watching carbs and zero calories too, what more could you ask for?  They are the perfect noodle substitute, especially in a dish like this.

Vegetarian Eggplant Bolognese

I saw this and decided to make it with chickpea rotini  (half the carbs as regular pasta).

Spicy Caribbean Mahi Mahi

I picked up the mahi mahi at Costco in the frozen section.  It wasn't cheap at $37 for about ten 4 ounce portions.

Ground Turkey Shepherd's Pie with Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash

I was at Costco and bought a bag of cauliflower florets.  I decided to make a pseudo Shepherd's pie which is one of my favorite comfort foods.  I remember reading somewhere that nutritional yeast helps the texture and flavor of cauliflower mash, so I added some of that.

Winter Salad with Bulgur, Radicchio, and Toasted Almonds

Well I've made plenty of summer salads, but don't recall ever doing a winter one.  It's certainly wintery outside...Brr...... I saw this and it became dinner tonight with my little tweaks.

Japchae (Korean Sweet Potato Noodles Stirfry)

This is my favorite Korean dish that I've tried so far, and when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it.  That was this morning, and today was the day!  Lucky for me, I have a Korean market across the street from my office so I found the noodles quite easily.

I added some black vinegar, because I like it.  I also added some jumbo prawns  tossed in a bit of soy and pepper.

I threw them in the last few minutes of cooking. I added some zucchini as I had one.  I made my own edits to her recipe as below.  I prepared all my Mise en Place first as a stir-fry really requires that you do, since once you start, everything goes quickly.

STIR-FRY INGREDIENTS:

• 400 grams dangmyeon ( mine were Nongshim Miga Glass Noodle)
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil 
• 1 small white onion, thinly sliced
• 8 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced, stems removed 
• 1 red bell pepper, insides removed,  thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot,  julienned
• 1 zucchini, julienned
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 ounce container organic container baby spinach
• 1 lb jumbo prawns (U12)
• Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
• Sliced green onions, for garnish
• Sriracha sauce, for garnish, to taste

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce 
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar

STEAK INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 lb top sirloin. sliced thinly, against the grain
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

To Make The Noodles:  In a large bowl, add hot tap water. Add noodles in for 20 mins to soak.  Drain.  After 20 mins, when the noodles are soft, cut them in half and sprinkle some sesame oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.

To Make The Sauce: Whisk until mixed well.

To Prep The Steak: Toss the steak with soy sauce, and pepper.  Let marinate for 5 minutes.

To Make The Stir-Fry: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan on high heat.  Add the steak and sauté  until cooked through.  Move steak to plate and  set aside.

Because I didn't cook my noodles, I sauteed them next for 5 minutes with a bit of the sauce, just to make sure they would be cooked at the end.  I took them out and put aside.

Lower heat in pan to medium-high.  Add the remaining oil and the onion, and stir-fry for a couple of minutes.  Add the mushrooms, bell pepper, carrot and garlic cloves, and season with S&P.  Continue sautéing until the veggies are tender crisp.

Stir in the spinach, prawns and noodles.  Continue cooking until the spinach has wilted.

Remove pan from heat.  Add the steak and sauce and combine everything.  Taste.  I added a bit more soy, vinegar and then some Sriracha, as I wanted some heat.

Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions.  I have to say, for a first time try at it, this was delicious!  We both dug right in and devoured it.  My mishap was overcooking the prawns and beef a little, but other than that it was a home run.  The noodles were the star of the show as they should have been.