Bacon and Eggs Ramen

This is the ultimate comfort food that I honestly think you could eat any time of the day. I’ve made lots of different ramen noodle recipes over the years with favorites coming from Anthony Bourdain and Tieghan Gerard. Most recipes require some type of chili or curry paste but those can be hard to find w/out traces of peanut in them and with my allergy I try to avoid them unless I’m certain. You can get a lot of flavor from dried spices so I opted to use a curry powder, Chinese 5 spice or Japanese 7 spice would be even better. It’s hard to make a ramen noodle dish that isn’t good so feel free to use some creative license. My pantry has been cleaned out and our local grocery store doesn’t carry much in the international department so I made do with some fairly pedestrian ingredients.

What you need:

-1 onion, sliced

-1 red bell pepper, sliced

-1 cup of sliced mushrooms

-4 cloves of garlic, minced

-3 tbsp thinly sliced fresh ginger

-1 tsp curry powder

-3 strips of good quality bacon, sliced into 1 inch pieces

-4 or 5 cups of chicken broth

-2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

-2 tbsp rice vinegar

-2 tbsp hot sesame oil.

- 1 1/2 cups mixed green vegetables (spinach, snow peas, edamame)

-1 10 oz package or ramen noodles

-cilantro, hot pickled peppers, pickled radishes, carrot shreds, scallions, sriracha sauce for garnish

-4 soft boiled eggs (the eggs in my photo are slightly more done than my preference....I messed up! A good 5 minute egg is perfect, will cook more in the broth).

Put 1 tbsp cooking oil in a large stock pot and add bacon and cook over medium heat until browned. Do not drain the fat, its not much and it adds tons of flavor : ) Next throw in your onions, pepper, mushrooms, garlic, and ginger sauté those until they’re soft and the aromas from the garlic and ginger are really fragrant. Add in your curry powder and stir a few times for 2-3 minutes. Next add your chicken broth, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes to allow your flavor to develop. When you are ready to eat, turn off the stove add your ramen and green vegetables and let steep for about 5 minutes. Serve in a big bowl and garnish with egg, cilantro, hot sauce, etc. Slurp away!

Spaghetti Squash and Kale Casserole

We are in between Thanksgiving and Christmas and there have been lots of indulgences. Monday night seemed like a good day to skip the meat and eat a healthy veggie forward meal. I combined spaghetti squash, kale, marinara, and some cheese into a yummy lasagna type casserole. It had all the comforting flavors of a cozy winter meal without all of the excess. Definitely one we will be keeping in rotation.

What you need:

1 large spaghetti squash

1 1/2 cups of chopped kale (no stems)

2 cups of marinara sauce (I prefer Rao’s Homemade)

1 cup of cottage or ricotta cheese ( I think Good Culture Cottage cheese is sooo good, almost always have it in the house)

1 cup of shredded Italian Cheese Blend (Parmesan, Fontina, Asiago, Mozzarella)

1 tbsp of Italian Seasoning

1 egg

olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and slice your spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the seeds and rub the interior with a bit of olive oil. Place flesh side down onto a baking sheet and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until you can pierce the outside really easily with a fork and it feels soft. Pull out of the oven and let cool a bit. When the squash is soft enough to handle, scoop out all of the flesh and place on a colander over top of the sink or rimmed baking sheet. Squeeze as much of the excess liquid out of it as you can. In a large bowl mix the spaghetti squash with your chopped kale and marinara sauce.

In a separate bowl mix together your cottage or ricotta cheese, one egg, 1/2 the tbsp of Italian seasoning and 1/2 the Italian cheese blend. Take a casserole dish and layer half of the squash mixture on the bottom. Spoon the cottage cheese mixture on top and spread out evenly. Place the remaining squash mixture on the top and the rest of the Italian cheese blend on top of that. Sprinkle the remaining Italian seasoning on top and return to your 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes until bubbling and the cheese is beginning to brown on top. I do not add any salt and pepper to this dish because I find the cheese and marinara have enough salt on their own, its not necessary. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes and serve with a slotted spoon.

Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole

This is such an easy and substantial breakfast casserole. I’m also delivering this to the new Mommy but it’s a go to when we have company, head up to the mountains with family, or around the holidays.

What you need:

-6 eggs

-3/4 cup half and half or cream

-1/2 cup of shredded cheese

-1/2 a bag of frozen hash browns

-5 strips of bacon, cooked, and crumbled

-1 tsp Dijon mustard

-salt and pepper

Start by preheating the oven to 425 and greasing a baking dish or pie pan. Layer half the hash browns on the bottom and add a few sprinkles of salt and pepper if they aren’t preseasoned. Bake for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft and starting to brown. Remove the potatoes to cool and mix your eggs, cream, Dijon, and another pinch of salt and pepper. Layer the bacon crumbles and some of the cheese on top of the hasbrowns and then pour your egg mixture over the top. Finish by sprinkling the remaining cheese on top. Reduce oven temperature to 400 and bake for about 25 minutes.