Sunday, December 27, 2009

Huge Spike in Traffic

Hi readers!

I noticed there was a huge increase in traffic around the US this week (so I know it's not my family reading this). I am assuming it is people looking for good Holiday Recipes, but I would love to know how you found the site.

Shoot me an email at "blog at Joeylombardi.com" - The geeks over at Lifehacker.com say not to put the @ sign together because it increases spam, but I think you can figure it out.

Thanks for reading - I hope you find it useful.

Thai Spaghetti

Credit: A lady my wife works with

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound thin spaghetti
1 cucumber sliced thin
1 bag Shredded carrots (Use half)
2 cans sliced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed
1 bottle Thai Peanut sauce (I used Bangkok Padang peanut sauce for the version you had)
1/2 cup of crushed peanuts
(Optional ingredients)
Cooked Chicken
Scallions

DIRECTIONS:
(If you are adding chicken read step 4 first)
1. Cook the pasta as directed, drain, and put into a large bowl
2. Pour in the full bottle of Thai peanut sauce, carrots, cucumber, and water chestnuts
3. Get a 1/2 cup of peanuts and put them in a zip lock bag. Get a mug and crush them. When turned into a almost fine powder, mix into the pasta
(OPTIONAL)
4. If you are going to use chicken, I would suggest bringing water (with whatever seasoning you like - I suggested adding Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika) to a boil then shutting it off and putting in a few chicken breasts and let it sit for 30 minutes. Take it out and it will basically fall apart in your hands. Add the chicken BEFORE you add the Thai sauce

Serve

The beauty of this dish is that it can be served at room temperature and you don't need to worry about spoiling.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Beef Stew Too

I know I have done a beef stew recipe somewhere before, so I am calling this #2. It was easier than the last one that I can't really remember doing.... I don't mess around with flour because I think it kills the flavor. Everyone really liked this version.

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs of beef chunks (the store sells them chunked - you don't need a super great cut since it will be cooking for a few hours)
6 Cups Beef Stock
3 Cups Water
6 carrots (cut any way you like them - I do 1 inch pieces)
Half a stock of celery
2 large Spanish onions
3 bulbs of garlic - crushed, diced - any way you like it
2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
1 small can of tomato paste

SEASONING PACK

2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon of sage
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1 teaspoon of oregano
2 Tablespoons of Sea Salt (you can add more or less to taste)
1 Tablespoon of black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large soup pot, splash some olive oil in the pot, heat it up, and add the meat chunks. Allow it to brown.
2. Remove the beef and then add the onions, allow them to cook for a few minutes (soaking up all the beef juice).
3. Add the garlic, carrots, and celery. Let that all cook down for 5 minutes - give it an occasional stir.
4. Add the tomato paste and mix it in well
5. Add the Beef Stock, Water, the seasoning pack and Worcestershire Sauce and bring it to a boil.
6. Add the beef back and drop down to a simmer.
7. Allow it to cook for an hour (up to 90 minutes).
8. Take the bay leaves out.

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Joey's Chicken Vegetable Soup

I wanted to make something healthy this week with peppers but with protein - I decided on a soup with what I had lying around the house. I think it came out well. Feel free to experiment and add what you want.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb of chicken breast (if it is one piece you might want to chop it up to a few large piece - you don't need to dice it)
2 cups of quinoa
2 spanish onions - diced
2 green peppers - diced
2 red peppers - diced
1 tablespoon of crushed garlic
9 cups of water
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 chicken bullion cube
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon (or as much to taste as you want) of sea salt
1 bay leaf

DIRECTIONS
1. Splash some olive oil in a large soup pot and allow it to heat up (medium heat). Add the onions and cover for 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and red/green peppers. Cover again and allow to sweat for another 5 minutes.
3. Add 6 cups of water, the bouillon cube, the Worcestershire Sauce, the bay leaf, the red pepper, black pepper, and salt and bring the soup to a boil.
4. Once at a boil - Add the chicken and bring the stove top down to the lowest setting or off for 30 minutes.
5. After 30 minutes, take the chicken out (and the bay leaf) and bring the soup back up to a boil. The chicken will basically fall apart to the touch. Shred it up well and set it aside.
6. Once the soup is at a boil, bring it down to a low simmer and add the quinoa and stir. You can also add the shredded chicken back in. Allow the quinoa to cook for 15-20 minutes.

Season to taste