Tuesday’s Cupful: Background on Chili –N- Cheese Omelet Sliders

Pleasant little bites

This dish was inspired by our Spicy Turkey Sliders.  The egg substitutes for the bread in this recipe.  The Mixed Stew combined chili, green onion, and melted cheese to make a rich and satisfying omelet filling for our “omelet sliders.”  Watch them disappear for breakfast or brunch in a pinch.       

Monday’s Bread Bowl: Chili –N- Cheese Omelet Sliders

A small and spicy morning groove

You need a well-preheated pan to make these small but overstuffed omelets. Here’s the recipe:

What you will need:

1 cast-iron skillet

Non-stick cooking spray

1 serving plate

1 medium-sized bowl

1 metal spatula

1 cup left-over chili

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

¼ cup green onion, thinly sliced

4 whole eggs, beaten

¼ cup milk   

Pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Cooking and Directions:

Heat skillet on medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes.  Generously grease bottom of pan with Non-stick cooking spray.  Make sure pan is HOT!  Pour out a small sphere (3 to 4 inches in diameter) of beaten egg mixture.  Let egg cook through as much as possible.  This forms the omelet’s wrap.  

Spoon and spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of leftover chili on one half of egg circle.  Sprinkle cheddar cheese and green onion over chili.  Next, take metal spatula and lift and fold omelet’s clean side as shown.  Firmly press down egg flap for 10 - 15 seconds to secure omelet’s shape.  Repeat process to make more mini-omelets.  Serve immediately.            

Wednesday’s Helping: Alternative Ingredients for Cheesy Meat Lasagna

Chicken and Turkey Lasagna, Too

The Mixed Stew crew revisits meat lasagna with this week’s dish.  Remember that you can take a short-cut using no-cook lasagna noodles.  We recommend substituting the Italian sausage with sausage made from turkey, chicken, or even tofu for lighter fare.  Meanwhile, substitute the Parmesan cheese with another pungent cheese, such as Grana Padano. Asiago, and Romano.
     

   

Tuesday’s Cupful: Background of Cheesy Meat Lasagna

Rich Parmesan Inside

The Mixed Stew folded Parmesan Cheese into the layers of our Cheesy Meat Lasagna for additional oomph throughout the finished pie.  This week’s recipe, in comparison to our previous meat lasagna, calls for pre-boiled pasta noodles and the shredded Parmesan cheese.   Make sure to allocate for the necessary and extra prep time.  Finally, remember that baked lasagna has to rest before serving.    

Monday's Bread Bowl: Cheesy Meat Lasagna

A Three Cheese Bake

The Mixed Stew crew recently made a big haul of lasagna.  We already featured a very veggie eggplant.  This is the meat lovers’ rendition.

What you will need:

1 aluminum baking pan

Non-stick cooking spray

Aluminum foil

3 tablespoons cooking oil

1 large skillet w/ lid

1 large yellow onion, diced

3 garlic toes, minced

2 cups lasagna noodles, cooked al dente

1 lb Italian Sausage

1 ½ lb ground beef

1 (24 oz.) jar Ragu Tomato Pasta Sauce

1 (28 oz.) can of crushed tomatoes

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 (32 oz) tub of Ricotta Cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Pinch of Salt and pepper

Cooking and Directions:

Heat skillet on medium-high heat.  Add onion, garlic, pepper, and salt.  Sautee ingredients until onion turn translucent.  Crumble in Italian Sausage and ground beef.  Stir well.  Let meat cook through and brown.  Pour in jar of Ragu sauce and can of crushed tomatoes.  Mix well.  Lower heat to medium-low and cover with lid.  Ingredients should simmer slowly for 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Add mushrooms to reduced sauce then cover with lid.  Let ingredients cook for another 10 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.  Grease baking pan’s bottom and sides with cooking spray.  Start building layers of lasagna with a layer of meat sauce.  Spread well to cover bottom of baking pan.  Place a layer of lasagna noodles over the initial meat layer.  Spread a layer of Ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses on lasagna noodles.  Repeat and lay-down alternate layers until you run out of noodles or the baking pan is full.  Cap off lasagna with a generous layer of shredded cheeses.  Cover with aluminum foil.   

Place unbaked lasagna in hot oven.  Let pan bake for at least 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.  Take out lasagna from oven once cooking time is finished.  Let the lasagna rest for at least 15 minutes then cut into and serve.     

Tuesday’s Cupful: Background on Japanese Chopped Salad

Rice crackers instead

You know it has an Asian twist once you bite into cracklin’ rice crackers that have been seasoned with soy sauce.  Meanwhile, iceberg lettuce has the crisp and cool texture that forms the foundation for a satisfying salad.  The Mixed Stew crew also included fresh tangerine pieces for a sweet flavor component.  Forget the same ol’ croutons and try making this yummy and leafy green salad.  Remember that you can substitute the Japanese Rice Crackers with crumbled Ramen noodles.  We recommend Thousand Island Dressing for this dish.      

   

Monday’s Bread Bowl: Japanese Chopped Salad

Lettuce with Asian crunch

The ingredients in this one-of-a kind salad make it a treat with Asian influences to satisfy for your taste buds. Here’s the recipe:

What you will need:

1 large serving bowl w/ lid

1 pair of tongs

1 medium-sized iceberg lettuce, coarsely chopped

2 tangerines, quartered

½ cup rice crackers

1/3 cup dried seaweed aka nori`

1 large tomato, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tablespoon sesame seed

Preparation and Directions:

Combine lettuce, tangerine quarters, tomato pieces, and seaweed in large serving bowl.  Toss well.  Add rice crackers, seaweed, and sesame seeds.  Serve with thousand-island dressing.   

Wednesday’s Helping: Alternative Ingredients for Very Veggie Eggplant Lasagna

Spice up the layers

Remember that you can different varieties of eggplants to make this dish.  Italian eggplants make for convenient slicing of large round pieces that are more conducive for building lasagna.  Try adding some paprika, red pepper flakes, or even a bit of chili powder for some extra heat.  Try adding fresh basil to the recipe for more minty zest in each bite.  Lastly, we suggest adding shrimp, canned tuna, or canned salmon if you wanna take things in a different direction.  

Tuesday’s Cupful: Background on Very Veggie Eggplant Lasagna

Meatless but yum yum

Slicing into servings of this lasagna means a few yummy tidbits.  The Mixed Stew grilled the eggplants on the stovetop before mixing them into the cheese sauce.  The extra effort, in grilling, adds a lot of smokey flavor that’s unusual in traditional vegetarian lasagna.  Meanwhile, the spinach ensures the leafy green nutrition.  The Mixed Stew crew also sprinkled in Yancey’s aged-cheddar cheese that’s seasoned with Japanese horseradish aka wasabi.

Monday’s Bread Bowl: Very Veggie Eggplant Lasagna

Smokey, Italian, and Cheesey 

There’s actually a smokey flavor infused throughout this unique lasagna thanks to the roasted eggplants. The Mixed Stew also added a hot kick with some shredded wasabi-seasoned cheese.  Here’s the recipe:

What you will need:

1 aluminum baking pan, deep enough for lasagna

1 large skillet

1 cutting board

Non-stick cooking spray

Aluminum foil

3 garlic toes, minced

1 small onion, chopped

1 jar Ragu brand Roasted Garlic Cheese Sauce

2 cups spinach, coarsely chopped

1 lb lasagna noodles, boiled ‘til al dente

4 large eggplants (We used Chinese but feel free to use other varieties.), roasted on stovetop and chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 cups shredded mozzarella

2 cups Ricotta cheese

1 cup Yancey’s Fancy Hot Wasabi Horseradish Cheddar, shredded

Dried Oregano

Olive oil

Salt to taste

Cooking and Directions:

Heat skillet on medium-high heat.  Add olive oil, onion, garlic, and salt.  Let ingredients sautee until onion turns translucent.  Next, pour in eggplant pieces and chopped spinach.  Stir well until mixture cooks through then ad jar of Ragu cheese sauce.  Mix well.  Allow eggplant to reach a mushy and spreadable consistency.  Remove from stove and set aside.

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.  Coat bottom of aluminum pan with cooking spray.  Then spread a layer of eggplant mixture until it fully cover the bottom of the pan.  Layout a layer lasagna noodles over eggplant layer.  Then spread a generous layer of ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and wasabi cheddar over the lasagna noodles.  

Continue building the lasagna bake with alternating layers of cheeses, noodles, and eggplant mixture until finished off with last layer.   Cover lasagna with aluminum foil.  Bake in oven for 1 hour.  Remove foil cover during last 15 minutes of baking time.  Remove lasagna from oven.  Let rest for 15 minutes then serve.         

Wednesday’s Helping: Alternatives for Spamurger

More to it than ground beef

Regular burgers can get boring and that we have the Spamurger.  Remember that  you can substitute the ground beef with ground turkey  or ground chicken if you’re dodging red meat.  Also, try using ground lamb to make a more delectable version of the Spamurger with some gamey flavor.   Meanwhile, try switching out the Spam with generic luncheon meat in a pinch.  Lastly, add some extra spice to each patty with a dash of red pepper flakes or sliced chili pepper. 

Tuesday’s Cupful: Background on Teriyaki Spamurger

Bits of Loco Moco

This food item is an All-American classic with some Japanese spice mixed in for a twist.  The Mixed Stew was inspired by our craving for Loco Moco and Spam, which is a Guamanian favorite.  Consequently, this amalgam goes well with steamed rice or a traditional hamburger bun.  The tastes of East and West meet in every bite.  Also try making this unique burger with regular or any other of the Spam flavor varieties.     

Monday’s Bread Bowl: Teriyaki Spamurger

A sizzling number

The Mixed Stew crew suggests frying up this ground beef patty for a burger with some tangy zing with extra flavor.  Here’s the recipe:

What you will need:

1 frying pan

1 spatula

 1 serving plate

1 mixing bow

1 whole egg, beaten

2 ½ lbs ground beef

1/3 cup teriyaki spam, minced

3 bread slices, toasted and crumbled

1 small onion, diced small

2 garlic toes, minced

3 tablespoons cooking oil

Pinch of black pepper

Cooking and Directions:

Combine ground beef, spam, onion, garlic, and egg in mixing bowl.  Mix well. Add bread, milk, and pepper to meat mixture.  Mix well again.  Make 4 generous patties. Set aside.

Heat frying pan at medium-high heat.  Add cooking oil.  Place meat in pan. Cook patties on both sides for 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove finished patties to serving plate.  Let meat rest for 10 minutes then serve.