Ramen

Midnight Ramen: a quick meal for those who don't care if they turn into gremlins. It's late at night. You've just returned home from a long hard day of strenuous labor - day in which you had no time to stop for a proper meal. What to do? You've used up the leftover rice and beef from the other night. Hmm...there's some leftover chicken, but what to eat it with? It's time for another entry in the continuing "Ramen" series.

Ingredients:
1 pack instant Ramen Noodles (not in a cup)
1 leftover chicken breast (sliced or whole, preferably sliced)
1/4 cup diced white onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Amateur Chef's Steak Sauce
2-3 teaspoons Amateur Chef's Asian Spice
1 teaspoon Amateur Chef's Original Spice
1/2 - 1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 - 1 teaspoon peppercorn medley

Steak Sauce will be covered in a later post. For now you may substitute the same sauce from previous entry:
Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce
Tabasco Sweet Asian Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce
Amateur Chef's Original Spice

Leftover chicken should be plain or lightly seasoned.

Process:
If leftover chicken is not already thinly sliced, do so.
In a large pot or medium sautée pan, add olive oil and stir diced onion over medium heat. Once onions begin to take color, add the chicken. Drizzle the steak sauce (or the replacement sauce) and stir. Add 1 teaspoon of AC's Asian Spice, 1/2 of the garlic and 1/4 of the peppercorn medley. Stir until onions have taken the color of the sauce, and chicken has warmed. Remove from heat and set aside.
In medium pot, add enough water to cover noodles. Add a pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoon of AC's Original, and another of AC's Asian Spice. Add half of the peppercorn medley using a grinder or pre-ground pepper. (The fresher, the better) Cook Ramen as per instructions. For this recipe, I used chicken flavored, but you may use you favorite. Once noodles are ready, strain the water. To ensure the tenacity of the flavor, I like to add after noodles are strained. Add another 1/2 teaspoon of AC's Asian Spice, along with the garlic, and peppercorn medley. For a little added flavor, add a touch of the steak sauce. Stir to fully integrate spices.
In a large bowl, combine noodles, chicken and onion. Serve immediately.

Serves 1 or 2 people.

A better midnight ramen, you will be hard pressed to find - savory, tangy, sweet, spicy, and comfortingly warm. It is how a midnight snack should be.

Beef Teriyaki Stir Fry

Your refrigerator is full of leftovers. What are you to do? One thing that can easily be done is to take those leftovers and crate an all new dish. I look in the fridge and I see some leftover beef, and some rice. quickly glancing around the fridge I see some other ingredients, and inspiration strikes.




Ingredients:
1 small steak sliced
1/4 cup zucchini sliced lengthwise
1/3 cup onion sliced
1/3 cup Teriyaki sauce
1-2 tablespoons Tabasco Sweet Asian Sauce
1/2 - 1 tablespoon freshly cracked peppercorn medley
1 - 2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Amateur Chef's Asian Spice
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bowl of leftover rice

Process:
In a zip-top bag marinate the sliced steak in a mixture of peppercorn medley, garlic, Asian Spice, and Tabasco Sweet Asian Sauce. Close bag and mix by squeezing with hands and turning over and over. Let sit for 15-20 minutes.
In a large skillet, heat up the oil over medium. Add steak and marinade. Stir, and add the zucchini and onion. Stir and add the rice. Continue to stir until rice has taken color and onions are translucent. Add more teriyaki and seasonings if desired.
Serves 1-2

There are many was to spice up leftovers. All you have to do is experiment.

Panini

Among many other things, I got a panini press for Christmas, and today decided to try it out. So I scrounged through the kitchen in search of ingredients. It was an experiment, and I was surprised at how it turned out.

Ingredients:
2 slices of sourdough bread
1 pack of tuna
lettuce
2 full cross-section slices of onion
2-4 slices of bell pepper
3-4 slices of boiled egg
mustard
honey mustard

Procedure:
Warm up the panini press
In a pot filled with water, boil 1 or 2 eggs. I like hard boiled, but soft boiled is also fine. Let cool off, remove shell, and slice up.
Spread mustard on one piece of bread, and the honey mustard on the other.
To build sandwich, start with the mustard slice on the bottom. Lay the lettuce, followed by the onion, bell pepper, and egg. Add the tuna and top with the honey mustard slice.
Lay the sandwich on the panini press and... well... press. Keep an eye so it doesn't burn. It only takes a few minutes, if that. Remove from press, being careful because it is hot, slice in half and serve.

There are many possibilities with the panini press, and I hope you will all come along with me as I take my food journey.

Scrambled Eggs

Here's a great recipe for scrambled eggs I developed over the last week.





Ingredients:
4 large grade-a chicken eggs
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup white onion, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
1 large jalapeño, diced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Amateur Chef's Original Spice Mixture (found in an earlier post)

Process:
In a large pan or skillet, cook onion and peppers in olive oil.
Sprinkle garlic powder and gently toss until onions are lightly browned.
Add the eggs; either individually, or mix them beforehand in a bowl or measuring cup and add the mixture all at once.
Stir continuously until eggs are completely cooked.
Season with Original Spice Mixture and serve.

This dish serves two people, or one very hungry person.
Optional: serve with dashes of your favorite hot sauce. My favorites include: Frank's, Tabasco, and my own Amateur Chef's Original Hot Sauce (to be featured in an upcoming post)