3 Deliciously Easy Dinners

Although  I have been quite the slacker with my posts lately, I have still been cooking and eating well.

When I returned from our Philippines trip I was definitely ready to get back into the kitchen.  The one thing that I don’t really like about long vacations is that I can’t always eat how I want to.  I tried my best to eat healthfully, but it was not always easy.  So when we returned to Korea I was eager to start creating my own food again.

There is something good and reassuring about making your own food:  You know what ingredients are added throughout the whole process, how it is cooked etc.  I like being treated to restaurant foods, but I like to balance that with my own cooking.

Do you struggle with eating healthfully when you are on vacation? If no, what are your tips?

So now, I bring you some of the things I whipped up on returning to my beloved kitchen.

1. Fresh Veggie Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce and veggie fried rice.

I love the versatility of these little guys.  You can stuff them with any veg. that you have on hand and it’s always yum.  I stuffed my rolls with spinach, sesame leaf, carrots, mushrooms, tofu and peppers.  I great mix indeed.

I don’t have a shot of the peanut sauce, but any excuse to dip something into a peanut sauce is great one.

I did the fried brown rice on the side just to round out the meal and add some extra fibre to the meal.

2. Veggie Tofu Chili with Pan Fried Bread.

This meal rocked my socks off!

Chili is by far one of my favorite meals on the planet. Love it!

I was craving bread to dip in my chili so I whipped up my favorite pizza dough and cooked it up in the pan.  It was a marvelous idea.  Don’t know why I haven’t done it sooner.  If you want a quick bread alongside your soup, chili, or salad, do this.

3. Barley Red Lentil Pilaf

Loved this.

I love barley for dinner and breakfast and this concoction proved to be a winner.  I cooked up the barley and lentils in a deep pan, with veggie stock and vegetables, and stirred in some flaked tuna at the end before serving.

A wondrous topping for a salad.

I only have 2 more weeks to cook in my little Korean kitchen, than I go back to living out of a suitcase for about 2 months.  I think I just have to make a better game plan when it comes to my eating. I can get a little cranky when I don’t get to eat what I want to…sorry Adrian 😉  Everyone is allowed to have a little food snob in them, I think!

Anywho…Take good care and have a fabulous end to your week.

C.

Chili Night

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had as glorious a weekend as I did.

I cooked lots, made yummy treats, ate lots and had a wonderful  time with friends; what more could be better?

I hosted a chili night at our place on Saturday and it was quite a success.  When living in a foreign country the comforts of home, food playing a major part, are extra special.  If you have ever lived abroad I am sure that you know exactly what I mean.  As a person who gets great joy from cooking for other people, I was ecstatic that I could provide a warm and comforting bowl of chili for my friends.  They loved every bite! I love giving the gift of food, it’s so satisfying to see people’s tummy’s so happy.

I cooked up two pots of chili.  One extra large meat lovers pot and one veggie delight.  I used the same recipe for both, but subbed in tofu for the veggie pot.  Cooking the chili two days in advance proved to be an excellent idea.  It gave lots of time for all those flavors to mingle around.

I used a new recipe this time around (I know, never try a new recipe when you are entertaining, what was I thinking?!) and it provided a rich deep flavored chili.  The secret ingredient you may ask? A really nice dark brown beer.  I would never consider myself a beer drinker, but the flavor it provides to a pot of chili is extraordinary.

Here are all my ingredients, minus a few veggies.

I took these ingredients and magically turned them into this…

Mmmmmm!

One meaty pot of goodness…for my hubbie and all my meat lover friends.

And one pot filled with tons of veggies, beans and tofu!

And I wouldn’t be a good host if I didn’t include dessert.

I whipped up two super easy mouth watering chocolate treats.

One: Cara’s Peanut Butter Cups

Look at those beauties!

Two: Coconut crusted chocolate fudge balls

These little chocolate calls have dried cranberries, raisin, cashews and walnuts inside. A special treat when you take your first bite.  They honestly melt right in your mouth, need I say more?

Well that’s about all she wrote.  I actually took no shots of the actual party, I did happen, trust me 😉 I was to preoccupied being a good hostess and catering to my guests, or at least that’s the excuse I will make for being a bad food blogger. Another successful cooking/eating adventure down.

Adrian and I have now eaten 3 dinners worth of chili in a row and still have some left over 🙂

Anyone have ideas of what to can make with chili leftovers? Suggestions would be appreciated.  One cannot waste the goodness of chili, we will just keeping reusing it in different ways. So send along your ideas.

Have a super start to the new week.

Take good care,

C.