Martabak (Javanese Beef Rolls)

Martabak

While scrolling through FoodGawker, I stumbled across a picture that looked delicious. Martabak is an Indonesian street food popular in Java. It seems to have originated from the Arabian “mutabbaq” (Arabic for folded), a stuffed pancake. Seasoned beef and onions are wrapped in egg roll wrappers or thin pancakes and fried until golden. They are often served with Kecap Manis. I could not find this, but i used a soy sauce, hoisin dip and Ryan used the infamous sweet chili sauce. 

First, if you happen to have a Fry Daddy, this will make life Sooooo much easier. It is the best; always the right temperature, doesn't splatter everywhere and super easy. 

The recipe is below, personally, I would add a little more salt. We did not get 20 either, I am not sure where that came from, we got about 11 out of it. Hope you Enjoy! Happy Frying!!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil + 1 cup for deep frying

1 pound ground beef

4 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

4 green onions, thinly sliced

2 shallots, chopped

4 large eggs, lightly beaten and divided

20 egg roll wrappers

In a wok or skillet, drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the beef and stir in the garlic, salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Cook, stirring often and breaking up the beef, until browned. Remove from heat and let cool.

Once thoroughly cooled, mix in green onions and shallots. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the beaten egg and stir the remaining into the beef mixture.

Place one egg roll wrapper on work surface and cover the others to keep them from drying out. Place about 1/4 cup of beef mixture in center of wrapper. Fold two of the edges over the center. Brush the other two edges with reserved egg and fold over towards center to seal and create a square shape.

Clean wok or deep skillet and add 1 cup oil over medium heat. Once thoroughly heated, fry the folded martabak until browned and crisp on each side, about 3 minutes total. Place on towel lined plate.

Serve warm with Kecap Manis or other sweet Indonesian sauce.

Adapted from The Exotic Kitchens of Indonesia: Recipes From the Outer Islands

Four Cheese Stuffed Shells

While perusing the internet one Sunday afternoon, I came accross this recipe, interestingly enough Ryan had found a recipe he wanted from the same website, so I figured we should try!

This was an easy week-night meal. All in all it was pretty tasty, I would maybe play with different spices. I added oregano, not sure what else I would do. Ryan's suggestion was to add pepperoni, not sure how I feel about that. I think you could also play with the types of cheese.

I had Ryan stop by the store to get spaghetti sauce, he came home with some $11 on sale sauce... crazy. But I think the sauce you use will definitely make it better. We used a roasted garlic. YUM!

Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells

Servings: 8 Ready in: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

12-oz. box jumbo shells pasta

15-oz. container ricotta cheese

1 cup Muenster cheese, shredded

½

cup grated Parmesan cheese

½

cup Asiago medium cheese, shredded

½

cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

28-oz. jar spaghetti sauce

1 cup Muenster cheese, shredded

¼

cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Cook the jumbo shells in boiling water 2-3 minutes short of package directions. Drain and

rinse.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of Muenster cheese,

½ cup grated

Parmesan cheese, Asiago cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well. Stuff a spoonful of the

cheese mixture into each cooked shell. Place the stuffed shells cheese-side-up into the

prepared baking dish.

3. Evenly pour the spaghetti sauce over the stuffed shells. Top with 1 cup of shredded

Muenster cheese and

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 50minutes. Serve warm with garlic bread and green salad.

Tomato, Roasted Pepper and Arugula Pasta

 photo credit: tastykitchen.com

I am going to be totally honest here and say I wasn't too sure about this recipe. When I first had read it as I was going through recipes of what to make for the week, I came across this and I thought it sounded good. Then, when reading it again the evening I was planning on making it, I was like hmm... this sounds like it could be bland. 

BUT, I was proven wrong, it was great. The smoky paprika really came through and the basil was a great flavor as well. 

This is an extremely easy weeknight recipe you can whip together quickly. 

I had leftover spiral pasta, so that is what I used, as you can see in the picture above, she chose shells. (whatever is in your pantry will do)

As per usual, I asked Ryan to drain the pasta while I was doing something else and totally forgot to reserve water... I added a little bit of tap water, it turned out fine :)

I also will say i may have added slightly more cheese than called for... just a slip of the hand. Another thing, I used red onion instead of a shallot, because that is what I had as well as I always add more garlic. we are a household of garlic lovers. Do as you will. 

.

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water.

While the pasta cooks, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, roasted red peppers, half of the basil, smoked paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Let the mixture cook for another 5-6 minutes until the tomatoes begin to soften.

Add the arugula to the pan and drizzle the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil over the arugula. Stir it to combine and cook until the arugula wilts. Turn the heat to low and stir in the mozzarella cheese. Add the cooked pasta and the pasta water and stir until combined. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces, weight Pasta
• 2 teaspoons Olive Oil, Divided
• 1 whole Shallot, Minced
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 cup Grape Tomatoes, Halved
• ½ cups Roasted Red Peppers, Chopped
• ¼ cups Fresh Basil, Chopped, Divided
• 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• ½ teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Black Pepper
• 2 cups Fresh Arugula
• 2 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Diced
• ¼ cups Parmesan Cheese

Chicken Salad with Goat Cheese with Parmesan Black Pepper Arborio Rice Pilaf

     So, I was trying to go for a Chicken-Orzo salad..... I thought I had Orzo... turns out, that isn't so. 

Therefore, I decided I would use this Arborio rice I had sitting in my pantry.

Summer has decided to grace Alaska with its presence... we shall see how long it lasts... we have had a few gorgeous days, and it has been a loooooong time coming! 

BreeAnna and I the other day were saying who would've thought that in our rebellious teen years we would be the ones saying we would want to live in Salt Lake City..... 

Annnywho.. back to my summer salad. I love summers for the reason I feel that I can make a simple yummy salad and call it good for dinner.

For the Chicken:

Ryan felt the need to buy Saute Express packet things when he was mezmerized by them at the store. 

turns out, I really liked it, we used the Garlic and butter ones... super easy

So, melt the saute express, I used a grill pan... cook chicken on both side, I cooked mine fairly high to get a little crisp on the outside. Once finished, let cool and cut into bite size pieces. 

Salad:

I used my favorites

Mixed Greens

Tomato

I roasted a Red Bell Pepper

Feta Cheese

Red Onion

I tried a new dressing that was a light Caesar Vinaigrette 

Parmesan Black Pepper Arborio Rice Pilaf

This was very tasty, I halved the recipe for Ryan and myself... seeing as this is totally not healthy

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups arborio rice, rinsed in a colander until water runs clear

• 1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
• Salt, to taste

1. Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add rice; stir to coat. (Can turn off heat and let stand several hours.)
2. Add broth, cover, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until stock is absorbed and rice is creamy and soft with a little "chew" at the center, about 12 minutes. Stir in cheese and pepper; add salt, if necessary. Serve hot.

Blackened Halibut Salad

Halibut is one of the great fishes of Alaska. I am no fisherwoman... but my friend Melissa's family is big into fishing, so she was kind enough to bring me some yummy Halibut.

We have been having a lot of salads lately, so I thought this could be a good way to re-mix a salad.

While shopping we found some local Alaskan Blackened Halibut Seasoning (Talkeetna) not sure if you can buy it online, but just using your favorite blackening season and you'll do great. This one is perfect because it had a great kick to it that isn't too overwhelming for Ryan's pallet.

We used a grill pan... well Ryan used a grill pan.

Put some oil in it... get it as hot as possible. 

Generally you don't need to cook halibut too long.... 

There is a fine line between done and over done.

Sear the first side for about 5 minutes, turn over sear the other side.

When fish is done, chop into bite-sized pieces and let cool for a few minutes.

For the salad.

Spring mix 

Tomatoes

Red onion

Sunflower Seeds

Almond salt and pepper mixed nut things

Pea Pods

Carrots

Toss together and enjoy

Chicken Tabbouleh with Tahini Drizzle

Friday night I made hamburgers, and I thought this would be a tasty side-dish. 

In this particular circumstance I didn't use the chicken, I just wanted the Tabbouleh salad.

I've made other Tabbouleh that has a different "dressing"if you will. 

I just love the Tahini Drizzle though, not sure why.

So, this is a tasty dish for either a light main course with the chicken, or as a salad.

Now, dependent upon your taste buds... I just used one pack of mint...was not a cup.. I don't like the mint overpowering the other flavors, personally.

Also, depending on what brand of Tahini you buy, some seem to be stronger than others, so in the past I have added more lemon juice to the dressing mix.

Overall, do what fits for you, and you may need to play around with it a little.

Enjoy!

• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked bulgur, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups chopped tomato 
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 cup chopped green onions 
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup tahini (roasted sesame seed paste)
• 1/4 cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt 
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon water

Preparation

1. 1. Combine 1 1/4 cups water, 1 cup bulgur, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes (do not stir) or until the liquid almost evaporates. Remove from heat; fluff with a fork. Place bulgur in a medium bowl; let stand 10 minutes.
2. 2. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Sauté for 4 minutes on each side or until done; shred chicken. Combine bulgur, chicken, tomato, and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a large bowl; toss gently.
3. 3. Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, tahini, and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over salad.

Avocado Bruschetta

BreeAnna is visiting and she wanted to make this appetizer for us. It was delicious!

Here is the recipe 

2 Ripe Avocados

1/4 c Parsley chopped

1/4 c Cilantro, chopped

1/2 shallot, finely diced

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp honey

Olive Oil, enough to bring everything together

salt and pepper to taste

6 slices thick Italian bread

1 garlic clove, peeled and diced 

Cut the Avocados in half; remove pits; and cut into cubes

Combine avocados, parsley, cilantro, shallots, vinegar, honey and olive oil. Season mixture with salt and pepper.

Brush olive oil on slices of bread, and grill on each side a couple minutes until toasted.

Rub the cut side of the garlic clove on grilled bread slices. Spread avocado mixture on bread and serve immediately.