Celery and Shrimp

I love seafood and shrimp is my favorite! I could eat shrimp all my life and not get tired of it. There are so many ways of cooking shrimp and they are all so tasty! Anyways, the recipe I am going to share today is one of my mom's. I used to eat this dish without ever thinking how she cooked it. So I tried really hard today to emulate the same recipe. Of course the taste is not exactly the same but it's close and it's as good :) *If you are allergic to shrimp...sorry!*

What you need:

-- 20 large shrimps, peeled and deveined (you can buy shrimps that are peeled and deveined in most grocery stores)

-- 1 cup of celery, washed and diced

--3 cloves of garlic, chopped

--1 teaspoon of garlic salt (or more if you like it saltier)

--1 teaspoon of corn starch

gravy:

Mix and stir the two items below in a bowl.

--2 cups of water (less if you want the gravy to be thicker)

--1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. Heat the saucepan over medium-high fire. Then, pour in the oil.

2. Stir in the garlic after the oil is heated. Fry for roughly 30 seconds.

3. Stir in the celery and fry for 1 minute.

4. Throw the shrimps in. Stir-fry them til the shrimps turn red.

5. Pour in the gravy and keep stirring til the gravy boils.

6. Turn the fire off and season with the garlic salt.

*Serve this dish with steam rice.

Happy cooking!

Sharon

Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies

So I was a hankerin' for some cookies and just happened to have all the ingredients for this Fall Cookie recipe! And let me tell you something, these are one of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted. I love the cinnamon and ginger in these. It really gives them a tasty flavor. Try them and they may become your favorite as well!

Makes: 5 dozen
Prep Time: 20 min.
Start to Finish: 1 hr 15 min.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 package (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
1 cup chopped walnuts -- again, I didn't add nuts

INSTRUCTIONS
1..Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. On low speed, beat in remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and walnuts. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
2..On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 1 inch apart.
3..Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Pesto!

So this weekend I made pesto for Sunday dinner and it was delicious. The wonderful thing about pesto is that it's incredibly easy to make, but it's hard because since it's so easy I can't give an exact recipe! (at least, I've never used an exact recipe, but I'll try). This recipe is for a pest pasta. I don't think it is thick enough to spread on bread like I know a lot of people like to do.

Ingredients:

1 bag of pine nuts (it seems like all the bags you can buy in the baking section of the store are about the same size)

1 large clove of garlic

salt and pepper (to taste)

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese, shredded (1 cup-ish)

1 bunch cilantro (you know the size they sell the bunches in the store)

2 cups packed fresh basil

** this is for about 1 box of pasta, I prefer penne pasta, but I guess you can use whatever you want! Cook the pasta first. I won't give directions since I think everyone knows how.**

Okay, once you have the ingredients, this is so easy. What you need is a food processor. And then you pretty much just blend everything together! Start with the garlic and the pine nuts (if you have time, roast the pine nuts a little first, and start processing. Add the cilantro and basil, while adding a little bit of olive oil at a time. You'll end up adding about 1/2-1 cup olive oil. Once everything has been processed, mix it up with the pasta and add as much parmesan cheese as you'd like. You'll want to add some salt and pepper, but you might just want to let people add it themselves as they eat.

The wonderful thing about pesto is that it's so versatile. I like to make it with basil and cilantro the best, but some people make it with spinach, argula, etc . . . Warning: argula makes it quite bitter. Also, if you want it creamy, instead of olive oil, try some cream.

Sometimes I like to chop up some roma tomatoes to throw in the pasta, or grill some chicken.

Sorry if this "recipe" was confusing. Next time I'll try measuring while I cook so I can have a better idea what to tell you guys!

Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars

Another Betty Crocker recipe that turned out to be delicious! My husband really loves it. The sad part is...we left these bars sitting outside the fridge all night so now we have to throw it away. It makes us REALLY sad because they are SO yummy! Not to mention they took a little while to make. :'( Hopefully next time we will remember to stick it back into the fridge! If it weren't for the cheesecake I think it would have been fine.

Makes: 24 bars
Prep Time: 20 min.
Start to Finish: 3 hrs 40 min.

INGREDIENTS
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) oatmeal cookie mix
1/2 cup cold butter or margarine -- I used margarine
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 can (21 oz) apple pie filling
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts -- we didn't add these as we are not nutty people :)

INSTRUCTIONS
1..Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, place cookie mix. Using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through mixture in opposite directions), cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture; press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.
2..Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
3..Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over partially baked crust. In medium bowl, mix pie filling and cinnamon. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over top. Sprinkle with walnuts.
4..Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool about 30 minutes. Refrigerate to chill, about 2 hours. Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Cover and refrigerate any remaining bars.

Banana Lumpia, a filipino dessert :)

The first time I tried Banana Lumpia was at the Jackie Chan Restaurant in Honolulu, Hawaii. When my friend and I ordered this dessert, we didn't know what to expect, except we know banana is involved. When the dessert arrived, it looked really good, as were all the restaurant food. The bananas were wrapped in the spring roll/lumpia wrap and fried. I took a bit and fell instantly in love with it. It is best served with a scoop of Vanilla ice-cream. The hot and the cold created such warmth in our mouth it was hard to describe the feeling.
Tastiness: 5 stars.

Tips:
1. Banana is really filling. So if you're the only one eating the lumpia, you should consider using only 1 or 2 bananas.
2. This dessert is best served immediately. If you leave it overnight, it's not going to be crunchy at all.
3. If you have ice cream at home, serve it with a scoop of ice cream.

Ingredients:
--1 banana, halved. (if you are using those really small bananas, you don't have to cut it in half)
--2 spring roll/lumpia wrappers. (Can be bought in most Asian food store at the produce area. If you live in St. George, Utah, try Harmon's.)

--Some powdered sugar
--Some water
--Oil (as much as you need to fill your frying pan half way up)

Instructions:
1. Wrap each banana in a spring roll wrappers like the pictures below shown. Use the water to seal the wrapper in the final step of the wrapping process.

2. Heat the oil on high over the stove.

3. Fry the wrapped bananas in the pan til the wrappers turn golden brown. Stir them while they are being fried so they can be fried evenly.

4. Remove the banana lumpias from the pan and use the paper towels to drain the oil from the lumpias.

5. Sprinkle the powdered sugar on the lumpias.

6. Serve immediately.

Banana Lumpia

Happy Cooking!
Sharon

Enjoy longevity!

Hi there,

Chicken and mushroom soup is perhaps one of my favorite food in the whole world. I get the worst case of nostalgia everytime I eat it. Most commonly, our family eat the soup with the Chinese long-life noodles. They go so well together. It's like yin and yang, the perfect harmony.

The reason why the noodles are called long-life noodles is, you guessed it, they are so long and the symbolize longevity. The more authentic ones are super thin, sun-dried, and rolled into coils. The Japanese called them "somen" and they eat them with sauce, not soup. Anyways, the long-life noodles are usually eaten during the Chinese New Year and birthdays. It is a tradition that my family and many other chinese have practiced for years and years. Give it a try, it's scrumptious.

p/s: The Chinese long-life noodles can be bought in China Town and the Japanese "somen" can be bought in most stores that sell Asian Foods.

Ingredients:

--2 pieces of ginger, chopped finely. (If you don't have the real ginger root, use the ground ginger powder--a few dashes of it is sufficient).

--3 boneless chicken fillets/2 boneless chicken breasts-->thawed and cut into bite size pieces or bigger.

--2 big bowls of water/350ml

--4 pieces of shitake mushroom, softened in some water

--1 tablespoon of cooking oil

--1 teaspoon of salt or more (some people like the soup saltier)

--1 coil of long-life noodles (per person)

Instructions:

1. Heat the pot over medium-high fire. Pour the oil into the pot and wait for it to heat.

2. When the oil is heated, turn the fire down to medium. Put in the chopped ginger and stir fry the ginger for roughly 30 seconds.

3. Throw the chicken pieces in and stir fry them for 1 minute.

4. Pour in the water and turn the fire up to high.

5. Throw in the shitake mushrooms.

6. Sprinkle in the soup salt and some MSG(just a tiny bit of MSG will make the soup tastier. It's okay to go without the MSG too.)

7. Wait for the soup to boil.

---------------------------------------------

8. To cook the long-life noodles, boil a pot of plain water.

9. When the water is boiled, throw in a couple coils of long-life noodle.

10. Let the noodles cook for about 30 seconds. Them, use a fork or chopsticks to separate the noodles.

11. When the noodles is soft, it is ready to be served in a large bowl.

12. Pour in the soup, chicken pieces, and mushroom onto the noodles. Serve hot.

Tips:

1. Don't cook the noodles for too long. When the noodles float to the surface of the water, it is basically ready. The longer you cook, the fatter the noodles get.

2. Most people cook the soup with chinese rice wine (it's more authentic). You can pour in a tablespoon or two of the wine while stir-frying the chicken.

3. For most Chinese food, you have to taste it to see if you have gotten the level of saltiness/taste you like.

4. Eat the chicken pieces with Soy Sauce. It always taste good on plain meat.

Happy Cooking!

Sharon

Cinnamon-Topped Zucchini Bread

I made this recipe from a Fall Recipe book I bought about a week ago. It is super delicious and super moist. I did change a few things around so please see my notes in italic.

BREAD
3 cups shredded zucchini (2 to 3 medium) -- I used one large zucchini which is about 2 and a half cups
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups whole wheat flour -- I used white flour because I don't have whole wheat
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

TOPPING
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold butter

INSTRUCTIONS
1..Move oven rack to low position so tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottoms only of 2 (8x4-inch) loaf pans or 1 (9x5 inch) loaf pan with shortening, or spray with cooking spray.
2..In large bowl, stir zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs until well mixed. Stir in remaining bread ingredients; mix well. Pour into pan(s). In small bowl, mix topping ingredients with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter in pan(s).
3..Bake 8-inch loaves 50 to 60 minutes, 9-inch loaf 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan(s) on cooling rack 10 minutes.
4..Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove, and place top side up on cooling rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

I cut our bread about 20 minutes after it was done because my husband and I love warm warm bread. Mmm mm good!!

Welcome!

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Happy cooking!