Asian Broccoli Slaw Salad with Ramen Noodles

I dunno why but I am kind of embarrassed to admit this...I, Annie Patz, have never (until now) cooked Ramen noodles. I have been in college for over two years and I feel like I've missed out on some all-American nostalgic experience. Some of you might be familiar with Paula Deen's recipe which cooks the noodles in butter but I think it tastes just as good cooked in water AND it saves a heck of a lot of calories. This slaw is soooo delicious warm or cold, ever since I discovered broccoli slaw I have NEVER purchased a cabbages based slaw since. For those of you who think I'ma crazy lady, broccoli slaw is typically made of shredded broccoli stalks, carrots, and red cabbage. If you think it resembles eating raw broccoli you're wrong! This is not bitter AT ALL, it's crunchy and refreshing, plus I love the combo of the sweet craisins and the saltiness of the sunflower seeds. This is definitely not your average college dorm Ramen...not that I would know..but still, this salad has class!

Asian Broccoli Salad

1 package of broccoli slaw
1/4 cup sugar
1 package of oriental flavored Ramen noodles (reserve flavor packet)
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 craisins
2 TBS olive oil
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1.Cook Ramen according to package directions; RESERVE SEASONING PACKET and add it to the oil mix.

2.While Ramen is cooking, add olive oil, vinegar, sugar, seasoning packet, and salt and whisk thoroughly.

3.Drain Ramen and toss in oil dressing. Add broccoli slaw, craisins, and sunflower seeds and toss until fully incorporated (you might need to add a little more olive oil or vinegar according to personal tastes).

4.Eat then or chill in fridge overnight.

Guilt Free Spaghetti & 'Meat'balls

Sorry for the severe lack in posts, I started a new job this week and training has been pretty brutal, lately I've pretty much been surviving of frozen dinners and Chinese take out but yesterday, I finally became fed up and I forced my weary body to prepare a decent meal...something comforting yet still healthy (lord knows I need healthy after a week like this one). As a person who cannot eat regular pasta without her body saying "hey we have carbs! Must immediately place on thighs!!" I always opt for the Smart Taste brand it tastes in every way like regular pasta but contains less calories, fiber, protein, and vitamins, PLUS it makes for good leftovers unlike whole grain pasta which tastes a little funky after sitting in the fridge. To further increase the nutrition I always try to toss in some fresh veggies into my sauce, if you have picky kids, just cut up the broccoli into teeny tiny pieces and mix it in with the sauce, you can't even taste it over the tomatoes. AS for these meatless balls (yes, I realize that phrase sounds a tad vulgar) they are sooo tasty and moist, I promise you, you will not even notice they're vegetarian!

Vegetarian Meatless Balls

1 (12 ounce) bags of Morningstar brand soy crumbles
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
2 minced garlic cloves
2 TBS grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon of your favorite dried Italian herb seasoning (I used oregano 1 tsp parsley 1 tsp basil)
1 teaspoon fennel seed



Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.Thoroughly defrost veggie crumbles in skillet with a little cooking oil spray.

3.Remove from heat and combine all ingredients in a big bowl.Form mixture into 24 small meatballs. If you have a food processor, you might want to pulse these ingredients, just a little to further break up the soy crumbles and make the texture more "meat" like.

4.Bake in an oiled mini muffin pan (or on an oiled cookie sheet) for about 15 mins or until firm.

(I use cooking oil spray to grease the pans for less fat.)

Sweet Basil Spaghetti Sauce


2 (14.5 ounce) cans petite diced tomatoes
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons dried basil, or to taste
2 cloves garlic, pressed

Directions:

1.Combine everything in a medium sized sauce pan and bring to a biol. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, 30 minutes.

2.Steam some fresh vegetables, toss them in a food processor or chop them up and throw them in the prepared sauce to add some extra veggie goodness.

Sweet Rosemary Cornbread

Every time I go to Panama I always smuggle back some fresh rosemary sprigs, for some reason it grows everyyyywhere over there! I don't think people even realize what's in front of them...which is probably a good thing because then people would stuff a handfuls into their suitcases like me heh. This cornbread is undoubtedly THE BEST cornbread I have ever made! It has a super moist cake-like texture, subtle sweetness, and the rosemary really adds a sweet herb quality that I really love! In fact, I think I am going to make rosemary a permanent addition to my cornbread recipes from now on! If you are not a fan of sweet cornbread you can always add 2/3 cup sugar instead of 1 cup other than that this is a super easy recipe and man is it good!

Sweet Rosemary Cornbread

(makes 1 loaf)

Baker's Joy, for greasing pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup half and half
3/4 cups whole milk
2 large eggs
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1 can of yellow corn, drained
1 rosemary sprig (optional)

Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one loaf pan (9 x 5), and set aside.

2.Whisk the dry ingredients to blend in a large bowl. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a different bowl, then add to the dry ingredients, and stir until no dry spots remain. Mix in corn.

3.Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, smooth with a spatula, and bake until brown at the edges and just cracking in the center, about 30 to 35 minutes. Add a rosemary sprig on top about halfway through cooking time if desired. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

The Fox in Avondale

When it comes to breakfast places I must say, I am pretty biased. Cool Moose has held a special place in my foodie heart for quite sometime now so you can imagine our disappointment on the morning of our road trip when I was in need of my beloved blueberry coffee, I realized something terrible. It was Monday. The ONE day Cool Moose is closed. We panicked, where do we go now? Must we fall victim to the dreaded breakfast chains?! NO! I remembered this tinnny quirky place that resides in the Avondale strip - Fox

This place encompasses everything that this area represents - it might look a little rough around the edges and be filled with a hot mess of strange things but deep down inside it's good. Dammit it's good. And those strange things you see on the wall turn into what I like to call "character." Their menu offers up some traditional menu items like omelets, french toast, waffles, pancakes with sandwiches and salads for lunch. I recommend you get here earlier for breakfast because this place fills up fast! We got there around 11 and the place was packed, luckily the staff there is super friendly and he got us seated as quickly as possible (then again that might have had something to do with my "get up now I'm freaking hungry don't get that last cup of coffee" stare at the filled tables).
To view the menu click here



Since I had omelet on the brain, I ordered "The Dougie" which was stuffed with onions, peppers, tomatoes, black beans, spinach, and cheddar cheese with wheat toast and home fries. My omelet was very tasty, I asked for my onions and peppers to be cooked down and they listened! The home fries were brown and crispy just the way I like em but my toast was a little soggy, it pretty much just tasted like soft bread. One thing they had here was green Tobasco sauce. Normally I am not a fan of Tobasco, to me it just tastes like spicy vinegar and I would prefer Texas Pete or some other brand but this stuff is amazing! It's more mild then it's red cousin and the flavor of vinegar isn't nearly as overpowering - I highly suggest you try some on your eggs!

To view the menu click here



Lewis decided on "The Tropical" which was and omelet filled with onions, chicken tomatoes, black beans, and cheddar cheese also with home fries and wheat bread (it also wasn't toasted). He really enjoyed the chicken which threw him off at first but he said that everything tasted really well together...just look at that face. That is one happy, well fed face.

It turns out I am kinda happy Cool Moose was closed that day because it forced us to try this local gem of a place. The food is simple but delicious and the staff is awesome! Definitely check out the Fox for breakfast or lunch next time you're in this neck of the woods!

My Week in Instagram

As you can see it's been a pretty ACTION PACKED vacation week. We had a blast in Panama! The weather was perfect and the beaches weren't crowded. We started off the trip right with some Fox breakfast then commenced to eating our weight in Red Robin vegeburgers and bottomless fries (p.s. you need to come to Jacksonville). We also checked out this tiny Chinese/Japanese place called Hana Japan which had ammazzzinggggg sushi (look for review soon) and witnessed some breath taking sunsets. I will remember this trip for years to come and I already miss that constant cool beachy breeze *sigh oh well time to get back to reality!

Hope everyone had an equally amazing week!