St. Patrick's Day Nom Nom Green Chicken

This Phenomenonal Green Chicken by Nom Nom Paleo is amazing and has become a family favorite, especially on St. Patrick's Day. 

Check it out here and/or here on my blog! 

So incredibly Nom Nom

Enjoy!

包子 Baozi Chinese Steamed Meat Buns :)

新年快乐!!!

For Chinese New Years I made some Chinese food and we got together with some friends and family to celebrate!

My cousin, little chef, and I made 包子 Baozi (Stuffed Steamed Buns) from scratch. Baozi are definitely a Fish Fam favorite! When we lived in China you could find Baozi on every corner at any time of the day, which they are a breakfast food, nonetheless we ate them all the time morning, day, and night! Our little guy had a baozi dance, he'd get so happy :)

For the celebration we made a lot of food...Baozi, Jiaozo (potstickers), Lemon Chicken, Long Bean Stir-fry, and a Lychee smoothie. Grateful I had lots of help too or else it would have taken all night to cook because I didn't get started soon enough!

In the end, all I heard was how yummy it all was!

I followed this recipe from Yi Reservation. I need to work on the buns, but for a first they turned out pretty good, just need to get them more round and soft. The recipe is in grams, so I had to convert everything and was probably a little off of the measurements, but the clock was ticking!

Here is Mr. Yi's recipe....

But going to his website and following the step by step photo process is important.

CHINESE STEAMED MEAT BUNS (BAOZI) 包子

YIELD: 21-24 BUNS

PREP TIME: 180

COOK TIME: 30

TOTAL TIME: 210

Make these homemade Chinese Steamed Meat Buns following this MAN-PROOF step-by-step recipe at www.yireservation.com.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE DOUGH

• 500g all-purpose flour, more as needed
• 1.5tsp instant yeast
• 50ml lukewarm water
• 230ml milk or water +/- 10ml, at room temperature
• 1tsp baking powder
• 50g sugar
• 3g salt
• 2tbsp cooking oil
• 1/10tsp baking soda (optional)

FOR STUFFING

• 1.5lb ground pork (can use chicken, beef, or lamb)
• ¼ cabbage
• 5 scallions
• 2inch fresh ginger root

STUFFING MARINADE

• 2tbsp soy sauce
• 2tbsp cooking oil
• 1tbsp sugar
• 1.5tbsp Chinese rice wine
• 1tsp five-spice powder
• 1 egg
• 1tsp sesame oil
• 2tsp ground white pepper
• Additional salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Follow my basic steamed bun (Mantou) recipe to make the basic dough. You’ll need about 2 – 3 hours to prepare the dough
2. While waiting for the dough to rise, start making the stuffing by chopping the scallions and ginger
3. Chop the cabbage to the size of ½ of your pinky nail. Move the chopped cabbage to a mixing bowl
4. Mix 1 tbsp of salt into the cabbage. Let sit for about 20 minutes or until cabbage has released some moisture
5. Remove the cabbage liquid. Combine with the ground pork (or your meat of choice) in the same bowl. Add the chopped scallions and ginger to the pork and cabbage
6. Mix in all the stuffing marinade ingredients to the pork except the cooking oil. Whisk the stuffing using a spoon until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Add additional salt to taste if needed
7. Drip the cooking oil in the meat mixture and whisk to mix. Seal the stuffing with plastic wrapper and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This can be done in advance
8. Once the dough is ready, transfer the dough to a flour-dusted workstation. Divide into 4 portions. Roll each portion into a log that’s about 1.5 inch in diameter
9. Cut the log into 6 parts and shape each port into a ball. Make sure you coat the dough balls with a layer of flour. Press down the ball with your palm. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a round thin wrapper with 4 inch diameter. When rolling, make sure the center of the wrapper is thicker than the edge of the wrapper. Repeat this step to make a batch of 6 wrappers at a time
10. To fold the bun. Place 1 to 2 tbsp of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Try to stack up the filling so it’s at least 1 inch from the edge of the wrapper. Wrap the bun by folding the edge counterclockwise until the bun is completely sealed. Repeat these two steps to assemble the rest of the buns
11. Place the buns on a bamboo steamer with parchment in between to prevent sticking. Don’t steam your buns right away but instead let them sit for another 30 – 45 minutes. This is an important step in making the buns soft and fluffy. The buns will increase in size
12. Steam the buns for 15 minutes over high heat. Turn off the heat but do not open the steamer cover. Let them sit in the steamer for another 5 minutes before you take them out. Let them cool a little and serve hot as breakfast, snack, or appetizers

Being that Chinese New Years is 15 days long stay tuned for more yummy 中国菜 Chinese food!

新年快乐!!!

Chicken & Cilantro Wonton Soup

My boys love their Chinese soups and homemade is so much better than take out.

Well, it's mostly homemade. Gotta work on those wontons.

So, for now these Cilantro & Chicken Wontons from Costco will do...

When it comes to buying prepared foods I like when I am able to read the ingredients list, know what they are, and really it should be way way way less than a paragraph long. It'd be awesome if it was organic. The couple no good ingredients are: Carrageenan (thickener/stabilizer/sneaky MSG ingredient) and soy/soybean oil (GMO)/don't overlook the "*No MSG added" (I like their honesty on this one). 

When we lived in China at my sons preschool we made homemade jiaozi/potsickers. It was fun and easy! All the kids got to help and they loved it. So for a family night we'll definitely be making some!

This dinner was quick and easy because I pre-make my bone broths in my instant pot pressure cooker and have them ready to go in the freezer. The broth consists of...

Grass-fed Beef Bones (bought locally)

ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar)

Carrots

Onions

Parsley

Celery

Sea Salt

I pull it out of the freezer and depending on what you froze the broth in and the size of your pot, you put it into a pot and let it cook/melt. I also had frozen chopped onions and garlic to throw in. Then my Little Chef grated fresh grated ginger and chopped green onions. He threw it all in with some sesame oil once the soup become liquid. Once the soup is about to boil add the wontons and whalla, it's done in about 5mins (once the wontons are floating, a helpful Chinese cooking tip)!

Mine is pretty similar to this Wonton Soup at Damn Delicious.

Which I'm saving to make the wontons! 

So, for now these will do...

Enjoy!

Beautiful & Bountiful Blessings...

I am so grateful for the Bountiful and Beautiful Blessings of this earth.

As I sit here and eat my lunch I can't help but be filled with love and gratefulness for all that our Mother Earth provides for us, for me, who has been struggling so much with my health. As I have taken my own digestive health struggles into my own hands, throughout the years I have found many answers and figured out many things that have made me so grateful for life. Yes, it has been so painful, hard, I wanted to give up, but I was never going to stop fighting and I am winning. Throughout these years I have read and read and read many many books about food, about our bodies, about good health, about being positive, about respecting and loving ourselves, about serving, about loving, about finding peace, about being strong, about having no more than we need.

This humble bowl of chicken soup means so much to me. For me to prepare food for myself I have to do most of it the old fashioned way. But, it's providing me with the best nourishment and strength that so many foods just don't do because my body can't digest and absorb the nutrients properly. At one point I was eating oatmeal for two months straight. Everything else hurt quite bad. I lost a crazy amount of weight, which for those of you who know me, would understand how bad that is and I love to make and eat all kinds of foods. 

But after much prayer, walking in faith, reading and learning, talking, and just plain going out and doing I am slowly making progress and can't wait for the day when I really take off because yes, one day I will be stronger than I ever have been because of this experience. One day I will reach the top of my mountain. I will look down and remember how hard I fought to get to the top, how much I struggled, how I wanted to give up, how I fell and fell and fell, but got up again and again and again, to keep moving, to keep putting one foot in front of the other and...

How beautiful my view is becoming each and every new day.

We have a such a beautiful earth and it provides all that we need. Just by glancing around I know that there is a Great Creator above and that He is all loving, knowing, powerful, and giving. As I make my own homemade bone broth out of organic humanely raised chickens to use the bones and meat and cut and chop the vegetables I can eat and drop the tasty herbs in I am so thankful! I have a deep love of this land and will continue to walk in beauty. 

Follow here on how to start learning and making your own bone broth at...The Wellness Mama.
The nutrients it provides our bodies is astounding, especially the things it does for small growing children.

My Soup:

• I bought two organic whole chicken and baked them, separated all the meat from the bones. Used some meat for dinner and then put then rest in the freezer for future meals.
• I use my awesome Instant Pot to make my bone broth: added carcasses and bones of the chicken, also added some carrots, parsley, sea salt, and a little bit of ACV (apple cider vinegar), and filled with filtered water.
• After my broth was done I let it cool down and when completley cooled I put in the fridge overnight to let the fat solidify at the top for me to take it off with a mini hand held strainer. (I can't handle that much fat, so if you can handle it enjoy it!)
• I chopped up a little bit of celery, some carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, and more parsley. (Put carrots in first to cook a little bit longer along with the parsley to get more flavor, and then add in other veggies according to how fast they cook.)
• Put chicken meat in near the end, so it won't over cook because rubbery chicken is never pleasant.
• I made some rice or you can add pre-boiled noodles in very last. They will soak up a ton of the broth if not cooked before.
• Add sea salt to taste. 

***You should add lots of other veggies like garlic and onions for more flavor. Sadly, these two things are on my no no list because they contain fructans in levels too high for my body to process. 

***Change up your herbs and spices to see which are your favorite. I love thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, turmeric, and much more. But just not all in the same pot ;)

Enjoy!

Green Curry

We had a bunch of friends over for dinner the other week and I made this green curry and everyone approved and said how delicious it was. People were like, "Whoa, what did you put in this? It tastes so good!" Unfortunately, I can't eat it because it has plenty of things on my cannot eat list. Sigh. But, I'm super glad everyone liked it because there was some things I didn't different from the recipe because either I didn't have it or I used something different.  

Easy Thai Green Curry with Chicken Recipe | แกงเขียวหวาน

By The Thai-Foodie: Recipe Here

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. cooking oil of your choice
• 2 cans of coconut milk (14 ounces), the Chao Koh brand is my fav
• 1 c. water (I used my homemade bone broth, which I know made the biggest difference)
• 3-6 tbsp. Thai green curry paste, Mae Anong is a good one
• 1.5 lbs of pork or chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 1 c. frozen or fresh shelled peas, or small pea eggplants
• 1 lb. small Thai eggplants, cut in quarters, or 2 long Asian eggplants cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 fresh kaffir lime leaves
• fish sauce to taste (used Red Boat Fish Sauce = the best, yes good fish sauce matters!!)
• 1-2 tbsp palm sugar, or brown sugar, to taste
• 1 c. fresh Thai sweet basil with flowers, or sub with other basil you have on hand (Used my friends fresh basil she is growing)

Instructions

1. Add cooking oil to large pot and warm it.
2. Be careful not to shake up your coconut milk because you want the thick cream to stay on top. Spoon out the thick cream from each can into the large pot and heat over medium-heat.
3. Reduce until it looks bubbly like melted marshmallows.
4. Add curry paste and fry for a few minutes until its fragrance soothes your soul and makes you smile.
5. Pour in the rest of the milk, and water and bring to a boil.
6. Add the meat and pea eggplants, if you somehow found them (I never have). If using fresh or frozen peas, don't add them yet or they will disintegrate, lesson learned.
7. Return to a boil.
8. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes uncovered.
9. After simmering, add the Thai eggplants, frozen or fresh peas (if using) and kaffir lime leaves.
10. Taste the curry. If you think it needs more salt, add fish sauce to taste. I like to add palm sugar because I like my curry a bit sweeter since coconut milk lends itself to that.
11. Simmer a few more minutes until the eggplants and peas are tender.
12. Stir in the basil and cook one more minute and turn off the heat.
13. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
14. Enjoy!

Notes

I think curries always taste better the next day because all the herbs got to mingle and get to know each other over night. If I'm having guests over, I like to make green curry the night before and warm it up before they arrive.

This recipe is adapted from Kasma Loha-Unchit's wonderful cookbook, "It Rains Fishes."

Enjoy Enjoy!!

Baked Corn Dogs & Purple Potato Salad

The kids love it when I make Homemade Corn Dogs!

With my youngest, we whipped up the batter, rolled out the dough, wrapped up the hot dogs, and stuck 'em in the oven.

Then before you know it their sitting on a stick ready to eat. 

Yum!

Baked Corn Dogs

By Meagan "The Baker Mama"

Ingredients

• 1 cup Gold Medal® white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground mustard
• 6 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup non-fat milk
• ¼ cup honey
• 7 lean beef hot dog franks, cut in half
• 14 wooden sticks
• mustard & ketchup, for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and ground mustard. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk and honey with a wooden spoon or your hands until well combined.
3. Place dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle some more flour over the dough and top with another piece of parchment paper. Roll dough to ¼-inch thickness.
4. Push a wooden stick up the center of the cut end of each hot dog half. Place the dog on the dough and cut a square that is big enough to wrap around it. Form dough around each dog sealing both ends and any open areas. Place corn dogs on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until they start to brown. Serve with mustard and ketchup for dipping.

*I use Applegate's Organic Uncured Grass-fed Beef Hot Dogs which I prefer, or National Hebrew: Kosher Beef Frank Hot Dogs. 

I also whipped up some Purple Potato Salad and had it sitting in the fridge from the day before ready to go.
Because you know Potato Salad is always better the next day!
:)

Navajo Breakfast Burritos

My Shimasani (Grandma) came for a visit and she made some Naaniskadi, Navajo Tortillas, for breakfast burritos!

All the kids gathered around her, just like I did with my other cousins when we were little, and she let them help her make the Naaniskadi.

I cooked the potatoes, eggs, and of course spam!

Top it off with some salsa because my kids like it with salsa and I had to get a picture fast before they were all gone!

Grandma's Naaniskadi is the best. I definitely can't get mine anywhere near hers yet!

The Party Plate: "Corn Chip Pie!"

Today's lunch plate was a leftover leftover party!!!

In lieu, of the awesome chili recipes, we put all our leftovers from the last few days on this plate, thus the party plate!!...

Frito Corn Chips on the bottom, leftover homemade veggie chili, mixed w/ our leftover Annie's Organic Mac&Cheese and black bean soup, and green beans. Then topped with sharp cheddar cheese and our salad!

Oh yeah, who doesn't like a party plate and lifesaving leftovers all in one!

My kids sure enjoyed the party :)

Cornbread Chili Casserole

While searching for Chili recipes the other day I came across Wolf Brand Chili Classic Recipes Ideas and whoa, they've got some awesome Chili Creations!! Since I had some homemade veggie chili in the freezer I had to use it and try this one...

Cornbread Chili Casserole

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg (8.5 oz each) corn muffin mix

2 eggs

1 can (11 oz each) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream (or plain yogurt)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 can (15 oz each) Wolf® Brand Chili Lean Beef With Beans

1 cup shredded reduced fat Cheddar & Monterey Jack cheese

Makes: 8 servings (about 1 cup each)

DIRECTIONS

• 1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 8x8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray; set aside. Stir together corn muffin mix, eggs, corn with peppers, sour cream and sugar in large bowl.
• 2. Spread batter in bottom of prepared dish. Spoon chili evenly over top of batter, up to 1/2 inch of sides of dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
• 3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbly and edges are browned.

And the best part about it is that its super easy to put together and the kids did most of the work. 

They also helped me steam some green beans and make a fresh salad. 

The Fish Fam definitely loved this meal! 

Chili Taquito Casserole

So this was a totally random look in the pantry and fridge to see what foods we have meal!

We've been traveling and haven't gone grocery shopping so come Sunday I looked around and came up with this meal. 

Interesting, but the Fish Fam loved it. 

I had lots of canned Chili in the pantry that my husband bought on sale last summer to take camping and we still have lots left. 

So, then to help my creative juices get flowing I looked up some canned chili meal ideas and walla...

I had some frozen organic hash browns, which I fried up, then put at the bottom of a casserole dish. Topped the potatoes with the heated up canned chili and then bake at 375deg in the oven for 15mins while the taquitos also baked. At the same time those were in the oven I steamed some frozen corn and green beans.

When the time was up I pushed some of the chili to one side of the dish and then added all the taquitos and then pushed the chili back over them. Then topped it with the corn and green beans, with some fresh tomatoes and green onions.

Yum! Well at least they said it was yum!