Recipe #339: Inarizushi

I love inarizushi! I always get them as a "first meal" when we stop by a convenient store on our way home from the airport. When we were at H-mart after my brother's graduation, I decided to buy a package to make some of my own! Here is a sample of what a package might look like, but mine weren't in a can.

you need:
inarizushi pouches
2 cups rice

• first make little ovals shapes of rice
• carefully open up inari pouch and place rice inside

be careful not too stuff it too full! :) share with your husband and son, or make in secret so you don't! ;)

Recipe #338: Curry Roasted Chicken

Another Real Simple Recipe! I used chicken breasts and instead of chicken legs, and roasted it with an onion and sweet potato.

you need:
2 chicken breasts, cut into smaller pieces
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper
2 sweet potatoes
coriander
1 onion

• heat oven to 450.
• in a skillet heat olive oil
• season chicken with curry powder, salt and pepper
• add to skillet and cook on both sides until slightly browned
• cut up veggies and add to a roasting pan. 
• nestle chicken with veggies
• pour curry oil from pan around on the veggies, and sprinkle a little coriander on them as well.
• bake for about 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

tastes great with rice too! :)

Recipe #337: Personal Deep Dish Pizzas

This was kind of out of my favorite Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day book! With some changes though...

you need:
a baseball sized portion of pizza dough
cheese
pasta sauce
hamburger meat

• divide dough into 4 sections.
• preheat oven to 500
• roll each one out and place in a small, oven safe dish
• add some cheese at the bottom
• top with meat, then sauce.
• sprinkle a little bit more cheese on top.
• turn oven down to 400. 
• bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and it is bubbling up.
• let it sit for a bit to set and then serve!

Recipe #336: Purin

Ahh...purin is a favorite Japanese snack that comes in these fun shaped little cups. But when you live in the states and can't get those, you have to settle for the DIY box!

I guess you might say it is similar to flan, but it is a much lighter consistency then the flan i have eaten!
Of course you need the box so this is kind of a hard recipe to make... and then you also need a brother who reads Japanese to tell you how to make it!

It is really easy. Just mix the package with 400ml milk, and stir over heat until dissolved. pour into 4 little bowls. Then freeze for an hour. Donnie didn't believe me on that one, but I am pretty sure that is what you are supposed to do...it sat in the fridge for an hour and did nothing! (I actually accidentally left it in the freezer overnight, but when it thawed it was the right consistency, so it was fine!)

just before serving, mix a Tbsp of water with the caramel packet and pour over each pudding.

Alex loved it so much he went into the fridge yesterday and pulled out the last one to eat! Crazy kid. He got to eat it...after sharing a couple bites with me of course! :)

Side Dish #24: Mother-Daughter Aprons!

My sister is an apron-loving kind of girl, so for her birthday and then for her daughter's birthday (back in FEBRUARY...yeah, i am kind of late!) I decided to make them some matching aprons!

For Mary's I copied my favorite apron...one that was from Japan. I loved how the straps criss-crossed so that if stayed up higher in the front.

my japanese one used buttons and then had separate straps to tie it... by accident :) I discovered an even better way...using D rings I was able to  use 2 long straps instead of having to use 4. 

I used bias tape to trim Mary's all the way around.

Lizzie got a little ruffle at the top and bottom of her apron. 

I used a small quick release clip as a fastener for the top, so they could adjust how long it was.

I meant to get pictures with them wearing it but forgot! :( 

Fun times...although I realized I need to do all my gift projects in the summer because it gets really stressful trying to find time to work on them during the school year!

This has been my year for reading. I have realized I don't have time to read and craft so I have to pick one or the other!

Recipe #335: Coconut Cake

Blogging has become a chore lately. Life in general is a chore because there is so much going on right now...testing, closing out the school year, my brother's graduation, life has been really busy, so finding moments to type up the recipes falls to the very end of my to do list, then gets shifted to the end of the next days too! But the year is almost up. I don't know what this will turn into after June first, because I am certainly not going to pursue this again! We now have a ton of recipes we love and this next year will probably be spent revisiting some of the favorites and being so thankful that I can go to some of my stand-by recipes when i cook for guests!

So i thought that maybe typing up a fun recipe would get me in the mood for the several I should do tonight!
Coconut cake is a Schaeffer favorite and definitely not a Will favorite so when Mary had bought the ingredients for Donnie's grad party I asked if I could make it to count it as a recipe! This is one of mary's favorite cakes to make! It was so delicious. It is best if you make it the day before!

You need:
1 white cake mix and necessary ingredients
1 small tub of cool whip, thawed
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups coconut

• make and bake cake according to package directions
• when the cake it done, take it out to cool.
• meanwhile, mix milk, sugar, and 1/2 cup coconut in a small saucepan for about a minute or two
• poke holes ALL over the cake, the more holes the better.
• pour milk mixture all around on top of the cake. Cover and leave in fridge overnight.
• A couple hours before serving fold in 1/2 cup of coconut into the cool whip
• spread cool whip all over top of cake
• top with remaining cup of coconut
• refrigerate a couple more hours.
• it looks really pretty when you do a layered cake, but this 9x13 was perfect for an outdoor party!

Recipe #333 Basil Spaghetti with #334 Cheese tomatoes

Real Simple has this as one recipe, but i am behind and the count down to May 31st is approaching rather quickly! Will loved the spaghetti and said it is such a great summer pasta. I am sure we will make it again. He is not a huge fan of tomatoes so I don't think we will be doing that too much! I highly recommend making this meal with as much freshness as possible! The tastes are so amazing!

You need:
Half a box of spaghetti noodles
handful of fresh basil
a couple leaves of oregano
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
3 cloves of garlic
grated parmesean

• make noodles according to package directions.
• cut up garlic and add to a small sauce pan along with olive oil and red pepper
• heat for a couple minutes then take off heat.
• mix in with drained noodles until they are evenly coated
• stir in torn basil and oregano, along with a bit of fresh, grated parmesan

for the tomatoes...

you need:

4 roma tomatoes

shredded mozzarella (fresh would have been nice but I was out!)

grated parmesan

• turn on broiler
• lightly coat a foil lined baking pan with olive oil
• arrange sliced tomatoes on the baking sheet then top with the cheeses
• broil for 3-5 minutes
• put on top of spaghetti and enjoy!