5-Spice Chicken Ramen

This isn't some gussied up packaged ramen recipe, so please keep reading! I have yet to try "real" ramen from a ramen restaurant, but for some reason I just really wanted to make it myself. When I have a craving, it stays on my mind until I have it. I honestly do think about food all. the. time.

Ramen is known as Japanese noodle soup that uses Chinese noodles in a savory meat or vegetable based broth flavored with soy or miso, and uses an array of condiments such as sliced green onions, cilantro, soft boiled eggs, meats, and whatever else you feel like topping it with.

Making a good, healthy, and flavorful ramen at home is easy peasy and worlds different from those .10 packets that most of us know and maybe even love! I am not one to be beneath eating those old school ramen packets. I grew up on those during the tough times as a kid, I ate them as a college kid as a quick, cheap, haven't gotten paid yet meals, and I even had them post college when I lived on my own, perking them up with meat and vegetables. Those packaged ramens helped me have a meal, and therefore, hold a special place in my food life.

My ramen starts with a super flavorful broth, which comes from the addition of sesame oil, lemongrass, ginger, and garlic as the base. I then added some spinach, Napa cabbage, and shredded carrots for extra veggies and color. Topped it off with probably the best chicken I have made in a while, using Chinese 5-spice* plus salt, and a soft boiled egg, drizzled with a little red chili oil. Using good quality Chinese noodles I found at the Asian market near my home completed this classic ramen.

This recipe is just my adaptation. Like I said, I haven't had the chance to try a real ramen place in Houston, and these ingredients are just part of how I thought ramen would be made, and or taste. We had these with some light and fresh summer rolls and homemade peanut sauce. I will share that recipe in a different post.

Make this ramen, make it your own, and enjoy!

*Chinese 5-spice powder is a mix of star anise, clove, black pepper, cinnamon, and fennel. Can be found in the spice or Asian foods aisle of your supermarket. 

5-Spice Chicken Ramen

2 large chicken breasts

1 tablespoon Chinese 5-spice

sea salt

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1" inch ginger, thinly sliced

1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 3" slices
4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable)

4 large mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup shredded or matchstick carrots
2 cups baby spinach
chili oil, to taste
2 cold eggs
6 oz thin Chinese wheat noodles (best found at Asian supermarket, or Asian foods aisle)
Garnishes: thinly sliced green onion, thinly sliced napa cabbage, lemons, thai basil, mint, cilantro, Sriracha

Begin by cleaning and drying the chicken breasts and seasoning both sides with Chinese 5-spice powder and sea salt.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and heat up a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Drizzle in the olive oil and butter. Once butter is melted and the skillet is screaming hot, place the chicken breasts in. Do not touch and let cook for 3 minutes to form a crust. Flip and cook other side for an additional 3 minutes. Place the skillet with the chicken breasts in the oven to cook for an additional 20-25 minutes until cooked through.

While the chicken is baking, begin the broth. In a large soup or stock pot, heat sesame oil and toss in the garlic, ginger, and lemongrass. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add in the broth, soy sauce, and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Add in carrots, and simmer for 5 minutes to soften, and lastly add in spinach until wilted. Add in a few drops of chili oil to taste, if desired.

Follow package directions for the noodles. As water boils for the noodles, work on making the soft boiled eggs. Soft boiled eggs have a creamy yolk center, and is a perfect complement to any ramen bowl. Bring a small pot of water (enough to cover the eggs) to a boil. Gently place in the 2 eggs from the refrigerator into the boiling pot of water. Be careful! Cook for 7 minutes for a creamy, less set yolk, or 8 for a creamy, more set, yolk. I prefer the 8 minute mark. As the eggs boil, make a small ice bath. After 8 minutes, drain the hot water and place the eggs in the water bath to stop the cooking process. Peel and set aside when ready to use.

Once chicken is cooked, place on plate and cover with foil. Time to assemble your ramen!

Grab a large, deep bowl for yourself and start by placing in some noodles. Pour over ramen broth to cover noodles and make it as soupy as you like. Some people like more noodles to broth, and some like less, so up to you.

Thinly slice the chicken breast and top the ramen bowls with chicken, a sliced egg, cabbage, more chili oil, green onions, any other greenery, and Sriracha sauce, if you heart(burn) desires.

Enjoy with chopsticks and your best slurping noises!

Remember to follow me on instagram @liveloveatrepeat and/or tag your creations with #liveloveatrepeat

Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Finally, finally, finally baked a chocolate chip cookie I was happy with! Give me a thick and chewy chocolate chip cookie, alongside a well made coffee, and I am in bliss. This, after so many failed attempts at baking the kind of cookie I love.

I tried so many different methods like keeping the just made cookie dough in the fridge from 24-48 hours before baking, baking cookies as soon as I complete the dough, less sugar, more brown sugar, no baking soda, only baking powder, melted butter, softened butter, corn starch, etc, etc. but they never turned out the way I liked. Almost every time, they spread and would be flat discs by the time they cooled. Some may enjoy a thin, chewy on the inside, crispy edge cookie, but it just doesn't float my cookie boat.

Which brings me to my point that baking is a science. So many factors can lead to different types of cookies or baked goods.  It's not like cooking, where you can throw a bunch of ingredients together and taste as you go to create a dish. Which, I know to some, sounds daunting. Most of my readers love measurements, so I try my best, but believe me when I say this, it's okay if you are not exact in your cooking!  There is room for experimentation/error in cooking.

Baking however, requires exact measurements and weights. It is mostly the reason I never really enjoyed baking, and loved the creativity of cooking with whatever I had on hand with no measurements as a guide. Basically, I cooked like my dad. Now that I enjoy baking and even have made a small business of it, I am very aware of my measurements and take into account every grain of flour because it is so important in making sure your baked goods turn out.

There are many articles out there in the internet world regarding the science behind different types cookies. If you're a cookie baking fanatic, I suggest you Google "cookie science," or "science of baking cookies," or follow this link to my favorite article about the science of baking your favorite type of cookie.

If you read my blog, you'll notice I posted a brown butter nutella cookie recipe almost 2 years ago, and although great cookies, they too were on the flatter side. I think these are better!

My cookie recipe yields a thick cookie, with a chewy center, and slightly brown bumps on top. I use good quality dark chocolate chips,  salted european butter, toasted nuts, and as always, a sprinkle of sea salt on top.  I just got back from a trip to Napa, and went fan girl crazy in Dean & Deluca. One of my buys was vanilla bean salt. I have been craving chocolate chip cookies since that day almost 3 weeks ago.  And my not so secret ingredient, is instant coffee! It gives the cookies a richer, deeper flavor. Trust me on this. If this sounds like a good cookie to you, definitely give them a try!

I would love to know how they turn out for you. You can tag me on instagram with #liveloveatrepeat.

Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: A baker's dozen (aka 13 cookies)

7 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 + 1/4 cup all purpose flour, unbleached + extra
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso granules
1 cup toasted nuts (your choice, I prefer large walnut pieces)*
1 + 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Sea salt to sprinkle tops (optional)

*To toast nuts, put them in a pan on medium low heat and shake around until they begin to smell nutty. Take them immediately off of the burner and into a bowl to cool

Pop the butter in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 10-15 seconds. You want to the butter to be just slightly melted. Let cool.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and instant coffee or espresso.

In mixing bowl, combine cooled butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Scrape down the bowl, and add the vanilla and egg, beating until fully incorporated.

Add the flour and beat on low speed until combined.  Add a tablespoon at a time of the extra flour until the dough comes together with minimal dough sticking to the bowl. I used about an extra 1/4 cup of flour.

Mix in the chocolate chips and cooled nuts.

Let the cookie dough chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out dough, and then with your hands make a scraggly ball. I'm pretty sure scraggly is a word. In order to get the nice bumps in your cookie, you want the top of your cookie to not be smooth when you scoop out the batter. So basically, form it into a rough ball. If I'm not making sense, just make a ball. It'll still be a cookie.

I was able to fit 6 on my first batch, and 7 on my second, on the cookie sheet. Bake one tray at a time for 9-11 minutes. At minute 5, I sprinkled on the vanilla bean salt (or any sea salt) onto my cookies and promptly closed the oven door to cook for the remainder of 5-6 minutes. Once you see small brown spots on top of the cookie, or the edges are BEGINNING to brown, the cookies are ready. Let cool, or eat them straight out of the oven. Up to you!

Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Baklava Bites

I hope you all had a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa, happy holidays, or just a happy day off from work!

Cannot believe the holidays have come and gone already. I say this every year, but this year just flew by! I am not ready to take down our holiday tree just yet.  It's just so pretty with all the lights on in the dark. Even as I am typing up this post, I have the tree on and am sitting in the dark with the fireplace on.

I wanted to quickly share this recipe because one, I haven't posted something in a while, and two, it was just such a great, quick dessert, and I really wanted to share it with all of you.

This recipe came about completely on a whim because what I thought was a friends potluck dinner tonight, was actually a friends potluck lunch! I went from having all day to make and bring my dessert as promised, to a little over an hour before we had to leave to make it to lunch. My first reaction was to stop by Whole Foods and pick something up, but then I felt bad. I promised a homemade dessert, and I was going to bring one!

I threw on my sweats, hurried off to HEB, and debated between puff pastry or phyllo, and pastry cream or nuts on my drive there. I picked up phyllo shells and nuts. Figured I would make something like baklava with a drizzle of caramel.

If you need a quick dessert, or realize you need to be somewhere at the last minute, these are great to take in hand and share with people you like.

Salted Caramel Baklava Bites

Salted Caramel:
1/2 cup sugar
water
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Baklava Bites:
2 packages pre-baked phyllo shells (15 per pack)
1 cup walnut chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbs honey
1 teaspoon rose water
zest one orange
juice of half an orange
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.

For the caramel, in a small sauce pan, melt down sugar and a couple drops of water. Keep stirring until the sugar melts and become a dark amber color. Add the butter and stir until butter is melted and combined. Turn off the heat, and take the sauce pan off of the stove.  Add the heavy cream, while stirring. The mixture will bubble, but keep stirring until the cream is incorporated and the caramel is smooth.  Add the vanilla and salt and stir until combined.  Let the caramel cool down to a drizzle consistency.

While the caramel cools down, combine the walnuts, pecans, brown sugar, honey, rose water, zest, and orange juice in a bowl.  Stir to coat the nuts fully.

On a large baking sheet, lay out the shells and fill with the nut mixture. Drizzle in a bit of melted butter into each shell.  Pop into preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Let the baklava bites cool a bit until the phyllo is crispy again. Drizzle on the salted caramel.

Enjoy!

Pecan Caramel Tart

Still no pumpkin recipe. Sorry, and, you're welcome, depending on how you feel about pumpkin and pumpkin food things.

The season of lots of eating and holiday mayhem is upon us! It's time to bring out the stretchy pants (aka leggings), sweatpants, and large sweaters, cozy up on the couch with a mug of something hot and a plate of pie. I seriously love pie.

The crust is my favorite part of pie, and I count tarts in the realm of pies because there is a crust, therefore, I seriously also love tarts.

This year, I will be taking part in four Thanksgiving feasts all before the official turkey day. Thankfully the bathing suits I picked up for my trip to Cancun next week all have strategically placed ruching on them to hide my food baby. One piece bathing suits for the win!

For Thanksgiving feast number two, which was at work, I signed up to bring a pecan caramel tart. Although I love me some pie, pecan is towards the end of my list, mostly because I am not a fan of the gloopy corn syrup filling.  I usually just eat the crust and the pecans. This tart gets rid of that gloopiness with only combining pecans and caramel.

I tweaked my cardamom shortbread crust recipe from my Sunshine Lemon Tart by adding a dash of cinnamon, toasted up some pecans, and made a batch of caramel.  All combined to make a beautiful, buttery, crunchy, caramel-y dessert.

Homemade caramel is super easy and can be done without a candy thermometer. I mean really, who has those? And is it different from a regular cooking thermometer? I figure my caramel turns out just dandy without a thermometer, so it's one tool I currently do not need. Homemade caramel takes some patience because the sugar goes through stages, but then some magic happens and the sugar turns into a gorgeous brown color and you're like, whoa, I think I just made caramel.  This caramel is my go to. I have used it to drizzle on grilled bananas, ice cream, baked into chocolate chip cookies, and now, this tart. So keep this in your cooking apron because it is one handy treat.

Pecan Caramel Tart

1 cardamom shortbread crust (I added a dash of cinnamon to the dry ingredients)
3 cups pecans
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons water
4 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Demerara/Turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare tart pan by buttering or using cooking spray to coat.  Press in the shortbread crust into the bottom and flutes of the pan.  Use powdered sugar to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. You can also use the back of a spoon to press down.

Poke holes into the crust with a fork and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

As the crust rests, lay out the pecans into a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes.  Or, if you smell the pecans, take them out to cool.  They are letting you know they are ready!

Once the pecans are out of the oven, pop in the shortbread crust and bake for 15 minutes.  Let cool. If you are good at timing everything, you can toast the pecans and bake the crust at the same time!

As the pecans toast and/or the shortbread crust cools, prepare the caramel.  In a medium sauce pan, add the sugar and water.  Now you will stir and stir until the sugar goes from granulated, to liquid, back to granulated, and into melting. Once the sugar goes from liquid back to granulated, you must constantly stir and break up clumps. I prefer to use a whisk at this step. Don't worry if you have clumps, but try to break them up as best as you can.  Once there are minimal clumps, and your sugar has turned a dark amber color, add butter, and stir/whisk in vigorously.

Take the pan off of the heat and slowly add in your whipping cream while stirring.  Make sure to fully combine the cream in.  Add in your vanilla extract.  At this point you can let the caramel cool into a nice, thick caramel sauce and place into a jar for use. Now give yourself a high five.

For the purpose of this tart, place the caramel on low heat to keep the caramel runny.

Lower the temperature of the oven down to 350 degrees once the pecans are toasted and crust is baked.

In a mixing bowl, combine toasted pecans, brown sugar, and all of the caramel. Combine fully.  Pour into the cooled shortbread crust. Sprinkle with a little Demerara/Turbinado sugar to give it some sparkle. Place in oven and bake 20-25 minutes, until nice and bubbly.

Let the tart completely cool down before popping out of the tart pan.  And then take a moment to marvel in the fact that you made the best dessert this holiday season has tasted.

Enjoy!

*Cooking tip*
If the caramel is still clumpy after adding the heavy cream and vanilla, cook over low heat and stir. Low heat will help the remaining sugar clumps to melt.

Comforting Broccoli + Cauliflower + Cheddar Soup

I suck at recipe titles.  For now, this is the title you get.  At least it's descriptive?

I'm jumping on the soup bandwagon with other bloggers as they post soup recipe after soup recipe since the cooler weather already exists in most of the nation.  Houston is having this, it's not summer, but it's not fall either, kind of weather.  Basically cool in the morning, and hot the rest of the day. You eventually learn to dress in layers.

One of the most popular soups that have been popping up in my blog reading lists is of course, broccoli and cheddar soup. But then....I came across a cauliflower soup from the Pioneer Woman! I seriously love cauliflower in all its forms, sauteed, roasted, curried with potatoes and peas, it's delicious.  Once I saw her recipe, I wanted soup, and I wanted it for dinner that night. So I combined broccoli, cauliflower, and cheddar to make a hearty, creamy, and comforting soup topped off with crisp bacon. Because bacon.

For this soup you must be a liker (a word?), or lover of broccoli and/or cauliflower.  I am already assuming that you love cheese and bacon.  Just please don't tell me that you don't.

I know chopping up broccoli and cauliflower can be intimidating when you see a vegetable that looks like a mini tree.  Don't fret, let me go through an easy, not pretty way to get the job done. Pull off as many leaves as you can off of the cauliflower.  Take a sharp knife, and cut off the hard stalk as close to the cauliflower as possible. Then cut your head (the cauliflower head) in half and just go at it with the chopping, cutting the larger florets into smaller pieces. Do the same with the broccoli, it's a little easier and if you want, you can chop up part of the broccoli stalk since it does get tender with cooking. It won't be all pretty florets and sunsets, but who cares. It's going into a soup and then into your mouth.

I cannot have soup just by itself, so if you would like a bigger meal, then add a side salad or a small sandwich.  I made grilled turkey, swiss, and cranberry sauce sandwiches to go along with the soup. That is literally what was in the sandwich, so no recipe needed.

Broccoli + Cauliflower + Cheddar Soup

5 strips of thick cut bacon (I used Applegate Turkey bacon), chopped

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups stock (I used vegetable)

1 cup 2% milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

sea salt

black pepper

1 head broccoli, chopped into small pieces

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped into small pieces

1 cup shredded cheddar + extra for topping (sharp, mild, Colby, Wisconsin, whatever you like)

Parsley, chopped

Hot sauce

Heat a medium to large soup or dutch oven pot over medium heat with the oil. Throw in your bacon and let it cook until crispy. Take the bacon out with a slotted spoon onto a paper napkin and leave the fat in the pot.  Add the garlic and onion and cook until softened and fragrant.  

Add butter, and melt. Add flour, and whisk/mix until it turns a light blonde and smells nutty. This is your roux! Cook for about 2 minutes.

Slowly add in your stock, milk, and heavy cream and whisk to break up the roux clumps, if any. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.

Season with salt and pepper, tasting to make sure it is to your liking. Add cauliflower and broccoli, simmering until the veggies are tender.  Turn the heat off, taste for seasoning. Add in cheese and stir until melted and combined.

Pour soup into bowls, top with bacon, parsley, and a few dashes of hot sauce.  

Enjoy!

Easy Homemade Granola

Don't worry, this recipe has absolutely no pumpkin in it! I'm sure you're faced with a million pumpkin recipes now that it's fall and Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back at Starbucks.  Which by the way, contain NO pumpkin. What the heck?

Nope, no pumpkin here. At least not yet.

For now, you get a yummy, crunchy, and sweet granola recipe.  Homemade granola is great, mostly because you can add whatever you want to it. It can be plain with just rolled oats, or as fancy as adding a bunch of dried fruits and nuts, or you can even make a pumpkin version!  The nice thing about this granola recipe, is that you can use whatever mix-ins you have in your pantry. I didn't have any dried fruit on me, but I had some walnuts and cashews that needed to be used and I added sweetened coconut. I hate raisins, but if you love them and have them, then add them in.

Use this granola in your Cheerios like my husband did, or make a layered parfait with fresh berries and greek yogurt, which is what I did. It's delicious any way you have it.

Easy Homemade Granola

2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup nuts (I used a combination of almonds, walnuts, and cashews), roughly chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey
2 tbs coconut oil, melted
1/2 tbs vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbs water
1/4 cup sweetened coconut
1/4 cup of any other dried fruit (cranberries, golden raisins, dried apricots, etc)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats and nuts.  In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar,  honey, coconut oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and sea salt.  Whisk together and then add water. Water will allow for proper soaking of the oats with this mixture.

Pour the wet mixture into the rolled oats and mix to combine thoroughly.

Spread out evenly on a large baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes.  Mix the granola around halfway through this time. You want the it to be nice and spread out so the oats crisp up and dehydrate.

Turn heat up to 300 and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Carefully take the granola out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Transfer granola to a mixing bowl and add in coconut and any other dried fruit as you wish and mix around.  Cool granola completely before transferring to a Ziploc or other air-tight container.

Enjoy!

Ginger Sesame Beef & Broccoli

Between my sister coming into town, family time, volunteering, and book club, I have not cooked a meal at home in 8 days.  I am pretty sure that is the longest I have not been in the kitchen cooking something up! But it's okay because all those things were much needed in my life.

My sister paid a visit from Connecticut and my little brother came up from Austin, and we had some major family time this weekend. It was possibly the most fun I have had with my family in a long while. I love them too much. There was a lot of eating, long discussions, and some Jenga. The time went by too quickly.  Monday came along with its usual annoying self, but ended with a good session of volunteering and some takeout Chinese. Tuesday was book club, which I look forward to every month because I get to hang out with a bomb group of women who get together for food, drinks, and chatter about life and sometimes, about the book. It is always a great time connecting with people who have similar interests and are so gracious when hosting.

And now here we are days later, and I put together a yummy beef and broccoli dish. It is pretty quick to put together once the beef has marinated.  Slice up some veggies, start your brown rice, and by then you can stir fry your beef and veggies, and BOOM, dinner is ready.  

Ginger Sesame Beef and Broccoli

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced beef
1-inch nub of ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs black pepper
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbs honey
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs vegetable/canola oil
1 tbs corn starch + 2 tbs water, whisked (slurry)
2 tbs toasted sesame seeds (toast sesame seeds in dry pan over medium heat)
1-inch nub of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 red serrano pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 crown broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces
Green onions, whole bunch sliced on the diagonal

Marinate the sliced beef with minced ginger, sugar, black pepper, garlic, salt, cumin, red pepper flakes, honey, and soy sauce in a large bowl. You can leave it in the marinade 30 minutes to overnight.

When ready to cook, pour sesame and vegetable/canola oil into the wok and heat over medium high until it begins to smoke. Drain any leftover marinade, pat the beef with a napkin to get rid of excess liquid, and working in small batches, cook the beef in the oil.  Be careful with spattering.  Cook the beef 1-2 minutes on each side and place in a bowl.

Once all the beef has gone through the oil cooking process, toss in the sliced serranos and ginger into the empty wok along with a dash of vegetable/canola oil if there is not enough oil leftover. Saute for 2 minutes, then add the red bell pepper and broccoli.  Cook until just slightly softened.  Add beef , cornstarch slurry, toasted sesame seeds, and 3/4ths of the sliced green onion. Stir fry all ingredients for a couple of minutes.

Garnish with leftover green onion and sesame seeds and eat over brown rice or noodles.

Enjoy!