Super fast Chickpea soup and summer squash pizza

Both this soup and pizza are spectacular. First, the soup is hearty enough that Chris doesn't mind it as a main course, he hates how most soups are mostly liquid and he is hungry again an hour after dinner. Second, the pizza has summer squash on it, making it healthier, and a great way for me, the ever Squeamish of squishy foods, to eat another seasonal veggie without the employment of roasting or a grill.

Ingredients for soup:

3/4-1 cup of hummus (I add the cup cuz we love hummus)

1 12oz jar of flame roasted red bell peppers cut into 1/4 inch strips (preferably piquillo peppers for a bit more zing)

2 cups of chicken broth

1 cup of leftover rice (or fresh doesn't matter)

1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken

2 tablespoons of chopped flat-leaf parsley (Lien not the kind you get on your plate at a restaurant)

Salt and pepper

Greek yogurt and hot sauce for serving

Ingredients for pizza:

2 oz of thinly sliced summer squash (about half of a summer squash)

1 pre-baked pizza crust

3/4 cup shredded fontina cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (we all know I added more cheese than called for)

Crushed red chile flakes

Few handfuls of Arugula (1/3 a bag)

1. Preheat the oven to 450 for the pizza. Meanwhile combine the hummus, roasted peppers, and broth in a pot and purée with an immersion blender (or do this in a blender). Then add the rice and the chicken and heat over medium heat until hot through. Once heated through you'll add the parsley.

2. Make the pizza. Sprinkle the cheese over the pizza crust and then layer the summer squash. Sprinkle the crushed red chili flakes over the pizza for desired heat. The bake for 10-20 minutes, on the top rack, until the crust is starting the brown and the squash is getting crisp. Technically the recipe says to broil the pizza, but eh it still worked this way and kept the apartment cooler. The time will depend largely on the pizza crust you use. 

3. Once pizza is done spread the arugula over the top, slice and serve alongside bowls of the soup with Greek yogurt and hot sauce on top.

Bahn mi

Okay this is the egg version of banh mi since we all know I'm secretly Asian on the inside. This gem has been in my rotation for about 2 years or so, and even those it's supposed to be grilled Chris and I still love it. The best place to get your pork tenderloin is trader joes. It will set you back about 10$ but its got two strips in there and usually lasts Chris and I at least 6-8 full meal sandwiches. And everything else is cheap. Adi, I'm looking at you. Lien, everything's super fast too! Truth be told this recipe has some what ruined me for real banh mi too. So lets get down to business.

Ingredients:

1 pack of port tenderloin, very thinly slices. 

1/4 cup Asian fish sauce (is there any other kind?!)

1 tbs honey

2 tbs sugar

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

6 (or more if you like sautéd onions) green onions [scallions]

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 baguettes (if you aren't eating it all tonight cut the other baguette into sandwich size portions, freeze, reheat in the oven/toaster and slice in half)

Hoisin sauce and Sriracha chili sauce

1/2 seedless cucumber cut into matchstick pieces or thinly sliced width wise

1-2 grated carrots

1 cup chopped kale leaves, torn and massaged with a little salt

Cilantro for serving

1. Mix together the fish sauce, honey, sugar, pepper, scallions, and garlic. Transfer to a bowl with the pork and mix till the pork is coated. Refrigerate for 2-4 hrs.

2. Heat a skillet on high, and add the pork cooking until heated through and opinions are soft. There should still be some sauce. About 3-5 minutes.

3. Assemble your sandwiches. Drizzle hoisin and Sriracha on wag half of your bread. Put carrots, cucumber, and kale on the bottom half. Load up with pork, and top with cilantro. Then eat!

Quick Red Thai Curry

I just realized I had never posted how to make thai curry before and that is one of the simplest dishes I know! As a result I sadly do not have any pictures at the moment, but I will definitely add some soon.

Lien, you could easily recreate this and it wouldn't be a problem to season it exactly to your taste. You also don't have to worry about it being spicy if you don't add too much curry paste. Sound good?

All you need are as follows:

2 chicken breasts
1/2-1 onion sliced thinly
1 bell pepper
1 small head of broccoli or cauliflower cut into bit size pieces
1 can of coconut milk
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons thai kitchen red curry paste
2 teaspoons thai kitchen roasted red chile sauce
1 package of tofu (optional)

1. Slice your chicken into bite size pieces and cook over medium heat until no more pink shows.

2. Add the can of coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, curry paste and chile sauce. Mix until the curry paste is mixed in.  Season with the sugar/curry paste/fish sauce till it suits your tastes. I usually always add more fish sauce and curry paste than required but depends on the person. Bring to a boil.

3. Add your veggies and cook until the broccoli is cooked through, about 10 minutes over low heat. Add tofu at this point with your veggies if desired.

4. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Salmon Fish Tacos

So Chris NEVER asks me to cook anything, he always just says whatever I want to cook is good enough for him since I get bored too easily. I planned last week to make salmon of some sort, probably salmon teriyaki, and maybe make fish tacos since I had ingredients for it. When I told Chris though he got really excited about fish tacos, and at that point I had to make them. I went to the freezer though to find only one piece of catfish left, meaning I'd need more first. Thus, salmon fist tacos. They turned out super good and are really fast to make. It's really just making your crema and grilling (stove top for me) your fish.

Serves: Two

Ingredients:

1 salmon fillet (whatever size really)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa

2 limes

1 small bunch of cilantro chopped (to the base of the stems)

1/4 onion chopped

1 jalapeno chopped

1/2-1 bag of cabbage or a head of it sliced (depends on how many people you want to serve/how many veggies you like on your tacos)

6-8 corn tortillas

salt and pepper to taste

1. Take your salmon fillet and generously salt and pepper it on both sides. You can also add some cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, whatever you want to season it. Then heat a skillet to medium heat and add the salmon once hot. It should cook about 2-3 minutes per side.

2. While the salmon is cooking chop your veggies and combine with the sour cream and salsa. Take one lime and add the juice of half first, then taste and add more if desired. Season to taste with salt or more sour cream/salsa.

3. Also take your tortillas and put them between two paper towels or two plates and warm them in the microwave for like 30 seconds (or a minute if frozen).

4. Once your salmon has cooked for about 5-6 minutes chop it up with a spatula and turn off the burner. Let the salmon finish cooking and prep an assembly line for people to make tacos. I usually like to add some crema then salmon then crema and cabbage to top it off.

5. Serve with limes and enjoy!