Bulgogi “Take-Out” with 40-Calorie Noodles

So about my first Bulgogi experience...

It all happened a few months ago when a few culinary friends wanted to introduce me to Korean BBQ. Now I had always seen those words on the front of cheap, low-scale, grade D Chinese food restaurants where they always have those specials that usually consist of abnormally low cost buffet lines... AKA the places you stay away from unless you want to eat cats and have the worst stomach pains of your life.

...but it was a Friday, and I'm usually adventurous on Fridays. So I said yes.. and thank Heavens I did.

Now even though those small plates we're quite tasty and all, they were just the bystanders. The true celebrity of the meal was the Bulgogi.

Bulgogi is what's being fired to the left there, and it's definition according to me is as follows: "beautifully marinated meats in a sweet, Chinese fashion." But seriously... these meats are, in my opinion, how Heaven cooks their skirt steak.

Although I couldn't completely replicate the taste of the meats I tasted at that totally non-sketchy Korean BBQ restaurant, I came pretty darn close. Also, since this meat reminded me of an upscale Chinese take-out, I figured it was best that I used as many green vegetables as I had sitting in the fridge as accompaniments (but seriously- you can basically use any kind of vegetable, because pretty much any vegetable tastes good with soy sauce).

I also decided to experiment with my grocery store find, which is tofu noodles. Just think of a noodle that tastes almost exactly like a normal noodle... but a little bouncier... and you can gobble up a WHOLE  bag for 40 smackin' calories. If that's not a seller, I don't know what is! And they beautifully absorb any flavor or sauce that surrounds them. What more could a girl on a diet ask for?

All in all, I hope that you experiment a little and try marinating some meat and consuming it with this healthy, 300-ish calorie dish. If you find yourself feeling lame and unadventurous, you can always add something like chicken-your-way or shrimp to this noodle dish... but just to reiterate, the marinade is SO easy-just pop it all into a blender and BLEND! Plus, half the ingredients are not completely necessary so you don't really have an excuse not to try it...

Just look at the caramelization on the skirt steak due to the sugar in the marinade.

Cue the drool.

Bulgogi “Take-Out” with 40-Calorie Noodles

Ingredients:

Marinade: Yields 6-8 portions of marinated meat

2 lbs. Flank steak

½ yellow onion, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons Sriracha (not necessary if you don’t have it)

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup Worcestershire sauce (not necessary if you don’t have it)

1 pear, peeled and roughly chopped

5 scallions

½ cup sesame oil (or vegetable oil)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (not necessary if you don’t have it)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ tablespoon agave nectar or honey

For Service: Yields 2 portions

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ yellow onion, roughly chopped

6 asparagus stalks, chopped into 1-inch pieces

a handful of snow peas (about ¾ cup)

1 8-ounce bag Tofu Shirataki

1 ½ tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. For the marinade, place onion, garlic cloves, Sriracha , soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pear, green onions, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, brown sugar, and agave nectar/honey in a blender and pulse for about 30 seconds until well blended.
2. Slice flank steak in ¼ inch slices and into bite-sized pieces. Pour blended marinade in a bag or Ziploc container along with the flank steak pieces, seal, and let marinate for at least 3 hours (or overnight for best results… the longer the meat marinates, the more the flavors seep into the meat). I even had so much flank steak that I divided the marinade into two containers and froze one in the marinade (totally safe and do-able and lasts about two months-I love this whole freezing-ahead-for-a-future-meal thing... it's quite handy). 
3.  Once the meat has marinated long enough, heat olive oil in a non-stick sauté pan over medium heat. Place minced garlic clove, chopped onion, chopped asparagus stalks, and snow peas in pan and sauté until soft. In a strainer, quickly drain the Tofu Shirataki, discarding the liquid, so just the noodles are left. Add the noodles to the sauté pan along with the soy sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well and cook long enough to heat the noodles through. Taste for seasoning purposes, and adjust seasoning accordingly. Once noodles are heated through, vegetables are soft, and seasonings are correct, pour into two bowls and keep warm.
4. Rinse out sauté pan and heat over medium. Once pan is hot, pull out the marinated meat. Scrape off some of the marinade with the back of a knife/shake off the marinade when taking the meat out and place meat into the pan (cook as much as the meat as you want to eat… keep the rest in marinade and place back in fridge for up to 3 days or freeze). Note: some of the marinate can be kept on the meat, as long as it is cooked for a proper amount of time (10-15 minutes) or once it reaches 160 degrees F.
5. Once meat is cooked through, place on top of the noodles and vegetables… or just combine the whole thing into a bowl for yourself.
6. Now go on and enjoy those 40-calorie noodles and Heavenly skirt steak. I sure did. 

Healthy Curried Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup

So about this diet...

I'm actually enjoying it. It's going really well. When you like to cook, diets can be quite fun. Plus, it doesn't hurt having "Splurging Saturdays" to look forward to... (you gotta cheat sometimes).

In regards to eating healthier, I've been doing quite a lot of vegetable buying lately. I just buy a bunch of vegetables and make it my mission to make something really yum out of them. For some reason, it is often thought that vegetables are so boring. They usually are the last thing on one's mind when they're thinking of a really good, filling meal. This, my friends, does not have to be the case.

Two of the non-boring vegetables I found in our tiny fridge and decided to make a totally non-boring, yummy meal out of were cauliflower and broccoli... different colors, somewhat different textures, but quite tasty when blended together with a little curry.

Oh yes, and about curry... I used to be terrified of the word, let alone the spice, purely because of a mission trip to India in high school. Everything we ate had curry in it and it was all so yellow and you didn't know what the meat was... I don't know, it was just a bad experience. Therefore, lately I've started consuming curry little by little and have found it's not scary at all. I have a newfound love for it. ESPECIALLY in this soup- it adds that extra "umphfff" umami-ness (umami means a pleasant, savory taste). Try it in this soup and then thank me. 

This soup is good enough to indulge on any day, even on "Splurging Saturdays."

Healthy Curried Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped small

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 large head cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces and washed

1 large head of broccoli (or 1 steam-able 12 oz. bag of frozen broccoli), chopped into bite-sized pieces (and washed if not frozen)

1 quart chicken stock

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt - nonfat or 2% (about two large dollops)

2 teaspoons curry powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper, to taste

Garnish: Organic Tamari Pumpkin Seeds

Procedure:

1.   In a large pot, heat olive oil on medium-low heat and sweat onion and garlic until onion is soft and translucent (about 7 minutes).
2. Add cauliflower pieces, broccoli pieces, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cover with lid and simmer for about 45 minutes, until it takes barely any effort to cut through the vegetables (basically until they’re turning mushy).
3. Once cooked through, take soup off heat and let cool for about 20 minutes (so it doesn't explode on ya). With any type of blender (either transfer to a blender or use one in the soup), blend soup until smooth. Mix in Greek yogurt, curry powder, garlic powder, paprika, and enough salt and pepper to make it taste just right.
4. Ladle into bowls and garnish with tamari pumpkin seeds if desired.  Enjoy!

XOXO,
Casey

Spaghetti Squash Pasta with Pink Tomato Sauce

So, I'm on a diet.

My diet doesn't start tomorrow... it started today.

I told myself that I would have as much eating fun as I wanted to during my culinary school months, and then I would diet. I mean, when you're surrounded by some of the best chefs in America, teaching you how to make foods in the best possible ways, it would just be plain wrong not to try everything.

Welp, I'm now a graduate of the International Culinary Center... I've had my fun and games... my pants have gotten tight... winter is slowly coming to a finish (very slowly... NYC has the longest winters known to man-remember, I'm a Texan)... bathing suit season is upon us... and it is now time for me to get back in shape.

Therefore, all of those hibernating recipes that I use during my dieting seasons have to awaken from their slumber... but that's not a bad thing... not bad at all.

One of the best ways to cut calories is to replace high calorie carbs with vegetables. In this recipe, I substitute spaghetti squash for noodles-and you know what? I really don't miss the noodles. I ESPECIALLY don't miss that tumbling-over-tired-full-feeling you get once you've eating a big bowl of pasta. Spaghetti squash has basically no calories (1 cup is 42 calories), AND it's in the shape of spaghetti! I just love it.

Also the sauce is very low calorie, for marinara sauces made the right way usually are. Plus, instead of ground beef, I used my favorite protein: ground turkey! I also loveee cooking with canned tomato products (they are canned at their peak ripeness so the nutritional elements aren't taken away), greek yogurt (so versatile), and Truvia instead of sugar.

So this is one of my favorite recipes for when you're craving pasta and dieting. 

Or not dieting... it's just that good.

Spaghetti Squash Pasta with Pink Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

Pasta:

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves minced garlic

1 yellow onion, chopped fine

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or 2 if you want a little extra spice)

11/2 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon italian seasoning

2 cups ground turkey meat (97% lean)

1/2 cup parmesan romano grated cheese

3 packets Truvia (or another calorie-free sweetener) - sugar cuts the acidity of the tomato 

1 15 oz. can tomato puree

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 of a 6 oz. can of tomato paste

1 cup chicken stock

2 dollops plain greek yogurt 2% (about 4 tablespoons)

salt and pepper, to taste

Spaghetti Squash:

1 spaghetti squash (4-8 lb)

1 cup of water

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Garnish:

a handful of organic Tamari Pumpkin Seeds (if desired) 

Procedure:

1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium-low heat. add garlic, chopped onion, garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika, and italian seasoning. Sweat the onions, garlic, and seasonings in the oil until onions are soft and spices are infused into the oil. 
2. Once the onion has softened, add the ground turkey meat and cook until the meat, breaking meat apart into little pieces with a wooden spoon. Once meat is cooked through, add the parmesan romano cheese, Truvia, tomato puree, tomato sauce, tomato paste, chicken stock, and greek yogurt. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Continue to simmer on low heat in order to allow the flavors to cook together, about 20-30 minutes. Season to taste. 
3. While the pasta sauce is simmering, cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise with a large knife (careful!). Remove seeds with a spoon. Pour 1/2 cup of water into each spaghetti squash and cover the top with plastic wrap. Place cut side up in microwave and cook on high for 10-12 minutes. Remove and let stand covered for 5 minutes. Remove plastic and dump out any excess water into the sink. With a fork, comb out the spaghetti strands into a bowl. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper and mix to combine. 
4. Divide cooked spaghetti squash into bowls and top with pink tomato sauce. Garnish with Tamari pumpkin seeds, if desired. 
5. Guiltlessly enjoy! Devin did...

And a grateful shout out to the gal above for the exceptionally thoughtful "Cooking with Casey" wooden spoons... that's why you my bestie, gurllll

XOXO, 

Casey