I love watching Rachael Ray on Food Network. It intrigues me how she can make a full meal in 30 minutes or less. Out of the hundreds of cooking shows on Food Network, I am the biggest fan of RR because it is the most realistic.

I like the other chefs on that network too, but when I watch those shows it is purely for entertainment purposes (and to make myself hungry), but I know I would never spend as much time as they do in the kitchen. It still cracks me up when I see them putting a dish in the oven, and thanks to the magic of editing, it comes back out 5 mins later perfectly baked. (too bad that doesn’t happen in real life. trust me, I’ve tried!)

Back in the day, when I use to come home from work at 5, I would dread having to cook dinner. By the time I finished changing, eating a snack, and going to the gym, it would be close to 7pm. Of course, I could just get take out, or go out to eat with the hubby, but you just can’t do that everyday. It’s neither healthy or economical. So I was always thinking of ways to make a tasty dinner, that was quick and had little clean up. I like to call these meals One Pot Shops (because the final product is pulled out of the oven with my entrée and veggie dish already done, and when dinner is finished, I simply throw away the foil the meal was on).

I haven’t been able to come up with many of these dishes, but there is one that I have perfected. Neither my hubby or I really enjoy eating pork chops, because it is usually dry and tasteless. But this recipe results in tasty and juicy pork chops, with broccoli and mushrooms in a cream of mushroom sauce. You just throw everything in the oven, wait 15 mins, and everything is done! (ok, there is a 15 min preparation time, but that means you are only really cooking for 15 mins, the other 15 you are waiting). I always look forward to making this dish, not only because it is delicious, but also because I know I will be able to read 3 chapters of my favorite book, give myself a mani/pedi, and vacuum the entire house, while dinner is cooking! You can’t say that about many meals!

So here is my recipe for Baked Pork Chops with Broccoli and Mushrooms:

Ingredients:

• 5-7 slices of thinly sliced pork chops (I like boneless better, but bone in is perfectly fine. The thinner the pork chop, the faster it is to cook, and the less dry it turns out)
• 1 package of sliced white mushrooms (about 8oz)
• 2 small crowns of broccoli chopped (or 1 large crown)
• 1 can of cream of mushroom
• 2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon oil

baked pork chops with broccoli and mushrooms in a cream sauce

Marinade:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
• 1 table spoon garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Evenly coat the pork chops with the marinade
3. Heat pan with oil
4. Pan fry the pork chops until lightly browned on both sides (about 1 min on each side for the thin pork chops, 2 mins each side for the thicker chops)
5. In a separate pot, heat up the cream of mushroom, and add the pepper and thyme leaves until boiling
6. Then add in the raw mushrooms and broccoli until all the veggies are evenly coated with the cream sauce
7. Line a baking pan with foil, and lightly grease
8. Put in the browned pork chops, and pour the sauce and veggies on top
9. Bake in oven for about 15-20 mins (or until pork chops are no longer pink in the middle)
10. Let cool 5 mins, and serve straight from baking pan!

I was channel surfing the other day, and happened to pass by one of those kiddie channels where they were singing that song “On top of Spaghetti, all covered with cheese. I lost my poor meatballs, when somebody sneezed!”

It brought back all these childhood memories of being in daycare, and anxiously awaiting for the days where we got spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. I remember the meatballs always being a little dry, and the spaghetti being a little soggy, but I guess anything was better than those pieces of cardboard they tried to pass off as pizza back then!

Anyways it got me hungry, and craving for spaghetti and meatballs. I’ve made it a couple times before, and while I conquered the spaghetti with meat sauce, the meatballs were another story. They were always a little more dry than I liked. So this time I decided to try adding minced onions in the meat, and discovered the key to juicy meatballs! The meatballs were perfectly juicy and tasty!

My best friend brought her 5 year old daughter over that day, and she had so much fun making the meatballs. This recipe is easy, quick, and so good! It’s perfect on the days where you don’t have much time, but want a filling and satisfying meal. Or if you need a cooking project that will entertain the kids too (I let my 5 yr old helper make all the meatballs, while I was catching up with Oprah!). Trust me, this will be the juiciest meatball you’ve ever tasted!

So here’s my spaghetti and meatballs recipe:

Ingredients:

1lb ground chuck (regular ground beef meat is ok too)

spaghetti and meatballs

Marinade:

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon basil paste (they sell them in tubes in the fresh herb section, or you can use fresh basil)
• 1 teaspoon Chinese hot sauce (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
• 1 small onion minced

Other Ingredients:

• 1 package spaghetti noodles
• 1 jar of Ragu traditional meat sauce
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of oil

Directions:

1. Put the ground beef in a large bowl with the marinade ingredients, and mix until even
2. Form golf ball size meatballs and put onto a foil lined baking sheet, save some meat for the meat sauce (be careful not to spend to much time forming the meatballs, the more you touch them, the tougher and drier the meatball will be. Do not spend more than 10 secs on each ball)
3. Preheat oven to 375, and bake meatballs for 10-12 mins, until lightly browned
4. In a wok, add the oil and garlic cloves until browned, then add the remaining meat
5. Stir fry the meat until browned and fully cooked, then add the meat sauce from jar and let sit on low heat (once meatballs from oven are done, add them back to the sauce in wok)
6. In a large pot, boil some water and add oil and salt.
7. Once boiling, add the noodles and cook until al dente (about 8-10 mins, or follow instructions on box)

I once heard from a skittles commercial “good things come to those who wait.” Being that I am quite impatient, waiting more than 15 mins for a meal, or anything for that matter, is almost unbearable to me.

A few times, I’ve complained when Mc D’s takes more than 5 mins to give me my order, after all it is fast food right? Then there was that time a big boned lady over 50 was taking forever trying on clothes at Forever 21 (which, like the name implies, is mainly for girls in their 20’s, and yes now I have no business being in their either) and I had to nicely say to her, “maybe you should try Lane Bryant,” after her third outfit change and my lunch almost coming up twice. And finally, there was the time I dated my husband for close to 4 years, and he had still not proposed. (Actually now that I think about it, 4 years is a long time! I don’t think I was being impatient there, most girls would’ve peaced out in 2 years in my opinion).

Anyways, the point is that yes I am extremely impatient, but there are a few things I have learned are worth the wait. One of those things are my husband of course =) (which he ended up proposing to me at the end of the 4th year together, which is such a cute story but I’ll save it for another time). And the second thing is, waiting for my bananas to be overly ripe so that I can make Banana Bread.

In order to make the best banana bread, you really do need to wait a while so that your bananas are almost all brown and soft. It may look gross, and you would never eat a banana that looked like that, but trust me those nasty ass bananas make the BEST banana bread. I have tried using bananas that had a few brown spots on them before, and I’ve always been disappointed by the lack of banana taste, especially after spending 2 hours in the kitchen.

So anyways, I bought 6 bananas a week ago, just for this occasion, and I have been patiently waiting for them to turn brown. And today they were finally ready, and I was finally able to make my banana bread. I’ve tried many different recipes before, and even had a few catastrophes in between, but I have finally perfected my banana bread recipe.

This banana bread is moist, flavorful, and so delicious that I was even able to convert my hubby, who hates bananas, into being a being a banana bread lover. I’ve also baked this a few times for his work potlucks, and his coworkers are always asking for the recipe.

So here it is my Banana Bread recipe:

Ingredients:

I got too excited and forget to take a picture, before cutting a slice for myself!

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Wet Ingredients

• ½ cup butter
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 2 3/4 cups mashed overly ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch bread loaf pan
3. In a big bowl combine the dry ingredients together
4. In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients together by first creaming together the butter and sugar, then adding the bananas, eggs, bananas, and vanilla extract until well mixed
5. Pour in the wet ingredients, into the dry ingredients, and mix until most of the flour is mixed in with the wet ingredients (be careful not to over mix because that will cause your bread to become dry and dense. It is ok if there is still some flour not mixed in completely)
6. Pour mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 60-65 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserting in the middle.
7. Let bread cool for about 10 mins, then cut and enjoy!

I recently went to visit my hubby at work, being that I am unemployed, and have nothing better to do (oh wait, plus i really wanted to see him =)). Anyways, he works in downtown SF, and everyone that lives here knows how crazy it is to drive around there. (Not to mention, I am a Chinese woman driver, and yes I fit the stereotype exactly!) We decided to go to this Thai restaurant called Siam Kitchen, that happened to be right across the street from a parking lot.

Anyways, we walked in, and of course there was a line since it was 1245. So we patiently waited in line, meanwhile I was busy checking out the decor and the menu. For a place that seemed to have that many customers, I was surprised the decor wasn’t a little nicer. They had the typical purple paint and elephant statues, which apparently is symbolic of the Thai culture, because I’ve seen in in every Thai restaurant I’ve been to. Other than that, it was just a large room filled with tables and uncomfortable chairs. The menu had the typical Thai items, which was a good sign I guess.

My hubby has been there a few times, mostly for take out, since he is a busy computer geek and something or other is always crashing. But he always orders the same thing, roast duck over rice. I look throughly through the menu, and of course, always order the same thing, pad kra praow (otherwise known as ground chicken with basil and peppers). And then the ordeal began.

We waited, and waited, and waited for our food to come. We watched as people who had sat down a long time before us finally get there food. I was starting to think we would never get our meal by the time 25 mins hit. Things started to get blurry, and I was feeling faint (I must eat every hour or so. I don’t have a health condition, I just like to eat). Finally, after 30 mins of ordering, we got our food. Of course, expectations were high at this point.

I looked over at my hubby’s plate, and it was as if he ordered duck skin with lots of fat, and maybe a few pieces of actual meat on the side. Nevertheless, hubby ate it because he was “starving like marvin” as he would say. My plate was also a disappointment. The chicken was dry, the dish had no flavor. And at that point, I would’ve even eaten the crap my sister calls her signature spaghetti (which is just over cooked spaghetti noodles, and ragu tomato sauce that was microwaved), yet I couldn’t get myself to eat more than a third of the plate. Hubby and I left half full, and went over to pick up the car only to find out it cost $11 to park for one hour. What a rip off! That’s when I vowed never to visit hubby again, and to make my own Thai dish at home! (Only kidding, of course I will still visit hubby on his birthday, I’m not that cruel).

Anyways, which brings me to my recipe of Thai chicken with basil and sweet peppers. I didn’t follow any recipes. I just added what I thought would be good in that dish, and surprisingly it turned out really good. Hubby thought I had ordered pick up from a Thai restaurant! I can’t believe how easy it is to make. I will never order this at a Thai restaurant again!

So here is my version of the thai dish pad kra praow, or ground chicken with basil and sweet peppers:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground chicken
• 1 medium sized yellow onion minced
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 2 each of the small sweet yellow, red, and orange peppers cut into slices (or one larger red and green pepper)
• one small package of white mushrooms sliced (about 2 handfuls)
• 1 quarter size piece of ginger cut into slices

My Thai chicken with basil and sweet peppers, with a side of cooked cucumbers

Marinade:

• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon chinese hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley leaves
• 2 teaspoons basil paste (or 2 fresh basil leaves)

Directions:

1. Add the marinade ingredients to the ground chicken and mix until even (do not overly mix, otherwise the chicken will be tough) and set aside
2. Cut up the garlic, onion, ginger, and peppers and set aside
3. Heat a wok and put in the oil, garlic, onion and ginger until slightly browned
4. Add in the ground chicken and stir fry until browned and evenly cooked
5. Add in the mushrooms and all the peppers and cover with lid for about 5 mins (or until peppers and mushrooms are a little soft but still a little crunchy)