Vermicelli Noodles with Beef

This is one of my favorites dishes. It's comfort food to me. It's also a popular dish in all the Vietnamese restaurants. It's also really cheap and easy to make.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. Rice (Vermicelli) Noodles (I use the thin noodles)
• 1/2 lb. beef eye round (sliced thinly)
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1 red onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• Vegetable oil

Instructions:

-Cook the noodles until al dente. Let dry.

-Mince the garlic, cut up red onion and green onions. For the green onions, cut up the white part in small pieces and green part in bigger segments and separate them. 

-Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok (or frying pan)  on high heat. Put in half of the garlic and cook the beef ONLY. Cook the beef until it's slightly pink (about 2-3 minutes). Take meat off and put into a bowl.

-In the same wok, put in a another tbsp of oil and put in the rest of the garlic, white part of green onions, and red onions. Cook until the garlic turns light brown. Add beef and the rest of the green onions, cook until the beef is done. 

Serve over noodles. Add salt & pepper to taste... you can also add a little soy sauce/fish sauce to the noodles for more flavor if you'd like. This whole dish costed ~$7.50, about how much it would cost for one serving at a restaurant. 

Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Who doesn't love homemade chicken noodle soup? It is perfect for when you are feeling a little bit under the weather. I have been craving some and since my husband came down with a cold yesterday, it was the perfect time to try.

I love that this can be cooked in a Crock-Pot, whoever invented the Crock-Pot is a genius. It is so perfect for easy meals and you can just leave it cooking while you're at work or school (or having some much needed me time!)

It included a little improvisation because I didn't want to follow the recipe. Anyway, here is what I ended doing and it turned out pretty good!

For the soup:

1. 2 1/2 lbs of whole chicken breast- $7.58

2. Potatoes- $1.80

3. Carrots- $1

(Use as much as you like)

4. Celery- $1.75

5. 2 cans of chicken broth- $1.98

6. Chicken bouillon cubes- $3.50

Add the chicken, potatoes, carrots, and celery into a slow cooker. Then, add one can of chicken broth, three bouillon cubs, and two cans of water using the chicken broth cans (I didn't wanna cook with just chicken broth because it gets a little too salty). Turn the slow cooker on to low and let it cook for 5 hours. Transfer the soup into a big pot.

For the noodles:

-2 cups of flower

-3/4 tsp salt

-1/3 cup of milk

-1 egg

(I already had all these ingredients so it was easy and free!)

Combine the ingredients and mix until you've got a slightly sticky ball of dough.

Part of the reason that I wanted to make my own noodles is because of this awesome Kitchen Aid mixer that I got for Christmas, to say I love it would be an understatement!

After you've got the dough, flour the counter and roll out the dough until it's very thin (1/8 of an inch) because they thicken when cooking.

(I think I need to hit the gym and build some muscles because my arm was cramping after rolling out the dough! Sad, I know)

Cut the dough into thin strips. It is easiest if you have a pizza cutter.

After you've cut the dough, let it dry a little before adding it into the soup. Let cook for 15-20 minutes, taste it every few minutes to see how the noodles are. Then... serve and enjoy!

(I forgot to take my own picture of the finished product so here is a borrowed picture)

There you go, an easy and inexpensive meal... I hope the recipe will come in handy, and good luck!

Vietnamese Pork Ribs Recipe

If I haven't mentioned it before, I am Vietnamese and LOVE Asian food. My husband loves it too so I tend to cook a lot of Asian food most nights. One of my favorites is Vietnamese pork spareribs, it's easy to make and is delicious :-)

You need:

-1-2 lb. of pork rib tips (depending on many people you're feeding)- $6.50

-3 cloves of garlic- $0.00 (pantry)

-3 tbsp. soy sauce- (enough to glaze the ribs)

-1 tbsp. sugar

-1 tsp. salt

-1 tsp. pepper

Cut up the spareribs into individual ribs and combine all the ingredients into a bowl. Make sure to mix the ingredients well and to coat the ribs evenly.

The pork ribs need to marinate for 10-12 hours so I suggest marinating the ribs the morning or night before. The longer it marinates, the more flavorful it'll be. Just don't leave it marinating for too long!

The ribs are perfect with fresh green onions sprinkled on top and with some fresh jasmine rice.

Good luck, let me know how it turns out!

Beef Stew with Butternut Squash

On the menu: Beef Stew with Butternut Squash, perfect meal for a winter night :-)

Most stews are easy, it doesn't take a lot of time to prepare, you can just put the ingredients into a slow cooker and forget about it for a few hours. The ingredients are simple and cheap, and can be found at any major grocery store.

The ingredients for the stew:

1. 1 lb. beef chuck roast- $5.99 at Smith's

2. 2 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour- $0.00, got from my pantry!

3. 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil- $0.00 (pantry)

4. 1 lb. russet potatoes- $0.85

5. 1 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-in. pieces (about 2-1/2 cups)- $1.25 at Sunflower's Market

6. 1 onion- cut into wedges- $0.00 (pantry)

7. 2 cloves of garlic- minced- $0.00 (pantry)

8. 1 14-oz can of beef broth- $0.99

9. 1 cup vegetable juice- $2.50 (I had to buy a whole bottle)

10. 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce- $1.75

11. 1 Tbsp lemon juice- $0.00 (fridge)

12. 1/2 tsp sugar- $0.00 (pantry)

13. 1/2 tsp paprika- $1.50

14. 1/4 tsp black pepper- $0.00 (pantry)

15. 1/8 tsp ground allspice- $1.75

16. 1 package (or can) of green beans- $0.75

Makes 6 servings.

Need:

Slow cooker- borrowed from my moms :-). BUT, she bought it at Macy's for only $16.99 so it's very affordable. And, its worth it since you can use it for a lot of things.

Directions:

1. Cut the meat into 1-in pieces and trim off any fat. Place four in a large resealable bag, add a few pieces of meat at a time, and shake to coat. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add meat and cook until brown. Drain off any fat.

2. In a slow cooker, combine meat, potatoes, squash, onions, and garlic. In a large bowl, combine broth, vegetable juice, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, sugar, paprika, pepper, and allspice. Pour over meat mixture.

3. Cover and cook either on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or on high-seat setting for 5 to 6 hours.

4. Add in green beans for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

This meal calls for an extensive list of ingredients, however, it only cost me $16.08. This is a pretty cheap for a meal for two people. Also, I can use most of these ingredients again for other things. There were still plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day! Beats going to McDonald's by a long run :)

Welcome!

Hi guys!

I created this blog because I really love cooking and I wanna share my ideas and learn from others who (hopefully) will frequent this blog.

Like I said in my About Me, I am a college student whose aim is to make yummy, affordable meals. It's true, you don't have to spend a lot of money to cook up delicious meals!

So basically, this blog will be my cookbook journal... I love meeting new people and learning from them so please feel free to give me any advice you have!