Along with ringing in the New Year, I wanted to try some new recipes—especially some easy ones that could become weeknight favorites. The current issue of Real Simple magazine (January 2015) provided helpful inspiration with its feature article “How to Not Make Dinner” (pages 109-117). Here are the three new, easy recipes I tried, thanks to that article.
I hope these recipes inspire you in your New Year home cooking, too!
Recipe No. 1: Shrimp and Rice Noodle Stir-Fry (page 112 of the magazine)
I couldn’t find the exact recipe from the magazine online, but it’s similar to this one, Classic Asian Udon Noodles Stir Fry. Please note that you can use 1 tablespoon of honey instead of 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce for the sweet flavor. And, the vegetables I used were 1 cup of sugar snap peas, 1 cup of grated carrots, and 1 (15-ounce) can of baby corn, cut in half. I also used 1 pound of large cooked shrimp (peeled and deveined) and opted for 1 tablespoon of cornstarch along with 1 tablespoon of cold water rather than some sugar and chicken bouillon, per the recipe for Classic Asian Udon Noodles Stir Fry.
This recipe is very healthy and tastes very healthy, too. Not a bad thing, but definitely add some Sriracha sauce or something if you’d like to give it some kick.
P.S. You may want to reserve some plain udon noodles for any picky eaters in your family, as I did for Little G. She has yet to fall in love with soy sauce and shrimp, but she loves noodles of all kinds. So for her, I paired some udon noodles with grated Parmesan cheese … pretty global, right? 🙂
Recipe No. 2: French Dips (page 110 of the magazine)
Now for some easy yet decadent sandwiches! Faith Durand of the awesome website The Kitchn recommends French Dips for a satisfying weeknight meal.
All you need is 1 pound of thinly sliced roast beef, four dinner rolls, 4 cups of beef broth, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, and butter to taste (I promise, I didn’t use as much butter as pictured below!).
What to do: Heat the beef broth to boiling; stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Turn down the heat and add the roast beef. Meanwhile, slice the rolls and toast them for just a couple of minutes in your oven broiler, on low. Butter the rolls, sandwich with the roast beef, and use the beef broth as Au Jus sauce for dipping.
My hubby also likes to add pickles to his sandwich; another add-on option is Provolone cheese, if you have it (check out this alternate recipe).
Recipe No. 3: Pierogi and Sides (page 110 of the magazine)
I can’t believe I never thought to make (frozen) pierogi before, but yes, it’s true. 🙂 What an easy weeknight dinner! Real Simple recommends serving them with coleslaw, but that’s not my favorite side, so I opted for tomato soup and Honeycrisp apples instead.
I found these potato and Cheddar pierogi at my HEB, and sautéed them with some butter, yellow onion, scallions, and black pepper. My hubby loved this dinner. From now on, we’ll be having it regularly, especially once Baby G arrives.
Enjoy, friends!
Melissa Leddy 