Pho Down Friday

!!!!!

The rest of the week isn’t soooo bad…but there’s just something about Fridays, right?? Ms. White seems to think so. And they’re followed by two whole days of WEEKEND :D.

You may have noticed that I changed things up a bit theme-wise. I have this thing where I get bored really quickly. I’m always moving things around at home, my desk at work, wherever I can, really. When I was a kid, I’d decide to turn my room upside-down and completely reorganize it from top to bottom. I’m talking drag my 4-poster iron bed from one end of my room to the other, take every single teeny bopper magazine picture down and tape them up in new spots…seriously, not one thing would stay in it’s original spot. I totally get it from my mom. Every time I go to their house, everything is moved around.

Anyway, that explains the one of many theme changes you’ll notice on here. Obsessive-compulsive-change-things-up-disorder.

I also cannot stand clutter and am getting seriously pumped for spring cleaning, FYI.

All I want to eat these days is pho noodle soup. I’d have it for lunch and dinner everyday if I could, which is funny coming from someone who just rambled on about always changing things. But it’s SO good, especially during the cold, rainy January we’ve been having. We go to a little pho restaurant by our house once every week or two (it’s the BEST), but yesterday I decided to get adventurous and make my own. I don’t eat red meat and didn’t have any chicken on hand, so I made a veggie version and just added sausage to Duncan’s, because he doesn’t understand the concept of eating a meal without meat.

I used this recipe from Oh My Veggies, but omitted the mushrooms because I just loathe them. There’s not much I won’t eat, but of those few things, mushrooms are definitely at the top of the list.

I didn’t snap any pics, because I just didn’t think to, so I’ll just borrow a few from OMV to make your mouth water.

Mine basically looked the same, minus the you-know-whats of course. And it was really good! I was pleasantly surprised, especially because I used straight-from-the-carton broth instead of homemade stuff. Even Duncan who is annoyingly picky and critical was impressed. And he’s used to the authentic stuff that his mom makes so that’s saying a lot.

30 Minute Vegetarian Pho (copied & pasted from Oh My Veggies)

Ingredients

• 64 ounces homemade or low-sodium vegetable broth
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• Salt to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, tough stems removed
• 1 1/2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 14 ounces rice noodles, cooked according to package instructions
• 8 ounces bean sprouts
• 2 jalapeño peppers, thinly sliced
• Fresh cilantro, basil, lime wedges, hoisin sauce, and chili garlic sauce or sriracha for serving

Instructions

1. In a large pot, combine the vegetable broth, green onion, grated ginger, and salt. Bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. While the broth is cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for about 6 minutes, or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the hoisin and sesame oil and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the mushrooms, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
3. Divide the rice noodles between four to six large bowls, then fill each bowl with the ginger broth. Add bean sprouts, sliced jalapeños, shiitake mushrooms, fresh basil, and cilantro and serve with lime wedges, hoisin, and chili garlic sauce.

I left in all the mushroom talk in case you don’t despise them as much as I do ;).

Alrighty, time to put my Friday party pants on. But first:

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

Cheesy Black Bean & Brown Rice Mini Muffins

I walked by a department store here in Downtown, Vancouver yesterday, and the Christmas decorations were already up! I mean, it shouldn’t be a surprise, but it always throws me off a little. Especially since we haven’t even gotten past Halloween yet. And then it makes me panic about Christmas shopping, which I always leave until the last minute. But honestly, I feel like I’m a much more efficient shopper that way. I was like this in college, writing all my big papers the night before they were due. It’s like I had writers block until the absolute last second, and then the words would just start flowing. Procrastination isn’t such a bad thing, is it??

Anyway, on my continuous journey to come up with healthy meals that my kid will eat and not throw across the room, I mixed a bunch of stuff together and came up with these guys:

I call them Cheesy Black Bean & Brown Rice Mini Muffins. Long name, but gets the point across. And seriously, they’re really good. And healthy! Fiber, protein, nutrients-a-plenty. We had some for dinner (I obviously doused mine in Frank’s Red Hot Sauce), I put some in Ryland’s lunchbox for daycare, and I froze the rest for future daycare lunches. When I first put one on Ryland’s tray, he got the usual look of absolute disgust on his face which happens whenever he sees something he’s not sure about. He poked at it a little and I could tell he was very conflicted. He really didn’t want the black beans, but he definitely wanted the cheesy goodness. Since they were in muffin form, it would be much harder to get around this little dilemma. He finally took a bite, and I guess the cheese did the trick because he finished the whole thing plus 3 more! Victory!! I think I’ll be making these A LOT.

Cheesy Black Bean & Brown Rice Mini Muffins

(makes about 24 mini muffins)

Ingredients
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• ½ cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 egg
• ½ cup mixed frozen veggies (I used a mix of peas, carrots and corn)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp garlic powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 24 cup mini muffin tray (you can also make 12 regular sized muffins if you like)
2. Run frozen veggies under cold water for a few minutes until defrosted
3. Crack egg into a small bowl and whisk
4. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well
5. Drop spoonful’s into muffin tray until each cup is full, press down gently so that they bake in the shape of a muffin
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes on middle rack
7. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from tray
8. Serve!

Maybe next time I’ll swap the peas, carrots and corn for some broccoli or zucchini. I’d have to be pretty sneaky though…if my little dude sees broccoli, even the cheesiness might not be enough to persuade him. He did have to make some calls though to let everyone know how yummy they were ;).

Have a wonderful Wednesday!