…from the best cookbook you’ve never read!

As promised, I’ve been working my way through Jules Clancy’s 5 Ingredients, 10 Minutes …. I love that Jules is teaching me how to adapt with what I have on hand. Sometimes her suggestions for variations inspire me to do my own thing! It turns out, these recipes came alive when I was trying to use up some cherry and grape tomatoes!

Reminder: salt and pepper and olive/cooking oil are always assumed “free” pantry ingredients in Jules’ recipes.

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Chicken and Egg Fried Rice

Ingredients: chicken breast, basmati rice, eggs, soy sauce, spring onions

Here are my notes, with what I changed in blue:

• Instead of chicken, I used 1 cup of (cooked) Korean ground pork. A friend sent these leftovers home with us when she made us a Bibimbap dinner one night. I promptly froze it for another day. It was a perfect addition and Rob-friendly. See, you can adapt with what you have!
• I used 2 cups white rice (not the basmati indicated in the recipe.) Not a big deal, right?
• Instead of peanut oil, I used 1 tbsp seasme oil and 1 tbsp grapeseed oil (high smoke point)
• I don’t have a wok, so just used a saute pan.
• I added a couple of handfuls of chopped carrots. (They might have been frozen, I don’t remember!) and half of an onion.
• I was generous with the S&P!
• My version made 2 very generous servings, but I broke it down into 3 smaller ones for leftovers.
• I didn’t write down how long it took me to make this recipe, but considering it was my first time making fried rice, it came together quickly.
• You can find a similar fried rice recipe in the free e-cookbook on the Stone Soup blog.
• Will make again. This is husband approved!

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Salt-Crusted Burger

Ingredients: ground beef, tomato ketchup, mayo, English muffins, lettuce

Here are my notes, with what I changed in blue:

• Forgot to get a photo of this one, sorry!
• This recipe reminded me how much we love love English Muffins as hamburger buns! It’s hard to imagine going any other way.
• We don’t keep ketchup in the house because we don’t really like it. Occasionally, I’ll use ketchup when I’m ordering fries out and the fries can’t stand on their own or they don’t have a better sauce to serve. Normally, our burgers at home are served with homemade mayo. But a little leftover Alouette cheese spread is what I decided on to moisten our English Muffins this go round.
• The recipe calls for scant tsp fine sea salt. I didn’t have that on hand. I used 1/2 tsp kosher salt instead. It worked just fine.
• I also topped our burgers with some Wisconsin Aged Swiss Cheese. What’s a burger without cheese?
• This recipe took me 8 minutes. Yes, you can have a burger on the table in 8 minutes! I think I served roasted broccoli, which took much longer. But I got all that started before I started the burgers. Maybe I should have done this broccoli in another pan.
• You can find this burger recipe in the free e-cookbook on the Stone Soup blog.
• Will make again. This is also husband approved!

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Tomato, Bread and Bocconcini Salad

Ingredients: cherry tomatoes, sherry or white wine vinegar, rustic bread, flat leaf parsley, bocconcini (small mozzarella balls)

Here are my notes:

• I don’t have any notes on this one, but I know I pulled a mini-baguette out of the freezer and baked that up before I started this recipe. If I had the bread on hand, it would have been a lot quicker!
• This was just an easy, no brainer recipe – throw everything together and there you go.
• My only problem with this is that I didn’t buy the marinated bocconcini, so I  needed to add a little olive oil and a some more seasonings.
• After my bread was baked from frozen, this took me just minutes to throw together in a bowl.
• This recipe is an absolute yes.

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Mel and Carlos’ ‘Green’ Eggs

Ingredients: eggs, butter, pesto, baby spinach

 

Here are my notes, with what I changed in blue:

• Not the prettiest of pictures, but it will have to do.
• I remember the first time I made eggs with pesto and realized how genius it was! This recipe was no different.
• It just reminded me that it’s a good way to use up pesto in your fridge and add a bit of flavor to your scrambled eggs!
• My photo includes a handful of frozen baby spinach I added to the pan at the beginning (instead of fresh at the end).
• I also threw in some leftover cherry tomatoes for good measure. (My friend gave me some cherry tomatoes she wasn’t going to use up in time – I was making the most of them this week!) Since it was December when I made this recipe, I called these Christmas Eggs. 🙂
• This recipe took me 10 minutes.
• Will make again. In fact, I’ve been making scrambled eggs with a little shredded mozzarella and a dollop of pesto on top ever since.

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Seared Tuna and Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients: tuna steaks, cherry tomatoes, capers, arugula, mayo

Here are my notes, with what I changed in blue:

• This may be one of my new favorite recipes!
• Did you know that you can get individually wrapped, sustainable tuna steaks at Aldi? I was able to make this recipe for one!
• My only changes to this recipe would be that I would sear the tomatoes for a bit longer. I like them to burst and get a bit wrinkly.
• I don’t ever cook with capers, so they were a purchase specific to this recipe and they really helped make the dish!
• To be honest, the tuna was so good, I don’t think the mayo was eve needed. I’m not sure if it was meant for dipping or to top on the salad. But I think the greens are fine with a little squeeze of lemon juice, drizzle of evoo and sprinkle of salt and pepper.
• This recipe took me less than 10 minutes.
• Will definitely make again. 

What are your favorite recipes for cherry and grape tomatoes?

Cheers~
Carrie