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[prettyokayfood]

Spicy Chicken and Pork Ramen

For a vegetarian version, just omit the steps with chicken and bacon! Every other ingredient is meat-free. OR substitute some red / yellow peppers, asparagus, bok choy, snap peas, etc. for some more substance so you don’t just have noodles. 

We got 2 1/2 servings out of this (the 1/2 serving is my lunch for tomorrow) so if you’re cooking for more than 2 people, adjust the ratios accordingly. 

It’s super easy to adjust the spice level with this. For very low spice, you’ll probably want a teaspoon or 2 of sriracha but I just went balls to the wall and put 2 tablespoons, which was PR E T T Y SPICY. Not unbearable but I drank a ton of water while eating and I usually have a good tolerance for spicy stuff. 

Ingredients

8 oz., chicken breast, diced into approx. 1 inch pieces

4 slices, 6-inch bacon

6 ounces, dry ramen noodles

1/4 cup, korean BBQ sauce 

1/4 cup, low-sodium soy sauce

Between 1 and 2 tbsp.,  sriracha

1/4 cup, yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves, garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp., brown sugar

2 tsp. chives (optional for garnish)

2 tsp. sesame seeds (optional for garnish)

Cayenne Pepper

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Salt

Pepper

Instructions

1. Season diced chicken with cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to your liking. 

2. In a large skillet, cook the bacon on medium heat until crispy and browned, 5-6 minutes, flipping strips halfway through. Reserve about 1/2 tbsp. of the bacon fat. 

3. Remove bacon from pan to a paper towel, thoroughly patting dry. On a cutting board, chop the bacon into pieces. 

4. In a medium pot, bring 3 cups of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, place dry ramen in the water and stir until noodles are softened and separate easily, 3-4 minutes.

5. Drain noodles in a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Set aside. 

5. Place another medium pot over medium heat and add sesame oil. Place half the garlic and the chopped onion in the pot and stir until slightly softened, 1-2 minutes. 

6. Stir in the diced chicken and stir every few minutes until chicken is slightly browned, 6-7 minutes. I always like to cover the pot so the chicken will cook a little faster but I accidentally threw away the top to this particular pot when I moved like an absolute idiot so it may have taken me a little longer.

7. Once chicken is cooked, add soy sauce, korean BBQ sauce, brown sugar, sriracha and the rest of the garlic to the same pot. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Stir frequently until sauce is slightly thickened and thoroughly mixed, 1-2 minutes. 

8. Add cooked noodles and chopped bacon, mixing very thoroughly. Keep mixing until noodles are heated, 2-3 minutes. 

9. Once plated, sprinkle chives and sesame seeds as desired. 

10. Eat and hope your boyfriend has a high spice tolerance and you didn’t accidentally put too much sriracha like I did. 

[prettyokayfood]

Had an A+ food (and drink) filled St. Louis staycation!

[prettyokayfood]

10-Minute Shrimp Alfredo

I made this after rescuing a stray cat who got hit by a car. I got home from the emergency vet at like 9pm, tired and hungry, and already has shrimp defrosting so here we are. This recipe is for a single person’s serving. Want to make it for another person? Just double everything. 

I was a walking zombie so I didn’t waste time chopping actual garlic or vegetables to add but I’m sure if you took the extra 3 minutes to prep some veggies to add, they’d be good to add with the shrimp and soften up at the same time.

This recipe could be way less calories (as it is below, it’s ~650) if you used less heavy cream, as that’s pretty calorie-dense. For one person’s serving, you could probably halve it or cut it by 1/3 if you’re not a particularly saucy person OR use half-and-half as a substitute for less calories. I know myself and I live for and cherish my heavy, creamy sauces so I made the choice I made. 

(The cat’s okay.)

Here’s what you’ll need:

- 1 dry cup of your favorite pasta (mine was fusilli this time but next time, WHO KNOWS?)

- 5-7 medium shrimp, cut into pieces  

Don’t mutilate the shrimp, just slice each shrimp into 2-3 chunks.

- 1/2 cup of heavy cream

- 1 tsp of olive oil

- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper 

- 1 tsp. dill 

- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or a clove of actual chopped garlic if you’re not a lazy piece of garbage like me) 

- 1/2 tsp. onion powder

- 1 tsp. chives

- As much salt and pepper as your undertit dictates is necessary.

How:

1) Mix your cayenne, half the garlic powder and onion powder, a gentle sprinkling of some of the dill, and 1/4 tsp. each of salt and pepper with your chopped shrimp. 

2) Set a small pot of salted water to boil on medium heat. Once boiling, turn heat to medium-low and drop in your pasta of choice - follow the instructions on the box or bag to cook al dente*. Stir every minute or so.

3) While your pasta cooks, heat another small pot or saucepan on medium-low heat and slap that olive oil in there. Put your healthily seasoned shrimp in with the olive oil. Stir every minute for approximately 6 minutes, until the shrimp are pink. Some browned edges are okay. Change heat to low.

4) Once your pasta is to your desired consistency, drain that pot and rinse your pasta thoroughly with cold water. I don’t know why exactly you do this, it’s just ingrained in my being at this point. It could do nothing. I don’t know. Dry the pasta as best you can by shaking in the drainer and set the pasta aside.

5) Pour the heavy cream over the shrimp and let it sit until it begins to slightly boil. Stir in the rest of the chives (save a pinch as a garnish if you’re particularly fancy), onion powder, garlic powder, and dill and continue stirring for 3-4 minutes, until your sauce is thick enough for your liking. 

6) Put your cooked pasta in with the sauce and mix thoroughly to coat. Keep the burner on the lowest setting (without turning it off) to keep everything warm as you mix. 

7) Put that whole mess in a bowl and eat it.

[prettyokayfood]

Welcome!

A few things before a recipe: 

1) I have little to no idea what I’m doing. I’ve been “cooking” for over 3 years and in that time, all I’ve learned is that mayonnaise is a terrible pasta sauce (we’ll get to that later) and that the broil function on your oven is absolutely 100000% not intended for extended use. 

2) I used to hate cooking because I thought I couldn’t do it. Then I discovered that I couldn’t really survive on grad school cafeteria burritos and got my little ass on Pinterest to learn how to sustain myself. 

3) Basically, the only reason I’ve started measuring ingredients is so I can put recipes together for people to follow. I’ve been winging it so basically what I’m saying is take the measurements into account but ultimately trust your undertit - that feeling right beneath the titline that tells you when enough is enough. You’ll know it when you feel it. 

4) If I can cook a PRETTY decent meal at this point in my life, so the fuck can you. If you do anything for a long enough period of time, you’re likely to be pretty decent at it. 

5) I’d like to learn as much from my community as they learn from me. As I said earlier, I don’t fully ever 1000% have an idea of what I’m doing when I’m cooking. 9/10 I put things on the counter, make a rough plan, and go for it. Sometimes that doesn’t always turn out okay. Have a better idea? Let me know.