Restaurant Review: Tosh’s Ramen – SLC

tosh ramenRestaurant Review: Tosh’s Ramen in SLC ⭐⭐⭐

Dishes:
Vegetarian Ramen with vegan yam noodles (3/5 ⭐)
Vegetables included baby bok choy, two different mushrooms, bean sprouts and green onions – the best was the marinated shiitake mushroom. Vegetable broth was pretty robust for vegetable broth. The yam noodles were the weird chewy kind and not enough. Definitely not enough food to be a complete meal on its own.

Vegetarian Gyoza (3/5 ⭐)
More of a pot sticker, the gyozas were filled with diced cabbage and onions. Pan fried too much for my liking and making it difficult to bite in half. The dipping sauce was a tart garlic soy sauce very strong flavor.

Vegan: 👍
Vegetarian: 👍
Meat lover: 👍
Gluten free: 👎
Family friendly: 👎
👎High chair missing clips to actually keep toddler in seat
👎Foul language rock music
Hubby: 👍 Enjoyed the spicy pork ramen
Return: Yes. I will have them custom make ramen #soup next time. No toddler either.

Restaurant Review: Osaka Sushi

15048052_1253214634749990_1953915347484540928_nCelebrating a work success so out we go to dinner, a rare occasion these days for our little family. The Ramen Soup 🍜was easily the best dish of the night! Although the sushi 🍣 was welcomed because I rarely have it anymore. The Naruto roll had a lovely light sweet sauce, the Avocado Bomb filled with spicy fish was quite the mouthful, stay away from the Tornado because way too greasy with fried roll – although the pile of fried noodles in the middle was impressive!

Vegetable Cheese Tortellini Soup Recipe

This soup is light yet flavorful! Even got the double thumbs up from Becki and Lexi! Thanks ladies for a fun lunch date!

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked dried tortellini (I used spinach tortellini, but you can use any dried variety)*
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
5 oz fresh spinach
1 head broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 bay leaf
10 cups water

Directions:
1. Boil dried tortellini for 10 minutes, strain.
2. Using the same pot, water saute onion and carrot for 4 minutes.
3. Add celery, all spices and chicken broth. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add the 10 cups water and cooked tortellini. Boil for 7-10 minutes.
5. Turn off heat, add the broccoli and spinach, stir to push under the water. Put lid on pot and let sit for 5 minutes.

Dried vs. Cooked Tortellini* Note: Don’t use more than one cup dried tortellini because it swells up a lot and will continue to absorb water during cooking process. You can see a dried tortellini (in left spoon) becomes quite large after cooking (in right spoon). The first time I made this soup, I made the mistake of putting in two cups of dried tortellini and had to add several cups of water to compensate for the tortellini swell!

Serve with crusty bread. For a little extra love, after ladling soup into individual bowls, add drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

I’ll see you at the table!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

I could probably eat soup everyday of my life! Creamy soups, broth soups, stews and chilis… doesn’t matter what type of soup it is, I just love them!

Here’s a favorite soup from Taste of Home that everyone enjoys in our household, the Creamy Cauliflower Soup. Not cheesy like the Cream of Broccoli version, rather healthier with more veggies. Also, this recipe is easily doubled and makes great left overs.

image

Ingredients:

 

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces
2 medium side Russet potatoes, cubed (Jen’s Note: I’ve also added roasted parsnip before and that was a hit with the family!)
1 large yellow onion, small dice (Jen’s Note: or use 1/2 cup dehydrated onion and add 1 cup additional water for broth)
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2″ pieces (Jen’s Note: or use 1 cup dehydrated carrot and add 1 1/2 cup additional water for broth)
6 celery stalks, cut into half-inch pieces (Jen’s Note: I love celery, so often I use 10 stalks and use the leafy tips)
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
8 cups chicken broth, may substitute vegetable broth
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sour cream
Fresh tarragon, optional (Jen’s Note: I never use this)

 

Directions

  1. In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, sauté the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in 1/4 cup butter until tender. Add cauliflower, potatoes, broth, parsley, salt and pepper, basil and tarragon. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
  2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt the remaining butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the milk and whipping cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add to cauliflower mixture. Cook for 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream. Garnish with tarragon if desired. Yield: 8 servings (about 2 quarts).
  3. If you want a creamier version, remove 1/3 of the mixture and blend until creamy in a high powered blender. Just remember that hot soup will explode easily in the blender, so cover tightly and only pulse blend.

Serve with rolls and a leafy green salad for a healthy meal. Looks great in bread bowls for a more robust dish. Enjoy!

I’ll see you at the table!

Turkey Rice Soup

I love soup! I could eat soup for almost every meal. My family enjoys a lot of soup recipes, as well. As a busy mom and business owner I’m glad that soup is a meal that I can prepare ahead of time and heat up as needed.

Turkey and Rice Soup
Turkey and Rice Soup

Below is my go-to easy turkey and rice soup that is always a hit in our family (teens and adults). I like this recipe for using items mostly from food storage too.

Ingredients:
1 14 ounce can cooked turkey (can substitute canned chicken)
1 cup cooked white rice (rice must be cooked because will absorb more water even after it has been cooked)
Small white onion, small dice, or quarter cup dehydrated onion
4 large carrots, peeled and diced, or 1/2 cup dehydrated carrots
1/2 bunch of celery, cut into quarter inch pieces
1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt, or 1/2 tablespoon of Organic No-salt Seasoning (I prefer Costco product over Spike)
2 dried bay leaves

Directions:
1. In a large soup pot on medium heat, add 1/4 cup water then immediately add celery and saute for 2 minutes.
2. If you’re using fresh onion and carrot, saute with celery, otherwise add the dehydrated onion and dehydrated carrot with celery and can of turkey meat with juice – this juice will stop veggies from sticking to bottom of pan. Stir to mix.
3. Add Italian seasoning, thyme, black pepper, salt or Organic No-Salt Seasoning and bay leaves.
4. Add 10 cups of water and 1 cup precooked rice, turn heat up to high and bring to boil. Cover and boil for 10 minutes.
5. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

I prefer to cook this soup one day in advance so the flavors blend together. Keep in refrigerator in sealed container for up to 5 days – if it lasts that long! Reheat and enjoy with your favorite rolls or grilled cheese sandwiches. You can freeze as well – I recommend individual servings.

I’ll see you at the table!

Recipe: Power Kale Salad and Lentil Soup

Power Kale Salad and Lentil Soup for lunch!
kale salad and lentil soup
I’m pretty sure my body has a calcium deficiency right now because I keep waking up in the middle of the night with charlie horses in my calves. So I am adding the plant based calcium today with a big kale salad.
Salad Ingredients:
1 big leaf of Kale, ripped into little pieces
4 leaves of Romaine, ripped into bite-size pieces
1/2 avocado, cubed
1 cup #blueberries
2 tablespoons raw unsalted sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons walnut pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Wash kale and lettuce thoroughly, towel dry lightly. Using large salad bowl, toss with OO and balsamic vinegar. Then add all the other ingredients. Mix and enjoy the textures and tastes of a nutrient rich salad!