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In honor of the concert I'm going to tonight!

vegetable stir-fry

Adapted from Student's Vegetarian Cookbook.
Choose one of the following sauce recipes and serve over cooked rice or noodles. 
Serves 2-3.

Sweet and Sour Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons catsup
4 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Tangy Sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Stir-Fry
About 1 tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil.
2 cloves garlic
2-3 cups of whatever stir-fry vegetables you want (I don't measure really).
I use any combination of corn, peas, sugar snap peas, green beans, red or green peppers, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, or sprouts.
To make it an even quicker meal I sometimes just buy a big bag of frozen stir-fry veggies from Costco and use a few cups of that. 

1. Choose one of the sauces, and combine sauce ingredients into a small bowl.

2. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and swirl it in the oil for a moment. Add the rest of the vegetables. Stir and fry for 3-4 minutes.

3. Stir the sauce and pour it over the vegetables. Stir and simmer for about 30 seconds or until the sauce thickens and the vegetables become glazed. Serve immediately. Garnish with chopped scallion if you desire.

pancake toppings

#1
1 cup vanilla yogurt
2 cups sliced peaches
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg
optional: replace peaches with 1/2 pint raspberries or mixed berries
Blend everything together. Makes 4-6 servings.

 #2
1 cup powdered sugar
1 package (8 oz.) whipped topping
1 package cream cheese
Blend. 

Use for pancakes, waffles, french toast, etc. I like both of these toppings together.

baked ziti

I am the only one in my house who will eat leftovers, which means a recipe that feeds 8-10 must be halved. This is my go-to recipe for Baked Ziti scaled down to an 8-inch square baking dish. It can easily be doubled for a 9x13-inch dish.

Serves 4-5

8 ounces cottage cheese (1 cup)
1 egg
1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 3/4 cup)
Table salt
8 ounces ziti (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 of a (14.5-ounce) can of diced tomatoes*
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 cup cream
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the cottage cheese, egg, and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan together in a medium bowl; set aside. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add 2 teaspoons of salt and the pasta; cook until the pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and leave in colander.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil and garlic in a skillet until garlic is fragrant but not brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Off the heat, stir in 1/4 cup of basil and the sugar; season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Stir the cornstarch and cream together in a small bowl, transfer to the now empty pasta pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, add cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella; stir to combine. Add the pasta and stir to coat with the sauce.

4. Transfer to an 8-inch square baking dish and spread remaining tomato sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

5. Remove foil and continue to cook until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes more. Cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the last tablespoon of basil and serve.

* I know there's nothing more annoying than recipe that calls for a half can of something. Save your diced tomatoes for your breakfast omelets, add them to a curry, or top a bean burrito! Sorry. :)