Easy Dinner from Bethany Z.

from Bethany Z (from church!)
Go through your refrigerator and grab all the vegetables you can find (peppers, onions, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower...or go to the grocery store and buy veggies from the 80% off rack) Julienne everything.  Put some EVOO into a heated pan, dice up some garlic.  Put all of your vegetables and garlic in the pan.  Saute.  Meanwhile, cook some rice.  When the veggies are done, mix with rice and consume.  We eat this quite often and it is one of my favorite meals.  You can also julienne all the veggies the night before :)  It speeds things up quite a bit.

You can also fry an egg, chop it up, and mix everything together.

What is your favorite food?

What is your favorite food?
I get this question from Koreans and Americans.

Bimimbip before you mix it

What is your favorite Korean food?
Bimimbap: literally mixed rice. Rice with sauted veggies, a fried egg, a spicy red sauce that is all mixed together.  I could seriously eat bimimbap everyday.

Bimimbap after it is mixed

Pop-en-sue: shaved ice mixed with fresh fruit, beans, and chocolate syrup.  It is delicious during the summer!

My amazing husband's favorite Korean food is sam-gyeop-sal.  Essentially it is grilled pork that we wrap in sesame leaves.  There are tons of samgyeopsal restaurants in Korea.

What is your favorite American food?
Before I moved to Korea: mashed potatoes
After I moved to Korea: Meatloaf.  Olive Garden.  Panera Bread.  Brownies. Anything American :)

Dessert: Cookie Dough Truffles

from Taste of Home:

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup Mini Chips Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1-1/2 pounds dark chocolate candy coating, coarsely chopped

In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour, alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Shape into 1-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm.

In a microwave bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip balls in coating; allow excess to drip off; Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. If desired, remelt remaining candy coating and drizzle over candies. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 5-1/2 dozen.

Alissa's note: I left out the walnuts.  They were delicious!

Dessert: No Bake Fudgy Oat Cookies

from Taste of Home:
2-1/4 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine oats and coconut; set aside. In a large saucepan, combine milk and butter. Stir in sugar and cocoa. Bring to a boil. Add oat mixture; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 1 in. apart onto waxed paper. Let stand until set. Yield: about 3 dozen.

Alissa's note: I can not find coconut so we went without

Dessert: Mocha Truffles

This recipe is from Taste of Home:

2 packages (12 ounces each)  Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons water
1 pound dark chocolate candy coating, coarsely chopped

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Add the cream cheese, coffee and water. Chill until firm enough to shape. Shape into 1-in. balls and place on waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Chill for 1-2 hours or until firm.

In a microwave, melt chocolate coating; stir until smooth. Dip balls in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set. Yield: about 5-1/2 dozen.

Alissa's note: Cream cheese is really expensive in Korea.  I think it we spent between 10 and 15 dollars on 16 oz of cream cheese!

Why did you move to Korea?

Why did you move to Korea?  I get this question from Americans and Koreans.

Usually I answer with, "why not?"

The real reason that we live in Korea is God.  God told us to move here. So we are here.

In the spirit of true procrastination

I am getting ready to delete one of my blogs and I came across this:  Worth saving I would say

I am really suppose to be studying for a NonEuclidean Test right now, but I can not motivate myself...so here is my first baking blog: I got this recipe from my friend, Jeni, it turned out really well!

Caramel Graham Fudge Brownies

-1 package fudge brownie mix (I usually use 19.5 oz or bigger boxes)

-1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

-1/2 cup sugar

-1/2 cup margarine

-1 (14 oz) package caramels, unwrapped

-1/3 cup evaporated milk

-3/4 cup peanut butter chips

-3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

-1 cup chopped pecans

-1/4 cup water

-1/4 cup oil

-1 egg

Heat over to 350 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of a 13x9 inch pan.

In medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the brownie mix, graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted margarine; mix well.

Press mixture into bottom of greased pan. (this was kinda hard at first, I used a fork to press it all in)

In medium saucepan, combine caramels and evaporated milk. Cook over medium heat until caramels are melted, stirring constantly. (the stirring constantly part is quite important! Also just try to patient when you first start melting, becuase it will take a while, but once they start melting, it will go quickly)

Carefully spread melted caramel mixture over crust. Sprinke with peanut butter and chocolate chips, and 3/4 cup of pecans. Reserve the rest of the pecans for topping. (I was making this for Ian, and I was not sure if he was crazy about the pecans so I just put the pecans on half of the pan...)

In same medium bowl, combine remaining brownie mix, water, oil, and egg. Beat 50 strokes by hand.

Carefully spoon batter evenly over pecans and spread out in the pan. (This was kinda challenging, try to pour batter pretty eveningly over the whole pan) Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup pecans.

Bake at 350 for 33-38 or until center is set and an inserted toothpick comes out mainly clean. (If you stick the toothpick to far in or just in the middle it might come out with melted chocolate chips.) Cool completely and cut into bars. These are really good frozen or just out of the oven. Also good at room temperature. These turned out really well for me and I hope that they do for you too!