DoughSeeDough

a balanced plate with room for dessert

Category Archives: Quick & Easy


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Szechaun Shrimp

I make a large variety of food here at school, but I don’t really make a lot of seafood. I decided to give shrimp a spin and I love love love this dish. It’s so incredibly easy and it’s surprisingly good with a really full flavor profile. Try it out! If you really like spicy foods (like me), toss in a little more red pepper flakes! I think I ended up accidentally dumping in 2 – 3 tablespoons and it was SO good.

Szechuan Shrimp
serves 4

4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup sliced green onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
16 ounces large shrimp, cooked and tails removed

  1. Combine water, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, red pepper flakes and ginger in a bowl and set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in green onions and garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  3. Add shrimp and cook for 30 seconds, stirring often.
  4. Pour sauce on top and mix thoroughly with the shrimp. Cook until the sauce is thick and bubbly.
  5. Serve over white rice and enjoy!


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Sweet and Sour Pork

I originally made this dish in my Food Science lab during fall semester using seitan, a meat substitute. The entire lab was really interesting, since it was based on using meat-substitutes. We used tofu, seitan, tempeh, and beans to make a huge variety of delicious dishes. This one was my favorite, and I decided to recreate it at home. While I enjoyed the seitan, I opted to use pork, since that was what I had on hand. Since then, I have also made this dish with chicken – both are very good!

Sweet and Sour Pork
serves 4

2 teaspoons canola oil
1 pound pork chops, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large bell pepper, cut in strips
1 large onion, chopped
1 20 ounce can pineapple chunks with juice
1 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pork and cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally.
  2. Stir in the pineapple juice, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and cornstarch. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir until thickened. Mix in pineapple chunks just before serving.
  3. Serve with white or brown rice.


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Vegetable Cream Cheese

My friend dropped off a bag of delicious bagels the other day and so I decided to make some vegetable cream cheese to go with it! I’m pretty happy with the result. If you like store-bought vegetable cream cheese, I suggest you whip up this homemade version – it’s so much better!

Vegetable Cream Cheese

Vegetable Cream Cheese

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
1 rib celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

  1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the vegetables are in small chunks.
  2. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.


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Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper Cayenne Sauce

One of my favorite things to do is cook for my friends. I think I get this from my mom who is always finding a reason to throw elaborate dinner parties. I honestly hope that I can one day host parties that impress as many people as she can.

I made this for Mike and a couple of our friends one night for dinner and served it with some crumb-topped rhubarb for dessert.

This dish was very easy to make and so good! People who have a lower spice tolerance won’t find it too spicy and if you can handle the heat, then bring on the cayenne!

Red Bell Peppers

Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper Cayenne Sauce
adapted from allrecipes.com

12 ounces fettuccine
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 red bell peppers, julienned
1 large onion, sliced
3 gloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or adjust to taste)
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup Parmesan, grated
1 cup fat free sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Fettucine with Sweet Pepper-Cayenne Sauce

  1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to directions and drain.
  2. Heat oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Cook bell peppers and onions for 1 – 2 minutes. Add garlic and cayenne and cook for 3 more minutes.
  3. Stir in broth and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and stir in Parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in sour cream until smooth.
  4. Toss pasta with sauce and serve immediately.


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Spaghetti with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Feta

This pasta is hands down the best pasta I have ever had. It’s cheap, easy, and delicious. What more could a girl ask for? I need to find a place to buy sun-dried tomatoes in bulk so I can make this dish more often.

Spaghetti with Sundried Tomatoes and Feta

Spaghetti with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Feta

1 16-ounce package spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium onions, sliced into rings
3 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, softened and chopped
1 8-ounce package feta cheese, crumbled (the tomato basil feta was exceptionally good!)
1 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

  1. Cook pasta in a large pot according to directions. Drain and return to the pot.
  2. Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Saute garlic, onions and sun-dried tomatoes until the onions are translucent. Mix into the spaghetti and stir in feta, Parmesan and cilantro. Serve immediately.


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Easy Pasta Salad

As the GRE crept closer and closer, I found myself cooking less and less. Looking back, I can’t even remember what I ate for the past week. The only thing I remember is going to Harvest with Mike for our fourth anniversary.

Now that I’m done with the GRE, I have a little time to enjoy food again… or at least until I start applying to grad school 🙂

This pasta salad is probably the easiest thing I’ve ever made. It’s food like this that keeps me sane when I’m stressed.

Easy Pasta Salad

Easy Pasta Salad

1 pound tri-colored rotini
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup black olives
2 green peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cucumbers, sliced
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup Italian dressing

  1. Cook pasta according to directions. Rinse with cold water and set aside to cool completely.
  2. Mix mushrooms, olives, green peppers, onion and cucumbers together with the dressing. Stir in the pasta, chill for 2 hours or overnight and serve cold.


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Fried Rice

I love rice. Mike and I went through 30 pounds of rice this year! Whenever I have leftover rice, Mike asks me to make fried rice. He claims that it’s the best he’s ever had. I normally just mix a bunch of random stuff together and call it fried rice, but this time I actually measured out the ingredients. My thoughts? It didn’t taste quite as good… I’ll keep tweaking this recipe until I am able to write down a recipe that tastes as good as the fried rice I improvise.

IMG_6115

Fried Rice

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 bunch green onion
4 Chinese sausages, sliced
2 cups leftover white rice, refrigerated
1 head broccoli
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 tablespoons cup soy sauce

  1. Heat the sesame oil and vegetable oil in a wok over medium high heat. Add the green onions and cook for 2 minutes.
  2. Add in the sausage, broccoli, carrots and celery and cook until the sausage is cooked through.
  3. Stir in the rice and stir fry until the rice is heated through and slightly browned.
  4. Drizzle the soy sauce and vinegar over the fried rice and mix in thoroughly!


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Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper-Cayenne Sauce

One of my favorite things to do is cook for my friends. The more people there are and the more food I make, the happier I am. I think that this is a trait I got from my mom who loves to have elaborate dinner parties that never fail to amaze people. I hope that one day I can be as good a cook as she is.

I stumbled across this recipe on allrecipes.com and decided that it would be a good dish for a dinner I had with Mike and two of our friends.

Red Bell Peppers

Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper-Cayenne Sauce
adapted from allrecipes.com

12 ounces fettuccine
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 red bell peppers, julienned
2 onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon cayenne – adjust more or less depending on spice tolerance
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Fettucine with Sweet Pepper-Cayenne Sauce

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to directions and drain.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet and saute red bell peppers, onions and garlic for 3 – 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and cheese.
  4. Toss pasta with sauce and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.


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Greek Chicken Pasta

This is Mike’s favorite dish ever. He is always asking me to make it. I’ve made this so many times I don’t even need the recipe any more. Lucky for him, the recipe makes a huge amount of food. Unlucky for his stomach, he eats all of it in 48 hours.

Greek chicken pasta

Greek Chicken Pasta
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 pound uncooked penne, fusilli or any other short pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red onion, chopped
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat, cut into bite-size pieces
1 (14 ounce) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano

  1. Cook pasta according to directions.
  2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion, and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 5 to 6 minutes.
  3. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the artichoke hearts, tomato, feta cheese, parsley, lemon juice, oregano and cooked pasta. Stir until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes.


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Cilantro Dip

I had a bunch of cilantro left over after making the quinoa last night, so I made this dip. It’s really refreshing and super tasty. That’s saying a lot since I’m not the biggest fan of cilantro!I served this with tortilla chips, but you can try it with whatever you see fit.

Cilantro dip

Cilantro Dip

1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 package neufchatel cheese (1/3 fat cream cheese) or regular cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 7 oz can of salsa verde

  1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.