Marissa's Pancit

Did you miss me?! It seems like I haven't blogged in forever! It's been a crazy couple of weeks for me at work and the stress followed me home like a stray puppy dog and took up residence in my brain like a flea infestation. I barely had the energy to make supper, let alone blog about it. Life is slowly normalizing again, so I decided I owed you all a really great recipe to make up for my month-long absence.

This dish is really nothing "special," but it is oh-so-yummy. This is a traditional Filipino recipe that I learned from my stepmother who makes it for my husband every time we visit because he loves it so much. I finally got the recipe from her and now I can make it for him whenever he wants--or at least whenever I can find pancit noodles at the Asian store. They were out for weeks! In a pinch you can use angel hair or rice vermicelli, but the real thing is always the best. Like all my favorite recipes, this comes together super quick and, amazingly, even my picky kid likes it!

Pancit Bihon
Prep time: 15 min  Cook time: 15 min
Serves 6

16 oz pancit bihon noodles
2 Tbs oil
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
2 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in 2 cups water

1 onion, sliced 
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1/4 cabbage, sliced into small strips
1 carrot, sliced into strips
3/4 cup snow peas (or red peppers)
3/4 cup diced celery
3 Tbs soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbs lemon juice (juice from half a lemon)

Soak the noodles in water for 10 minutes to soften.

Meanwhile, saute chicken in 1 tablespoon oil till lightly browned.  Remove and keep warm.  Saute vegetables in remaining tablespoon of oil till slightly tender, about 5 minutes.

Return chicken to pan with vegetables. Drain noodles and add to chicken and veggies. Pour in bouillon water and soy sauce and simmer till noodles are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste and squeeze lemon juice on top.

353 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Monkey Squares (Banana Bread Bars)

What is up with bananas and their incredibly short edibility window? Nobody in my family cares much for bananas except me, so I don't buy them often, but when I do it seems like I never actually get to eat more than one of them before they're brown and mushy! I've tried buying them green to give myself a little more time, but somehow they manage to go from under-ripe to overripe in less time than it takes me to convince myself to snack on a banana instead of a bag of chips.

I used to turn my brown bananas into a loaf of banana bread, but this recipe takes it up a notch with the addition of a browned butter icing that is freaking awesome! Even better, I've learned that I don't have to use my over-ripe bananas immediately, I can stick them in the freezer and pull them out when I'm good and ready! This is great for when you only have one sad, little banana left and the recipe calls for three.  The skin turns completely brown when you freeze them, but the inside is just the right kind of mushy for this yummy treat.

Monkey Squares
Prep time: 15 min  Bake time: 25 min
Serves 24

1-1/2 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Brown Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
4 cup powdered sugar
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs milk

Heat oven to 375F.  Grease and flour 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.

For the bars, in a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy.  Blend in bananas and vanilla extract.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, and mix just till combined. Stir in walnuts.

Spread batter evenly into pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately. (The color change happens in an instant so watch carefully or it will burn!)

Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting).  Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm).

286 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Blackberry Crumble Bars

They say you appreciate things more if you have to work for them. If that's the case, then this ought to be the best dessert my family has ever had, especially for my mom!

Every summer, my husband and I pick blackberries from a tangle of bushes that grow wildly along the path we like to walk each night. I've never been to a blackberry farm, but I can only hope that cultivated bushes are a little easier to pick from than the unruly snarl we try to harvest. We usually leave bloody and covered in scratches and splinters, with purple fingers and torn clothes, but also with full baskets and happy smiles.

This year, my mom was visiting, so she agreed to help us with our endeavor, but her enthusiasm got the best of her when she tried to climb a little too deep into the maze and fell flat on her tushy, right in the middle of a thorny bush! She lost her whole bucket of berries, and her pride, but Allen and I managed to pick enough that she still got to enjoy this delicious dessert.

If you don't have access to your own berry patch, or prefer not to injure yourself in the quest for fresh berries, you can certainly go buy them.  I'm sure they'll taste almost as good! Actually, this recipe would work just fine with lots of different fruits, so feel free to try whatever kind you like!

Blackberry Crumble Bars

Prep time: 15 min  Bake time: 40 min
Serves 16

3/4 cup + 1-1/2 tbsp sugar, divided
2 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbs lime juice
2 cups blackberries
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg yolk
3 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment and spritz lightly with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lime juice. Add blackberries, toss to coat, and set aside.

In larger bowl, whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add egg yolk, vanilla and butter cubes. Using a pastry cutter, work the mixture together until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Spread 2/3 of the mixture into prepared pan, pressing down to even out and flatten. Top with blackberry mixture, spreading into an even layer.  Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over top and then sprinkle with remaining sugar.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick test is clean and top is golden brown.

Let cool completely before cutting and serving unless you are serving with ice cream, which is better with a warm bar. Cool about 15 minutes in pan before cutting if serving with ice cream.

117 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Shrimp Cakes with Cajun Mayo

My family lived on the Gulf coast for several years when I was a kid, and my dad caught shrimp for a living, but I completely missed out on all the great shrimp recipes the Gulf area is famous for. Why? Because I was a picky little kid! I wasn't quite as bad as my own daughter is, but I still regret all the amazing dishes I avoided. My daughter does like shrimp, but she still wouldn't touch this recipe with a 10-foot pole because of all the "yucky" vegetables in it, but the hubs and I thought they made it fresh and fabulous, even though I used frozen shrimp instead of the incredible fresh catch I passed up as a kid.

Shrimp Cakes with Cajun Mayo

Prep time: 20 min  Cook time: 20 min
Serves 4

6 tsp olive oil, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and chopped
1 cup fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbs lemon juice, divided
2 tsp Cajun seasoning, divided
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large heavy skillet, such as cast iron, or a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.

Add shrimp, breadcrumbs, egg, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning and salt to the bowl. Thoroughly combine, then form into 8 cakes, 3 inches wide and about 1/2 inch thick.

Wipe out the pan, add another 2 teaspoons oil and heat over medium heat. Add 4 shrimp cakes and cook, turning once, until the shrimp are just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and the remaining 4 cakes, reducing the heat as necessary to prevent overbrowning.

Meanwhile, combine mayonnaise and the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning in a small bowl. Serve the mayonnaise with the shrimp cakes.

384 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Pistachio Fluff Salad

I try really hard to make my menus seasonally appropriate, I really do, but sometimes you just have to satisfy a craving, regardless of what time of year it is!  In the summer, when you can actually get fresh, local fruit, I try to make all my favorite fresh fruit dishes and save the canned fruit for the dead of winter, but when I saw this recipe on Pinterest I knew I couldn't wait till winter.  This brings back great memories of my childhood when a can of fruit cocktail made a recipe seem gourmet and all the best salads had marshmallows in them.

Pistachio Fluff Salad
Total time: 5 minutes
Serves 10

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple (drain and reserve juice)
1 (3 oz) pkg instant pistachio pudding mix
1 (12 oz) container Cool Whip, thawed
2 large bananas, sliced
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 (15 oz) can fruit cocktail, drained
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges, drained

Place Cool Whip in a large mixing bowl.  Add instant pudding mix and stir gently to combine. Add drained pineapple, marshmallows, drained fruit cocktail, and drained mandarin oranges.

Slice bananas and swirl in reserved pineapple juice to prevent browning. Add to bowl and mix everything completely. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. (If you refrigerate your cans of fruit beforehand, this can be served immediately.)

251 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!