Tonkatsu Donburi

Ingredients

4 pieces boneless skinless Chicken Thighs or Pork 

1 Tablespoon Hawaiian salt/coarse sea salt

2 eggs beaten until scrambled for egg wash

flour

panko

oil for frying

1 packet dashi in 1 cup water (or 1 cup chicken broth + 2 Tbsp bingo flakes)

3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
3 Tablespoons mirin
1/2 thinly sliced yellow onion
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, beaten
steamed rice
optional-chopped green onion for garnish

Directions

1. Heat pan with vegetable oil on medium high heat.
2. Sprinkle and rub Hawaiian salt on chicken or pork (It may seem like a lot of salt but it really brings out the flavor.
3. Get out 3 bowls and fill 1 egg wash, 1 with flour, and 1 with panko.
4. Coat the pork or chicken in flour, then dip in egg, and last coat with panko before putting it into the hot oil to fry.
5. Fry until medium brown on both sides.
6. While meat is frying make sauce. In a small bowl mix the dashi mixture, soy sauce, mirin, onion, and sugar.
7. Drain excess oil on paper towel.
8. Cut cutlet into 1 inch strips.
9. Since this recipe is for 2 bowls put half of the sauce you made into a small pot and bring to a boil. When the onions are slightly translucent, nestle one of the tonkatsu/katsu cutlets on top of the boiling mixture. *It is important that the sauce does not cover the entire cutlet or it will become soggy-nobody likes soggy :-(
10. Immediately pour half of the beaten egg on top of the cutlet and put the lid on so the egg can firm up. 
11. While it's cooking get your rice bowl ready.
12. After 2 minutes remove the lid and carefully move the cutlet with a large spatula and place onto the rice.
13. Garnish with your optional green onion and serve.
14. Repeat these steps for the other cutlet OR if doubling this recipe use a pan instead of a pot to fit more cutlets.
15. Eat while it's a little crispy, hot, saucy, and a lot of OISHI!

Teri Crab Baked Salmon

"This is the best salmon I've ever had in my life" are the exact words my dad sputtered with his mouth half full of fish. This is a huge compliment considering my dad is one of my harshest food critics only second to myself. With this being said, I knew this was a recipe I needed to share with the world. If you are a novice chef, have no fear! My dad who cooks with no more than 3 ingredients and usually there is a can opener or a microwave thrown in the process was even able to pull this one off! Alright, yes he didn't buy the thick teriyaki sauce crucial for this recipe but hey, at least he didn't come home from the store with barbecue sauce. Anyways...Thank you to Dane, a fireman on Kauai who works with my boyfriend and passed this recipe down. I am forever grateful for such an easy yet impressive way to cook salmon!

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 slab salmon
1 pack of imitation crab, chopped
1 small can water chestnuts, chopped fine
Mayonnaise
Thick teriyaki sauce (like Yoshida's Brand)
Panko crumbs
1 Tablespoon Wasabi
Furikake

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a 13" x 9" pan with tin foil and place salmon in skin side down.
3. Pour about 3/4 cup of the teriyaki sauce on the salmon.
4. In a bowl mix together the imitation crab, water chestnuts, 1 Tablespoon wasabi, and enough mayonnaise to make it a thick spread (start with 1/2 cup and add to your liking).
5. Spread this mixture on the salmon.
6.  Top it with a light layer of furikake.
7. Finish by sprinkling panko all over the top until covered.
8. Bake for 25-35 minutes depending on the thickness of your salmon.
9. Eat hot and fresh with rice!

Cookie Dough Pretzel Bites

Oh My Gawwwd. These are so bad in the best way possible. Finally a recipe that encourages eating raw cookie dough and requires no baking! Don't worry, it's egg free and exactly how you think it will taste. Sweet, salty, chocolatey and all kind of textures from velvety to crispy to sink your teeth into. Now go make it! Your friends will thank you and thank you and thank you then request it the next time they see you. Happy non-baking!

Servings: Makes about 35 small pretzel bites
Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Cookie dough

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons milk (almond or soy works great as well)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips


1 bag small pretzels (no judgement if you use the regular sized ones)
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon oil (shortening, coconut oil, olive oil or whatever you have)
3 Tablespoons milk (again any milk works)

Directions

1. In a big bowl mix the butter, brown sugar, and sugar with a mixer until smooth and fluffy.
2. Stir in the milk and vanilla until combined.
3. Mix in the flour and salt and combine until it all comes together. Last stir in chocolate chips.
4. Roll about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough into a ball and sandwich between 2 pretzels. Set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze for 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, wash your dirty dishes then melt the chocolate with the oil and milk in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes stirring every 30 seconds.
6. Take out cookie dough bites from the freezer and dip them half way into chocolate and return to baking sheet. 
7. Let chill in the freezer for 10 minutes if serving immediately or in the refrigerator if serving later. They say these last up to 5 days in the refrigerator but I've never been able to keep them around for that long.

Zesty Orange Chicken

Orange Chicken looks great through the steamy window at the take out Chinese place but once you take a bite you may find yourself biting into something that resembles a spongey, soggy nugget of chicken. Nothing beats the homemade version with the sticky, zesty, spicy, sweet, orange glaze and crispy coating. Also, you know exactly what you're eating if you know what I mean. Trust me, this one will not disappoint you...

Servings: 4
Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

Orange Glaze:

1 cups of water
1/4 cup lemon juice
grated orange zest from 2 oranges
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce/shoyu
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy)

Add later: 3 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water

Chicken:

3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces
corn starch for dipping
vegetable oil for frying
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Garnish:

5 stalks green onion, chopped
sesame seeds

Directions

1. Fill up wok or pan with oil so that chicken will be covered half way. Heat up oil on medium high.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan mix together all the orange glaze ingredients except for the cornstarch and bring to a boil. 
3. Turn the sauce down to a simmer, we will finish this after the chicken is done cooking.
4. Now let's move on to the chicken. Coat the chicken in cornstarch and fry both sides until golden brown. Drain excess oil in a tray lined with paper towels.
5. Reheat the orange glaze to medium high.
6. In a small bowl mix together 2 tablespoons of water with 3 tablespoons cornstarch.
7. Add the cornstarch mixture to the orange glaze and turn heat off when your glaze starts to thicken.
8. Pour fried chicken into orange glaze and give it a gentle stir.
9. Serve on rice and garnish with green onion and sesame seeds. Eat it fresh! YUM!

Billy's Fried Rice

My boyfriend's name is Billy.
Billy makes me fried rice.
I love Billy.

I wish everything else in life was that easy to love. This is by far my favorite breakfast fried rice EVER. Simple to make and hits the spot when you're extra hungry. I've made this a few times by myself now and it just doesn't taste as good as when someone else makes it for you. Therefore, heavily hint a loved one right now, like tonight that you want this for breakfast and it will be a true test of their love for you ;-)

Ingredients

 About 5 cups cooked rice (good way to use leftover rice)
1 package of bacon or 1 portuguese sausage or Spam, chopped or hey maybe a little of each!
1 onion, chopped
5 eggs, beaten
3 sprigs green onion, chopped
About 1/3 cup Oyster sauce
About 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon Dashi powder (kelp and fish soup base)
a little oil

Directions

1. Heat up wok or pan and fry bacon until crispy.

2. Add in onions and cook until almost translucent then drain excess oil.

3. In a separate pan heat up a little oil and fry egg.

4. Add rice to the bacon and onion and mix in oyster sauce, soy sauce, dashi, and green onion. Mix and cook together for 5-10 minutes. Add more oyster sauce and soy sauce if the rice doesn't look as brown as the picture)

5. Chop up egg and stir it into the rice.

6. Serve it up hot!

Mushroom Spinach and Bacon Quiche

I can't believe that it took me 26 years to make my first quiche... It's one of those foods that will fool people into thinking that you are super fancy and that you have complete control over the the art of cooking. They're fluffy, flaky, savory, and cheesy all at the same time. Thank goodness my boyfriend is always willing to be my sous chef and thanks to his chickens for laying the delicious eggs we use (but next time can you stop having fun with the neighborhood boys so I don't need to waste time picking out the icky red dot..thanks, love you Mary Poopins and Sacajawea!) I hope you enjoy this quiche. You know it's a good recipe when 2 people can finish off the entire pie!

Ingredients

1 9 inch premade frozen pie crust or favorite homemade flaky crust

1 cup heavy whipping cream

5 large eggs, beaten
1 cup of any shredded cheese (I like using cheddar or pepper jack for some spice!)

Fillings 

(feel free to add more or less of these depending on your taste or just use whatever veggies and meat you have on hand)

5 mushrooms, sliced

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 handfuls spinach, chopped

5 strips bacon, chopped
1/2 tomato diced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Meanwhile, cook all your fillings on the stove. I recommend frying the bacon first, then reserving about a tablespoon of the fat to cook your onion, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach (add this in the last 2 minutes). Drain extra liquid from your fillings.
3. Bake the empty crust for 10 minutes because no one likes an undercooked, doughy crust.
4. In a big bowl mix together the cream, eggs, cheese, and all the cooked fillings.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the crust and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden and it is no longer jiggly.
6. Let cool for about 5 minutes then cut into wedges and serve warm!
7. DIG IN!