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katharina.kuehr

Red pepper and carrot egg noodle stir fry with saucy mince

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A quick stir fry always is a go-to option for a dinner on busy nights. Although I have never been to China and had a real traditional one, I am obsessed with the ones I have had and made. I love how versatile they are and how creative one can be with them since always having the same can be boring after a while. Like this one, it is definitely not your average one, nope, but it is a DREAM! And super super quick!

What is stir fry? 

Stir fry actually is a Chinese cooking technique where food is prepared at high heat, continuously stirring and there for frying it quickly. Nowadays stir fry is a term with which one often refers to a dish rather than a cooking technique. The dish consists of vegetables sautéed with some sort of meat, seafood, tofu or tempeh all covered in a tasty sauce and served over rice or noodles or even another grain like quinoa. 

What’s special about this dish?

Usually stir fry is prepared with strips of meat or cubes of tofu. But in this dish we are switching it up and using minced meat. Firstly, it is a nice way to switch thighs up and make it different once in a while and secondly it soaks up the sauce super well, which makes the dish really tasty! 

Also, in regular stir fries you can find a bunch of different vegetables, including lots of greens. But here we only use two different ones. That helps to focus on their flavor and to also mane non veggie lovers be obsessed with this dish! But if you still feel like it, go ahead and add in a handful of spinach! 

Is stir fry healthy?

It actually is pretty healthy! But obviously, it still depends on what you are using. When prepared with something like chicken breast or tofu it actually is healthy but when it‘s made with something like pork belly or fatty meat, it loads up on calories and fats.

Which makes me come to the next point: fat. Stir fries usually are prepared with lots of oil because that is common in the asian cuisine. While oil definitely is not unhealthy (unless you prepare it with an oil that gets poisonous at high temperatures such as olive oil) it comes with a bunch of calories, which you should be aware of. 

The last point you should look out for is the soy sauce. Try to use one that is sodium reduced because a lot of sodium also is bot healthy but pretty common.

How to make it healthier

Try to add in as many veggies as possible and choose a type of protein that does not pack a lot of fat and use a soy reduced soy sauce. If you want to make it super healthy you can even serve it with whole grain rice or noodles.

Substitutes:

Bell Pepper/ Carrots – veggies you have on hand/ in the fridge
Ground chicken – any other ground meat or textured vegetable protein
Egg noodles – ramen, soba noodles, rice noodles 

I really love to make this dish because it is something the whole family loves and it is really versatile. Plus, it comes together in less than 20 minutes and is healthy! Perfect for busy weeks! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cusinière

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Red pepper and carrot egg noodle stir fry with saucy mince

Saucy and juicy mince on top of soft noodles with crunchy veggies. A dream. Not your normal stir fry but a good one with a nice twist to it.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine asian, Chinese
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 25 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 625 kcal

What you will need

  • 500 g ground beef
  • 250 g egg noodles
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 yellow/orange bell pepper
  • 3-4 carrots
  • 1 tbsp oil

for the sauce:

  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 cm ginger
  • 1 chili (optional but really good)

for garnish:

  • 2 spring onions finely slices
  • fresh cilantro
  • some sesame seeds
  • thinly sliced carrots
  • some lime wedges

How to

  1. Remove the core from the bell peppers. Cut the rest into about 0,5cm thick slices. Peel the carrots and also cut them into thin sticks.

  2. Heat up the oil in a wok pan or a non-stick pan. Once hot add the vegetables and fry on high heat for about 1 minute, then turning it to medium high for another 2-3 minutes.

  3. Add the grounf beef and fry on high heat for about 4-5 minutes, gently mixing through, so everything is well combined and the meat is evenly browned.

  4. Add all of the ingredients for the sauce into a food processor and blend until combined. If you do not have a food processor mix everything in a bowl and grate the garlic and ginger into it.

  5. Prepare the noodles according to package instructions. Add the sauce to the stir fry and let it simmer on low heat for about 3 minutes. Drain the noodles and add them to the stir fry. Mix until combined and the noodles have soaked up the sauce.

  6. Serve in bowls and garnish with the fresh spring onions, cilantro, carrots, sesame seeds and lime. Enjoy!

No waste Andalusian Gazpacho

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What‘s better than a cold bowl of super refreshing and delicious tomato gazpacho? Well, a bowl of super refreshing and delicious tomato gazpacho while not harming the environment and not producing waste. Sounds too good to be true? Just keep on reading and you‘ll find out how easy it is.

First, what even is Gazpacho?

Gazpacho is a tomato soup that originated in Spain. In Andalusia to be exact. But it is not a regular tomato soup. Since it always it super hot there in summer this soup is traditionally served chilled, straight out of the fridge. It is super refreshing and make with fresh veggies and fruit. The main components are tomatoes, bell pepper and cucumber. But also you add onions, spices, bread, herbs and water. It honestly is so incredibly simple to make.

But do you know what’s the best part about this dish? The toppings! Just as it is with a smoothie bowl, or an oatmeal, the toppings just take the dish next level. Here you can be completely creative. What I love to top this dish with are tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, avocado, fresh croutons, olive oil and herbs. The best. I am serious, this is the PERFECT summer food! 

Why this is a great option for no waste meals

This dish actually is an amazing opportunity to try out no(or low)-waste meals and get familiar with it. Most of the ingredients are fresh and therefore do not use packaging! I would recommend to buy the fruits and veggies at a local market because there you can take your reusable packaging and make sure they are locally farmed. If you would buy them at a super market they often come in (plastic) packaging, which produces much waste! So I am calling this a no waste meal, but what about the peel of the cucumber & onion and the core of the bell pepper? The peel of the cucumber can be snacked on or added into a homemade spread. When ur comes to the „waste“ of the veggies there is a great way to make use of them! Whenever you have byproducts like those, freeze them. Maybe have a tupperware in your freezer where you can always add them too. Once you have many you can add them to a large pot with water and cook them down for several hours. This way you make your own & homemade vegetable broth! Pretty cool right? Saves money and waste! 

What about the other ingredients?

Well, there are not many. The only other ones are olive oil, garlic powder, salt and bread.

For the oil: olive oil most of the times comes in glas bottles which can be reused. So either you reuse them yourself or you can find somewhere where you can give them back. 

The garlic powder: you probably think why I do not use fresh garlic if I wanted less waste. Here’s the thing: fresh garlic produces less waste but the taste is just too hard and spicy when it is added into the soup being raw. So either, you buy it in a glass jar (in which it most of the times comes in) and use it for salt or unpackaged spices when the garlic is used up or you can buy it at a bulk food store and fill it into your own jars.

The bread: this actually is a great way to use up old and stale bread. When you have some leftover pieces which you believe can’t be eaten anymore, use it for this recipe. It is being soaked anyway to soften up and become soaky, so it doesn’t matter if it is older or rather stale. (If you are looking for more recipes using old bread you can check out my french toast with basil apricots)

Basil, I mean it is a herb and it is fresh. So you do not produce any waste. I get it from our garden but you can also buy it at a market. If you wanna go all waste free, buy it in a pot and not pre picked and pre packaged. This way it also lasts longer.

Is gazpacho healthy? 

Yes, it definitely is! So many fresh veggies & fruits (tomatoes are fruits!!) are packed into one bowl. Also, since they are not cooked or prepared with any heat, the whole dish still contains all the vitamins and nutrients. It is really high in fibre and really versatile. Since the soup itself it vegan, it can be easily adapted to any diet by adding certain toppings! 

Is it possible to make it local?

Of course! Nothing easier than that. Especially right now where everything is in season. You can find fresh tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber and onions at any market at this time of the year. Also, finding bread which is made from local ingredients is not hard. So this is an extremely easy dish to make from lock produce! 

Why is it better to make it from local ingredients?

I have talked about this in my post about the French Toast with Basil Apricots but there are two main reasons: first, it us better for the environment. Local food never has such a high CO2 footprint as food from abroad has since the transport is way shorter and therefore more environmentally friendly.

Secondly, you support your local economy when buying regional. This is always important to remain the living conditions in your home country, but especially now, during and after the crisis since many people and farmers have been hit hard. Plus, I also feel like you have a better connection to the food if it is locally grown! 

And let’s be honest? Is there anything better at the moment than those beautifully coloured, super juicy, sweet and flavourful Austrian tomatoes right now? No there is not!! I know, Italian tomatoes are good, but they have travelled longer than the ones from the region, and really, one CAN taste the difference of that travel. Austrian tomatoes are in season now and really, they are better than anything else. I could eat buckets of them right now!

Actually, tomatoes have been in Austria for hundreds of years!! They came here in the 16th century from Spain and France, which means they have been grown in Austria for 500 years! They truly are an old fruit here in Austria! That really is regional and back to the roots, literally! So who says only Italians can grow tomatoes?

So if you are new to the concept of no (or low) waste meals, this is a great way to introduce yourself to it! This dish is not only super delicious and healthy but also gold for the environment, the planet, and the local economy. A win in every aspect. Plus, it is super versatile! I hope that you will enjoy this recipe and makes preparing food on hot days easier for you! 

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Andalusian Gazpacho (no waste)

A perfectly refreshing and delicious sih for those hot summer days. Really quick to make and absolutely healthy.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Spanish
Prep Time 15 Minuten
chilling time 4 Stunden
Servings 2 servings
Calories 357 kcal

What you will need

  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 500 g tomatoes any work well but I would recommend using several different ones (large, small, cherry)
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 slices toast or of whilegrain bread
  • 2 tsp salt
  • some cracked black pepper
  • 1 tbsp baslamic vinegar use whichever vinegar you have on hand
  • a handful fresh basil
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
  • 100-200 ml water

For the toppings:

  • 1 large slice of bread
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • some avocado
  • some bell pepper
  • some cucumber
  • some tomatoes
  • some olive oil
  • some fresh basil

How to

  1. Place the toast in a bowl and cover with water. Let soak for about 5-10 minutes.

  2. In the meantime half the tomatoes, remove the core of the bell pepper and peel the cucumber and chop both down a little bit. Place them in a high speed blender or in a large mxiing bowl so you can use your hand blender.

  3. Chop the red onion and add it aswell along with the olive oil, honey, basil, salt, pepper, vinegar. Remove the toast from the water and squeeze out the remaining water. Add it to the blender aswell and blend everything up until creamy. If it is too thick for your deisre add some of the water to thin it out. Place in an air-tight container and let chill in the fridge for about 4 hours.

  4. before serving chop the bread up into about 1cm sized cubes. Heat up the olive oil in a pan and fry the bread in there until it is crsipy and golden brown. Set aside. Cut the avocado, bell pepper and cucumber into mini cubes and half or quater the cherry tomatoes.

  5. Divide the soup into bowls and top with the homemade bread crumbs, chopped up veggies, some fresh basil and olive oil. Serve and enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cusiniere

The best ever healthy Barbecue Chicken Salad that everyone loves

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As much as I love salads, eating the same over and over is can be pretty boring after a while. So why not switching things up? Heating up the grill for when your friends are over, chopping all the veggies and making an insanely delicious (not healthy tasting) salad. Doesn’t this sound nice? Well, whenever you are going to make this, you got to try it!

What’s a barbecue salad?

Maybe you think a barbecue salad is something you serve as a side when you are having a barbecue. I mean, I guess you can call it a barbecue salad, but this is not what we are doing here. Barbecue salad basically is a salad that has a source of protein in it (most of the time chicken) that is prepared on the barbecue and marinated in a barbecue sauce.

What’s in it?

So as I said, a source of protein. I prefer chicken here, but you could also go for tofu or tempeh if you want to make it vegetarian. As a base we are using some greens. Best is iceberg lettuce here, but really any green works. And then we have a ton of veggies. Here we have tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, radishes, onions, avocado, and grilled corn (this is an essential). If you want, you could also add some pineapple into here if that’s what you like but that’s optional.

The dressing usually is a ranch dressing. And it is often made with mayonnaise. But in this recipe we are making it a bit lighter. The dressing still is creamy and super tasty though. It mainly consists of greek yoghurt, sour cream, some olive oil, lemon juice and herbs. It has the perfect creaminess and taste but it is not very heavy.

Is it healthy?

It definitely is! You have got all the colours of the rainbow that exist. Therefore you have so many vitamins form the salad, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber and so on. Furthermore the salad does not have a lot of fat. Chicken breast is not high in fat and it is prepared very healthy. Thats another plus. And lastly the dressing is made rather healthy too. So, yep, all in all pretty healthy.

When to have it best

I mean this is completely up to you but I would recommend it as a main dish for example as a quick lunch or dinner. You can also meal prep this very well, just store the dressing on the side and take it on a picnic. If you are hosting a larger barbecue with friends you can also serve it as a side or as one of many dishes. But however you are going to serve it, it always is equally delicious!

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe as much as I do and that it helps you to switch up your salad game once in a while! It is perfect for those hot summer days!

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Barbecue Chicken Salad

The perfect salad to switch up your salad game once in a while. Full of flavor, full of vitamins and super easy! All you want!

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course, Salad
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 411 kcal

What you will need

For the barbecue chicken:

  • 2 large chicken breasts about 500-600g
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 75 g ketchup (without added sugar prefered)
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp hot sauce optional
  • 1 tsp salt

For the salad:

  • 4 handful salad such as iceberg lettuce
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 corn on the cobb
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 large tomato about 150-200g
  • 100 g radishes (about 5 pieces

For the dressing

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 50 g sour cream
  • 150 g yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1 tbsp chopped chives or basil
  • 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

How to

  1. Combine all of the chicken marinade ingredients in a bowl. Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise and add it to the marinade. Let marinate in the fridge for about 2-4 hours. The longer the better. If you do not have the time leave it out.

  2. Heat up the barbecue. Brush the corn on the cobb with olive oil and grill it on indirect heat for about 7 minutes on each side until golden. After the first 5 minutes add the chicken breast and grill on each side for about 5 minutes. First 5 on direct, second 5 on indirect heat.

  3. In the meantime chop the salad, the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper. Finely slice the radishes. Half and depit the avocado and also cut into small chunks. Add it all to a large bowl.

  4. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl.

  5. Once the corn is done cooking take it of the grill and cut the corn kernels of and add them to the rest. Toss the salad with the dressing and seperate onto bowls. Slice the chicken into fine strips and add it on top. Serve and enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,

Katie // Une petite Cuisinière

No waste French Toast with Basil Apricots

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This recipe post is a very special one to me. I do not just want to introduce a super delicious and healthy recipe to you but I also want to address a topic with this: sustainability and food waste in the kitchen. I believe that there is way to much food thrown away and that way to often we do not care about making conscious and sustainable decisions in the kitchen. With this recipe I designed one that is low to zero waste, that is fully organic and local and that is made of regional ingredients from Austria. Kind of a back to the roots recipe to raise awareness of how wasteful we can be in the kitchen.

But first, what even is French toast?

I think most of us know, but not everyone. French Toast is bread that has been soaked in milk, eggs, and sugar (traditionally) and then is fried in a pan, served with syrup. In Austria it also is very popular with the name „Armer Ritter“. It is something actually pretty traditional in the Austrian cuisine but has only become really popular with the American name „French Toast“.

How to reduce (food) waste with French toast

The great thing about this dish is that it is something we Austrians would call „Restlessen“. This literally translates to eating the remains, so what’s left. It is an amazing (and pretty tasty) way to use leftovers.

  • Instead of throwing bread away that is one week old and already pretty stale, you can use it for this recipe. That way you save food from being thrown away AND you make a super tasty meal. A win win. But it still is by far not popular enough, unfortunately, that’s why I want to encourage you to give it a shot. Next time you consider throwing bread away, try this out.
  • Similar goes for the apricots. I sometimes feel that apricots are like avocados. They are not ripe for a week and then suddenly one day they are and the next they go bad. And if you do not want to make something with the apricots this one exact day when they are good, you are likely to throw them away. Which is sad. When you cook them down, add some lemon juice, a little sweetener and some fresh basil you basically make something like jam (Marmalade). And this will last for several days in the fridge. Again, you do not have to throw anything away and you create something super tasty. What I love most about this is that you can add this „jam“ to basically anything from yogurt bowls, porridge, cake to ice cream or another dessert cream. And no, you cannot only make this with apricots. With pretty much any fruit it works. Peaches, berries, cherries, whatever you have on hand and you feel like you can use up.

What about the rest?

Well, that’s the two main components that are contributing to reduce waste. But what about the rest? We still need milk, eggs, sweetener, oil and yogurt. So one by one.

  • Milk: As for the milk, I love to buy it as Joseph Brot . This comes from Austrian farmers, is all organic and packaged in glass bottles. Glass bottles are amazing because they are reusable. And also if you cannot return them you can use them at home for example when you make fresh smoothies or juices. Reuse and reduce waste.
  • Bread: Joseph Brot to be honest is where I go for most of my organic ingredients for recipes like those. Not only do they have the best and organic sourdough bread in whole Vienna, which is made of grains from Austria but it also comes in paper bags. No plastic.
  • Yoghurt: Moreover they have organic Austrian yoghurt. Another ingredient for this recipe. And again, it comes in glass jars. Whenever such a jar is empty I love to use it for storage. No matter if it is for nuts, dried fruits or a homemade sauce or dip that needs to be stored in the fridge. I just wash them when empty and reuse them. So incredibly handy to have on hand. I am not in any way sponsored by them and I do not want to tell you that you need to go there to buy your ingredients. Most supermarkets (I know Billa and Spar do so) have milk and yoghurt in glass jars. But what I love most about going to Joseph is that I know that the products don’t travel for days because they are all from Austria. This also is better for the environment of course and their CO2 footprint.
  • The sweetener: I love using honey as a sweetener because of several reasons: first, it’s super tasty, second, it is healthier than sugar since it does have some nutrients, third: you get it at every corner in Austria. Plus, most of the times you get it in glass jars. No plastic, less waste, reusable. I have already told you why glass jars are pretty cool but think about this: you empty your honey jar, you wash it and you can store your homemade apricot jam in it. Isn’t that amazing? It is!
  • Eggs: here it is really hard to go no waste. But there are great ways to can get close! When you purchase eggs do not buy them pre-packaged. Either buy them on a farmers market or some supermarkets have places where you can fill them into the boxes yourself. This is really convenient because you an reuse the cartoon boxes several times and you d not automatically take a new one every time you purchase eggs. Another thing that I have seen recently is a reusable egg container. So it is like a cartoon box but made out of plastic (unfortunately) but you can basically use it forever and always refill it. if you want to go 100% zero waste you could also, after using the eggs, compost the shell or if you have a farmer close to you give it to them because they may feed it to their chicken.
  • Oil: last but not least we have the oil. I prefer using something like sunflower seed oil because it is quite neutral in taste but it is regional and often comes in glasswork bottles. But also coconut oil works well (just that it is not regional here) because it has a very high cooking temperature. Also, it most of the time comes in glas containers. Again, you can reuse them. In the kitchen, for storage or even for decoration. If you add some flower leaves and a candle, this makes a beautiful decoration and accounts for an amazing atmosphere.

Why buying local?

Buying local can never harm. There are 2 main reasons I buy local. the first one is the impact it has on the environment. The transportation already makes a huge difference if the apricots come from Styria, which is 200km away or from Portugal, which is 2000km away. They do not need to be shipped by plane, they do not need a cooling system that lasts for days and is energy consuming. They come from Styria, maybe on the same day you purchase and use them.

Secondly, right now, more than ever it is important to support your local economy and local farmers. This crisis has hit every single one of us and some more than others. Of course apricots from Portugal may be cheaper because agricultural standard are not as high as they are here and therefore Austrian farmers have a harder time competing with farmers from abroad. But in order to keep the Austrian system alive and to fight through this crisis together we have to stay strong and support each other.

The last point: why buying organic

I think we have all heard that buying organic (Bio) food is better than purchasing non organic food! But why actually? Several reasons. When jr comes to fruit and veggies I would ALWAYS long for organic food when available. When being produced organic no pesticides or chemicals are allowed to be used. The use of those does not only harm our environment and soil in the long term but it actually is not good for our overall health. All of the things that have been added or injected into the food to help it trow faster and bigger can in the long term really mess up your gut and the bacteria in it and digestion. Those are things our bodies don’t know and therefore do not know how to really handle it. So really, try to buy organic. It is more expensive but your health should be worth the investment.

The other reason is, when it comes to animal products, the living conditions of the animals are better than for non-organic. Unfortunately they are not always much better or good, but organically produced animal products have higher standards.

Why doing and considering all of this? 

See, if we keep our food consumption and buying behavior as is, these are not very good conditions for the agriculture in the future. We need to make a change and we should start now. Producing less or no waste is essential as well as supporting local economy (especially after or while facing such a crisis). Furthermore it is better for our bodies and the environment when we make a change to organic shopping.

I know all of this information may be a little bit overwhelming at once. Still, I wanted to pack it all in one blog post to have the overview and because it is so important to me. I just wanted to give you a brief introduction into all of these aspects but I can also do a more detailed blog post on these topics if you are interested. But for now, I hope that you will love and enjoy this recipe and keep all of this information in the back of your head.

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No waste Apricot Basil French Toast

Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 2 servings

What you will need

  • 1 egg
  • 150 ml milk
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • a pinch of sea salt
  • 2 large slices of bread can be a few days old and stale
  • 5-6 apricots
  • 1 handful basil
  • 1 tbsp butter or oil
  • 150 g greek yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp honey

How to

  1. Combine the eggs, milk, honey and sea salt in a bowl. Add the slices of bread and dip them into the mixture. Let them soak in the liquid for about 2 minutes on each side.

  2. In a pan heat up half of the butter. Slice the apricots and finely slice the basil. Add the apricots into the hot pan and sautée them for 2 minutes on high heat. Turn the heat down to medium and add the basil and honey and let simmer for about 5 minutes until it is a bit saucy.

  3. Add the remaining butter to another pan and heat it up. Add the soaked bread and fry on each side for about 3 minutes on medium high. Take the bread out and place it on two plates. Add the remaining egg and milk mixture to the pan and make "sweet scrambled eggs".

  4. In a seperate bowl combine the greek yoghurt with the honey and whisk until creamy and smooth. Top the french toast with the basil apricots and the whipped honey greek yoghurt. Serve with some more honey or maple syrup and enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisiniere