Beef Ramen Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
• 1 pound (454 g) boneless sirloin steak cut into ¼-inch thick slices
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon (7 g) minced fresh ginger
• 5 ounces (142 g) thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
• 4 tablespoons coconut aminos or low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 4 cups (946 ml) beef broth
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound (454 g) dried ramen noodles

Toppings (optional):

• 4 soft boiled eggs halved
• ¼ cup (25 g) sliced green onions
• 1 lime cut in wedges

Instructions

1. Season the steak generously with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive and sear the sirloin steak, for 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove from the pot and set aside.
3. In that same pot, add the rest of the olive oil and saute and garlic and ginger for 3 minutes, until fragrant.
4. Add the sliced mushrooms, coconut aminos or soy sauce, fish sauce, and broth, and let the broth simmer for 10 minutes over medium-low heat.
5. Meanwhile, in a large pot add the eggs and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and let them boil for 4-5 minutes for soft boiled eggs or 10 minutes for hard-boiled. Once the time is up add them to a bowl of ice-cold water. This stops the eggs from cooking further and makes the peel come off easier.
6. When the broth is ready you can assemble the ramen. In 4 bowls divide equally the noodles. Add 1 cup of broth and top with 4 ounces of the cooked steak. Peel and halve your soft-boiled eggs and add one egg to each ramen bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon chopped green onions and 1 lime wedge. enjoy!

Notes

The idea is the hot broth will cook the raw ramen noodles when you pour the broth into the bowl with the ramen noodles.

However, if you prefer to cook the ramen noodles in the broth on the stovetop, you may do so as well to get it cooked to your liking.

Hawaiian Style Teriyaki Chicken

 Last night we saw Chef Henry feature this recipe on YouTube. 

https://youtu.be/SJmYQESDTsQ?si=DigBDTA9GzzRHgAg

2lbs chicken

1 pineapple cut up, 1/2 cup juices reserved for marinade 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1cup soy sauce

2 garlic cloves 

1tsp fresh grated ginger

Scallions chopped 

Chef Henry first washes the chicken breasts with water and vinegar or lime juice. I used lime juice. 

Season the chicken with “meat seasoning” and “chicken seasoning”. I’m not sure what those are so use whatever seasoning you’d like. I used Weber Roasted Garlic & Herb. 

Combine marinade ingredients and add with chicken to a gallon zip bag and refrigerate 24 hours. Save pineapple pieces for later. 

Oil bottom of heavy pan and cook chicken on both sides until done. He suggests 10 min per side but I think that’s too much. Use discretion. 

Set chicken aside to rest and add the marinade and cook down to thicken. Add a slurry of corn starch and water to help thicken. Add the pineapple bits to the sauce and cook to soften a bit. 

Slice chicken and add to sauce for 5 min. 

Serve with rice and garnish with scallions. 

Maple teriyaki wings

 Party wings! If you have time, ask the butcher to break down whole wings. I had to do this and it took him nearly 30 min for 8lbs. At the end of cooking these, once you have the oven at 425, you need to keep a careful eye that they don’t burn- flip when you see this start to happen, they will burn if not and you want them to glaze. 

3 to 4 pounds chicken wings

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce

1/2 cup lite soy sauce

2 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 tablespoon black pepper

1 to 2 cups maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut off chicken wing tips and snip the skin between the joints. Place in disposable large baking pan. Add the maple syrup, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper, toss to coat.

Place pan on baking sheet and bake for approximately 1 hours, tossing every 15 to 20 minutes. The liquid will gradually evaporate the longer you cook it.

After 1 hour, increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Turn wings to coat evenly and cook an additional 45 minutes.

Cranberry Mustard

 This recipe is from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It’s great with steak, add it to melted butter and use as a sauce. Try it with ham, or even as a sandwich spread for turkey. The amount of cranberries called for should be in one bag but by the time I picked out the soft ones I had to open another bag. 

MAKES ABOUT SEVEN 4-OUNCE JARS

1 cup	red wine vinegar
⅔ cup	yellow mustard seeds
1 cup	water
1 tbsp	Worcestershire sauce
2¾ cups	cranberries (fresh or frozen)
¾ cup	granulated sugar
¼ cup	dry mustard
2½ tsp	ground allspice

In a medium stainless steel saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and add mustard seeds. Cover and let stand at room temperature until seeds have absorbed most of the moisture, about 1½ hours.

1. Prepare canner, jars and lids.
2. In a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine marinated mustard seeds (with liquid), water and Worcestershire sauce. Process until blended and most seeds are well chopped.
   (You want to retain a slightly grainy texture.) Add cranberries and blend until chopped
3. Transfer mixture to a stainless steel saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and boil gently, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Whisk in sugar, dry mustard and allspice. Continue to boil gently over low heat, stirring frequently, until volume is reduced by a third, about 15 minutes.
4. Ladle hot mustard into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding more hot mustard. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
5. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

Canned Bread Pudding

 

As with my prior recipe for rice pudding, safely store these in the refrigerator. They are so good microwaved and eaten straight out of the jar, either for breakfast or dessert! You can use dried cranberries instead of raisins. I played around with the spices because nutmeg can be overpowering. I doubled this recipe to make 12 jars. One batch was made as this recipe, the next I used 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves and 1/4 tsp allspice. Delicious and easy to make! 

BREAD PUDDING

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Cubed Bread

1/4 cup Raisins

2 Eggs Slightly Beaten

2 cups Milk

¼ cup Melted Butter (1/2 stick) 

½ cup Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

½ tsp Nutmeg

1 tsp Vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Wash and sterilize 6, 1/2 pint jars. Lightly oil the inside of the jar. Divide bread pieces on the bottom of the jars, add 8 raisins to each jar. Melt butter in saucepan and add milk to warm it up. Add sugar to dissolve it then add spices and slowly add the egg, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and using a canning funnel, cover bread and raisins with custard mixture, just up to the neck of the jar. Place on a cookie in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on the top.

The pudding will try to escape while baking but rest assured, it will calm down when it comes out of the oven. Immediately wipe rims of jars and put on lids and rings. They will start to ping shortly. 

Updated Feb 2026: 

There’s something about baking dessert in little glass jars that makes it feel instantly special. The first time I made this bread pudding, I tucked the jars into a shallow water bath in the oven and hoped for the best — and what came out was warm, custardy, perfectly portioned comfort food.

The only problem? I hadn’t made enough custard. The second time around, I doubled it, and that’s when this recipe really became a keeper.

Now I make these when I want a dessert that feels homey but still gift-worthy. They travel well, reheat beautifully, and somehow feel more personal than a big pan of pudding. Tie a ribbon around the jar, and you’ve got a dessert that says I made this just for you.

Oven-Baked Bread Pudding in Jars

(Makes 9 half-pint jars)

Ingredients

Bread base

• About 9 cups cubed bread
  (½- to 1-inch cubes; challah, brioche, or sturdy white bread work best)
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• Optional: ½ cup raisins, chocolate chips, or diced apple

Custard filling (DOUBLED version — this is the one that works!)

• 6 large eggs
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup 1/2 n 1/2
  (or substitute milk if needed)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

1. Prep oven and jars

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Butter or spray 9 half-pint jars
3. Place them in a baking dish or roasting pan

2. Fill jars

1. Toss bread cubes with melted butter
2. Divide evenly into jars
3. Add any mix-ins if using

Do not pack tightly — the custard needs room to soak in.

3. Make the custard

Whisk together:

• eggs
• milk
• cream
• sugars
• vanilla
• spices
• salt

Pour slowly into jars until bread is fully saturated but not floating.

Let sit 10 minutes so the bread absorbs the custard.

4. Bake in shallow water bath

1. Pour hot water into the pan so it comes about ½–1 inch up the jars
2. Bake 35–45 minutes

About 40 minutes is perfect

They’re done when:

• tops are golden
• centers are set but still soft
• knife inserted comes out moist, not liquid

5. Cool

Let jars cool in pan 10–15 minutes, then remove to rack.

Serve warm or refrigerate and reheat gently.

These bread pudding jars make wonderful edible gifts for neighbors, teachers, holiday baskets, or weekend hosts.

To gift them:

1. Let jars cool completely after baking.
2. Wipe rims clean and screw lids on loosely until fully cooled.
3. Refrigerate up to 4 days.

For gifting:

• Tighten lids once chilled
• Add ribbon or twine
• Include a small tag with reheating instructions

Reheating instructions to include on the tag:

Warm in a 325°F oven for 15–20 minutes

OR microwave (lid off) for 30–45 seconds

These jars also freeze beautifully. If gifting from frozen, just include a note to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.