Sesame Beef Stir Fry

This is another variation on the beef/soy sauce/veggie combination that is a winner! I also just discovered a wonderful Trader Joe's short cut.---Quick to Cook Beef Sirloin---which makes this dish even easier because you don't even have to slice the meat!

If you have access to Trader Joe's, this meat is perfect for this dish

Sesame Beef Stir Fry

1- 1/12 pounds thinly sliced beef sirloin
marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 knob ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 shallot, sliced
1 pound sliced cremini mushrooms
1 pound  baby broccoli

Make marinade by combining soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, brown sugar and sesame.  Add sliced sirloin to marinade for 15 minutes- 1 hour. While meat marinates, head saucepan to medium and add 1 tablespoon oil then the sliced shallots and mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms are beginning to get soft. Steam broccoli for 5 minutes until bright green and drain. Put mushrooms and broccoli aside. Add 1 tablespoon oil to same pan that you used to cook the mushrooms and heat at medium high. Add the meat and cook  approximately two minutes on each side until cooked through.Cook meat in batches so that you don't crowd the pan. Combine mushrooms, broccoli and beef in same pan to warm all through. Serve with brown or white rice. Enjoy!

Poached Egg Sandwich

Do you have a microwave egg poacher? We use ours all the time and I highly recommend getting one if you don't- you can find them in your grocery store. Since I am still only using my microwave and outdoor grill for cooking, I thought I would show you one of our favorite quick breakfasts...the egg sandwich! There are many ways to make your sandwich- you can use a bagel thin or put the egg on an open faced English muffin, or if you want to keep it carb free and low-cal, put the poached egg between two slices of Canadian bacon, skip the cheese and add a slice of tomato and a few leaves of spinach or arugula. Delicious protein-packed way to start your day!

Poached Egg Sandwich

2 eggs
2 slices Canadian bacon
2 thin slices Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese
2 Thomas' Bagel Thins or 2 English muffins

Spray egg poacher with non-stick spray. Poach eggs in microwave until desired consistency (we like our eggs fully cooked, and in our microwave it takes 1 minute 30 seconds). Warm Canadian bacon in microwave. Toast your bread of choice, put cheese on bottom slice to melt a bit, top with canadian bacon and egg. Enjoy!

Microwave Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Cup

I am still oven-challenged and wanted to make a sweet treat for my girls who had friends over for a sleepover tonight. I researched baking desserts in the microwave and found this quick and satisfying recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Cup. It made the perfect amount for each of my teen girls and hit the sweet spot!

Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Cup

1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Granulated White Sugar
1 Tablespoon of firmly packed Dark Brown Sugar
3 Drops of Vanilla Extract
Small Pinch of Kosher Salt
1 Egg Yolk (discard the egg white or save for different recipe)
Scant ¼ cup flour
2 heaping tablespoons of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Melt butter in mug or baking dish in microwave. Add sugars, vanilla and salt. Stir to combine.
Separate the gg and add the yolk and stir to combine. Add flour and stir again, then add chocolate chips.
Your mixture will look like cookie dough. Cook in microwave 40-60 seconds, start checking if it is done at 40 seconds and continue to cook until it starts to resemble a cookie consistency (I think we could have cooked ours pictured above for a little bit longer, but my girls love chocolate chip cookie dough, so they loved theirs a little under cooked). Enjoy!

Cucumber Dill Salad

This is a refreshing salad that tastes great in the summer with grilled salmon, chicken or steak. It is one of our family favorites!

Cucumber Dill Salad

2 cucumbers, peeled
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried dill

In shallow dish, combine water, vinegar, sugar, salt and dill and stir until dissolved. Slice cucumbers thinly and add to liquid. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving. This salad tastes great the next day because the cucumbers absorb even more of the vinegar/dill flavor. Enjoy!

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

My oven/stove are still broken and I am still grilling!!! I tried these grilled portobello mushrooms for lunch and they are DELICIOUS! The marinade is simple to make and grilling takes under 10 minutes. You can get creative with these mushrooms and put them on a bun for a tasty veggie "hamburger" as I did for my husband, or slice them with other grilled veggies for healthy lunch.

 I made one special one for my daughter, Madeleine, who likes mushrooms but not balsamic vinegar. I minced 1 garlic clove and added it to 1 tablespoons olive oil in a small bowl and added a dash of onion powder and a bit of salt. Then I put the olive oil garlic mixture in the gill side of the mushroom and let it sit while the other mushrooms were marinating.

The mushrooms marinating

These mushrooms are delicious sliced with other grilled veggies...

...or served whole like a hamburger

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

4 large portobello mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

First make the marinade by combining  minced garlic, vinegar, sugar, onion powder, salt and pepper in bowl.
Brush dirt off cap of mushroom with damp paper towel and cut off part of stem. Put mushrooms gill side up in a dish and pour the marinade intot he gills until full and slightly overflowing. Add remainder of marinade to dish. Marinade for 1-2 hours.

Prepare grill on medium.
Pour marinade from mushrooms into dish and brush or rub olive oil on the tops of mushrooms. Place mushrooms oiled- cap side down on grill and carfully pour a little of the marinade back into the gills. Grill for 4 minutes. Carefully remove mushrooms and pour out marinade then replace on grill gill side down for another 4 minutes. Enjoy!

Recipe from here

Grilled Cauliflower

I am learning new ways to cook and getting creative on the grill this week. My new tasty discovery is grilled cauliflower---it turned out tender and delicious~ Definitely worth a try!

Grilled Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, washed with leaves and stems removed
1/4 cup softened butter
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt ( I used Lawry's)

Wash cauliflower and remove big stem and leaves. Spread softened butter all over cauliflower head. Sprinkle with salt and wrap in double layer of regular foil (or one layer of heavy duty foil if you have it). Grill over medium heat for 30 minutes (test before you remove it with a long skewer through the foil---if it goes through easily, your cauliflower is done!) Enjoy...it is tasty even out of the foil!

Trader Joe's Grilled Pizza

I have never made grilled pizza, nor would I have tried it, had my stove/oven not been broken for the last few days. I had a bag of Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough in my fridge that needed to be cooked before expiration and hungry girls for lunch. So I did a little research and took the plunge and made a pizza on my barbecue. It cooked very quickly and despite getting a little charred in spots, tasted amazingly delicious. I am posting this as my first attempt at grilling pizza and look forward to following up someday when I get really good at it! Just keepin' it real for you all :)

Grilled Trader Joe's Pizza
 
1 package Trader Joe's whole wheat or regular pizza dough
1/4 cup Trader Joe's Pizza Sauce (or more if you like it saucier)
1/2 cup Trader Joe's Grated Mozzarella Cheese (or more if you like it cheesier)

Heat grill to medium high heat. Take dough out of refrigerator- dust counter with flour and rest dough on top of counter for 20 minutes. Stretch dough to pizza shape and brush with olive oil. Put on rimless baking sheet for easy deposit on your grill and place the dough, oil-side down on the grill with top down for two minutes. Flip over and put sauce on quickly and sprinkle with cheese. Close grill for another minute or until cheese is melted and then remove. Slice and enjoy!

Breakfast Potato Bites

You have to try these for your kids, as well as anyone else in your family who loves cheesy-egg potatoes! They are so easy to make and are great to prepare ahead of time for a quick breakfast. I made a batch yesterday while my kids were at camp and they devoured a bunch of them when they got home for lunch...already I want to make some more! 

Breakfast Potato Bites

1 package of pre-shredded potatoes (like Simply Potatoes Hash Browns)

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 finely chopped onion (optional)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375° and thoroughly grease a mini muffin pan.

Put eggs in large bowl and beat with a fork. Add potatoes, salt, garlic powder and onion. Stir with fork to combine. Add cheese and mix into eggs and potatoes.

Spoon into mini muffin tins, press down lightly and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown and tops and edges begin to get crispy.

Eat warm, or cool and freeze into individual packs and heat for about 20 seconds in the microwave. Enjoy!

Recipe from here

Beef and Broccoli

When we go out for Chinese food, one of my daughters always orders Beef and Broccoli, so I tried to duplicate the recipe for her at home.  I wanted a more savory than sweet version, so I used this recipe for inspiration and altered it to our taste.

Beef and Broccoli
 
1 pound flank steak or boneless round steak, sliced thinly across the grain
1 pound broccoli florets
2 tablespoons oil

For marinade:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon  rice wine or sherry
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 garlic cloves, minced

For stir-fry sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine or sherry
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced

Stir together the marinade ingredients and marinate beef for at least 15 minutes, or up to 8 hours. Stir together stir-fry sauce ingredients in bowl.
In saute pan, bring 1 inch of water to boil, add broccoli, cover and cook 3 minutes until bright green. Drain the broccoli and dry out saute pan.
Put saute pan back onto medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add beef and cook for 1 minute per side.  Cook the meat in batches so that the slices do not touch one another while cooking.
When all the meat is cooked, add steamed broccoli to pan and pour stir fry sauce over the meat and broccoli until warmed through. Serve with rice~ Enjoy!

Egg Pasta for Breakfast

This breakfast is a family favorite and is a great way to use leftover pasta and baguette from dinner the night before. It is simple and filling and a great way to start the day!

Egg Pasta
       
1 cup cooked pasta (any shape works!)
1 egg
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground pepper

Spray bowl that can go into the microwave with non-stick spray. Put the pasta and egg in the bowl and stir until egg coats all the pasta. Sprinkle the parmesan on the pasta and stir.  Microwave for 2 minutes on high for very firm eggs or for a little less time if you like the egg to be more "wet". Toast a piece of your leftover baguette, and you have yourself a tasty breakfast. Enjoy!

Snap Peas and Asparagus

This is an excellent vegetable dish to accompany chicken or fish. 

Snap Peas and Asparagus
adapted from this Epicurious recipe

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut diagonally into 3/4 inch pieces
8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces
kosher salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in saute pan over medium high heat. Add asparagus, snap peas and garlic and saute until crisp tender, about 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into serving dish and sprinkle with lemon juice, lemon peel, chives and parmesan. Enjoy!

I also have made the original Epicurious recipe that includes Israeli Couscous...I doubled the recipe and added Aidell's Mango Sausages to make it a hearty entree potluck salad at a school event.

Homemade Chex Mix

My husband's grandma Nellie is legendary in our family as the matriarch of "Nuts and Bolts", a homemade Chex Mix that was THE BEST!! She baked each batch separately, never doubling, and every year made unbelievable numbers of batches for all her family (her three kids, her grandkids and their growing families) plus many friends. We were always very excited when we got our zip lock bag of Chex Mix in the mail every Christmas from Granny in Kentucky. It was the saltiest, moistest (with butter and oil), and most delicious Chex Mix you have ever tasted. We rationed it and tried to make it last as long as we could!

I have included Granny's original Nuts and Bolts recipe below as well as my version that is not quite as salty and much less oily. I essentially double the amount of cereal and use Crispix cereal instead of Chex because you get both the rice and corn flavor in one bite and just have to buy one box of cereal. Using a mix of corn, rice and wheat Chex is tasty as well. I usually don't add nuts because my kids prefer it without.

Perfect study snack during finals~

Granny's Nuts and Bolts

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup mixed nuts
2 cups bite sized shredded rice cereal
1 cup Cheerios
1 cup thin pretzel sticks
2 teaspoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoned salt

Melt butter with oil and Worcestershire sauce in microwave. Pour over nuts, cereal and pretzels. Sprinkle with garlic and seasoned salt.  Mix well. Pour into 9 x 13" shallow baking sheet.
Bake at 300° for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 5 or 10 minutes.

Joy's Flavorful Chex Mix (Big Batch!)
* I like to make a big batch so I have lots to share!

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup canola oil
10 cups Crispix or a mix of  Rice, Corn and Wheat Chex  (4 cups rice, 4 cups corn and 2 cups wheat)
3 cups Cheerios
3 cups pretzels (sticks or mini pretzels)
1/3 cup Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons garlic powder 
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 tablespoons Lawry's seasoned salt

*add mixed nuts if you like

*pita chips or bagel chips make a nice addition, too

Put butter and oil in glass measuring cup and add garlic powder, onion powder and seasoned salt. I like to add the salt into the sauce because it dissolves and seems to get distributed over the dried cereal better. Melt sauce in microwave, stir the liquid mixture well, add Worcestershire sauce and stir again. Pour small amounts of liquid over the cereal and pretzels in large bowl while stirring to distribute the sauce all over the dry ingredients.   Pour into two 10 x 15" shallow baking sheets.
Bake at 300° for 20-25  minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Adding nuts and pita chips makes it extra!  

Tilapia with Capers and Lemon Sauce

I am trying to add more fish to our dinners and Tilapia is a very mild fish that presumably could be accepted by kids' palates. I made two versions of this dish---the "adult" version as the recipe reads below and the "kid" version, which essentially was plain tilapia fillet salted and sauteed in butter. The kids ate it, but not enthusiastically. I personally enjoyed the lemon caper sauce- it's yummy! And the crushed chili pepper gives it a bit of "kick".

Tilapia with Capers and Lemon Sauce
 
2 pieces tilapia fillet
1 teaspoon crushed chili pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons capers, drained
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons milk or cream
salt and pepper to taste

Season tilapia fillet with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. In a pan, melt 2 tbls of butter over medium heat. Brown tilapia fillet on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside on warm plate.
In the same pan, deglaze with wine and juice of 1/2 lemon. Cook until reduced to half. Add capers and milk or cream. Cook until simmering. Pour over fish and serve with vegetables. Enjoy!

Baked Sweet Potato with Maple Oat Crumble

I had left over sweet potatoes from dinner last night and found this delicious recipe was a great way to make them into an amazing, filling breakfast. The granola-like topping takes just a few minutes to make and turns your leftovers into a perfect breakfast. The crumble is so good you might want to make extra just to munch on later.

Delicious healthy breakfast!

Baked Sweet Potato with Maple-Oat Crumble

4 sweet potatoes
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of course salt

Heat oven to 400° Prick potatoes with fork and place on baking sheet. Bake potatoes until tender, about 45 minutes.
Combine oats, almonds, syrup, oil and salt and transfer to baking sheet, spreading out flat. Bake crumble, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 12 minutes.
Split sweet potatoes with a knife and top with crumble. Enjoy!

recipe from whole living magazine

Tasty Potato Skins

This recipe is one of my kids' favorites- these are great with a big salad and fruit for dinner and everyone is happy! What's not to like about potatoes, cheese and bacon!?

Tasty potato skins ready to be devoured~

Make a quick batch of mashed potatoes out of the insides of the potatoes and save for later...

Tasty Potato Skins

   

6 small to medium sized russet baking potatoes 

olive oil and canola oil

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

6 strips of bacon

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Optional additions:

sour cream and green onions

Scrub the potatoes clean then bake the potatoes in the oven at 400° for about an hour until the potatoes are cooked through and give a little when pressed. While the potatoes are cooking, cook the bacon strips in a frying pan on medium low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp. Drain on paper towels and after cooled, crumble. Or see Joy's tip below!

Remove the potatoes from the oven and let cool enough to handle. Cut in half horizontally. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out the insides, reserving the scooped potatoes for another use, leaving about 1/4 of an inch of potato on the skin.

Increase the heat of the oven to 450°F. Brush canola oil all over the potato skins, outside and in. Sprinkle with salt. Place on a baking rack in a roasting pan (don't use a cookie sheet, it will warp, use a roasting pan or broiler pan that can take the heat). Cook for 10 minutes on one side, then flip the skins over and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle.

Arrange the potato skins skin-side down on the roasting pan or rack. Sprinkle the insides with cheddar cheese, and crumbled bacon. Return to the oven. Broil for an additional 2 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven. Use tongs to place skins on a serving plate. Add a dollop of sour cream to each skin, sprinkle with green onions, if desired. Enjoy!

recipe from simply recipes

A tip from Joy:

Costco has pre-cooked bacon that is so easy to prepare. All you need to do is microwave  strips for 1 minute 45 seconds between two sheets of paper towel, and the bacon you need is ready... no messy saute pans and perfect bacon every time. I keep a package in the freezer and when ever I need bacon for a recipe, I used this!

Gazpacho Time!

My sweet dad loves to shop at a local store called the Milk Pail, which is an open air European-style market that sells produce and cheeses, etc.  He often buys in large amounts and shares his bounty with us. The produce that comes from this store is well priced and ready to eat right away, so I was looking for a great way to use the four cucumbers and tomatoes that he gifted us. Our weather is turning warm, so what better dish to prepare than Gazpacho? I made a batch using inspiration from these recipes by Pioneer Woman and Ina. It is a treasure to have this delicious soup waiting for you in the refrigerator ready to eat as a healthy quick lunch!

This soup is so refreshing!

The ingredient line up:

Gazpacho is easy to share with your neighbors or friends because it makes a big batch~

Gazpacho

1/2 red onion (I kept it mild and used 1/4 onion), diced

2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cucumbers, diced
3 ripe tomatoes, diced

2 fire roasted red pepper halves from jar, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
3 cups V-8 Spicy Hot Juice (or tomato juice)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 dashes Tobasco
freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a blender or food processor, combine the minced garlic and all the onion, half the cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, celery, red peppers, tomato juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Blend until mixed well. 
Pour into large bowl, add rest of tomato juice and rest of diced vegetables. Stir mixture and chill for a couple of hours. The longer the gazpacho "marinates", the better it gets! Taste before serving to see if it needs a little more salt or pepper, pour into bowl or mug and enjoy!

A tip from Joy:

When chopping  wet ingredients on cutting board, put paper towel 

underneath to catch all the juices. Makes clean up much easier!