Beef Stir-fry

I totally cheat on this meal because it is almost as easy as fast food. I buy the thin cuts of beef (is it skirt or flank?) at Costco. Chop it into stir-fry slices and stick it in the freezer. Then when I need an easy meal I pull out the frozen beef and the frozen stir-fry veggies from Costco. I microwave the meat for 1 minute on full power- just enough to be able to break it up. Heat up the pan, add the oil and cook the meat. Take the beef out, add more oil if needed and cook the veggies (about 12 minutes?). While that is cooking, pour some rice wine (1/3 cup?) and soy sauce in a bowl. Add about a tablespoon of cornstarch and chopped garlic to the liquid. When the veggies look like they are almost done put some chopped ginger in. Cook for a minute or two and add beef and liquid. Stir to cook the cornstarch and you are good to go.

Salad bar

Well, it was going to be Chef Salad but I had to take Grandma to the doctor. I didn't get to finish my shopping so we made do with the veggies/ meat and cheese we had. It was fine.

Sloppy Joes

Actually, I pulled some left over Sloppy Joe from the freezer, added some more hamburger and chili powder. It tasted as good as fresh made. I topped my Sloppy Joe with fresh mozzarella. I don't remember how I made it originally but I'm sure it had beef, onions, beans with some flavorings. It looks like the beans were S and W Caribbean Recipe.

Hamburgers

Nothing special about that.

Left-overs!

Left-over BBQ beef and pizza, fresh fruit salad with home made whip-cream. Timmy the Cat was very disappointed.

Korean BBQ Beef Short Ribs

Korean BBQ Beef Short Ribs
4 to 4 1/2 pounds beef short ribs (2-3lbs. boneless)
1/4 cup green onions, chopped, with tops
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
rice or linguine pasta, hot, cooked
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
Directions

1. Place ribs in the Crock-Pot. Combine green onions, soy sauce, broth, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and pepper in medium bowl; mix well and pour over ribs. Cover; cook on Low 7 to 8 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours or until ribs are fork tender.
2. Remove ribs from cooking liquid, cool slightly. Trim excess fat. Cut rib meat into bite-sized pieces discarding bones and fat.
3. Let cooking liquid stand 5 minutes to allow fat to rise. Skim off fat.
4. Stir sesame oil into liquid. Return beef to stoneware. Cover; cook on Low 15 to 30 minutes or until mixture is hot.
5. Serve with rice or pasta and garnish with sesame seeds.

Boxed Pizza

I get the boxed frozen cheese pizza at Costco and we top them with our own toppings. Tonight it was 1/2 sausage/pepperoni/red onion/red bell pepper and 1/2 grilled chicken with olives. Good enough to eat but not worth a photo.

Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Grapes

Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Grapes:
4 cups cubed (1/2 inch) cooked chicken (about 1 1/2 pound)
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 celery rib, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2-4 tablespoons chopped red onion
1-2 cups halved seedless red grapes
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper


Marinate chopped onion in a mixture of vinegar, honey and olive oil in a medium sized bowl. Broil walnuts in oven until toasted about 15 minutes. While the nuts are broiling combine all the other ingredients except the mayo and onion mixture. Don't forget to check the walnuts frequently.  Let walnuts cool while you thoroughly mix mayo into onion mixture. Stir all ingredients together and serve with chopped lettuce.

Roast Chicken

You can buy roasted chicken just about anywhere. I like to do it myself because the commercial chicken has added "broth". Oh sure, it makes it taste good but what's in it?

True Cod

My sister Marcia taught me how to cook true cod: Simply put it in the oven with butter, garlic and maybe a little wine (I'm not sure if I added that last bit or if she did!). Bake it at 350 until it flakes.

I make my own tartar sauce, mostly because I'm cheap:
mix: Mayo, dill relish (1-2 tablespoons), a large squirt of creamy dressing (ranch, Caesar etc.) a small squirt of mustard, add onions if you like them.

Company Meatloaf

This meatloaf is so good you can serve it to company. I served it with baked butternut squash and salad.
The meatloaf wasn't spicy enough for Charlie so he added his own jalapenos and sour cream.

Timmy the Cat liked the meatloaf just fine without sauce:

Sniff...sniff, any sauce?

 

Nom, Nom, Nom

Company Meatloaf

Several strips of bacon cooked crispy
1.5lbs. hamburger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of parsley
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4+ cup of chopped onion
1 cup mozzarella cheese
3 slices of bread
1 cup milk
1 egg

With hands mix bread with 1 cup milk and egg until homogeneous. Add the beef and spices and mix thoroughly. Put half of the beef mixture into loaf pan. Layer with cooked bacon, onion and cheese. Top with remaining beef. Cook at 375 degrees until the center reaches at least 160. Towards the end of the cooking time top with catchup or BBQ sauce.

Left-overs!

It was nice to come home from a quick road trip and have left over stew!

Si, Senor!

We spent the night at Elizabeth's apartment in Beaverton and went to Si, Senor.

Oops, what a mistake... we should have said No, No Senor.

Crock Pot Beef Stew and toast

The only tip I know about stew was given to me by 10 year old Elizabeth. She said "I only like it when the meat falls apart". So I have always tried to follow that and to make it colorful. What's life without a little color?

Pizza night

at Figaro's. Not much cooking tonight.

Broiled Salmon, Chinese Chicken Salad and Birthday Cake

Broiled Salmon:
Brush melted butter with seasoning (we like Sweet Mesquite from Costco) on inside of fish. Broil skin side down until it flakes all the way through (about 15 to 20 minutes). You can add more butter as it cooks and lemon when it is done. 


Chinese Chicken Salad:
3-4 tablespoons butter 
1 package Oriental-flavor ramen noodle soup mix, crushed
2 tablespoons sesame seed

2 cups cut-up cooked chicken
1/2 cup almonds or peanuts
4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup) optional
11 oz. can of mandarin oranges
about 16 ounces of Napa cabbage or coleslaw mix
Dressing:
1/4 cup sugar or sweetener equivalent
1/4 cup white vinegar
2+ tablespoons vegetable oil

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Stir in seasoning packet from noodles. Break block of noodles into bite-size pieces; stir noodles into butter mixture. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly; stir in sesame seed. Cook about 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly, until noodles are golden brown.
Add remaining ingredients and noodle mixture; toss.
Serve with dressing.

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups sifted cake or regular flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 oz. red food coloring
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans or three 8-inch round cake pans.
2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.  In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go.  Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
4. Make sure you have cake pans buttered, floured, and nearby.  In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda.  Yes, it will fizz!  Add it to the cake batter and stir well to combine.  Working quickly, divide batter evenly between the cake pans and place them in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check early, cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. To remove the cakes from the pan, place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, then gently lift the pan.  Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting. Frost with buttercream or cream cheese icing.
*Sift cake flour once before measuring, then sift again with the other dry ingredients per recipe instructions.

Mexi-bar

Ya' know what that is...

• salsa
• sour cream
• avocado
• lettuce
• tomatoes
• cheese
• re-fried beans
• and I used some of the beef from the night before.

Roast Beef

Roast Beef and mock mashed potatoes.


Mock Mashed Potatoes

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2 Tablespoons 1/2 and 1/2 cream
• 3 Tablespoons of butter
• 4 Tablespoons of cream cheese
• 5 to 6 strips of crispy bacon
• shredded cheese

Thoroughly cook cauliflower on stove top with water. Throw cooked cauliflower in a food process that you borrow from your friend Cheryl. Blend all the ingredients except for 1 strip of bacon and the cheese. Taste it and if it doesn't taste like mashed potatoes add more cream cheese. Top with cheese and crumbled bacon strip.

Ice cream!

Our power was out for 6 hours so of course we had soft, vanilla bean ice cream.

Mexican Chicken soup

Fry:
red, green or yellow pepper, onion in oil
Add:
chicken, salsa, sour cream, flour, water or chicken stock and avocado chunks
Cook the veggies in oil until onions become translucent. Add an equal amount of flour as oil and cook for a minute or two. Add the rest of the ingredients. Top with chips and cheese.

Pan-fried Oysters

Pint of Oysters
2/3 to 1 cup finely crushed saltines
about 3 tablespoons olive oil
about 3 tablespoons butter

Dry oysters on paper towels. Spread 1/2 of crushed saltines on wax paper. Place oysters on crumbs and shake the other 1/2 of saltines on top. Pan fry oysters in oil/butter for about 5 minutes, turning once.

Wheat Waffles with Maple Syrup and Walnuts

BRULAND WAFFLES 

Divide 2 eggs and put in separate mixing bowls. Whip egg whites with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Mix:
 1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup salad (olive) oil or butter

Fold in egg whites. For dinner- add scrambled eggs and sausage!

Shrimp Cobb Salad

 Mix together:
Iceberg lettuce
2 lbs. bay shrimp
1/2 to 1 avocado
2 hard boiled eggs
Lots of bacon (1/2lb?)
fresh mozzarella cheese (optional)
chopped tomato

Mini Beef Steaks

Marinate beef in:
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Kirkland steak seasoning

Broil in oven, turning once.

Spaghetti

Cook in sauce pan:
1/2 to 3/4 cup of thinly sliced onion (not chopped- it should be noodle shaped)
1-2 lbs. hamburger (you can add ground sausage too)

Drain cooked meat if needed, add any of the following:
can(s) of tomato sauce
can of diced tomatos
can of tomato paste ( I don't add tomato paste very often, it's too sweet for me)

Bring to a simmer and add mushrooms, olives, 1 to 2 tablespoons of Italian herbs and garlic. Simmer 10 minutes while you cook the spaghetti.

Left-overs!

Hawaiian Chicken

Hawaiian Chicken with rice

In a sauce pan cook:
1/2 cup onion
1/4 cup green pepper (optional)
1/4 cup olive oil
2+ lbs. chicken

Simmer in:
1 can pineapple
1 1/2? cups of BBQ sauce

Serve on cooked rice

Beef Stir-fry

1 1/2 lbs. sliced beef
mixed frozen stir-fry veggies from Costco
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 T. sesame seed oil
1/3 cup sweet rice wine
1 1/2 tea. ginger
1 clove garlic

Spicy dogs and beans

1/2 cup onion
6-8 large Everygood Hot Link Sausage
large can of Bush Brother's original beans (reserve the liquid and add as needed)
tomato sauce- about 1/2 cup

Upside-down Chicken pot pie

2 cans of chicken
1/4 cup of butter
1/3 cup of onion
garlic
1 cup of frozen carrot and peas