Apple Pork Chops

Okay, I always seem to remember that I was supposed to post the morning after. At least I remember, right? I'll make up for it today by posting one of our family's most favorite dinners ever! And it is easily in my top five "Easiest Dinners to Make."

APPLE PORK CHOPS

4 pork chops
1 can apple pie filling
1 box pork stuffing

Brown pork chops in skillet, then place in the crock pot. Prepare stuffing according to box directions, then pour stuffing and pie filling over pork chops. Let cook about 6 hours on low (or until pork chops are cooked through-most of the time they start falling apart). Enjoy!

Who wants Easy Pizza!

PIZZA!!!


So this is a great mini pizza that you can throw together really easy.


Corn Tortillas you can also use flour tortillas
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzerella Cheese
(any pizza condements you would like pepperoni, sausage, olives, and pineapples)
ragu sauce


heat the oven to 375 degrees

put about 6 corn tortillas on a cookie sheet
spread ricotta cheese on each shell
then spoon sauce over the cheese
you then add any of the condiments you want
make sure you add the shredded cheese at the end cover it really well!

put it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, you want it to be incredibly done to over done.

then eat and enjoy!!! There also great as leftovers.

Italian roast beef over egg noodles

I like a good pot roast every so often, but sometimes I get tired of doing the whole "meat and potatoes with gravy" thing every time. My mom described this dish to me last week and I tried it out the other day. There's no set recipe, so this is just me sort of making it up based on what my mom tried and liked. It ended up being a perfect combination of flavors when serving it italian-style over noodles: garlic, tomatoes, and onion. Ryan and I both liked it a lot, and he said I could make it again which is always a good sign. :)

pot roast

1 can of italian tomatoes, stewed or diced

3-5 garlic cloves (depending on how much you like garlic, but more is better for this dish)

white onion (as large or small as you want, depending on how much onion you like)

salt and pepper and/or any kind of italian seasonings

Cut your garlic cloves in half (ish) so they have a point to each piece. Then make holes in your roast with a sharp knife so that you can insert the pieces of garlic into the holes all over the meat. Do this as much as you want - it really added an awesome flavor to the meat!

Spray your crockpot with Pam. Cut the onion into wedges or slices (whatever you like), and put them on the bottom. Put your meat in and season it with salt and pepper or other seasonings. Pour your can of italian-style tomatoes over the top and around the sides. Cook on low for 7 hours.

We pulled the roast apart into smaller pieces once it was done cooking, and served it over whole wheat egg noodles with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. It was yummy!

**One can of tomatoes was plenty, but the stewed tomatoes didn't have enough pieces of tomato once you serve it over noodles, in my opinion. Next time I'll try diced and see if that works better. I also added a tiny bit of water, but it was totally unnecessary since it ended up plenty liquidy. Or maybe you could try 2 cans of stewed tomatoes but drain one, so you get more tomato but not all the liquid.

Winter Squash Soup

Sorry to post another squash recipe but this is what we ate for dinner tonight. It's delicious.

Winter Squash Soup- Ina Garten (Straight from the cookbook-Barefoot in Paris)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 small or one large)

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut in chunks

3 cups Homemade chicken stock or canned broth

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup half and half

Creme fraiche, grated Gruyere, or croutons for serving (optional)

Heat the butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed stockpot, add the onions, and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add the pumpkin puree, butternut squash, chicken stock, salt and pepper. cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, until the butternut squash is very tenter. Process the mixture through the medium blade of a food mill. Return to the pot, ad the half-and-half, and heat slowly. If the soup needs more flavor, add another teaspoon of salt. Serve hot with garnishes, if desired.

Here's the way I do it:

- I never have unsalted butter- so I just taste as I go to make sure that it doesn't get too salty.

- I always used the Swanson's low sodium chicken broth- She has a recipe for homemade chicken stock in the book. If you want it- let me know and I'll post it.

- I didn't have half-and-half on hand tonight when I made this so I subbed whole milk. I couldn't tell the difference and I felt better about eating a second, okay, third bowl.

- Creme Fraiche is just a fancy way of saying sour cream in my book and the soup is so good with the optional garnishes.

- Instead of croutons I just serve it with a good piece of warm bread.

- I don't have a food mill. You could easily put it in your blender, in small batches and blend until smooth. I have a hand blender that I just stick in the pot and go to town until it's smooth.

That's it! It's a super easy one pot meal.

Mac & Cheese (with a hidden surprise)

...made with winter squash?!


I've been trying really hard to get Amelia to eat vegetables. She doesn't like them. Or rather, she just plain refuses to eat them whether or not she's even tasted it. She'll only eat green beans, and that's only if she's in the mood. It's not surprising because I'm pretty picky myself and will only eat a few different kinds of veggies, depending on if and how they're cooked. There are quite a few that I don't like at all. I found this recipe on food network in my search to "sneak" some veggies into Amelia's diet. She loves mac & cheese so I figured she'd eat it (she didn't). I made it for her today at lunch (although it's a little more effort than I want to spend on lunch) and I thought it turned out pretty good. I struggle and tend to make stupid mistakes when I'm cooking sometimes so it probably could have been even better...but such is my life.

While I'm on the subject...do any of you have any suggestions on how to get your little ones (or yourself for that matter) to eat vegetables? Or even any other recipes with veggies snuck in? She's too young to understand the "you'll eat what's in front of you" concept. Maybe she would eat carrot and celery sticks if she had enough teeth. We're just in an awkward age right now and I don't know what to do. I try to make sure we always have some kind of vegetable for dinner (usually a side salad - which Amelia won't eat - or green beans), but I myself don't even eat them throughout the day, I know I'm not getting as much as I should be, and if I'm not eating them Amelia's not going to eat them right? I'm not a salad person.  I like it okay as a side, but I have to really be in the mood for a salad to eat it for a meal. I ate a chicken wrap with lots of veggies on it for lunch today - I guess if I have to do that every day I can....

Sorry about the novel, here's the recipe:

Macaroni & 4 Cheeses

- Cooking spray
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen pureed winter squash
- 2 cups 1% lowfat milk
- 4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
- 2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup)
- 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 X 13 in. baking pan with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5-8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and milk into a large saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until deforsted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, sitrring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the cheddar, jack cheese, rocotta cheese, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish. Combine bread crumbs, parmesan and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned.

Chicken Chili

Yes, another soup recipe from me - this time, with pictures! We love this chicken chili and it is the perfect meal for fall. I do, however, have to make beanless chili in our house (I substitute an extra bell pepper for the beans). Also, I make this in the crock pot, but I think it was actually written for the stove top - I do the first part on the stove, and instead of adding the remaining ingredients to the pot, I add them all into my crock pot.

Anyone else love these little crock pot liners? Saves so much clean-up time, and they're not too expensive at Walmart. Love them!

Yum! I apologize for the lack of presentation, however. Yes, those are styrofoam bowls, but we're leaving town for the weekend and didn't want to add more dishes!

3 chopped chicken breasts

1 chopped green pepper

1 chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

Brown ingredients in olive oil on the stove top.

Add:

2 cans diced tomatoes (I like using fire roasted)

2 cans (drained) pinto beans (like I said, I have to go beanless, but you could also use other varieties of beans)

3/4 c. Pace picante sauce

1 can tomato sauce

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

Simmer all day. I usually taste test after it's been simmering a while and see if I need to adjust the spices - I'm usually a little generous with them. I like to add a generous dollop of sour cream near the end to make it nice and smooth and creamy. Garnish with shredded cheese. My house has smelled wonderful today!

Easy Mango Chicken

• 4-5 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless, I use 3 large breasts)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups mango salsa 
• Cumin to taste
• Lemon Pepper to taste

1. Put chicken breasts in crock pot. Add cumin and lemon pepper. Cover and cook chicken until tender. Shred chicken on a plate and return to crock pot. Save juices in separate bowl.
2. Add corn, beans and salsa. More salsa can be added to taste. If mixture seems dry, add some of reserved juices.
3. Serve over coconut jasmine rice. Garnish with cilantro or parsely, if desired.

Coconut Rice (rice cooker version)

• 2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice (note that other types of rice, such as brown rice, do not work for this recipe)
• 1 1/2 cups good-quality coconut milk (not “lite”)
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp brown sugar

1. Place rice in rice cooker. Add the water, coconut milk, sugar and salt. Stir well (use a plastic or wooden utensil to avoid scraping off the non-stick surface).
2. Cover and set to cook.
3. Once your rice cooker switches to “warm” mode, allow another 8-10 minutes for rice to finish “steaming”. This will ensure your coconut rice is fully cooked and pleasantly sticky.
4. Gently fluff with chopsticks before serving. Serves 4

Coconut Rice (stovetop version)

• 2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice*
• 2 cups good-quality coconut milk
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. coconut oil, OR other vegetable oil
• 1 tsp brown sugar

1. Rub oil over the bottom of a deep-sided pot. You will also need a tight-fitting lid.
2. Place rice, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt in the pot and set over medium-high to high heat.
3. Stir until liquid comes to a gentle boil (stirring will keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning).
4. Once the coconut-water has begun to gently bubble, stop stirring and reduce heat to low (just above minimum). Cover tightly with a lid and let simmer about 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice (to check, pull rice aside with a fork to see down to the bottom of the pot).
5. When the liquid is gone, turn off the heat, but leave the covered pot on the burner to steam another 5-10 minutes, or until you’re ready to eat. Tip: Your Coconut Rice will stay warm this way for up to 1 hour or more, great for when you’re expecting company!
6. When ready to serve, remove the lid and fluff rice with a fork or chopsticks. Taste-test the rice for salt, adding a little more if needed. Serve right out of the pot, or place in another serving bowl.

YUM!!! 

White Chicken Chili

SO I would have to say hands down that this is my MOST favorite soup recipe EVER! I am pretty much obsessed with Mexican Food and so anything that has lime, cilantro and avacados in the ingredients I am a huge sucker for. I tried this recipe a few years ago after finding www.ourbestbites.com and I crave it all the time! It is really quite a simple recipe and it tastes like you have worked a lot harder than you really did! If you like mexican food you MUST try this! I made it tonight, even though it was 100+ degrees outside, and I am sitting here writing this post salivating :) Okay maybe not, but it is that good!



White Chicken Chili
(Recipe by Our Best Bites)

I call this a chili, but it's really a soup consistency.
If you want it thicker, just reduce the amount of broth.


1 T Extra virgin Olive Oil
1 lb boneless chicken, cubed (about 3-4 boneless, skinless breasts)
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans Great Northern Beans
1 3.5 oz can green chilies
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t dried oregano leaves
1/2 t coriander (I have never added this)
1/2 t salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 lime
1/2 C chopped cilantro
1 32oz box chicken broth

Condiments: (in addition to measurements above)
Sour cream
Chopped cilantro
Pepperjack or Jack cheese, shredded
Avocado
Tortilla Chips or make your own tortilla strips

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add chopped onion and cook for about 2 minutes- just until it starts to become translucent. While onions are cooking, drain beans and rinse with cold water and set aside. Sprinkle chopped chicken with a little salt and pepper and add to pot. Add garlic as well. Cook until there's no more visible pink on the chicken, probably 3-4 minutes.

Then add green chills- along with all of the juices in the can. Add beans, cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, and a few turns of fresh cracked pepper. Stir to combine and then add chicken broth.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the juice from one lime and the 1/2 C chopped cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream. Serve with condiments. If you don't have all those condiments- at least have sour cream! But honestly, it's best with everything :)

Makes about 8 cups of soup.

*Oh, and this freezes well. Sometimes I make a batch and when it cools I put single servings into zip-locks and pop them in the freezer. Makes a great quick lunch.

whoops!

I apologize for that mix-up last night. I only had access to the internet on my computer for an hour, so I quickly updated my personal blog... but it turned out that I put it up on this one, and I didn't have computer access to fix it until today. haha Sorry for any confusion! :)

-Jamie Turner

Skillet Queso

Okay this is not a main dish but one of our very favorite treats. We are big fans of Chili's-and we absolutely love their skillet queso! Here is my copy cat version.

Chili's Skillet Queso

1-lb Velveeta
1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 pkg Old El Paso taco seasoning
3/4 jar or 8 oz of Old El Paso taco sauce
1/2 can of tomato sauce (small can)
tortilla chips

Brown hamburger and drain
Mix all ingredients (other than chips) in crock pot
Cook on medium or high until cheese melts (about 90 minutes)
Turn heat to low for serving and enjoy with tortilla chips!

Quick N' Easy BBQ Chicken

Okay so I am extremely busy and most of the time just have to throw some things together (okay okay so that is what I do 99% of the time). I love the marinade section in Walmart and that is where I found this:

It is the best sauce EVER...(it is spicy). I actually cover whatever amount of chicken I want to grill or bake and let it marinate for awhile. If I'm baking then I put the oven at 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 min depending on size of chicken. Or I grill and keep basting the chicken the whole time..num num num, also an amazing side dish is grilled asparagus just cover them in EVOO and Sea Salt and put on tinfoil on grill. Let them get blackened (my fav). So here is just another simple dinner but oh so good!!!

Creamy Broccoli Soup

2 cans cream of potato soup
1 pt. half and half
3/4 lb broccoli
2 TBSP margarine
3 green onions, diced
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 C grated cheddar cheese

Cut broccoli into small pieces. Place in glass bowl with 2 TBSP water. Cover and microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes. Drain. (I just use frozen cut up broccoli and it eliminates this whole step and works wonderfully).

In saucepan, melt margarine over low heat. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add soup, half and half, and broccoli. Heat 4 to 5 minutes. Add bacon and cheese. Heat until cheese is melted.

If soup is too thick, add more milk. If soup becomes too thin, add mixture of melted margarine and flour to thicken.

Serves 4-6 With my family (the 3 of us) we always have plenty of leftovers. Serving in bread bowls makes it even more delicious. Easton loves it!

Greek Chicken Pitas

My sister posted this recipe on her blog last month, but instead of chicken she made her own falafel. You can check out the falafel recipe here. I have a small fear of frying things in a lot of oil (could stem from a room mates accident in college.) Anyway, so I just grilled some chicken and then served the pitas with thinly sliced red onion, tomatoes and lettuce. If you're in a pinch you could always use store bought pitas... but don't be in a pinch.

Chicken

2 chicken breasts

2-3 T olive oil

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/4 tsp dried minced garlic (I didn't have this so I just did a couple shakes of garlic powder)

Pinch of Salt

Combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag and shake/smoosh it around until the chicken is evenly coated with the seasonings. Grill chicken until it's no longer pink and the juices run clear.

Soft Pita Bread

Makes 8 flatbreads3 c. flour
1 1/2 c. boiling water

1/4 c. potato flour OR 1/2 c. potato flakes
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 tsp. INSTANT yeast
Directions:
Place 2 cups of the flour into a large mixing bowl (or Kitchen Aid). Pour the boiling water over the flour, and stir till smooth. Cover the bowl and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes. This process will cook out some of the starch, making the bread very soft and pliable.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato flour (or flakes) and 1 cup of the remaining flour with the salt, oil and yeast. Add this to the cooled flour/water mixture, stir, then knead for several (5-7) minutes to form a soft dough. Add additional flour only if necessary-- The dough should form a ball, but will remain somewhat soft. Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour. (Note: Since this is a flatbread, the dough will not rise very much due to the small amount of yeast-- But it should still rise noticeably.)

Divide the dough into 8 pieces (each around 3-4 oz.-- I use my kitchen scale for this), cover, and let rest on an oiled surface for 15 to 30 minutes. Roll each piece into an 8-inch circle, and dry-fry them (fry without oil) on a griddle or frying pan over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until they’re flecked with brown spots. Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly, or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out. Stack the cooked bread in between a soft, clean towel to keep them warm and soft. Serve immediately, or cool before storing in a plastic bag.

Tzatziki Sauce:

You can alter this to your taste (I like a lot more lemon juice in mine, so I doubled the amount).

1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt (that's 2 6-oz. containers)

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 tsp. lemon juice

3 green onions, firm ends finely chopped

1 tsp. dry dill weed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Store covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Sour Cream Peach Waffles

Serve these babies with whipped cream, peaches and syrup on top! HEAVEN!! Sorry no pictures, we devoured them way to fast to even think about photographing the moment. :) I love the peach season!


Sour Cream Peach Waffles

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 ripe peaches, chopped into small pieces. (I even got out my purree blender and mixed them up really fine.) Do whatever sounds good to you.


Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

Bust out the waffle iron, and cook them up! You could also make pancakes with this same batter. Enjoy!!!

Firecracker Alaskan Grilled Salmon

Any fish lovers out there? We love salmon and this is SO good! Such a great flavor!

4 4oz. salmon fillets
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place salmon fillets in a medium glass dish. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Whisk together well and pour over the fish. Cover and marinate for 4-6 hours. Grill fillets about 10 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork. Turn over halfway through cooking.

Italian Sausage & Peppers

I just realized that my turn to post has rolled around and I am, again, unprepared! But I anticipate with the end of summer we'll have a little return of normalcy around our house...so hopefully I'll be on top of things with photos and everything by the time my next turn comes.

We love this yummy crock pot pasta sauce. Mmm... It's not as "Italian" as our typical pasta sauces - with a husband who served in Italy and a wife who's Italian - but it is super yummy, nonetheless!

3 bell peppers cut into 1" cubes (mixed colors - I don't use green)

1 small onion cut into wedges

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. hot (or mild, if you're not spicy eaters!) italian sausage (I like to use ground italian sausage with no casings...or you can get links and just de-case them and break them up with a spoon)

1 c. marinara sauce (you can use a jar of sauce, but I make my own - see note below)

1/4 c. red wine vinegar (less)

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. water

Coat your crock pot with cooking spray. Place your peppers, onion, & garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker. Arrange the sausage over the veggies. Combine pasta sauce & vinegar over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 4-5 (sausage needs to be cooked through and the veggies tender). Skim off any fat from the liquid. Mix cornstarch & cold water in a separate bowl until smooth. Add to crock pot. Cook 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Serve over pasta (we also love this sauce over polenta, and it would probably make a pretty dang good sandwich on yummy bread, too).

Sometimes people are intimidated by making their own sauce, so they just use a jar. But you can make a really simple sauce for this - there's so much in this recipe (with the veggies & sausage) that it doesn't need to be ultra fancy. I just use some tomato sauce, a little water, some basil & oregano, maybe a pinch of garlic powder, & we like to add red pepper flakes too (we LOVE spicy). In this case, I just throw them all into the crock pot, and after it's cooked quite a while I stir it all up. Once everything's ok for the taste-testing, I adjust my spices.

Si mangia! (Essentially 'let's eat' - said before every meal in our house!)

Cold Raspberry Pie

In light that "summer" is almost over, I thought I would post one of our VERY favorite summer desserts. I found this recipe a few years ago and have made it often. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have. 


The recipe reads "you'll love it" and so far we definitely have! I don't see that changing anytime soon either. :) Last summer I also made this recipe substituting the raspberry gelatin and frozen raspberries with peach. It was delicious. 


1 Graham Cracker Crust

2 Cups crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Mix ingredients together and press into a greased 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate until firm.

Cream Cheese Middle

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 pint whipping cream

-I have also used coolwhip rather then whipping my own cream, it worked fabulously if you are short on time-


In a large bowl beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. In a seperate bowl whip cream. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture and sread over prepared crust. Place back into refrigerator until raspberry topping is ready. 


Raspberry Topping

1 1/4 cups water
1 (6 oz.) package raspberry flavored gelatin
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 (10 oz.) package of frozen raspberries undrained


Bring water to a boil. Combine all ingredients except raspberries in a medium sized bowl. Allow mixture to cool in refrigerator until syrupy. Thaw frozen raspberries slighly in microwave. Stir into cooled gelatin mixture. Use immediately to top cream cheese layer of Raspberry Pie.


Refrigerate over night. Serves 6 to 8.

Beef and Broccoli

So I got this recipe from a good friend and actually made it for the first time tonight! It was absolutely delicious! I really don't cook much asian food even though I love it, but I am glad I tried this because it was really good. My husband served his mission in Hong Kong and so he knows asian food, and he couldn't stop talking about it. SO now that I have talked it up...it better live up to its expectations :)

Beef and Broccoli

1lb top round beef steak
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 T. sugar
1/2 cup apple juice
4 T. cornstarch
2 cups water
2 cups fresh broccoli florets (I used more than it called for)
4 T. vegetable or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. sesame oil
Cut beef into 2 in. strips; set aside. In a large skillet, stir-fry broccoli in 2 T. oil for about 5 min. over med. heat. Place broccoli in a bowl and set aside. Pour remaining oil in skillet and cook steak on med-high heat until browned. Add garlic and cook one minute. While steak is cooking, combine soy sauce, sugar, juice, cornstarch, and water in small bowl. Pour soy sauce mixture over meat and cook until thickened. Stir in sesame oil. Add broccoli and remove from heat. Serve over rice.

My friend's tips:
*I usually precut the broccoli and steak and put them in tupperware so when I go to cook, everything is ready.
*Sometimes I add sliced carrots! (I added carrots and I will add them everytime! They add so much to the flavor!)
*KEEP stirring the broccoli--it burns FAST.

Enjoy!

Pesto Chicken Tortellini

Okay so this is coming Wednesday morning. I thought about posting all day Tuesday and just woke up realizing I hadn't. Oops.

Pesto Chicken Tortellini

1 container of pesto (found in the refrigerated pasta section)

Toretellini (also in the refrigerated pasta section)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Thaw chicken breasts and cut into small pieces. Cook in frying pan. Cook pasts according to package directions. Combine chicken, pasta, and pesto. Enjoy!

So easy. So yummy.