Sesame Beef With Chinese Vegetables

1 lb. gound beef
Stir fry vegetables {I used the frozen kind from Costco}
Stir fry sauce {I used Kikkoman}
White rice
Sesame oil
Pepper
Garlic salt
Crushed red pepper flakes
Sesame seeds

Brown ground beef in a few drops of sesame oil in a large pan or wok; drain off fat. Add vegetables to the pan {if they are frozen make sure they are unthawed first}. Add a lot of pepper, a little bit of garlic salt, and crushed red pepper flakes according to desired spicinesss. Cook thoroughly. Add the entire bottle of stir fry sauce and mix well. Let simmer on med-low heat for about 20 minutes. Serve over white rice and garnish with sesame seeds.

Harvard Beets

2-16 ounce cans sliced beets
1 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Salt to taste

Drain the beet liquid into a medium saucepan. To the liquid add vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; stir in beets and cook until heated through.

Korean Beef With Broccoli

I don't think this is the best picture in the world, but don't be deceived; this dish is delicious! It's also really quick to make, is inexpensive, and the best part is, it tastes gourmet! This is definitely one I'm going to add to my meal rotation :) Enjoy!

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. crushed red peppers
Black pepper
Broccoli florets
5 green onions, diced
White rice

Heat sesame oil in a wok or a large skillet on the stove. Brown hamburger and garlic together. When the hamburger is almost done add the broccoli. Saute broccoli and hamburger together. Add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, black pepper, and crushed red peppers. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors together. Serve over sticky rice and top with green onions.

Spiral Pasta With Cabbage, Peppers & Poppy Seed Dressing

I have NO IDEA what the "real" name for this salad is! All I know is that my Aunt Wendy made it for a bridal shower, and I loved it so much I decided to bring it to this year's 4th of July family reunion. I thought the red bell peppers in it made it looks pretty patriotic :)

16 oz. spiral/corkscrew pasta
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 head green cabbage, sliced into bite-size pieces
1 bottle poppy seed dressing

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water. Toss pasta with vegetables and coat with the poppy seed dressing. Easy peasy!

Beef & Vegetable Stir-Fry {EASY!}

I know I have posted several stir-fry like recipes, but of all of them, this one is the easiest to prepare because I just use the bottled stir fry sauce you can buy in the oriental section of any grocery store. For this particular recipe, this is the sauce I used. I also used beef in this recipe, but chicken, shrimp or tofu would be really good too. We were just in a "beef" mood at our house the other night :)

1 pound of beef {or any kind of meat you want}
Stir-fry sauce {I used Kikkoman, but any brand will do}
White rice

Favorite Vegetables:
Broccoli
Carrots
Snap Peas
Onion
Baby Corn
Bamboo Shoots
Water Chestnuts
Mushrooms
Etc... {you get the idea!}

Cook beef in a skillet or wok on the stove. When it's almost done, add vegetables and cook. When the vegetables are almost cooked add the stir-fry sauce {I use the whole bottle, but when I make this I make a pretty big batch too so we can eat it the next day}. Stir together and let simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Serve over piping hot sticky white rice.

p.s. to make this dish even easier and less expensive, you can also use pre-packaged frozen stir fry vegetables found in the freezer section of any grocery store.

Yummy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Salad Ingredients:
Spinach
Red onion, thinly sliced
Strawberries, sliced into thirds
Almonds, toasted

Dressing Ingredients:
1 1/2 T. lemon juice
2 T. white vinegar
1/3 c. sugar
1 T. vegetable oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds

Panda Express Mushroom Chicken

This is a CopyKat recipe of the mushroom chicken at Panda Express. It is one of my favorites! Now it is such a treat to be able to make it at home :)

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts

cornstarch (for dusting)

1 T. vegetable oil

1 T. sesame oil

2 T. soy sauce

1 T. balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 package fresh mushrooms

4 small zucchini

Cut chicken into 1 inch chunks and lightly dust with cornstarch. Halve zucchini and mushrooms and set aside. In a wok or a large skillet heat the vegetable oil and sesame oil and fry the chicken until a golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels. Add zucchini and mushrooms to the skillet and stir fry for a few minutes. Add soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic and ginger stirring to coat and stir fry until mushrooms and zucchini are fully cooked. Return the chicken to the pan and coat with sauce, heating thoroughly. Serve over sticky hot white rice.

Shrimp and Vegetable Asian Stir-Fry

Obviously I have been really into cooking a lot of Asian dishes lately that are served over white rice. This is one of them! Another yummy and healthy stir-fry recipe that is surprisingly quick and easy to prepare. All you have to do is chop up your favorite vegetables and throw some white rice in the rice cooker (or make on the stove) and it's done! :)

Sauce

4 T. soy sauce

4 T. ketchup

1 tsp. ground ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 drops Sriracha Sauce

pepper to taste

Favorite Vegetables

onion, sliced (white or purple)

red bell pepper, chopped

red cabbage, thinly sliced

broccoli

mushrooms, quartered

zucchini, chopped

celery, chopped

carrots, chopped

1 lb. uncooked shrimp, deveined

4 T. canola oil

2 T. soy sauce

cooked white rice

Prepare the sauce in a bowl, and let the uncooked shrimp marinate for at least 30 minutes. Set aside and chop your favorite vegetables for the stir-fry.

Heat 2 T. canola oil in a skillet. Add favorite vegetables plus 2 T. soy sauce and cook. Remove from stove when finished and put in a separate bowl/on a separate plate. Add 2 T. canola oil into the same pan and cook shrimp plus marinade. When the shrimp is cooked, add the vegetables and stir-fry everything together. Serve over hot rice.

P.S. If you're not a shrimp fan, chicken or pork would be really yummy too in this dish, I was just in a "shrimp mood" the other day :)

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple and Vegetable Stir-Fry

Another delicious recipe that tastes like take out! This is the first time I have ever made stir-fry without using a seasoning packet. Making the sauce homemade is super easy, and this dish was surprisingly quick to throw together!

I chopped the vegetables up in the afternoon and put them in a Tupperware, and I let the chicken marinate in the fridge all day. When dinner time rolled around I put everything on the stove in a pan and viola, dinner was served!

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 T. soy sauce

2 T. rice vinegar

3 T. vegetable oil

1 T. ground ginger

1 medium red onion, cut into thin strips

1 can pineapple chunks (save the juice!)

3 green onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped into big chunks

3 cloves minced garlic

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry Sauce

5 T. red wine vinegar

5 T. sugar

3 T. tomato sauce

3 T. pineapple juice reserved from can

½ tsp. salt

Combine sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Cut the chicken into chunks. Place in a large Ziploc bag and toss with the soy sauce and vinegar. Let it marinate for at least 15 minutes, but the longer it marinates the better it will taste.

Cook the chicken in vegetable oil in a pan on the stove for 3 minutes. Set aside in a separate bowl the chicken and all the liquid.

In the same pan cook in vegetable oil the onions, green pepper, and when they’re done add the drained pineapple and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the garlic and ginger; cook everything together. Return the cooked chicken and liquid to the pan. Stir in the sweet and sour sauce and stir fry together for 2 minutes. Serve piping hot over white rice.

Coconut Chicken and Vegetable Curry

I love making dinners that taste like take-out. This is definitely one of them! It was so easy to make and it made for wonderful lunch left-overs the next day. I will for sure be adding this to my dinner rotation. Even my children loved it, and they are 3 and 6, so that alone makes it a keeper :)

{Just a side note, if you make this, your house and the clothes you wore while cooking this WILL smell like curry for 2-3 days after, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, the fragrant smell just really lingers, so plan on doing some wash and lighting a bunch of candles after dinner...}

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1/2 white onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup frozen peas

3/4 cup chopped carrots

1 cup fresh cut frozen green beans

1 1/2 T. vegetable or canola oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 T. curry powder {found in the spice section}

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 can coconut milk

1-14.5 oz. can stewed tomatoes

1-8 oz. can tomato sauce

3 T. sugar

2 cups cooked white rice

fresh cilantro

Season chicken chunks with salt and pepper {I do this in a large Ziploc bag. Just put the chicken and salt and pepper in the bag and "mush" it all around}. Heat oil, curry powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes. Add chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 7-10 minutes. Add the vegetables, then the coconut milk, the stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and then the sugar. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30-40 minutes, or until the curry sauce thickens. Serve over white rice and top with cilantro.

Mango Salsa

My good friend Shelly made this delicious mango salsa for our dinner group appetizer Friday night. It was a hit! She got this fantastic recipe from The Food Nanny on BYUtv. Shelly served it with tortilla chips, but I think it would also be good over tostadas, vegetarian enchiladas, salmon or just about anything else. This salsa is addicting!


2 large ripe mangoes, chopped
1/4 medium red onion, minced
1/4 small red pepper, minced
1/2 small green bell pepper, minced
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped
3 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 slice (1/2 inch) jalapeno chile, minced with seeds
juice of 2 limes
1/2 tsp. cider vinegar
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Combine ingredients in a bowl ~ enjoy!

Crab & Mango Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

Wraps:

8 ounces cooked lump crabmeat (can also use imitation crab)
1 ripe mango, peeled, pit removed, and diced into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup diced jicama (peel, then dice)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
3 green onions, white and part of the green, finely chopped
10 leaves Boston lettuce, washed and dried well (other lettuce can be substituted, but Boston lettuce works particularly well)



Orange Sesame Sauce:

2 tablespoons lime juice
1/3 cup orange-flavored yogurt
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper


Preparation:

Add crabmeat, mango, jicama, cilantro, and green onions to medium bowl and toss to blend well.
Fill each lettuce leaf with about 1/3 cup (or slightly heaping 1/4 cup) of crabmeat mixture.
In small bowl, whisk together lime juice, orange yogurt, soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper until smooth.
Drizzle a tablespoon of the citrus sauce over the crab mixture inside each lettuce leaf and serve!


Yield:
5 appetizer servings (about 2 wraps each)

{ My younger sister, Stacie, another blonde domestic goddess. She made these wraps for my Mom's birthday dinner. They were amazing! }

Italian Pasta Salad

1 lb. tri-colored pasta, cooked and drained

Any or all of the following add-ins:
olives
carrots
tomatoes
onion
baby corn
artichoke hearts
cucumber
garbanzo beans
pepperoni

Italian dressing
Parmesan cheese
Dash of garlic salt
Salt & Pepper

Cook and drain tri-colored pasta noodles, rinsing with cold water to shock. Add desired add-ins. Coat with Italian dressing, season with garlic salt, salt and pepper, and sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese. Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Broccoli Salad

1 head broccoli

6-8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

½ cup chopped purple onion

8-oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup mayonnaise

2 T. white vinegar

¼ cup sugar

½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Salt & Pepper

Cut broccoli head into bite-size floweret pieces. Place in a large bowl. Add bacon, onion, and cheese. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, making a dressing, stirring well. Add to the broccoli mixture and toss gently.

Fajitas

Chicken (you can also use shrimp or steak meat)

1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced
1 purple onion, sliced
2 T. olive oil
2 T. lime juice
2 T. (or 1 packet) fajita seasoning
pepper to taste
Tortillas (I love the homemade tortillas from Costco!)
Favorite toppings: cheese, sour cream, avocados, tomatoes, salsa...

Cook chicken in 2 T. olive oil. When it's almost done, add the vegetables. Season everything with fajita seasoning, pepper, and lime juice. Serve in a warm flour tortilla and top with your favorite toppings! Enjoy!

Carrots and Zucchini

baby carrots
zucchini
olive oil
grated Parmesan cheese
dill weed
salt & pepper

Boil the carrots in water until they're soft. Saute sliced zucchini in olive oil for about 1 minute. Add the carrots and saute together for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese, dill weed, and salt and pepper over the vegetables and stir for a couple minutes more.

Tin Foil Dinners

Heavy duty tin foil and add your favorite ingredients.

Some favorites are:
ground beef, chicken or any kind of meat (we used chicken)
carrots
onions
mushrooms
zucchini
peppers
potatoes
garlic
cream of chicken soup (I used the kind with herbs)
(you can also use BBQ sauce, which tastes a little better with the beef, but not so good on the veggies, so put it on after it's done cooking)


Put your meat and favorite veggies on a large piece of tin foil. Season with salt & pepper, drizzle a little olive oil over everything, and then top with cream of chicken soup. Wrap the ends tightly and make sure it's completely enclosed. Put on a grill or in a camp fire for 30-40 minutes, occasionally turning over. Or, if you do this indoors, you can also bake these in the oven at 350 for 50 minutes.