Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

Source: Everyday Food Magazine

Servings: 4
Total Time: 25 minutes
Nutrition per serving (not including rice): 295 cal; 17g fat (3g sat); 25g protein; 12g carb; 3g fiber

Ingredients: 
2 T soy sauce
2 T rice vinegar
2 T oyster sauce
1 T cornstarch
1 t toasted sesame oil
2 T vegetable oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch strips
3 T minced fresh ginger (I used the bottled ginger to save time)
2 cloves garlic, minced (again, i use the bottled kind)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets
cooked white or brown rice, for serving

Directions:
1. In a wok, heat vegetable oil over high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned, 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, cornstarch and sesame oil.

3. Once chicken is browned, add ginger, garlic, scallions and broccoli to wok and cook until broccoli is bright green, 3 minutes.

4. Add 1/4 cup water, scarping up brown bits.

5. Stir in soy sauce mixture and cook until thickened, about 1 minutes.

Verdict:
This was super yummy and super easy. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but it's all stuff that I typically have on hand. The sauce was really good. I was a little scared at all the ginger, especially using the bottled kind, but it was a really good flavor. I'll definitely be making this again. Both kids ate it up.

Beef Satay with Peanut-Ginger Ramen

Source: Everyday Food Magazine

Servings: 4 - 2 adults and 2 kids, not 4 adults though
Total Time: 25 minutes including marinating
nutrition per serving (not including cucumber): 443 cal; 18g fat (5g sat); 33g protein; 39g carb; 5g fiber

Ingredients:
3 T soy sauce, divided
2 T lime juice, divided
1.75 t sugar, divided
2 t grated fresh ginger, divided
1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
2 packages (3 oz each) Ramen noodles, cooked according to package & seasoning discarded
thinly sliced cucumber, for serving

Directions: 
1. Soak 12 wooden skewers in water for 15 minutes. In shallow dish combine 1 T soy sauce, 1 T lime juice, 1 t ginger and 1 t sugar. Add beef, toss, and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a blender, puree 1 T lime juice, 3/4 t sugar, 1 t ginger, 2 T Soy sauce with peanut butter and 1/3 cup water.

3. Heat grill or grill pan to med-high. Grill beef until charred and cooked through 3-4 minutes per side.

4. Toss Ramen with peanut-ginger sauce.

5. Serve with beef and cucumber.

Verdict:
I thought this was ok. Dave and the kids really liked it. I may have liked it more if one, I hadn't overcooked the meat and two, it was warm when I ate it. These days by the time I sit down with my plate after getting everyone elses, my food is cold. One day I'll get hot food again. It was really easy and the noodles were really good, but pretty peanut-y. I'll probably make it again.

Beef Macaroni

Source: simplyrecipes.com

Servings: 4-6
Total Time: 20 minutes
Nutrition per serving (based on 4 servings): 442 cal; 6 g fat; 61g carb; 35g protein; 5g fiber

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 t seasoned salt (I used lawry's)
Dash crushed red pepper
1/2 t celery seed
1-28oz can diced tomatoes (I used 2-14.5 oz can tomatoes with green peppers)
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cups uncooked macaroni

Directions:
1. Cook macaroni according to package.

2. In a skillet, brown beef in a tablespoon of olive oil. Once browned, add onion and cook until soft.

3. Add crushed red pepper, seasoned salt, celery seed, Worcestershire and canned tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add cooked, drained macaroni and parsley. Simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Verdict: 
This was better than I thought it would be. I knew the kids would love it, and they did. But i'm surprised at how much I liked it. And looking back at the picture, I realize I forgot the parsley, and it was still really good. My parents first made this for the kids when Dave and I were in Mexico and they told me how much they liked it. I'm just now getting around to making it and am now wondering why I waited so long. It's a great alternative to regular spaghetti and will definitely have a place in our future menus!

Easy Shrimp Lo Mein

Source: allrecipes dot com

Time: 15 minutes TOTAL!

Servings: 4 small - this fed the four of us for dinner with no leftovers

Ingredients:

10oz shrimp (I used frozen)

1 T sesame oil

2 - 3oz packages Oriental flavored Ramen noodles

1 - 16 oz frozen stir fry vegetables (I used a snap peas mix)

1.5 cups water

1 T soy sauce or fish sauce (I used fish because I was worried about it being salty)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in wok over med-high heat. Add shrimp and fry until brown, about 3 minutes per side. 

2. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil. Add ramen noodles, reserving the seasoning packets. Boil for about 2 minutes, just long enough for the noodles to break apart. 

3. Microwave frozen vegetables in package for about 2 minutes. Add to wok with shrimp and season with one seasoning envelope. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender, but not mushy.

4. Drain about half the water from the noodles and add remaining seasoning envelope. 

5. Add noodles to wok with shrimp and vegetable mixture. 

6. Add soy sauce or fish sauce and cook for a minute or two longer. 

Verdict: 

This was much better than I expected, coming from Ramen noodles. And not nearly as salty as I thought it would be, although I do like salt so my threshold for saltiness might be higher than others. Next time I might add another package of Ramen and some more shrimp so I have leftovers for lunch. But this meal was so fast an easy. The recipe originally called for tofu, but we don't eat tofu. But I'm sure you could use any meat or fake meat product. Shrimp is easy because it's so fast. The recipe said to fry the tofu for 15 minutes, which would have added a lot of time.  

I'll definitely make this again. 

Santa Fe Chicken

Recipe source: skinnytaste dot com

Time: <10 minutes hands on

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilis
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
8 oz frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
14.4 oz can chicken broth
3 scallions, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste) - I used about 1/4 tsp and it wasn't spicy at all
Salt to taste

Mexican cheese blend (for topping)
Sour Cream (for topping)

Directions:
1- Combine all ingredients (except cheese) in the crock pot. Cook on low for 10 hours.
2- Half hour before serving remove the chicken, shred, and return to the crock pot.
3- Serve with rice or in soft tortillas. Top with cheese, if desired.

Verdict:

This is really good. And so so simple and fast. I served it over lime cilantro rice (cook white rice, add 1/2 lime and some fresh cilantro) the first day. The second day I served it on crunchy taco shells. I'm sure it'd be good on tortilla's as well. It was even better 2 days later as leftover for lunch. All 4 of us ate this one up. Definitely a keeper. 

Ham & Swiss Sliders

Ham & Swiss Sliders

For the sandwiches:
24 Hawaiian rolls (or other rolls/slider buns)
24 slices ham (~1.25-1.5 lbs thinly sliced ham)
24 small slices Swiss cheese (~ 6-8 0z thinly sliced swiss)
Mayonnaise, if desired

For the sauce:
4 tsp yellow mustard
4 Tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Poppy seeds, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.  Split the Hawaiian rolls and spread the insides lightly with mayonnaise, if desired.  Fold a slice of ham to fit on each slider bun, and top with a slice of Swiss cheese.  Replace the top bun to assemble the sandwiches.  Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet.
To make the sauce, combine all ingredients except the poppy seeds in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Drizzle the sauce over the tops of the slider buns.  Sprinkle with poppy seeds.  Cover loosely with foil and bake 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.  Remove the foil and bake 2 minutes longer.  Serve warm.

Verdict: These things are yummy!! The sauce on top is so good, it almost tastes like a honey mustard. I only made half a recipe for us for dinner and it was enough for dinner plus one of us to have lunch. YUM!

Source: delish-blog dot com

Crock Pot Italian Beef

4-4 1/2 lbs of shoulder roast (typically 2 pkgs)

Mix together and pour over roast:
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup peperoncini juice
1 pkg dry au jus (McKormick)
1 pkg dry zesty Italian dressing
Put peperoncinis on top ( I actually mix in with above ingredients.  As many as you like.)

Cook in crock pot on low all day or high for 5-6 hours

Verdict: I've tried a lot of different crock pot beef recipes, and this is by far the best and most flavorful. This recipe makes enough for a large crowd, so I usually use a smaller piece of meat when making it and still have plenty to freeze.

I served the meat on mini rolls with a piece of cheese melted on top. YUM!

Source: Vicki G.