Sesame Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 piece (3/4 pound) filet of beef, cut in 3/4-inch strips (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 scallions, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 small garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound broccoli, florets cut into small pieces, stalks peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• Cooked rice, for serving

Directions

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add beef, and sprinkle with the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a plate.
2. Add scallions and garlic to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 30 seconds. Add broccoli and 1/2 cup water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is dry, about 3 minutes. Stir together broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a small bowl, and add to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is no longer cloudy, 1 to 2 minutes. Return beef and any juices to pan; cook, stirring often, until beef is heated through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, and stir in sesame oil. Serve with rice.

Note: Kids loved this and we love it with fried rice made with brown rice.

Melissa's Homemade Brownies

I love these brownies of Melissa’s!!  They are my favorite treat that she makes.  They turned out dang good when I made them too.  And they are soooooo easy (almost as easy as opening a box).

2 cubes of butter

½ cup cocoa

2 C sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ C flour

Melt butter with cocoa.  While that cools mix sugar, eggs, vanilla.  Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture.  Add salt, baking powder, and flour.  Mix and put in a greased13x9 pan.   Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Alice Springs Chicken like Outbacks

Ingredients

Honey Mustard Marinade

½ C Dijon mustard

½ C honey

1 ½ tsp vegetable oil

½ tsp lemon juice

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves

1 Tbl vegetable oil

2 C sliced mushrooms (10 to 12 mushrooms)

2 Tbl butter

salt

pepper

paprika

8 slices of bacon, cooked

1 C shredded Monterey jack cheese

1 C shredded cheddar cheese

2 tsp finely chopped parsley

Instructions:

1. Use an electric mixer to combine Dijon mustard, honey, 1 ½ tsp vegetable oil, and lemon juice in small bowl.  Whip the mixture about 30 seconds.
2. Pour about 2/3s of marinade over the chicken breast and marinate them, covered, in the refrigerator about 2 hours.  Chill the remaining marinade until later.
3. After the chicken has marinated, preheat the over to 375 degrees F. and heat up an oven proof frying pan large enough to hold all four chicken breasts and 1 Tbl oil over medium heat.  (if you don’t have an oven proof skillet transfer chicken to a baking dish after searing for baking.)  Sear the chicken in the pan for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown.  Remove the pan from heat but keep the chicken in the pan.
4. In a small frying pan sauté the mushrooms in butter
5. Brushed each seared chicken with a little of the reserve honey mustard marinade (not what the chicken had been sitting in), being sure to save a little extra to serve on the side later.
6. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and a dash of paprika.
7. Stack 2 pieces of cooked bacon crosswise on each chicken breast
8. spoon the sautéed mushrooms onto the bacon, being sure to coat each breast evenly.
9. Spread a ¼ C Monterey jack cheese into each breast followed by ¼ C  of cheddar.
10. Bake the prepared chicken breast for 7 to 10 minutes or until cheese  is thoroughly melted and starting to bubble.
11. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with the honey mustard marinade.
12. note: we serve over mash potatoes and leave off the mushrooms.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

BAKED CREAMY CHICKEN TAQUITOS
recipe from: Our Best Bites and Pennies on a Platter
Yield: 12 taquitos
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from half a lime)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese
small flour or corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic. Once combined, stir in the cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly.
(If you decided to prep this in advance, refrigerate the mixture at this point until ready to continue.)
Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds).
Spoon 2-3 Tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.
Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone.
Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other.
Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.
Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

**To freeze:  Before baking, flash freeze the taquitos in a single layer on a baking sheet then place in a labeled freezer bag and store up to 3 months.  To bake a frozen taquito (no need to thaw first): Preheat oven to 425˚F and bake for 20 minutes.  (Flash Freeze means freezing the taquitos in a single layer for 15-20 minutes)

Notes:  From Sarah.  We loved!!  Served with guacamole and sour cream.  Also made homemade corn tortilla chips to go with.

(until hardened) so that when you add them to the freezer bag, they will not all stick together).

Christmas Waffles

 

 Made 4 waffles (our size nice and fluffy)

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 3/4 cups milk

Directions:

1 In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.
2 Separate the eggs, adding the yolks to the dry ingredient mixture, and placing the whites in a small mixing bowl.
3 Beat whites until moderately stiff; set aside.
4 Add milk and melted butter to dry ingredient mixture and blend.
5 Fold stiff egg whites into mixture.
6 Ladle mixture into hot waffle iron and bake.

Notes: use lots of butter to grease waffle iron, we pile high with fresh fruit and whip cream!