Chicken Stir Fry

My husband, Todd, says I make "Rockin' Stir-fry," so here is the recipe I created tonight.

Ingredients:
1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
Marinade:
3-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 T light soy sauce
2 T Tarragon vinegar
4 T warm water
1 T creamy peanut butter

4-6 cups mixed chopped vegetables, such as onion, asparagus, zucchini, bell pepper, whatever you like and have on hand

Olive oil
3 T cornstarch + cold water and another splash of soy sauce

Cooked Rice

Directions:
Whisk together the marinade ingredients and toss in the chicken, set aside while you stirfry the veggies in the olive oil in your largest skillet or wok.  Once the veggies are cooked to your taste/texture, pour out into a bowl and reheat the skillet until it's rockin' hot.  Throw in the chicken and marinade and cook until just done.  Add the cooked veggies and mix well.  Whisk together the corn starch, water, and a touch of soy sauce.  Make a well in the center of the stir fry and poor in the thickener/sauce.  Once the sauce starts to thicken, stir everything together and serve over the rice, perhaps with some chopped peanuts or chow mein noodles over the top.

*Note: my new favorite way to cook white rice is to boil a big pot of water as for pasta.  Then, I add the rice and boil for about 15 minutes until it is done and then drain in a colander.  This makes for a nice fluffy rice that is not gooey or sticky or clumpy.  Very good for stir fries and fried rice dishes.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

A recipe of my own design:

BROCCOLI TUNA BAKE

Ingredients:
1 lb. box thin spaghetti
2 small heads broccoli, chopped into small bites
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
4 small cans light tuna in water, undrained
2 cans reduced sodium cream of mushroom soup
2 tsp dehydrated onion
1 cup shredded cheese
1 pkg Kraft Fresh Takes breadcrumb/cheese combo (I used the Bacon Cheddar flavor) 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook spaghetti according to the pkg directions, adding broccoli and red peppers half way through cooking and reduce cooking time by one minute as pasta will cook again in the oven.  Drain, but do not rinse pasta and veggies.  In the same pot, combine cans of soup, tuna, and onion.  Toss in the pasta and veggies until combined. Pour half of the mixture into a 9x13" baking dish and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top.  Pour in the remaining casserole and then top with the whole package of Fresh Takes.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges are bubbly and the top is golden brown.  Allow the casserole to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and scooping out with a spatula.

Good Eating Lately

We stopped at a Chinese Buffet on our way home from the Woods last weekend and I had some delish crab legs and claws.  Monday, Grommy made corned beef, roasted carrots, and cabbage and noodles along with Irish Soda Bread with golden raisins and caraway seeds.  On Tuesday, I made a simple breaded/baked chicken asparagus/yellow squash skillet, and twice baked potatoes with roasted garlic.  Wednesday we let Amelia choose a restaurant, so SURPRISE- she chose Chinese food.  After grocery shopping on Thursday evening, I made Swiss Sizzle Steaks on hoagie buns for Todd and me as a late supper.  Friday night we were back together as a whole family at Grommy's house for grilled brats, 3 bean salad, and chips with guacamole.

Tonight (3/24), the plan is for some warm tuna broccoli spaghetti bake with a green salad and homemade bread.

Tomorrow's Sunday Night Suppa will be a healthy chicken stir-fry with a peanutty sauce.

Monday (3/26): Taco Salad with Doritos


Tuesday(3/27): Quinoa Primavera with Roasted Veggies

Wednesday(3/28): Sausage Rice Casserole

Thursday(3/29): leftovers

Menu Plan, week of 3/11/12

Sunday 3/11: Beef Soft Tacos, guacamole, Paula Deen's Corn Casserole http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/corn-casserole-recipe/index.html (cook for half the time called for at 400 - perfection!

Monday 3/12: Grommy's house - Weekly Family Supper: Fresh Polish Kielbasa, Sauerkraut, Mashed Potatoes, Peas, Baby Carrots, Cucumbers with Sour Cream (POLISH SOUL FOOD!)

Tuesday 3/13: Breaded Baked Chicken, Twice Baked Potatoes, South Beach Artichoke Gratin

Wednesday 3/14: Black Bean Soup with Ham, Bruschetta

Thursday 3/15: Creamy Quinoa Primavera (inspired by http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/creamy-quinoa-primavera/22b5e2bd-04c9-44f2-9e42-66b6b24f5d76), Garlic Bread

Friday 3/16: Tuna Salad Wraps, Lays Lightly Salted Potato Chips, Carrot Sticks

Saturday 3/17: Warm Ham and Cheese Subs, leftover Black Bean Soup

Sunday 3/18: TBA Restaurant :-)

Delicious Crepes

I made these crepes for supper on a Thursday and again for brunch on Saturday at Todd's request....they were that good! The original recipe is from Allrecipes.com and my only alteration after a taste test was to add about a tablespoon of sugar to the batter. Also, I made the recipe as is the first time and doubled it with no problem when the kids were here on Saturday. Finally, I used soymilk instead of the regular milk because it was what I had and it worked perfectly. Happy flipping!

Basic Crepes (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/basic-crepes/detail.aspx)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 216 | Total Fat: 9.2g | Cholesterol: 123mg

One last tip: melt the butter in your pan and it is pre-greased for your first batch! My little nonstick skillet actually does great without any additional oiling.

Low Fat, Low Cal CAKE with DIET POP

Recipe: Mix one cake mix with one, 12 oz can diet pop and bake as directed on the box. The flavor combinations are as wide and varied as your imagination! I have made one of these cakes per week for the last four weeks and have had success every time:

1. Week 1: Devils Food Cake Mix (cheapest avail) and Diet Coke, 9x12 pan DELISH!!!!! Very "fudgy"
2. Week 2: Yellow Cake Mix and Diet Root Beer, 9x13" pan Weird color, but tasty
3. Week 3: Double Chocolate Cake Mix (with choc chips) and Diet Coke, 8" round pans. I tried putting marshmallow cream in the middle of the layers and frosting the outside with a can of fudge frosting. However, the marshmallow cream was absorbed by the cake within a day and the frosting made a mess of the cake as it is too tender to frost. It tasted great, but wasn't very pretty.
4. Week 4: Butter Recipe Cake Mix and Diet Red Pop (strawberry), 9x13" pan. Pretty, pink, and pallettable. Well, more than just pallettable-it was yummy.

Try your own combination today! Next on my list is white or lemon cake with orange pop.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I made my Mama's Broccoli Cheese Soup today and it did not disappoint. Here is the recipe:

Saute one chopped onion in a soup pot with some olive oil. Add one quart chicken stock (I use homemade when I have it). To this, add two thawed packages of frozen chopped broccoli (10 oz each). Refill the quart chicken stock container with milk (your choice - I've used skim all the way through fat-free half and half with the expected results). Add the milk to the broccoli and stock mixture and bring it to a boil. Throw in some fine egg noodles, or, if you're cheap like me, about half a pound of broken up angel hair pasta (costs about a third of what the noodles do at my Kroger). Boil these till tender-about three minutes. Finally, add about one pound of cubed Velveeta cheese and stir over med-low heat until it is melted. Turn off the fire and allow the soup to rest for about 20 minutes before stirring again and serving.