Recipe Box Archives | Page 30 of 30

September 28, 2010 by Krista

Tasty Tuesday: Beef Stir Fry

Stir-fry is one of our favorites. It’s great because you can change it up just enough that it’s like a whole new meal every time! One of my favorite recipes:

STIR FRY BEEF & SNOW PEAS

3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon corn starch

1/2 tablespoon of oil (we use EVOO, but have used vegetable in a pinch)

1 tablespoon minced ginger root (or 1 1/2 teaspoons of ginger powder)

1 tablespoon minced garlic (or 2 teaspoons of garlic powder)

1 lb beef round steak, cut into strips (we’ve used other cuts of meat too, and it still tastes delish)

10 oz snow peas (I buy the bag from Costco and use half to two-thirds of it)

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce and brown sugar. Then mix in the corn startch. Set it aside. Heat oil in a wok or skillet on medium high heat. Fry the ginger and garlic for about 30 seconds. If you are using powders, wait to add them until you add your sauce. Add the steak and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until evenly browned. Add the peas and cook an additional 3 minutes. Add the sauce mixture (and your powders, if applicable), bring to a boil and stir constantly. Turn heat to low and simmer until the sauce is thick and smooth. Serve. Enjoy! Caution: It WILL be hot… but oh, so yummy!

Use any meat you’d like and you can also add any veggies you would like: mushrooms, carrots, peppers, zucchini, water chestnuts. Sometimes we cheat and buy the frozen bags at the store… It turns this quick meal into a SUPER quick meal. Mmmmm. My fave: quick and easy!

September 17, 2010 by Krista

Fanciful Friday: Menu Board

When I first got married I was appalled at how much time went into cooking dinner every day! I never really appreciated it when I lived with my parents. And I even cooked a couple times a week when I was single, but I didn’t have to do it everyday! It can be exhausting.

Then, My Mr. Right and I started making out menus for a couple weeks at a time. It made dinner soo much easier! I didn’t look at the clock at 4:30pm and think ‘ugh, what are we gonna have for dinner?’. I just looked at our menu and figured out when I needed to start things to have them ready at a decent time. And we saved money because we could do our grocery shopping all at one time and we knew exactly what we needed. No more last minute trips that end with a dozen other things too. It was fantastic.

Then our lives got all tipsy turvy when My Mr. Right abruptly became unemployed… again. We used our savings to pay off baby bills and were anything but prepared to have no income. We ended up moving in with my parents when we moved for hubby’s new job because housing is ridiculously expensive here…

And so is my mother’s meal planning. It was, by no means, uncommon for her to come home from work at 4pm and ask “What should we have for dinner?” I hated cooking! Everything was such a mess… and since I didn’t do all the grocery shopping anymore I didn’t know what we even had in the cupboards. Enter sanity. At least where dinner is concerned. My hero: the menu board. First saw this idea on A Girl and a Glue Gun… HERE… But I’ve since seen many a menu board floating around blogland. Here’s how I did it:

I bought some super cheap cookie sheets from Wal-Mart. They came in a pack of three for $4. Mainstays brand. In case you wanna go cookie sheet hunting. I’d never cook on these… They were all scratched up by the time I got them home. Asking for a rust problem…? I think yes. Anyway, spray paint the pan. I did a matte black. It’s what I had on hand. Cover the black with clear paint to protect from scratches. Then, I hot glued on some cute digi scrapbook elements I had printed out. (Embellishments from Dinner Party Kit by Sara Carling @ www.shabbyshoppe.com).

Then I collected any and all dinner ideas and recipes my family and I could think of. I typed them all up. Laminated them. Actually, it was contact paper, but it worked. Cut them apart. And them stored them in a plastic baggie for about 2 weeks… This step is totally optional and in no way effects the outcome of your menu board.

I put magnets on the back of each paper. It was a lot of papers! I found a pack of magnet strips also at Wal-Mart for $.97 and you can’t beat that. It had about 15 strips and I used about 5.

Add some more cutesies at the top of the board. Then I glued some ribbon across the pan and put my magnetic days of the week papers across that. I put magnets on the back in case we wanted to go M-Sun instead of Sun-Sat. Then I took some other ribbon and created a grid pattern out of it.

Made up my menu plans and sat back to bask in the world of sanity I just created. Ahh! Feels good.

September 7, 2010 by Krista

Tasty Tuesday: Fall Cupcakes

I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite things about Fall and the ensuing Holiday Season is… yep, you guessed it! The goodies! I have a sweet tooth that could compete with the best of them. Fudge, cookies, cakes, brownies, pies… man, oh man… I think that’s what heaven will be like! He-He! So, for my Fall Celebration here’s a recipe you’ll FALL in love with. Corny, I know. All right, I’m done. Promise.

Fall Spice Cupcakes

2 cups of All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Butter

1 cup Sugar

3 Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla

1/3 cup Milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl. Beat in the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and mix well. Beat in the vanilla. Add the milk. For a less intense spice taste, add another 1/4 cup of milk. Pour the mixture into the muffin tins. Bake 15-20 mins. Cupcakes are done when the top is golden brown and springs back to light pressure. You don’t have to frost, these make yummy muffins too, but I like them with a light cinnamon powdered sugar glaze. Enjoy. Store any extra in an air tight container for best freshness.

August 31, 2010 by Krista

Tasty Tuesday: Pasta Salad

We served this at my son’s birthday bbq and it got rave reviews. We are now asked to bring this whenever we do potlucks with our friends. It’s actually my little sister’s recipe that I took and ran with. She’s thinking about going into culinary arts when she starts college next year. I’d say she’s off to a fantastic start! Used with her permission. And then embellished!

PASTA SALAD

2 12oz packages of garden rotini (the colored curly noodles) although you really could use any noodles

1 bottle of Kraft Light Zesty Italian Dressing (I don’t know the exact size, but the big bottle)

4-5 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 Bell Pepper (Your choice of color)

1 8oz package of finely shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cans of olives sliced (3 cans of pre-sliced olives)

You can, of course, add any other ingredients you wish (broccoli, cauliflower, cheese chunks, ect)

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. When tender, drain and run under cold water. Combine the pasta, tomatoes, pepper and olives. Mix well. Stir in the cheese and Italian dressing. Hold back just enough cheese to sprinkle on top for a garnish. Serve immediately or let set in the refrigerator overnight. Enjoy!

August 17, 2010 by Krista

Tasty Tuesday: Mint Chocolate Brownies

Today’s Tasty Tuesday is a recipe that… is a “Krista Original”. Yeah, that’s just a fancy way of saying I made it up. But, it did turn out pretty yummy, if I do say so myself (and I do). Mint and chocolate…??? Are you prepared for some heavenly goodness??

KRISTA’S MINT CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
4 tsp vanilla (less to taste if desired)
6 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp peppermint or mint extract
3 Tbsp chocolate syrup

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and soda. Mix. Add butter (I stick my butter in the microwave until it’s soft enough to easily mix with everything else. Sometimes it melts completely… I haven’t noticed any quality issues and it’s a lot easier to mix this way. Maybe there is someone out there that knows better than I do; but until I’m told otherwise, I’ll just keep up my ‘cheating’ ways.) Mix in the rest of the ingredients, except the chocolate syrup. Stir or mix with a mixer until it is smooth. Bake in a 9″x13″ pan at 350degrees for 15-18 mins. I top it with a powdered sugar icing and Andes mint chips (found in the baking aisle). Then I drizzle the chocolate syrup on top.

These brownies are very rich, but they rock a mean treat at a Christmas party. And I’m just a fan of chocolate mint… so they always rock my world. Hope you enjoy. If you do try them, I’d love to know what you think.

Privacy Policy