Sesame Beef & Chicken Stir fry

So last night's steak had purpose in today's meal (and tomorrow's)

I almost always make more than we need for one dinner so we can use it for lunch or for another meal

I like to cook this way because it saves me a lot of time

I like to save time! 

I think you probably do too.

This post is going to be to the point today...

I had dentist appointments for 3 kiddos ... no naps and a thingy at school tonight that I have to take ALL the kids to by myself because the husband has to work late!  (did I mention no naps?)

Oh the joy!

I am tired.... so I have no energy to write a fun post! 

I am really just wanting to take a nap!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
- 3 steaks (raw or cooked) cut into very thin strips
- 3 chicken breasts (raw or cooked) cut into very thin strips

- 1 small onion finely sliced

- 1 bag stir fry vegetables or parisian style veggies or fresh veggies

- sesame oil

- soy sauce

- 1 jar Ty Ling sesame sauce

- *1 (5 oz) can water chestnuts

-* 1 (15 oz) can baby corn

(*optional)

Directions:

Add 2 tsp oil to pan/wok

Add onions to pan when oil is hot

Cook onions until carmelized

Add vegetables

If using fresh broccoli add a little water to the wok (2 Tbs)

Add a few shakes of soy sauce to the veggies while cooking

When veggies are done, take them out of the pan and set aside in a bowl

Add a few more tsp of oil to the pan

When it's hot add the raw meat 1st (my chicken was raw)

Add a few shakes of soy and cook until done (just a minute or 2)

Add the cooked meat (my steak was already cooked)

Immediately add the Ty Ling Sesame sauce to the meat (aprox 1/4 C)

Let the sesame sauce cook down for about 3 minutes

Add vegetables

Add more Ty Ling Sesame sauce (about 1/4C)

Cook for a few more minutes to blend flavors and you're done

Serve over white or brown rice

***Reviews:
A-W-E-S-O-M-E!-  I LOVE this stuff!  I love Asian food, but we can't always afford to eat out.  I found this sauce one day and thought I'd give it a try... oh..my ... goodness.  It's sooo good!  So, whenever I make steak for dinner this is always dinner for the next day!  Hubs loves this dinner and the kids LOVE this.  Yes, I know it seems wierd that they would eat this with all its veggie friends inside.. but they do.  Add "Chinese" to anything and they are all about it.  Too bad this is one of the few "chinese" dishes I can make! Anyway, I hope you try it because it's really very easy. 

**Tips:
You can use raw or already cooked meat in this... which I love.  I didn't have enough leftover steak so I used that and the raw chicken... it was actually better having the combo. Make sure you cut the meat very thin... wok cooking is supposed to be "high heat" so you want things to cook fast and not burn.  Also, if you don't have a wok, you can use a fry pan... just make sure it's a big one!  Oh and sometimes I add sesame seeds to this while cooking and then as a garnish after... but I totally forgot this time!
 I used a frozen veggies in this.. and I always have before, but I find that the frozen bags ususally are lacking in the broccoli area... so I added a little fresh broccoli too... I just cooked it first so it wasn't so "raw", then added the other veggies.  I liked the fresh broccoli better... though frozen would work just fine. 
I usually add water chestnuts and baby corn if I have them... I didn't tonight.  It still tastes good.
Basically, meat, broccoli and the sauce is all you really need.
And if I'm being honest here.... even though brown rice is healthier.. and that's what I used.... I definitely prefer white rice with this.  Not sure why. I didn't have any though... so brown minute rice it was.  Speaking of rice... make sure to put the water on for the rice right about the time to start the veggies cooking or just before so that it can be done when the stir fry is done. 

I hope you like this recipe! Pleae let me know if/when you try it out!  I'm curious to know what you think.
Also, if you have any great "Asian" recipes....I would love it if you would share them with me.  You can send them to thedinnerdrama@hotmail.com
 I can't wait make some reader recipes to post on here!

Grilled Steak... with a purpose

The weather here is beautiful! 

It's near 70 degrees in November... I love that

I grew up in Michigan and there is sometimes snow by now

I never remember being able to go to the park with the kids in November when I lived there

Weather like this makes me want to grill some food

So, I will

Now, just in case you care, we eat deer meat

So the steaks I grill are deer... not cow. 

But you can grill cow meat if you like.... the result is the same

But mine was free (just sayin')

Anyway.....  I used to be afraid to grill steak.

I thought you had to have mad steak grilling skills

You don't... not really anyway

I mean, you could get all fancy with them

But, that's not what this blog is all about right?

Let's start with the basics... and we can get fancy in a few months maybe?

This is a very basic recipe.... if it's even a recipe. 

But really I am grilling this very basic steak because it will make a great dinner tonight and.....

Then, I will use the rest for 2 other dinners this week. (here's where the "purpose" in the title comes in)

Kind of along the same lines as my mass grilled chicken post

Ingredients:

- 6 steaks
- 1/2 C olive oil
- 2 Tbs garlic salt
-1 Tbs season salt

Directions:
Place steaks in olive oil to marinate for a few hours
Let them get to room temperature
Place steaks on platter
Sprinkle seasoning evenly over steaks on both sides (you don't have to use it all.... use your judgement)
Grill steaks a few minutes on each side until done to your liking.
We like ours rare so that doesn't take all that long
Enjoy!
It's pretty simple

***Review:
We have been eating this for years.  Everyone loves this. The kids sometimes like it with ketchup but I'm ok with that.  It's an easy easy easy go to dinner!

**Tips:
Sometimes I don't decide we're eating this until oh, about an hour before we eat...lol  so, I just take the meat out of the freezer, put the bag in hot water and thaw it quickly.  You don't have to marinate it for hours.. it's just a little better if you do. As for the spices.. you can do whatever you want there. I like mine salty... if you don't then just adjust the seasoning to taste.  Sometimes we even serve it with horseradish on the side... that's yummy.  As for cooking time, I'm sorry I can't be more precise... it really depends on the thickness of your steaks and how you like them done.  But I can tell that when the meat feels "squishy" in the center... that means it's pretty rare.  The more you do it the better you get at knowing when it's done.... this is where the mad skills come in ;)

(I can't wait to turn this into stir fry tomorrow night)

Stuffed Shells

So last week I made some homemade pasta sauce

 I used that sauce in tonight's great recipe

I think I've mentioned before that cooler weather makes me want warm, cheesy, savory comfort foods

Usually, I would make lasagna

But... since I'm doing this blog now, I figure you don't want multiple recipes for lasagna right?

So, I go to the next best thing....

Stuffed shells

It's pretty much still lasagna.... only fancier.

And a little more work

But, it's good and I like good food!

My mother in law made this last Christmas and I really liked it.

I was just too lazy to make it myself....lol

But I wanted to give you something different and I really had a lot of fun doing it

The kids had fun watching me too

They liked the sea shell shaped noodles .... A LOT. 


Ingredients:

- 1 box large pasta shells
- 3/4 C Parmesan (shredded not the powder stuff)
- 1 (24oz) small curd cottage cheese (or Ricotta cheese)
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp basil
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 3/4 tsp pepper
- 4 C spaghetti sauce
- 1 1/2 C Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)

Directions:

Boil noodles until al dente ( or slightly underdone)
Drain noodles and set aside
Spread 1 C sauce evenly on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish ( so the shells don't stick)

 In a bowl, mix the cottage cheese, egg, 1/2 C parmesan, basil, garlic salt and pepper.
*This next step is not necessary, but makes stuffing shells much easier.  You can just use a spoon instead.
Using a spatula, scrape the cheese mixture into a ziplock bag/pastry bag

Snip off the corner of the bag
Squeeze cheese mixture into each shell. Aprox 2 Tbs per shell
Don't overstuff shells.
Close up the seam and place shells on their sides into baking dish close together

I fit 2 rows of 10 shells and then 4 extra on the bottom
(the extra cheese you see laying in there is just what I had left over)
Once all shells are filled and placed, sprinkle remaining 1/4 C Parmesan over shells
Pour remaining 3 Cups sauce over top
Top with 1 1/2 C Mozzarella
Bake uncovered @ 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes
When cheese is browning and sauce is bubbling it's done

***Review:
This was a great dish.  I was very happy with how it turned out.  We had company over for dinner and they said they loved it.  I know the hubs and I did!  The kids didn't get a chance to try it, because they ate before our company arrived.  I honestly didn't think they would eat it anyway... but of course they begged for some and liked what they tried.  Go figure the one time I try to feed them a different dinner, they want what we're having!   I will be making this again and again! 

**Tips:
The ziplock bag trick is great.... it makes it so much easier to stuff the slippery noodles.  This is really the hardest part of it all.  Also, just to make things easier on me, I actually boiled the noodles in the morning, drained them and put them in the fridge.  When it was time to bake them I took them out and ran warm water over them to get them pliable again so I could stuff them.  It was great and was one less thing to do at dinner time.  But be careful not to tear them while working with them... you want them in one piece.
If you are using a jarred sauce instead of homemade, then I think it would be great to fry up some italian sausage and sprinkle it on top of the shells before baking as well.  Or it could just be a vegetarian dish with no meat. I personally would have loved to add spinach to this dish as well, but one of our dinner guests does not like veggies so I opted out of the spinach.  But if you were to add it, you could put it right in with the sauce or in with the cheese stuffing. Either way would be great.  Add a little crusty italian bread and you have the perfect meal! Mmmmm!

Mini Cheese Cakes

Just for fun, I thought I'd add a dessert or appetizer recipe in here once a week or so

I mean what goes better with a great dinner that a yummy dessert?

I am in no way a baker, but these little guys are so simple it's crazy

They are literally easier than any dessert I've ever made... except maybe scooping icecream.

I love it because they look fancy and difficult... but secretly, they take no time or effort!

That's what we're going for right? 

Ingredients:

- 2 pkgs. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Nilla wafers (16-18 cookies)
-  1 Lg. Can  cherry or blueberry pie filling or fresh fruit

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

With a mixer,cream the softened cream cheese with the sugar.

Add eggs and vanilla, beat until fluffy.

Using a muffin pan and foil liners, place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of each liner.

Fill each up 3/4 full with cheese mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Cool.

Top each cake with pie filling or fresh fruit.

Makes about 16 -18 cheese cakes

***Review:

I have never made these before.  I seriously could NOT belive how easy they were.  I was afraid that they wouldn't taste good... but they did!  Yummy yummy yummy!  I made a lot of these and shared most of them with other people... neighbors, friends...etc.  Everyone loved them... either that or they were just being polite.  But, since I tried one or two... I will have to agree and say yes, I loved them too!  The kids, of course, begged for them every minute of the day and the hubs was pretty happy to eat a few himself. 

These will be my new "go to " dessert for sure!  I mean, you can't beat 5 minutes of work for a fancy looking dessert!

**Tips:

Make sure to have the cream cheese at room temperature before you start making this... otherwise it will be very difficult to mix.  When it's soft, it's much easier!
Foil baking cups work best for this dessert because they look "professional" and they are a little more stiff so they give more support to the filling.  I have not tried it, but I am pretty sure you could just use regular cupcake liners and they would work fine.They just won't look as good. I used cherry pie filling and it took the whole can to fill up 18 cheesecakes... so go light on the topping until you know you will cover all your cakes.  You can always go back and add to them. I think fresh fruit and a little whipped cream would be great on top of these.

I hope you love these just as much as we did!

Homemade Pasta Sauce

It's fall and it's chilly

Sometime around this time of year I start craving "comfort" foods

Lasagna and the like are one of those foods for me

I come from an Italian family and I grew up eating ONLY homemade pasta sauce

I mean... I couldn't even think of eating anything that came out of a jar

When I first met my husband, I made him lasagna from scratch... even shredding the mozzarella by hand

Then.... I had babies...lots of them.... and there was no more homemade for a while

My wonderful mom made me sauce and froze it so I could always have it on hand.....

But eventually I had to break down and but a jar here or there

Then I got used to it.... sort of

BUT.... my youngest child is now 2... so I have a lot more free time then I've had in years

I decided to make my own sauce again

OH MY! 

I had forgotten what I was missing!

I don't know that I will ever buy a jarred sauce again.

Seriously!

See for yourself:

Ingredients:

- 15 cloves of garlic, diced
- 3 Tbs butter
- 1 (29 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 3 (29oz) cans tomato sauce
- 2 (4oz) cans mushrooms (drained)
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp basil
- 1/2 C red wine
- 1/4 C white wine or sweet vermouth

Directions:

In a large pot melt 2 Tbs of butter add diced garlic and sautee for a few minutes (don't let it brown)

Turn heat to low and add crushed tomato and tomato sauces. 
Add your Italian seasoning and basil (and any other spices you might like in your sauce)

In a seperate fry pan, melt the leftover 1Tbs of butter.
Add cans of mushrooms and sautee
Once mushrooms are getting a little brown, add the white wine (or vermouth)

Let the liquid cook down then add the mushrooms to the sauce pot
In the same pan, fry the sausage (if you are using ground sausage)
Drain and add the sausage to the sauce pot
*If you are using sausage in the casings (tubes) you can add it to the sauce whole and uncooked if you like.  As long as you cook it for a few hours it will be fine.
Add the 1/2 C red wine...mix well
Cook on simmer/low for at least 3 hours
Stir every once in a while to make sure there is no sticking on the bottom
I cook it much longer than that (6 hrs) because I happend to be home all day.
That's it. 
Now it's ready to be used in any dish you like or once it cools you can freeze it for when you are ready for it.

Review:
This sauce was so good.  I was taking tastes of it all day.... so were the kids.  Everyone loved it. The kids ate many many servings of the sauce over noodles... it was a huge hit!  They even ate the mushrooms because they thought they were sausage...lol

Tips:
Do not cook this with a lid on the pan... it will make it watery.
Make sure to cook it on a low setting.. you don't want any boiling or burning on the bottom.
If you are not a wine drinker then you can buy these little mini bottles of wine (in a 4 pack similar to this) instead of buying a large bottle and letting the rest go to waste
Or you might have a neighbor/taste tester that loves red wine and you can borrow some from her :)
If you do use sausage in the casing, make sure to take it out at the end of cooking time and cut it up to put back in the sauce...and to make sure it's cooked through.
You can make this without the sausage... though my mom would have a heart attack and say you are losing a lot of flavor.
It can be made with ground beef or turkey or even no meat at all.
This can be used as a base... you can add any seasonings you want to make it your own. 
If you don't have the wines or vermouth you can still make this... they just add a little more to the flavor
Freezing:  When the sauce cools, you can place it in individual servings in a freezer bag to use for another time. 
It might seem like a lot of work... but it's work once for a lot of dishes later!
Let me know if you try this and what you think.
Do you have a sauce recipe that's different or an ingredient that you think makes your sauce great?  Share!

Salsa Chicken in the crockpot

I have been checking out a lot of cookbooks and websites lately

I'm searching for easy recipes that taste good so I can share them with you

I would love it if you would share your recipes with me too!

I found this one on some random site and e mailed it to myself

It seemed pretty easy and sounded good so I made it tonight

I love how simple it is!

Ingredients:

 

- 6 chicken breasts

- 1 (15 oz) can black beans (drained)

- 1 can corn (drained)

- 1 (16 oz) jar of salsa

- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

- rice, hot cooked

 

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in slow cooker, except rice and cheese.
2. Cover; cook on Low 6-8 hours or High 4-5 hours.
3. Serve over rice and top with cheese

Review:
Honestly, this is not the best dish I've ever made... but it's pretty good.  Hubs liked it but the kids were not fans.  Each one had a different thing they hated about it... mostly it was the tomatoes... but they loved the beans, corn & rice.  Unfortunately, salsa doesn't come without tomatoes...lol   I did love how easy this was though.  Just a few ingredients and it's done.  It seems pretty healthy too and low in fat.  It has a very light/fresh taste to it. I would probably make it again.

Tips:
I think if I were to make this again I might throw the cheese in the crockpot at the end and let it melt onto the chicken... just to see how that would taste... maybe even melt some velveeta in there.  Definitly serve it over rice though... that totally makes the dish! 

The kid version

Dogs in a blanket. Dinner or Appetizer....with a holiday twist!

You may have made these little guys before.

This is only my second time. 

I did not know they existed a few years ago... so I'm posting this just in case there are others that have never seen them either.

My kids think this is a super fun food and I wonder why I don't make them more often.

This time we put a little twist on them. 

Not only did we make the dogs in a blanket..... we made mummies.

I have boys... boys like mummies. 

And... it is still close enough to Halloween for it to be a fun thing.

I wanted to make them ON Halloween, but ran out of time to cook at all. 

So here we are on Nov 1st eating Mummies.  

No one in this house seems to care.

These don't have to be dinner... they make a fun appetizer for a party too. 

OR even a good after school snack. 

Ingredients:

-1 pkg  cressent rolls or pillsbury cresent roll sheet (these are a new thing)
- 1 pkg mini hot dogs or sausages  or you could use full size hot dogs and adjust your dough

Directions for the mummies:

Take out two of the cressent triangles and make them into a rectangle by pressing the seams together like this

Cut strips of dough off the long side of the recgangle to wrap around the mummy body.  Start wrapping dough at the middle point of the dog to leave room for the face and a head wrap.

next wrap a piece of dough around the top leaving enough room for a face.
Once you have them all wrapped,place them on a baking sheet (or pizza stone in my case)

 bake them according to package directions (375 for 11-13 minutes)

When they come out, use a toothpick to "paint" the eyes, nose and mouth with mustard.

They are ready to eat!

Now, if you are totally not into the mummy thing you can always make regular ol' dogs in a blanket like this:

Ingredients:
- 1 pkg cressent rolls
- 1 pkg mini dogs or sausages OR regular hotdogs (adjust dough size for large dogs)

Directions for the dogs in a blanket:
Seperate dough into triangles. 
Cut each triangle in half or into 3rds.
Place dog on small triangle piece like this:

And just roll it up so it looks like this:

Place it on a baking sheet and bake according to package directions (375 for 11-13 minutes) and this is the yumminess that you should get!

Review:
We love these.  As a dinner they are more for the kids than for the adults although, our friends made them for our bible study last weekend (as an appetizer)and they were a big hit.  It's just a fun food to make every once in a while!  I'll be honest, it's a little bit of work to make the mummies... but I don't mind a little hard work every now and then.  The dogs, however, take no time at all.

Tips:
I think this is a pretty easy dish, so I don't have much in the way of tips.  If you do make them with full size hot dogs, you can cut them up into bite sized servings and serve them that way so that they aren't so big.  Or, you could add a little cheese under the dough for something different.