Beef and ginger stir-fry

I normally like to have a funny, catchy title but I just couldn’t think of one for beef and ginger stir-fry! Hmmm…beefy – gingery delicious? Nah. Beef and Ginger delight? That’s actually not half bad!

Pre-chop all ingredients

We love stir-fry here in the Jen’s Blog household. Once all ingredients are chopped the actual cook time is very quick! Stir-fry’s are super versatile and it’s difficult to tire of stir-fry simply because of all the variations you can do!

Pre-chopped and ready to go!

I did a beginner’s guide on my Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry, however it is very wordy. I remember that when I was learning to do stir-fry pictures and video meant everything to me. I hope one day to do a step-by-step post on how to do stir-fry. I feel that this mean is just so quick and easy, even the beginning cook can do it!

Different seasonings can change the entire meal

Now that I’m working full-time I am all about quick and easy meals and stir-fry is just the meal for that. Simply pre-chop everything the night before then cook the next day! There are certain veggies that we have all the time. We absolutely love green or red peppers, broccoli, water chestnuts, and garlic.

So good!

A new technique we discovered is to use Jasmine Rice instead of rice noodles. We absolutely LOVED the Jasmine rise, especially with a teriyaki sauce! Jasmine rice is lighter than American white rice.

I honestly don’t have much more to say about stir-fry, it’s a dish that I highly recommend because of it’s versatility and quick cooking time. It may be intimidating at first, but any beginning cook can do it. Just take your time and have all ingredients laid out before starting.

Well dinner is sitting happy in my tummy AND I got a good fortune! Win-win!

I can’t seem to find the recipe that I used here, but a quick search will yield numerous results! Have fun and enjoy!

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Homemade French Dip – almost as good as Arby’s!

Don’t hate me, but I love the french dip sandwiches at Arby’s! I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s the melted cheese, the thinly sliced roast beef, or the au jus.

Searing the meat

It would be awesome to replicate the french dip sandwich from Arby’s, but that wasn’t my goal when I made this sandwich. My goal was just to make a delicious, simple, and easy meal and I feel like I reached that goal with this recipe! The hardest part was figuring out how to sear this 2lb beef roast in a large frying pan.

Preparing the meat to soak for a few hours

Now if you’re not sure how to sear meat, then I would advice watching some videos and researching. I learn by watching, so finding reliable videos was helpful for me. Then I would practice using some smaller pieces of meat, just so that you can understand what to look for. Searing is basically cooking just the outside of the meat very quickly to seal in the flavor. You’re not cooking the meat all the way through. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper (kosher salt works best because table salt will just dissolve). Use some oil to coat just the bottom of the pan  and turn the heat up to medium/high or high. Once the oil starts to “shimmer” place the widest part of the meat on the pan. Cook for a few minutes and then use tongs to flip the meat over. Be very very careful because oil will splatter out of the pan. A video I would recommend would be :

Video – How to Sear Meat

A simple google search will yield tons of videos on how to do this! I apologize for not taking some pictures of searing this meat to add, but searing happens to quickly that there is no time unless someone else is doing it. Anyways, moving on!

Adding the rest of seasonings

The rest of this recipe is easy breezy. Just let the meat marinate in the crock-pot for most of the day. The longer you cook the meat then the more tender it will be. It should just peel away with your fork.

mmm mmm good!

The only thing I did to the au jus before serving was I drained all of the onion mix pieces. I also put the rolls in the toaster oven (or under the broiler in the oven) with a slice of provolone cheese until the cheese was melted.

This recipe came from a blog called Our Best Bites, and she did a fabulous job providing photos and a walkthrough! The recipe calls for a 2.5-3lb beef roast, but for just myself and hubby a 1.5-2lb beef roast was more than enough! I think I would also add more cheese. Thank you, Our Best Bites for a great recipe!

French Dip Sandwiches by Our Best Bites

1 2.5-3 lb. beef roast (you can use a frozen roast if you want)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
2 1-ounce packages dry onion soup mix
2 c. water
2 cans beef broth
6-8 large buns (or more…6 would be VERY generous servings!)
Swiss, provolone, or mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper.

When very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. You’re not cooking the meat, you’re just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices.

Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onion soup mixes. Pour water and beef broth over roast.

Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high and another 3-4 hours on low. It’s hard to screw this part up; basically, the longer it cooks, the more tender it will be. But you know it’s done when you pop a fork in it and the meat just falls apart. When meat is ready, shred with a fork.

Place meat in crusty rolls. Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melty.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!

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Beef and Rice Enchiladas

Beef and Rice mixture…YUM

I do not like spicy food. Let’s just get that out in the open right away. With that said I don’t think I would be a good person to have great Mexican dishes on her blog. This dish was great for me, but people who love authentic Mexican food may find the need to season it with extra spices.

Spanish rice and pasta cooking

This recipe has one big flaw and yet one big bonus to it; it uses pre-made ingredients. I feel like if you made things from scratch you could really turn this dish into something unique and tasty. You would have fresh ingredients with fresh spices to make this a party-in-your-mouth sort of thing. However, using pre-made ingredients to create a delicious dish without putting too much time or money into it is essential in a busy household.

mmmm

What’s my opinion, you ask? Do I prefer to make from scratch or using pre-made ingredients? It really really depends. I’m a gray area person. I think it depends on what my budget is that week, or how busy I am, or if I even feel like cooking from scratch! I don’t see a problem in using pre-made ingredients, I just make sure to buy a little higher quality instead of generic brands. I don’t consider myself a food snob, but I do think it’s worth the extra .50 to get a name brand that I can trust.

Cheap and delicious! win-win!

As far this particular recipes goes I went ahead and added green peppers, which added great flavor and texture. I also used mild enchilada sauce, which was actually too mild for me! I may use medium enchilada sauce or supplement with some hot sauce next time. I also used a lot of cheese inside and on top of the enchiladas. Hubby l o v e s cheese! Also, don’t forget the tomatoes that are to be added to the Spanish rice and pasta mix! I almost did.

Beef and Rice Enchiladas – Found on Taste of Home.com

Ingredients

• 1 package (6.8 ounces) Spanish rice and pasta mix – don’t forget tomatoes!
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 cans (10 ounces each) enchilada sauce, divided
• 10 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
• 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divded

Directions

• Prepare rice mix according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in Spanish rice and 1-1/4 cups enchilada sauce.
• Spoon about 2/3 cup beef mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top each with 1/3 cup cheese; roll up.
• Place in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Top with the remaining enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Yield: 10 enchiladas.

Recipe from Taste of Home

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Lemon Linguine with Shrimp

My buddy soaking up the sun

Ok, I know what you’re thinking, “this isn’t lemon linguine with shrimp!”. Nope, it’s my kitty cat, Buster. He’s been cute and on the verge of annoying the past couple of days. We get these bugs that find a way into our house and our “fearless” hunter will NOT rest until every last bug is gone; aka eaten. Great protein, I’m sure!

I’m sure he would also love shrimp, but “Mr. Fearless” won’t touch human food! Why, I’m not sure. We’ve tried chicken, beef, chips, vegetables, and whatever else we’re eating. We just like to see if he’ll actually eat what we’re offering. He’ll come up and sniff it then turn his head as if he’s saying it’s not good enough.

Deveining the shrimpies

Back to the lemon linguine with shrimp. I’ll go over the deveining process and how I prepared the shrimp. I basically went with Alton Brown’s method. I began by using small scissors and cutting 3-4 cuts down the backside of the shrimp. You basically just want to expose the “vein” enough to get it out. I know some people leave it in, but I think it’s gross and would rather spend an extra 15 minutes doing this than to eat it’s digestive tract.

Using a toothpick to get the vein out

If it’s a smaller shrimp I guess you could get away with not deveining, mostly because you’ll mutilate the shrimp so bad before you get the vein out. For medium to large sized shrimp though, I think it’s worth it. I used a toothpick to get the vein out once it was exposed.

Soaking in the brine

Once everything was deveined, rinsed, and ready to go I soaked everything for 15 minutes in a sugar/salt brine. I covered it with ice and put it in the fridge to prevent the shrimp from getting too warm. The brine really really made a HUGE difference in how the shrimp tasted. It brought flavor to the shrimp which really added to the flavor of the lemon linguine. I will soak every piece of shrimp in a brine from now on!

Coated with some oil and ready for a few minutes under the broiler

Alton Brown also recommends fast cooking underneath a hot broiler as opposed to boiling them. I tossed the shrimp with a little bit of oil and placed them on a tray covered with aluminum foil. The shells are still on and the shells will actually help keep the flavor in and too much heat out. If the shrimp burn it’s probably just fine because it would have been the shell that burned.

Peeling and marinating the shrimp

Now comes time to peel and marinate the shrimp for the actual meal. This does seem like A LOT of work for shrimp, but I feel like the shrimp was the highlight of this meal and it’s important to do it right. Why eat lemon pasta with crappy shrimp? It’s best to spend a little extra time and really make this dish shine through the shrimp.

Just need to add the life of the party! Shrimp!

Almost the finished product! I didn’t have a good photo of the complete meal, but just pretend that the shrimp are hiding under the noodles! I’m not sure if I would make this again, if I did I would make a few changes. The recipe calls for 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, I barely used 1/2 teaspoon and it was way too much for me. Hubby said that it wasn’t too spicy for him, I’m just a weakling. I will definitely be reducing the amount of cayenne pepper next time though. The recipe also called for 1/2 cup of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of grated lemon peel which way too much for me as well. The meal was way too lemony and I’ll be reducing those amounts next time as well.

Other than that this dish was excellent either hot or cold and was a perfect summer evening meal. It wasn’t heavy like other pasta dishes.

Lemon Linguine with Shrimp taken from Taste of Home

The shrimp process taken from Alton Brown’s Shrimp Cocktail recipe:

BRINE:

1/4 cup salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 cups ice

After deveining, soak shrimp for 15-20 minutes. If it will be a while before cooking the shrimp, place on paper towel and put in fridge.

BROILER:

Set to high and set tray in top position. Use about 1 teaspoon of oil to coat the shrimp. Place on a cookie sheet that is covered with tin foil for 2-3 minutes. Flip shrimp and put back under for 1-2 minutes. Place the shrimp in a cold bowl and place in freezer for 5 minutes. Peel and continue with recipe directions.

LEMON LINGUINE:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound cooked small shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 package (16 ounces) linguine
• 1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

LEMON DRESSING:

• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 1/3 cup minced fresh basil

DIRECTIONS

• In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the oil, vinegar, parsley, cayenne, oregano and salt; add shrimp. Seal bag and turn to coat; set aside.
• Cook linguine according to package directions, adding asparagus during the last 3 minutes; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, combine the oil, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and peel; add linguine mixture and toss to coat.
• Drain and discard marinade. Add shrimp to linguine; gently toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Sprinkle with basil. Yield: 6 servings

Recipe taken from Taste of Home

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Greek Chicken Pasta

I saw this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine and noticed that the cook time was really low, so I thought, “psh! A great meal without alot of effort! I’m all for it!” Besides, I absolutely love Greek food, and even though this isn’t “REAL” Greek food, I knew that it would come out great. I don’t get very many chances to go out and have Greek food anyways. Most of you probably already understand wanting to find a meal that doesn’t require alot of time but is also healthy, tastes great, and will last a few meals. This meal is just one of those meals.

Looks messy, but oh so good!

I’m glad that this meal worked out because I’m busy enough as it is, and the real busyness hasn’t even started! I’m taking a Wilderness First Responder class on Tuesdays and Thursdays in order to prepare for my ranger job. It’s interesting learning about different things I may be responding too, and I’m worried because I don’t think we’ve even gotten into the gross stuff. Last night we got our CPR certification and even though it’s my third time doing it, it’s always great to have a refresher. American Heart Association keeps changing things on us anyways! One year it’s 15 compressions and the next it’s 30!

mmmmmm...I'll just eat around those tomatoes I think....

I’ll definitely be making this recipe again, especially with the crazy summer ahead of me. Part of me is glad that we have to take these classes so that I’m prepared. Yet another part of me wishes that I wouldn’t know this stuff so that I wouldn’t have to respond to medical emergencies! It’s nice that I’ve been learning how to cook so that I can prepare delicious meals for lunch or dinner without breaking the bank!

My review on this recipes is simple and sweet. I bought pre-cooked and pre-cubed chicken in the frozen section and pre-marinated artichoke hearts. My only problem with the artichoke hearts was that they were too big. I’ll either get a smaller cut or just cut them myself! I used sliced black olives instead of the greek olives the recipe calls for. Hubby isn’t a fan of tomatoes, so I’m just going to omit the sun-dried tomatoes next time too. Even with all these changes this recipe was easy and very delicious!

Greek Chicken Pasta by Susan S. in the April/May issue of Taste of Home also found on www.TasteofHome.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked penne pasta
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups cubed rotisserie chicken
• 1 jar (7-1/2 ounces) marinated quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/3 cup sliced pitted Greek olives
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, in a large ovenproof skillet, melt butter. Add onion; saute until tender. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the chicken, artichoke hearts, cheese, tomatoes and olives.
• Drain pasta; stir into the pan. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 5-7 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 5 servings.

By Susan S. on www.TasteofHome.com

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Beef and broccoli stir-fry – a how-to guide

I discovered that I love making stir fry! It’s very versitile as far as what you can throw in there. Chicken, turkey or beef goes great with almost any vegetables you may have on hand. Broccoli, green pepper, onion, garlic, carrots and mushrooms accent any of these meats. It is a little tedious with all the chopping, dicing and slicing, however it is pure adrenaline when you’re actually cooking the meal. Hubby loves to help me slice the vegetables (the non-smelly ones) and I get to chop the garlic, onions, and whatever meat we decide on. It’s only fair that way

I typically freeze the meat about 30 minutes before I’m going to chop it, so I put it in the freezer when I’m starting to chop all the veggies. I also used thick rice noodles which needs to be prepared 30 minutes ahead of time. All I do is heat some water, when it boils I pour it into a heatproof bowl and place the amount of noodles I want and cover. Stir a few times while you’re chopping veggies and it will be ready by the time you’re ready to stir fry! Freezing the meat slightly helps to harden it enough to where I can get a good grip on it while cutting, and I won’t slip and slice my finger. I don’t think sliced finger goes well with stir-fry! Make sure the vegetables are sliced evenly and not too big. I chose beef for this recipe, the store had a nice cut for fairly cheap.

Hubby started chopping as I started slicing and dicing away. About 30 minutes later the meat was ready to be cut and I worked on that while he mixed up the sauces.

Just a few of the ingredients!

Even though we’ve only done this a few times we already have a nice system worked out! I was a little nervous when I did my first stir fry…I accidentally had some water in the pan with the oil and it started popping all over the place! I didn’t know what I did wrong until later. Apparently water and oil are enemies and I should have remembered that from high school science class. The water also messed up my broccoli, which burned it a little bit. Now that this is our third time, we have become wiser and more experienced

I really don’t have very many pictures because once you start heating up the oil it is fast paced and nearly impossible to take pictures! Hubby is at least standing nearby handing me what I need. I’ll try to explain what to do for beginning cooks, as I needed all the help I could get when I first started.

If you don’t have a stir-fry skillet or a wok, you CAN use a regular skillet. Just make sure that the sides are fairly slanted and that it is deep enough to hold the meat, noodles (if using noodles), and veggies.

Once everything is chopped up and in separate bowls within easy reach of your stir-fry/wok skillet add enough oil to just barely coat the bottom. Too much oil and the vegetables soak up too much and get a little soggy (not sure if there is another reason not to add too much). You can tell when the oil is heated enough by moving the skillet and the oil slides very easily across the pan. From that point just follow the recipe!

With this recipe from La Choy I added the onion, brocolli, and water chestnuts. Make sure to use a spatula or utensil meant for non-stick (learned that one the hard way). Just constantly stir the vegetables so that nothing gets overcooked on one side. Once that is done remove the broccoli mixture into a heatproof bowl and set aside. Then add a little bit more oil so that we can now cook the meat. Add the beef and garlic and cook until it’s browned. Again, constantly flip them over so that they are evenly browned on each side.

Then add the brocolli mixture back into the skillet with the beef and add the sauces! Once the sauces begin to thicken add the noodles and lower the heat.

Voila!

Whew! What a lot of talking! I found it necessary to do a quick how-to guide as I would have appreciated any help and advice when I first started out. I’m sure that some of my methods will change, however I think it’s more of “finding your groove”. Once you get in a groove of how to do things it gets easier and easier.

Enjoy making stir-fry!

Recipe adapted (only slightly) from www.LaChoy.com

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Pure Wesson® Vegetable Oil, divided 1 medium onion, chopped (1 med = 1/2 cup) 1 pkg (14 oz each) frozen broccoli florets 1 can (8 oz each) La Choy® Sliced Water Chestnuts, drained 1 pound boneless beef sirloin, cut across grain into 2×1/2-inch strips 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1/3 cup La Choy® Soy Sauce 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon water   La Choy® Chow Mein Noodles, optional

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in large skillet or wok over high heat. Cook and stir onion, broccoli and water chestnuts 4 minutes or until crisp tender. Remove from skillet; set aside. Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon oil into skillet. Cook and stir beef and garlic about 2 minutes or until browned. Add broccoli and water chestnuts back to skillet. Whisk together soy sauce and brown sugar in small bowl. Add to skillet. Stir together cornstarch and water until smooth; add to skillet. Cook until heated through and sauce thickens.

So good and so easy...how can you NOT make it?!?

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