Beef With Broccoli

This is my favorite Asian dish to make, hands down. It has the best flavor of any recipe I've ever tried and it's easy to make! It's the best! It may not be the most authentic recipe but it tastes way better than greasy Chinese take out.

The sauce comes together pretty quickly. It's a mixture of soy sauce, brown sugar, cooking sherry, cornstarch, and grated ginger and garlic. I use my mini food processor to chop up the ginger root and garlic. I LOVE ginger. Like, my favorite part of sushi is actually the pickled ginger. I eat more ginger than sushi. GINGER FOR LIFE. So in this recipe I used two 1 inch knobs of fresh ginger which gives it a really nice ginger flavor. (I didn't think it was overpowering at all but if you don't love ginger as much you can scale it back a little)Once you chop up the ginger and garlic the hard work is done! Mix everything together and let sit.

Slice whatever kind of beef you are using into bite sized pieces. (The recipe calls for flank steak but since I never need that much steak at once I buy sirloin tips or something cheaper in smaller quantities)Pour half the sauce over the steak and let sit for 30 minutes or so.

Once that is done, cut your veggies into bite sized pieces. The recipe calls for snow peas but I like making it with broccoli. I love the way the sauce clings in the nooks and crannies of broccoli.

Once the meat is done marinating you want to heat a pan up over high heat. A cast iron pan is perfect for this. Cook half the meat at a time, just until it is seared on all sides. Move out of the pan and repeat with remaining meat. Move out of the pan and place the broccoli in the pan. Cook a few minutes. Add the meat back into the pan and pour the reserved sauce over everything. Let simmer for a few minutes until everything is cooked through. Serve over rice.

Even kitties like it! Although he eats spiders sometimes so I don't know how discerning he is.

Beef with Broccoli
 Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

• Steak, Trimmed Of Fat And Sliced Very Thin Against The Grain
• 1/2 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 3 Tablespoons Sherry Or Cooking Sherry
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 3 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Ginger
• 8 ounces Broccoli florets
  
• 5 whole Scallions, Cut Into Haf-inch Pieces On The Diagonal
• Salt As Needed (use Sparingly)
• 3 Tablespoons Peanut Or Olive Oil
• Crushed Red Pepper, For Sprinkling (optional)

In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Pour half the liquid over the sliced meat in a bowl and toss with hands. Reserve the other half of the liquid. Set aside.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet (iron is best) or wok over high heat. Add broccoli and stir for 45 seconds. Remove to a separate plate. Set aside.

Allow pan to get very hot again. With tongs, add half the meat mixture, leaving most of the marinade still in the bowl. Add half the scallions. Spread out meat as you add it to pan, but do not stir for a good minute. (You want the meat to get as brown as possible in as short amount a time as possible.) Turn meat to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove to a clean plate.

Repeat with other half of meat, allowing pan to get very hot again first. After turning it, add the first plateful of meat, the rest of the marinade, and the snow peas. Stir over high heat for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Check seasonings and add salt only if it needs it. Mixture will thicken as it sits.
Serve immediately over rice. Sprinkle crushed red pepper over the top to give it some spice.

 

Baked Spaghetti

This is one of my new favorite recipes! The first time I made it we loved it so much I made it again later that week. I decided to make it for my friends the first night of our vacation, except vegetarian this time because we have a vegetarian in the group and it turned out really good. It feeds a crowd and pleases everyone. It was doubled to feed 6 and there were still leftovers.

I served it with roasted broccoli, (the recipe can be found here: roasted broccoli) and garlic bread. To make garlic bread take a big loaf of bread and make slices it almost all the way through the bottom. Mix softened butter with garlic powder, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and a little fresh parsley. Smear the butter in between each slice of bread and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese in between each slice. Wrap it in aluminum foil and stick it in the oven while the spaghetti finishes. It is delicious! 

BAKED SPAGHETTI
Adapted from Bobby Dean Baked Spaghetti

• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 bottle spaghetti sauce
• 1 c. low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• splash of red wine
• 1 c. onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, or to taste
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 Lb. lean ground beef
• 8 oz. angel hair pasta
• 1 c. Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 c. Mozzarella or Monterey cheese, grated

In a large saucepan, combine the tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, chicken broth, Worcestershire, red wine, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, sugar and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. When sauce is about done, in a nonstick skillet, cook the ground beef over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Add the meat to the sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions and drain well. Lightly grease an 8X8-inch casserole dish. Combine the sauce mixture with the cooked pasta, 1/2 cup of Cheddar and 1/2 cup of Mozzarella or Monterey. Pour into casserole dish. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and continue to bake until melted and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Serves: 5-6

For the vegetarian version I omitted the beef and added a container of chopped baby bellas to the sauce. I also used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

Chocolate Cake with Nutella

I have made this cake twice. The first time I used this lovely recipe by the Pioneer Woman: The Pioneer Woman's Cake   It was delicious and beautiful. Unfortunately I do not have pictures of it.

The second time I made this cake I 400% cheated. My friends and I are on vacation in North Carolina and I didn't want to have to buy flour and sugar and baking powder and whatnot and have to carry all the extra back home. So a boxed cake mix fit the bill. I also didn't want to have any leftover whipped cream so I went with cool whip instead. This version barely even deserves a recipe it's so easy.

You may also notice I didn't add strawberries. That is because I forgot them at the store and the fruit market we stopped at on the way back didn't have any.

I am a cake failure.

Well I guess not really because the cake was a big hit! My friends all loved it! And it served my purposes, there weren't any leftover ingredients I have to lug back home.

For the real version click the link above. For the cheater's version:

Cheater's Chocolate Nutella Cake with Whipped Cream

• 1 box chocolate cake mix
• eggs
• water
• oil

• Cool Whip

• Nutella

Bake the cake according to package directions, baking in 2 8 or 9 inch cake pans. Allow to cool.

Turn out one cake onto the cake pan and spread liberally with nutella. Then spread cool whip over that. Place the other cake over top and repeat, spreading with nutella and cool whip. I liked the rustic look and left the sides unfrosted but you could frost around the sides too.

Slice and enjoy!

Banana Cake with Whipped Ganache

Why do I constantly have over ripe bananas sitting on my counter? Maybe it is my fault, I do not like to eat bananas if they even have a single spot on them; they have to be perfectly yellow. Maybe it is because bananas are perfect for about 3 seconds and I can't eat a whole bunch of bananas in 3 seconds. Whatever the reason, I have to make a lot of baked goods to use up all these stupid bananas. This was the newest recipe I tried.

The cake started out as most cakes do except made with oil instead of butter. Eggs are added and then the dry ingredients are mixed in. The mashed bananas get folded in last.

It gets baked in 2 8 or 9 inch cake pans.

Let the cakes cool completely. The frosting was probably the easiest frosting I've ever made and I really liked it. It's chocolate chips (I used semisweet) melted into heavy whipping cream with a little vanilla added in. Let it cool completely and then whip it with an electric beater until it's light and fluffy.

Slice and enjoy! It's a very easy cake and frosting and tastes good!

Banana Cake with Whipped Ganache
2 1/2 cups (320 g) all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (300 g) white sugar
1/2 cup (120 ml) canola oil
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (180 ml) cup milk (I used 1%)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 cups of banana mash)

Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache:
10 oz (285 g) good-quality 60-70% cacao chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon instant powdered expresso, dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water
1/16 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/4 cups (195 ml) whipping cream

Instructions

For the cake, preheat oven to 350F; grease 2 8 or 9 inch cake pans.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Cream together the sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Whisk in the milk, vanilla extract.Then stir in the bananas.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just to combine, being careful not to over-mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean or with just a couple crumbs, about 1 hour.
Cool the cake completely before frosting.
For the ganache, add the chocolate, vanilla, dissolved espresso powder, and sea salt to a large bowl. Bring the cream to a gentle simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour the hot cream onto the chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes, and then whisk until smooth. Cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate to chill (at least 2 hours). Use a handheld electric beater to whip the ganache until fluffy.
Frost the cooled cake with the ganache and serve.
Store any leftovers wrapped in the fridge.

Adapted from http://www.anediblemosaic.com/

I couldn't resist!

Roasted Chicken in Wine with Roasted Broccoli

Hi! Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I've been really busy and had enough leftovers from various things so I didn't have to cook for a couple of days. Sorry about all the baked goods too, I do eat healthy foods sometimes I promise.

I'm back today to tell you about one of my favorite quick and easy dinners.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a baking dish place whatever chicken pieces you like (I used thighs because they're cheap and taste good). Make sure there is plenty of room for the chicken so it can brown. I poured maybe 3/4 cup of white wine (I like to use chardonnay for cooking) and 1/4 cup chicken broth in the bottom of the dish. Over top of the chicken I sprinkled salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasonings pretty liberally. Don't be afraid. I covered the dish with foil and put it in the oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes I took the foil off the dish and put it back in the oven. I also put the broccoli into the oven at that point and let it all finish at the same time.

Roasted broccoli is amazing. My sister and I both adore it. I bet even a proclaimed broccoli hater would like it cooked like this. And it's easy to make! Just cut the florets off a bunch of broccoli, put it on a sheet pan and toss it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and a clove of minced garlic. (Tonight I was super lazy and just used garlic powder instead) Sprinkle a little lemon zest over top of the broccoli and it's ready to go into the oven. It takes about 20 minutes at 375 for it to be roasty and delicious. When it comes out of the oven I like to sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over the top. Yum!

I served this with cous-cous because the yummy wine sauce the chicken cooks in is delicious and is perfect spooned over cous-cous.

This quick, no fuss dinner that makes the oven do most of the work needs to be part of your dinner rotation.


Roasted Chicken in Wine

-Chicken pieces (bone in, skin on)
-3/4 cup dry white wine
-1/4 cup chicken broth
-salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning

Place chicken skin side up in a baking dish. Pour wine and broth over pieces. Liberally sprinkle remaining ingredients over chicken skin. Cover tightly in foil and place in 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove foil and replace in oven for another 20 minutes. (Cooking times may vary, breasts will take longer to cook through. I use a kitchen thermometer to make sure all pieces are cooked through)If the skin doesn't look crispy enough, turn on the broiler and broil until golden brown.


Roasted Broccoli

-Head of broccoli
-olive oil
-salt and pepper
-lemon zest
-1 clove minced garlic
-parmesan cheese

Cut the florets off the head of broccoli and place on a sheet pan. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, minced garlic, and lemon zest. Place in oven at 375 for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top when you take it out of the oven.

Joker approved!

Tres Leches Cake

I made a Tres Leches cake for Cinco de Mayo. For anyone who doesn't know, "Tres Leches" is Spanish for "Three Milks" because the cake is soaked in three different kinds of milk, but more on that in a minute. This cake always reminds me of the time my family had gone out to dinner, had a nice meal and then wanted to look at the desserts. This cake was on the menu so my dad asked the waitress for "tres leches" and instead of a piece of cake the waitress brought three glasses of milk back. We looked at her in confusion and she explained we ordered "tres leches". We got it straightened out but we have no idea why the waitress thought we had ordered milks in Spanish when we are clearly not Latino at all. Maybe she thought we were bilingual? But that's giving us way too much credit. My dad once ordered "polo" in a Mexican restaurant. ("Pollo" is Spanish for "chicken", but it is pronounced "poyo")(Love you, Dad ;) )

Anyway, Tres Leches cake is a Mexican cake that is dense and eggy and then soaked in a mixture of three milks and frosted with whipped cream. Basically, this is a lactose intolerant person's worst nightmare. But for those of us who can digest lactose, it is a sweet, moist, tasty cake.

Start the cake the day before you want to serve it.

Make the cake batter by creaming butter and sugar together, adding eggs and then the dry ingredients. Spread into a pan and bake. Let cool completely.

Once it is cool, mix together a can of sweetened condensed milk, a can of evaporated milk, and some half n half together in a bowl. Poke the cake all over with a fork. Then pour the milks on the cake and refrigerate overnight. It looks like too much liquid but it will all soak in nicely.

The next day whip up some cream and frost, then serve! I added a cherry on top only because a white piece of cake is kind of boring looking and it needed some color. Plus I really love maraschino cherries. Once when my Girlscout troop went to a dinner theatre, I discovered a large dish of maraschino cherries at the dessert bar and since I was lacking in direct parental supervision I ate a whole bowl of just maraschino cherries for dinner. True story.

I digress. Like I said, I served the cake for Cinco de Mayo and it was a big hit! People went back for seconds. It is so moist it is almost wet, so I'm not sure how long the leftovers will last before it gets mushy but I'll keep eating it until then.


TRES LECHES CAKE
Adapted from the Great Alton Brown

Note: Alton Brown likes to give measurements in weight so I used my kitchen scale, but you can convert the weights to simpler measurements if you don't have a scale.


6 3/4 ounces cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces sugar
5 whole eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-and-half

For the topping:
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour a 13 by 9-inch metal pan and set aside.

Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. This will appear to be a very small amount of batter. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.

Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:

Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half in a 1-quart measuring cup. Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake. Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Topping:

Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed. Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/tres-leche-cake-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Coconut Cream Pie

Do you have a food that always reminds you of something when you eat it? For me coconut cream pie reminds me of when we would go to Perkins with my parents and my dad and I would always split a piece of coconut cream pie. Still do, if given the chance. Coconut cream pie is creamy and delicious and comforting and I have never made it until just now! Guess what, it's super easy to make too, why have I waited so long??

To start, you make a piecrust. I like making my own crust but I was in a rush so I bought a crust in the freezer section. Don't judge, I know you do it too. Ain't nobody got time for handmaking piecrust all the time. Anyway, I blind baked the crust which means I used a fork to prick the crust all over and baked it without anything in it. The fork pricks help to keep the crust from puffing up and getting weird shaped. Usually you would put pie weights into the pie crust to further prevent the puffing issue, but I chose not to and nothing bad happened so...



While the crust cooled I put together the filling. In a pot I put a can of coconut milk, halfnhalf, sugar, eggs, corn starch, vanilla and salt and stirred it all together. I cooked it slowly over medium heat until it thickened. You could also do this in the microwave, cooking in 1 minute increments and stirring well in between. Then stir in some flaked coconut.

I poured the custard into the cooled crust and refrigerated it overnight.



The next day I put a couple handfulls of flaked coconut in a dry pan and toasted it on medium heat until it was golden brown. I whipped some cream and topped the pie with whipped cream and toasted coconut.

I served it to my friends and it was a big hit!

COCONUT CREAM PIE

1 13.5 oz can coconut milk

1 1/2 cups half and half

2 eggs + 1 egg yolk, beaten

3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup corn starch

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, divided

1 tsp coconut extract (or vanilla)

1 deep dish pie shell, baked and cooled

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 Tbls powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla or coconut extract



Combine coconut milk, half and half, eggs, sugar, corn starch and salt in a large pot or microwave safe bowl. Stir, cooking until thickened or microwave on high for one minute, stir. Repeat until a thick custard has developed. 5-7 minutes.
Stir in 1 1/2 cups coconut and coconut extract.
Pour coconut custard into cooled pie shell.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Spread coconut on dry skillet and toast for 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally, until golden brown.
Whip heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add in sugar and extract and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
Spread whipped cream on top of coconut custard and sprinkle with toasted coconut.
Keep refrigerated.

Flourless Nutella Cake

Last night was me and Tyler's second anniversary. We went to a wonderful restaurant and I had the best lamb chops I've ever had. Ever. In my life. These lamb chops were life changing and life asserting and transcended space and time. Words failed me as I smiled at Tyler through a mouth full of lamb while my eyes rolled back in my head. Unfortunately I had no room for dessert after I practically licked the plate clean and gnawed the last bits off the bone. Just kidding, it was a classy establishment so I did no gnawing although I did contemplate it.

So to make up for our lack of dessert last night I threw this cake together this afternoon. It was a very simple cake, as flourless cakes often are. It starts with a stick of melted butter. It would be good to use a double boiler but I was in a rush so I just used the microwave. Into the warm butter I put a cup of semisweet chocolate chips and a cup of nutella and stirred until combined. I had to microwave it for a few more seconds just to get it perfectly smooth.

I added a cup of sugar and a half cup of almond meal. The recipe called for ground hazelnuts but I was plumb out so I improvised. The recipe also said you could substitute 2 Tblsp of regular flour for the ground nuts but that would make it a flour-full cake instead of flourless. By the way, this cake is gluten free as long as you don't use regular flour.

After I mixed the sugar in I mixed in 4 eggs one at a time. I poured the batter into an 8 inch cake pan and sprinkled a few more chocolate chips over the top and put a few dollops of nutella on the top and swirled it in. Then I put it into a 350 degree oven. It took about 40 minutes to bake.

Serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream should be required. On the Boyfriend Scale, from 1 to 5, this cake got a 10! The cake is moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside, like a good brownie.

FLOURLESS NUTELLA CAKE
Adapted from sugaryandbuttery.com

1 stick butter

1 cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup nutella

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup ground hazelnuts or almonds OR 2 Tblsp all purpose flour

4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the chocolate and butter over a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir in the ground nuts and sugar. Stir in the eggs one at a time.

Pour the mixture into a greased 9 inch cake pan sprinkle with chocolate chips and swirl a few dollops of nutella into batter, bake for about 30 minutes or until the top cracked.

Bonus kitty picture!