Spicy Beef & Bell Pepper Stir-Fry

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1  tablespoon  canola oil
• 12  ounces  flank steak, cut diagonally across the grain into thin slices
• 1  red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1  yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/4  cup  less-sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  rice wine vinegar
• 1  tablespoon  minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2  teaspoons  chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee)
• 4  green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2  teaspoons  toasted sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS

 Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.

Add steak to pan; cook 2 minutes, searing on one side. Add bell peppers; cook 2 minutes or until beef loses its pink color, stirring constantly. Remove beef mixture from pan.

Add soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and chili garlic sauce to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Add beef mixture and green onions to pan; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

VERDICT

 Fun, tasty recipe.  And very brightly colored too!

 

Crockpot Tortellini in Tomatoes & Spinach

 

This recipe came from Pinterest under the heading "THE BEST Crockpot meal I've tried yet!"

Seems easy enough... let's give it a try!

INGREDIENTS

1 bag frozen tortellini or refrigerated... it doesn't actually matter

1 small bag of fresh spinach

2 cans Italian-style diced tomatoes

1 box or 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken stock... whoops!

1 block cream cheese

DIRECTIONS

Cut cream cheese into small blocks and add to crockpot with remaining ingredients.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours.  If your tortellini was not frozen, 2-3 hours is just fine... or else your tortellini will start to fall apart.

VERDICT

I don't know if this is the BEST crockpot recipe ever, but it is one of the easiest.  And it's very flexible.  I didn't have vegetable broth, I had chicken stock.  Still tasted fine.  I even had a can of regular old tomatoes that I used, adding in dried oregano, garlic powder & basil at the end.  Still tasted just fine.  Best of all- everyone ate it.  No picky eaters with this recipe!

 

Naan Bread - Take 2

 

There really isn't any reason to attempt a new recipe for naan bread.  I like this one just fine.   But it is a little labor-intensive and takes a bit of time when you're cooking the bread one piece at a time in the skillet.  So I thought I'd try this oven version.

There are a lot less ingredients than the other recipe, and I didn't give it much hope of competing with the original.  But we tried it anyway:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup
• warm Water

• 1/4 cups
• White Sugar

• 1 tablespoon
• Dry Yeast

• 1
• Egg; beaten

• 3 tablespoons
• Milk

• 2 teaspoons
• Salt

• 3 1/2 cups
• All-purpose Flour

- See more at: http://momsdish.com/recipe/295/naan-bread#sthash.9uaptNqY.dpuf

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup warm sugar

1 TBS active dry yeast

1 egg beaten

3 TBS milk

2 tsp salt

3 1/2 cups flour

 

• 1 cup
• warm Water

• 1/4 cups
• White Sugar

• 1 tablespoon
• Dry Yeast

• 1
• Egg; beaten

• 3 tablespoons
• Milk

• 2 teaspoons
• Salt

• 3 1/2 cups
• All-purpose Flour

- See more at: http://momsdish.com/recipe/295/naan-bread#sthash.9uaptNqY.dpuf

• 1 cup
• warm Water

• 1/4 cups
• White Sugar

• 1 tablespoon
• Dry Yeast

• 1
• Egg; beaten

• 3 tablespoons
• Milk

• 2 teaspoons
• Salt

• 3 1/2 cups
• All-purpose Flour

- See more at: http://momsdish.com/recipe/295/naan-bread#sthash.9uaptNqY.dpuf

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl mix the yeast and sugar into the warm water.  Stir gently and then let sit until frothy on top.  

Whisk in egg, milk, and salt.  Add flour 1 cup at a time until dough is well mixed.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-6 minutes.

Place dough in a well-oiled bowl and let rise for 30-45 minutes (if your house isn't warm enough - mine never is!- place bowl in a warmed but turned off oven covered with a towel).   The dough should be doubled in size when it is done.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Split the dough into 10-15 balls and place on a board to rise again (about 20-30 minutes).  Put a light coating of oil on a cutting board or surface and roll out each ball.  Place the flattened pieces on greased or tinfoil-covered cookie sheets and place in the oven.  Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until lightly browned and cooked through.

In a bowl whisk water together with yeast and sugar. Let the ingredients sit for about 10 minutes until frothy. - See more at: http://momsdish.com/recipe/295/naan-bread#sthash.9uaptNqY.dpuf

VERDICT

Making this in the oven was certainly a lot easier than making the breads one piece at a time.  But the same flavor wasn't there as the original recipe that calls for Greek yogurt and olive oil.  In spite of that... my family liked this recipe better.  My husband called it the best bread he's ever eaten.  I suppose we just have different taste buds.  I'd be interested to know what YOU think!

Skillet Peach Cobbler

 

Our cast iron skillet has been getting a lot of use lately.  The skillet foccacia was a hit, but can the skillet make a dessert? 

My kids were complaining that we had no dessert in the house.  So I brought up a jar of peaches we canned last summer and decided to make peach cobbler.  In the skillet.  

Success?  Let's find out.

INGREDIENTS

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

5 ripe but firm peaches, peeled, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup sliced almonds, optional

Vanilla ice cream, optional 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Make filling: Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in a 10 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add peaches and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently, until sugar has dissolved and peaches are soft and most of their liquid has evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Remove skillet from heat.

Combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, remaining 1/2 cup sugar and remaining 13 Tbsp. butter in a food processor; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With motor running, add milk and vanilla, and process just until a rough dough forms.

Drop spoonfuls of topping over warm peaches and sprinkle with almonds, if desired. Bake until topping is golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes. Serve warm, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

VERDICT    

 

This is incredibly delicious.  Just don't look at the nutrition.  It will ruin it for you.

Nutrition

Calories 430

Fat 24 g

Satfat 15 g

Protein 5 g

Carbohydrate 50 g

Fiber 2 g

Cholesterol 64 mg

Sodium 251 mg

 

Source:  Myrecipes.com