Crispy Sesame Beef

One night we were watching something on Food Network, no idea what now, but they were making crispy beef and it sounded really good. A bit of searching and I came upon this; I'm not sure where it came from now but this is an easy, really good recipe. 

Crispy  Sesame Beef

serves 4

 

1 c peanut or vegetable oil

1 lb sirloin steak, sliced thin

4 Tbsp cornstarch, divided

 

for the sauce: 

1/4 c reduced sodium soy sauce

1/4 c brown sugar

2 Tbsp orange juice

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger

1 Tbsp Sriracha, optional

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 green onion, thinly sliced

 

Heat peanut oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

 

In a large bowl, comvine steak and 2 tablespoons cornstarch, tossing to coat and letting the steak absorb the cornstarch. Add remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch before cooking.

 

Working in batches cook steak in oil until golden and crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

 

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat combine soy sauce, borwn sugar, orange juice, vinegar, garlic, ginger, Sriracha, and sesame oil until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in steak and gently toss to combine.

 

Serve over rice, garnished with sesame seeds and green onion. 

Turkey Tetrazzini

 A favorite after Thanksgiving with leftover turkey or just because. You can use either turkey or chicken, either is good.

Turkey Tetrazzini

serves 4

 

 4 c cooked spaghetti (about 1/2 lb)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3 Tbsp dry sherry

salt to taste

Veloute sauce

2 Tbsp butter

8 oz sliced mushrooms

cooked chicken or turkey - 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded or sliced; roughly same amount of turkey

1/2 c grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Veloute sauce

2 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

1 c hot chicken broth

1/3 c heavy cream or whole milk

salt to taste

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan. Stir in the flour and blend over moderate heat until smooth. Continue to cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cook 2 minutes more. Pout in the cream, add salt and heat thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 400* and butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Stir the nutmeg, sherry, and salt to taste into the warm veloute sauce. Melt the butter in a skillet, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until soft. Put the spaghetti, turkey, and mushrooms in the baking dish, stir. Pour the sauce over top and stir carefully again. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

Heavily modified from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

Creamed Onions

 A Thanksgiving staple growing up I still love creamed onions. I think that's about the only time we had them. I think the trick this year might be finding pearl onions. I'm sure I've seen frozen ones but these days it's hard to find basic frozen vegetables. I haven't seen fresh ones either. I'll be hitting the grocery stores again probably on Tuesday and will see what I can find. 

Creamed Onions

serves 4

 

1 lb small pearl onions

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/4 c milk, warmed

salt & pepper

If needed, peel the onions then cook in a cup of lightly salted water until tender; drain.

To make the white sauce - melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly until tlhe paste cooks and bubbles a bit but don't let it brown. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste; lower the heat and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes more. Remove from the heat, add the onions, and reheat.

from The Fanny Farmer Cookbook

Boston Brown Bread

 This!! This recipe makes having an instant pot totally worth it! Traditional New England Friday night dinner is hot dogs, baked beans, and brown bread. It took a while but I did find a really good baked bean recipe that we love (and honestly it's become easier with my IP, the dried beans cook quick, add the other ingredients and throw it in the oven for a few hours). I've looked at brown bread recipes off and on for years, wanting to make it at home since only one grocery store around here carries it but it just wasn't something I wanted to tackle. A few months ago I got the idea to make it in my instant pot and poked around the internet to see if I could find a good recipe. I looked a bit, forgot about it, looked some more, found a few, lost them, looked again, found this one, made it, tweaked it, made it again...perfection!

 If you don't know what brown bread is, it's a dense, dark bread baked in a can, filled with raisins, flavored with molasses. Right there, the reason to plan ahead, you need to save 4 15oz size cans to make your bread. Make sure the lids come off cleanly so you don't cut your hand filling the cans or getting the bread out. Four cans fit perfectly in the IP.

While this bread is the perfect companion to baked beans you can also eat it for breakfast or with a cup of tea later in the day. Serve with butter or cream cheese.

 Boston Brown Bread

makes 4 "loaves"

 

1 c raisins & 1 c boiling water (optional)

2 1/2 c wheat flour

1/2 c all purpose flour

1/2 c sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 c buttermilk

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1/2 c molasses 

Place raisins in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 10 minutes or until puffed up. drain. 

Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk baking soda into buttermilk, whisk in the egg, then stir in the molasses. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated then fold in raisins.

Spray 4 15 oz cans with non-stick spray. Pour batter into cans, filing about 1/2 full. Tap cans on counter to remove any air bubbles. Cover each can with a piece of foil to keep water out. Put 1 1/2 c water in the bottom of your instant pot, add the steamer rack then put your cans on the rack. Put the lid on, set the valve to 'sealing' and set your IP to manual, 35 minutes. When it's done let it naturally release for 10 minutes then manually release any remaining pressure. Carefully take out the cans and use a knife to loosen the bread from the cans. Let cool on a wire rack.

Serve with butter or cream cheese.

Modified from 12 Tomatoes

Vegetarian Skillet Stuffed Shells

This is SO good! It does take a bit of time but is totally worth it. One pan, cooks on the stove, makes plenty for dinner and some leftovers (at least in our family). The shells are stuffed with a mixture of mushrooms, spinach, and ricotta; while the recipe calls for crimini mushrooms I used a mixture of two different kinds of mushrooms because that's what I could get in the amount I needed.

Skillet Stuffed Shells

serves 4-6

 

18 jumbo pasta shells

 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 lb crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c dry white wine

5 oz. baby spinach

6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 c marinara sauce

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 c ricotta

3 oz finely grated Parmesan (about 1 cup), more for serving

2 tsp dried oregano

Cook shells in a large pot of boiling water, stirring occasionally until very al dente, about 9 minutes; drain. Run under cold water to stop the cooking; drain again.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over high. Add mushrooms and cook stirring occasionally, until they release juices, then are dry again and nicely browned, 5-6 minutes; season with black pepper and 1 tsp salt. Reduce heat to medium, add wine, cook stirring until reduced by half, 1-2 minutes. Add spinach, cover and cook until beginning to wilt, 1-2 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until spinach is completely wilted and most of the liquid is evaporated, 2-4 minutes more. Transfer mushroom mixture to a large bowl.

Cook garlic and butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until garlic is fragrant and beginning to brown, 2-3 minutes. Add marinara sauce and red pepper and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook stirring occasionally until warmed through, 6-8 minutes.

While sauce cooks, add ricotta, 3 oz Parmesan, oregano, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt to the mushroom mixture and stir to combine. Spoon about 2 Tbsp of mixture into each shell. The shell should be filled to capacity but not overstuffed.

Nestle stuffed shells into hot sauce in skillet. Cover and cook over medium heat until shells are warmed through, 4-6 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan, serve. 

from epicurious

Oktoberfest Stew

 This is a quick and easy "stew" but more like soup. It's good for those early fall evenings when the cool weather has hit and you want to celebrate Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest Stew

serves 4-6

 

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 (14oz) pkg beef smoked sausage, cut into bite size pieces

1 onion, thinly sliced

1/2 small head of cabbage, halved, cored and thinly sliced

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/4 tsp ground caraway seeds

pinch salt

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 c German lager beer/Oktoberfest variety

2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

2 1/2 c chicken stock

1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

 

Place a soup pot over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Once the oil is hot add in the smoked sausage and all to caramelize and brown for about 4-5 minutes. When the sausage is browned add the sliced onions, stir and allow the onions to caramelize with the sausage for another few minutes until golden brown and softened. Once the onions are caramelized add in the sliced cabbage, stir to combine and allow the cabbage to soften and take on the flavors of the sausage and onions for a few minutes. 

 

Add the pepper, caraway seeds, salt, and stir to combine. Stir in the garlic and once it becomes aromatic, add in the cup of lager and stir the mixture to combine; allow the beer to slightly reduce for about 3 minutes or so. Add the potatoes and chicken stock, stir and allow the mixture to come to a boil; once it comes to a boil place a lid on (slightly askew) and reduce the heat to low to gently simmer for about 40 minutes. After 40 minutes turn off the heat and finish by stirring in the apple cider vinegar.

Serve in large bowls with some hearty rye bread or rustic rolls.

very slightly modified from The Cozy Apron

Quick and Easy Instant Pot

Still not loving my instant pot like some people out there but it's growing on me and I do use it more. I still find it to be a tool to make ingredient prep easier rather than cooking a meal in it. It's just what works for me. I think I've said it before that I don't have little kids pulling on me, asking when dinner is so I don't really need something where I can throw stuff in, set it, and not worry for 20 minutes. I find for meal making I have other tools that are easier, just as convenient, work better. Just the stage of life I'm in. I wanted to put a few of my instant pot go-to's in one place so it was easy for me to find.

Chicken breasts
2-3 breasts
1/2 c water
Cook 8 minutes fresh/10 minutes frozen; quick release

Hard boiled eggs
6 eggs
1 c water
Cook 7 minutes; quick release

Corn on the Cob
4-6 ears of corn (either whole or cut in half)
1 c water
Cook 4 minutes; quick release