Szechwan Beef Stir-fry

Well today on the menu was a Stir-fry, which I am not super crazy about - but nonetheless, will make. It looked nice and did taste good. Now "good" is a word I use to pretty much demean the product, character, person or whatever is in reference. I love words with a little more sass to describe something, so by using good you will know it was "bland" in my opinion. Really it wasn't that bad, it tasted like any other normal Stir-Fry you might encounter. Nothing out of the ordinary or note worthy. Verdict: "Good". Make it if your taste buds yearn for such things...mine are going to eat chocolate right now.

( from Better Homes and Gardens "new" Cook Book)

Recipe:

• 12 oz sirloin steak
• 3 Tbs Orange Juice
• 3 Tbs Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbs Water
• 2 Tbs bottled Hoisin Sauce
• 1 Tbs grated fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp Cornstarch
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/4 red pepper (optional) (I sprinkled in some black pepper)
• 1 Tbs cooking oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced Carrots
• 1 14oz can whole baby corn, drained
• 1 red sweet pepper, cut small
• Thinly sliced green onion (optional)

I cut the meat into nice thin strips and placed in a large skillet, not cooking yet. Then cooked the veggies ( actually I cheated and bought frozen veggies - the store had horrible fresh veggies!) So I cooked them and let cool. I combined everything from the OJ to Garlic in a bowl and blended well (make sure you get that cornstarch all blended, it tends to chunk up). I heated up a little oil, cooked the meat - then added the sauce and stirred till all the meat was covered and the sauce was a little bubbly and thickened. I then combined the vegetables with the meat and sauce. All the while I had a pot of white rice cooking on the stove. The end result was this:

I served it with some Chow Mein noodles...mmmmm

Island Pork Tenderloin

I made this meal last night. It turned out quite yummy and the homemade bread was a great addition. Of course, I did not take a picture of that - so...will make for another post :).

At our "Kroger" type food store, called Frys (Arizona) - they were having an AWESOME deal on meats. Buy 1, get one of equal value free...yes, FREE meat! I am not huge into consuming large amounts of meat - but my husband loves it, and it does serve a healthy purpose in correct portions - so I did not mind spending the extra money to buy a nice piece of meat and get another free. That is what a freezer is for, right? Another nights meal saved. Anyway, we went in the evening and they did not have any nice pot roasts of anything yummy like that left - but they did have these HUGE pork tenderloins available. I mean like 4 and 5 lbs hunks of meat! We scored 2 of those and happily brought them home. One in the fridge, one in the freezer.
Now for the recipe.
This is something I snatched from my P90X nutrition book (with slight variation).

This recipe is for 16 ounces (1lb) of meat, so double, triple..whatever must, for your meat size.

Mix together:
1/2 tea Salt
1/4 tea Pepper
1/2 tea Chili Powder
1/2 tea Ground Cumin
1/2 tea Cinnamon
2 tea Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar (packed)
About 1/2 cup, if not more of BBQ sauce (whatever style you like) - I've done Honey and traditional.
Mix together till a nice thick paste. You can add a tiny bit of water if you want it more in liquid format.

Now instead of using the crock-pot like I have in the past I simply cut my tenderloin in 1-1.5 inch slices and threw them in a skillet. I cooked in medium heat with some water in the pan and added sauce to top (then turned over) bottom of the pork slices. Since I had a 4lb tenderloin I was cutting from it took a few sequences to get it all cooked. Meaning, I placed about 5 slices in a pan at a time to cook (when finished, placed on a plate - and started the next batch). Cook fully, and add as much yummy sauce as you want. Afterward transfer to plate, sprinkle some parsley on top, and you're done! Good job :)

I served mine with hot home made bread, french style green beans, wild rice and strawberries.
(friends brought over a DELICIOUS chocolate mousse for dessert and the strawberries were quite tasty with that too, YUM!)

Black belt cookies

I believe it was back in October (2010) when I made these. I am a Martial Art instructor and had been working with a new group of children (4 years old) and getting them ready for there very first Tae Kwon Do test. I had made these little "black belt" sugar cookies to give to all who tested--adding a little extra *sweet* congrats for working so hard. I had put them in individual zip-lock bags and stapled a little note at the top about working hard toward there black belt, etc. They loved them! and I loved making them! So cute, and...of course, super easy!

My family recipe "NEVER FAIL" sugar cookies:
4 Cups of Flour
1.5 Cups of Sugar
2 tea Baking Powder
1 tea Soda
1/2 tea Salt
2 Eggs
2/3 Cup of Milk
1.5 tea Vanilla
1 Cup Shortening (crisco)

Sift first 5 ingredients together. Work in Shortening. Beat eggs and add to milk and vanilla. Mix with dry ingredients (I use a large fork for everything and then my hands after it's pretty well mixed to really get things together and into a ball). Then either break off and roll into balls by hand -- or roll of the cookie dough with a rolling pin and cut cookies out.
Bake at 375F for approx 7-10 mins. Don't burn....a burnt cookie is never appreciated. :D

Frosting:
1lb of Powder Sugar
1/4 tea Salt
1 tea Vanilla
1/4 Cup Milk
1/3 Cup butter (2/3 of stick)

Beat with spoon or mixer. Add color if you desire. YUM YUM!

The black belts are black licorice - just so ya know. :)

Cat litter cake

Okay, so this might be gross to some...possible many...okay, ALL who reads - but, if it's any reconciliation to ya, this is totally ediable, non toxic, clean and surprisingly scrumptious. As well as a hilarious Halloween dessert. Which is what we made it for, of course! October 2010 Halloween party. The "CAT LITTER CAKE"!!

Okay, to start -> Don't use your cats litter box. Plain and simple. Go, and buy a new one - clean it, wash it out, etc. ...as well as a clean, never before used, spank'n brand new cat litter pooper scooper.

Now for the recipe. Very very simple:

5-10 tootsie rolls

1 chocolate or German chocolate cake
1 white or yellow cake
(bake in cake pans according to box directions - let cool)

Mix up about 2 packages of vanilla pudding - set aside.

Take a whole box of vanilla wafers and food process till nice and fine.
Take about a 1/4 or 3rd of the processed wafers and put them in a little zip-lock bag. Add a few drops of blue or green food coloring. This will be your colored kitty little granules.

Now take your two cakes and start digging your *clean* hands into them and transferring equal amounts of the cakes into the *NEW* cat litter box. Thus creating a fluffy mixture of chocolate and white/yellow cake. Now take your pudding and start adding it to the cat box with the cakes. Mix around to desired texture - you want enough to make the cake moist and stick together well. Pat down and even throughout the box. After everything is leveled and even take your non-colored vanilla wafers and sprinkle those over the entire cake mixture. You want to cover the surface evenly. Now take the colored wafers and sprinkle those across the other wafers. You're almost done!

Now unwrap some tootsie rolls and put them in a microwave safe container. Heat up just for a few seconds - allowing them to get soft and pliable - not melted (unless you are trying to achieve a "certain" look in your cat box) Take your now soft tootsie rolls and be creative! Squish, pull, shorten, elongate, bury, half-bury, stick to side...WHATEVER you desire.
(not recommended, but if needs be: go check your cats real litter box if you need authentic ideas) and POOF! You now have a disgusting, gag-reflexing treat to share with whomever you feel can muster such a delicacy.
Oh yes, and place the *NEW* pooper-scooper in the box to dish the treat out with. Gives it that nice finishing touch.

We had to take a picture with our cat "sniffing" the treat to make it that much more , uhhh, real? :-D

Home made tortillas and chili

(from yet another entry on my main web blog)

Mmmmmm I thought! That would be good! So I cooked up a pound of lean hamburger, added some chili spices, black beans, tomatoes and green chilies. Topped with some cheese (I love cheese!) Than I made the tortillas, which were super easy!

• 3 Cups of Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/2 Cup shortening (crisco)
• 3/4 Cup Hot water

Mix the first 4 together (flour will be crumbly) than add the water. Stir, knead etc.. till it is slightly elastic. Have a large skillet hot on medium heat. Divide dough into how many balls you want, depending on the size of the tortilla you want to make. Take a ball, roll it out very very thin (1/8 inch?) and throw it onto the hot pan. Wait till it starts to bubble up a little, or till your desired golden/browness. Flip it over, same on other side -- and then you're done! Repeat till all the dough is done. Simple Simple. And I LOVE that no oil is involved. Enjoy!
(tip: I like my tortillas thicker and soft - so don't roll out as thin and cook for slightly less time)

Here are Mine...

Chocolate chip butterscotch cookies and fruit pizza

Okay so I have not saved much from any of my previous yum-tastic endeavors; but what I do have are the following:

(post taken from a entry on my main web blog)

I love to make home made goodies, and Don thoroughly enjoys almost all my experiments. The first is a scrumptious cookie recipe that Don and the people he works with beg for all the time. It is a chocolate and butterscotch cookie recipe. Super easy and super yummy! These cookies are moist and keep their wonderful "fluffiness" even after cooled.

Here are the cookies:
"tada"

...and here is the recipe:

Oven @: 375F

Mix in a bowl with an electric mixer - till smooth and creamy:

• 1/2 Cup of shortening
• 1/2 Cup of Butter

Add to the bowl and mix till smooth:

• 1 Cup packed Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup White Sugar
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

Then beat in:

• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla

After all that is combined start adding in as much of the 2.5 cups of Flour that you can. Use a wooden spoon, or large thick fork (I use the fork). Stir Stir Stir!

Then Add till desired:

• Chocolate chips
• Butterscotch chips

The saying you can never have enough chocolate is true in many cases, but not here. Careful not to overload the bowl with too many "chips". Your mixture will be overloaded and not have enough "cookie" to keep its form.

Final step:
Scoop out nice little balls and place on a non greased cookie sheet. I usually take my large fork I stirred everything with and scoop out just a nice chunk and then, using a Popsicle stick, scrap off onto sheet. The oven will melt the dough into a nice round cookie - so no need to flour up your hands and roll out each serving.
375F oven for 8-10 mins. Watch carefully, you don't want an over baked batch!
Take out of oven and wait a min. or so - then transfer to wire cooling rack. YUM YUM enjoy!

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Fruit Pizza! Don and I absolutely love this treat and it is actually pretty simple to make. Little costly at times, because of fruit prices, but makes a lot!

Here is the treat we made:
"tada"



...and here is the recipe/steps:

Step 1: Buy or make a batch of sugar cookie dough. I've made mine in the past, but for this one I just bought 2 pre-made Pillsbury sugar cookie dough. I took a cookie sheet, sprayed with Pam and (with flour on my hands) started to roll out and smushed to cover the whole cookie sheet. It takes a bit and a lot of spreading - but you'll get there. Don't worry! (a rolling pin is awesome, if you have one small enough to fit into the cookie sheet). After that is thinned out and spread throw into the oven at the designated temperature and cook for about 10 mins. Make sure you watch carefully, burnt "pizza bottom" is never that yummy.

Sugar Cookie Crust Bottom... post-cooked

Step 2:
For your frosting you'll need this:

• 8 oz Cream Cheese
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 cup Powder sugar

Mix those ingredients together and spread over the top of your cooled cookie crust.

Frosting applied

Step 4:
After your spread is done, cut up any type of fruit you want to use on your pizza. Some examples that we like to have are Strawberries, Bananas, Kiwis, Grapes, Black or Blueberries.etc...
Once you have those all cut up begin your creation! Design however you like - I have made much prettier ones in the past. I was short on time (thank you Carter) so I gave no thought to my fruit order and just started putting them on. Still yummy though! :)

Step 4:
Okay, FINAL step. You have to (okay, maybe not have to, but is a good idea) to apply a glaze over the whole pizza after laying your fruit. Helps keep in all the moisture and prevent the fruit from browning and getting nasty. This recipe makes a ton, so I always cut it in half - but here is the "un-cut" version.

Glaze:

• 1 cup Sugar
• 3 Tbs Cornstarch
• Dash of Salt
• 3/4 Cup of Water
• 1 Cup Orange Juice
• 1/4 Cup Lemon (juice)

I just mix that well - then take a large spoon and start dripping it over everything. You feel like you're watering down your pizza, but don't worry - it taste great and won't ruin all your hard work. Congratulations! You've made your very own Fruit Pizza that your spouse, friends and your taste buds will thank you for. Serve up and Enjoy!..... or, if for later, cover with tin foil and place in fridge. Taste better when chilled.

Fruit Pizza
"yum"

Hello Everyone!

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ashley and I am a mother of the sinfully good looking Carter, who is 14 months old; and the loving wife to a very tall, strong and handsome man, Don. We currently reside in Arizona where Don is finishing up his MBA at Thunderbird School of International Business. I am from Tennessee, and he reigns from Colorado. We met in 2005 in Utah while both attending the same university. We have been married for 5 years this May. I love staying active and doing things such as riding horses and martial arts. Another thing I enjoy is cooking and baking! I am no expert, but love trying new things and learning how to better myself in the kitchen. My husband and I watched "Julie and Julia" a while back, and I got the idea that I wanted to do something very similar! If nothing else, it would at least bring a variety to our daily meals! ---- and hopefully some new skills. :) So sit back, pull up a chair....heck even grab a plate, fork, knife, (bib?)...or whatever else might make this experience tasty...and enjoy!

January 2011 -- Brownie Face!

January 2011 -- Brownie Goo...mmmmm

December 2010
Don - Carter- Ashley