What's Cooking?

Jessica made beef stir fry at my request. Love it but we only have it about once every three months. But when we do, she's the one to make it.

Beef Stir Fry

2 tbs cornstarch                    2 med carrots thinly sliced

2 tsp sugar                            6 oz package frozen pea pods thawed

6 Tbs soy sauce                    2 Tbs chopped onion

¼ c apple juice                      2 Tbs vegetable oil divided

1 lb boneless beef round steak cut into strips
8 oz can sliced water chestnuts undrained

hot cooked rice

3 c broccoli florets

In a bowl, combine corn starch, sugar, soy sauce and apple juice until smooth. Add beef and toss to coat; set aside. In a large skillet, stir-fry broccoli, carrots, pea pods and onion in 1 Tbs oil for one minute. Stir in water chestnuts. Cover and simmer four minutes. 

Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, stir-fry beef in remaining oil until meat reaches desired doneness. Return vegetable to pan. Toss. Serve over rice. 

Kaleb made pineapple chicken.

Pineapple Chicken 

1/4c cooking oil

Soy sauce

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

4 chicken breasts split

16 oz can of pineapple chunks

2 tbs. cornstarch

Combine oil, 1 tbs. soy sauce, garlic, salt and pepper in large skillet. Add the chicken and brown thoroughly. Add 1/3 cup pineapple juice and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through.

 Remove chicken and place on serving plate. Combine cornstarch, another 1/3 cup of pineapple juice and tbs. of soy sauce. Add it to the mixture already in the skillet. Add the pineapple chunks. Cook it, stirring frequently, until it has thickened. Pour over the chicken and serve.

Tyler made hobos. I left before they were cooked, so this is his raw.

Hobo Dinner

1 ½ -2 lb lean ground beef           ½-1 cup ketchup or tomato sauce

1 egg beaten                                 ½-3/4 cup uncooked oatmeal

2 yellow squash sliced                  2 -3 lg. potatoes peeled, sliced

4 carrots sliced                              2 lg. onion thinly sliced                           

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix ground beef, ketchup, egg and oatmeal. Form into six patties. Place each on a square of aluminum foil. Place vegetables on top of each patty. Add salt and pepper. Wrap foil tightly around each patty. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 375F for 1 hr to 1 hr 15 min.

Kayla made shells from a frozen package.

Jasmine made Asian noodles from a recipe on the back of a past a box.

We liked it but, we're going to double the vegetables and try a different kind of dressing next time.

Asian Pork and Noodles

16 oz pkg linguine

2 Tbs cooking oil

1 lb boneless pork chops, cut into ¼ x 2" strips

salt and pepper to taste

16 oz frozen broccoli stir fry vegetables (or other)

1 C Asian or Sesame vinaigrette

Cook pasta according to the packaged. Save ½ c of the water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pan. Cook pork, stirring frequently until lightly browned.

Add frozen vegetables and cook, stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender and the pork is fully cooked. (10-12 minutes)

Stir in vinaigrette.

Add cooked pasta to skillet and toss to combine. Add the ½ c water if needed to thin the sauce.

Adam made a recipe on the back of the Rotelli pasta, but we've decided not to add it to our recipe collection. It was just "okay." Sometimes you just don't know what it's going to taste like until you try it.

So that's what we cooked this month.