Saucy Pepper Steak

I tried a new recipe last night and it was sooooo yummy (and pretty good for you too!).
Here it is:
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
1 small onion, cut into strips
3 small mushrooms
1 lb. well-trimmed steak, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
2 cups hot cooked brown rice

Heat oil in large skillet. Add peppers and onions. Saute until soft then place in bowl and cover to keep warm. Add meat, garlic, black pepper, and mushrooms. Saute about 3 min. Add soy sauce; cook until meat is cooked through. Add barbecue sauce. Stir and add pepper mix and stir until coated with sauce. Serve over hot rice.

Back at it...

I know it's been over a month since I last posted. I'm going to blame it on having a baby. Cause we've definitely been eating well. So I guess it's time I get sharing my ideas again. Here is this weeks menu-

*Monday: Spinach Lasagna Rolls with salad and garlic parmesan crusty bread (from Trader Joes)

*Tuesday: Crock pot Teriyaki Chicken with vegetables (boneless/skinless chicken tenders, frozen oriental vegetables and teriyaki sauce in a slow cooker for 3 hours at high heat or 4-6 hours on low heat) and Jasmine Rice

*Wednesday: Leftovers

*Thursday: Loaded Baked Potatoes

*Friday: Homemade Pizzas

*Saturday: Leftovers

*Sunday: SUPER BOWL PARTY! I'll be sharing my super easy/tasty guacamole. I use 6 ingredients, and I never measure: avocados, diced tomatoes, chopped purple onion, chopped cilantro, fresh lime juice and salt. Mix all ingredients together just enough to incorporate (but I like to keep it fairly chunky).

Other yummies I've made in the last month that you should definitely try are:

*Cauliflower Gratin
*These cookies (may be my favorite cookie--ever. I used Trader Joe's English toffee, and crushed it myself. I don't think these would be near as yummy with store bought toffee bits, but I'd be willing to give it a try!)
*Split Pea Soup
*Buttermilk Biscuits (soooooo buttery good)
*more granola (I've been making this almost weekly. Put it on yogurt, eat it with a bowl full of milk, or just grab a handful as a snack)
*Chicken Fajitas
*my favorite salmon

...and much more! Happy 2011!

Christmas Granola

It's so hard to know what to give as gifts at Christmas time. I know I always feel overwhelmed with sweets. So for Ryder's teachers, we decided to make some home made granola. It turned out very yummy, and was very festive with the pretty red cranberries. I used THIS recipe, and will definitely make it again!

Another easy week...

Going for easy again this week. Here is what's on the menu-

*Monday: Leftover Lasagna, salad and bread

*Tuesday: White Chili & homemade bread (my poor neighbor is really sick, so I thought this would be a good meal to take her...)

*Wednesday: Can't believe I'm doing this, but Ham & Potatoes. This is COMPLETELY for the males of the household. I'll probably just buy a small ham and use the recipe below for potatoes.

*Thursday: Leftovers

*Friday: Pita Pizzas (I've been feeling a shortage of veggies around here, so I'll be topping mine with as many veggies as I can think of ;)

*Saturday: Girl's night! I've been looking forward to this for a LONG time...probably my last one before I'm a mother of 3!

*Sunday: Chicken Fajitas


AUNT RAE'S POTATOES

- 6-8 large, diced potatoes
- 1 c. grated cheese (I like Monterey or Cheddar/Jack)
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 pint sour cream
- 1/3 c. chopped green onions
- 2 c. crushed corn flake cereal

Cook potatoes until firm. Mix together soup, sour cream and onion. Add cheese, then potatoes. Pour into a 9x13 pan and top with crushed cornflakes. Dot with small teaspoons of butter. Can be made ahead of time. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.

*I don't ever "dot with butter" in this type of recipe, and also, thinking of using that much cream of chicken soup and sour cream makes me think I'll be halfing this recipe. We do NOT need a whole 9x13 pan of these!

Another menu--

This week, Burke is out of town almost the entire week. So again, I'm going for simple, simple, simple dinners. With three little rugrats following me around in the kitchen, I need quick/easy ideas to keep everyone happy. Here they are:

*Monday: Baked Potatoes (we didn't have these last week...and they're a favorite, so repeat it is!)

*Tuesday: Black Bean Pie

*Wednesday: "Pig-in-a-Blankets" and green salad. These were one of our favorites growing up. I'll admit, I'm not too excited about this dinner, but it will make the kids happy. :) Simply wrap any kind of "dog" (smokey links, sausages, hot dogs...) in a biscuit with a little ketchup and shredded cheese. Roll in bread crumbs. With the seam side down, place on a baking sheet and bake for 350* for about 10 minutes, or until browned on top and cooked through the biscuit. Kids LOVE making these. I'm pretty sure my almost 5 year old could do them all by himself.

*Thursday: Split Pea Soup with homemade whole wheat croutons (I know it is probably against split pea soup rules to not use a ham bone...but I'm going to experiment...)

*Friday: Out with Burke! He'll finally be home...so we'll probably celebrate and try a new restaurant.

*Saturday: Church Christmas Party (dinner is included--YES!)

*Sunday: Crock Pot Lasagna-The first time I tried this recipe (from THIS book), I was quite skeptical. But both the lasagna addict (Burke) and myself LOVE it! It is SO simple to make, and really tastes delicious. Who doesn't love a good crock pot meal? See recipe below.


Slow Cooker Lasagna

-12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
-1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey), browned and drained
-1 tsp. Italian seasoning
-1 jar (28 oz) spaghetti sauce
-1/4 c. water
-1 carton (16 oz.) cottage cheese
-2 c. mozzarella cheese, grated

Break noodles in half. Place half of the noodles in bottom of greased 4-quart slow cooker. Stir Italian seasoning into meat and spread half over the noodles already in slow cooker. Then layer half of the sauce and water, half of cottage cheese, and half of mozzarella cheese over beef. Repeat layers. cover and cook on low heat 4-5 hours. Do not cook more than 5 hours.

Getting Huge...

My belly is rapidly growing, making certain things a little more difficult. And also seeming to take certain motivations away--like lots of cooking. However, there are a couple recipes that I've been waiting to try, so here is what we'll eat this week:

*Monday: Two Toots. For weeks now, we've been telling Ryder we would take him here to eat...so for FHE tonight, this is where we'll be!

*Tuesday: Chicken Chili with Cornbread Croutons

*Wednesday: As recommended by Martha, we'll use our leftover chili to make Chicken Chili Nachos

*Thursday: Burke is headed to New Jersey today. We will have spaghetti for dinner (since the kids and I could eat it EVERY NIGHT, but Burke doesn't care for it).

*Friday: Sesame Shrimp with rice and steamed Snow peas

*Saturday: I'm headed downtown for the Renegade Craft Fair...the kids will be with a sitter...maybe pizza for dinner???

*Sunday: Burke is off to Pennsylvania today. We'll probably have pita chips & home made hummus for dinner and maybe some roasted butternut squash.

THANKSGIVING!

This week is going to be all about Thanksgiving. Lots of nights we'll be having leftovers or super easy dinners (saving budget and time for the big day!). Here you go!

*Monday: Leftovers-our Missionaries left us with lots of leftovers last night...makes it easy on me tonight!

*Tuesday: Bruschetta

*Wednesday: Making pies today! I'll be making a pumpkin pie (my requirement is that I make a recipe that includes Sweetened Condensed Milk ;) as well as a Butterscotch Pecan Pie. I've tried several pie crust recipes, and found this one is my favorite. We'll eat something easy for dinner like baked potatoes.

*Thursday: For our meal, I will be contributing stuffing, cornbread pudding the Turkey and gravy.

*Friday: Duh--leftovers!

*Saturday: And more leftovers!

*Sunday: Greek salad (requested by my husband, who is already anticipating needing a "cleansing meal" :)