Orange Teriyaki Beef and Noodles

I rarely serve dinner in a bowl.  The hubs doesn't so much love when I do and sometimes it makes dinner feel less like dinner.  I know, strange.  Anyway, tonight's dinner - perfect for a bowl. 

I also rarely make a recipe that calls for beef strips.  My husband and I prefer our beefed cooked to different doneness and it's hard to get it rare enough for him and acceptable enough for me at the same time without the grill.  Tonight's dinner - beef strips.

And finally, I rarely make a dinner with a known ingredient not favorable to one of us.  Case in point: snow peas.  Tonight's dinner - snow peas.  (Thankfully, the hubs will kindly push them aside and offer them up once done.)

All that aside, this dish was really good!  A little sweet from the orange marmalade, a little salty from the teriyaki and broth, and a little saucy for, well, a saucy dish!   You could probably do this with chicken and any veggies you prefer - if I make it again, I will use broccoli (to please the husband) and mushrooms (also to please the husband).  Needless to say, a quick and easy midweek meal.

Orange Teriyaki Beef with Noodles

Orange Teriyaki Beef and Noodles

What You Need:

• 1 lb beef sirloin strips
• 1 3/4 c beef broth
• 1/4 c teriyaki sauce (I used Mr Yoshida's Classic)
• 2 tbsp orange marmalade
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 c snow peas
• 3 oz uncooked egg noodles (I used these)

How You Do It:

1. In a large skillet with a lid, cook beef until brown, 2-4 minutes.  Set aside and cover to keep warm.
2. Add broth, teriyaki, orange marmalade, and red pepper flakes to skillet.  Bring to a boil.  Add snow peas and noodles, cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes.
3. Add back in beef and stir to combine.  If necessary, add a roux to thicken.

Orange Teriyaki Beef and Noodles recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.

Almond-Chive Salmon

Tonight, I want to start with a shout-out to my dinner girls back in Minneapolis. 

You see, Katy, Emily, and I would get together about once a month and make dinner.  Whoever was hosting would pick the theme (I love theme dinners!) and make the entree and the other two of us would bring a side dish and a dessert, respectively.  We would eat, drink, and chat until the wee hours of the evening - no significant others invited - expect for Sushi Rolling Night, which was an experience and a half.

As for tonight's dinner, this was the entree at either Katy's or Emily's one night and it became one of my favorite salmon recipes yet.  A simple topping made with simple flavors that shine through and complement the salmon in an elegant way. 

I've made this a couple times since that evening and every time it takes me back to the nights we spent together - one of the things I miss most about having moved away.

So tonight, I tip my chef's hat to Katy and Emily and our little but oh-so-special dinner group.

Almond-Chive Salmon

Almond-Chive Salmon

What You Need:

• 1 oz sliced almonds
• 1 tbsp snipped chives
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 slice bread, torn (I used 1/2 a leftover hamburger bun from our Memorial Day BBQs)
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 6-oz salmon fillets

How You Do It:

1. In a food processor (I used this awesome manual food processor from Pampered Chef), combine almonds, chives, lemon rind, torn bread, and salt & pepper.  Process until finely chopped.
2. Top fillets evenly with mixture and press to adhere.
3. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes until salmon flakes easily or cooked to desired doneness. 

Almond-Chive Salmon adapted from the best dinner group ever... and AllRecipes.com.

Chicken Fajita Pizza

Every once and a while you need a taste of home.  So over the weekend I emailed my mom to ask her if she could send some of my favorite recipes from when I was a kid.  This one is just that.  I used to ask her to make this when I was home from college for a long weekend or break.  It’s nothing really special, but to me, it really was – probably because it married two of my favorite things: Mexican food and pizza.

Saute up some chicken, an onion, and bell pepper – spread it atop partially-baked crust – add some salsa and cheese – golden brown – YUM.

There’s not much more I can tell you about this one other than it was just as good as I remembered it and exactly what I was hoping for.

Chicken Fajita Pizza

 

Chicken Fajita Pizza

What You Need:

• 1 10oz can refrigerated pizza crust
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in thin strips
• 1 ½ tsp. chili powder
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 c salsa
• 2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

How You Do It:

1. Preheat oven to 425°.  Spread out dough on large rimmed baking tray (I used my favorite fromPampered Chef).  Bake for 7-9 minutes or until very light golden brown.
2. While the crust pre-bakes, mix chicken and chili powder and cook in rimmed skillet 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Add onions and peppers; cook an additional 2-3 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and veggies are crisp-tender.
3. Remove crust from oven and spoon chicken mixture evenly over partially baked crust. 
4. Spoon salsa over chicken; sprinkle with cheese. 
5. Bake an additional 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Chicken Fajita Pizza recipe adapted from my mom.

Not-So-Bourbon Bourbon Chicken

I must preface this by stating there is no bourbon in this recipe, but to many your probable dismay.  Sorry.  I must also say, I can't say as if I know what actual bourbon chicken tastes like, but this was pretty darn good.  I suppose I would just call it "some sort of Asian-style chicken", as it had those flavors, none of which were actual bourbon. 

With a combination of ingredients you are bound to have on hand already, this is a quick fix for take-out, where yet again, you control the sodium and the ingredients in general.  While the original recipe called for chicken thighs, I chose chicken breasts since they are a bit better for us.  I also used Splenda instead of actual sugar.  The sauce was very flavorful and the sauteed onions and garlic really make this dish.  Serve this up with some steamed broccoli and rice and you've got what you would normally get when the delivery shows up!

Oh, and mom?  No need to double the sauce - there was plenty!

Not-So-Bourbon Bourbon Chicken

Not-So-Bourbon Bourbon Chicken

What You Need:

• 3 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 large garlic cloved, minced
• 6 packets Splenda (or 1/4 c sugar)
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp vinegar (I used white wine vinegar because it's what was in my pantry)

How You Do It:

1. Saute onions in oil until golden. 
2. Add chicken and garlic, and cook until chicken is no longer pink.
3. In a small bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, and vinegar.  Once chicken is fully cooked, add sauce to pan, toss chicken to coat, and let simmer until the sauce naturally thickens.

Not-So-Bourbon Bourbon Chicken recipe adapted from KeyIngredient.com.

Taco Burgers

I don’t know about you, but Cinco de Mayo to me means Mexican food and margaritas!  And that’s exactly what took over our back porch last night.

First let’s start with the margaritas.  While I would love to share with you, my trusty readers, the recipe for the margaritas we had last night, I shall keep that in my pocket, as one of my best girlfriends back in Minneapolis shared her family recipe with me, and well, I keep family recipes close at heart.  I will say just two things:  1) these things are deadly; and 2) if you find yourself in a situation where Abi offers to make you a margarita, take her up on the offer!

Now for our fiesta – since the weather was so beautiful this weekend – and I have lobster skin to show for that – we put a backyard BBQ twist on Cinco de Mayo this year with some taco burgers. 

Remember the other day when I made baked tacos?  It included making my own taco seasoning, which I duplicated for these burgers.  So easy, so delicious.  Try it.  Anyway – I whipped together the seasoning, dumped it in some chopped meat with a handful of oatmeal (my mom’s trick) to keep the meat moist, and the hubs took to the grill (not without having to make a quick trip to refill our gas tank!). 

Topped off with salsa and guac, these burgers were exactly what I was hoping for as our BBQ take on Cinco de Mayo!

Taco Burgers

 

Taco Burgers

What You Need:

• 1 lb chopped meat (I used ground turkey)
• 2 tsp dried minced onion
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 handful oats

How You Do It:

1. Combine all ingredients and mix to combine.
2. Form into patties.
3. Grill.
4. Top with your favorite taco toppings, sip a margarita, and enjoy!

Baked Tacos

Tonight's recipe is one of those that very well could have used a huge cheat from the pantry: a taco seasoning packet.  However, I highly suggest trying the recipe below, which includes making your own taco seasoning.  Not only do you probably have all the ingredients already in your spice rack, but you can control the amount of salt going in (and in this case, none!).  And... I would dare to say you would never know by the taste that you made your own seasoning.

Now - on to the tacos themselves.  A little ground meat, add in some tomato sauce, refried beans, and that taco seasoning, and you have your filling.  Then - the trick: baking the tacos, stuffed and cheesed.  They were great!  The filling was warm, the cheese, melted - all that was left was to top them off with your condiments of choice. 

The only bit in question with these tacos was the shells themselves.  We don't usually go hard-shell, but this is the best to use.  Upon our first bites, both the hubs and I thought maybe the pre-packaged shelled might have been stale - or - when you bake the shells they get a little chewy/stale.  Have yet to make a final verdict on the shells themselves, but a good taco recipe nonetheless. 

If you make these, report back on the shells, if you would be so kind!

Baked Tacos

Baked Tacos

What You Need:

• 1 lb ground meat (I used ground turkey)
• 2 tsp dried minced onion
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 4 oz (1/2 can) tomato sauce
• 8 oz (1/2 can) refried beans
• Shredded cheese (I used this)
• 10 hard taco shells (I used these)

How You Do It:

1. In a small bowl, combine minced onion, chili powder, cornstarch, cumin, and oregano. 
2. In large skillet, brown meat until no longer pink.  Add seasoning mix, tomato sauce, and refried beans.  Mix to combine.
3. Divide mix into 10 taco shells and place in baking dish.
4. Top with cheese.
5. Bake 400* 5-8 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Baked Tacos recipe adapted from BlogChef.