Szechwan Beef and Vegetables

Time for a quick and easy meal?

When that's what I'm looking for I turn to stir frys instead of take-out.

Quick and easy to make you can have dinner on the table in about 20 minutes.  Don't you just love that?  And what's even better is this particular stir fry, Szechwan Beef and Vegetables has been made lighter to keep the waistlines in tact!

This dish carries a little heat, being Szechwan and all....so if you want to tone that down a bit to make it more kid-friendly just dial back on the amount of red pepper flakes you use.  Me? I'm all about the heat baby!

Using lean sirloin help keep the calories down and instead of frying this I marinated the meat to infuse flavor and tenderize the meat.  The result?  succulent beefiness...yum!  For veggies I used a combination of cut of bok choy, broccoli, and snap peas.  Lots of greens = lot of nutrients!

All this in a wonderful spicy szechwan sauce...heaven in 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Szechwan Beef and Vegetables

serves 4

 

1 lb lean sirloin, cut into thin slices

1 T sherry

2 T low sodium soy sauce

1 t minced ginger

2 t cornstarch

2 T water

1 T oil

1 lb chopped mixed vegetables like bok choy, snap peas, broccoli

1/3 c whole cashews

1 t minced garlic

¼ c beef broth

2 t hoisin sauce

1/8 t red pepper flakes

Place meat in a bowl and add the sherry, soy sauce, and ginger.  Toss until well coated.  Set aside.

In another small bowl whisk together the cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of water.  Set aside.

Heat a large skillet on medium high.  Add oil to the skillet.  Add half the beef and stir fry quickly until no longer pink.  Remove from skillet and repeat with remaining meat.  

Add vegetables to the skillet and stir fry until tender crisp.  About 4-5 minutes.  Add garlic and cashews, stirring to toast.  Add beef back to the skillet.  Add beef broth, hoisin sauce, and red pepper flakes.  Stir to coat.  Add cornstarch mixture and stir until sauce thickens.  

Serve over rice.

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

I have a confession.

Biscuits are my favorite breakfast item.  I mean my f a v o r i t e ! ! !

Mom made great ones growing up and she had a treasure trove of old biscuit recipes hidden in her favorite recipe box.  You know the "one" where you keep you most favorite, tried and true, "secret" recipes?

Well I found this one in there...

So glad I snatched this recipe up.  It's a keeper for sure.  Soft, flaky biscuits with that tangy buttermilk singing through.  And the rise on these babies....wonderful!  That may be due to the wonderful new baking powder I've been using lately.  Bakewell Cream is a popular baking powder in New England, know for it's superior raising properties.  So far so good, I'd say!

These biscuits come together quickly and turn out light, moist, and flaky.  So I'm on a quest to make every biscuit recipe that my mom stashed away....hope you don't mind.  My taste buds and tummy are thanking me right now!

Here are some other biscuit recipes I've made:
Buttermilk Biscuits by Clinton St. Bakery
Old Fashioned Biscuits
Cornmeal Biscuits
St. Patrick's Day Cheddar Biscuits


Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold and cut into chunks
3/4 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or two forks cut in butter. (Butter should look like small peas.) Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk.


Mix until combines. Turn dough out onto a floured board. Pat the dough into a rectangle and fold the dough into thirds (like a book) , turn the dough 1/4 turn and pat out again. repeat folding process several times. Roll dough into a round about 1/2' thick. Cut out biscuits and place on a baking pan.

Brush the tops with a little buttermilk. Bake for 12-15 min or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Serve with butter and jam.
 

Apple Cider Waffles with Cinnamon Honey Butter

Every year I buy a BIG jug of apple cider because I just love apples.

We have a wonderful local farm that presses their own apples and makes the most wonderful cider that I just can't resist.  We will have hot apple cider on cold nights with a cinnamon stick swizzle or cold cider for breakfast.  Just about any way we can get it.  The trick comes in when we haven't made a very large dent in the jug of cider! 

That's when I get creative and start dreaming up uses for it in other dishes.  I've tried a cider sauce with pork chops...yum!  Cider muffins with nice big apple chunks which were delishhh.  And today I'm making Apple Cider Waffles, a little jazzed up with a Cinnamon Honey Butter.  Ahhh! the flavors of apples, fall, and comfort food all rolled into one.

This was rather easy to do.  I just tweaked one of my favorite waffles recipes to include the apple cider and some fall spices.  Then I decided on a special butter, a compound butter.  Have you ever made one?  They sound complicated but trust me...they are not.  Simple to through together and any leftovers keep in the frig for quite awhile.  Doesn't get much better than that!

I hope you enjoy your weekend waffles.  Put a little apple in your life.  Oh! and make sure to come back and tell me how they turned out!

Apple Cider Waffles with Cinnamon Honey Butter

serves 4-6

Butter:

1/2 stick or 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 
1 tablespoons honey
a pinch of ground cinnamon 


Waffles:

1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 egg
1 cup apple cider

Combine the butter, honey, and cinnamon, in a bowl. This may be served at room temperature. To save butter place on a piece of plastic wrap and shape in the form of a log rolling up the butter in the wrap. Twist both ends to tighten and continue to twist so that the butter compresses into a log. Butter may be stored in the refrigerator.

To make the waffles, preheat your waffle iron and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add the egg and apple cider and mix to combine.  Batter may be a little lumpy.  Pour batter into waffle iron and cook according to waffle iron manufacturers directions.  Remove from waffle iron and serve warm topped with cinnamon honey butter and syrup.