Weeknight Wonder: Cashew Chicken and Simple Vegetable Stir Fry

I love easy 20 minutes meals, don't you?

I work hard and really don't want to cook a major dinner during the week. Something quick, tasty, and hearty sounds good so I often turn to stir frys. My blog is full of stir fry recipes so be sure to search for them. I just love that I can throw together a quick meal in 20 minutes. A little help from a convenience item once in a while doesn't hurt either! In this case I used Kikkoman's stir fry sauce, which is very good.

This keeps the meal down to 20 minutes, and you can get a hot, healthy dish on the table in no time.  

The vegetables used are simple everyday veggies from your refrigerator.  Carrots, celery, and green beans.  Items I usually have on hand all the time, but you can use whatever veggies you have.  No fancy veggies this time, which should save you a trip to the store.  Meals like this are great for leftover items you need to use up so grab what you have!

Try this delicious meal soon.  It's the perfect weeknight meal, and better than takeout!

Enjoy!

Cashew Chicken and Simple Vegetable Stir Fry

1/4 c stir fry sauce
1/4 c water
½ 1b boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
¼ c. cornstarch
2 T. canola oil
1/2 c shredded carrots
2 stalks of celery, sliced
8 oz. green beans, trimmed
1/3 c roasted, unsalted cashews
White or brown rice, cooked


Combine stir fry sauce, and water in a small bowl. Set aside.

Place the cornstarch on a plate and dredge the chicken in it to coat.

Heat oil in a wok or skillet. Add chicken and stir fry over medium high heat about 5-7 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove from skillet to a plate. Add carrots, celery, and green beans. Stirring until crisp tender, about 8 minutes. Add chicken and cashews and stir until cashews are toasted. Add stir fry sauce and toss until ingredients are covered.

Serve over hot cooked rice.

The Best Grilled Corn Ever!

Yum

I have to share a secret recipe with you....I've been keeping it hidden and I just feel guilty about it cause this is the BEST grilled corn you will ever eat!  Seriously!

I'm eating up all the summer corn I can get because the season is almost over.  If you are like me you love corn, and there's nothing better than sweet summer corn grilled on the cob!  

I know that there is a holiday coming up, so if you have a craving to serve grilled corn at your Labor Day cookout then this is the recipe/method for you!  This is my go to method and it has everyone that tries it salivating for more.  It's that good.

So simple, yet the corn ends up roasted, but steamed, and buttery as heck.  To die for!

Make sure to make this before the corn is all gone....the end is near  :(

Enjoy!



The Best Grilled Corn Ever

serves 6

6 ears of white or yellow corn on the cob, husks removed and cleaned
1/4 c butter
2 T chives chopped

Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium.  Place corn on a piece of heavy duty foil, large enough to cover the corn in a package.  (2 pieces of regular foil maybe be used.)  In a small microwavable bowl place butter and melt on high 15-30 seconds until butter is melted.  Add the chives to the butter.

Brush butter over each ear of corn.  Pour any remaining butter over the corn.  Bring up the sides of the foil over to meet each other.  Make a tight 1/2 inch fold.  Keep folding down foil but allow some space for circulation.  Fold other sides to seal.  

Place packet on the grill over low heat.  Cover and cook 12-18 minutes, rotating and turning packet half way through. When ready to serve cut the foil and allow the steam to escape.  Serve.

Bruschetta Chicken Rice Bowl

Italian Food is a favorite of mine.  Always has been.

It was a given that one day I would travel to Italy as I love the food, the people, the culture, and the history of this wonderful country.  I was blessed to be able to visit Italy with my mom quite a few years ago.  One of the best trips ever!

We stayed in Rome for a week and then we were off to Venice.  Rome is a wonderful city full of history and excellent food.  We were dying over all the food we ate.  We found a quaint restaurant near our hotel that we visited just about every day for either lunch, a snack, or dinner.  It was a family owned restaurant and we became quick friends with the owner, Giuseppe.  His son was living in California at the time, for college, which he was so proud of.  This commonality brought us together quickly and he became a wonderful friend during our stay.

Giuseppe made us feel so welcome in his restaurant, as if we were coming into his home.  The food was heavenly.  He usually had a special made entree which he would recommend and we greedily ate up.  However, every meal started out with a piece of Bruschetta.  Oh the flavors were to die for, the plump, juicy tomatoes, with pungent garlic mixed in, with a drizzle of olive oil and maybe some basil over a toasted baguette!  Oh my!  My mouth is watering just remembering that one delicious piece that opened your appetite.

My love of Bruschetta started there and has never left me. So today I wanted to take those flavors and adding some chicken for protein recreate them in the ever so popular rice bowl.  Everyone loves a rice bowl right?  So why not mix it up and create an Italian one with the outstanding flavors of Brushetta.  Simple, yet tasty.   I made a rice pilaf which provides you with more flavor, however, feel free to use brown rice, long grain white rice, or instant rice.  Anything will do really.  Enjoy this dish as the perfect lunch or dinner in 30 minutes.

Here's to you Giuseppe!


Bruschetta Chicken Rice Bowl

serves 4 

Rice Pilaf:

1/4 c orzo pasta
1 T unsalted butter
3/4 c yellow onion, finely chopped
Pinch of kosher salt
1 c long-grain white rice
1 1/2 c low-sodium chicken broth

Chicken:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt & pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

2 T olive oil

3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 tsp fresh parsley, minced

For the rice:  heat a small saucepan over high heat until hot. Add the pasta, and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted.   Add onion and salt, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add rice, and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Add broth to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Remove from heat; let pilaf stand, covered, 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Meanwhile pound your chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap to an even thickness about 1/4-1/2".  Sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and the garlic powder.  Heat a medium skillet of medium-high heat.  Add the olive oil and allow to heat.  Add the chicken breasts and cook about 4-5 minutes total until cooked through and golden brown. Remove from the skillet and keep warm.  Add the tomatoes and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes until fragrant and heated through.  Slice the chicken in to strips or bite sized chunks.

To assemble the bowls:  Take 4 small individual bowls and place rice in the bottom filling up about 3/4 way up the bowl. Add chicken and tomato/garlic mixture.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve.

Lemon Blueberry Crescent Rolls

We're on our way out to the beach!  I love the beach but I don't get there as often as I'd like.  So today is special.  It's a beautiful day, very hot, but the cool ocean breezes and the sandy beaches are waiting for us.  

We have a lot of beaches to choose from around us such as Zuma Beach, Malibu Beach, and Santa Monica Beach to name a few.  Our favorite has become Will Rogers State Beach.  It's a wonderful spot that isn't very wide so we don't have to truck all our stuff far from the car in the 'hot' sand. It's quiet and the water is always sparkling.  The perfect spot to watch dolphins playing, which we had the pleasure of seeing quite often. 

We'll pack a light lunch and some fruit to snack on, but before that I'm making a quick breakfast.  

I mean really quick!  This isn't even a recipe.  Just something I threw together with pantry staples.  I always keep crescent rolls on hand because you can make so many things with them.  For the filling I always have berries on hand in the summer.  I chose some plump blueberries, which I adore hot blueberries.  They are bursting with flavor.  What goes good with blueberries? Lemon curd.  Done! You have your filling.    

This is to be a simple breakfast, so help from convenience items such as jarred lemon curd and crescent rolls is perfectly ok.  And....they are delishhhh!

So we're off to the beach now.  We (MGG actually) ate all the Lemon Blueberry Crescent Rolls with the exception of two that I hid for a late night snack!  He didn't notice....I think. 

Have a great weekend and try these quick breakfast treats. You'll love them!

Lemon Blueberry Crescent Rolls

makes 8

1 can of refrigerated crescent rolls (I used Pillsbury)
4 T of jarred lemon cured (more or less as you desire)
1/2 pint of fresh blueberries

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Unroll crescent rolls and separate each triangle.  Brush lemon curd over each triangle.  You can use more or less to your taste.  Drop 3-4 blueberries on each of the triangles closer to the wide end.  Roll up starting from the wide end and creating a crescent roll.

Place on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown.  Serve.

Baja Chicken Sliders

We are in the hottest part of summer around here in Southern California.  But that doesn't stop us! I've been in the mood for a party, how about you?

So last weekend we had a wonderful party that was beside the pool, with alfresco dining, and great grilled food.  

Here was the menu:
Cherryade
Summer Corn Salad
Summer Salad
Baja Chicken Sliders
Strawberry Banana Parfaits

There's nothing better that getting together with friends and sitting around the table telling stories. This is what life is all about.  Sharing stories and laughter.  Lots of laughter!

So today I wanted to share with you our main dish recipe. Baja Chicken Sliders are a wonderful handheld item with bold flavors.  I found and adapted this recipe from Taste of Home and I'm so glad I tried it because boy, does this dish 'wow' you!  Everyone at our party just loved it.  Don't you love it when everyone brags about your food? Haha!  I do!

Everything from the sauce to the slaw just 'works'.  Don't skip anything on this because each item lends to the final dish and gives it it's flavor boost.  It's soooo good!

Look how yummy this dish is!  Succulent chicken breasts with a tangy sauce and spicy slaw on a sweet toasted bun...nothing better!  

It's easy to prepare, and perfect for serving multiple people. This would be the perfect dish for your Labor Day party....Enjoy!



Baja Chicken Sliders

adapted from Taste of Home
serves 8

Sauce:
1/4 c low fat sour cream
1/2 tsp grated lime peel
1/4 tsp lime juice

Slaw:
1 c broccoli slaw mix
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned

1/4 small red onion, sliced

2 T fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and julienned
2 tsp lime juice

Sliders:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
8 Hawaiian sweet rolls, split
8 small lettuce leaves
8 slices tomato

Preheat grill to medium high.  

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, lime peel and lime juice.  In a medium bowl, combine slaw ingredients. Chill sauce and slaw until serving.

Cut each chicken breast in half widthwise; flatten to 1/2-in. thickness by pounding between plastic wrap with a meat pounder or rolling pin.   Mix seasoning of cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl, then sprinkle chicken.

Coat grill rack with cooking.  Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat 4 to 7 minutes on each side or until no longer pink.

Grill rolls, cut sides down, 1 minute or until toasted. Serve chicken on rolls with lettuce, tomato, sauce and slaw.

Grilled Vegetables: A Summer Staple

We all love to fire up the grill during the summer.

Vegetables as a side dish is a no brainer and Grilled Vegetables is just a summer staple.  At least at my house it is.  Grilling vegetables brings out the natural sweetness and makes them taste deliscious (sorta like roasting does, but more intense).  Combine that with a great little marinade to pump up the flavor a notch and you have a go to recipe that you will make over and over again, until summer ends. Maybe even longer!

This recipe combines a variety of vegetables in one dish.  It's great displayed on a platter and the perfect entertaining side dish.  You can use any vegetables that you want.  I just used some basic vegetables I had on hand including carrots.  Yes, you can grill carrots!  They come out fabulous.

The key to grilling different vegetables is making sure you have a grill pan for the smaller ones that have a tendency to want to fall through the grates when you aren't looking!  A nice mesh pan works great for mushrooms, asparagus, snap peas etc. Another key is to add the items that take the longest grilling time first, then add the others in succession so they all end up done around the same time.

We served this along side a wonder steak recipe that I'll be posting shortly.  A nice piece of grilled bread and you are all set.

I hope you enjoy this.  Don't skip the marinade cause it's wonderful!  It's sweet and tangy and really adds some zip to your dish.

Enjoy!



Grilled Vegetables

serves 4-6

1/4 cup olive oil
2 T honey
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 lb asparagus, woody stems trimmed
3 carrots, cut in half lengthwise
1 red pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
1 yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch round slices

In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil through the salt.  Put 3 tablespoons of the marinade in a plastic bag.   Add the vegetables, seal and turn to coat.  Marinate 1-1/2 hours at room temperature.

Heat grill to medium heat.  Transfer vegetables to the grilling grate or using a grill basket.   Grill covered, for about 12-15 minutes or until crisp-tender, turning occasionally.

Place vegetables on a platter.  Drizzle with remaining marinade. 

Cherry Garcia Scones

I have fond memories of my first encounters with Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream.

I remember laughing at the puns in the titles.  All the 'stuff' they added to the ice cream to make some awesome new flavors.  This ice cream flew into the stores with such a force it became an in-thing to eat Ben & Jerry's, and to try all the different flavors.

Some of my initial favorites were Half Baked, Chunky Monkey, and of course Cherry Garcia!  Oh that cherry flavored ice cream loaded with real cherries and fudge bits. They really had me at cherry. One of my favorite fruits of summer.  I wait patiently each year for cherry season to start, and then I pounce!  Buying bags of cherries weekly during the short season.

Cherry Garcia Ice Cream is my inspirations for this week's recipe for a heavenly scone.  It has all the flavor of the ice cream; fresh cherries, chocolate bits, cream for a soft moist interior.  It's a flavor combination that can't be beat.   

Now you may be saying...geez, I have to pit all thoses cherries?  Well not to worry. There is a wonderful gadget for that.  I use Oxo's Cherry and Olive pitter.  I picked mine up from Williams-Sonoma, here for $12.95, or you can find it on Amazon, here. Wouldn't be without this little beauty!

You will notice that I grate the butter into the flour mixture instead of the usual cutting in the butter with two knives or a pastry cutter.  I saw this technique on the TV when this chef was making biscuits so I decided to try it out.  I will say that I loved this technique.  It's very easy to do and the butter seems to get more distributed amongst the dough.  I will be grating my butter in many of my recipes going forward.  Try it and let me know if you like it.

You will absolutely love these scones.  Make them this weekend for a nice treat.  Enjoy!



Cherry Garcia Scones

Makes 12

             2 cups all purpose flour
             1/2 cup sugar
             1 teaspoon baking powder
             1/4 teaspoon baking soda
             1/2 teaspoon salt
             1 teaspoon vanilla
             8 oz butter, frozen
             1/2 cup fresh cherries, chopped
             1/3 cup chocolate chips
             1/2 sour cream
             1 egg
     
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl mix flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking flour.  Grate frozen butter into flour mixture. Mix with fingers until flour resembles small pebbles or peas. Stir in vanilla, cherries and chocolate. Loosely mix together.

In a small bowl whisk together sour cream and egg.  Add to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Form dough into a disc.  Place the disc on a floured surface and pat into an 8 " or 9" circle about 1/2 inch thick.  Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut into 12 triangles. Place each scone on a parchment lined baking sheet, 1 inch apart. (I used two baking sheets)  Bake 15 min or until golden brown.  Cool.
   

Turkey Spinach Panini with a Citrus Aioli

Summertime calls for quick yet hearty food.  Sandwiches for a weekend lunch are my go to meal.

Do you love all the combinations that you can make with a sandwich as much as I do?   I hope so cause today's sandwich is a real winner!

I love hot sandwiches.  It might be the gooey cheese melting over the hot meat...or it might be the toasty bread.  This one has it all plus a wonderful citrus aioli.  Aioli is a fancy word for a mayonnaise and garlic spread.  This spread really makes this sandwich, so don't skip it!!!  It will rock your world.
Honest.

The light citrus in the spread is such a good compliment to the delicate turkey and tangy Swiss cheese.  Together this is a combination made in heaven!  You can change it up the way you like it as well by swapping out the spinach for lettuce or arugula, or choose your favorite bread.  I used a nice country sliced bread which toasted nicely.  

Anyway you build it will turn out a masterpiece.  Remember, don't skip the citrus aioli!

Enjoy!



Turkey Spinach Panini with a Citrus Aioli

2 T mayonnaise 
1/4 tsp lime zest 
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice 
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
8 slices country bread 
1/2 lb sliced roasted turkey 
1 cup baby spinach
4 slices Swiss cheese
Cooking spray

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.  For the Aioli: Combine ingredients from mayonnaise through garlic in a small bowl.  Spread evenly over 4 bread slices. Top evenly with turkey, spinach, cheese, and the remaining 4 bread slices.

Coat grill pan with cooking spray. Arrange 2 sandwiches in pan. Place a cast-iron or heavy skillet on top of sandwiches; press gently to flatten. Cook 2 minutes on each side.  Repeat procedure with remaining 2 sandwiches.  Slice in half and serve immediately.  

'Bakery Style' Orange Blueberry Muffins

Last week MGG and I took a day trip up to Santa Barbara.  I just love it there.

We spent the day doing a little shopping, walking along the beach, stopped at the Biltmore Hotel for a drink, and of course sampled some tasty food.

On the way we always stop for a nice breakfast at one of our favorites places in Summerland.  The food is always spot on. This time we opted to a continental breakfast that came with a basket of bakery items.  I spotted a large 'bakery' style muffin and I knew I would be in heaven.  Bursting with blueberries and a hint of citrus.   Yep, I was right....Heaven!

I'm a blueberry lover you see.  I've made many blueberry items in the past here and here.  So this past weekend I got out my mixing bowls and made my own version of 'Bakery Style' Orange Blueberry Muffins.  Bakery style, means that are a little larger than life!  Juicy, ripe, hot, blueberries, bursting in your mouth.  The background has a hint of orange.  The perfect contrast to the tang of the blueberries. Not much is better than this!

Great to serve on a weekend summer morning, or make for brunch, or a ladies tea. Be sure to pick up some fresh blueberries.  They are in season and so sweet this year.  If you don't have any, frozen will do just as well, but be sure to thaw them so they don't bleed all over your batter and turn it blue!

Try them soon, and tell me how you liked them.   Enjoy!



'Bakery Style' Orange Blueberry Muffins 

serves 12

2 cups fresh blueberries 
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
2 cups all purpose flour 
4 teaspoons baking powder 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 1/2 cups white sugar 
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs 
1 teaspoon orange extract 
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.   Spray muffins tins with cooking spray.

In a small bowl add your blueberries and sprinkle 1/4 cup flour over blueberries, toss to coat.

In a large bowl, add your flour, baking powder and salt and sugar. Whisk together. To a medium bowl, add your oil, eggs, orange extract, orange zest and milk.  Whisk to blend. Add to the flour mixture stirring just to combine. Fold in berries. Fill muffin cups almost to the top with batter.

Bake for 20 - 22 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.  

Strawberry Shortcake Scones

I have a real thing for berries.

I do.  I swear.  Every year when berry season hits in Southern California I go hog wild.  Buying berries every week from the farmer's markets until I'm blue in the face....almost literally!  I buy them all, blackberries, raspberries (red and white), strawberries, blueberries...you name it.  I just LOVE them!

So with all these berries around I have to find new ways to use them.  Which often means searching for new twists on standards like scones.  I love a good scone, don't you? Since they are a little more involved than a quick throw together meal I usually save this type of item for my weekend breakfasts.  Perfect for sitting on the patio eating them with a nice cup of hot tea.  

So I've found myself with an excess of strawberries a while back and we've been eating them in desserts such as parfaits and strawberry shortcakes.  Our strawberries have been to DIE FOR this year.  So sweet they don't need any sugar!  

So I hit the Internet and came across the best recipe for a strawberry shortcake style scone.  Wow!  I knew that this would be right up my alley.  What makes these different from regular scones is the addition of ricotta cheese and whipping cream to the mixture.  These ingredients elevate your scones to a different level and make them so tender and moist.

Hands down, this is an excellent recipe for scones.  The strawberries are the highlight but the tender but moist biscuits make it heaven on a plate.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake Scones 

slightly adapted from BHG.com

Yield: 12 scones

1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
2 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1/4 cup whipping cream
Whipping cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.   In a small bowl, toss together strawberries and 1 tablespoon flour. In a large bowl combine the 2 1/2 cups flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in center of the flour mixture; set aside. 

In a medium bowl combine the egg, ricotta, and 1/4 cup whipping cream. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Add strawberries. Using a fork, stir just until moistened. 

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough by folding and gently pressing it for 10 to 12 strokes or until dough is nearly smooth. Pat dough into a 10x4-inch rectangle. Cut in half lengthwise and in sixths crosswise to make 12 rectangles. 

Place rectangles 2 inches apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush with additional whipping cream.  Bake about 16 minutes or until golden brown. Remove scones from baking sheet. Serve warm. 

Mongolian Beef

Everyone loves Chinese food don't they?  I know we do, and by the popularity of the stir fry dishes I've posted I'm going to take a leap and say that you do too.  Even better is that it's a great take-out dish. It's easy to order and pick up on the way home.  Well let's just say that making your own "take-out" is just easy.  Don't believe that?  Well just read on.

Mongolian Beef is a favorite dish of mine to order when we go to a certain Chinese restaurant in our neighborhood.  I just love the spicy and deep flavors the brown sauce lends to it.

I've been craving some lately and we just haven't had time to stop by the restaurant to pick some up, so I set out on a mission to recreate my own version of this dish. Let's forget the take-out and have take-in instead!

If you plan on making Chinese stir frys at home it is best to invest in some pantry items that you have on hand whenever the craving strikes.  Items such as soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and sriracha sauce are some of the ingredients I use regularly and try to always keep on hand.  These items are easily picked up at your local grocery store in the Asian section and I've even seen them at Trader Joes.   Tip:  make sure to keep the sesame oil in the refrigerator as it WILL go rancid if left out (speaking from experience...) yuk!!! You don't want to ruin your dish.

Mongolian Beef is our quest today.  It's a classic Chinese-American dish that has no reference to Mongolia except for the name. But who cares!  When you put a gingery-garlicky brown sauce together with strips of beef and vegetables I'm in heaven.  You will be too!

I took a nice sirloin steak and sliced it thinly and added some vegetables (onion and mini bell pepper mix) for some texture and crunch.  Make the wonderful sauce first so that you are ready to add it at the end when it's almost done.  Stir frys cook very quickly in a hot skillet or wok.  Having your items all ready to go prior to cooking is very helpful in these fast paced dishes.  No one wants to be frantic when cooking, and you've forgot to make the sauce!

Serve this mildly spiced dish over rice or wide rice noodles to catch all the sauce. I served it with rice and my Asian Cucumber Salad.  Great for a summer evening.  

Enjoy!



Mongolian Beef

serves 4

2 T low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp dry sherry
2 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sriracha sauce
2 tsp oil
1 T minced ginger, fresh
1 T garlic, minced
1 pound sirloin steak, cut across grain into thin slices
1/2 yellow onion sliced thinly
2 bell peppers, julienne sliced (mixed colors, red, yellow, and orange)

To make the sauce,  combine the soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, sherry, hoisin sauce, vinegar, sriracha sauce in a small bowl.  Whisk until smooth. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add ginger, garlic, and beef and cook about 4 minutes or until beef is browned. Remove beef from the skillet to a plate. Set aside.  

Add the onion and peppers to the skillet and cook, stirring often about 3 minutes until crisp tender.   Add your meat and any collected juices back to the skillet and stir. Add the sauce mixture to pan. cook 1 minute stirring constantly, or until thickened. Serve over rice or noodles.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Waffles

Hope everyone had a perfect 4th of July yesterday!

One of my favorite holidays for sure.  We had a great time at the pool with friends, and then on to a delicious grill fest for dinner followed by magnificent fireworks.

Boy, I'm tired today.  I did all the prep work ahead so that my day was open to enjoy party.  Today is my day to relax, and catch up before heading back to work.  My lazy Sunday as I call it.

To start the day off right I whipped up MGG and I some wonderfully delicious waffles.  Something a little sweet to get us going.  Plus I get to break our my new waffle maker!  It's so much fun to get a new kitchen item.  I have this old beat up waffle maker for 100 year and it was on it's last leg.  It was huffing and puffing and I knew it was time to retire.  So I believe that a "test taste" is due, don't you?  

Oh my this recipe!  You will just love the addition of decadent chocolate chips and crunchy pecans.   They give it a hint of sweet along with a nice bit of crunch.  You can splurge every once in a while. Keeps you motivated, I say.  

I hope you enjoy these.  Give them a try for your next weekend breakfast and tell me what you think.

Kitchen Tip:  Freeze leftover waffles and toast them in the toaster for a quick weekday breakfast or snack.  




Chocolate Chip Pecan Waffles

serves 4-6

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
¼ cup sugar
⅔ cup finely chopped pecans
⅔ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
4 eggs
1 cup butter, melted 
2 ½ cups milk 
2 tsp vanilla 
Additional coarsely chopped pecans and miniature semisweet chocolate chips, if desired 

Heat your waffle maker according to manufacturer's directions. 

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, pecans and chocolate chips.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs, butter, milk and vanilla with whisk. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir just until moistened. 

Pour batter onto waffle maker and bake about 5 minutes until steaming stops and waffles are deep golden brown. Remove to a tray and keep warm under foil or in a low temp oven. Repeat with remaining batter.  

Serve immediately with syrup and topped with additional pecans and chocolate chips if desired. Repeat with remaining batter.