Easy Stir Fry

I like cooking elaborate dishes; the more steps involved the better and more rewarding.  That being said, I don't always feel like being in the kitchen and spending my free time taking care of meals.  Sometimes, I'm hungry and I want to eat soon.  Unfortunately, for many people, that means cooking things from boxes or not cooking anything at all, which is sad.  Good food can be made simply and quickly.  Like this stir fry.  As long as you've got thawed meat and veggies, you're golden! 

Hubby and I play around with stir fry, using different meats and veggies.  One evening I made it with pork, bell pepper, and onion.  One day hubby used shrimp and a frozen veggie stir-fry mixture we picked up.  Those mixes are handy! 

Take this recipe lightly and loosely; do what you want!

Easy Stir Fry

• 2 pork chops, sliced into thin strips (the thinner the strips, the faster they'll cook)
• 2 green bell peppers, sliced thinly
• 1 large onion, sliced thinly
• olive oil
• soy sauce
• oyster sauce 

In a large skillet, heat oil then brown the strips of pork.  Sprinkle soy sauce over the meat to give it a little flavor.  Once the pork is cooked thoroughly (it will take a few minutes per side) remove to a bowl. 

Add the bell pepper and onion into the pan.  Cook over medium heat until tender.  Return the pork to the pan.  Stir in approximately 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp oyster sauce.  For more sauce, increase amounts.   

Florida Blueberry Cobbler

Some time back, hubby and I were at the store and saw blueberries were on sale.  Since hubby loves blueberries, we of course got some.  At that store, they have a little recipe kiosk, so hubby browsed through it to decide what we should do with our blueberries.  He came across two recipes: one for a pie and one for a cobbler.  He opted for cobbler.  Now, this is not a cobbler like the one I always make; some might say this one is traditional.  It's syrupy fruit on the bottom with crispy, buttery crust on top.  Quite delicious!

 Florida Blueberry Cobbler
(From the Florida Agriculture Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture)

Filling

• 1 stick butter
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 4 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup sugar

Crust

• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla flavoring
• 1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375F.  Place the butter in an 8x8 baking glass dish and melt in the microwave.

For the filling: in a large mixing bowl, combine the lemon juice and blueberries.  Add the sugar and mix well.  Pour the blueberry mixture into the baking dish. DO NOT STIR.

Combine the crust ingredients in a small bowl.  Pour over the blueberries and bake for 45 minutes or until brown.

Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or plain. 

It is best served warm, or at least the same day.   The blueberries get a little syrupy  (i.e., runny), so watch yourself (and any nice clothes)!

july 2010 Daring Baker's Challenge: Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

 I had a lot of fun figuring out what flavors of ice cream to use as two different flavors are hidden within the cakey exterior.  I stuck with the original swiss roll cake recipe, chocolate cake with a simple cream filling.  Add to those the layer of fudge between the two types of ice cream, I definitely starting getting a sundae vibe.  And thus I came up with caramel and marshmallow ice creams. 

Unfortunately, I had a few mishaps with this challenge.  I spread my cake batter a bit too thin, so it didn't roll too well.  Then, I didn't thicken the fudge sauce enough, so it didn't set which then kind of make things a mess.  Good thing looks don't affect taste!

July 2010 Daring Cook's Challenge: Nut Butters

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

I once played with the idea of making my own peanut butter, but at the time I did not have a food processor, so the idea slipped away.  When I found out this month's challenge, I was super excited!  It took me forever to decide what kind to make, and then I changed my mind at the last moment because of a craving I'd been having.  I ended up making an almond butter and using it in one of the supplied recipes, Chicken with Curried Tomato Almond Sauce.

(please note: homemade nut butters are not as smooth as store bought)

I was surprised by how absolutely simple it is to make a nut butter; you just grind the nuts and they'll eventually become a paste, though you may have to add a little oil to smooth things out.  I am SUPER excited by this.  Next up, cashew butter!

The Chicken with Curried Tomato Almond Sauce was great: nice and spicy with the sweet earthiness of the peas mellowing it out.  The almond butter was very subtle; it lingered on the tongue after all else was gone.

Chicken with Curried Tomato Almond Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
• 4 (6 oz / 170 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
  Salt to taste

Spice Blend:

• 1.5 tablespoons (20 ml) garam masala seasoning
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) black pepper

Sauce:

• 4 tablespoons (60 ml) butter
• 1 large onion, cut in half pole to pole (or coarsely diced if you plan to leave it in)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15-ounce/425 g) can tomato sauce
• ⅓ cup (80 ml) almond butter
• ⅓ cup (80 ml) milk
• ½ to ¾ cup (120 to 180 ml) chicken broth or water, more as needed
• 1 cup (240 ml) frozen peas (optional)

• Hot basmati rice for serving
• Chopped parsley (optional garnish)
• Sliced almonds (optional garnish)

Directions: 

Cook the chicken. If desired, pound chicken to ¼ inch (6 mm) thickness to promote even cooking. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Heat 1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken; sauté 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Cook the chicken in 2 batches, adding more oil if needed for second batch. Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces; set aside on clean plate and keep warm.

Prepare spice blend. Stir garam masala, ginger, cinnamon, and pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Melt the butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook gently for several minutes to infuse the butter with onion flavor. Keep the heat low to avoid burning the butter; a little color is fine. Add the spice blend and garlic and cook for 1 minute or till fragrant, stirring constantly. Add the tomato sauce, stir well, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Whisk in almond butter and milk until thoroughly combined with tomato sauce. The almond butter is thick so it takes a while to make a smooth sauce. Return to simmer. Add broth (or water) to sauce to reach desired consistency; return to simmer. Add more broth (or water) as needed to thin sauce as desired.

Remove onion from sauce and discard (or leave the onion in, like I did). Stir frozen peas (if using) into sauce. Transfer sliced chicken to sauce. Simmer gently for a few minutes until peas and chicken are heated through.

Serve chicken and sauce over rice. Garnish with chopped parsley and/or sliced almonds if desired.