Broccoli Beef or Chicken

Here in good old Rexburg there is no good Asian food. And We find ourselves seriously craving it. So I am always on the hunt for our favorite Asian food recipes. For this one I didn't have to go far. I got This from my Sister Laura you got it from her sister in law Pakiene who is from .... ummm I cant remember, Laura or Shannon help me out? But she has some seriously good recipes!! This one is easy and super yummy!

1 package of stir fry beef strips or 2 chicken breast cut into small pieces
2 stalks of broccoli cut into small pieces
2 T. oil ( I usually use sesame oil for a little extra flavor)
1/2 c oyster sauce (I was afraid to try this but now its one of my favorites and I use it in lots of Asian recipes!)
1 clove of garlic finely chopped( i usually add at least 2, we like our garlic!)
1/2 c. water

using a frying pan/ skillet on med- high heat, pour in oil. Add garlic and saute for a minute then add meat. Cook for 2 min. Add broccoli in and stir. let it cook for 3-4 minutes. then add oyster sauce and water, stir and let cook for 2 more minutes.
serve with rice! enjoy!!!

I usually double this for our family (or at least double the meat and sauce, we have some broccoli haters in our house :-(

Ceasar Salad

1 crushed garlic bud

½ teaspoon dry mustard

½ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of pepper

1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice

¼ cup salad oil

2 – 3 Tablespoons of grated Parmesan Cheese

Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl, put torn up Romaine, red and green leafy lettuce, and spinach on top.  Do no toss! Cover and refrigerate overnight or several hours.  Toss and add Croutons and Parmesan Cheese.

I usually 3 X’s this recipe to put in the big Tupperware bowl for a crowd, or at least 3 times the dressing so you can use some one night and some more for lunch or dinner the next day!!

Menu Mondays- Cori

Wow with going out of town for the weekend, then my Brother and Sister in law havign their baby I totally spaced my menu.  Sorry!

So I made a month calendar for our meals.  But since things have been kinda crazy latley I ahvent cooked half of our meals planned.  So this week Im not gonna stick to what my calendar says and go with what in my fridge/ freezer and use stuff up that I ahd bought for previous meals that jsut never happend!!

Monday-  Chicken Alfredo (I used the 1/3 fat cream cheese and  I seasoned with fresh garlic, basil, and parsley.  then added Italian season and salt pepper and a dash of nutmeg.  so yummy) with Moms Caesar salad-  this meal was requested by Jordan and Natalie who I was taking dinner to cause they just got home from the hospital with cute baby Sydney!!
Tuesday -  Calzones- we never did make them last week with moms Caesar salad (so yummy and easy, I will add recipe later)
Wednesday-  Heathers Pork chops and Jungle rice   I'm excited to try this!
Thursday- leftovers,  we have a meeting to be to!!
Friday - Barbecued chicken, potatoes, and grilled asparagus
Saturday- Broccoli Beef, rice-  I love this recipe from Laura!  I will add later!
Sunday- Rotisserie Chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, dilled carrots.

Menu Monday's Erin a day late

So last week we had family in town, which was super fun. While cooking the turkey for our turkey sandwiches, I realized that my oven was over and done with. When I took the turkey out the element in my oven was glowing in just one spot and sparking, luckily the turkey was done, and a friend let me cook the rolls for the sandwiches at her house. There had been other issues with our stove and I knew that the days of our stove were limited but I didn't realize it would be this soon. So with an out of order oven, I've had to be a little creative on the cooking, especially since we haven't had a bbq since our move when a piece got left behind almost 3 years ago. So I'm going to be using my crockpot all week, so we didn't have to go and buy the first oven we saw.

Monday - hot dogs we had left over from a family bbq
Tuesday - Lemon and Herb Chicken
Wednesday - Salsa and Black Bean Soup
Thursday - Chili Verde
Friday - Left Overs
Saturday - Pizza (we have our babysitting co-op at our place)
Sunday - Chicken Fajitas

Granola Bars

So if you know me well, there are two things you probably know about me, if you don't I'll inform you...1) I love a good deal and telling people about them. So here is my bragging for today, boxes of Quaker Instant Oatmeal for $0.40 and jars of Skippy peanut butter for under a dollar. 2) I enjoy making things from scratch. I haven't bought bread from the store in who knows how long. I got into canning this past summer, and enjoy having the end product. I like making homemade treats for my kids, it often brings the neighbor kids running. Two of my favorites are fruit leather and granola bars. That being said, I'll share with you my granola bar recipe I got years ago as a youth, when someone made them for girls camp.



Granola Bars

8 c. oats
2 c. chopped nuts
2 c. chocolate chips
4 c. rice crispies
3 c. other (butterscotch chips, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, coconut, raisins, craisin, etc. you decide)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 1/3 c. corn syrup
1 c. & 4 Tbs. butter
1/3 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350
Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl (oats through salt). Melt butter and peanut butter. Stir in the rest of the wet ingredients, make sure the butter and peanut butter isn't too warm so it doesn't scramble your eggs. Pour wet ingredients over everything in your big bowl and mix well. Press granola mix into 2 greased cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and cut. I wrap the granola bars in tin foil and store them in my freezer in a ziplock bag.
I hope you enjoy these as much as our family does.

Menu Monday's Erin

Monday - Beef and Bean Chimichangas
Tuesday - Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken (we never made it last week, so that's why it's here again)
Wednesday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs (my mom's recipes, I'll post it later)
Thursday - Chuck -A- Rama with extended family
Friday - Out to eat at Costa Vita with family
Saturday - Turkey Sandwiches
Sunday - Calazone (I had some left over mozarella from homemade pizza)

Thanks for the ideas Cori, if you haven't noticed we are doing some of the same things. Usually I do a lot of my menu planning on Tuesdays or Wednesdays when I can check out the new ads and what's on sale for the best price, and since family is in town this week planning was a little harder than normal.

Menu Mondays- Cori

 I hope everyone had a great weekend!!  My hubby finally graduated!  We are so excited and can't wait to see where we end up!!


Here is my menu for the next week.



Monday-  stroganoff, green beans
Tuesday- Peanut butter chicken - this is anew recipe we will see how it goes.
Wednesday- Sweet and sour meatballs over rice, ( except use homemade meatballs, and add a green pepper to sauce) salad.
Thursday- Out of town/  out to dinner
Friday- out of town
Saturday- out of town
Sunday - Calzones, salad, root beer

Have a good week everyone!!

Menu Labels

Hi Ladies!

I just noticed that Erin put a "menu" label on her Menu Mondays post. I thought this was a great idea...then we can go back and reference them for ideas. I just went back and edited mine to include the "menu" label. Thanks Erin!

-Heather

Menu Monday - Shannon

I have FOUR doctor appointments this week on top of family coming in from out of town. I'm trying to stay as stress-free as possible these next 9 days before this baby is born so our meals will be simple but our bellies will be filled.

Monday - Meatloaf and mashed potatoes premade by Costco (homemade is way better... I had two of the four appointments today)
Tuesday - Baked Monte Cristo Sandwich with some swiss instead of american cheese. Raspberry jam on the side for dipping.
Wednesday - Cheese Tortellini Alfredo (sauce from a jar) with chicken and broccoli.
Thursday - Dinner brought in by the ANGELS of my Relief Society (another two doctor appointment day)
Friday - California Style BBQ-Chicken Pizza
Saturday - Arena Football game, dinner out before hand
Sunday - Dinner at Mom and Dad's

Yummy Smoothie

Hi Ladies,

I make smoothies frequently for my kids and I for snacks because they're quick, easy, and I can squeeze in some fruit and dairy in one step. I went to make one today and realized I was out of milk, so I improvised and it was really good! Only 12 Weight Watchers points for the whole blender pitcher, so I had about a quarter of that and it filled me up! Okay, here you go:

1 (12 oz) can fat free evaporated milk
1 c. fat free strawberry yogurt
1 medium banana frozen (I always take my bananas that are going brown and peel them, break them in half, and throw them in a ziploc bag in my freezer. They're great for smoothies or banana bread)
8 large frozen strawberries (I buy the big bag at Costco or WinCo)

Blend at high speed until smooth and increased in volume.

Menu Monday - Erin

We are heading out of town this weekend to go visit family (Cori and Colin, and other family that will be up there at that time) so I'm trying to not shop much this week and use what I got. I'm a fan of freezing meals, and by the time next week comes to an end, I'm sure I'll need to start stocking up my freezer meals again. Our family isn't quiet big enough to eat all of one recipe for a lot of meals we eat, so I make a full batch and freeze the other half. If you want to ready more about that you can check out our other blog. When it comes to meal planning I usually plan my meals around what's on sale at my store and I have coupons for, that's a whole other post I can go on and on about. I have a white board that I keep on my fridge, that I keep track meals I have in the freezer, my menu and things I need I certain stores. So here is our menu at our house

Monday - Beef Stroganoff, here's one with a pic if you want it (I had half of a recipe in my freezer minus the mushrooms and sour cream)
Tuesday - Left over BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Wednesday - Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken (ok this isn't in my freezer, but I have most of the things I need)
Thursday - Sandwiches, since we will be on the road
Friday - Out of town
Saturday - Out of town
Sunday - Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (not sure where I got the recipe, and I'll post it later) with Orange Rolls (we could easily eat a whole recipe, but shouldn't, so last time I made a full recipe and froze half of it, so I plan on just getting them out to let them raise all day.)

Easy White Chicken Chili

We love this recipe! It's easy, tasty, filling, and healthy! 1/2 c. only has 1 Weight Watchers point, so I can have a big bowl for really low points/cal/fat.

This is a lighter recipe, so I like to stir in a couple of TBS of fat-free sour cream (I only like the "Naturally Yours" brand...it looks like a cow pattern on the outside) to make it richer with hardly any added calories or fat. I also prefer mine without cheese (strange, since usually I love anything with cheese) and with a few baked tortilla chips crushed and stirred into it. I also usually substitute black beans for half of the white beans.

White Chicken Chili:

2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed

15 oz (one costco can, or equivalent amount) cooked white meat chicken

1 can diced tomatoes (the normal size...14 oz?)
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 can chopped green chilies
2 cloves garlic
1 can chicken broth
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 - 1/2 t. chili powder
cilantro to taste...I always add probably at least 1/2 cup

Toppings:
additional chopped cilantro
low-fat sour cream
shredded cheese (low fat or, in moderation, full fat)

Saute onion, pepper, garlic, and green chilies until onions and peppers are soft (no need to use oil...the liquid from the chilies works just fine). DON'T let garlic burn...use medium heat.
Add all other ingredients and simmer 10 minutes. Top with sour cream, cheese, and cilantro.

Menu Mondays - Heather

This is a great idea, Cori! I always plan my meals a week at a time...I just don't know how to function at dinnertime otherwise, and we end up eating out. Todd's family is great at just whipping up something tasty out of whatever they have on hand, but I'm horrible at this. I'm too much of a perfectionist, so I can't just leave one ingredient out if I don't have it. Okay, there's my plug for menu planning! :) This is my first attempt at links, so I'm sorry if they don't work, but I'll post my menu anyway because maybe it will at least be good for ideas. :) Here are my plans for the week:

Monday - Spaghetti (nothing fancy...we're babysitting two additional kids, so it's gonna be a hectic "add some ground beef to Ragu" kind of night)

Tuesday - White Chicken Chili

Wednesday - Grilled Sweet and Sour Pork Chops/ wild rice/ sauteed zucchini

Thursday - Tossball practice and Todd has meetings every Thursday this month, so the kids will probably have corn dogs and I'll have a Boca burger. Raw veggies on the side.

Friday - Young Women's Fundraiser Auction/Dinner

Saturday- Date Night

Sunday - Tea's Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Bake

Menu Mondays

If you are like me you hate dinner time.  It's not the cooking part cause I actually love cooking and exploring new things, its the whole " whats for dinner" part.  I always have the hardest time figuring out what to fix.  And most of the time I start thinking about it too late to do anything nice.  And many times my sister and I will call to figure out what the other is fixing. Now we have both done menu planning on and off for years.  But I got out of the habit when I was pregnant, which looking back now that is probably when I need a planned out menu the most. It would of helped my hubbers alot when that last thing i wanted to do was think of food.  Now that my tiny sweet pea is here, and the morning sickness is long gone ( good riddance).  We are back full swing into our menu planning.  about 2 weeks ago we sat down and planned our menu mostly using stuff that we already had.

It has been so nice to already know what we are having the next night.  It makes me love dinner time again.  Not to mention it always seems to save us money and time at the grocery store!!  I was lucky enough this year to have 2 great calendars, one I made of our family then my sister made a Family one.  So one is for all the things going on and the other one is hanging up in my cupboard door with our menu, right next to my fav.  pizza/ bread-stick recipe!!

Don't you just love the  picture of my brother and sister in law in their Halloween  costumes!!

 So now I am thinking why not have menu Mondays each week on this blog, which will help us all to be better prepared each week.  Lets see if we can't help each other out.  Every Monday lets each take 5 minutes and post our menu for the week.  If you have a link to a recipe include that or if its a recipe from a cookbook tell us which one!!   And if we see something on someones menu that we might like to try lets ask for the recipe!!  What do you think?  Should we give it a try?  

I'll go first, although you can see in the pictures what We are having for the whole month!!  Here is what we have planned for the week!

Monday- left overs from our yummy Easter dinner

Tuesday-  meatloaf and my favorite brown rice

Wednesday- Chicken Alfredo with Homemade garlic bread-sticks ( I just have to look on my cupboard door!!)  

* cook roast for enchiladas next day*

Thursday- Amanda's enchiladas and spanish rice

Friday- sloppy joes, pasta salad  - we will have a ton of people here for the Mr. graduation and sloppy joes are easy to fix in huge quantaties, and if it doesn't get eaten freezes really well!

Saturday-   Breakfast- hash brown breakfast casserole in crockpot ( make it fast cook it slow cookbook pg. 51)

                  Dinner-  out to eat with family to celebrate!!

Sunday- Rotisserie style chicken, mash potatoes,gravy

All right that is it for me, lets see your menus!!

Whats on your Easter menu?

So as I am planning a shopping list for our Easter Dinner I can't help but wonder what you all are doing?  Whats on your menu for Easter?  Do you have any fun recipes that are traditions?   Are you doing anything special for Easter breakfast?

Here is what we are planning, it pretty traditional!!


Ham
Cheesy potatoes ( aka funeral potatoes)
roasted lemon garlic asparagus
Hot crossed buns
jello salad with bunny shaped marshmallows

and for dessert
Carrot cake!!

I will post the recipes when I have some sleep under my belt!!

oh yeah and I updated the blog to the new editor and I have been having issues.  But like I said working on no sleep here.  So let me know if you like it, if it gives you trouble or what.  If we don't like it I can change it back to the old way, let me know.  And if you figure out how to make it work then please teach me!!

I cant wait to here what on you menus for Easter!!  And if you have a good recipes please share!!