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!!