Orange Chicken and Veg Stir Fry

My kids love Panda Express.  Who doesn't?  So I try to make stir-fry's as much as I can...it can be a pain with all of the ingredients, but once you buy them all you'll have everything to make plenty of Asian dishes.
So we had Orange Chicken tonight...but not deep friend and coated with all that gooey (too sweet for me) sauce.  I made my own sauce and it was pretty darn good.

Here's my recipe:

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
cornstarch
salt (to taste)

First cut up the chicken into 1 inch cubes. Lightly dust with cornstarch and toss with salt.
Set aside.





Veggies:  (feel free to interchange with your favorites)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1-2 C sliced mushrooms
2 peppers (one red, one yellow)


Sauce:
2 C water
1/2 C fresh orange juice
1 T fresh lemon juice
Grated rind from 1 orange
Grated ginger (or ground)...to taste
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 C rice vinegar
2 T low sodium soy sauce
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C cornstarch

Mix all sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk.  Heat in a saucepan to boiling, then lower heat and simmer until reduced and thickened.

Heat wok or large frying pan on high heat.  Add peanut or canola oil. Sear chicken all over to form light crust, cook almost all the way.  Take out chicken, drain on paper towels.  Add veggies to wok, cook on high heat, constantly stirring for 3-5 minutes. Add chicken, stir fry for another minute or so.  Add thickened sauce (might not need it all) and toss all together with chicken and veggies.
Top with extra chopped green onions and red pepper flakes, if desired.
We love to eat with sticky white rice and chopsticks.

Nigella's Crustless Pizza

It must be a record! Tried something new again tonight....a recipe I adapted from Nigella Lawson's latest cookbook, Nigella Kitchen. She called it "Crustless Pizza" but my family and I thought it was more of a cross between a deep dish pizza and a quiche. This may sound a little odd...but it is very good! And very simple to make also...especially when you don't know what to do for dinner.
All you really need is egg, flour, milk, a little salt and some cheese. From there, you can add more of your fave veggies, meats, etc...or you can leave it as is! I added pepperoni to mine, along with some extra Parmesan cheese.

Here's my adapted recipe:

2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 C flour
1 3/4 C milk (I used fat free, could sub with any you have)
Salt to taste
1 1/2 C grated cheddar cheese (or any kind you want!)
1/4 C grated Parmesan, plus extra to grate on top
Chopped veggies and/or fresh herbs
Sliced pepperoni/ham/salami...your favorite or what you have on hand!

Preheat over to 400 degrees.

Mix eggs, flour, milk and salt until smooth. Stir in 1 C cheddar cheese and the 1/4 C Parmesan (and add'l veggies or herbs, if using). Pour into a greased 9 inch ovenproof pie dish. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes (check that it's cooked through), then top with rest of cheese (both kinds) and pepperoni. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes or so, until top cheese is melted and it's a little brown.

Let cool for a few minutes, then cut into wedges like a pie.

We devoured this! It was barely enough for the four of us (Hubby and I, Ty and Zoey) so if you have more people, double and make two!
Served this with a simple romaine salad, with tomatoes, avocado and croutons. E.V. olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing.

Flank Steak on the Grill

So this was a new one for me. Can't believe I haven't tried Flank Steak before...but we don't eat a lot of meat, and when we do it's always tri-tip! But I've made the vow to try one new thing a week, so this week it's Flank Steak! My husband says, "It doesn't sound very good, Flank?"...he's always saying stuff like that, but I just ignored him. Ha! But we all really liked it...not sure if I loved it like I do the tri-tip, but it was nice to mix things up.
I made up a nice spice rub of:
1 tsp. Cumin,
1 tsp. each garlic and onion powders
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1 tsp. coriander (or more if you love it like me!)
Ground red pepper (to taste...depending on how spicy you want it)
Put this all over the 1.5 lb steak, both sides.
Medium-high grill to start, then after seared meat, turned it down to med then low.
It only took about 10-12 min to cook, turning over a couple times. This was to about medium, still a little pink inside.
Let this rest for about 5 min., then sliced it ACROSS the grain. This is very important, as it could be tough if you don't slice it this way.

Served this with green beans I roasted in the oven with evoo, salt and pepper, then finished with a little lime juice. Also made a box of Jiffy Corn Muffins...but I like to doctor these up, and I added honey, some regular flour, extra baking powder and a little more milk.
All in all, a very nice meal eaten outside on the patio with the family!

Halibut and Fresh Spinach and Pasta Salad

Ok, it's time to post some pics and get back into this food blog! I am super busy right now, as always...but I need to just do it! I will always be busy, but I still have to (and want to!) cook for my family and friends...so here we go!

Thanks to some awesome friends who go fishing in Alaska...we have some awesome halibut to grill tonight! I didn't do much to it, this halibut is so delicious it doesn't need much of anything! Just a little lemon juice, salt and fresh cracked pepper. Maybe a little garlic powder just for kicks!

Thrown on the grill...it's just so good! Don't overcook it and it's the best, sweetest type fish I've ever had. I don't think it's fishy at all, just nice and moist, melts in your mouth.


To go with...I didn't want to head to grocery store today, so looked to the pantry! Came up with this fresh spinach and pasta salad...really good!
Cooked up some veggie pasta, added a little lite mayo (maybe 1/2 a cup), a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper, fresh spinach and some fresh tomato. You could add whatever is in your fridge, really! It was very tasty and went well with the halibut for a nice healthy summertime meal!

Quick meals like this are all I have time for these days...but this didn't take long at all!