Mongolian Beef & Garlic Noodles

I made this last week and I told Mike that I'm basically ready to go be a chef at P.F. Chang's right now. Ok, fine, maybe not, but this recipe was so easy and SO good, that I was pretty impressed with myself. I served it with garlic noodles and the whole thing together was AWESOME! Save the money and make Chinese food at home - you'll be surprised at how simple it is and how much better it tastes!

Mongolian Beef (this makes 2 large portions, or 3-4 small portions)

1 lb of thin cut round steak or flank steak (cut into thin strips, against the grain)
1/4 cup of cornstarch
3 teaspoons of canola oil
1/4-1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic (about 2 -3 large cloves)
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
3 large green onions, sliced

Prepare the meat:

First, make sure the steak slices are dry (pat them dry) and mix them with the corn starch. Using your hands or a spoon, move them around to make sure all pieces are coated. Place beef slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch.

Make the sauce:

Heat half of the oil in a large wok at medium-high and add the garlic and ginger. Immediately add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl. Don't worry if the sauce doesn't look thick enough at this point. The corn starch in the beef will thicken it up later.

Cook the meat and assemble dish:

Turn the heat up and add the remaining oil to the wok. Add the beef and cook, stirring until it is all browned (this is a quick thing). Pour the sauce back into the wok and let it cook along with the meat. Now you can choose to cook it down and reduce the sauce or leave it thinner. Add the green onions on the last minute so the green parts will stay green and the white parts crunchy.

Serve it hot with rice.

Garlic Scallion Noodles

8 oz (half a box) of angel hair or spaghettini noodles
4 tablespoons butter (half a stick)
5 cloves of garlic, minced or pushed through a garlic press
2 green onions (scallions) finely chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 or 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (based on your own personal preference of sweetness)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse.

In a heavy skillet over medium heat. Melt butter. Add green onions and garlic. Stir and cook, without browning the garlic. Cook until the garlic smell is fragrant and filling the room, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and soy sauce, and cook for another minute. Increase the heat a bit and throw in the noodles. Quickly saute the noodles until they are all coated with the garlicky butter mixture.

Serve immediately. Garnish with additional green onions if desired.

Triple Chocolate Cake

This cake is as easy as it gets and is SO good! You need three things: A cake mix, box of instant pudding and chocolate chips. And then you need a fork. And maybe some vanilla ice cream. And possibly a treadmill. Cause you will eat more than 1 piece, I promise you that. :)

Triple Chocolate Cake

1 box Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Dark Chocolate)
1 small box Instant Chocolate Pudding
1/2 bag Chocolate Chips (Semi-Sweet)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix pudding with 1 1/2 Cups milk and whisk until it starts to set. About 2-3 minutes. Stir in cake mix. This will be very thick. Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick spray and spread cake/pudding mixture into pan. Spread chocolate chips all over top. Bake 30 minutes, or until cake starts to pull away from the sides of pan.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

Pinterest strikes again! Here's another recipe I made a couple weeks ago that I found on Pinterest - it was great! Southwest chicken wraps that are all hot and crispy and just chock full of yumminess! Here's what you need:

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

1 cup cooked rice (warm or room temp)
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken **I sauteed chicken tenderloins in olive oil and seasoned them with garlic powder, seasoning salt and pepper and then shredded with forks**
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (I used 1/2 can)
1 green onion, finely sliced (white and green parts)
1/2 red or green pepper, diced (optional)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (I left this out)
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded cheese
Sour cream (optional)
6 burrito-sized flour tortillas

Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. If you like sour cream, you can spread some on the tortilla first, then add cheese and then the rice/chicken mixture. Roll stuffed tortillas like a burrito. Then spray all over with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange 2 wraps, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve. I served with additional sour cream and salsa on the side for dipping! So good! And even great reheated the next day for lunch! :)

Photo and recipe courtesy of www.melskitchencafe.com

Corn Dip & Cheese Ball - Great Appetizer Recipes

I made both of these recipes last night for a party I hosted and they were both a hit! The first recipe (corn dip) came from Sarah and it's just a great, warm dip that is served with Frito's Scoops. So perfect for fall and winter. It was a hit at my party!

**Note: Use the whole jalapeno. The original recipe actually calls for 2! If you like a real kick of heat, go for it! I didn't use the whole jalapeno and wished that I had.**

Corn Dip

2 cans mexi corn (drained)
1 1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup Mayo
1 jalapeno (seeded and ribs removed) - chopped finely
1 lg jar diced pimentos
1 tsp. Accent Seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all together and bake at 350 for 30 mins. Stir 1-2 times during baking. Serve with Fritos.

The next recipe is my mother-in-law's cheese ball and it's AWESOME!!! By far my most favorite cheese ball recipe! The ingredients will seem weird - but they all work together perfectly. I usually serve it with Wheat Thins or Club Crackers. I truly think Macie would eat the entire thing if I'd let her - it's that good!

Cheese Ball

1 Package Cream Cheese - softened slightly
1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
1 Cup Chopped Pecans - Divided
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 of a small can of crushed pineapple (drained)
3-4 dashes hot pepper sauce

Blend cream cheese, worcestershire sauce, garlic, pineapple, hot sauce and about 1/4 cup pecans together and form into a ball. Roll cheese ball in remaining 3/4 cup chopped pecans and chill until ready to serve. Serve with assorted crackers.

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Here's another new recipe I tried and another keeper! It doesn't use many ingredients and it goes in the crock pot and it's SO rich and flavorful! Another one that all of us loved. I made it today for our lunch after church and just cooked some green beans with a can of new potatoes and boiled my noodles when we got home. Lunch was ready in about 15 minutes. Perfect!

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

2 lbs. Stew Meat (seasoned with garlic powder, pepper and seasoned salt)
1 Large Onion
2 Cans Golden Mushroom Soup
1 Can of Water
3-4 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 package (8 oz) Cream Cheese (cut into pieces)
Cooked Egg Noodles

Pour soup, water and worcestershire sauce in crock pot and stir to combine. Season meat with garlic powder, seasoned salt (I used Lawry's) and pepper to taste. Add meat and onion to crock pot. (I just cut my onion in half and discarded it right before we were ready to eat, but if you want to slice or chop it and have smaller pieces throughout the dish, feel free). Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours. About 15 minutes prior to serving, cook noodles and stir in cream cheese until it has melted. Drain noodles, add to pot, stir well and serve.

Breaded Garlic Chicken in Lemon Butter Sauce

Here's another new recipe that I found on Pinterest and made last week. So, so good! The one thing I will do next time is double the lemon butter sauce - it was great as is, but I like things kind of saucy! HA! I made zucchini and pasta salad with this and it was great. Garlicky, lemony, YUMMY!

Breaded Garlic Chicken in Lemon Butter Sauce

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup seasoned flour (1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper)
5 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon parsley flakes or 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from about 1 lemon
3 eggs
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 tablespoons butter

Place the seasoned flour in a large gallon-size ziploc bag. Set aside. In a shallow pie plate, beat the eggs until mixed and add the Parmesan cheese. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

In a large skillet, melt one tablespoon butter and one tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Let it begin to heat and sizzle while you prepare the chicken but be careful not to let the butter burn and turn brown.

Put the four chicken breasts in the bag with the seasoned flour, close the bag, and shake to coat the chicken in the flour. One by one, take the chicken out of the bag and dip into the egg/Parmesan mixture. Place the chicken carefully in the skillet with the hot oil/butter. Repeat with the other chicken breasts. Let the chicken cook on the first side, without moving or flipping the chicken, for 1-2 minutes until a nice, golden crust has formed. Carefully, using a wide spatula, flip the chicken and let it continue to cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side until it is golden brown. The chicken will flip easiest if it has had time to sizzle and cook to form a nice crust.

Remove the chicken to a 9X13-inch pan. Set aside while you make the sauce.

In the same skillet that you browned the chicken, melt the remaining four tablespoons butter. Add the minced garlic, lemon juice, and parsley. Simmer the sauce for 1-2 minutes, stirring and scraping up any browned bits that were on the bottom of the skillet.

Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken breasts and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Crescent Roll Chicken Wraps

Last week, my goal was to try a new recipe every night. Surprisingly, they were all a hit. Especially this recipe, which I found on Pinterest. I made up my filling that morning, put it in a storage bowl and refrigerated it until that evening when I was ready to put them together. It went really fast and they turned out so good. Kid friendly, but also something Mike and I liked a lot, too.

Crescent Roll Chicken Wraps

2 (8 ounce) cans Crescent Rolls
1 (10 3/4 ounce) cream of chicken soup, undiluted
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk

Filling
4 ounces cream cheese (very soft)
2 tablespoons butter (very soft but not melted)
1/2-1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tsp minced onion flakes or onion powder
2 large cooked chicken breasts, finely chopped (about 2 cups of meat)
1/2-3/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. milk
1-2 cup grated cheddar cheese (for topping)

Set oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Mix together milk, 3/4 cup cheese and undiluted chicken soup (can season with black pepper if desired).

For the filling --- (make certain that the cream cheese and butter are very soft) in a bowl, mix the soft cream cheese with butter until very smooth, then add in garlic powder. Add in the chopped chicken, onion and cheddar cheese; mix well until combined. Add in 2 tablespoons milk; mix to combine (add in a little more if the mixture seems too dry). Season with seasoned salt or white and black pepper to taste. Unroll the crescent rolls. Place 1 heaping tablespoon chicken mixture (or a little more) on top of each crescent triangle, then roll up starting at the thicker end. Drizzle a small amount of soup mixture on the bottom of the dish. Then place the crescent rolls seam-side down on top of the creamed mixture in the casserole.
Drizzle the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with 1 cup (or more) of shredded cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes.

Spoonful of filling on crescent roll - then roll up and seal starting at the longer end.

All rolled up and ready for the oven

ALL DONE! YUMMY!!!