Bad mommy

I was waiting at the end of the slide, ready to take a picture thinking Dan would slowly slide to halt at the bottom as he had at the park we visited the day before. Instead he flew right off and landed right on the ground! While I stood there and snapped this picture. Don't worry, he wasn't hurt. It was a really nice park with this very soft carpeting on the ground, with a lot of padding underneath.

More recipes coming soon. I'm still semi-taking a break.

Delicious but...

Spicy Chinese Chicken
The 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes Copyright 2001

¾ cup condensed chicken broth
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp packed brown sugar
¼ cup soya sauce, preferably dark
4 green onions, including stems, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced gingerroot
1 serrano chili or 2 Thai chilis I used a jalapeno
1 tsp cracked black peppercorns
3 lbs skinless chicken pieces
3 tbsp cornstarch
Hot cooked rice

1. In a bowl, combine chicken broth, rice vinegar, brown sugar and soya sauce, stirring well to ensure that sugar is dissolved. Add green onions, garlic, gingerroot, chili peppers and pepper.
2. Place chicken in slow cooker stoneware. Pour sauce over chicken. Cover and cook on LOW 5 to 6 hours or on High for 2 ½ to 3 hours, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork.
3. With a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Strain liquid into sauce pan, Whisk in 3 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and stir for 3 minutes or until thickened and glossy. Pour over chicken. Serve with hot fluffy rice. I cut the chicken into smaller pieces and I served it with ramen noodles.
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I enjoyed this dish but I don't know that I would ever make it again. Some recipes, probably most, belong in this category I suppose. Why wouldn't I make something again if I really liked it? I'm not sure I can answer that. There are just some recipes that I want more of in the future and some that leave me thinking, well that was great but let's move on to the next recipe. Sometimes there is no more of reason than the current state of my appetite or mood.

I'm feeling overwhelmed so my blogging might take a hit. I am really in the mood to try new recipes but there is too much hanging over me to enjoy that right now. Maybe after the 3-day weekend that is coming up I will have a better grip on things. I think I would be happy to just once get all the laundry put away before it starts piling up again.

Random ramblings

If I'm lucky, I might post two new recipes this week but that's about it. I had to concentrate on using up what what I have on hand this week and also keeping things simple. New recipes got pushed to the wayside.

I didn't bake for work this weekend because I baked cupcakes for a picnic on Sunday and I knew there would be leftovers to take to work. I used boxed mix! I really haven't found basic yellow or chocolate cupcake recipes that I'm head of heels in love with yet and I wasn't up for yet another disappointment so I went with the always more-than-servicable (if you ask me) boxed mix. A few months ago I saw they were selling small boxes of cake mix that made only 12 cupcakes which I thought was a great idea but I don't think it caught on. I couldn't find them anywhere. So I had to make two regular boxes of cake mix since I wanted both chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. That's a lot of cupcakes.

I made them Halloween themed to use up some Halloween sprinkles. I have a sprinkle problem. I was storing them in the cupboard but they were getting lost in there so I pulled them all out and put them in another container. I have a lot of sprinkles! I really need to start making more recipes that use sprinkles.

I bought a Taste of Home annual recipe book (in new condition) for 25 cents at a yard sale this weekend. I don't find too many cookbooks at yard sales, never mind really good ones and this one has a lot of great recipes in it. I also got a tortilla press for $1. It's not a great press but it's something I've wanted but knew I probably wouldn't use very much so I can get it out of my system for $1 (or maybe I might decide it's worth investing in a quality press).

I will only be in my 30s for a few more days. *sigh*

Can't go wrong with a stir-fry

Stir-fried Beef with Celery Cabbage
Betty Crocker Great-Tasting Beef Copyright 1991

1 pound beef boneless sirloin or flank steak
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon finely chopped gingerroot
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 pound celery cabbage (also known as Napa cabbage, Chinese cabbage or sui choy)
4 green onions (with tops)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons beef or chicken broth
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
½ teaspoon salt

Trim fat from beef steak; cut steak with grain into 2-inch strips. Cut strips across grain into 1/8-inch slices. Toss beef, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, the gingerroot, 1 teaspoon oil, ½ teaspoon salt and the white pepper in a glass or plastic bowl. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Cut celery cabbage (with leaves) diagonally into ¾-inch slices. Cut onions diagonally into 1-inch pieces. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with the broth.

Heat 12-inch skillet or wok until very hot. Add 2 tablespoons oil; rotate skillet to coat bottom. Add beef; stir-fry 2 minutes or until beef is brown. Stir in soy sauce. Remove beef from skillet.

Heat skillet until very hot. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; rotate skillet to coat bottom. Add celery cabbage, garlic and ½ teaspoon salt; stir-fry 2 minutes. Stir in cornstarch mixture; cook and stir 15 seconds or until thickened. Add beef and onions; cook and stir 1 minutes.

Makes 5 servings.

Per serving (without noodles or rice): 285 cal, 25 g pro, 5g carbs, 18g fat, 70mg chol, 690 mg sodium, 460mg potassium.
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The stir-fries in this little book are so good. The flavor was wonderful but I did find the cabbage to be a bit mushy. I haven't cooked with Napa cabbage very often but I have used it before and I don't recall it being as mushy. It didn't ruin the dish, I just found it a bite weird. Like eating soggy lettuce. I might use finely shredded green cabbage next time.

I've been making more stir-fries than usual since rediscovering the joys of ramen noodles instead of rice. Ramen noodles are a step down, health-wise, but a bit more exciting than rice around here, especially for my older son.

That fact that I can make a stir-fry start to finish after work (with the exception of marinating the meat which I do in the morning before work), is also a huge selling point for me. Although I enjoy cooking on the weekend more as the weather gets cooler, I'd still rather not have to do a lot of cooking on Sunday for the week.

Question of the Day: Noodles or rice?

So simple yet so good

Maple-Balsamic-Glazed Pork Medallions
Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2008 Copyright 2007

1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Combine syrup and vinegar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 3 minutes), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in mustard.

Cut pork crosswise into 8 pieces. Place each pork piece between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork evenly with salt and pepper. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side. Add vinegar mixture; cook 1 minute or until desired degree of doneness, turning pork to coat. Place 2 pork medallions on each of 4 plates; drizzle about 1 tablespoon syrup mixture over each serving.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutritional Information Calories:214 (27% from fat) Fat:6.4g (sat 1.7g,mono 3.3,poly 0.7g) Protein:22.7g Carbohydrate:15.3g Fiber:0.1g Cholesterol:63mg Iron:1.5mg Sodium:409mg Calcium:22mg
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This sauce was so simple yet so good but it really does depend on the quality of ingredients. I knew that since I had a balsamic vinegar that I love (a storebrand but it's fantastic), a Dijon that I love (Bookbinder's) and real maple syrup that this probably couldn't lose and I was right. I loved it. I wonder if it would work on chicken as well. I might have to try that sometime. Usually I'm suspicious of recipes that use just a very few ingredients but I thought this really worked well.

My son came home sick yesterday and he really wanted me to stay home with him today but he was feeling so well this morning that I decided to bring in the in-laws and go to work. Even though I explained that time I don't take off now could be spent at home over Christmas vacation, he was still not completely happy so I promised McDonald's tonight. McDonald's on a weeknight! The only other time I remember that happening is after kindergarten orientation when I was too upset to cook. The truth is that I was only going to make cheeseburgers and french fries at home anyway.

Question of the Day: How often do you eat dinner out Monday-Thursday?