Beef Broccoli Stir Fry

American versions of Oriental food is a slightly sweet sauce base served over deep fried meats, noodles with little to no veggies like lo mein, or served over rice with a heavy veggie based dish such as stir fry. Deep fried meat dishes have not been eaten since I was a kid but I do have fond memories of lemon chicken, sesame chicken, and of course, sweet and sour chicken. Lo mein is a staple and there is a T&T recipe but it requires the noodles to be cooked ahead of time so it is not cooked with enough frequency. Stir fry is altogether story. The veggies and the meats are what they are. It is the sauce that defines the meal. Always looking a recipe that is easier than my current T&T, I tried Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry sauce a try.

Modifications Made:
Round steak for flank steak as it always on sale. Cut when slightly frozen for nice thin strips and bag in desired serving size for easy prep work. Usually 1/2 pound per bag as we prefer more veggies than meat in our meals.

Brown meat in hot, hot, hot cast iron skillet. Set aside. While browning meat, steam fresh broccoli in microwave for 2-3 minutes until just soft but not fully cooked. With meat removed, and in a hot, hot, hot skillet add 1 cup baby carrots and a dash of oil. Sometimes carrots are diced, sometimes they are slices, and julienned in nice but too much prep. Today they are quartered and cooked to al dente. Sauce was doubled to allow for the 12 oz of fresh broccoli along with the 10 oz of carrots. Rest of instructions were followed as written.

Scaled for Likability: Great
Of all the recipes I have tried, this is the best sauce. Super simple as there only 6 ingredients, it is not too salty nor too sweet, and is has an added depth from the sesame oil. Next time this dish is made, fresh ginger and pre-diced garlic will be added to the sauce instead of the skillet and the sauce will be made before all other steps to allow for flavor building. Can't wait to eat again. Is tomorrow too soon?

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over. There are so many more potato recipes saved. Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes. With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive. The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half. Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe. These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted. Bummer. Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough. Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese ...

Eating Waffles

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