I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
Despite all the snow and frigidly cold temperatures we have here at home (our high today is 5* F. When I was out earlier my car thermometer red 2* F), all I have to do is look upon this beautiful flower from Belize, and I know “it’s going to be a bright, bright, sunshiny day”.
Sometimes I plan ahead when making our meals, but most of the time I don’t. I usually only plan ahead when I am making something special, or when we are having guests over. The rest of the time, I kind of wing it. That’s just how I roll.
We had a lot of fresh, delicious seafood, cooked in a variety of ways while in Belize, but we hadn’t eaten much beef lately. We had a some London broil down, which is good when cooked as a casserole or a stir-fry or as fajitas, or something like that where it is cooked with something else and is not just the meat alone. This particular cut of meat lends itself best to these types of dishes. That being said, we hadn’t had a lot of Asian dishes in awhile either, so it was time to make an another Asian stir-fry, this time with beef.
Stir-fries are very easy to make and always taste good. We like potstickers a lot too, so we serve those a lot when doing Asian dishes. Like with anything, there is never just one way to make it. So much of how I cook depends on what I have in the refrigerator at the time. I usually use recipes as guides, and go from there. And often times, I have a general idea of what I want to do, and tweak and adjust as I go.
Asian Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
1 1/2 lbs London Broil or skirt steak, cut into thin strips
1-1/2 cups mushrooms, either quartered or sliced
1-1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 TBSP garlic
1 TBSP ginger
1/4 cup green onions, sliced at an angle or Asian cut
2 TBSP oyster sauce
1 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP Hoisin sauce
2 TBSP sherry or red wine
2 tsp cornstarch
1-2 TBSP water
1/2-3/4 cup chicken broth
cooked angel hair pasta or spaghetti
peanut or sesame oil for cooking
Combine the oyster sauce, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sherry or wine, water and cornstarch and set aside.
Get a skillet or wok nice and hot and add the oil. Then add the meat and cook until completely browned, then remove and set aside.
Once the meat is cooked, add the broccoli, mushrooms, garlic and ginger to the skillet and cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Add more oil if needed.
Add the meat back in with the vegetables after they are cooked and add the sauce mixture and chicken broth as well. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for an additional 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I also decided to add some Peruvian peppers, for more some color and pizzazz, along with the green onions, right before serving. I served it over angel hair pasta. As I mentioned earlier, I tweak as I go, NOT to be confused with twerk as I go. That would take my cooking experiences to a whole new and different level, and would add quite a bit more personality as well. 🙂
Because it was beef, I served it with a smooth red blend, as well as a few potstickers on the side. Yet again, a delicious, colorful meal was served in no time.
Enjoy your days. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
Just a little something pink to brighten your day.
I am having so much fun with the church coffee cart for so many reasons. One, I am helping people and helping the church doing what I love to do – feed people, an two, I also get to try so many different things that I might not otherwise make. These orange espresso brownies are one example of things I would not normally make unless I was either cooking them for others, or I was going to eat them all by myself. Larry does not like coffee or anything coffee flavored. I love coffee flavored foods, especially a good mocha, but I really DO NOT need to eat a tray full of brownies all by myself.
I am still using up my fruits, Strawberry-Kiwi Cake and I have almost used them all up. WHOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!! This time, I was using up some of my oranges. These were another big hit today. They all disappeared after church today, and that is always a good thing. 🙂
Orange Espresso Brownies
These brownies are decadently rich, but oh so full of flavor. The little hints of coffee and orange really brought out the chocolate flavor and added character and depth to the brownies. I doubled the recipe because I was making them for a lot of people.
Spray an 8×8 baking pan with cooking spray then add a light coating of flour.
Preheat the oven to 325* F or 170* C
1 cup dark cocoa powder or dark chocolate
1 stick + 6 TBSP melted butter
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 1/2 TBSP instant coffee of espresso granules
1 tsp orange extract
Mandarin or cutie orange slices, optional
If you are using chocolate, melt it with the butter over a double boiler until it is all melted and blended together. Stir constantly over a low-medium flame. If you are using cocoa powder, which I did, mix the cocoa powder in with the flour and the rest of the dry ingredients.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together for about 2 minutes with the whisk attachment or by hand. Then add the coffee and mix together again. Add the butter and flour mixture and mix again until just blended together. Do not over mix.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly to cover the pan. Bake for about 25-30 minutes . Allow the brownies to cool before cutting.
I had some leftover orange frosting, so I added just a little dab to each brownie as “glue”. Next I added an orange slice on top of the frosting. And lastly, I gave the brownies a quick dusting with powdered sugar. The orange slices made them look very colorful and pretty, plus I was using up some more of my fruit. I was on a mission after all. 🙂
Life is short. Always make room for dessert, even if you have dessert first. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.
Pretty in purple. These little flowers are all over the Caribbean. They are so pretty, especially when they are dancing in the wind.
I think these are all the same flowers just in different colors. All I really know is that no matter what color they came in, they were very pretty.
An update on the name of thee flowers. I just found out they are called Ixora – a pretty name for these pretty little flowers. 🙂
The other day, when we did our Super Bowl spread for church, I had a lot of fruit left over. Cooking At Home Again Larry said there was NO WAY I could use it all before it went bad. HMMMM! You would think after 21 years together, he would know NOT to test me like that. I will ALWAYS rise to the challenge, especially when it comes to the kitchen and food. 🙂 He is right in that I haven’t used it all up yet, but I am still being very creative with it, and have already gone through quite a bit of it. And I am not done yet. I am on the clock because we all know fruit does not have a long shelf life. I think I will make it though. I have confidence in my creative abilities. 🙂 All the strawberries, berries and kiwi are all now gone. I did not use up all the strawberries, but Larry finished them off this morning by making strawberry waffles. So I can cross berries and kiwi off the list.
One of the creative ways I was able to use up some of my fruit was by creating a new cake. I made a strawberry-kiwi cake.
I started off with a basic bundt cake and then got creative. The fruit in the cake is kiwi. The frosting is strawberry white chocolate. Then I added more kiwi as a cake topper.
Strawberry-Kiwi Cake
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 TBSP butter, melted
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups kiwi, diced small
Preheat the oven to 375* F or 190* C.
Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray then line it with a light coating of flour.
Combne all the dry ingredietns together and set aside.
Whisk together the eggs, cream and melted butter then add to the flour mixture and mix together until just blended. Add the kiwi and fold into the batter. Then spoon it into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake for about 1 hour, or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Allow the cake to cool completely before adding the icing.
For the icing, I used some of my leftover white chocolate ganache, and then added fresh strawberries. I put them all in the food processor and blended everything together to make a smooth and creamy frosting. Then I generously drizzled it over the cake and topped it with more kiwi.
I know the frosting is delicious. We will see how the cake turns out. The little tiny bit I tasted was very good, so I am sure it will be just fine. The test will come tomorrow. Let’s see how what the congregation thinks. 🙂
Stay tuned for my next creative fruit adventure. I think you are going to like that one too. 🙂
As I always say, don’t be afraid to play with your food. That’s when it starts getting really fun. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.
This is just a fun little extra thing I thought I would share. Apparently the little itty-bitty house I grew up in, in Pasadena, CA has sold once again. It just sold for $970,600. Yep! Almost $1 million for this tiny two bedroom/1 bath house. When my parents bought it, they paid $17K. When I sold it 15 years ago, I sold it for $450K. It has more than doubled since then. Granted, A LOT of upgrades have taken place, but still, nearly $1 million?????? Seriously????? The funny thing is my current house is literally 5x the size of this house, and we have an open space park with all our lakes literally right behind us, and our house is less expensive, though not by much. I guess it all comes down to location, location, location. But I will take my big house on the lakes ANY day and EVERY day over living in LA. You couldn’t pay me enough to EVER live in LA again. I don’t even like to visit.
Pasadena is a giant suburb of Los Angeles, and is about 13-15 miles northeast of downtown L.A. It is very centrally located, which makes it very convenient for just about everything. A lot of celebrities and movie stars live in Pasadena too, because it is so close to the movie studios. And Pasadena is also home to the Van Halens. I used to go to their backyard parties before they made it big, and I used to run into David Lee Roth all the time too.
I have no idea what these flowers are, but they were so beautiful as their were dancing in the breeze, swaying from side to side., showing off their bright pink tails.
I am always trying to come up with fun, simple recipes for Noah and his brothers when I have lessons with them. I try to give them all a wide variety of recipes too. This time, Noah and I prepared blueberry muffins Blueberry Muffins for Lexi and a Denver omelette. Once again, they were a big hit.
Last I week, I found out Noah celebrated his big 21st birthday just a few days before my birthday, so we celebrated a bit this time.
At first, when I told Noah what we we making, he seemed a bit disappointed. But when the omelette was done, he gobbled it up and thoroughly enjoyed it. Omelettes are good any time. They are not just for breakfast any more.
Denver Omelette
2 TBSP bell peppers – we used a combination of green, yellow and red, diced
2 TBSP onions, diced
1/4 cup ham, diced
3 eggs, lightly beaten
salt & pepper to taste
dash cayenne pepper
1 TBSP butter for cooking
shredded cheddar cheese, or cheese of your choice, optional
Get a medium sized skillet nice and hot, and add the butter then and all the vegetables. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until they are tender.
Add the eggs and immediately swirl around in the pan so the eggs cover the pan completely. Continue to do this as the eggs cook, making sure to carefully scrape down the edges with a spatula the whole time. Cook for an additional 5-7 minutes, or until the center is cooked.
Once again, loosen up the edges with a spatula and carefully start sliding the omelette onto a plate, folding it as you go. If you would like cheese in your omelette, add it at this point, before folding it over, and then top it again with cheese if you want. It is a delicious classic.
Omelettes are very versatile. Unless you are making a specific type of omelette, like this classic version, there are no rules. You can add whatever you like to them.
There are no rules when it comes to cooking. Eat what you like, when you like it. Be a rebel. Maybe that’s why I enjoy cooking so much. We all know I am a true rebel. 🙂
Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 