Orange Beef Pasta

This was a great weeknight, quick delicious dinner.  A stir fry with a noodle twist!  We all liked it....and I added extra carrots and used an entire bag of frozen broccoli instead of snow peas.  I think edamame would be super to add as well. This was a hit with everyone at my house, especially the 6 year old!

Orange Beef Pasta

8 oz package vermicelli
1 T vegetable oil
2 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch slices (I used 4)
1 1/2 cups snow peas, trimmed (I used a bag of frozen broccoli...the whole thing!)
1 14 oz can beef broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup orange marmalade (I probably added 2 more tablespoons after tasting and the orange wasn't highlighted as much as I'd like.  Also added a couple of tablespoons of orange juice)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb. cooked beef for stir fry (I cooked it in a little sesame oil, pepper, and a few shakes of soy sauce)
Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Saute beef as directed above.  Then prepare pasta according to package directions.

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add carrots and snow peas, and stir fry 4-5 minutes or until crisp tender.  Stir in beef broth, soy sauce, marmalade, and red pepper.

Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat; add beef and hot cooked pasta; toss well to combine.  Serve immediately.  Top with toasted sesame seeds if desired.

(Southern Living September 2008)
(Serves 4-6)

Margarita Pork Tenderloin

We've grilled pork tenderloin many different ways.  This one was a standout.  Was it the marinade or the fact that I sliced it before grilling?  Or both?  Either way, I thought it was fantastic and the tenderloin was only in the marinade for about an hour.

You should definitely have a margarita while you put this meal together.  Or a Mexican Martini.  I did......

For 2 littles and 2 bigs, we used only one tenderloin, so halve marinade if that works best for you.

Margarita Pork Tenderloin

3 garlic cloves, minced
NOT 1 green onion
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
3T chopped fresh cilantro
2T fresh lime juice
1 1/2 T tequila
1 T fresh orange juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 pork tenderloins
*I added a little cumin to the marinade*

 Combine everything except tenderloin into gallon Ziploc bag.  Cut pork diagonally into 1-inch think slices, and add to marinade.  Seal and chill about an hour, turning/mixing occasionally.

(this is the beautiful view inside the bag!)

Remove pork from marinade, discarding marinade.

Grill, covered, over high heat (400-500 degrees) 3-4 minutes on each side or until done.

Easy and delicious!

(Serves 6)

(Southern Living, April 2005)

Texas Tuna

This recipe is totally inspired by my favorite sandwich shop, Thundercloud Subs.  Not only is it MY favorite, but my very intelligent so thinks it's pretty great too!  We've been there for several lunch dates this summer...when it's his turn to pick, I know where we're going!

While he usually gets a small grown up sub now, I usually mix it up a little.  I'd never tried their tuna sandwich until my husband said he loved it.  Well, I of course did too, and one Sunday afternoon decided to make a copycat version.  It's not the same, but it's delish, of course!!

Texas Tuna

1 pouch tunafish (or 2 if you're sharing)
avocado (sliced on top or mashed in to give tuna a binder)
pickled jalapeno slices, chopped
dill relish
mustard
mayo (I use very little, maybe a teaspoon)
garlic powder
cumin
lime juice

Everything is to taste.  If you like it, put a lot; if you don't, skip it or just put a little.  This really is yummy.  Great on any bread, cracker, or just eat it with a fork!

Easy Baked Fish Fillets

This is a pretty basic fish recipe, but I liked the zing of the lime juice.  I also ran out of bread crumbs AND Panko from the previous recipe and panicked!  BUT I just happen to have some Ritz crackers in the pantry and crushed those up and used them instead of breadcrumbs for this one tonight and it was great!

Easy Baked Fish Fillets

1 1/2 pounds grouper or other white fish (Wild caught cod was on sale and I used it for this recipe) fillets
1 T fresh lime juice (just use a whole lime.....)
1 T light mayo
1/8 tsp onion (ahem....garlic) powder
1/8 tsp black pepper (you really won't measure this, right?  Just grind it in there until it looks right)
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (and in a pinch Ritz work too, ha!)
1 1/2 T butter, melted
2 T chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place fish in 11x7 inch baking dish (hahaha, I read it as 11x17 when I baked these and thought it was SO silly to need a pan that big--it's very clear now) coated with cooking spray.

Combine lime juice, mayo, GARLIC powder, and pepper in small bowl and spread over fish.  Sprinkle with breadcrumbs; drizzle with butter.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily.  Sprinkle with parsley.

Loved this, loved the cod!  Husband and boys loved it too!

(Serves 4)
(www.myrecipes.com)

Two Cheese Squash Casserole

I knew this would be a hit at my house.....squash, breadcrumbs, cheese, of course!  I added a zucchini in there because we had it and for a color variety.  I'm fond of multi-colored food.  One color doesn't look appealing to me at all.  

Two Cheese Squash Casserole

4 pounds yellow squash (or zucchini, or a mixture)

4 T butter, divided

NOT 1 large sweet onion.  (Seriously, isn't sweet onion an oxymoron?  Blech.)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 1/2 cups soft breadcrumbs, divided (I actually didn't have enough so I finished with Panko.  I'd do it again!)

1 1/4 cups shredded Parmesan, divided

1 cup shredded cheddar

NOT 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives (yup, I don't like those either....onion cousins.)

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1 container sour cream (sub plain Greek yogurt for a less fat, more protein version)

1 tsp salt

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 tsp garlic salt

Cook squash in boiling water to cover in large skillet 8-10 minutes or just until tender.  Drain well, genly press between paper towels.

Melt 2T butter in skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic, and saute 5-6 minutes or until tender.  Remove skillet from heat; stir in squash, 1 cup breadcrumbs, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and next 7 ingredients.  

Spoon into greased 13x9 baking dish.
Melt remaining 2T butter.  Stir together melted butter, remaining 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and garlic salt.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over top of casserole.  Bake at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes.

It was yummy and my oldest even requested it again the next night....luckily I made a 9x13 of it and had plenty of leftovers!


(8-10 servings)
(Southern Living May 2004)

No Cook Chocolate Ice Cream

Wasn't planning on making ice cream tonight, but when I realized it was National Ice Cream Day (thank you, President Reagan), we had to play along!!  I've made this recipe several times, but it's been a while.  Still as yummy as I remember AND we added some toasted almonds which made it even  yummier!  Yes, I would've added marshmallows if we had any and made Rocky Road!

No Cook Chocolate Ice Cream

1 can Eagle Brand

1 an evaporated milk

2 cups whole chocolate milk (I mixed 1 cup of our standard 1% milk with 1 cup whipping cream and added chocolate syrup)

2/3 cup chocolate syrup

Mix together and freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions (20 minutes plus freezer time for me...that gave us milkshake.  Frozen solid next day.)

Young Chef's helping hand!

I could just drink it.....but the almonds wouldn't fit through my straw!

Yes, I put it on top of the washing machine in the laundry room for 20 minutes......so we don't have to hear it!

This is the next day shot...the milkshake photos would NOT bring the boys to my yard. :-)

Happy National Ice Cream Day....and a fabulous, much needed, glorious 2.5 inches of rain AND two rainbows!

3 Bean Edamame Salad

As usual, I had to deviate from the original recipe and make it work for my meal and the ingredients I had on hand.  This recipe is one shared by my friend Rachael long ago.  Originally, it's made with black-eyed peas and it's fabulous.  But for dinner tonight, I felt like corn went much better with the Chicken Nacho Bake, so I just used corn instead!

3 Bean Edamame Salad
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can blackeyed peas, drained and rinsed
NOT 1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 cups thinly sliced celery (I skipped this one too)
zest & juice from 1 lime
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper



Heat oil in skillet until hot but not smoking; add cumin and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Pour into large heatproof bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and stir well. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (In my opinion, it tastes better the longer you wait before serving, even overnight.)