Sesame Beef and Broccoli

I've never frozen broccoli before but I did my best to follow internet advice. I blanched the broccoli for 4 minutes then put it in an ice bath then bagged it. You may have to steam it but I'm going to try just adding it to the stir fry at the end since it is already partially cooked.

Sesame Beef and Broccoli
1 pound round steak, cut into strips
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, chopped
1 lb. broccoli
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons cornstarch

DIRECTIONS
Mix soy sauce, sugar, oil, garlic, and onions in a large bowl. Set aside. Cut steak into strips and add to bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 30 minutes. Cook in wok or frying pan until brown, about 5 minutes. Steam broccoli. Next add the broccoli, sesame seeds and cornstarch and cook for additional 2 minutes. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

manicotti

Since the stuffed shells were such a big hit I decided to make something of the same this time around. I made manicotti. I will give you the box of shells and a bag of sauce and a bag of the cheese mixture. All you need to do is thaw the two bags day of cooking. Then cook shells according to directions. Then scoop cheese mixture into manicotti shells or cut tip of bag and squeeze into shells since they are tube like. Then cover with sauce and cook in oven for 20 min. or so. I like to sprinkle a little mozz on top and cover with tinfoil so it doesn't get hard. And enjoy. My kids love this meal. Serve with salad and rolls and you are set. Also, the package of shells is more than my family can eat in one meal. So consider that when cooking. I usually make 2 each for Tony and I and one for each kiddo.

Manicotti or Stuffed shells with cheese
4 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozz
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 eggs
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley ( or dried)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Shells
Sauce
Cover with foil bake till bubbly

Chicken Tacos

I tried out a new recipe last night with my kids and it was such a huge hit! I was in shock the rest of the night. It is diffenetly getting a gold star next to it!
I'm going to give you the following:
tacos
4 chicken breasts
jar of mild salsa
1 sour cream
sharp cheddar cheese

The day you want to make this you throw the chicken breasts (I even did mine frozen) salsa and sour cream in the crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours. I then removed just the chicken breasts and shredded them. I didn't pour all the remaining mixture on top it just looked like to much so I just mixed enough in to coat it and make it alittle creamy. Then I spooned it into the tacos and put some sharp cheddar cheese on top. My kids loved this you guys. Hobbs is the pickiest eater and he was the first one done! I also served fruit cocktail on the side and it was great! I am not pre-cooking it because I think the sour cream will come out weird. And it is an easy enough recipe that you can just quick throw it together that day. I hope you like it! I also only used 3 chicken breasts and it was plenty but for the bigger families I thought one more chicken breasts would be good.
Amy

Cream of Celery with pork tenderloin

Hello all. I made a easy recipe that Amy suggested in her last Pork BBQ entry. It is pork tenderloin cooked in a crock pot with cream of celery soup. We tried it out last night and I decided it needed an additional can of cream of celery soup (which I will give you) added to it to make it creamier and some salt and pepper to taste. I served it over rice and we put on green onions, Mandarin oranges, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and chow mien noodles. It is like Hawaiian Haystacks but with pork. I will be the first to critique it and say I think I would have liked it better with cream of chicken, the meat tends to stay clomped together so you kind of have to mix it in with the rice, and it is a little on the salty side because I think cream of celery is more salty. Who knows really, maybe it's just me. Anyway, live and learn. I hope you enjoy it, even for just one try!

Wednesday @ 9:30

Ok, so mostly everyone responded. What about 9:30 at my house? It's my understanding that we will only be doing 6 this time. Marianne, are you feeling better? Aften, are you hanging in there? Can we help both of you in any way?

New Meeting Time?

Hey all! First of all, Marianne Congratulations!!!! I'm so happy for you, sorry that you're sick though! It looks like Wed. morning is a little too early for a few of you so should we go for Wed. morning next week? How does that work for all of you?

January Exchange

Hey girls, I am ready for a new year of yummy meals. We managed to eat all of our dinners in the month of December and are ready to start fresh. I propose we exchange on Wed. the 7th or Thurs. the 8th. So what do you say?