Beef-Broccoli Stir-Fry

Recipe taken from:
Everydayhealth.com

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoon soy sauce, reduced-sodium
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon vinegar, white
• 1/4 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper, red, crushed
• 2 clove(s) garlic, minced, minced
• 12 ounce(s) beef, flank steak
• 1 bunch(es) broccoli , or 1 bag frozen broccoli florets, thawed
• 2 teaspoon oil, cooking *I used sesame oil, it makes it take more like take-out
• 2 medium carrot(s), bias-sliced 1/8 inch thick
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms sliced
• 3/4 cup(s) broth, reduced-sodium beef
• 4 scallion(s) (green onions), bias-sliced
• 2 cup(s) angel hair pasta, cooked

Preparation
1. For marinade, in a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, cornstarch, vinegar, ginger, crushed red pepper, and garlic. Trim fat from meat. Cut meat across the grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Add meat to marinade; toss to coat. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes. Drain meat, discarding marinade.

2. Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets from stems. If desired, peel stems.Cut stems into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Or thaw frozen broccoli florets in colander under room-temp. water.

3. In a wok or large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add meat; cook and stir in hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly pink in center. Remove meat from wok or skillet.

4. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to hot wok or skillet. Add broccoli, mushrooms and carrots; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add beef broth: cook and stir for 5 to 7 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of wok or skillet. Return cooked meat to wok or skillet. Add green onions; heat through. Serve immediately over hot cooked pasta.

Notes & Tips:
The broccoli at the commissary looked kinda iffy this time, so I purchased the frozen broccoli florets, I think it turned out better than if I had used fresh. Mat told me tonight that he thinks this is better than take-out. *yay what a compliment* I served this over angel hair pasta, but it could just as easily be served over rice.

Rating:
A

Nutrition Facts:

4 servings
Calories: 205, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 659mg, Dietary Fiber: 4g, Total Fat: 6g, Carbs: 17g, Cholesterol: 40mg, Protein: 22g

Homemade Pizza

Ingredients:

• Pizza Crust (either homemade or refrigerated crust)
• 1 cup Pizza Sauce (again either homemade or pre-packaged)
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 3 slices of Canadian bacon
• 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup of feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Italian seasoning

Preparation:

Preheat oven 450 degrees. This time I used the refrigerated crust (b/c I'm pretty lazy sometimes, and it's Saturday), it never rolls out right so ball it up and re-roll it out on to a pizza stone or cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Pinch the edges up about a 1/4 inch. Again because I'm fairly lazy on Saturday night I used pre-packaged pizza sauce. Spread it thinly with a large spoon.

Roughly cut up 1 cup of fresh mushrooms, evenly distribute on pizza. Cut up 3 slices of Canadian bacon and evenly distribute on pizza. Sprinkle cheese all over pizza then sprinkle the Italian seasoning on top.

Put pizza in the oven for 14 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden. Take out of oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut into 6 slices.

Notes & Tips:
Please don't use pre-shreaded cheese, it doesn't melt as well and it is cheaper by the pound. Also, freshly shredded cheese looks like more so you will end up eating less. Feel free to use which ever toppings you'd like.
1 slice of homemade pizza is about 250 calories, vs. 1 slice of Domino's pizza is about 440.

Rating:
A

Nutrition Facts:

6 servings
250 calories, 8g fat, 35 carbohydrates

Ham-Filled Puffy Omelet

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites
• Dash salt and black pepper
• 3 beaten egg yokes
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 1/2 cup sliced cooked ham
• 1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Italian blend (or herb of your choice)

Preparation:
Preheat oven 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl beat egg whites, salt and pepper with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand up straight). Fold in yokes until all dark yellow is incoporated.

Coat a large oven-proof skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Spread egg mixture in skillet. Cook about 3 minutes or just until bottom is golden. Bake in a 350 degree oven 3 minutes or until dry on top and edges are light brown.

Loosen the omelet from the sides of the skillet with a metal spatula. Make a shallow cut slightly off center across the omelet. Sprinkles cheese over larger sid. Top with ham and seasoning. Fold smaller side of omelet over larger side. Cut omelet in half.

Notes & Tips:
There are TONS of variations for this recipe, just swap out the meat or cheese for something else. Also, this a super light meal, if you're looking for something a little heartier serve this with hashbrowns or pancakes. Tonight I served this with toast and jelly.

12/19/13 - UPDATE: I made this tonight with shredded chicken, Parmesan Cheese and bacon filling. Very yummy. I served this tonight with pancakes and sausage.


Nutrition Facts:2 servings
183 calories, 11g fat, 504mg sodium, 2g carbs, 0g fiber

Old Bay Steamed Shrimp and Green Apple-Cabbage Slaw

BAY STEAMED SHRIMP

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Raw Devained Shrimp
• 3-4 tablespoons Old Bay
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation:

Fill steamer or large pot with water and lemon juice. Turn on steamer or boil water. Rince shrimp and pat dry, season with Old Bay. Put shrimp in steamer bowl or basket and steam for aproximately 13 minutes or all the shrimp are pinkish.

GREEN APPLE-CABBAGE SLAW

Recipe taken from:

Better Homes and Garden, January 2010

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspons canola oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 small head red cabbage (1lb.), shreaded
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, halved, cored, and sliced
• 3 green onions, chopped

Preparation:

In screw-top jar combine vinegar, water, sugar, oil, mustard, salt, and pepper; shake to combine. In large bowl combine cabbage, apple, and scallions; add dressing. Toss to combine.

Notes & Tips:

The slaw recipe makes WAY more than the 4 servings the orgional recipe states. It would be almost a full plate of slaw. Most of the time I serve the shrimp with garlic butter. This is one of Mat's favorite meals.

Rated:

A

Nutrition Facts:

Old Bay Steamed Shrimp

4 Servings

160 Calories, 3g Fat, 0g Sat. Fat, 200mg Sodium, 2g Carbs, 0g Fiber

Green Apple-Cabbage Slaw

Calories 133, Total Fat (g) 5, Monounsaturated Fat (g) 3, Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 1, Sodium (mg) 365, Carbohydrate (g) 22, Total Sugar (g) 16, Fiber (g) 4, Protein (g) 2, Vitamin C (DV%) 95, Calcium (DV%) 5, Iron (DV%) 6

Lemon-Dill Butter Chicken and Zucchini

Recipe taken from:
Better Homes and Gardens
8 Grams or Less
Low-Carb Recipes

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 medium lemon
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried dill
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 & 1/2 cups coarsely chopped zucchini

Preparation:

1.Preheat broiler. Place chicken on ungreased pan. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat for 12 to 15 minutes or until no longer pink (170 degrees F), turning once halfway through broiling.
2.Meanwhile, finely shred 1/2 teaspoon peel from the lemon. Cut lemon in half, squeeze lemon to make 2 tablespoons juice.
3.In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper. Stir in zucchini. Cook and stir over medium heat for 3 minutes or just until zucchini is tender. Spoon sauce over chicken.

Notes & Tips

This recipe can also be made with cucumbers instead of zucchini. The recipe does not call to season the chicken before broiling, but I found that it was bland by itself, next time I think I'd season it with lemon pepper before broiling.

I served this with mashed potatoes.

Rating
B-

Nutrition Facts:

Makes 4 servings

244 calories, 11 g total fat (6 g saturated fat), 107 mg cholesterol, 477 mg sodium, 2 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber and 33 g protein.

Indian-Spiced Eggplant & Cauliflower Stew

Recipe taken from:
Eat Healthy Your Way, Winter 2010

Ingredients

2 tablespoons curry powder
** The origional recipe calls for Hot Madras, I used regular since it was
my first time cooking Indian food
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1-pound eggplant, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 cups cauliflower florets
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt, (optional)

Preparation

1.Heat a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add curry powder, garam masala and mustard seeds and toast, stirring, until the spices begin to darken, about 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl.
2.Add oil, onion, garlic, ginger and salt to the pot and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in eggplant, cauliflower, tomatoes, chickpeas, water and the reserved spices. Bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Top each serving with a dollop of yogurt, if desired.

Notes & Tips

This is my first venture into the world of Indian Food. Because of that fact I was hesitant to use the Hot Madras Curry that the orgional recipe calls for. Hot Madras Curry is much more spicy than regular curry. Also, our local commissary did not sell Garam Masala and Mustard Seed so I had to go to an all natural food store in town called People's Grocery. I found there that they sell TONS of different spices all by weight, so I just bought a teaspoon of each.

I served this with Couscous mixed with a small can of mushrooms (rinsed).

Rated

B

Nutrition Facts

6 Servings, 1 1/3 Cup per serving

Per serving: 198 calories; 6 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrates; 6 g protein; 8 g fiber; 605 mg sodium;

hmmmm

So as Mat's deployment approaches I'm considering a project....

What if I turned my blog into a cooking blog...kinda like a "What's Cooking?" kinda deal....hmmm Nothing fancy, just a what I'm cooking for dinner with recipe, picture, rating and nutrition facts.

FEEDBACK PLEASE!