Chinese Pepper Steak

1 lb beef chuck or rounds steak, fat trimmed (I used a buffalo steak that I found. I love bison!)
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 clove garlic (I used 3 or 4 :p )
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 c. olive oil
1 c. green onion, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 tbsp corn starch
1 c. water
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges (I used drained can of diced tomatoes)

served over cooked rice

Cut the beef across the grain into thin strips, 1/8" thick. Combine soy cause, garlic and ginger.  Add beef, toss and set aside while preparing vegetables.  Heat oil in large frying pan or wok.  Add beef and stirfry until browned (if meat is not tender, you can cover and simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes).  Add vegetables, toss until tender-crisp, abt 10 minutes.  Mix corn starch with water, add to pan.  Stir and cook until thickened.  At tomatoes and heat through.  Serve over rice.

Irish Stew and Soda Bread

Irish Stew

2 tbsp olive oil

3 bay leaves

2 lbs stew meat

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp rosemary

2 to 3 tbsp flour

3/4 c. beef stock

1/2 c. guinness stout (I use vernor's ginger ale instead, or you can just increase the beef stock)

1 tbsp parsley

1/2 lbs carrots, sliced

1/2 lbs potatoes, chopped

heat oil in an oven proof pot and add bay leaves. Cook leaves for a moment and add the meat.  Brown meat on both sides on high heat.  Add onion and cook for a few minutes until it is clear.  Reduce the heat to low and add garlic, thyme, rosemary and flour and stir until smooth.  Add the beef stock and stout; simmer, stirring until the stew thickens a bit.  Add the remaining ingredients and cover.  Place the pot in the oven at 275* for about 2 hours, stirring a couple of times. Check for salt and pepper before serving.  (in reality I just put everything except the flour [and oil] into my crock pot and let it cook.  About half an hour before serving, dip out some of the liquid from the stew (1/2 c. or so) and blend in the flour, then mix it in the stew and let it thicken that way)

Irish Soda Bread

4 1/2 to 5 c. flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 c. buttermilk (I dye my milk green and then it makes the bread green)

3 tbsp sugar

Mix dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, stir until it sticks together and forms a dough ball. Knead about 10 times. Put in round cake pan, and press to the edge.  cut and X in the top about 1/2" deep. Bake at 350* for about one hour or until golden. Butter the top & enjoy!

Chili Colorado Burritos

This is try #2 of this recipe.  The first time I used a brand of enchilada sauce that I had never used before (Las Palmas) and it was just too spicy for me (don't get me wrong, I love spicy stuff, but after being SO VERY sick through each of my four pregnancies, my esophagus just can't handle much anymore).  So I used a brand (I can't remember which!) that was milder.  I also added chopped onion and crushed garlic to the crock pot while it was cooking.  Turned out quite yummy when I could actually eat it without being in pain.

Served with Lipton's Mexican Rice side and chips & salsa.

Beef Stroganoff

When I first got married, I made the same hamburger stroganoff (with cream of mushroom soup) that pretty much everyone makes.  And then, for our 5th Anniversary, Husband and I went to Red Square in the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, and he ordered the beef stroganoff.  It had a brothy sauce instead of a creamy one, and it was amazing.  He then asked me to find a recipe similar to that to try, and I found one in my Betty Crocker's Cookbook.  It's my go-to cookbook.  It has nearly everything I could ever want in it.

Here's the recipe.  My changes are in {brackets}.
1 1/2 lbs beef tenderloin or boneless top loin steak, about 1/2 inch thick {I used a pound of stew beef and cut up the larger chunks with my kitchen sheers}
2 tbsp butter or margarine {olive oil}
1 1/2 c. beef broth {reduced sodium}
2 tbsp ketchup {omitted altogether}
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic {I put in 2 and contemplated more.  I love garlic.  I also crush it with the flat side of a large chef's knife and then dice it}
3 c. sliced mushrooms (8 oz) {baby bella mushrooms, because they last the longest in my fridge before getting slimy}
1 md. onion, chopped (1/2 c.)
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 c. sour cream or plain yogurt {Husband once asked to try it without the sour cream, and I keep forgetting to put it in. It's good with or without}

served over hot cooked noodles or rice {wide egg noodles here}

While I remembered the green beans today (yay!) I forgot the crunchy chow mein noodles we usually put on top (The Red Square version had crispy fried shoestring potatoes and we liked that texture).  I nearly always forget something. I blame it on the "mommy brain."

Pot roast - in the crock pot

Basically, I started off with this recipe, which claimed to be the BEST pot roast ever  ((it IS pretty good)).

I mixed in the au jus mix instead of just putting it on top, and I used sprite instead of coke or pepsi.  ((from what I understand, the carbonation does something to help make it tender? Don't know if that's actually true.))

I also cooked it with onions, baby carrots, and small yukon gold potatoes.  I served it all up with some rolls with butter & jelly.  Yummy.