Wok Wednesday: Mongolian Beef

We all have Taco Tuesday, why not Wok Wednesday? Asian cuisine use to kind of intimidate me, but I bought a cookbook called "Quick and Easy Chinese" by Nancie McDermott and now I fix it every Wednesday! (Well, almost every Wednesday). Wok Wednesdays are my husband's favorite! He thinks I should make Chinese or Thai food two or three times a week but you know, there's a lot of prep work and ingredients in Chinese and Thai food. (This Mongolian Beef recipe is pretty quick and easy though).

If you're like me, you pin recipes on pinterest and then there they sit. I've been making an effort to try one or two of these recipes a week. That's where I found one of my family's favorite, if not their favorite, Wok Wednesday meal. The original recipe is on "Pink Bites", but I tweaked it a little to my family's liking.

 

Ingredients: (serves 4-6)

2lb flank steak

1/2 C cornstarch

2 T vegetable oil

6 gloves garlic, chopped

1/2 t minced ginger

1 C soy sauce

1 C water

3/4 C brown sugar

1/2-1 t red-pepper flakes

6 green onions sliced lengthwise

Thinly slice meat and pat dry. 

 

  You want to cut the meat against the grain and as thin as possible. It

really helps if you put the meat in the freezer first to freeze slightly.

A serrated knife also helps. (This is the worst part. Your fingers get really cold.)

 

Place the meat in a bowl and coat with the cornstarch.

 

Making the sauce: Heat 1T of the oil in a wok or large skillet at med-high. Add the garlic, ginger and red-pepper flakes and stir for about 30 secs. (Be careful it doesn't burn). Add water, soy sauce and brown sugar. Stir and heat to a boil. Let boil 1 min. Pour the sauce into a bowl and set aside.

 

Cooking the meat: Heat remaining oil in the wok or skillet. Place meat in wok and wait about 3 minutes before stirring so the meat develops a nice crust on it. Continue cooking until meat is cooked.

There's my spoon again!

 

Add the sauce to the cooked meat. Continue cooking until the sauce is reduced and thickened to your likeness.

 

 

Garnish with the green onions and enjoy!

 

Yum! Yum!

Tip: You can buy fresh ginger, cut it into 1" pieces and store in the freezer. No more wasted ginger!

 

Blessings,

Julie



 

 

 

Lasagna

Your whole family with love this lasagna! When I ask my boys if there's anything special they'd like for dinner, my youngest will ask for this. Every time I make it for a crowd I get asked for the recipe. It was given to me by a sweet, sweet lady named Kathy Wogman. When I think of Kathy I think of joy, energy and Larry (her husband). Mostly joy!

I usually use hamburger when I make this but I've also used sausage and ground turkey. One time I made it for a friend who's MS was acting up and I made one for my family at the same time. I used sausage and it was way too salty!!! Oops! She said she thought it was delicious. I think she was just being nice. I'm not sure if it was because of the sausage, or just because I added too much salt. So if you use sausage, you might want to taste it before adding the salt. Just sayin'.

 

(I forgot to add the eggs to this picture.)

 

1 1b. hamburger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T parsley

1 T basil

1 t salt

1 15oz can of Italian tomatoes

2 small cans tomato paste

10oz lasagna noodles

4 C cottage cheese

2 beaten eggs

1 1/2 t salt

2 t pepper

2 T parsley

1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

1 lb Mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

 

Brown hamburger and drain off excess fat. Add garlic, parsley, basil, salt, canned tomatoes, and paste. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.



I love, love, love this spoon. It's a Rachael Ray spoon that comes with

a matching ladle. I don't know how often I have given these spoons as gifts.

I tell people, "it looks like just a spoon, but it's so much more"! I love the weight

of it and how it feels in my hand. I know it sounds weird, but I really like this spoon.

I think Rachael Ray should have me sell them for her or something!

 

 

Boil the noodles in well salted water until done and drain.

 



I used whole grain noodles for the first time and everyone

said it was just as good!

 

 

Meanwhile, combine cottage cheese with eggs, salt, pepper, parsley and Parmesan cheese.

 

Prepare a 13x9x2 inch pan with Pam. Layer 1/2 of the noodles, 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 of the meat mixture and 1/2 of the Mozzarella cheese in the prepared pan. Repeat layers.

 

This is the Rachael Ray lasagna pan. In case you can't tell, I like

her kitchen products.

 

Bake at 375* for 30 minutes or until hot throughout. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Seconds please!

 

Hope your family enjoys this as much as mine does!

 

Blessings,

Julie

 

P.S. People ask me if I've ever tried to make my lasagna without boiling the noodles first. I never have, but would like to know if you have and if it worked for you. I don't think I would try it with the whole grain noodles. 

 



My Morning Smoothie

One of my goals is to be "fit and fifty"! I have a year and 9 months before I turn 50 but know I need to start now! Actually, I should have started a long time ago, but....... Anyway, I love my morning smoothies and since a lot of people ask me what I put in them I thought I'd share with you. This particular one is dairy free!

 

This is what goes in it! I get the frozen mixed fruit from Wal-Mart.

It has strawberries, mango, peaches and pineapple.

 

1 1/2 C Frozen Mixed Fruit

1 T Chia Seed

1/2 of a banana

A handful of baby spinach

About 1 C of water

 

 



 

(I almost forgot to take the picture and blended it

a little. oops.)

 

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth! You might want to add less or more water, depending on your thickness preference. Easy Peasy!

 

Delish!

 

If you'd like you can add protein. I enjoy the fresh fruity flavor so choose not too. I do however have a hard boiled egg with my breakfast.

 

I love my Vitamix!

 

A lot of people wonder if they should get a Vitamix or a Ninja. I have both and prefer my Vitamix. Don't get me wrong, the Ninja isn't bad, I just feel the Vitamix get things smoother. You can decide if it's worth the extra money!

 

Blessings,

Julie









My First Blog

I've been talking about creating a blog for some time now, but didn't have a clue how to do it. I looked on-line and was still a little overwhelmed. One site I looked at said I should pick one thing that I'm good at and stick to that topic. That's not what I plan on doing! I'm going to share favorite recipes, books, movies, restaurants, products, life.... You get the picture.

 



My name is Julie Wagner and I've been married to my husband Peter for 25 years. We have 3 handsome sons (ages 22, 20 & 18), one beautiful daughter-in-law and the cutest grandson ever..... He turned 6 months old on December 20, 2013.

This blog will be a challenge for me, but I'm excited to learn more about the world of blogging. I think I'll go download a book about it on my iPad... Maybe I should have done that first! HAPPY 2014!