Stir Fry

Stir fry is one of our favorite meals. I usually just use frozen stir fry vegetables, so it's really easy to make, too.

Chicken Stir Fry

Combine:

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1 T. oil
• and add 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat a little oil in large skillet; add marinated chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until cooked.
3. Add stir fry vegetables - 2 16-oz. packages, 1/2 of a 64-oz. package like the one from Birds Eye, or at least 4 cups of cut up fresh vegetables. Cook until frozen vegetables are hot or until fresh vegetables are crisp tender.
4. Add sauce* and heat through. Serve with rice and chow mein noodles, and pass the soy sauce.

* Sauce:
The Birds Eye Stir Fry has included sauce packets, but if you need sauce, combine:

• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1/4 c. cold water

You can do just about anything you want with this. I picked the first zucchini from my garden Friday, and I had a green pepper that needed used. So, I cut those up and added them when the chicken was just cooked. I cooked the chicken, zucchini, and peppers, (and a little onion) for a couple minutes, and then I added the frozen vegetables (not quite 1/2 a package of the Birds Eye because I had used extra the last time) and cooked until everything was hot, then added the sauce that came with the frozen vegetables. It turned out so well that I'm thinking I need to start using more fresh vegetables in my stir fry!

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Rhubarb Crunch (w/ Strawberries)

I wasn't planning on making dessert this weekend, but one of my friends had to post a recipe for a rhubarb crisp. It sounded so good, I thought I'd try her recipe, but then I didn't. Oh, I still made dessert, but I used a recipe I got from my mom instead. I'm sure Susan's recipe is really yummy, but so is this one - and because she had to mention strawberries with the rhubarb, even though she didn't include strawberries in her recipe, I decided to add some of those, too. While I love rhubarb for itself, strawberries and rhubarb are a great combination, too!

Rhubarb Crunch

• 6 cups diced rhubarb (or in this case about 4 cups and a pound of sliced strawberries)
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 5 T. flour
• cinnamon (optional - I just sprinkled some on)
  
• Topping:
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1-1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I used margarine)

Combine first three ingredients and a dash of cinnamon. Place in greased 13x9" pan. Combine brown sugar, oats and flour. Cut in butter and shortening until crumbly. Sprinkle over rhubarb mixture. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream, whipped cream, or milk.

So good warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream!

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Zucchini Recipes

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I picked the first zucchini from my garden this morning, so I'll be needing this list of zucchini recipes soon. Some of these we've tried, and some I just want to try.

• Zucchini Patties (Jeffrey and I liked these. I just served them plain, but I think I'll add the tomato sauce and cheese next time)
  
• Zucchini Casserole (with onions, peppers, and tomatoes)
• and a whole list of zucchini recipes to try

And these are recipes I have used several times and really enjoyed:

• Zucchini Crescent Pie
• Zucchini Hamburger Pie

Those zucchini plants better get busy - I have big plans!

Mini Meat Loaves

I know some people eat meat loaf on a regular basis, but we rarely have it. This week I had some potatoes that needed used and decided to make mashed potatoes. Obviously, I needed something to go with those mashed potatoes, so I decided to try making meat loaf again. I used the recie from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook and changed it a little. Then, instead of making an actual loaf, I made mini loaves using my muffin tin.

Mini Meat Loaves
Ingredients:

• 1 beaten egg
• 10 saltines crackers, crushed
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 1 T. dried parsely
• 1/2 t. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
  
• 1 lb. ground beef
• barbecue sauce

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl combine egg, cracker crumbs, milk, onion, green pepper, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Add ground beef and mix well.
2. Divide mixture evenly into 12 muffin cups.
3. Bake 20-25 minutes at 400° or until done.
   
4. Remove mini loaves from muffin tin and place on baking sheet. Reserve one loaf for making gravy, if desired, and top the remaining loaves with barbecue sauce.
5. Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or more.
   

Removing the loaves from the muffin tins before adding the barbecue sauce gets them out of the grease, and they brown up nicely on the baking sheet. I think the grease is one of the reasons I never really like meatloaf, but this really seems to help. I used the reserved loaf and the grease from the muffin tin to make gravy, which went really well with my mashed potatoes!

To make gravy: break up reserved loaf in skillet, along with baking grease or oil. Add flour, a little salt and pepper and brown. Then, add milk and some reserved water from cooking the potatoes; cook and stir until desired consistency. (Sorry, I didn't measure anything)

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Chicken, Broccoli, and Macaroni

It's kind of like macaroni and cheese, only with more stuff in it. I use cooked chicken and turkey interchangeably - whatever I have. Last week I cooked a turkey, so I used turkey.

Chicken Macaroni and Cheese w/ Broccoli

Ingredients:

• 1 cup elbow macaroni
• 6 small green onions (or 1 small yellow onion), chopped
• 4 T. butter
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (or more)
• 2 cups frozen broccoli
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken (or turkey)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. curry powder
• 1/2 cup grated cheese

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to directions
2. Saute chopped onions in butter and mix with cooked macaroni. Spoon into greased 9"x13" baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Break up uncooked broccoli and place over cheese. Cover with cubed chicken or turkey.
3. Combine soup, milk, salt and curry powder. Pour over other ingredients in baking dish. Cover with grated cheese.
4. Cover and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer.

The original recipe came from my favorite cookbook, The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals, but of course I've changed it up to suit my tastes.

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