Pressure Cooker Mongolian Beef

I love my pressure cooker. It makes everything so easy! OK, I don't do everything in the pressure cooker; there are still things that just need to be cooked on the stove or in the oven, but I certainly do use it a lot. This is one of our favorite recipes. The flavors are so good!

Pressure Cooker Mongolian Beef
adapted from Pressure Cooking Today

Ingredients:

• 1 pound steak, cut into 1/4″ strips
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 broccoli crown, cut small
• 1 carrot, cut into *matchsticks
• 1 red pepper, cut into strips or squares
• 2 T cornstarch
• 3 T water
• 3 green onions, sliced into 1-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Season beef with salt and pepper. 
2. Mix brown sugar, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and water. in PC.  Add beef; marinate for 30 minutes or longer.
3. When ready to cook, place insert in PC and cook for 13 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally.
4. Once pressure has released, remove lid and set PC to Sear. Add vegetables and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Mix water and cornstarch and add to PC; cook until thickened and bubbly.
5. Turn PC off and stir in green onions. Serve with rice.

Optional: add a pinch of red pepper flakes. You can also add some sliced onions if you're like me and can't cook without onions. I really think some snow peas would be good in this, though I haven't tried it that way yet. Tonight was the first time I used the red pepper, and it was really good - so I'm officially adding that to the recipe. Of course, if you don't have a red pepper, feel free to leave it out. Add a bit more broccoli; add an extra carrot. I think it can be pretty flexible.

Also, I never actually pay attention to how much steak I have, or even what kind it is. I just grab whatever I have in the freezer. The PC makes it all good and flavorful and tender.

And, since there are just the two of us, we have enough leftovers to have this again in a few days. I warm the leftovers up in the pressure cooker, too, and they taste just as good as the first time. Or maybe better.

*there are different ways of cutting carrots into matchsticks, but I use the method described on this page. I guess I didn't come up with that all on my own... It's really quite easy, and they just seem like the right carrots for this recipe.

Easy Vegetable Soup

I have plenty of recipes 'on deck' but for some reason I just haven't been getting around to posting any of them. I have some pictures, so hopefully I will remember what I actually did with these recipes - because, of course, I can never just follow a recipe. I just really need to sit down one of these days and get them all written up, if only for my own sake.

I've been fighting a cold this week, so the only thing that really sounded good was soup. I pulled some turkey broth out of the freezer, and I was just going to heat that up and drink it. But then I kept thinking of vegetables that would be good, so I just kept adding. Of course, feel free to add more or less or even omit a vegetable if you don't have it on hand. This is just what I did. This time.

Easy Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1/2 a medium onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 to 1 cup sliced cabbage
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• 2 cups turkey (or chicken) broth
• 1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in 2-quart saucepan. Chop onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and cabbage, adding them to the pan as you go. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to soften; add garlic, salt, pepper, and turmeric, and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
2. Add broth and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until flavors are blended and vegetables are cooked. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy.

Oh, sure there are aisles full of canned soups in the grocery stores.  So many choices, and all you have to do is open the can and heat it up - but this isn't much harder than that, and it's much better because I know everything that went into it. It was exactly what I needed, and now that it's gone, I'm probably going to make another batch of it tomorrow.

Maybe I should add a jalapeno? That would certainly kick any last vestiges of this cold right outta there.

This is Some Good Coleslaw

I made this coleslaw a while back, and we really liked it.  The original recipe comes from Chick-fil-A, and if I hadn't changed it, it would taste just like the kind you used to be able to get there.  Or so it says.  I never had it, so I can't say for sure.  I've never even been to a Chick-fil-A.  It was the dry mustard in the recipe that caught my eye.

Then things got really busy, and then we were away from home for a week and a half - and now that I sit down to type up this recipe so I don't forget (because I will be making this again), I'm hoping that I haven't already forgotten.  Mainly I'm questioning whether I cut the sugar down or not, since the original recipe says it's not too sweet - but since what I usually don't like about coleslaw is that it is too sweet, I'm pretty sure I cut the sugar in half, so I'm going with that.  If you like your coleslaw sweet, feel free to use 1/4 cup sugar; it just won't be as good - IMO.  I also shredded my own cabbage, added a carrot (or two), and some green onions. Oh, and black pepper because coleslaw always needs black pepper.

This is Some Good Coleslaw
adapted from shugary sweets

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 4 tsp white vinegar
• 2 T granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 or 2 carrots, shredded
• 4 green onions, sliced

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, salt, and pepper until smooth.
2. Add in shredded cabbage, carrot, and green onions and stir together until until completely coated. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
3. Serve and enjoy!

Tuscan Chicken Soup

When I saw the recipe for Tuscan Chicken Stew on South Your Mouth, I knew I had to try it.  It just looked so good.   Of course, I didn't quite follow the original recipe, but I did use basically the same ingredients, and I kept all the seasonings the same.  I think it turned out great.

This soup is sure to become a favorite around here. I will definitely be making it again. It's super flavorful and easy to make.

Tuscan Chicken Soup
adapted from South Your Mouth

 Ingredients:

• 1-2 T olive oil
• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 3 carrots, diced
• 5 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 15-oz. can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large Dutch oven (6 quart); add chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add onion, garlic, and celery; cook until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are soft, stirring frequently.  Add seasonings and cook for a few minutes until fragrant.  Stir in carrots, potatoes, beans, and tomatoes and then add broth, water and bay leaf.
2. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes with lid slightly cracked, stirring occasionally.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste.  Cook a few minutes longer if needed, until carrots and potatoes are done.

I made this soup one day and then reheated it the next.  I think all soups get better when you reheat them, and some absolutely have to be made a day before you want to eat it.  I think this one would be good either way.   I made fresh cornbread to go with the soup, which was really good.  It would also be good with some nice crusty bread.

I used the1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, and the soup had a nice kick to it.  My husband, who does not like his food very spicy at all, didn't complain and really liked the soup, but if you don't like a lot of spice you'll probably want to cut the measurement down to 1/4 tsp. - at least the first time.

Roasted Veggies and Sausage

A few weeks ago I was checking out at the grocery store. I was buying smoked sausage, red potatoes, and cabbage. There were a few other things too, but there was something about seeing those things on the belt that made me think I really needed to throw something together with them.  I went looking for inspiration, and this recipe from real life Dinner was pretty much exactly what I had in mind.  Except I changed the vegetables a bit.  That, of course, is the beauty of a recipe like this - you can use the vegetables you have on hand or the vegetables that are telling you they really want to be thrown together into something yummy.  I think any number of combinations would work.

Roasted Veggies and Sausage
adapted from real life Dinner

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, cut into chunks
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3-4 large carrots, sliced
• 4-5 medium red potatoes, diced
• Coarsely sliced cabbage (I did not measure)
• 3-4 T olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste (I used 1 tsp. salt and freshly ground pepper)
• 1 12-16 ounce package smoke sausage or kielbasa, sliced into 1-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.
2. Toss veggies with olive oil and salt & pepper in 13x9" pan.  Top with sliced sausage.
3. Bake for about an hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so.

That's it.  Really simple and really tasty.  Just chop your veggies up, toss them together, bake, and enjoy!

The secret is to cut all the veggies into similar sized pieces so they will cook evenly.  Next time I think I am going to cut my carrots and potatoes just a bit smaller.  Also, the size of your veggies, and how well roasted you like them, will determine how long you'll need to bake this.

This heats up really well, and the leftovers might be even better than the first time.  we had some green beans with it the first night, and I just threw them into the pan and roasted them with the rest.  (see them in the back there?)  Just really so good.

Chard and White Bean Stew

I'm still getting a few things from my garden.  The tomatoes are ripening, and I've been picking a few every couple days.  There are plenty of green ones still needing to ripen.  There are also quite a few small jalapenos on the plants and some bell peppers, too.  We had to cover the tomato and pepper plants for a few nights this weekend to protect them from frost, but it's warmed up again so we should be good for a while.  I've also got carrots and chard still out in the garden.  I read somewhere that carrots will taste better after a couple of good freezes, so though I've pulled several of the carrots, I'm going to leave the rest of them for a while.  Chard can survive a frost, so I should be having that for a while, too.

With all the chard and tomatoes, I started searching for a recipe that would use some of them.  There are quite a few good sounding recipes, but this one won out.  She served this with crusty bread, and a poached egg on top, but I skipped the poached egg.  It does look interesting, though.  Perhaps next time?

Chard and White Bean Stew
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 pound Swiss chard (or another green), stems removed and coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup dry white wine (or juice of half a lemon and water to make 1 cup)
• 2 15-ounce cans (or about 4 cups) white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup chicken broth (or 2 cups broth and not bean liquid)
• 1 cup bean liquid (if using home cooked beans)
• 1-2 cups pureed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. Prepare vegetables.  Heat olive oil in 5 to 6 quart pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic and saute for 15 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Add chard and cook, stirring, until chard begins to wilt. 
2. Add wine (or lemon water), scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pot and cook until it has reduced by three-fourths. Add beans, broth, tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. 
3. Add more broth if you’d like a thinner stew and adjust salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with crusty bread.  Drizzle with Balsamic vinegar if desired.

I really enjoyed the flavors in this. My husband didn't drizzle any of the vinegar on his, but I thought that really added a nice touch.  I really love when the broth soaks into the bread.  So good!

This whole grain sourdough is the perfect complement to so many things!  I used 1 cup of the bean liquid in this batch, instead of the water.

Sesame Peanut Noodles

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Trisha's blog My Hobbie Lobbie. Trisha loves to bake, and she's married to her best friend - we have that in common.  She's also into crafting and crocheting, and uses her blog to keep track of recipes and crochet patterns.  I never did learn to crochet, but I am amazed by people who can.

I started scrolling through Trisha's list of recipes and found a bunch I'd like to try - and I hadn't even made it down to the baked goods.  Here are just a few that sounded yummy:

• Cajun Chicken Wrap
• Sprouted Moong Salad
• Bean and Spinach Bake
• Oven  Baked Zucchini Fries
• Pickled Jalapenos

Trisha lives in Australia, where it's winter right now, so she's making soups and trying to stay warm.  I may have to go back and look at some of her soups when winter comes to our part of the world, but for now I thought something cool would be better.  Or something to use the produce that's coming out of the garden; I'm getting lots of jalapenos and zucchini.
 
I ended up choosing this Sesame Peanut Noodle Salad because it's both - cool, and it uses lots of veggies. As Trisha said - "You can pretty much alter this salad to accommodate the salad veggies that you have at hand."  Perfect!  The recipe reflects the veggies I used this time, but pretty much any combination or amount would work.

Sesame Peanut Noodles
adapted from My Hobbie Lobbie

 Ingredients:

• 8 oz. angel hair pasta
• a handful of bean sprouts (I forgot to put these in)
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 1/2 cup shredded cabbage (or more)
• 2 T chopped cilantro
• 1 T sesame seeds

for the dressing:

• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 T sesame oil
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 T lime juice
• 2 T sweet chili sauce
• 3 T peanut butter 

Directions:

1. Break pasta in half and cook according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Toss pasta and remaining salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Mix dressing; add to salad and toss well, making sure everything is coated.
4. Serve with additional cilantro and sesame seeds to garnish.  Refrigerate leftovers.

 My husband and I had this salad for lunch one day last week, and we both really enjoyed it.  The dressing has a really good flavor, and the combination of soft pasta and crunchy vegetables is excellent.  I will definitely be making this again.  I'm thinking some zucchini would be a nice addition...

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