Stir Fried Beef with Tangerines

Welcome to the very first Stir Fry Day Friday! Let me give you a little background as to how Stir Fry Day Friday was born:

We had just gotten back from a fabulous family vacation for Christmas. My in-laws joined us at my parent’s hosue down in SWFL for our son’s first Christmas. I’ll have a separate post in the future about our travel experience, but spoiler alert – my then almost-six-month-old did amazingly! It was fabulous to be in the warmth (I’m talking 80 degree weather) and sunshine. We went for walks and even took a dip in the pool. Not a jacket was to be seen.

But then we had to return to Ohio where the clouds are gray, the wind nippy, and the fridge empty. It was time to create that back-from-vacation grocery list. Normally I’d spend an hour surfing my Pinterest and foodgawker accounts but after a week of being spoiled by the grandparents, my son wasn’t about to be put down for more than ten minutes. While he was momentarily happy playing with his new toys on the floor I plopped down next to him and ate my bowl of cereal. We were conveniently situated next to the bookshelf with my cookbooks. The menu of our first week back actually came from recipes on paper!

I grabbed Tyler Florence’s Real Kitchen. My brother got me this cookbook a few years ago for my birthday. It’s embarrasing to admit that I’d only created one dish from it – but it was incredible. Tyler Florence is joining Anne Burrell this season on Worst Cooks in America. If you’ve never seen this show I highly encourage you to tune into Food Network Sunday nights for some great laughs. I figured now’s as good as any to put his skills to the test. 😉 I settled on his Stir Fried Beef with Tangerines, Green Beans, and Chiles. Planned it for Friday and alas, the idea of Stir Fry Day Friday was born. Tyler’s book has great informational tidbits about the recipes and tips on how best to prepare the dish. I have high hopes for him on this season of Worst Cooks.

This stir fry dish is full of flavor. The Chinese five spice powder has a subtle licorice smell and taste that I was afraid of but it lends itself beautifully to the ginger and balsamic vinegar. I loved having a fresh crunch of green beans and the pop of fried tangerines delectable. I was excited to try these tangerines as Tyler indicated that frying them would take out the bitterness of the rind and make it edible. He was right! I plan on experimenting with more fried citrus soon.

Stir Fried Beef with Tangerines

Ingredeints:

  • 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch, divided use
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • salt
  • white pepper
  • 1 lb thinly sliced beef (Tyler calls for boneless top round, I used a pre sliced beef intended for stir fry from the meat counter)
  • 1 tangerine, unpeeled, very thinly sliced
  • 2-3 C oil (Tyler calls for peanut, I used vegetable)
  • 1″ piece of ginger, grated
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 scallions, sliced
  • 3/4 lb fresh green beans, cut in 1″ pieces
  • 1/4 C chicked stock
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or more to taste
  • toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Steps:

  1. Whisk together Chinese five spice powder, 1 tbsp corn starch, egg white, sesame oil, salt, and white pepper. Toss beef in marinade and return to fridge for 30 minutes.
  2. Heat 3 C oil over high heat in a wok. If you don’t have a wok use only 2 C in a large skillet. Bring oil to 350 degrees F.
  3. Toss tangerine slices in 1 tbsp corn starch. Carefully add to the hot oil and fry for 4 minutes. It will splatter at first as there is moisture in the tangerines. Remove tangerines to a paper towel lined plate using a slotted spoon.
  4. Bring oil back to 350 degrees F. Fry the beef in two batches, removing to a paper towel lined plate.
  5. Remove oil to a glass measuring cup. Return 1/4 C of the oil to the wok/pan. Quickly stir-fry the ginger, garlic, and scallions until fragrant.
  6. Add the green beans to the pan, seasoning with salt.
  7. In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken stock with the reamining 1 tbsp corn starch. Add the slurry to the green beans. Tossing to coat. Add in the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and sugar. When the sauce is thickened and the green beans al dente add the beef and tangerines. Toss to coat. Add in the red pepper flakes – to taste.
  8. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve with steamed rice.

*This recipe is adapted from Tyler Florence’s Real Kitchen*

Stir Fried Beef with Tangerines | Sew You Think You Can Cook

#FoodieExtravaganza: Oatmeal + a Giveaway

foodieextravaganza-300

Happy New Year, Foodie Fans! To kick off the year, this January we’re having an oatmeal extravaganza! If your New Year’s resolution is eat healthier, adding oats to your diet should be part of your plan. Or better yet, add a real breakfast to your morning routine.

I made oatmeal pancakes for you. These pancakes are very filling and could make for a satisfying breakfast or a fun late night snack. (We had them as breakfast for dinner.) I served these two ways – as breakfast and as dessert. For the breakfast version I topped the pancakes with apples, raisins, and syrup. For the dessert version I topped the pancakes with whipped cream and chocolate chips.

I’m not sure where my recipe fits into a healthy lifestyle but I’m sure some of my blogging friends have something for you so be sure to check out the list at the end of this post. Our host this month is Lauren of From Gate to Plate.

Oatmeal Pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 C flour
  • 1 C old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 C brown sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 C sour cream
  • 3/4 C milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 C melted butter
  • toppings: apple, raisins, nuts, chocolate chips, syrup (optional)

Steps:

  1. Preheat griddle to 350 degrees F. Spray griddle with non-stick cooking spray or melted butter. Note: If you don’t have a griddle use a large skillet over medium high heat.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. (This is a thick batter.)
  4. Drop 1/3 C of batter onto griddle. Cook 3 minutes on each side, or until golden. Serve with desired toppings.

*This recipe is adapted from Emily at http://itbakesmehappy.com/2014/11/oatmeal-cookie-pancakes.html*

Oatmeal Pancakes

Be sure to check out these other oatmeal recipes. We have a diverse list this month! There’s also a give-away happening so keep scrolling.

Apple Pie Overnight Oats / Wallflour Girl

Bacon Whole Grain Granola BarsPantry Friendly Cooking

Berry Oatmeal Super SmoothieKeep Moving Forward With Me

Brown Sugar Barbecue MeatballsFearlessly Creative Mammas

Chickpea Veggie SoupFood Lust People Love

Homemade Cranberry Almond GranolaRhubarb and Honey

Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme PiesMaking Miracles

Mango Poppyseed Oat MuffinsThe Sweet {Tooth} Life

Mini Meatball SubsThe Freshman Cook

Monster Cookie Granola / From Gate to Plate

Mushroom Ginger Oat Congee / Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Oat Cinnamon RollsPassion Kneaded

Peanut Butter Oat Snack BallsMrs. Penguin

Vanilla Salted Oatmeal CookiesBaking in Pyjamas

Southwestern Oatmeal Cakes / A Day in the Life on the Farm

If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza.  We would love to have you! If you’re a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out HERE.

 The Giveaway

OATrageous-OatmealsThe oat-guru Kathy Hester has been so generous in donating one of her books to one of our lucky Foodie Extravaganza readers. With her book OATrageous Oatmeals: Delicious & Surprising Plant-Based Dishes From This Humble, Heart-Healthy Grain, you will learn how to use heart-healthy oatmeal in new and exciting ways! You can find recipes such as Veggie Oat Taco Mince, Gluten-free Lemon Blueberry Belgian Waffles, and Blackberry Mojito Overnight Oats.

Use the link below for the rafflecopter to enter the giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms & Conditions: This giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada only, age 18 and older. The OATragous Oatmeals Cookbook giveaway runs from Wednesday, January 7, 2015 12:00am ET through Thursday, January 15, 2015 12:00am ET. Winners will be randomly chosen and announced on January 16, 2015. Winners will also be contacted by email and will have 24 hours to respond to the email. If a winner does not respond in that time a new winner will be chosen. For more information, see the full terms and conditions in the Rafflecopter widget.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Slow Cooker Jalapeno Lime Chicken

My New Year’s Resolution for 2015 is to create at least one original recipe a month. I created three new recipes in December 2014! All three were spurred from a case of the empty fridge. But it gave me the idea to adopt a New Year’s Resolution. If I hope to expand my presence in the food community (ahem, Food Network, are you listening?) then I need to have recipes of my own. I also can’t create a cookbook of “copied” recipes! Everything stems from my ability to be creative in the kitchen. And the only way to test that ability is to give myself a challenge/goal. And with this homework assignment every month I can create my grocery list based off of my idea – not create my idea based on my pantry supply.

Today’s post is one of December’s recipes. In fact, it’s one that I made before leaving town for Thanksgiving and then tweaking into the recipe I post today. The first version of this dish, while tasty didn’t feel Mexican. I added garlic, salsa, and cumin. I reduced the amount of liquid and omitted the corn. As much as I love corn it didn’t quite fit with the shredded chicken and got lost. In the photo below you can see how different the two versions are; version 1 is on the left and the final version is on the right.

Jalapeno Lime Chicken

What I love most about this recipe is its versatility. My favorite way to eat it was as nachos. I put tortilla chips on a plate, topped them with the shredded chicken and shredded cheese. I microwaved the nachos for 30 seconds until the cheese was melted and dipped in salsa. The shredded chicken can also be rolled into a burrito with beans, rice, and cheese. Or use it to top some flavored rice. Create a sandwich with the chicken, salsa, cheese, and lettuce. Even stuff it in a lettuce wrap for a carb-free version.

An Original Recipe

Slow Cooker Jalapeno Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 2 large chicken breasts
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 jalapeno, diced (for mild heat remove seeds)
  • 1/4 C chicken stock
  • 1/4 C salsa
  • zest and juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tbsp taco seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 C fresh cilantro

Steps:

  1. Season chicken with S+P. Place in the bottom of a slow cooker. Top with onion, garlic, and jalapeno.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together stock, salsa, lime, taco seasoning, and cumin. Pour over chicken.
  3. Add cilantro to the slow cooker.
  4. Cook on LOW 5 – 7 hours or HIGH  3 – 5 hours.
  5. Shred chicken and return to sauce until ready to serve.

Jalapeno Lime Chicken Nachos

Countdown to 2015: Mexican Monday

countdownto2015Happy New Year! The countdown to 2015 is officially over as 2014 has come to a close. For today’s countdown blogging party, hosted by Sarah at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, we get to pick our poison.

I have decided to take my favorite food day of the week – Mexican Monday – and give it its own Best of 2014 post!

In 2015 Mexican Monday is going to take a hit as I introduce Stir Fry Day Friday in an effort to increase our veggie input. Don’t worry though, there’s no way I can quit Mexican inspired dishes cold turkey. I have dreams of expanding my Mexican food repertoire to include dessert. And breakfast!

I hope our Mexican Monday theme has inspired you to convert the restrictive Taco Tuesday into the endless Mexican Monday. If not, maybe it’s a trend you can start with your family this year! And here are the top five Mexican recipes of 2014 to get you started!

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Blender Salsa

Turkey Chorizo Burgers

Spicy Taco Cheese Soup

Taco Popcorn

2014 Best Mexican Monday

Countdown to 2015: The Best

countdownto2015We’re polishing off the year with the five best recipes of 2014. This blogging countdown party is hosted by Sarah at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Scoot on over to her page to see more round-up recipes.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to participate in the countdown party today. Not because I didn’t want to but because I couldn’t figure out how to find which posts were the most successful. I don’t know how to delve into my stats in more detail and I don’t have the patience or time to figure it out. But then yesterday morning I woke up to an email from wordpress giving me my years stats!

2014 stats

Sew You Think You Can Cook was viewed 28,000 times in 2014. That’s probably not very much to the more sophisticated and experienced bloggers but I still consider myself new to the blogging scene and just knowing that there are a few people finding my blog is exciting! My most successful referrer comes from Pinterest; I set up a new Pinterest account dedicated solely to the blog – please follow it! Foodgawker also helps boost traffic to my site, unfortunately my food photography has been taking a huge hit and my acceptance on their site is suffering as a result. Winter, can you please go away? To those of you who follow me on Facebook, I give you a big thank you – keep clicking and keep sharing!

My busiest day of the year was May 8th. It wasn’t a recipe that had people reading my blog but the second post in my Thursday Thoughts series. In this post I documented my experience with preterm labor and hospitalization. I was overwhelmed with how many people stopped by to read about my life. I am so blessed and thankful that my little man waited to enter this world until he was full term (and 5 days late). He has brought so much joy and love into our lives.

Only two out of the top five most popular posts were actually from 2014 – it’s crazy to see how some 2013 recipes had staying power. (Healthy Chicken Tacos is holding steady at number 1.)

And now for the top five recipes of 2014, these are in ranking order:

Salted Honey Popcorn

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Candied Tomato Pizza

Cinnamon Raisin Energy Balls

Nutella Coffee Cake

2014 Best Recipes

Countdown to 2015: Dessert

countdownto2015I skipped yesterday’s countdown of snacks and appetizers because when I went to create that blog post I discovered that in 2014 that category was severely lacking. I did a series of popcorn recipes though so go check them out!

Looks like I’ll need to make some more snack food next year!

This blogging countdown party is hosted by Sarah at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Scoot on over to her page to see more round-up recipes.

Today’s countdown though is all about dessert. Desserts are definitely the highest grossing posts on Sew You Think You Can Cook. And having joined #BundtBakers this year I have plenty of recipes to choose from!

So how did I pick my favorites? I do not have a very big sweet tooth and when it comes to cravings I reach for salty snacks over chocolate. When I bake I tend to enjoy a slice the day I make it and I’m content. My husband is the one who polishes off the desserts over the week. And/or I send them with him to work or take them to friends. So, this list encompasses the desserts that I ate more than once.

Candy Cane Bundt Cake

Chocolate Kahlua Bundt Cake

Cinnamon Cheese Cake Ice Cream

Cinnamon Pavlova

Eggnog Cookies

Fresh Apple Cake

Olive Oil Cupcakes

Roll-out Sugar Cookies

S’more Brownies

 2014 Dessert Round-up

Countdown to 2015: Main Dishes

countdownto2015Day 3 of the countdown celebrates the Main Dish. For my blog this is what I blog about most. I’m guilty of forgetting about the side dish until the last minute, often forgetting to plan and grocery shop for the side dish. To pick the best recipes of 2014 I excluded Mexican Monday from my options (those will be documented on the 1st!) and then picked those dishes that I have made more than once, that I’ve had readers tell me they’ve made and loved, and recipes that we simply couldn’t stop eating.

I hope some of these favorites reach your table in 2015.

This blogging countdown party is hosted by Sarah at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Scoot on over to her page to see more round-up recipes.

Candied Tomato Pizza

Chicharrones de Pollo

Chicken and Potato Casserole

Crispy Buffalo Chicken

Fried Chicken Salad

Hummus Chicken

Pistachio Almond Chicken Parcels

Strawberry Balsamic Pizza

Vineyard Chicken

2014 Main Dish Round-up

Countdown to 2015: Slow Cooker

countdownto2015We’re continuing the countdown to 2015 with a round-up of my favorite slow cooker recipes from 2014.

I use the slow cooker fairly often and you can find 21 slow cooker recipes here (13 from 2014 alone). but here are my 4 favorites from the year!

I created my very own original recipe over the past two months, and it will be the very first Mexican Monday recipe shared of the new year – so be sure to stop on by January 5th!

This blogging countdown party is hosted by Sarah at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Scoot on over to her page to see more round-up recipes.

Award Winning Cool Chili

BBQ-Pineapple Pulled Pork

Pork and Potatoes

Spicy Taco Cheese Soup

2014 Slow Cooker Round-up

Countdown to 2015: Breakfast

countdownto2015Now that Christmas has come and gone it’s time to start the countdown to 2015.

Twenty-fifteen, people!

I was going to share an awesome recipe for oatmeal pancakes today but there’s been a change in scheduling and you’ll see them in January. Let’s just consider me planting a seed and you’ll just have to come back soon to see the fun recipe. I promise, they’re worth the wait.

Sarah, blogger at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes and owner of The Secret Recipe Club, proposed a countdown to 2015 event. I thought this was such a fun idea and now that I have a full calendar year under my blogging belt I can participate accurately.

Today I will be sharing a roundup of my favorite breakfast recipes of 2014!

Beet Biscuits

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Nalesniki (Rolled Pancakes)

Nutella Coffee Cake

Roasted Beet Eggs Benedict

Sweet Potato Waffles with Blueberry Syrup

2014 Breakfast Round-up

Candy Cane Snickerdoodles

Happy Christmas Eve!

Tonight’s the night to put out milk and cookies for Santa.

This year, let’s give Santa some variety and try something new.

The favorite snickerdoodle gets a holiday makeover with some crushed candy canes.

The recipe I present to you today celebrates the semi-homemade mentality for a perfect last minute party favorite. It uses premade sugar cookie dough. (Feel free to make your own sugar cookie dough from scratch, if you prefer.) I made these cookies as part of my donation to a cookie drive. When I told my mom about these cookies she simply added crushed candy canes to her favorite snickerdoodle recipe.

Candy Cane Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

  • 1 roll (16oz) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
  • 1/4 C flour
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 candy canes, crushed

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer break up the sugar cookie dough. Mix in the flour.
  3. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and candy canes.
  4. Gather cookie dough and roll into a log. Cut into 3 dozen cookies. Roll into balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-14 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for one minute before removing to a cooling rack.

*This recipe is adapted from Deborah at http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/peppermint-snickerdoodles/c23f7546-0ebe-4897-b678-9ab173c4b2d8*

CC Snickerdoodles 1 FG1 CC Snickerdoodles 2 FG1