Cracked Sugar Cookies

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

I don’t know how it happened, but my little man will be ONE this week!

In introducing foods I was careful to avoid too much sugar and overly processed, salty foods. Those restrictions were laxed the closer he kept getting to one.

At 10 1/2 months I decided it might be a good idea to introduce him to sweets prior to the big day. The last thing we need is for the birthday boy to get sick from his cake. (If he even eats any of it!)

We started with pancakes (no syrup). A huge hit.

cracked sugar cookiesI then decided to make cookies! He really liked these cookies! In fact, after having a taste, I couldn’t go grab myself a cookie without him practically begging for a bite. And who can blame him? These cracked sugar cookies should come with a warning label – they are addicting!! They’re almost-thin, chewy cookies with a touch of salt that keeps you coming back for “just one more.”

This recipe makes 24-30 cookies.

Cracked Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 C vegetable shortening, at room temperature
  • 1 C sugar, plus more for rolling
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 C flour
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg and beat until combined. Mix in the vanilla extract, flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt until a stiff dough is formed.
  3. Roll dough into balls, about the size of a golf ball. Roll in sugar and place on a baking sheet.
  4. Bake 9-11 minutes, until just golden. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

*This recipe is adapted from Nicole at http://www.heatovento350.com/2013/09/cracked-sugar-cookies.html*

Cracked Sugar Cookies | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Japanese Curry

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

Can you go to the grocery store without a plan?

I can’t.

I have to have a list.

And to have a list I have to have a menu plan for the week.

Sometimes I can be too lazy to menu plan so I reach for the nearest cookbook or magazine. In this instance it was the January/February 2014 edition of Food Network Magazine. I looked at the photographic recipe index near the front of the magazine in search for a stir fry. I found Japanese Beef Curry.

IMG_5204It’s not really a fit for Stir Fry Day Friday though. The beef is thinly sliced and stir fried but the substance behind this dish is really the vegetable concoction – a side dish that reminded me so much of pot pie while it was simmering away that that’s exactly what I did with the leftovers the next night! I divided the leftovers into three ramekins (the smaller one was for the little man who loved the flavorful veggies), covered them with crescent roll dough, and baked them at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until the crust is cooked through and the filling bubbly.

I don’t have curry powder so I looked up the components that typically go in curry powder and adjusted the amounts (as I didn’t need 10 C worth). If you have curry powder, feel free to substitute 2 tbsp for all starred ingredients in the recipe.

This was the first time either of us have had a turnip so I wanted to make sure I could pick it out – I diced the turnip smaller than the potatoes so I could tell the difference. I’m not sure I could really tell you what a turnip tastes like because there’s so much flavor in the “soup”, but I loved the smell of it when preparing it – a fresh and earthy scent.

The recipe below is only for the side dish. If desired, serve alongside stir fried steak and rice or turn into pot pies for a flavorful twist on comfort food.

Japanese Curry

Ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp butter, divided use
  • 1 turnip, peeled and diced
  • 2 Yukon gold potatoes, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 tbsp corriander*
  • 1 tsp cumin*
  • 1/2 tsp tumeric*
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
  • 1/2 tsp pepper*
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger*
  • pinch red pepper flakes*
  • 1/4 tsp dried mustard*
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 2 C chicken broth
  • 1 C mixed frozen vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn, etc)
  • 1 tsp sugar

*If you have it, substitute 2 tbsp curry powder for asterisked ingredients

Steps:

  1. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add turnips, potatoes, and onion. Season with salt. Cook until softened and remove to a plate.
  2. In a small bowl combine asterisked ingredients.
  3. Melt remaining butter in the same dutch oven used in Step 1. Whisk in spice mixture (or curry powder, if using) and flour until a paste is created. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until smooth. Return the veggies from Step 1 to the pot and add in the frozen veggies and sugar.
  4. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 10 minutes. Uncover and cook another 5 minutes. Season to taste with S+P.

Japanese Curry | Sew You Think you Can Cook

A BBQ Potluck

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

This month a smaller than normal group got together for some barbecue food. Due to scheduling conflicts with the neighborhood clubhouse we had to meet on a Thursday instead of a Tuesday. It’s also travel season now that school’s out. But that didn’t stop us from having some fantastic food!

BBQ potluck

Here is a sampling of the recipes brought to the BBQ potluck:

I am really excited for our meeting in a couple of weeks when we’re having breakfast!!

    SRC: French Onion Dip

    ~ lk529 ~ 25 Comments

    newsrcbanner

    It’s Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! In the Secret Recipe Club, each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

    This month I was assigned the blog Palatable Pastime. Sue is the writer, photographer, and cook behind Palatable Pastime. She lives with her husband and cats in Cincinnati, not too far from where we’re currently located – I’ll definitely have to check out her restaurant reviews! I’ve actually been to a couple of these locations already! Small world.

    Sue’s recipe index actually changed formats during the few days I was perusing her site. She now has “galleries” that are links to her Pinterest boards. It’s actually really pretty clever – go check it out!

    I saved over ten contenders to make this month including Bang Bang Tacos, Chinese Chicken with Black Pepper Sauce, and German Sauerkraut Balls. I will be making her Blueberry Kumquat Infused Water for my husband, too, as he has a love for kumquats but we never know what to do with them.

    I ended up making French Onion Dip. It’s been on my “list” for a while and I had some potato chips in my pantry. I don’t ever have potato chips on hand, but last month when my mom was here we binge watched Once Upon a Time and enjoyed some chips and dip. I still had some dip in my fridge when she left so I had to buy another bag of chips. Then I ran out of dip. You could see how this could turn into a very dangerous unhealthy shopping cycle. Instead I decided I’d make my own dip – but it never happened. Thank you, Sue, for finally getting me to do it!

    I halved the recipe because my husband was out of town for work and I really didn’t need 4-6 servings of dip just for myself… because I would eat it all… I also had to substitute very finely diced scallions instead of wonderful chives because the two stores I stopped at didn’t have any! Hey, Ohio, who’s buying all the chives?!

    This dip was so simple and inexpensive to make, I’ll definitely be whipping up another batch as soon as I can get my hands on some chives!

    French Onion Dip

    Ingredients:

    • 1 tbsp butter
    • 1/2 red onion, finely diced
    • 1/2 C softened cream cheese
    • 1/2 C sour cream
    • 1/8 C mayonnaise
    • 1 tbsp onion powder
    • 1/2 tsp minced garlic (I used 1/2 tsp Gourmet Garden garlic paste)
    • dash of Worcestershire sauce
    • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
    • 1/4 tsp white pepper
    • 1 tbsp chopped chives

    Steps:

    1. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook onions until tender and slightly caramelized.
    2. In a bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, onion powder, garlic, Worcestershire, S+P with a hand mixer. Mix until smooth. (It’s important your ingredients be at room temperature for even mixing. You could also do this in a food processor if you preferred.)
    3. Fold in the onions from Step 1 and the chives, reserving some for garnish.
    4. Place dip in the fridge and serve chilled.

    *This recipe is adapted from Sue at http://palatablepastime.com/2014/07/08/french-onion-dip/*

    French Onion Dip | Sew You Think You Can Cook

    To see the other bloggers who participated in the Secret Recipe Club this month click here:

    CIC: Pineapple and Rosemary

    ~ lk529 ~ 14 Comments

    CIC-header

    I was so happy when the votes were in for this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge. It was a close battle but pineapple edged out zucchini.

    CIC ingredientsI know I already made a lemonade this year, but can you really have too many flavor options for summer’s perfect beverage!? I decided to make a simple syrup with the rosemary, puree some fresh pineapple, and add in freshly squeezed lemon juice.

    I actually didn’t make the simple syrup strong enough which is why you see 2-4 sprigs listed in my ingredients; I used 2 sprigs but would venture to say you could double that amount. To get more rosemary flavor in my lemonade I served fresh sprigs in the glasses, because if you smell the rosemary while you drink it you still get that flavor. I then threw in a few more sprigs in the pitcher in the fridge and after just a few hours the rosemary flavor was there.

    An Original Recipe

    Pineapple Rosemary Lemonade

    Ingredients:

    • 1/2 C sugar
    • 4 C water, divided use
    • 2-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
    • 2 – 2 1/2 C fresh cubed pineapple
    • 1 C fresh lemon juice (from 7-8 lemons)

    Steps:

    1. In a small saucepan over medium heat dissolve sugar in 1 C water with the fresh rosemary sprigs. Remove from heat once sugar is dissolved and let cool. Remove rosemary.
    2. Place pineapple in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the pineapple puree (this takes time). You should get 3/4 C pineapple juice (measure from the liquid line, not the foam line).
    3. Return pineapple juice to the blender along with the simple syrup, lemon juice, and 3 C water. Blend just to combine. Serve cold with additional rosemary sprigs for garnish.

    Pineapple Rosemary Lemonade | Sew You Think You Can Cook

    To see the other bloggers who participated in this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge click on the link below.

    Baked Onion Rings and Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce

    ~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

    Sunday is Father’s Day and if the dads in your life are anything like mine are and they buy themselves everything they want forget about the tie and make them dinner instead!

    Last Father’s Day we were wondering if our little man would be arriving on this special day – he didn’t. I decided to make a meal fit for a Father regardless – baby back ribs with Dr. Pepper barbecue sauce and oven baked onion rings. Yes, I have been sitting on this recipe for a year!

    Baked Onion Rings

    Ingredients:

    • 2 sweet onions, cut in slices
    • 1 qt buttermilk
    • 4 egg whites
    • 1 C panko
    • 3/4 C cornmeal
    • 2/3 C flour (whole wheat or AP)
    • 3/4 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp pepper
    • 1/2 tsp paprika

    Steps:

    1. Place onion rings in a casserole dish and cover with buttermilk. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
    2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
    3. In a shallow bowl beat egg whites. In another shallow bowl mix together panko, cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, and paprika.
    4. Shake buttermilk off the onions and coat in the egg whites then the breadcrumb mixture. Place on prepared baking sheets in a single layer. Spray onion rings with cooking spray.
    5. Bake 15 minutes. Flip onion rings and bake another 15 minutes, or until desired crispiness is achieved.

    *This recipe is adapted from Sally at http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/01/07/crispy-baked-onion-rings/*

    Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce

    Ingredients:

    • 4 tbsp butter
    • 1 sweet onion, diced
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 can (12 oz) Dr. Pepper
    • 1 C ketchup
    • 1/2 C dark brown sugar
    • 1/2 C apple cider vinegar
    • 1/3 C Worcestershire sauce
    • 3 tbsp tomato paste
    • 2 tsp chili powder
    • 1 tsp Kosher salt
    • 1/2 tsp pepper

    Steps:

    1. In a saucepan over medium-high heat melt butter. Saute onions until translucent. Add in garlic and cook another 60 seconds.
    2. Add Dr. Pepper, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire, tomato paste, chili powder, S+P. Whisk. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
    3. Allow sauce to cool slightly and puree with an immersion blender. Cool completely. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

    *This recipe is adapted from Danelle at http://www.letsdishrecipes.com/2014/05/dr-pepper-barbecue-sauce.html*

    ribs and rings

    What are you making for Father’s Day? I’m not sure yet what I want to do – please leave me some ideas!

    #BundtBakers: Lemons

    ~ lk529 ~ 30 Comments

    4ae7b-bundtbakerspostThis month #BundtBakers is celebrating the end of spring by baking bundts with lemons as the theme. I really love this theme as my biggest “issue” with dessert is that it can be too rich and heavy, but the use of lemons (and citrus) makes cake feel light and bright. Perfect for the upcoming summer season. A big thank you to Anne of From My Sweet Heart for hosting this month.

    I know I’ve said this before but this cake might be my favorite one. It’s so bright, light, and addicting! The tart lemon glaze I made in lieu of frosting gives it that “one more bite” quality. I decided on a glaze so as to not hide the beautiful design of my awesome star bundt pan! There is one person who wasn’t interested in my cake though – the 11 month old in my house. I thought it’d be a good idea to slowly introduce him to sugar so he doesn’t get sick on his birthday. I’ve given him a couple bites of cookie – which he loved – but this cake didn’t pique his interest at all! We offered it a couple of times and he simply turned his head and pushed the fork away. The kid doesn’t know what he’s missing!

    crossfit babyAs much as I would have loved to eat that entire cake by myself I thought it would be smarter to share the love. With people who earned the extra calories! The first Friday of every month my husband’s Crossfit gym invites family members to watch the workout and join in a potluck. We came home with just two pieces of cake left – and had we stayed a little bit longer my plate would’ve been just crumbs.

    Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Tart Lemon Glaze

    Ingredients:

    • 1/3 C room temperature vegetable shortening
    • 2/3 C vegetable oil
    • 2 tsp lemon extract
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 3 eggs
    • zest of 1 lemon
    • 1 1/4 C flour
    • 1 1/2 C cake flour
    • 1 1/2 C sugar
    • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 1/2 C buttermilk
    • juice of 1 lemon
    • 3/4 C powdered sugar (you could increase this amount depending on juiciness of lemon and desired tartness of glaze)

    Steps:

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heavily grease bundt pan.
    2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together shortening, oil, and both extracts. Add in eggs, one at at time. Mix in the lemon zest.
    3. In a large bowl sift together both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
    4. Switch stand mixer attachment from the whisk to the paddle. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the stand mixer and mix until combined. Add half of the buttermilk and mix until combined. Repeat with another third of the dry ingredients, the rest of the buttermilk, and finishing with the last of the dry ingredients.
    5. Pour batter into greased bundt pan. Bake 50 – 55 minute, until a cake tester comes out cleanly. Allow cake to cool in the pan.
    6. Make the glaze: Whisk together lemon juice and powdered sugar. Pour over cake before serving.

    *The cake recipe is adapted from Barry at http://www.rockrecipes.com/lemon-velvet-cake/*

    Lemon Buttermilk Bundt with Tart Lemon Glaze for #BundtBakers from Sew You Think You Can Cook

    And don’t forget to take a peek at what other talented bakers have baked this month:

    Bee’s Knees Lemon Honey Bundt from Food Lust People Love

    Blueberry-Lemon Breakfast Bundt from Cali’s Cuisine

    Bundt Cake de Limón from La Mejor Manera de Hacer

    Eggless Lemon Bundt Cake from Seduce Your Tastebuds

    Extra Lemon Bundt Cake from Los Chatos Chefs

    Lavender Lemon Cake from Magnolia Days

    Lemon & Lime Cheese Bundt Cake from Un Mordisco Un Pecado

    Lemon Apple Upside Down Bundt Cake from Simply Veggies

    Lemon Basil Bundt Cake from Tartacadabra

    Lemon Bundt Cake from Recipes, Food and Cooking

    Lemon Confetti Bundt Cake from Our Good Life

    Lemon Curd Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze from I Love Bundt Cakes

    Lemon Honey Bundt Cake from Brunch with Joy

    Lemon Marble Bundt Cake from Jenny and Sweets

    Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake from Liv for Cake

    Lemon Poppy Seeds Bundt Cake from La Cocina de Aisha

    Lemon Poppyseed Bundt from A Day in the Life on the Farm

    Lemon Rhubarb Bundt Cake from From Gate to Plate

    Lemon Ricotta and Poppyseed Bundt Cake from Spice Roots

    Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake from Love and Confections

    Lemon-Cranberry Poppyseed Bundt Cake from Take A Bite Out of Boca

    Mini Limoncello Bundts from Living the Gourmet

    Pink Lemon Pound Cake from Making Miracles

    Pink Lemonade Bundt from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner

    Rhubarb Pound Cake Bundt with Lemon Glaze from Brooklyn Homemaker

    Soft Lemon Rosemary Bread from Passion Kneaded

    Spring Strawberry Lemon Bundt Cake from Adventures in All Things Food

    Strawberry Lemonade Bundt Cake from Baking and Creating with Avril

    Sweet Lemon Bundt with Blackberry Glaze from From My Sweet Heart

    All recipes and photographs can be found on our individual blogs, on our Pinterest board, and the #bundtbakers homepage.

    The D.C. Zoo + Honey Aebleskiver

    ~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

    Yesterday I mentioned that over Memorial Day weekend we took a road trip to D.C. to visit Tara (of Tara’s Multicultural Table) and her family. We’ve known this wonderful family for almost 10 years! Tara’s husband went to Auburn with my husband and me. It wasn’t until we were both stationed in the FL panhandle together that we became close friends. This year will be the first 4th of July since 2010 when we won’t be together, so we had to fast forward that weekend to Memorial Weekend instead!

    family photos

    On Saturday we headed into the city to check out the zoo. Did you know that there are a LOT of people in D.C.?!

    It was a beautiful, warm day and a lot of the animals were finding shelter away from prying eyes. The first half of the day was spent trying not to run over toes with the strollers and seeing empty habitats. But then all the frustration was forgotten when the tiger was highly active, running around his habitat and jumping in the water. We really felt sorry for him – as the only active animal at the zoo he received a lot of attention from “roaring” and yelling children. His tail was twitching and his gaze kept moving up towards the source of the noise. We were able to get some incredible pictures though and the little man woke up in time to see the tiger. I got the moment I was hoping to have watching him notice the tiger and like it! (War Eagle!)

    tigerOn Sunday after a trip to the farmer’s market (documented yesterday) I got to do what I’ve missed most – cooking with a friend. I’ve been watching Evan help Tara in the kitchen via text messages and blog posts and it was so sweet to see him in action. He helped us whisk the eggs, pour the vanilla, and manned the stand mixer. All while my little man was being entertained by alphabetic fridge magnets.

    cooking

    During #BrunchWeek one of my fellow bloggers posted a recipe for Nutella Aebleskiver. I immediately shared the recipe with Tara because (a) she loves Nutella anything and (b) I thought she had one of those fancy aebleskiver pans. She didn’t… at the time. Within half an hour she’d ordered one, saying it’d been on her Amazon wish list for quite some time. Happy Mother’s Day to her!

    aebleskiver pan

    We made two different flavors, the suggested Nutella and honey. We decided that I’d photograph and blog the honey and she the Nutella. That was another fun moment for me, getting to use her photography set up! Their house doesn’t let in much light and the window that lets in the most light is upstairs. Right by the window she has a table set up and has made a few different painted boards. She has a butcher’s rack complete with different napkins, placemats, and other specialty cookware. Evan even has his own space out of the way where he can color while Tara takes her wonderful food photography. Tara has much more patience and dedication than I when it comes to photography (I just step outside, weather permitting, and snap up to 5 photos).

    honey aebleskiver | sew you think you can cook

    For the Aebleskiver recipe, please check out Tara’s post from yesterday.

    BBQWe had such a great time going to visit Tara and her family, and getting to meet our Goddaughter, Claire! We’d been needed to get away and a road trip was just what we needed. The drive to Virginia was beautiful, lots of hills, mountains, and greenery. On the way back, in the middle-of-nowhere WV, we stopped for BBQ on the side of the road. It was so good, and it was the little man’s first BBQ – he absolutely loved it and ate about a quarter of my pulled pork.

    girls and boys

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

    Brussels Sprout Salad with Caramelized Onions

    ~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

    Over Memorial Weekend we went to D.C. to go visit Tara (of Tara’s Multicultural Table) and her family. There will be more on that trip tomorrow, so stay tuned! On Sunday, we went to a Farmer’s Market. We were so happy to have decided to drive so we could actually buy produce to take home with us the next day!

    Dale City Farmer's Market

    We took home two cartons of big, beautiful Brussels sprouts, a bunch of red beets, cinnamon peanut butter from Sprelly, sweet potato pasta from Gypsy Hill, and some local honey.

    I’ve used the peanut butter in a popcorn recipe that you’ll see in July. I’ve used one beet to make some sweet potato beet baby food and another for a beet potato salad, I’m not sure yet when I’ll share that latter recipe with you. The honey is about to be opened (I just emptied what we had already) and I’m still deciding what to do to highlight the fresh pasta. The Brussels sprouts are showcased in today’s recipe.

    I had planned on making this Brussels sprout salad a few days after we got back from our trip but a night of feeling ill postponed the dinner plans for when our family was here for the little man’s baptism. With 5 extra people who also enjoy Brussels sprouts I had to expand my supply with a bag from the grocery store. Separating the leaves of the sprouts to create the “lettuce” for the salad is tedious work, the large Brussels sprouts from the Farmer’s Market were very much appreciated! As was the help I recruited from the moms.

    This salad does take some time to make, but it can easily be done in stages. And it is absolutely worth it! We’ve never had Brussels sprouts raw before and tossed in a salad with warm caramelized onions and tart dried cherries is a fresh way to enjoy this vegetable in the spring and summer.

    This salad makes 8 servings. I paired it with grilled pork chops and mashed potatoes.

    Brussels Sprouts Salad with Caramelized Onions

    Ingredients:

    • 4 tbsp butter
    • 2/3 C plus 4 tbsp olive oil, divided use
    • 4 Vidalia onions, sliced
    • 4 tsp brown sugar, divided use
    • 2 lb Brussels sprouts, leaves removed
    • 2 tbsp dried cherries (or more, to taste)
    • 1/2 C apple cider vinegar
    • 2 tsp agave
    • 4 tsp Dijon mustard

    Steps:

    1. In a large skillet over medium heat melt butter and 4 tbsp olive oil. Add sliced onions and caramelize for 1 hr. In last few minutes stir in 2 tsp brown sugar and a little bit of salt. (You could also do this in the slow cooker.) Set aside.
    2. Make dressing: Whisk together vinegar, 2 tsp brown sugar, agave, mustard, and 2/3 C olive oil. Season to taste with S+P.
    3. Place Brussels sprout leaves in a microwave safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave about 1 minute. Note: This will not cook the sprouts but will warm them slightly. 
    4. Toss warmed Brussels sprouts with dried cherries, caramelized onions, and dressing.

    *This recipe is modified from Susan at http://thewimpyvegetarian.com/2014/11/warm-brussels-sprouts-salad-with-caramelized-onions/*

    Brussels Sprout Salad | Sew You Think You Can Cook

    Mongolian Beef

    ~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

    There used to be the best Chinese take-out place back home called Beijing but they closed up shop within the last five years and my parents haven’t been able to find anything as good.

    And neither have I. I would always order the Mongolian Beef. And when Beijing wasn’t available to me after I left home I haven’t been able to find a Mongolian Beef recipe even close – in fact, I’ve not even enjoyed it when I’ve tried other restaurants’ versions! As a result my Chinese take-out order has changed to either Sesame Chicken or Orange Chicken.

    I’ve been saving Mongolian Beef recipes on foodgawker for quite some time and with our Stir-Fry-Day Friday menu plan (which hasn’t been as successful as Mexican Monday I hate to admit) I knew it was time to give it a shot.

    The Mongolian Beef from Beijing had broccoli in it so I added some broccoli. But I didn’t stop there. I had a little bit of sliced red bell pepper in the fridge and some green beans so I added those in too. Hey, the point of Stir-Fry-Day Friday was to add more veggies into our life!

    Another advantage, or so I thought, of doing Stir-Fry-Day Friday was to have veggies and meat that the little man could eat. But I was wary of giving him soy sauce because of the high sodium content, even though we use low-sodium. Soy is also a high allergen, although not one in our family tree.

    IMG_3350I finally let him try the Mongolian Beef and he loved it! He wouldn’t eat the bell pepper (which is funny because that was one of the first foods he ate) and the green beans were still pretty crunchy because I like the texture. He loved the beef and even surprised us by grabbing some broccoli on his own.

    Mongolian Beef

    Ingredients:

    • 1/2 C soy sauce
    • 1/2 C brown sugar
    • 3 garlic cloves, minced (I used 3 tsp Gourmet Garden garlic paste)
    • 2 tsp fresh grated ginger (I used 1 tsp Gourmet Garden lightly dried ginger)
    • 1/2 C plus 2 tsp vegetable oil, divided use
    • 1 lb flank steak, cut into strips across the grain
    • 1/4 C cornstarch
    • optional veggies: frozen broccoli, red bell pepper, fresh green beans

    Steps:

    1. In a small saucepan heat soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, 2 tsp vegetable oil, and 1/2 C water for 5-10 minutes or until thickened.
    2. In a large bowl, toss steak in cornstarch.
    3. In a large skillet or wok heat 1/2 C vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add beef and stir fry until browned and cooked through, 2 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and discard the oil.
    4. If using, saute veggies in the same skillet. Return the beef to the pan along with the sauce from Step 1. Cook until sauce is thickened and coats the beef and veggies. Serve with white rice.

    *This recipe is adapted from Chungah at http://damndelicious.net/2013/10/05/pf-changs-mongolian-beef-copycat-recipe/*

    Mongolian Beef | Sew You Think You Can Cook

    Disclaimer: I received Gourmet Garden product for participating in #HotSummerEats. I have received no additional compensation for this post and the opinions expressed here are my own and the recipe shared in the review of this product was not sponsored.