A Fun Geography IQ Game

Sorry - I removed the game because it was taking up too much space - but I forgot to save the link....

Three Pepper Beef

This is the Chinese recipe that I made on Wednesday. It was super good! You could easily replace the beef with chicken, shrimp, pork or even tofu. It wasn't spicy and the sauce was so yummy it just soaked right into the rice. YUMM-O! I used just some cheap chuck steaks that I bought from the "reduced for quick sale" bin at Smith's. I think they were like $1.50 each and I used 2. The peppers & onion I bought at Eagle Eye Produce, in Layton - they have GREAT prices!! This was another meal that I prepped in the morning and then threw it together at dinner time. I served it with white rice. Have I told you much Mic likes peppers???

Three Pepper Beef

2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
1 teaspoon sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound steak, trimmed and thinly sliced across the grain

1/4 cup beef broth (or chicken broth)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 cups cubed red bell pepper
1 1/4 cups cubed yellow bell pepper
1 1/4 cups cubed green bell pepper

Combine 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, salt, and flank steak in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Set aside. Combine 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, broth, soy sauce, and black pepper, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves; set aside. Heat oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the green onions, ginger, and garlic; stir-fry 10 seconds. Add beef mixture; stir-fry 3 minutes or until done. Remove the beef mixture from pan; cover and keep warm. Add peas and bell peppers to pan; stir-fry 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add beef and broth mixture to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken
I will do it again for sure. One thing that I realized is that if you cook the chicken this way you can easily make the sauce many different ways. Here is my Sweet & Sour recipe. It sounds kind of hard but it really isn't. I prepped everything in the morning and then it took maybe about 1/2 to get everything cooked.

Coated Chicken (& marinade)

* 1 lb chicken (cubed)
* 1 tbs. soy sauce
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/2 tsp. sugar
* Cornstarch
* Oil

Combine the soy sauce, salt, sugar, and chicken. Let marinate at least 15 min. – up to all day. Dredge chicken in cornstarch (put it in a ziploc baggie and shake to coat chicken). Cook in hot oil until cooked through. Drain well and set aside.

Sauce Ingredients

* 1/4 c. vinegar
* 1 tbs. ketchup
* 1 clove garlic (I used the pre-chopped garlic in a jar to save time)
* 1/2 c. pineapple chunks – reserve the juice
* 1/2 c. green pepper
* 1/2 c. red pepper
* 1/2 c. celery
* 1/2 c. onion
* 1/4 c. sugar
* 1/4 c. water
* 1 tbs. soy sauce
* 4 tsp. cornstarch
* 1/4 c. water

Heat 1 tbs. oil in a large pan. Stir fry garlic (30 seconds), add veggies & stir fry for about a minute. Add sugar, water, pineapple juice and vinegar and bring to a boil.
Combine soy sauce, corn starch, and water. Add to boiling mixture. Stir until thick. Add pineapple and chicken until coated. Serve over a platter of rice.

Here is a sauce that you could make for Ginger Chicken, then just add whatever veggies you want. I think baby corn, water chestnuts or bamboo shoots would be good. You may also want to add a little cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

Ginger Chicken

* 2 tbs. Oil
* 1 tbs. chopped garlic
* 1 tsp. chopped ginger root or 1/2 tsp. dry ginger
* 1/3 c. soy sauce
* 1 tbs. sugar
* 3 tbs. chopped green onion
* 1 c. boiling water

This is the last week of my photography class

This Wednesday will be the last week of my photography class. These are the photos that I am taking in for my final night..... I think I did pretty good. I have learned a lot in this class.

Caleb


Niece -- Lilyun


Micayla

Look at this blog....

Check out the cool bags she bought to organize her bathroom!!

Here's a contest....

Help Thea celebrate her blogiversary....

Happy Tuesday

4 Days and counting.....since I had a coke. I really want one - but I feel pretty good. I woke up this morning with the headache from H#%& - which had caffeine written all over it. But I took some Tylenol and drank a lemonade and felt a little better. Hopefully soon the cravings will stop. Hottie is doing pretty good too - I don't think he has had one since Saturday.

Tonight I am making Sweet and Sour Chicken & Fried Rice for dinner. I love Chinese food. I need some good easy-ish recipes for Chinese Food - if anyone has some please send them my way. I have always said that I was born in the wrong country - I should either be from China or Mexico - since those are my favorite foods.

I think we are going to need a new washer. My parents had an old one they were going to give us - and then I forgot all about it until my sister called and asked if she could give it to her in-laws because their's totally broke. Well now that one is gone and mine is not spinning all the time..... ugh.....

Menu Plan Monday

This is the 2 week that I have done "Menu Plan Monday". The first week I followed it completely. So we will see how I do.

Monday - Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Steamed Carrots
Tuesday - Sweet and Sour Chicken & Rice
Wednesday - Tater-Tot Casserole - I am using this recipe but I am precooking the tater tots, putting them on the top and then some cheese. Also this recipe doesn't have meat in it so I am adding hamburger.
Thursday - Crock Pot BBQ Pork Ribs
Friday - Meatballs
Saturday - Chicken Spaghetti
Sunday - "Mustgo" - leftovers

It's Tuesday again.....

Well my hottie and I need to kick the Coke habit -- that's Coca-Cola. We both drink way too much. I know (I hope) that I will lose weight when I do it.... The question is how??? It seriously is an addiction thing. I don't think that I am addicted to the caffeine - it's the carbonation. Does ANYONE have any tips??? We have a few cans left in the fridge and I keep saying when it's gone - it's gone ---but ??? I don't know if I can do it.

Yeah back to photographing people...

This week my homework has been to photograph people. After 2 weeks of not taking photos of people - it is hard to get back in to the groove. Of course my kids won't sit still long enough to get GREAT photos - and if gets boring just taking phots inside the house. If C-Man would get over his cold we could go outside to take photos.