Stir Fry

For dinner tonight I made stir fry and it came out great.

Stir fry beef strips (cooked and cut)

Frozen Japanese Stir Fry Vegetables

W sauce

Soy sauce

onion powder

ginger

nutmeg

black pepper

minced garlic (optional)

rice (optional)

EVOO

I baked the beef strips in the oven at 350 degrees. Once they were done I let them rest for 10 min and then cut them into bite size pieces. Then, I added some EVOO to my favorite cooking pan and heated it up. Next, add the frozen veggies and let them cook up about a min. Add the cut up beef strips. I then added black pepper, 2 shakes of light soy sauce, w sauce, some onion powder, ginger, and a little bit of nutmeg. You could probably add some minced garlic if you wanted. You could also add some rice. I was going to add rice but forgot. haha

Let cook for about 10 to 15 min till everything is hot and tender. Then serve hot. :)

Nate and I enjoyed this. Would def make again. :)

Memories....

My little sister Ashley, organized a yard sale this weekend at my parents house. It was a huge yard sale. Tons and tons of things. Seeing some of the things brought back memories.

The best memory.....my childhood bicycle. :)

Yep....with a banana seat. :)

Purple with teddy bears. :)

I had to take some pictures of it. :)

Homemade Chinese Orange Chicken

Bonnie's Homemade Chinese Orange Chicken

Baked Chicken breasts cut up into bite size pieces.

Minced Garlic

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Parsley

Black Pepper

Onion Powder

Iron Chef Orange Sauce Glaze with Ginger (or your favorite orange sauce)

Water

Orange Juice

Rice

I baked the chicken breasts. Once they were done I let them rest for about 10 min and then cut them into bite size pieces. I added some EVOO and some minced garlic to the sauce pan and turned the burner on to get the pan heated. Then I added the chicken, parsley, black pepper and some onion powder. Mix and then add your sauce. To tone down the spice a little, I added some water and then some orange juice. I put on the lid and then let simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes on medium heat. I guess if you wanted it to be more authentic you could add some green onions or even some cashews.

Once the chicken was done I cooked the rice (90 seconds packs are the best). I made whole grain brown and wild. It perfectly complimented the orange chicken. Best flavors together! Nate was pleased! Another kitchen dinner masterpiece. :D

Hummingbirds

We went to my in-laws on Sunday to celebrate Dan's (Nate's brother) birthday. Nate's mom, Linda showed me her pond that she's been busy building. It looks pretty neat and you can tell Linda has put a lot of time and dedication into it. :)

Linda and I sat on the back deck and watched the hummingbirds feed on the feeders......

How cute? They are so quick. I got a few pictures but I'll share the best ones with you.

Can you see the little hummingbird flying up to the feeder? :)

And here she's hiding in the flower bush before she flies up to the feeder. It was cool to watch. There were about 6 or so flying around feeding. I need to get out to Dan's & Candice's house tho b/c they have like 20 hummingbirds. It's like a hummingbird farm. haha :)

New Things Monday

I just love cherries! I have a new snack favorite......Wegmans frozen dark sweet cherries. They are sooooooooooooooo good. I've been grabbing a handful (actually 2 or 3 handfuls...LOL) and putting them in a ziploc bag before I leave for work. At work I'll eat them as a snack once they've defrosted a bit. They are sooooo good. I love them! :)

Pies.....pies that make me smile class!

Yesterday, my girls (Kristen, Sharon, Crystal and Melissa) and I we went to Miller Farms for a class titled "Pies...pies that make me smile"! :)

Once class got under way we got a plate of Mexican Quiche, some fresh fruit, some cheeses and also some fruit and fresh mint flavored water. (cleanses your palette so you can taste the foods)

While we ate, Jo (our teacher and owner of Miller Farms) started showing us how to make pies!!

She started by making a quiche. Here it's ready to go in the oven.

Jo also showed us how to make a simple and perfect pie crust. With her recipe you can get 5 pie shells that can be frozen up to 3 months.

Here are 3 shells wrapped with saran wrap. I def want to try this.

Jo made 'Lemon Ice Box Pie' and here she is pouring the lemon mixture into the pie plate.

Finished Lemon Ice Box pie. :)

Finished Blueberry pie. :)

My lemon ice box pie sample. Soooo soooo good. :) My Grandpa Runyon would have loved this. He loved Lemon pie and this def would have put a smile on his face.

My blueberry pie slice sampling. MMMMM.....This was the best blueberry pie I've ever had in my life. And the little scoop of Trickling Springs Vanilla ice cream was just the perfect compliment.

Love the little blueberry on the end of the fork.

After our class we walked around the market....

Lots of farm fresh tomatoes for sale. There were also boxes of tomateos for $10 that are perfect for canning.

Some farm fresh corn. MMMMM :) Love the picture! :D

Cute sign above the freezer.

Lots of farm fresh fruits and veggies. Blueberries, blackberries, squash, zucchini, egg plants, radishes and peppers. MMMMMM

Cute sign! :)

They sell fresh farm eggs at the farm.

And of course farm fresh milk and yogurts.

Spices etc.
Jo crochets scrubbies and sells them in the market. They are great for scrubbing dishes and my friend Melissa likes to use hers in the shower. They are awesome! Jo makes a ton of them and they are huge sellers. I currently have a purple one. :)

Cute little potting shed that's been painted and decorated. :)

So.................after the class we hung out at Sharon and Joe's pool. It was sooooo hot outside but the pool felt good. Sharon and Joe treated us to Papa John's Pizza. After we were done eating we kept hearing thunder so we headed back to Sharon and Joe's and hung out. The girls decided to make a pie so we went to Target to get the ingredients we needed.

We made the 'Lemon Ice Box pie'. :)

All done and cooling on the counter.

mmmmmmm

Jo's Grandmother's Lemon Ice Box Pie

Butter a 9'' pie plate and set aside.

For the crust:

2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (nilla wafers....all but 30 cookies from box)

Put cookies in a large ziploc bag and crush the cookies with a rolling pin. Add 1/3 cup melted butter and mix until combined. Press into the pie plate. Bake @ 350 degrees for 5 min. Cool completely.

For the filling:

3 large egg yolks- whisk

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Zest of 3 lemons

1/4 tsp lemon extract

pinch of salt

*Be sure toe mix in the order listed until well blended. The eggs will be 'cooked' by the lemon juice and zest.

For the Meringue:

4 egg whites- beat until frothy

gradually add.....

3 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp baking powder

Beat until stiff and glossy. Spread Meringue pie sealing edges.

Baking the pie:

Once Meringue has been spread onto pie, bake @ 350 degrees for 15 min. (light browned)

Watch carefully since ovens vary. Cool on kitchen table for 30 min then store in fridge.

(I will list other recipes from the classes when I make them and blog) :)

Photo of the week

I love lady bugs and I love daises and this picture was def taken at the perfect time. :) I saw it on pinterest but I can't find where it originated. But it's an awesome shot. Congrats to whoever took it. :)

Spaghetti Bake

Make your spaghetti meat sauce (ground turkey, W sauce, Italian seasoning and black pepper) and boil some spaghetti noodles. Once the noodles are done and drained add them to a greased pie dish.

Then sprinkle some Mozz cheese on top....

Then add your spaghetti meat sauce. Be sure the sauce covers all the noodles so they don't dry out.

Sprinkle more Mozz cheese....

Put in the oven at 350 degrees....

Until cheese is melted....took about 25 min.

Then cut into it. :)

MMMMMMMMMMM :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

When you don't feel like making cookies make a cookie bar. :)

Mix up your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet and let bake on 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 min or until done.

Let cool for 10 min and then cut into squares. Store in an air tight container with a slice of bread. MMMMM :)

Chicken Tacos

I made chicken tacos a few months back and they were such a huge hit that I've made them several times since then. Kristen asked me to blog b/c I hadn't done so. I figured I would share with you today. :)

I baked the chicken and then cut it up. I used a knife to cut today but sometimes I use my pampered chef salad chopper and it kinda shreds the chicken instead of cubes it, but no matter how your chicken is cut up, it will still taste the same.


Add cut chicken to skillet. Add water, pepper and taco seasoning. I used 2 taco seasoning packets (40% less sodium).


Cover and let chicken simmer in the seasoning. While chicken is soaking up the goodness you can go ahead and warm up your shells. I like hard shells but my Nate likes soft so I always make both. I put them in the oven for a few min.

I also made Spanish Rice (90 second pack) and I also warmed up a can of fat free refried beans on the stove.

I brought out the toppings. Fresh Pico de gallo and Shredded Mexican cheese blend. :)


Then I plated my food and ate. :) MMMM MMMM MMMM....Quick, easy and sooooo good. :)