Chinese Beef with Broccoli

Found this recipe for Beef with Broccoli on the Food Network.   It's really simple to make and it tastes great.  I used the scrap meat from a beef tenderloin that I had cleaned.  The meat is extremely tender and quite yummy.  I also marinated the meat overnight, which really allowed the meat to absorb the flavor of the marinade and made it even more tender.  It literally melted in your mouth.  I opted out of using tomatoes because my hubby doesn't like them.  But I don't think that it took away from the dish.  I served it over Basmati Brown Rice.  Give it a try, it's definitely Good Eats!!

Healthy Chicken Fried Rice

I follow Chef Marcus Samuelsson on Twitter and he tweeted this recipe for a healthy chicken fried rice.  The end product is really really good, but I think the stir fry times are off and unless you have a really really large wok or skillet it's difficult to stir fry it all together.
Next time I will stir fry the peppers and snow peas for 5 minutes, remove from them from the wok, follow with chicken, cabbage and peas, for an addtional 3-5 minutes, remove from wok and then I will stir fry the rice alone for a minute or so then I will add everything back into the wok along with final ingredients and finish it off that way.
I would also recommend using chicken thighs instead of chicken breast because it will retain it's moisture and will add more flavor.  Also, not sure what the author meant by long green peppers, so I used a poblano and several jalapenos, and for the extra fine green beans I used snow peas that I julienned. This recipe is definitely a much healthier version of many of the fried rice recipes that I've tried and it really tastes delicious.  Definitely Good Eats.

Ginger Garlic Chicken & Noodles

This dish has a lot of potential, and it could've been really awesome had I done a few things differently.  So this is how you should do it... take 3 boneless skinless chicken breast and cut them into small bite size pieces and coat them lightly in a mixture of cornstarch and Kosher Salt.  Heat about 1/4 C canola oil over high heat in a large skillet.  Add your chicken to the hot oil and brown.  While chicken is cooking get your noodles going.  I used linguini.  Be sure to add salt to your boiling water.  Cook noodles according to directions.  Remove the chicken from the pan and add your garlic and ginger and saute over med heat until the oil infuses the garlic and ginger (about 3-5 minutes), add your chicken back into the skillet and add 3/4  C  chicken stock and let the dish simmer for about 10 minutes.  Drain cooked noodles and reserves about 1/2 C of the pasta water.  Take 10 leaves of fresh basil and tear by hand and added to noodles and add about 3 tbs of thai garlic chili oil to the pasta and fold it in.  Add a little of the pasta water, just to keep the noodles loose.  Serve the noodles in a bowl with the chicken over top and drizzle about 1 tsp of soy sauce over top.  That's it.  FYI- be sure to get your skillet very hot before you add the chicken otherwise the chicken will get a slimy coating on it from the corn starch.  This slimey coating will overtake the dish and that's not Good Eats.

Spicy Thai Noodles with Ginger Peanut Dressing

This dish is also from the Food Network, from the Next Food Network Star Show.  The chef is Dzintra Dzenis and although she didn't win the title of Next Food Network Star, she did have some good recipes, this one being one of them.  As usual I modified the recipe to fit what I had to work with.  I used 1 lb of chicken tenders that I marinated overnite, but I didn't have thai chiles, so wherever you see them in the recipe I substituted jalapenos. I also grilled the chicken tenders on med-low heat for about 8-10 minutes total, turning often.  I didn't skewer the cooked chicken with the orange either, but I bet that would have been a nice combination.

The dressing was a bit thick, so I added about 1/2 C of chicken stock to loosen it up.  It really was peanut-ee, so next time for my liking I will use less peanut butter or substitute Tahini (sesame paste).  I also added chopped roasted peanuts atop the noodles along with the cilantro, peppers and scallions. One ingredient that I LOVE in this recipe is the chili oil.   You need to get it, it tastes so good and has that burst of heat that I love.  I can see me adding the chili oil to just about everything.  It would be great mixed with garlic over pasta.  I have some leftover linguini from the dish tonight, so that could be my lunch tomorrow.

Anyway, this dish was yummy and I will make it again.  Try it and let me know what you think.  Good Eats!!

Chang's Spicy Chicken w/ Broccoli & Brown Rice

I went to PF Chang's recently for our 9 yr wedding anniversary and I tried the Chang's Chicken. It's similar to General Tso's Chicken, but lighter. The crust is very light, more like it's been seared quickly in hot oil. Anyway, I liked it, so I googled "Chang's Chicken and I found this recipe on Epicurious. This recipe could use some modifications.  Next time I will will only add1 tbs chili sauce, 3/4 C pineapple juice, less sugar and less vinegar. I doubled the recipe and it was pretty intense. The chili sauce and vinegar were a bit much and it was little sweeter than what I had at the restaurant. We served it over brown rice, like in the restaurant, but we added steamed broccoli to it as well.  I will make this dish again, but will modify for my taste. Try it and let me know what you think.

Dirty P's Garlic-Ginger Chicken Thighs & Sesame Noodles

Tonight I made 2 dishes from the Food Network.  The chicken thighs are a Guy Fieri recipe, which is very easy.   The thighs grilled up with a crispy outside and were very moist and juicy inside.  The flavor had a nice mellow, slightly sweet and salty taste.  Really yummy and very easy, the hardest part is that you need to marinate them, and I chose to marinate them overnight.   I recommend this recipe and I will definitely make it again.  Since the thighs had an asian flair, I decided to serve them with a Rachael Ray Sesame Noodle Recipe.  I chose to use linguini pasta and I doubled the recipe, since it calls for 1 serving.  I really like this dish.  It was SOoooo easy and really yummy.  It too had a mellow flavor, not over the top peanut buttery or sesami-ish.  I will definitely make this one again, it really only takes about 8 minutes to make it.  I would suggest that you try them both together or alone.  BTW, hubby is recovering well from the fall,  he has a broken rib and he's very sore and bruised, but TG he will be OK.  Anyway, give these dishes a try they are Very Good Eats!

Thai Pork and Noodles

This dish is awesome, easy to make and fairly quick, about 40 minutes.  Thai Pork and Noodles from the Food Network Kitchen. At first when I tasted it, it kind of took me by surprise. I wasn't familiar with the combination of flavors.  After each bite it got better and better and the heat was a creeper.  By the time I finished,  I was sweating and I went thru several towels for my runny nose.  If you like heat and intense flavor I would definitely suggest that you give it a try.  Oh, instead of using thin pork chops I used  a 1.5 lb pork tenderloin that I had brined over night and sliced it into thin strips that I stir fried to medium well. Good Eats!!

Beef Stir Fry

I went to Jungle Jim's over the weekend and picked up some really great veggies and really nice sized beef tenderloin.  If you've never been there you should definitely go, but be prepared to spend at least 1/2 day and lots of money when you go.  Like I said I picked up this 7 lb beef tenderloin that had to be prepared by cutting off the fat, silver skin and just misc stuff.  I watched a video on you tube to learn how to prepare it.  Anyway, after cleaning up the tenderloin, I saved the leftover pieces for my beef stir fry.  Yes, we used about 1.5 lbs of beef tenderloin in our stir fry tonight.  Mmm!!!  First thing I did when I got  home was to place the meat in the freezer for about 15 minutes (makes it easier to cut  into thin strips).  I got my medium grained rice going (I usually use basmati, but I found that the medium grain rice cooks up really starchy and really absorbs the juices of the stir fry).  I've done many stir fry's sauces, but tonight I decided to go online and try this Basic Stir Fry Sauce.  I doubled the batch and also added to it 1 1tsp of honey and 1/8 C more of the chicken broth.  The sauce becomes very thick, so you'll probably need to add some extra water or broth.  For my stir fry I used green beans, sugar snaps, onions, mushrooms, red pepper, jalapenos, celery, carrots, and broccoli.  I stir fried the veggies in 1tbs of canola oil for about 5 minutes, removed from the wok and added my beef and stir fried it for until almost cooked thru.  I drained off the juices and added the veggies back into the wok with the beef, stirred it and stirred in about 3/4 of the stir fry sauce.  I continued to stir fry for about 5 minutes, removed from the heat and served it over the rice in these really cute little bowls that were made by a local potter that we got in Yellow Springs, OH.  I love how the chop sticks rest on the bowls.  BTW, don't forget to season your beef with S&P before you stir fry.  I forgot to season it and the flavor was rather bland.  Overall, it was good, but it would've been even better if I had seasoned the beef.  Bon Appetit

Moo Goo Gai Pan

I like this dish because the flavors are simple and it falls in the line of a comfort food "chinese style". The sauce is thick and yummy and compliment the chicken and mushrooms so well.  You will need: 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into thin strips that you marinade in: 2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs dry sherry, a few drops of sesame oil and 1 tbs cornstarch. Be sure to mix the ingredients for the marinade in order and add your chicken, set aside for about 15 minutes.

 Meanwhile, for your veggies you will need 8 oz pkg button mushrooms sliced, 1 small can of bamboo shoots and sliced water chestnuts rinsed and drained, 1 small head of bok choy using only the green part thinly sliced, 1 tbs minced ginger, 1 garlic clove minced.

For the sauce you will need: 3/4 C chicken stock, 2 tbs oyster sauce ( found in the Asian section of your market), 1 tsp sugar, 1 tbs cornstarch- mix together & set aside.

You will also need 3 tbs of canola oil for the stir fry.

 Heat large skillet or wok over medium heat  and add 2 tablespoons oil. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it changes color and is nearly cooked through. Remove and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon oil back to skillet or wok and add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry briefly. Add the mushrooms and bok choy and stir-fry for about 5-7 minutes until mushrooms are cooked through, then add bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts. Stir-fry briefly. Give the sauce a quick restir, then make a well in the middle of the skillet or wok and add sauce. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened.
Return chicken to wok. Mix together and serve hot over rice. Bon Appetit!