Mongolian Beef

Approximate time: 35 minutes
Servings: 2 (I doubled the recipe and it fed 5)

• Ingredients
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp minced ginger
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 lb flank steak
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 large green onions

Directions

Make the sauce by heating 2 tsp of oil in medium saucepan over med/low heat. Don't get the oil too hot or you'll get spatter hwen adding the other liquids. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from heat.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4 inch thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch and apply a thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.

As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (or skillet). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and saute for 2 minutes or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges.

You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef will go back on the heat later. Stir the meat around a little so it cooks evenly. After a couple of minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and place it on paper towels. Then pour the oil out of the wok.

Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions. cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate.

Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan.

* This tastes just like PF Chang's Mongolian Beef, it is so good and not really hard at all. I sliced the pieces to thick, I think they need to be fairly thin, just like you would find at PF Chang's. Also, we over cooked these a tad, so make sure to not over cook them. Well worth making for those of you who are Chinese food lovers like I am.

Santa Fe Tortilla Soup

Approximate Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

Vegetable or corn oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tbsp-2 turns of the pot in a slow stream
3 ears corn on the cob or 2 ears fresh-frozen cobs, defrosted
1 red bell pepper, split and seeded
1 lb. chicken breasts tenders
1 tsp poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
1 tsp cumin, 1/3 palm full
salt and pepper
1 small to medium zucchini, small dice
1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 28 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
3 c chicken stock
4 c blue corn tortilla chips, broken up into large pieces
1 c shredded cheddar or pepper Jack cheese
1/2 c sour cream
Optional Garnishes:
1/4 red raw onion, chopped
2 to 3 tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley leaves
1 ripe avocado, diced and dressed with the juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions

Heat a grill pan to high and a soup pot to medium-high. Drizzle oil on corn and place on grill pan. Add red pepper to grill with corn. Char vegetables 10 minutes, total, turning occasionally. Remove to cool, 5 minutes. Remove charred skin from the pepper.

While vegetables cook, dice chicken. Add 2 tablespoons oil to hot soup pot. Add chicken to pot. Season with poultry seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Lightly brown the chicken. Add zucchini, onions, garlic and chipotle peppers. Cook vegetables with chicken 5 to 7 minutes to soften. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock. Bring soup to a bubble, reduce heat to medium low.

Scrape corn off cob and add to soup. Chop grilled red pepper and stir into soup. Add chips to soup in handfuls and fold in. Serve soup immediately with scatter of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Top with any or all of the suggested garnishes.

* I actually changed this soup quite a bit, that is the nice thing about soup, you can adapt it to what you have in your cupboards. I had some leftover rottisserie chicken and corn on the cob that I used and I didn't have a red pepper or zucchini, so I added a can of black beans and some extra corn instead. I was very pleased with how it turned out and it was delicious with sour cream, cilantro, and avocado all on top as the garnish. I surprisingly had the chipotle peppers in my fridge from making the pressure cooker chili reccently.

Raspberry Tartlets

Approximate Time: 5 hours (with 4 hours refrigeration time)
Servings: 24 tartlets

Ingredients
2/3 C butter
5 egg yolks (about 1/3 cup)
1-3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C granulated sugar
1 T finely shredded orange peel
1 C Lemon Curd or Orange Curd (recipe follows) or purchased lemon or lime curd
2 C Raspberries
Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions
Allow butter and egg yolks to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until light and pale, about 3 minutes. Add softened butter and orange peel. Beat on medium speed until well combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in flour mixture just until combined. Divide Dough in half. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours or until firm enough to handle.
Lightly grease twenty-four 1 3/4 in. muffin tin; set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough at a time until 1/4 in. thick. Using a 2 1/2 in. round cookie cutter, cut dough into 12 rounds rerolling as needed. Press a round into the bottom and up the sides of each prepared muffin cup. Repeat rolling and cutting with remaining half of dough.
Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 8-9 minutes or until lightly browned (dough will puff). Remove from oven. Immediately make an indentation so as to form a tart shell (use the rounded bottom of a measuring teaspoon). Cool slightly in pan. Carefully transfer tart shells to a wire rack and let cool. To serve, spoon a scant 1 tablespoon of Lemon Curd into each cooled tart shell. Arrange raspberries on top and dust tartlets with powdered sugar.

Lemon Curd

Ingredients
5 egg yolks
1 C sugar
4 lemons, zested and juiced
1 stick butter, cut into pats and chilled

Directions
Add enough water to a medium saucepan to come about 1 inch up the side. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and sugar in a medium size metal bowl and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. measure citrus juice and if needed, add enough cold water to reach 1/2 cup. Add juice and zest to egg mixture and whisk smooth. Once water reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low and place bowl on top of saucepan. (Bowl should be large enough to fit on top of saucepan without touching the water.) Whisk until thickened, approximately 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow and coats the back of a spoon. Remove promptly from hear and stir in butter a piece at a time, allowing each addition to melt before adding the next. Remove to a clean container and cover by laying a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

*I went to a Relief Society cooking group last night where the theme was a Tea Party. These are the prettiest little dessert. They would be perfect for a baby shower or bridal shower. I was very impressed with how well these turned out and how great they looked!

Grilled Sweet Onions

Approximate Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4

Ingredients
4 large onions
4 tsp beef bouillon granules
4 T butter
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
4 tsp white wine or beef broth, optional

Directions
With a sharp knife, carefully remove a 1-in. core from the center of each onion. Cut each onion into four edges to within 1/2 in. of root end. Place each onion on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 12 in. square). Place bouillon in the centers of onions; top with butter, thyme, salt and pepper. Drizzle with wine or broth if desired. Fold foil around onions and seal tightly. Prepare grill for indirect heat. Grill onions, covered, over indirect medium heat for 35-40 minutes or until tender. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape.

*We made these yesterday for Mother's Day and they were SO good. They sound a bit interesting but they are WAY good! Family members who don't like onions even really liked these.

Flank Steak

Ingredients
1 Flank steak
1/2 C canola Oil
1/2 C Soy Sauce
1/4 C lemon juice
2 garlic cloves crushed
2-4 T dry minced onion

Directions
Mix all ingredients (except steak) together in a gallon size ziploc bag. Add steak and marinade over night. Cook on grill until desired doneness.

*This is the BEST flank steak recipe ever!!!! We got this recipe from my sister and her husband. For anyone who came to my baby's blessing, this is the meat that we had at that. My husband made it yesterday for Mother's Day and we were all reminded how INSANELY good this is....YUM!

Apple Chimi Cheesecake

Approximate Time: 2 hrs (with freezing time)

Servings: recipe says 4, I was able to make 10

Ingredients:
Cheesecake filling (favorite home-made recipe or instant package mix)
Apple pie filling
Pressed 10" flour tortillas
Cinnamon sugar
caramel topping
Vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Prep cheesecake filling. Fold in desired amount of apple pie filling (recommend no more then equal to one-quarter of cheese cake mix). Warm tortilla slightly in microwave. Spatula mix onto tortilla in rectangle form, offset from the middle. Fold sides in first, bottom second, and roll to top. Ensure that it is sealed all the way around. Roll in wax paper and freeze.

When ready to prepare/serve, remove fully frozen chimi and fry immediately in 350 degree oil for approximately three to four-minutes. Remove from oil allow to drain. Roll in cinnamon sugar. Cut in half on an angle. Serve in a puddle of caramel and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

*This is a dessert that I used to get at Applebee's until they stopped making it. It doesn't taste quite the same, but it is still a good dessert. I made these for my whole family on Sunday so I was able to prepare this early in the day and just leave it in the freezer. I think I used a cheesecake pie filling which isn't as thick as a normal cheesecake, so I would probably make sure that you get the real cheesecake stuff. Also, I think the tortillas I got were smaller than 10" but I think they were the perfect size (soft taco size).

Szechuan Steak

Approximate Time: 30 minutes
servings: 4

Ingredients
1 lb steak (any kind) sliced thin, 1-2" long pieces
8 oz fresh sugar snap peas (2 cups)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C water
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1/3 C cilantro chopped
2 T dry roasted peanuts (chopped)

Directions
Heat oil in wok or skillet. Add peas and stir fry 2 minutes. Remove to plate and add beef, garlic, and pepper. Stir fry until meat is brown. Combine soy sauce, water, sugar, and starch in a bowl. Return peas to pan and toss with meat. Add soy mixture and stir fry until thick. Remove from heat and serve over steamed rice. Top with cilantro and peanuts.

*This was a quick simple meal and quite good. It doesn't make as much sauce as I would like though so I think that I would double the recipe so that you could have sauce to pour onto the rice instead of it just being on the steak and peas.