Asian Sunday dinner

Another Sunday dinner is upon us, last week I made meatloaf for Cart and previously I made ribs for John. So this Sunday I made 2 types of Asian food for Timmy. The first being soba noodles with vegetables.  But first we started with some appetizers

Amerian pickled veggies

 I found this sauce recipe on line
Sauce:
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp honey
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp chili garlic sauce

I made some soba noodles and added the sauce then added carrots, peppers, and snow peas. Of course you can always add what ever vegetables you see fit. Mix together and let sit so the flavors come together.

This turned out pretty well, at first taste it had a sweet flavor then a kick at the end.  The second dish was a beef broccoli stir fry that I found from the stir fry book Leah gave John for his birthday.

In it was beef, broccoli and yellow peppers sauteed in a spicy sauce. It was also good but way too spicy, seem I accidentally do this a lot. But it was a good pairing with the sweet noodles if I do say so myself. :)

Meatloaf & twice baked potatoes

Another Sunday rolls around and that means back to work tomorrow :( the weekends seem to go by so fast! The boys once again came over for football and Sunday dinner, Cart has been asking me for a while now to make meatloaf so I decided today will be the day. I of course used my favorite salsa meatloaf recipe.

• 1 pound ground beef sirloin
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• dried parsley to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together and transfer to a loaf pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Now we all know I don't eat potatoes (yuck!) but I also know meatloaf and potatoes go together like peanut butter and jelly. So I made the boys potatoes while I had a side salad. To make the potatoes I  punched holes in them with a fork and microwaved them for 5 mins then placed them on a cookie sheet and baked them for 1 hour. Once done I cut in half and scooped out the insides and added:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• green onions

Mix everything together and scoop back in to the potatoes. Cover with some shredded bacon and the rest of the green onions and back in the oven for 15 more mins. 

my plate

 Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Polish dinner

Sunday morning came and I got up feeling refreshed since we had an extra hour of sleep. :) I had big plans to make a huge Polish feast for Sunday dinner today. So I got up went to the grocery store to get everything I would need. Then lunch came and I started to feel crappy :( and it was all down hill from there. There has been a bug going around work lately and I hope I am not catching it!

John was a huge help and made the spicy kielbasa soup which we found on all recipes.com. Which included:

• 1/2 pound reduced-fat smoked turkey kielbasa, sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 celery ribs with leaves, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, cut up
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a nonstick skillet, cook kielbasa over medium heat until lightly browned. Add the onion, green pepper, celery and garlic. Cook and stir for 5 minutes or until vegetable are tender. Transfer to a slow cooker. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours.  

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1-1/2 cups) equals 194 calories, 2 g fat (trace saturated fat), 16 mg cholesterol, 1,187 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 14 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 vegetable, 2 very lean meat, 1 starch.  

While I made golumpkies from the same recipe from my very first blog post!

I didn't end up eating any soup but I did have a golumpkie which was just as good as the first time!

Alton Browns ribs

Did you ever have those days where you wish you could go back to bed and redo the day over. That we my day I seemed to have the case of the drops, spills, break things and make messes today. It being Sunday Cart and Timmy came over for dinner and football. I let John pick the dish for dinner tonight, he picked ribs and found a recipe from Alton Brown. During our costo  trip yesterday we picked up what we thought to be 2 racks but turns out when I open the packed it was 3. Opps! I followed the directions to the t since I never made spare ribs before.

 They recipes calls for a sauce that you are suppose to reduce to cover the ribs in then broil them until caramelized. Then use the rest to coat the ribs but the sauce never really thickened up.  However the ribs were pretty good without the sauce and didn't really need it. I did heat up some extra barbecue sauce in case the boys wanted extra for dipping.

ribs cut into 3's

We had corn, pasta salad and summer slaw for sides

huge plate of ribs that we all ate

Cart

 

 Timmy

Beef Stew

Another football Sunday has arrived! I still wasn't feeling spectacular but I had the Memphis Soul 5Km BBQ on my schedule this morning. I had signed up for this race a while back but it was canceled due to the hurricane we had come through. So I pulled my self out of bed, John was feeling worse so he had planned to meet me when the race ran past our apartment complex. I arrived with 10 minutes to spare so I did some stretching and checked out all the runners who were dressed in Elvis attire. (I'm sad to say I didn't have my camera) The race started and off I went, I wasn't sure how I would do since my knee isn't in tip top condition and well I'm out of shape. When I was a few minutes from our street I called John which sounded like this:
Me: (huffing) I'm..... at the (huffing).....the rotary.... 
John: what
Me: I'M AT THE ROTARY!!!!
John: ohh ok see you in a few
Me: I hung up

John got there in time just to see me run by, then he walked over to Davis square (where the race ended) to meet me. 

Afterwards we headed back to the apt to relax and watch football with Cart and Timmy. For dinner John was in the mood for something hearty so I decided to make baked beef stew and monkey bread for dessert. This beef stew has all the yummy things in it a regular stew does but is cooked in the oven instead.

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons instant tapioca
• 1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 strips celery, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 3 potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 slice bread, cubed

carrots, celery, onions and potaotes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the stew meat; drain and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, water, tapioca, beef bouillon granules, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir in the beef, carrots, celery, potatoes, onion, and bread cubes. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
4. Cover and bake for 2 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender. 

homemade garlic bread as a side

The monkey bread was a recipe that was in the cooking light magazine. As I was making it John, Cart and Timmy didn't know what it was they have never heard of it, I couldn't believe it! Monkey bread was a childhood staple growing up everyone always loved it. I don't know what's wrong with them ;) But they did eat it up and I sent them home with the leftovers since John will be gone all week and I didn't want to eat it all myself. :)

Pot roast & mash potatoes

It's Sunday and that means Sunday football!!! Timmy and Cart are planning to come over for an early dinner and to watch the football games. This is the only Sunday of the season that Cart's Detroit Lions are televised here. For dinner I decided to make the pot roast that Pioneer Women had cooked on her show last weekend, it is a rally easy meal. Here is what you'll need:
Sunday Pot Roast (from Pioneer Women)

Ingredients

• 1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 whole Onions
• 6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)
• Salt To Taste
• Pepper To Taste
• 1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)
• 2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
• 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
• 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste

Preparation Instructions

1. First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.
2. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).
3. Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.
4. Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.
5. If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.
6. With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.
7. When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.
8. Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.

onions and carrots

mash potatoes I made for the boys

 I cut this recipe in half since it serves 10 and I only needed to serve 4.  :) The pot roast turned out good but I think it could have gone a little longer in the oven it didn't pull part like it was suppose to.

my plate the carrots were sooo good!

Posted by Ree on August 1 2009