Yakisoba (123 of 150)

Yakisoba is not something I eat very often. I'm not really sure why, I mean it has all the things I like. 

What I didn't like about this recipe was the Worcestershire sauce. I like W sauce but this had too much. 3 T is a lot of W sauce. 

I didn't want to buy a head of cabbage for just a small amount so this yakisoba doesn't have it, and I gotta say, I missed it. I used celery (because I had it), carrot, onion and mushrooms.

Overall, this recipe was good, just not my favorite.

Yakisoba

Recipe from Jo Cooks

Serves 4

Yakisoba Sauce

• 3 T Worcestershire sauce
• 2 T oyster sauce
• 2 T ketchup
• 2 T soy sauce (low sodium)
• 1 T brown sugar (packed)

Yakisoba

• 1 pound yakisoba noodles (rinsed and drained)
• 1 T peanut oil
• 1 pound chicken breast (boneless skinless, cut into small thin strips)
• 1 small onion (sliced)
• 1 medium carrot (cut into thin strips)
• 4 shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
• ½ small cabbage (cut into bite size pieces)
• 2 green onions (cut into 1 inch strips)

Make the sauce: In a bowl combine all the Yakisoba sauce ingredients together. Set aside.

Prep the noodles: Remove the noodles from their package, and place in a colander. Rinse well and drain. While rinsing you will have to separate the noodles with your hands.

Stir fry the chicken and veggies: In a large wok or skillet, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook until no longer pink. Add the sliced onion and carrots and cook for another 2 minutes until the onion softens. Add the mushrooms, cabbage and green onions. Toss everything together and cook for another minute.

Finish the dish: Add the Yakisoba noodles to the wok then pour the sauce over everything. Toss everything together using tongs. Cook for another 2 minutes until the noodles heat through.

Serve: Serve immediately with sriracha sauce if preferred.

Taco Hand Pies (122 of 150)

I am a sucker for an empanada. They aren't easy to find locally and of the ones I've found they haven't been great. I've made "hand pies" before and I had forgotten 1) how good they are and 2) how easy they are.

The recipe says this will make 12. I really don't know how that's possible. She recommends in her blog post to cut the dough in 5" circles. I did that and I only got 8 out of the two pie crusts. And if this is a meal, a serving seems around 2 - 3 per person. So, I would not assume you'd get 12 out of it, unless you made them smaller. 

I'm going to add these to my favorites for this year. They were very tasty. I put hot sauce / salsa over them and had a side of sour cream to dip them in. 

Taco Hand Pies

Recipe from Everyday Made Fresh

Serves 12

1 box Pilsbury refrigerated Pie Crust you will need both from the box

1 pound ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning

1 c shredded cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Remove the pie dough from the fridge and follow the directions on the box before using. (It says something about allowing to sit at room temp)

While you are waiting, cook your ground beef, drain the grease, and stir in the taco seasoning. Set aside, and allow to cool completely before using.

Unroll your pie crusts, and cut into 5 inch round circles. I found that a ramekin was the exact size I needed, and used that as my guide. You should be able to get 6 circles from one crust. You will cut three, and then lightly flour your surface, and roll out, with a rolling pin, and you'll be able to get 3 more.

Place the dough on the parchment lined baking pans. Top with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the taco meat. Top with about 2 teaspoons of cheese. Fold the sides together, to create a half-circle, and using a fork, firmly seal the edges. Repeat until you have 12 Taco Hand Pies ready to bake.

You can spray the dough with non-stick cooking spray or you can use one beaten egg to brush on the tops to create a nice golden brown color. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is browned.

Swiss Steak with Tomato Gravy (121 of 150)

Swiss steak is a curiosity to me. It has all the ingredients I like (minus sun dried tomatoes), but where does it come from? I never had it as a kid - though it very much feels like a 70's type of meal. 

So I sent to the interwebs and I found this: 

"The recipe for Swiss steak first appeared in print in England in 1915. Sylvia Lovegren's book, “Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads,” notes the recipe appeared in print in the United States in 1924. It wasn't until the 1940s that the recipe appeared in multiple cookbooks."

and this

"Tough cuts of beef, like bottom round, top round, and chuck, go through a mechanical tenderizer, or a swissing machine, and come out the other end with cube-shaped indentations (hence it's other name, cube steak)."

and then finally this: 

"Swiss steak is a dish of meat, usually beef, that is swissed by rolling or pounding before being braised in a cooking pot of stewed vegetables and seasonings. It is often served with gravy. It is made either on a stove or in an oven, and does not get its name from Switzerland, as the name suggests, but the technique of tenderizing by pounding or rolling called "swissing".

 I guess at the end of the day it's just a way to serve really tough meat. Got it. 

This recipe was delicious! It had a nice tomato-y flavor, but not overly so. The braising really makes the meat so tender (I used cube steak for this - because that's what I had in the freezer.)

I'd make this again. It'd be a nice cool fall or winter day.

Swiss Steak with Tomato Gravy

Recipe from Cook's Country

Serves 6

1 (3 1/2-to 4-pound) boneless top blade roast (see note)

Salt and pepper

2 T vegetable oil

1 onion, halved and sliced thin

3 garlic cloves, minced

½ tsp dried thyme

2 T tomato paste

1 T all-purpose flour

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 ½ c low-sodium chicken broth

1 T sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, rinsed, patted dry, and minced

1 T finely chopped fresh parsley

BUTCHER ROAST Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Cut roast crosswise into quarters and remove line of gristle to yield 8 steaks.

Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat just until smoking. Brown 4 steaks, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining oil and steaks.

Add onion to empty pot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, tomato paste, and flour and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in diced tomatoes and broth and bring to boil.

Return steaks and any accumulated juices to pan. Transfer to oven and braise, covered, until steaks are fork-tender, about 2 hours. Transfer steaks to platter, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Skim fat from sauce. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over steaks. Serve.

Mexican Street Tacos (120 of 150)

Here we are again with another recipe for street tacos. They really are among my favorite-est of foods. And I am definitely not interested in apologizing for so many street tacos recipes. 

I only got to marinade the flank steak for about 2.5 hours. I wish I would have remembered at lunch time to set up the marinade, but alas, I forgot.  If you make this, think about a much longer marinating time. The more you leave it, the more flavor. 

I grilled the steak because I just can't fry steak for tacos. The piece of flank steak I bought was rather fatty and grilled up real juicy like. I grilled/heated my street taco tortillas while the steak was resting. I did not burn a single one, surprisingly. 

I served this with my favorite toppings of white onion diced, jalapeno diced, cilantro and lime juice. It's pretty traditional for toppings. 

Mexican Street Tacos

Recipe from Life-in-the-lofthouse.com

Serves 4

• 1 T vegetable oil
• 3 T fresh lime juice
• 3 T soy sauce (I use low-sodium soy sauce)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 ½ tsp chili powder
• 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 ½ tsp dried oregano
• 2 pounds flank steak or skirt steak, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 12 street taco size OR mini corn or flour tortillas

TOPPINGS:

• freshly chopped cilantro
• freshly diced red onion
• fresh limes cut into wedges

Pour vegetable oil, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, chili powder, cumin and oregano into a large bowl. Whisk to combine everything together.

Place steak pieces into the marinade mixture; stir and toss to coat all the steak in the marinade. Cover bowl with a lid and place in refrigerator. Let steak marinade for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

(Cook steak in two separate batches to prevent over-crowding the skillet.)

Using a slotted spoon, remove half of the steak from the marinade. Place steak pieces in hot skillet. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes or until steak reaches your desired temperature.

Place cooked steak onto a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

Cook remaining batch of steak the same way. Discard marinade.

Serve warm steak in warmed tortillas and top with desired amount of fresh cilantro, red onion and lime juice. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Sunday Stew (119 of 150)

This wasn't a great recipe. I really can't figure out why either. It lacked flavor to me and the jalapenos gave it a weird flavor. 

I forgot to get potatoes so we didn't have potatoes - maybe that would have made it better. Hard to say. 

I will chalk this one up an experience and file it into the "no need to make again". 

Slow Cooker Sunday Stew

Recipe from Food Network

Serves 6

• 4 slices thick-cut bacon
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 medium onions, cut into quarters, keeping the root end intact
• One 10-ounce container plain white button mushrooms, wiped clean
• 4 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 4 medium red potatoes, unpeeled, quartered
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, halved and partially seeded
• 1 c beer
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• About 2 cups beef broth
• 2 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• Buttery Lemon Parsley Noodles, recipe follows, for serving
• 2 T fresh parsley leaves, for garnish
• Buttery Lemon Parsley Noodles:
• 1 pound pasta (fettuccine, linguine, angel hair)
• 4 T (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely minced fresh parsley
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside. Pour off any excess oil, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the skillet.

Put the flour and some salt and pepper in a resealable plastic bag and add the beef. Toss to coat the beef thoroughly. Heat the bacon grease in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef to the skillet in 2 batches and brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes per batch. Set aside.

Put the onions in the bottom of a slow cooker. Add the beef, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, garlic and jalapeno. Season with a big pinch of salt and some black pepper. Cut the bacon into large pieces and sprinkle them over the top.

Pour the beer into a pitcher, whisk in the tomato paste and Worcestershire and then pour it over the vegetables. Add enough beef broth to just cover the meat and top with the parsley and rosemary sprigs. 

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Bacon Jalapeno Twice Baked Potatoes (118 of 150)

The niece and her wife are in town so I thought I'd make them my famous ribs. To go along with the ribs I usually make Mom's Mac Salad, but this time I thought I'd make something different. 

Found this recipe on FB and knew it was the right recipe for this meal. I love twice baked potatoes and never make them for myself. This one has all the trimmings too and that's going to make it yummy!

When I make these again, I'd cut the butter in half and not use the milk. They were a little "loose". Delicious all the same. 

Bacon Jalapeno Twice Baked Potatoes

Recipe from Butter Your Biscuit

Serves 6

3 large russet potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup butter melted

1/4 cup milk warm

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature

3 jalapenos finely diced

8 pieces cooked bacon chopped

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar plus more for garnish

1/2 cup shredded pepper jack plus more for garnish

Kosher salt/pepper

sour cream

green onions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Scrub potatoes clean and then poke each potato with a fork several times, and place on a baking sheet. Rub the olive oil on the potatoes and salt generously with kosher salt. Bake 1 hour or until fork-tender.

Remove potatoes from oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees

When the potatoes are fully cooked, slice each potato in half, scoop out the inside, and place it into a bowl. Add butter, milk, cream cheese, jalapenos, and bacon ( leave some out for garnish) and mix together until combined. Mix in cheddar and pepper jack cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add the potato mixture back into the potato skins, add diced bacon on top and sprinkle with some additional cheese. Place bake into the oven for 15 minutes to let the cheese melt.

Top with sour cream, bacon, and green onions...Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato and Cucumber Salad (117 of 150)

Photo from Spicy
Southern Kitchen

I often look for a salad I can make that isn't lettuce. It's hard for me since there's a lot of side salads
without lettuce that I don't like. Thankfully I like tomatoes and cucumbers. 

Janet's tomato  plants are delivering a LOT of tomatoes this season. Perfect opportunity to make this salad. It's light and a delicious side salad for the summer. 

Creamy Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Recipe from Spicy Southern Kitchen

Serves 6

• 1/3 c sour cream
• 2 T mayonnaise
• 1 T cider vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp chopped fresh dill or parsley
• 1 medium cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
• 3 medium tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
• 1 sweet or red onion, thinly sliced

In a large bowl, stir together sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and dill.

Add cucumber, tomato, and onion. Mix well, cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.