Broccoli and Beef Stir Fry

Ok, so living in Germany makes me a little bummed from time to time because I miss the convenience of take out food - Chinese especially! I swear I've looked everywhere and I just can't seem to find anything comparable here so I'm left to make my own. This recipe was a delight to find, thank you Weight Watchers website for the link! (http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeid=225421&sc=11) Never would I have thought that this is where I'd find a recipe for such a flavorful and simplistic meal. (Can you tell that broccoli is one of the few vegetables that I actually adore?! I swear I'd put it in every recipe if it worked lol.) It literally took me 20 minutes from start to finish and it's just as delicious as the pictures make it out to be. So, who's ready to stir fry???

Ingredients: 

2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch, divided   

1/4 tsp table salt     

1 pound uncooked lean trimmed sirloin beef, thinly sliced against the grain   

2 tsp vegetable oil     

1 cup chicken broth, divided     

5 cups uncooked broccoli, florets (about a 12 oz bag or a large stalk)   

1 Tbsp ginger root, fresh, minced (optional)

2 cloves of minced garlic   

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup soy sauce   

1/2 cup water   

Directions: (right from the Weight Watcher's website listed above) 

On a plate, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch and salt; add beef and toss to coat.

Heat oil in a large nonstick wok or large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and stir-fry until lightly browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes; transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add 1/2 cup broth to same pan; stir to loosen any bits on food on bottom of pan. Add broccoli; cover and cook, tossing occasionally and sprinkling with a tablespoon water if needed, until broccoli is almost crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Uncover pan and add ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes; stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute.

In a cup, stir together soy sauce, remaining 1/2 cup broth, remaining 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch and water until blended; stir into pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer; simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

Return beef and accumulated juices to pan; toss to coat.

Pictures:

Serve it hot over some white rice and enjoy :)

Nutella Mousse

No counting calories on this one, I mean it! This is a dessert that is meant to be enjoyed and experienced free of guilt so for anyone counting calories or dieting or whatever this is NOT the time to make this dessert - unless you have a 'free night' or you just want to cheat lol. Then it is the PERFECT recipe for you! Once again this recipe comes to us right from our favorite website...drum roll please...Pinterest! (Are you hooked on this website yet??) The woman's blog where the recipe originated from was called "Sweet Tooth" and boy is that accurate. (http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2009/12/chocolate-hazelnut-mousse.html). I will say that Zach made this one because I was exhausted after preparing the zucchini sticks, honey mustard and caramelized onion dips, and honey mustard baked chicken on Sunday night. (I will post those recipes tomorrow night, promise!) It was the perfect addition to our dinner but we were all stuffed to the brim! My only tip is that perhaps instead of only using 3 serving glasses/dishes perhaps aim for 6 - it will be less guilt for those 'cheating' on their diets haha. Ok, let's whip this up...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup Nutella spread
2 tbsp hot water (not boiling)
2 tsp instant espresso
Dash of Baileys Irish Cream (Mint flavored)

Directions:

- Dissolve instant espresso in hot water in a medium sized bowl
- Add the Nutella and Kahlua, beating until smooth
- In a mixer, whip the whipping cream until it forms stiff peaks
- Gently fold the Nutella mixture into the whipped cream until the color is uniform
- Divide mousse into serving glasses

Pictures:

That's right...we shaved semi-sweet chocolate on top of this already decadent mousse 

and topped it off with two Milano cookies - Heaven in a Glass!

German Pretzels

Alright - so I have lived here in Germany since April of 2011 and I have yet to attempt making German Pretzels. I love them! I order them anytime I'm at a bakery! They are practically a food group in my mind! However, until two nights ago I never thought they could be so complicated. I will confess that it took me three different recipes at an average of two to three times PER recipe to perfect these delicious treats. Thank goodness for perseverance right?! Go figure the recipe I loved most was from my new favorite website Pinterest! I believe it was a mix of Bobby Flay's recipe with some down home cooks that resulted in this quirky yet delicious recipe. (They used light brown sugar in the dough - I mean who does that?!) Enough talk already I know...let's get to baking!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast
3 ounces butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or you can use all-purpose)
Non-stick cooking spray
12 cups of water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
Coarse sea salt

Directions:

Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in a bowl with a whisk (or a dough hook if you’re using a mixer) until it’s combined. Let this set for 5 minutes – or until the yeast activates.

Sprinkle in the salt and flour while continuing to whisk until everything is combined. (After about 3 cups of flour you might find it necessary to use a mixer with dough hooks or just get in there and use your hands! Continue kneading the dough until it’s smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. If the dough appears too wet, you can add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a flat surface to knead it into a ball with your hands.

Use the non-stick cooking spray to grease a bowl, then add the dough and turn to coat with the cooking spray. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size – this will take about 1 hour.

Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda. (Ok I believe you can add the baking soda before bringing to a boil but I did it after bringing it to a boil. The caution with doing it my way is that it will cause the water to foam up a few inches at a time in the pan until it is dissolved so make sure you only add about a tablespoon at a time so that you don’t spill over your pan.)

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces, about 4 ounces each. Roll each piece into a long rope measuring 22 inches and shape: take the right side and cross over to the left. Cross right to left again and flip up. Boil the pretzels in the water solution, 1 at a time for 30 seconds, splashing the tops with the warmed water using a spoon. (Be very gentle when you splash the tops with the warmed water though because the pretzels may become unglued and then you just have a pretzel rope lol – this may or may not have happened to me.) Continuing on…remove the pretzel with a large flat slotted spatula. Place 4 pretzels on each baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.

Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating. 

They are fabulous by themselves, but feel free to whip up a quick cheese sauce, dip them in mustard, or dunk them in cream cheese. 

Pictures:

Finally!

 

 See how the bottom pretzel is practically double the size of the other two - 

that's what happens after you dunk it in the water/baking soda solution...poof!

Egg washed and salted - ready for the oven...

Um...YA! Devour!!!

Uncle Bubba's Shrimp and Grits

For those of you who don't know, Uncle Bubba's Oyster House is one if the most delicious places to eat in Savannah, Georgia. It's owned by none other than the fabulous Paula Deen's brother and my oh my if you like southern food just the tiniest bit - you will LOVE this place! I visited the restaurant about a year ago with my family and my in-laws and the only thing that I had on my mind was Shrimp and Grits. I figured if anyone's going to get this right - it's Uncle Bubba! And I was right!

Now normally I will post the ingredients and directions but to be perfectly honest I followed this recipe to the very last ingredient and it was amazing. I wouldn't change a single thing on it. So, I am posting the link to the recipe's website, but I will give you a few pointers for preparation.

http://www.unclebubbas.com/index.php/recipes/view/shrimp_and_grits/

Pointers:
First of all, prepare the shrimp gravy portion first. It is the most time consuming part of the recipe (as the grits will be ready in about 10 minutes from start to finish.)

Secondly, I chopped the bacon into 1/4 inch pieces and sauteed them for about 4-5 minutes, you don't want them totally cooked because you're going to keep adding ingredients and cooking for an additional 10 minutes or so. So leave the bacon somewhat translucent when you add in the onions. Then I cooked the onions and bacon together for about 3-4 minutes before adding the peppers in. When all of these items were in the pot I cooked them for approximately 5 minutes or so to let the flavors blend into each other before the next step.

Third, I added the raw shrimp and stirred the mixture together to coat the shrimp. While the shrimp are cooking add the flour and heavy cream a little at a time. You will find that the flour sticks to the bottom of the pan quite quickly if you add too much at a time so don't panic! Just add in some of the cream, scrape the bottom of the pan and keep mixing - it will turn out right just trust me.

Pictures:

Mozzarella Sticks & Spicy Marinara Sauce

YUM! I don't really think that I need to post much more than the title, the word YUM, and a picture lol. However...I will give you a little anecdote to get your excitement heightened...
So, about a week ago my sister sent me an invitation to Pinterest. (For those of you who aren't familiar with this website - GET ACQUAINTED!) Anyhoo - so of course there is an entire section of Food and Drinks...I clicked this category and about 6 hours later I had decided #1 this is an amazing website #2 I am starving from staring at all of this food and #3 boy oh boy do I have recipes to chose from now! This particular recipe was one of the first that caught my eye. Primarily because it's fried cheese, how do you go wrong with that? And secondarily because it was so simple it would be hard to mess it up lol. Therefore, I made a shopping list and went for it...there are a whole 3 ingredients for the Fried Mozzarella Sticks. However, I think it's illegal to indulge in such fantastic food without the proper dipping sauce so I told Zach I needed a Spicy Marinara to accompany my fried cheese and 5 minutes later there it was - he's so talented lol.
Ok was that enough build up...let's fry some cheese and experience the deliciousness that was in my kitchen last night!

Ingredients:
Mozzarella Sticks - 
12 pack of string cheese
Lumpia wrappers (found in freezer section, just make sure you let them thaw before you use them)
Vegetable Oil (for frying)

Spicy Marinara Sauce -
Can of crushed tomatoes
Garlic powder
Crushed red pepper
Oregano
2 Bay leaves
Basil
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
The mozzarella sticks are the easiest thing ever! All you have to do is peel one lumpia wrapper from the packaging and roll up one string cheese stick inside of it (like a taquito). If the wrapper won't stick closed you can put half of a toothpick through the ending of the wrapper and into the cheese stick to secure it for frying. Heat the oil in a pan and when it's piping hot carefully place the cheese sticks into the oil. (Use a splatter screen so that you're not frying yourself as well lol). Let the cheese sticks cook for about 3 minutes on each side, rotating them every so often. When they look golden simply scoop them out with a slotted spatula and place them on paper towels to absorb some of that oil.

Either before or after making the cheese sticks, prepare the marinara sauce. If you like yours chilled just prepare it before the mozzarella sticks and throw it in the fridge, otherwise you can prepare it alongside the cheese sticks. Zach basically threw all of the ingredients into a medium sized pan and set the heat to medium high, stirring constantly. Once the temperature is as you'd like it, serve it up alongside those fried mozzarella sticks and ENJOY!

Pictures:

 Go ahead...try NOT to eat all of them, I dare you...

 String cheese wrapped in Lumpia wrappers 

(we stuck half of a toothpick in ours so that the wrapper wouldn't unravel)

Frying away...

 Golden deliciousness...

Chicken Divan

Chicken Divan=DIVINE! Alright, the name alone is fabulous, so I feel like this is going to be a fantastic entry. As promised, my New Year's Resolution is to blog 3 new recipes per week. This is the kickoff of that resolution and hopefully the inspiration to keep on blogging about it.

I found this recipe in my Southern Living Heirloom Recipe Cookbook - and for anyone that is a fan of home-cooked deliciousness - BUY IT! It's fantastic, full of savory and scrumptious recipes ranging from breakfast, appetizers, dinners, and desserts! Ok back to the recipe at hand...

So this dish is a casserole technically, full of yummy flavors. It kind of reminds me of a quiche in texture or a souffle but you be the judge! It only takes about a half hour to prepare so obviously it's a winner from the get go...so let's get to cooking...

**Note: There are a few things that I changed from the Southern Living Cookbook but I will let you know in the recipe what I have omitted or substituted.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk - any kind is fine, I used lowfat
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tbsp dry sherry (I omitted this)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I omitted this)
2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
1 1/2 stalks of broccoli, steamed
2-3 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used turkey because my grocery store was out of chicken, for real!)
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping - optional but of course I used it

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 450 F (225 C) and lightly grease an 11x7 inch baking dish.
Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat and whisk in the flour (making a golden delicious rue). Gradually add in the milk and cook, whisking constantly. (If you're using the sherry, add it here as well as the Worcestershire sauce and 2 tsp grated Parmesan). Once the mixture is thickened remove it from the heat.
In a small bowl combine the egg yolks with about 1/4 of the mixture and whisk to combine. Once it's combined add the mixture back to the pan (with the rest of the mixture) and fold in the whipped cream. You're ready to assemble this bad boy!
So take your greased baking dish and line the bottom with the steamed broccoli and chopped cooked chicken. Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with additional cheese!
Pop it in the oven at 450 F for 10-12 minutes, or until it's bubbly. Then flip your broiler on for a minute or two to brown it (if it hasn't browned on it's own). It should make about 6 servings if you're serving it as a side dish or about 4 servings if it's the main dish.

Pictures:

Happy New Year!

Hey y'all - Happy 2012!!!

This past year has been so full of adventure - both good and well not so good - but I survived it with the love and support of my family and friends (yes that means you!) As 2012 has already begun I have made a few resolutions that I truly intend to stick to. One of which pertains to this lovely blog...It is my resolution for 2012 that I log 3 new recipes each week! This means 3 new fabulous dinners/desserts/appetizers/whatever that I will research each week and bring to you courtesy of this little blog. I know that the past year has been anything but consistent so my apologies, I really intend to do better, and since it's my resolution and y'all have been informed i have no excuses, right? Right! Ok, so tonight I'm letting Zach make dinner - steak with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes with bacon and garlic, and roasted asparagus - it smells divine! But this week I am going to conquer Shrimp and Grits, German Pretzels, and Chicken Divan so look for the updates on Facebook or check back at the end of the week, they should all be uploaded!

Happy New Year and Let's Make 2012 as Scrumptious as Possible!