With Jim being retired and spring in full speed my blogging time has been limited and I have a feeling that’s going to become the new normal around here! I’ll still be posted but not on a regular basis.
I had some medium size potatoes ( they are the medium , thin skinned potatoes I believe they are called kennebec potatoes) on hand that I had planned on using in another dish but that did not happen, then I remembered a dish Jim used to make many years ago sadly neither one of us could fully remember the recipe so this is a quick and easy version of what we can remember from Jim’s dish! One pan, two ingredients…..That’s it! You will have a flavorful side dish to go with your summer BBQ’s.
INGREDIENTS
4 medium thin skinned potatoes, diced into bite size pieces.
1/2 bottle of robust Italian dressing. Enough to cover all the potatoes liberally
DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non stick spray and add your diced potatoes to the prepared dish. Add the Italian dressing and stir being sure to cover all of the potatoes. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes depending on the size of your dice. Check them at the 20 minute mark and stir well. Continue baking another 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. Remove from oven and serve warm.
Enjoy!
Anne
We just loved this Mongolian Beef dish. This dish is easy and packed with great flavor. I used chili crisp in this dish but you can simply add red pepper flakes. The chili crisp really adds the heat so I use it sparingly. One of the keys to making this dish is to pound the steak thin, this makes the cooking time very quick.
If you are not familiar with chili crisp, the one pictured below is the one I use but you can find a number of companies that make them or you can make your own. Chili crisp is made with oil, garlic, onion, and various chili’s. It’s very thick and needs to be stirred before using. This is great on eggs, on noodles like the Dan Dan noodles we had last week or in recipes such as this one.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds of 1 inch thick sirloin steak
1/3 cup of cornstarch
1/4 cup canola oil
Pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon grated ginger
4 Tablespoons minced garlic
Red pepper flakes or chili crisp to Tatse
1/3 cup tamari sauce
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup brown sugar
8 scallions, green parts only, cut into 2 inch pieces.
White rice for serving
DIRECTIONS
Slice the steak into 1/4 inch slices. Lay the slices flat, cover with plastic wrap and using a meat pounder pound the steak so it is thin and flat. Put the meat into a ziplock bag and add the cornstarch coating all of the pieces completely.
Add the canola oil into a large pan, heat the oil over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot add the steak to the pan in a single layer and cook for about 30 seconds on each side or until the steak has a good sear. Cook the steak in batches. Remove the steak from the pan once they have a sear and sprinkle with salt.
Once all the steak is cooked and removed from the pan add the ginger, and garlic , chili crisp or red paper flakes to the pan and sauté for 10-15 seconds. Stir in the tamari, water and brown sugar bringing the mixture to a boil.
Put all of the steak back into the pan with the sauce and let the sauce thicken this takes. A minute or two.
Turn off the heat and add the sliced scallions, stir to combine.
Serve warm over white rice.
Enjoy!
Anne
I don’t make lamb very often but both Jim and I enjoy lamb now and again. I love this recipe as it’s so easy and packed with flavor. I shared two lamb lollipops with my Dad and he really enjoyed this dish as much as we did. I served the lamb lollipops with mashed potatoes and a salad.
INGREDIENTS
3 Tablespoons olive oil
8 Lamb lollipops
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, use desired amount but can also be left out.
DIRECTIONS
Add olive oil to a large pan. Heat over medium high heat. Season both sides of the lamb with salt and pepper.
Once the pan is hot, sear the chops on each side getting a nice golden brown color. Remove lamb from the heat and place on a plate to rest.
Turn the heat down to medium low. Add the minced garlic to the pan then whisk in brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Allow the sauce to thicken slightly then add the lamb back into the pan and cook until desired doneness. I only let mine continue to cook for about 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and serve warm.
Enjoy,
Anne
Now that we are fully retired we are finding ourselves going out to eat with friends and family. I don’t feel like I am cooking quite as much. Last week we went out for Mexican food with our good friends Randy and Rosalie who are also retired. This week we decided on Chinese food at one of Randy and Rosalie’s favorite places. We tend to leave the house around 3:30 to beat the dinner crowds and the past few times we have gone out we have found ourselves ordering several appetizer’s and Sharing, we did the same when we went to Wok the Wok in Hampton NH. Wok The Wok is located at 7 Ocean Blvd. in Hampton NH. It’s just across the street from Hampton Beach.
We started with one of Rosalie’s favorite drinks from Wok The Wok, 3 of us had the Mai Tai’s and Randy opted for a glass of red wine. The mai Tai’s are made with orange juice pineapple juice and 2 types of rum.
They were absolutely the perfect way to start our afternoon.
We ordered all appetizers except the coconut shrimp, it’s a house special and one of Rosalie’s family favorite dishes. I can see why, this shrimp dish was delicious. It was lightly battered jumbo shrimp cooked in a sweet sauce then topped with a creamy coconut sauce. Crispy and sweet in every bite.
We also had the appitizer size portion of the Dan Dan Noodles. Let me say these pack a punch! This was my first time having this dish but won’t be my last. They definitely have a lot of spice but there is also a slight cooling Taste of peanut butter in the sauce. Delicious!
All of our dishes came out at the same time but these scallion pancakes became Jim’s new favorite dish after just one bite. They are crispy on the outside, a little chewy on the inside and served with a sesame dipping sauce adding a little salty bite to the scallion pancakes.
We also had an order of Beef Teriyaki, this happens to be one of Randy’s and mine favorite dishes. These did not disappoint. Lots of teriyaki flavor and cooked to perfection. These were some of the best I have had.
And last but not least we ordered the pork fried rice to round off our meal! The rice pulled all of our dishes together perfectly. Our plates were full and our bellies fuller! Believe it or not we had very little left over. Not one complaint, everything we had was fabulous. Wok the Wok is open 7 days a week. You can find the full menu and prices on line.
After eating such a big meal we decided to walk it off at Hampton Beach state park that is just across the street from Wok The Wok on a gorgeous spring day. If you are cruising through Hampton give Wok the Wok a try you won’t be disappointed.
Enjoy!
Anne
This has been my go to fish recipe for a while now. I used haddock but cod or any white fish will work well. I also used gluten free crackers but regular ritz crackers are perfect for this. I served this with a lemon dill aioli from Stonewall Kitchen if you have not tried this product yet it’s very good the lemon really comes through along with the dill. For sides I served roasted asparagus and mashed potatoes.
NOTE-If you have any leftovers the beat way to re-heat fish is to place the fish on a baking sheet and place in a COLD oven. Set the oven temperature to 350 degrees. When the the bell dings to tell you the oven is heated to temperature remove the baking sheet and enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
4 Haddock fillets about 2 pounds
35 ritz crackers or gluten free crackers
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Tablespoons melted butter, I used Earth’s Balance
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
DIRECTIONS
Pre -heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place cod in a greased baking dish .
Add the crackers in a zip lock bag and break into crumbs. Add the melted butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper into the bag with the crackers and mix to combine.
Evenly spoon the mixture over the top of the haddock. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until the fish flakes apart.
Serve warm.
Enjoy!
Anne
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