Beef, Potatoes, and Onions Cooked with Flavorings (Nikku Jaga)

This is a great, hearty one-dish meal that is easy to prepare. Enjoy!!
Ingredients:
10 ounces (300g) beef, thinly sliced (ask your butcher to slice it)
1 pound (500 g) potatoes (about 3 to 4 medium-sized)
2 bulb onions
4 teaspoons oil for sauteing
To boil ingredients:
2/3 cup water
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup sake (rice wine) or dry white wine

Preparation:
1. Cut beef into 1 1/2 inch (4 cm) long pieces.
2. Peel potatoes and cut into quarters, or smaller pieces if the potato is extra large. Soak in water for 5 minutes.
3. Peel onions and cut in half lengthwise. put each half cut-side down and slice into thin half-moon-shaped slices of equal thickness.

Cooking and Serving:
1. Heat thick pot with 2 teaspoons oil, and saute beef until color turns, or about 2 minutes. Take out and set aside.
2. Add 2 teaspoons oil to the pot. Saute onions and potatoes about 2 minutes, stirring until they are well-coated with oil.
3. Put in 2/3 cup water, sake or dry white wine and sugar. Boil until potatoes are half-done, then add soy sauce. Put beef back into the pot, and continue to boil until potatoes are tender, or about 15 minutes.
4. Serve hot in individual bowls with or without rice.

Ginger Chicken

Chicken is pre-flavored to give it more body. It is then dusted with starch and deep-fried until reddish-brown. Deep-fried foods are high calorie, but satisfying. Therefore, even dieters should occasionally eat some. Just choose low-calorie side dishes.
This is one of our favorite ways to prepare chicken.

Ingredients:
14 ounces (400g) chicken, boned (we usually skin the chicken, but it is good with it on)
Marinade for chicken:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake (rice wine) or dry white wine
1 teaspoon ginger juice (peel and grate fresh ginger, then squeeze)
Cornstarch or potato starch for coating meat
About 3 cups oil for deep-frying
4 green peppers as complement (optional)

Preparation:
1. Cut chicken into 1 1/2 inch (4 cm) squares.
2. Marinate chicken for 30 minutes, turning over occasionally.
3. Cut green peppers in half, and remove seeds and ribs.
4. Toss chicken lightly in cornstarch, and shake off excess.

Cooking and Serving
1. Heat oil to 320F (160C) in a Chinese wok over high heat. Fry green peppers for only 30 seconds and drain.
2. Slide chicken into oil, 4 to 5 pieces per batch, and fry 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown, turning over occasionally.
3. Serve chicken hot with green peppers.

Cauliflower Soup

This is a light, yummy, easy recipe. Enjoy!
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. butter, plus 2 Tbsp. for optional garnish
1 onion, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 head cauliflower, chopped
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups low-fat milk
2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley, optional
Preparation:

In a large pot over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter. Add onions and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat so onions are cooking but not browning, until onions look starchy and a bit creamy, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add cauliflower, stir to combine, cover and cook 3 minutes. Add broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook until cauliflower is tender to the bite, about 10 minutes.
Purée soup with a hand-held blender. Or, whirl in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth (place a kitchen towel over blender to prevent potential burns).
Stir in pepper and nutmeg. (Note: At this point the soup may be cooled, covered, and frozen for up to 4 months.)
Add milk and cook over medium-low heat until hot.
Meanwhile, if you want to add the parsley butter swirl, melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and stir in parsley.
Serve soup hot, with a swirl of parsley butter, if you like.

Makes about 8 cups soup (4 main course servings; 8 soup course servings) Cauliflower Soup.

whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes

Ok, this went against all I believe to give chocolate for breakfast. but these pancakes had hardly any sugar, plus, if I give whipped cream or coffee cake for breakfast every once in a while, these are for sure ok! even healthier!

1 egg
1 1/2 buttermilk (I didn't have any, so I used half soy milk and half reg milk with lemon juice)
3 T. canola oil
2 T. water
1/2 t. vanilla
1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour (when I do whole wheat flour I always "sift" and don't do the exact cup full)
2 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
chocolate chips (I love semi-sweet)

Mix wet ingredients first, then add dry and whisk until smooth. I prefer to mix the chocolate chips in the batter before I pour onto griddle. This may seem weird, but it was so so good with just a touch of pure maple syrup over it. The pancakes aren't really sweet, and just a touch of maple goes surprisingly really good with the chocolate and whole wheat flavor!

Steel Cut Oats

After years of mom telling me about steel cut oats and how much she loves them, I finally bought some. I gave up on eating hot oatmeal. I ate it for a while, knowing it was good for me, but it was just hard to swallow...literally. I know that steel cut oats are much better for you and they are so so so much more yummy. (horrible english, I know) Not mushy and it has texture that is so easy to eat. Anyway, so maybe it's easy to remember how to cook them, but the way my brain is working lately, I need to write it down somewhere.

1/2 c. steel cut oats
1 cup milk
3/4 c. water

*Bring to the milk and water to just the start of a boil and stir in the oats, and turn the heat down to simmer. (low)
Cook for 15 min and add:

1 T. Maple syrup (or 2 if you aren't adding any other sweet things after it's cooked)

Cook for another 15 min ish until it's the texture you like.

I made sauteed apples to go on mine and it was delicious!! (chop apples, add to melted butter and brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon) I was wishing I had some pecans to chop up and put in too!

Chayote Italian Sausage Soup

Ingredients
I think that I left out one ingredient - chicken stock - and I think that that it might be 6 cups. Hmmm. Sorry. The next time I make this, I will experiment with it. This is one of Jeff's all time favorite soups, so I am so bummed that I missed part of the recipe.

2 Italian sausage links
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 chayote squashes, seeded and chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
Directions

Place a large saucepan over medium-high heat; cook the sausage in the skillet until browned; remove the sausage to a plate lined with paper towels. Add the olive oil. onion, and garlic to the skillet; cook and stir until the onions are translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Return the sausage to the pan along with the chayote squash and jalapeno peppers; cook and stir until the squash begins to soften, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, black beans, corn, thyme, and chili powder; season with salt and pepper. Cook until completely heated through, about 10 minutes more.

Instead of Italian sausage you can use 1 lb of ground turkey. Be careful not to overcook the chayote.

birthday chocolate cupcakes

1 choc. cake mix (devils food)
Bake in 2 round and let cool completely

In a bowl beat until fluffy
1- 8 oz. cream cheese
2/3 C. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
Fold in 2 Cups of whipped whipping cream(1 pint)