Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Asparagus Beef Lo Mein

During our school's book fair, I was the lucky recipient of a cook book called Almost Homemade. This cook book has become one of my very favorite "go to" sources for new meals. It's loaded with pictures and recipes that are do-able on a tight budget and schedule.
My first recipe is Asparagus Beef Lo Mein.
Ingredients:
1 beef top sirloin (thinly sliced)
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 lb of fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut in 2 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 tsp minced garlic
2 1/4 c water, divided
2/3 c Hoisen Sauce
2 packages of beef Ramen noodles

Directions:
1. In large skillet or wok, stir fry beef in oil for 5 mins or until meat is no longer pink.
Add the asparagus and garlic, stir fry 2 mins or until asparagus is crisp-tender.
2. In a bowl, combine 1/4 c o water and 1/2 tsp seasoning from one ramen noodle pkg; stir until dissolved. Add hoisin sauce; stir into the beef mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 mins or until thickened. (Discard remaining seasoning from opened packet.)
3. In large saucepan, bring remaining water to a boil; add ramen noodles and contents of remaining seasoning packet. Cook according to directions. Remove, cover and let stand until noodles are tender.
4. Top with beef mixture

Review:
I REALLY liked this meal. My husband was not too fond of the hoisin sauce. It has a tangy, sweet flavor to it. If you've read any of my other posts, you will begin to understand and see a pattern that my husband is very hard to please. He is definitely a meat and potato type of guy. However, it was good enough that I am making it again for dinner very soon!

Chicken and Waffles

So you know your southern when...It sounds weird, I know, but there's something so good about the combination of salty and sweet. Chicken and waffles is just that. My advice: Don't knock it until you try it.
Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick mix
1 egg
2 1/3  cups milk (1 1/3 for waffles, 1 for frying chicken)
2 chicken breast
2 cups flour
1 cup of vegetable oil for frying 2 tbsp for waffles
waffle maker
favorite syrup

Directions:
Cube your chicken breast and cover with 1 cup of milk. Place the 2 cups of flour in a large Ziploc bag. Drop the cubes of chicken into the flour and shake. Place covered chicken cubes in hot oil (may require more than the 2 cups) and fry until golden brown.  Follow the directions on the Bisquick box to prepare the waffles according to the directions.

Serve chicken nuggets over the waffles and drizzle with syrup.
Review: This is one of my husband's and kids absolute favorite meals! We serve this more than I should admit. :)