Disaster in the Kitchen: Coconut and Ginger Beef and Vegetables

Tonight was an absolute disaster.  Anything that could have gone wrong did go wrong and surprisingly, the meal wasn't half way at the end of cooking.

Here is the original recipe.  When I see the word slow cooker, I think of throwing ingredients in a pot and letting it cook all day.  This recipe, however, said use the slow cooker pan on the burner-- I was and still am confused by why you would do that and not use of slow cooker or just use a wok pan.  Instead of following those directions, I just used a wok on the burner.  You'll also see that the recipe calls for chicken.  When I went to cut the chicken, it felt very sticky instead of the normal slimy consistency of chicken.  I think there might have even been a little odor.  The only other thing that was defrosted was a flank steak, so it became a beef stir-fry.  Flank steak wouldn't be my first choice, but it worked out just fine.

 

I never used turmeric and coriander before, and it smelled delicious.  Wal-mart also came through with their awesome stirfry veggies.  Next time, I would buy some extra baby corn.

Here's where the recipe went really wrong.  I opened up the coconut milk, and this is what I found-- solid coconut milk :(  It's supposed to be a thicker liquid on the bottom with a thinner, translucent liquid on top.  This was not that...ah!  Luckily, I had 1/2 a can of coconut milk in the fridge and threw it in instead.

Cornstarch is another mystery to me.  It supposed to thicken the sauce, but I didn't think it needed to be thickened, so I added water before adding the cornstarch.  Still not sure why I was using it (if anyone knows, comment and let me know!), but it did change the texture.  Overall, good but not great....maybe next time :)

Coconut Ginger Beef & Vegetables

Ingredients 4 garlic cloves  1 tsp ground ginger    1 cup onions, chopped    1 Tbsp olive oil    2 Tbsp cornstarch    1 package frozen mixed vegetables, Stiry fry with baby corn    1/2 tsp black pepper    1 tsp ground cumin    1 tsp ground coriander    1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric    1 tsp table salt    1 cup uncooked basmati rice    1 cup light coconut milk    1 pound uncooked lean and trimmed beef flank steak, cut into chunks    Instructions In food processor, combine ginger, garlic, and onion. Pulse until it forms a paste. In wok style pan, heat olive oil. Add paste from food processor. Cook for a few minutes and then add pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and salt. Cook, stirring constantly. Move things to side of wok and add beef. Cook beef on all sides. Pour coconut milk over top. Add veggies and cook/simmer. Once frozen veggies are warm/hot, add corn starch. Cook for 1/2 hour. Make rice according to instructions.  10 points overall.

Where have I been all week?

Apologies are in order.  I have completely MIA for almost a week, and I am sorry.  I let you all know about my misadventures about In N Out burger, and I am sorry to say that I never got one of those delicious burgers.  I guess the Weight Watchers fairy was looking out for me...

I did a three-day whirlwind trip last week for work.  Tuesday a reception for admitted students in LA, Wednesday a reception for admitted students in San Francisco, and Thursday flying home.  I was exhausted, so cooking (and blogging unfortunately) were the last things on my mind.

Not a bad place to have a reception...look at the view!

But it also made me realize that with blogging almost everyday, I was setting up unrealistic expectations for myself.  From here on out, I will blog 3-4 times a week, more often on special occasions.

Hope you all have a great weekend and are ready for a great start to the work week!

P.S.  Trying to be healthy on the road stinks.  I would order a salad in the airport, but then they would load it with dressing and mix it before it got to me :(  I made better choices while traveling but definitely went over my points.

Heaven

The food that I have eaten that has brought me closest to heaven is an In N Out burger.  Yum.  Today I am in LA for work, and all I wanted was an In N Out burger-- I even know by where the closest one is to the rental car pick-up location.

Got my rental car and on my way to heaven, the power in that part of LA went out.  All traffic lights blank-- it was a mess.  But I was determined to get that burger, so I navigated through the four way stops with 3 lanes of traffic (and a turn lane) in each direction.  Finally, I made it to In N Out burger.  To my horror, they were out of power and closed the restaurant until power was restored :(

So I walked away empty handed.....good for my Weight Watchers, bad for my soul.  But tomorrow is a new day, and I am heading back to the airport.  I'm thinking that a stop at In N Out may be necessary, even if it will be 10 am.

P.S.  Heaven is almost mid-70s weather in LA in February.  Everyone knew I was a tourist in my sandals and tank top when the locals were in their Uggs and sweaters.

Buffalo Turkey Chili

Soups are some of my favorite things to make-- I love adding things to a pot and just letting it cook.  The weekend is a perfect time to let soup cook on the stove and let the smells come through the house all afternoon/evening.

The only thing missing was Frank's hot sauce-- it's my favorite and Walmart was all out- gasp!  Texas Pete was an okay substitute, but next time, we'll definitely use Frank's.

Buffalo Turkey Chili

Ingredients

	1 Tbsp olive oil
	1 pound uncooked ground turkey breast
	2 large Carrots, chopped
	4 celery ribs, chopped
	4 garlic clove, minced
	1 Tbsp paprika
	1 bay leaf
	1 tsp table salt
	1 tsp black pepper
	2 cups fat-free chicken broth
	1/2 cup hot sauce
	15 oz canned tomato sauce
	15 oz canned fire roasted diced tomatoes

Instructions

• Heat oil in large pot. Add turkey, break up while cooking. Add carrots, onion, celery, garlic, paprika, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 7-8 minutes. Add chicken stock, hot sauce, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes. Bring the chili to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove bay leaf before serving.  6 servings, 4 points a serving.

Egg in a Mug

A woman who goes to our Weight Watchers' meeting told us her favorite and easiest breakfast.  She calls it egg in a mug- crack an egg in a mug, add a little bit of milk, whisk with a fork, and pop in the microwave for 45-60 seconds.  The egg is light, fluffy, and yummy.  Best of all, it's 2 points and a filling breakfast.

When I was little, I ate microwaved eggs all the time.  My mom tells me stories of how I would tell her to cook my eggs:  "One egg, one minute.  Two eggs, two minutes."

Hope you enjoy an egg in the mug.  A great breakfast for when you're short on time (like I am every morning) or you only want to dirty a mug instead of a pan.

And thanks to our friends Mike and Katelyn Furr who gave us these great glass mugs for their wedding favors.

Caldo Verde

I have been told how great kale is for you, but since I had never used it before, I was apprehensive of cooking a recipe that called for kale.  I didn't even know what it looked like :)  I tried to make this recipe once before, but Trader Joe's was out of kale :( but I did get in on the most recent trip to my favorite food store.

The recipe was easy enough-- I should just chop all my veggies for the week on a Sunday since I use onions, garlic, etc almost everyday.  However, there is something therapeutic about coming home and chopping food and preparing dinner.  The most difficult part was adding the potatoes since grating anything, in my opinion, is just a pain.

Caldo Verde is a Portuguese dish, and in adapting this recipe, I added hot sauce and crushed red peppers for a little bit of spice.  The soup was perfect for a winter day.

Caldo Verde

Ingredients

	1 spray cooking spray
	1 large onion, chopped
	2 garlic cloves, minced
	8-9 oz chicken sausage, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (I used 3 chicken sausage links that had cheese and artichokes in it.  Each link was 3 oz)
	5 cups chicken broth
	2 peeled potatoes
	4 cups uncooked kale, stemmed and shredded
	1/2 tsp table salt
	1/2 tsp black pepper
	1/4 tsp hot sauce 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

• Spray a large saucepan with nonstick spray; set over medium heat. Add the onion; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 20 seconds.
• Add the sausage; cook, stirring often, until browned, about 5 minutes.
• Pour in the broth; bring to a simmer, stirring often.
• Using the small holes of a box grater, grate the potato into the stew. Stir well while returning to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
• Stir in the kale; cover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and hot sauce before serving. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving, about 6 servings.  5 points per serving.

Valentine's Day M&M Cookies

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I love my mom and her baking, and in celebration of my love of her cookies-- I made her famous chocolate cookies for Valentine's Day.  I didn't calculate the points value of the cookies until after I made them since I know some of the ingredients are not the best (aka Butter Flavored Crisco)-- surprisingly, each cookie is only 3 points.  One batch makes about 50 cookies, and I used a small to medium scoop to make sure they were all close to the same size.

I love using M&M's instead of chocolate chips for any holiday because it's an easy way to make things festive.  I had grand ambitious for heart shaped cookies, but I decided my mom's cookie recipe was a perfect substitute.  

Hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day! 

xoxo,

Elizabeth

Valentine's Day M&M Cookies

Ingredients

	1 cup Butter Flavored Crisco (I buy the sticks.)
	3/4 cup sugar
	3/4 cup packed brown sugar
	1 tsp vanilla extract
	2 large eggs
	1 tsp baking soda
	1 tsp table salt
	2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
	1 Bag of M&M's  (or 2 cups chocolate chips)

Instructions

• Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Mix Crisco, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla. Add eggs and mix. Add baking soda, salt, and mix. Add flour, bag of chocolate chips, and mix. Scoop cookies to evenly spaced air-baked cookies sheets.  Bake 9-10 minutes .