Travel Often

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” — Rosalia de Castro

Love Deeply, but Laugh Along the Way

"Happiness is only real when shared." - Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

View Marriage as an Adventure

"Love is a flower which turns into fruit at marriage." ~Finnish Proverb

Fuel your body with GOOD (It's the only one you get)

He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything. - Arabian Proverb

Open your Soul to Motherhood

A Grand Adventure is About to Begin - Winnie the Pooh

A New Kind of Love is Born

Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Orange-Beef Stir Fry

Wok and Roll

Orange-Beef Stir Fry
serves 5
recipe found in Fitness Magazine, January 2012
Lots of flavor in this dish!

1/2 lb top round steak
1/2 cup beef broth
2 T soy sauce
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
2 T lime juice
1 T sesame oil
1 T minced garlic
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 T cornstarch
Nonstick cooking spray
1 T canola oil
3 small bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 small Vidalia or red onion
1 cup broccoli florets
3 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Place steak in freezer until firm but not frozen, about 20 mins. Cut against grain into thin slices.

2. In a large cowl, whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, orange juice concentrate, lime juice, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Stir in cornstarch until no lumps remain. Set aside.

3. Coat a wok or large skillet with cooking spray. Add oil and warm over medium heat. Add peppers, onion and broccoli; cook and stir 4-5 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. Increase heat to high and add steak. Cook and stir 3-4 minutes, until meat begins to brown.

4. Reduce heat to low and add broth mixture. Cook 2-3 minutes more, until sauce thickens and steak is no longer pink.

5. Garnish with scallions and serve.



Karl's reaction: "Wow. I like this a lot. Lots of good flavor in here. Real good job babe."

My take: I think this is awesome. I usually suck at making Chinese and this tasted really great! Loved the fresh veggies. I piled them on to make more food.

Orange-Dijon Salmon with Almond-and-Herb Couscous

Get those Omega-3s

Orange-Dijon Salmon with Almond-and-Herb Couscous
serves 4
recipe found in Fitness Magazine, January 2012
Refreshing salmon recipe!

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon orange marmalade
1 1/4 pounds salmon, cut into four equal portions
3/4 cup couscous
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
1 cup fresh chives, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard and orange marmalade. Place the salmon, skin side down, in a baking dish and spread the mustard-marmalade mixture evenly over the top of each piece; cook 12 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a small pot, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil; remove from heat. Stir in the couscous, cover and let sit 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and mix in the almonds, chives, parsley, mint, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and black pepper. Serve topped with salmon.

Karl's reaction - "I like this babe. It has a good taste to it. Good hearty portion."

My take - I liked this. It was easy to make and tasted great. I like making salmon different ways so this was cool!

Toasted Angel Hair with Sausage and Peppers

A Pampered Chef Recipe

Toasted Angel Hair with Sausage and Peppers
serves 4
recipe found in 29 Minutes to Dinner - From Everyday to Gourmet (The Pampered Chef)
Karl says this dish is in his top three


1 lb bulk hot Italian sausage
2 medium red bell peppers
1 lb uncooked angel hair pasta
3 garlic cloves, pressed
5 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup fresh basil, divided
1 oz Parmesan cheese

1. Place sausage into (12-in) skillet. Cook over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles. Remove sausage from skillet and set aside.

2. As sausage cooks, slice off tops and bottoms of bell peppers, remove and discard seeds and stems. Finely chop tops and bottoms. Remove and discard seeds and ribs from sides of peppers, slice into thin julienne strips.

3. Add pasta to skillet and toast 8-10 minutes, stirring after each 2-minute interval. Press garlic over pasta and add broth, all of the peppers and cooked sausage. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer vigorously 5-6 minutes or until pasta is tender.

4. As pasta simmers, chop basil, reserving half for garnish. When pasta is tender, remove from heat and stir in remaining basil.

5. To serve, divide pasta mixture among serving bowls, grate cheese over pasta. Garnish with reserved basil.



Karl's reaction: "Just taking one bite I already know I'm going to love this. Okay, this is officially my top three favorite meals you've ever made. Delectable."

My take: This was rather good. I never toasted noodles like that, but it gives it a real nice flavor! Very tasty!