Stir-Fried Beef & Bok Choy with Ginger

 I love this recipe. It has a wonderful blending of flavors. Simple, quick to make, healthy, and tastes delicious!

  STIR-FRIED BEEF & BOK CHOY WITH GINGER

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound (500 g) flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain

1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 pound (500 g) baby bok choy

2 tablespoon sherry cooking wine

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon Asian chile paste

2 teaspoons peanut oil (or olive oil)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, stir together the sherry, soy sauce, and chile paste. 

2. Cut the bok choy lengthwise into halves or quarters (depending on size).

3. In a work or large frying pan, heat 1 1/2 teaspoon of oil over high heat. Add the bok choy and stir-fry just until tender crisp (about 3 to 4 minutes). Transfer to a bowl.

4. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon oil to the pan. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant but not browned (15-30 seconds).

5. Add the beef and cook, stirring, just until no longer pink (about 2 minutes).

One-Pan Pesto Chicken and Veggies

This 30-minute Mediterranean style chicken recipe is a new favorite dish of mine. The combo of veggies, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes is delicious. This is an easy to make meal, very flavorful, healthy and hearty. 

ONE-PAN PESTO CHICKEN AND VEGGIES
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound chicken thighs or breast, boneless and skinless, sliced into strips

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil, chopped

1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed, cut in half, if large

1/4 cup basil pesto

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, yellow and red, halved

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a large skillet on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, add sliced chicken. Season chicken generously with salt, add half of chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Cook everything on a medium heat for 5-10 minutes, flipping a couple of times, until the chicken is completely cooked through. Remove the chicken and sun-dried from the skillet, leaving oil in.

2. Add asparagus (ends trimmed), seasoned generously with salt, remaining half of the sun-dried tomatoes, and cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the asparagus cooked through. Remove asparagus to serving plate.

Fish and Chips

An easy and delicious recipe is from Nancy Fuller of Food Network's Farmhouse Rules. This is a great beer-batter recipe. It was light and crispy, the cod was moist, tasty and cooked to perfection. 

The homemade chips were also a big hit with my family. They were crispy, fresh and in my opinion just plain better than store-bought potato chips. Also, I liked the fact that  I could control the amount of salt I put on the chips and the thickness of the potato slices (slicing the potatoes using a mandolin slicer is fun!). 

BEER-BATTER FISH

Total: 1 hour 10 minutes

Active: 55 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Intermediate

Fish Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable oil, for frying

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more to dust fish

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon baking powder

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 bottles wheat beer*

2 eggs, whisked

3 pounds cod fillets, cut in nice pieces

Lemon wedges, for serving

malt vinegar, for serving

tartar sauce, for serving

Homemade chips, recipe follows


Directions:
1. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 360 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, a big pinch of salt and some pepper. 

3. Whisk in beer, and then the eggs.

3. In batches, dust the fish with flour, and then carefully dip into the batter. Shake off any excess, and then gently place into the oil. 

Simple Succotash

Succotash is a dish packed with healthy vegetables such as corn, tomatoes, onions and lima beans. What makes this recipe extra delicious is the addition of bacon and fresh basil. You can serve it as an entree or as a side dish alongside batter-fried fish, pork chop or fried chicken. It is absolutely delicious! 

SIMPLE SUCCOTASH

Total: 30 minutes

Active: 30 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Level: Easy

Ingredients:

4 thick slices bacon, chopped

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small yellow onion, chopped

5 ears corn, shucked and kernels cut off (about 5 cups)

2 cups canned or frozen lima (or baby lima) beans, rinsed

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon, and cook until the fat has rendered and the bacon has crisped, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, garlic and onions and cook until the onions have softened a bit, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the corn and cook for another 2 minutes. 

Pasta Puttanesca

This is an amazing pasta dish. All of the ingredients blends perfectly into a flavorful, rich sauce.

PASTA PUTTANESCA

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yield: Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, chopped

3-4 canned anchovies, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons capers

3/4 cup (95g) pitted olives (black or green), roughly chopped

1 pound spaghetti

Salt

Olive oil for drizzling

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1. Saute onions, anchovies, garlic. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep saute pan. When the oil is hot, saute the onions until soft and translucent, about 4-5 minutes. While the onions are cooking, stir in the chopped anchovies along with some of the oil from the can. Add the garlic and cook another minute.

2. Mix in the tomato paste and cook it for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, chili pepper flakes, and olives. Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer.

4. Cook the spaghetti: Bring a large pot of salted water (5 quarts water, 2 tablespoons salt) to a boil. When you add the spaghetti to the boiling water to cook, add the capers to the sauce and continue to simmer it gently. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, to al dente, cooked but still slightly firm.