Chinese Orange Beef

Yep, you guessed it. I am STILL playing catch-up from all the cooking we did with my parents last weekend. I tell ya - they are slave drivers.

The good thing about cooking with my parents is that Kevin ate everything we made. That almost never happens. Here's how it usually goes down: I make it and I eat it. He will maybe smell it before refusing to consume it, but it usually doesn't progress that far before the rejection.

Kevin really liked this meal. He said it would be even better if you left out the vegetables and served the meat on a sandwich.

Chinese Orange Beef

2 pounds beef stew meat

1/2 C teriyaki sauce

1/2 C orange marmalade

1 t garlic, minced

1 t fresh ginger, minced

1 red or orange pepper, cut into strips

6 oz. snow peas, strings removed

4 scallions, thinly sliced

Add beef, teriyaki sauce, orange marmalade, garlic, and ginger to crock pot. Mix together and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Stir in pepper strips and snow peas; cover and cook on high for 10 minutes until vegetables are tender-crisp. Serve over rice and top with scallions.

The Cowboy Monte Cristo

All the Monte Cristo sandwiches I have eaten were dipped in a flour batter and then deep fried and served with raspberry jam. They were yummy, but I ran across this recipe that uses a simple egg batter, and it sounded delicious and way healthier. It is more like stuffed French Toast than the deep fried sandwiches I ran across at Bennegans.

It is cowboy style because we used beef and turkey instead of ham and turkey. It is really simple to make: just put together a sandwich with cheese, tomatoes, avocados, beef, turkey, and anything else that suits your fancy. Butter the inside of the bread, then dip it into 2 eggs that have been beaten with a little water. Pan fry it like French Toast, then snarf it down.

Inside-out Cheeseburgers

Kevin, the master of all things made with burger, has done it again. He fired up the grill and whipped up some extra juicy inside-out cheeseburgers. The best thing is they are really easy. All I did was sit back, pay Kevin a few kisses, and WALLA! Dinner was served.


It was a bit more work for Kevin. First, patty out a pound of ground beef into 12 thin patties. Then put a handful of cheese into the center of one patty.

Put a patty on top of the cheese and seal the edges.

Grill 'em up.

And enjoy! We have a few left over, and if you come over right now we will give you one. And Kevin won't even make you pay for it with kisses (I hope.)

Crunch Wrap Supreme

There is no doubt that the one fast food item far superior to all others is the Crunch Wrap Supreme at Taco Bell. I happened to run across a recipe at Hungry Girl for a version to make at home, and I jumped for joy. Then I ran into the kitchen and fired up the burner.

Do you want to know the best thing about this picture? It shows the pretty half. The other side didn't fare so well, but what the heck....I ate it just the same.


This is remarkably easy to make. Hungry Girl uses soy crumbles but even using that word makes my stomach turn. I eat meat.

Crunch Wrap Supreme at Home
1 large tortilla
3 corn chips
1/3 C ground beef, cooked and crumbled
1/3 C refried beans
1/4 C shredded cheese
1/4 C shredded lettuce
1/3 tomato, diced
1 T sour cream
1/2 t taco seasoning

Combine the cooked ground beef and taco seasoning. Spritz the skillet with oil and place the tortilla on it. Spread a layer of r fried beans, then sprinkle on the ground beef. Put the cheese on top of the beef. Next comes the corn chips. Putting them next to the cheese helps them stay crispy. Then layer the sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Leave 2 inches of tortilla around the entire edge. When everything is hot, fold the bottom edge of the tortilla up. Then fold overlapping sections all the way around. Flip so the folded side is down and heat for 3-4 minutes on each side to brown the outside of the tortilla.