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.

Wraps and Homemade Tortillas

Wraps are a great lunch on a day off. Kevin helped saute all the vegetables, and we both enjoyed a completely homemade lunch.


The tortilla recipe is originally from Oh She Glows. Somehow her tortillas were a lot rounder. It's a mystery to me how she did that - this one is the roundest of the bunch. We had to make this recipe twice before they came out right. The first time it was way too sticky, and I am not sure what we did wrong, or what changed the second time.

Here is a picture of everything in the wrap - lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, red peppers, cheese, and ranch. Kevin also put hot sauce on his. Next time we will add some black beans, but there weren't any thawed this time.

Does anyone want to volunteer to clean up the kitchen?

Homemade Tortillas

- 2 cups flour (whatever kind you want - we used a mixture of white, wheat, and corn meal)
- 1/2 t salt
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 1 T Olive Oil
- 3/4 cup hot water

Preheat a skillet to medium high heat. In a bowl, mix all ingredients well. You may not need all the water to form a soft ball. Cover and let sit in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Divide into 8 equal parts and let sit, covered, another 20 minutes.

Roll each ball out to a 6- or 7-inch circle shape. . Then take the rolling pin and roll from the center outwards, back and forth a few times as you go around the circle. When it starts to get thinner, take your left hand (if you’re right handed) and turn the tortilla a couple inches. Use your right hand to use the rolling pin (holding in the middle) and roll from the center outwards. Keep turning and rolling until it is paper thin.

Place a tortilla into the skillet and watch until bubbles form. This won’t take long. When the bottom is lightly brown (or there are darker spots), flip over, press down once or twice, and cook for about 30-45 seconds, or until smoke appears.

Cook remaining tortillas, watching carefully, and place on a plate, with wet paper towels in between them. Refrigerate for later or remove the paper towels and freeze.

Garden Fresh Zucchini and Whole Grain Bake

Do you ever have a craving so big you can no longer ignore it? Try as you may, it sneaks up on you and whispers your name until you give in. This happened to me. It was caused by the Popcorn S'mores. I ate way too many, and felt positively sick after two days of binging on them. Dang it, I wanted some vegetables!

It is hard for me to eat enough veggies. I like them, but they require a lot of work. A. Lot. Of. Work. Like 10 minutes a week to chop them up. That is too much for me. Yes, yes. I know I spend several hours making junk food. Let's not get technical here.

Ann gave me this recipe, and I have made it four times so far. It says you can use shredded zucchini or chopped broccoli, but Ann made it with zucchini and I've always stuck with that. It has really expanded my zucchini recipes - I used to only make zucchini bread, and now there is one more thing I can make.

When I told her that I love the recipe but it is a lot of work, we commiserated on why we both needed a slave boy in the kitchen. I need him because I need somebody strong to shred the zucchini. Ann thought I was nuts for not having a food processor to shred and chop. I told her they were out of my price range, and she said they came in all price ranges. So.....can you give me any ideas on which food processors you like?

The smell of it baking in the oven makes my stomach beg for a piece. All of this begs the question: if I like vegetables, and I crave vegetables, why don't I eat more vegetables? Let's not get philosophical here. Let's just eat some zucchini rice bake!

Garden Fresh Zucchini and Whole Grain Bake

2 t chicken bouillon

2/3 C whole grains, uncooked (or 2 cups cooked)

1/2 C chopped pepper, green or red

2 C shredded zucchini or chopped broccoli

2 beaten eggs

1 C skim milk

1/2 t onion powder

1/2 t dried basil

1/2 t dried oregano

1/8 t pepper

3/4 C shredded cheese

4 ounces cream cheese

In a saucepan, combine the bouillon and 1 1/2 C water. Bring to boiling; add grains. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine pepper and 1/2 C water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Add shredded zucchini or chopped broccoli. Cover and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, or till tender-crisp. Drain. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat eggs then add milk, onion powder, basil, oregano, and pepper. Stir in cream cheese. Stir hot grains into the egg mixture. Stir in cooked vegetables. Spoon into a 9X13 casserole dish and bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Let stand 5 minutes before serving (if you can wait that long.)