Happy Halloween!

Made Emergency Cupcakes...Halloween Style...

Michael's parents, Frank and JoAnne where here and so I wanted to make the cupcakes festive. The buttercream didn't set up like it should have because I was a little too impatient with it.

Michael, Frank and JoAnne said they were cute and tasty!

FYI

I started a bio introduction in September and just finished it this morning. I put it in the links to the left side under Know Me.

Blogger is obviously having some issues. I have been having problems pulishing since yesterday. So my last post on Crispy Beef is a little off because it won't republish the changes to the entry. Hopefully it sorts itself out soon.

Crispy Beef

This is one of those recipes that I would have 4 years ago looked and thought it sounded too "hard" - now I look at and go why would I ever think that. It really is a good flavor to it.

The recipe:

1/4 cup cornstarch (I am sure another thickener could be used if you don't like using cornstarch)
salt and black pepper to taste
12 ounces flank steak, thinly sliced (really I have taken all sorts of different cuts of steak and used in this recipe and always turns out great)
olive oil for frying
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon chile paste (have left this out when I don't have it on hand or don't want it to be too spicy and tastes very good still)
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons chopped ginger root
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers - I usually cut them in strips. You also can get stir fry peppers and onions in the frozen vegetable section and I have used those before too when not in the mood for chopping.

Heat oil in deep-fryer, wok or deep pan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine cornstarch, salt and pepper together. Mix thoroughly. Toss the steak slices in the cornstarch mixture and coat well.

Deep fry the coated steak slices until golden brown. Check to make sure they are cooked through. Remove from oil, and set aside.

In another mixing bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey. Add sugar, chili paste, water, and ginger. Mix well and set aside.

Heat a wok or deep frying pan over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, and quickly saute the onion, garlic and peppers for 30 seconds. Add the sauce mixture, and cook another 30 seconds. Finally, add the strips of fried steak and toss to heat through and coat with sauce.

Drop Buttermilk Biscuits

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Cut 3/4 cup chilled butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir until evenly moistened. Using 1/4 cup dough for each biscuit, drop biscuits onto baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until biscuits are golden brown on top, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve warm. (12 servings)

Stuffed Peppers

This recipe will stuff 6 to 8 medium to large sized peppers. If they are large I usually cut the pepper in half. Because that is a lot of food for just Michael and myself I often freeze the "stuffing" and take it out a month later or so and either stuff peppers with it again or do something completely different with it.

Also I always here people say they don't like green peppers the taste is too strong. So do others...red, yellow, and orange are more on the sweet side.

The recipe:
6 to 8 Red, Yellow or Orange Peppers (I never do green but feel free to do them if it is what you like)
1 lb ground turkey (most recipes call for beef and really you can use that - I just use ground turkey as it is a little more healthy)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove of garlic minced
pepper to taste
1 cup cooked rice
1 can of kidney beans - drained and rinsed
1 can of corn - drained
1 can of diced or crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup shredded cheese (I use whatever I have on hand)

Cut the steam end of each pepper off. If they are large peppers cut them in half. Remove seeds and membranes, rinse peppers and then cook peppers in boiling water to cover - for about 5 minutes. Drain.

Cook ground meat, garlic, pepper, and onion in a skillet, stirring occasionally, until meet is light brown, drain. Stir in cooked rice, kidney beans, corn, and diced tomatoes and heat until all is mixed and hot.

Heat oven to 350. Stuff peppers with beef mixture. Stand in square baking dish. Top with cheese. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.



Stuffed peppers are a favorite of mine and I have stuffed them differently over the years...

Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers - just make your normal sloppy joe mix and stuff the peppers with it and top with cheese

Taco Stuffed Pepper - do black beans instead of kidney beans, do salsa instead of diced tomatoes, could even mix in some crushed tortilla chips or corn chips. Top with cheese.

Chicken Stuffed Peppers - do a can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup, cooked rice, diced cooked chicken, chopped broccoli or asparagus

Italian Stuffed Pepper - ground sweet italian sausage browned with onion and garlic, mixed with mushrooms, ricotta cheese, and some tomato sauce with seasonings. Mix together stuff in the peppers and top with some Parmesan or Mozzarella Cheese.

Vegetarian - There are all sorts of wonderful vegetables - zucchini, spaghetti squash, mushrooms, onions, asparagus, broccoli - combine any with a tomato sauce and herbs. Oh and don't forget beans! Kidney, navy, great northern, black beans...all would be great with a combo of veggies and sauce. If you do dairy - top with cheese.

Just think of your favorite veggies or meat and decide what sauce to combine it with and stuff it in peppers.

Chili and Homemade Bread

We have been out of town for 2 weeks and leave again on Tuesday. The fall air - crisp and cool inspired Michael to request chili and homemade bread for dinner on today...

Chili with a little sour cream and cheddar cheese on it...












2 round loaves of homemade bread....














Warm bread with butter smeared on them....















The chili was super easy...

2 cans of chili beans
2 cans of kidney beans
1 small onion finely chopped
1 lb ground browned meat (I use turkey)
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
pepper to season

All thrown in the crockpot and cooked for 5 hours

I didn't use any other seasonings and we both agreed this was the best chili I have made because neither of us needed a tums after! It really did have good flavor for not adding anything else to it. I know the can of chili beans had chili seasoning in it and it was just enough for us. The flavor was really good.