Sorry for the slacking!!

It seems I sort of took the weekend off. I didn't actually mean to, so sorry baout that. I've been a little busy.

Well, last night for our weekly Company Dinner we went with a Chinese theme. Chinese food is not my forte', but I do make a good egg roll, so that's where we started. I told Company I was making egg rolls, and my friend Elizabeth said she had a great recipe for pot stickers. Oh yes, I could live on pot stickers. So that was good. My problem was the entree' portion of dinner. I will admit to the world, that I am terrible at stir frying. I always overcook everything and my sauces are pasty. I'm sure part of the problem is my lack of proper equipment, but even so, I should be able to at least muddle something up. So the CL BB to the rescue for me. I made CL's Three Pepper Beef, and it was very good, and quite easy. Since one of our guests doesn't care for peppers, I made a half a recipe of the pepper beef, and then subbed a blend of mushrooms for the other half of the recipe. I also added some Oyster Sauce to the finished mushroom product. And I have to admit, they turned out pretty good.

I will also admit that my egg roll is not my creation. I use CL's Baked Egg Roll recipe- but I still deep fry them. Baked egg roll wrappers are really not good, but their filling is, so I use that, escept that I add a little more black pepper than called for. I will post both recipes below here for anyone interested.

And finally, to top of the meal, Elizabeth made a fine contribution to my rice challenge for the week. She brought a Sticky Coconut Rice with Mangoes. This was very good. I had her bring the recipe along- and I will share that a little later when I have more time. But the creamy coconutty rice and the mangoes and all topped with a drizzle of coconut milk and toasted coconut. Yum. I have bit in the fridge, and I am thinking it won't last very long. But in the meantime, here are the CL recipes I used last night.

Three-Pepper Beef
This stir-fry gets its color and crunch from a variety of bell peppers. Serve over rice.

2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
1 teaspoon sugar,
divided1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound flank steak, trimmed and thinly sliced across the grain
1/4 cup low-salt beef broth
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 1/4 cups cubed red bell pepper
1 1/4 cups cubed yellow bell pepper
1 1/4 cups cubed green bell pepper

Combine 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, salt, and flank steak in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Set aside.
Combine 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, broth, soy sauce, and black pepper, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves; set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the green onions, ginger, and garlic; stir-fry 10 seconds. Add beef mixture; stir-fry 3 minutes or until done. Remove the beef mixture from pan; cover and keep warm. Add peas and bell peppers to pan; stir-fry 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add beef and broth mixture to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 3/4 cups)

NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 326(36% from fat); FAT 13g (sat 5.2g,mono 5g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 34.1g; CHOLESTEROL 76mg; CALCIUM 50mg; SODIUM 832mg; FIBER 4.4g; IRON 4.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 17.6g
Martin Yan
Cooking Light, JULY 2004

Baked Egg Rolls

"My mother got this recipe from her grandmother, and I've modified it to include turkey. When dipped in traditional Vietnamese sauce and served with rice noodles on the side, these make an easy, low-fat, and delicious main meal." -CL Reader
Egg rolls:
2/3 cup coarsely chopped celery
2/3 cup coarsely chopped carrot
2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound ground turkey breast
1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
14 egg roll wrappers
1 large egg white
Cooking spray

Sauce:
3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine celery and carrot in food processor, and pulse 10 times or until finely chopped.
Combine celery mixture and cabbage in a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; vent. Microwave at high 5 minutes; drain.
Heat vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add turkey; cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cabbage mixture, 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, and pepper. Cover and chill 15 minutes.
Place 1 egg roll wrapper at a time onto work surface with 1 corner pointing toward you (wrapper should look like a diamond). Trim 1 inch off right and left corners of wrapper. Spoon 3 tablespoons turkey filling into center of wrapper. Fold lower corner of egg roll wrapper over filling. Fold in trimmed corners. Moisten top corner of wrapper with egg white; roll up jelly-roll fashion. Repeat procedure with remaining wrappers, turkey filling, and egg white.
Lightly coat egg rolls with cooking spray, and place, seam side down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until golden brown.
To prepare sauce, combine 3/4 cup soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon ginger; serve with egg rolls. Garnish with green onions, if desired. Yield: 14 servings (serving size: 1 roll and about 1 tablespoon sauce)

NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 79(29% from fat); FAT 2.5g (sat 0.4g,mono 0.9g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 5.7g; CHOLESTEROL 11mg; CALCIUM 18mg; SODIUM 532mg; FIBER 0.7g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8g

Cooking Light, MARCH 2001