EASY MONGOLIAN BEEF

 One of my favorite stir fry meals is crispy Mongolian Beef. It’s one of those unique dishes I get a craving for now and then. And no other beef recipe can satisfy.

This recipe for Mongolian Beef is amazingly simple and uses few ingredients. And it really takes advantage of the special properties of a cast-iron skillet.

For this recipe, I will help you determine what cut of beef you should use. And help you out with some useful tips about how to cook with and maintain your remarkable cast iron pan.

Ingredients

1 lb. flat iron steak (thinly sliced against the grain)

1/4 cup coconut oil, avocado oil or other oil of your choice

3-4 green onions (cut into 1-inch slices)

Marinade:

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 tsp ginger (grated)

1/4 cup coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce

Instructions

Cut the Flat Iron Steak into very thin slices against the grain

Place the meat in a zip lock bag or a bowl. Add the coconut aminos, ginger and garlic. Marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to cook, drain the meat from the marinade but reserve the liquid for later.

Pour the coconut oil in a large wok or cast iron skillet and heat it until it's almost smoking. Oil should be hot so you can get the nice crispy edges on the beef.

Carefully add the beef to the very hot oil and keep stir frying over a high heat. Taking care not to burn it. Normally this takes just 1-3 minutes. When the last batch of meat is in. Add the green onions and cook for the last 30 -45 seconds.

Remove the meat to a serving plate.

If you would like more sauce to serve with the meat quickly cook the remaining marinade for just a minute or two in your wok or skillet. We do this and serve it over rice and steamed veggies.

Easy Stromboli

 I shared this recipe first on Spend With Pennies.

It’s been a while since The Recipe Rebel has seen a 30 minute meal that is as easy and loveable as this Stromboli!

Anything that is pizza-flavored, in any form, is a hit here with the whole family.

Ingredients

1 can refrigerated pizza dough enough for 1 pizza

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided

1/3 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup chopped cooked ham

1/2 cup sliced salami

1/2 cup pepperoni slices

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll pizza dough out on a lightly floured surface into a roughly 12″ x 16″ rectangle (it doesn’t have to be exact!).

Spread marinara sauce over pizza dough, but leave one inch all the way around and 2-3″ at the long side furthest from you.

Top with 1 cup of the shredded cheese, then ham, salami and pepperoni. Finish with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

Roll up as tightly as possible, doing your best not to push out the toppings as you do so. Stop just before you reach the end.

Whisk together egg, water, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Brush over pizza dough where the edges will meet, then pinch together.

Place on prepared baking sheet with the seal down and brush with egg wash.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and slightly puffed. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Turkey Alfredo Stromboli

 This Turkey Alfredo Stromboli, friends — it’s a good one!

It’s got the perfect combination of easy, hearty and comforting for those chilly days we all know are ahead for quite some time yet (especially if you’re in Manitoba like we are!). It has so many of my favorite things:

I always buy an extra turkey early in the fall when they are featuured for the holidays — a small one that I can fit in my slow cooker and make this Crockpot Turkey with Garlic Butter, then I use the carcass to make broth, and soup, and I chop or shred the rest of the meat to freeze for easy meals down the road.

Ingredients

Alfredo Sauce

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoonsq all purpose flour

2 cups half and half or milk

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Stromboli

1 refrigerated pizza dough (391g can)

prepared Alfredo sauce

1 cup chopped, cooked turkey

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

garlic powder and Italian seasoning to sprinkle as desired

Instructions

Alfredo Sauce

In a medium pot, melt butter. Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute.

Add half and half or milk, and whisk until combined. Cook over medium heat, whisking often, until thickened. Set aside.

Stromboli

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Unroll pizza dough and roll with a rolling pin into a rough 12×18" rectangle.

Spread pizza dough with 3/4 cup prepared sauce (the rest will be used for dipping), top with turkey and mozzarella.

Fold in the short ends about 1/2" to contain the filling, then roll up the stromboli, standing at the long edge. Pinch dough to seal.

*Stir together egg and water until combined. Brush a small amount over top of stromboli, and sprinkle with a small amount of garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Let rest for 5-10 minutes, then slice and serve with remaining sauce.

Chicken Tetrazzini

We’ve come to the end of the month and I’m sharing my last chicken dinner to make with this month’s 6 Ingredient Staple: this Perfect Roast Chicken!

With our chicken carcass (it’s gold — don’t throw it out!) we made this Homemade Chicken Stock, and with our stock we made this classic Chicken Noodle Soup.

Now we’re taking our chicken and chicken stock to the next level with this easy Chicken Tetrazzini.

Ingredients

Sauce

¼ cup unsalted butter

1 cup chopped mushrooms

½ medium onion finely diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup all purpose flour

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups cream – 10%-18%

2 cups cooked, chopped chicken

1 cup frozen peas

To Assemble Tetrazzini:

375 grams dry spaghetti about 13oz

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Sauce

In a large skillet, melt butter.

Add mushrooms and onion and saute over medium heat until onion is softened and mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute.

Stir in flour until completely absorbed by the butter.

Add chicken stock and cream and whisk until smooth. Continue cooking over medium heat, whisking often, until slightly thickened (it won't be super thick in the end).

Stir in cooked chicken and peas.

Chicken Tetrazzini

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees if baking immediately.

Place spaghetti in a large pot of boiling, salted water and cook just until al dente. Drain.

Place cooked pasta in a 9×13" greased baking dish. Pour sauce over top and spread with a spatula over pasta so that it soaks down into the spaghetti.

Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly (see post above for make ahead instructions).

Sheet Pan Parmesan Chicken and Veggies

Ingredient:

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon seasoned salt, or to taste

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

½ pound fresh green beans, trimmed

1 small red potato, diced

1 sweet bell pepper, chopped

1 cup broccoli florets, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded flat

Optional Dipping Sauce:

½ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup ketchup

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Step 2

Combine oregano, parsley, paprika, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

Step 3

Place green beans, potato, bell pepper, broccoli, and garlic on the prepared sheet pan. Drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle with 1/2 of the seasoning mix; toss to coat. Spread vegetables on one side of the pan.

Step 4

Place flour in a bowl. Place melted butter in a second bowl. Combine panko, 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, and the remaining 1/2 of the seasoning mix in a third bowl.

Step 5

Remove any excess fat from chicken breasts and slice into 1 1/4 inch strips. Coat chicken strips in flour, then dredge in melted butter, and then dip in the Parmesan-panko mixture until heavily coated. Place on the empty half of the sheet pan and sprinkle with any remaining Parmesan-panko mixture, pressing onto the chicken.

Step 6

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip chicken strips, stir the veggies, and return to the oven. Bake until chicken juices run clear and veggies are crisp-tender, 10 to 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the chicken should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

Step 7

While the chicken is baking, whisk together mayonnaise, ketchup, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce.

Step 8

Remove chicken and veggies from the oven. Toss veggies with remaining Parmesan cheese. Serve with dipping sauce.

Perfect Roast Chicken

 Happy January!

Today I’m kicking off a brand new extension of Six Ingredient Suppers, which I’m calling Six Ingredient Staples.

On the first Monday of each month, I’m sharing a new staple recipe, and every Monday after that I’ll be sharing a new way to use it!

Ingredients

3-4 lb whole chicken

1/4 cup melted unsalted butter

2 teaspoons salt (you can reduce if you are sensitive to sodium or your chicken is smaller)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the giblets and neck from the inside of the chicken if they are there.

Combine melted butter with salt, paprika, garlic powder and pepper.

Use an upside down tablespoon (see video for a visual) to loosen the skin from the chicken breast and drumsticks as best you can.

Pour some of the melted butter under the skin onto the breasts and drumsticks and use the tablespoon to spread it around. Spread the rest of it onto the outside of the chicken on top of the skin (I do breast side only, as the underside of the chicken will be seasoned as it cooks)

Tie the legs tight to the body and tug the wings underneath (or you can tie the wings to the body as well).

Roast, uncovered, for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken (for a 3.5 lb chicken, I roast exactly 1 hour 10 minutes), until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part (inner thigh near the breast but away from the bone), reads at least 165 degrees F. If your chicken is darkening quickly, you can tent with tin foil to prevent further browning.

Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Slow Cooker Chicken Breast

 This chicken is so flavorful, and so juicy, with just a few ingredients (and one secret ingredient!).

I will admit, I have made plenty of dry, overcooked, unpalatable boneless chicken breasts in the slow cooker. I’m not proud of it, but we all do it every now and then, am I right??

I wanted to come up with a foolproof way to make great crockpot chicken breast — that is big on flavor (but still versatile enough to use it a variety of different ways or add your own sauce at the end), and ridiculously juicy.

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

In a small bowl, stir together the salt, parsley, garlic, pepper, onion powder and paprika. Season both sides of the chicken.

Add chicken broth and butter to slow cooker, and stir to combine (mash the butter up a bit to disperse if you can).

Add the chicken to the slow cooker, overlapping only as much as necessary.

Cover and cook on low for 3 hours or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached. 

If you’re hoping for clean slices, remove to a cutting board and cover to keep warm. Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.

Keto King Ranch Casserole

 You are going to love this keto casserole recipe! It’s a ketofied version of King Ranch Casserole, which is a casserole dish made from creamy chicken, cheese, salsa, and tortillas (this recipe uses a keto-friendly tortilla, of course). It’s been called “Texan lasagna,” and I guarantee you’re going to love it!

This is just a quick overview of how to make this low carb king ranch casserole. For the recipe in detail, scroll to the recipe card at the end of the post.

Saute onions in butter over medium-high heat. Then add almond flour and cook until mixture thickens. Add chicken broth.

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter

1/4 medium onion chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 tbsp almond flour

1/2 cup chicken broth

4 oz sour cream

1/2 cup sugar-free or low-sugar salsa

8 oz chopped, cooked chicken (about 2 cups)

8 oz shredded Cheddar cheese divided

2 Siete Almond Flour Tortillas cut into 1/4- x 1/2-inch pieces

Non-stick cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until onions are translucent.

Stir almond flour into onion mixture and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until onions thicken slightly. Stir in chicken broth and combine well. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Stir sour cream and salsa into sauce to combine. Remove skillet from heat and stir in chicken, 6 oz shredded cheddar cheese, and tortilla pieces.

Transfer mixture to 8- x 8-inch dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle top of mixture with remaining 2 oz shredded Cheddar cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.