Pepper Steak

 Pepper Steak is one of our favorite go to recipes. You can add different vegetables to the dish like green beans, broccoli, frozen Oriental Stir Fry Blend Vegetables, or corn for a change. Round steak is usually the cheapest cut of meat, but it can be the toughest as well. If you find another cut of meat cheaper or about the same price, buy that instead.

Ingredients

1 lb. round steak or roast, with fat trimmed
1 Tbsp. oil
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 1/2 Tbs. sugar
Dash pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 to 2 stalks celery, chopped (optional)
1 can mushrooms, drained
2 sweet peppers, diced or cut into strips
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) beef broth or
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 c. water
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 c. cooked rice 

Directions

Cut round steak into thin strips. I usually cut the steak while it is partially frozen, so I can cut it really thin.

In a glass bowl, combine Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and a dash of pepper. Add meat and allow it to sit and marinate for at least 30 minutes. Stir occasionally so all the meat has a nice soaking. It gives flavor to the meat and it helps to tenderize as well. 

Heat oil in a heavy cast iron skillet. Strain off the sauce mixture from the meat, but do not discard it. Brown the steak in batches until meat is browned. It does not take for the meat to be done when thinly sliced.

Add the garlic, onion, celery, mushrooms and peppers.  Saute them about 3 to 4 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add a little more oil if needed. 

Combine the beef broth and the rest of the marinade.  Pour into the beef and vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil. 

Mix the cornstarch and water together until smooth.  Pour into the beef mixture, stirring until thickened. and bubbly. 

Serve over rice with tomatoes on the top or on the side. 

Easy Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

We love Sweet and Sour Chicken. Although this recipe may seem complicated, it really isn't. It is quick and easy to make. Sweet and Sour Chicken is an inexpensive dinner idea and one that I'm sure you and your family will love.   

Making this meal at home is so much cheaper than eating out, and it is better for you as well. You control the ingredients you want in the meal.

Ingredients

3 to 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, about 1 pound
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. cornstarch or more
1/4 c. flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbs. oil
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 2 sweet pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped

Sauce

2/3 c. chicken stock or broth
4 Tbs. cornstarch
3/4 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1/4 c. ketchup
1/3 c. pineapple juice
1 can pineapple chunks (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°.  Spray a 9 x 13 with cooking spray.

Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper. 

Place the cornstarch in a bowl or in a big, zip-lock plastic bag. 

In another bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy.

Place the flour in a zip-lock, plastic bag or a large bowl. 

Add the chicken pieces into the bag or bowl of cornstarch. Shake the bag or gently toss the chicken in the bowl until all the pieces are coated with cornstarch. Add more cornstarch if needed to coat all the pieces.

Dip the chicken pieces into the eggs, and then into the flour.  Shake the bag until all the pieces are coated with flour. Add more flour if needed.  

Heat the oil in a heavy cast iron skillet. Working in batches, add some of the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Place the fried chicken onto a paper towel lined plate to absorb the excess oil.

Add the garlic, peppers and onion to the skillet. Sauté them until tender.

Place the chicken, garlic, peppers and onions into the prepared baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine chicken stock and cornstarch together. Add vinegar, sugar, brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup pineapple juice and pineapple. Pour over the chicken and vegetables.

Bake for 55 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened. Stir every 15 minutes, so the chicken is evenly coated.

Serve over rice or have some broccoli on the side.

 

Company Beef Casserole

 

Ingredients

12 oz. pkg. noodles
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 (16 oz.) tomato sauce
1 tsp. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 ( 8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. cottage cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain

In a large cast iron skillet, brown the hamburger and onion together.  Drain off grease.

In a bowl, combine eggs, cream cheese, garlic powder, sour cream, cottage cheese, salt and pepper. 

In a 9 x 13-inch pan, layer the noodles, cream mixture and meat mixture alternately. 

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes.  You can also make this the evening before and refrigerate until ready to bake. Increase baking time by 10 minutes.

 Fluffy Sourdough Pancakes

Instead of throwing away the starter discard, you can use it to make some delicious pancakes. They turn out light and fluffy, and they are so good.  It's a great way to start your day, and they don't take long to prepare, either.

Ingredients

2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 milk
1 c. sourdough starter
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbs melted butter or oil

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. 

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk, sourdough starter, egg and butter or oil. Whisk only until combined. It is all right if there are a few small lumps in the batter. 

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle plate on medium heat. Spray the surface with cooking spray, or use some butter or margarine. Be careful, so the butter does not burn. If you have a temperature control on the griddle plate, heat 300° to 350°.

Pour about a 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter onto the hot skillet.  You can use more batter if you want bigger pancakes.. Cook until you see bubbles appear on the surface and the edges start to become firm up. It can take 2 to 3 minutes, depending on your griddle and how hot the skillet is. Carefully, lift one side of the pancake to see if it is lightly browned. If it is, then flip the pancake with a spatula. Cook until browned on the other side, about 1 to 2 minutes, or until the pancake is cooked through. 

Serve warm with butter, syrup, fruit, powdered sugar or what ever you like to put on your pancakes.

Herb Sourdough Focaccia Bread

This bread is so good! The downside is that it takes longer to make using sourdough starter then if you make it with yeast. This is a great way to use up the discard starter instead of throwing it away.  Besides, who can resist fresh home baked bread hot from the oven?

Ingredients

1/2 to  3/4 c. starter
2 c. very warm water
4 c. flour
3 Tbs. oil or soft butter
1 Tbs. rosemary, finely minced
2 1/2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. oregano
1 Tbs. basil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbs. olive oil
Salt, pepper
Parmesan cheese

Directions

In a large bowl, combine starter, warm water and 1 cup. flour. Beat with a wooden spoon for about 2 minutes.

Add the oil or butter, rosemary, salt, sugar, oregano, basil and garlic, stirring to combine. 

Add as much flour as you can stir in with a wooden spoon.  When it becomes to hard to stir, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough by hand, adding the rest of the flour as necessary to keep it from being really sticky.  However,you will want the dough to be a little bit sticky. Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes our until it is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn the dough over so all sides of the dough is coated with oil to keep it from drying out. Cover the bowl and place it on the counter and allow to rest for 30 minutes.  When the half hour is up, reach into the bowl, grab one corner of the dough, pull it up and press it into the center of the dough. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the process at least 8 times. Then cover the bowl again and leave out at room temperature overnight, or 12 to 18 hours.

The next day, when the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough down to deflate it.

Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into a 12 x 17-inch baking sheet.

Place the dough on the cookie sheet. Press the dough with your hands and fingers, until it almost covers the bottom of the cookie sheet. Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil over the top of the dough and place in in a warm location to rise until doubled. This can take approximately 4 hours or more.

After the dough has doubled in volume, you will want to dimple the dough. With oiled hands, begin  dimpling the dough with your fingertips. Stretch the dough as well until it reaches the sides of the baking sheet.

Sprinkle the top with the coarse salt, pepper, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese. You can also add other toppings like tomatoes, olives, onions, browned hamburger, crumbled cooked bacon or other cheeses. The choices are endless.

Place the pan in the oven. Set the oven to 375° and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.

 Sourdough Biscuit Recipe

Don't throw out the discard starter if you don't want to  make bread.  You can use the discard to make Sourdough Biscuits.

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 stick cold butter Or margarine, butter flavored shortening
1/2 c buttermilk* or you can use whole milk
1 cup sourdough starter discard

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°. Grease a cookie sheet or baking sheet.

Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.

Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two dull knives held together in your hand. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs or small peas when it is done. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

Pour in the buttermilk and sourdough starter. Stir only until the dry ingredients are moistened and a ball starts to form. Do not over stir or the biscuits will be tough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 10 to 12 times. If the dough is really sticky, add a little flour.

Roll out the dough until it is 1/2-inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter dipped in flour. You can also use a glass or a cup. Dip the rim of the glass or cup in flour so the dough does not stick to the sides. 

Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 10-12 baking powder biscuits.

You can make your own buttermilk by adding a half tablespoon of vinegar to the whole milk. Allow this to sit for about 8 to 10 minutes.

Potato Flake Sourdough Starter

If you have a lot of instant potato flakes, you can make Potato Flake Starter. It is like the sour dough starter, except it uses instant potato flakes. It does need yeast at the beginning, but after that, you feed it every once a week with potato flakes, sugar and water.  

Ingredients

1 pkg. or 1 Tbsp. yeast
1 cup warm water (110°-115°)
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. instant potato flakes

Directions

Mix yeast, warm water, sugar and instant potato flakes in a glass jar or container. Cover loosely and let stand on the kitchen counter for 2 days. Stir daily.

Feed the starter with 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons potato flakes and 1 cup water. Stir until smooth. Leave it in a warm location, 70° to 76°, for 8 hours.

Place in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

Stir the mixture well. Remove 1 cup starter to make your sour dough bread.

Feed the starter with sugar, water and instant potato flakes. Stir well. Cover loosely and leave it on the counter for 2 days, stirring daily. Place it in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

Simply repeat the process of stirring the mixture well. Remove 1 cup of the starter to use for your baking, needs and then feed the starter with the potato flakes, sugar and water.

If you don’t make bread, biscuits or pancakes when you feed the starter, you will need to discard 1 cup of starter at each feeding. Or give it to a friend with directions on feeding and recipes to use it in.