Stir Fry and Sick Kids

Today I watched 2 crazy kids. I love them, but they wear me out. We went mountain climbing on a pile of snow, and had craft time, and french toast for lunch. But both of them had fevers and didn't feel well this afternoon. This is a first for me, with them being sick, and man, its exhausting! So I opted for something easy tonight! Another Recipezaar find.

Asian Chicken Penne
Sauce
3 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
salt

Pasta
2 cups penne pasta
2 green onions, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 1/2 cups snow peas
1 cup broccoli floret
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1/4 cup slivered almond, toasted
1 tablespoon sesame seed, toasted

Prepare pasta according to package directions; set aside. Whisk sauce ingredients together in small mixing bowl; set aside. Steam red pepper, snow peas and broccoli for 4-5 minutes until crisp/tender. In a large bowl combine pasta, sauce, steamed veggies, chicken, green onions, almonds and sesame seeds. Allow to blend for 5 minutes; serve hot or cold.

I coppied this straight from the recipezaar page, I didn't use exact measurements, and for the veggies, I used a frozen mix of all the veggies listed.

Pot Pie

Last night I made a pot pie. It turned out pretty well, but I didn't follow a pastry crust recipe. I just tried to remember. While it tasted just fine, it was a pain in the ass to get into the pan and on top of the filling. So, words of wisdom: Use a recipe for pie crust.

Anyway I just sort of made this up as I went:

Deer Pot Pie
1 lb Ground Deer
1 T Olive Oil
1 T Minced Garlic
1 t Chili Powder
1/4 t Cumin
1 t Basil
1 t Oregano
1 Bag Frozen Veggies
1/2 c Warm Water
1 T Cornstarch
1 t Better Than Bullion, Vegetable Base
1 uncooked Pie Crust (top and bottom)

Heat olive oil and garlic in a large skillet/wok. Add burger, and spices, and cook until barely pink. Add the veggies and cook until warm. Mix the warm water, cornstarch and vegetable base, add to the wok. Preheat oven to 425*F. Stir and continue cooking until sauce is thick. Pour into pie shell. Place pastry top over the filling. Poke holes in the top with a fork. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Truffles

I'm a big fan of Recipezaar.com. I find so many good recipes there. Here's one for the most amazing truffles:

Raspberry Truffles

8 oz semisweet chocolate

1/4 c butter 2 T cream (I use 3 T cream + 2 T Creme de Cocao)

1/2 c raspberry jam (preferably seedless)

2 T lemon juice

1/2 c cornstarch or cocao powder

Melt the chocolate and put in medium sized bowl. Bring the cream and butter to a boil. When boiling remove from heat and add to the chocolate. Mix well. Add jam, lemon, and Creme de Cacao and whisk in. Cover the mixture and place in the freezer for 60-90 minutes. Remove from the freezer, and line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Scoop the mixuture out and place in 2 T balls on the waxed paper. Chill for 15 minutes. Roll balls in the cornstarch or cocao powder, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and chill overnight. The coating I use for these comes from the book "Double Shot" by Diane Mott Davidson:

Chocolate Coating

6 oz dark chocolate

2 T clarified butter (regular unsalted works, too)

Melt chocolate and butter together on low heat. Using 2 forks (this method worked best for me) drop each ball into the melted chocolate and coat, allow excess chocolate to drip off. Then place back on the waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Stir the melted chocolate often. These can be sprinkled with nuts or crushed candies, but this must be done immediately, the chocolate sets very quickly. When the chocolate coating has fully set, serve or wrap in foil.

Just Starting

This is very exciting. My family's been telling me for a while I should do something like this, and now that my computer has crashed and I've lost all my recipes I finally decided I would. Hopefully this time I'll get everything where it can't be lost. And I won't have to do all my research and testing again!