French Bread Pizza

Yesterday Fax texted me from Walmart and asked if we needed anything. I texted back that we needed bread, butter, and dinner. For the dinner part he brought home: a loaf of french bread, a jar of pizza sauce, a bag of grated mozzarella cheese, and a bag of pepperoni. This dinner is just so easy and inexpensive. (I had this all made by the time the oven had heated.) The worst part of making pizza is, of course, the crust. Not with this. Just slice the loaf in half lengthwise and position each half, inside-up on a cookie sheet. Spread each half with pizza sauce and top with cheese and pepperoni. We usually do one with just cheese and one with cheese and pepperoni. Then bake at 350 F for about 12 minutes. Once the cheese is all melted and the bread is crispy, I like to broil the pizza for a few minutes to lightly brown the cheese. Andy and Christy were over last night and Wynn and Gracie enjoyed the pizza too. I forgot to take a picture, so I stole this one from the interenet. And feel free, of course, to top the pizza with whatever your family likes!

Thanks for a great dinner Fax!

Flank Steak Stir Fry with Asparagus and Red Pepper

Flank Steak Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Red Pepper Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed, cut on the diagonal into 1 1/2 inch lengths (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 lb of flank steak, sliced in half lengthwise (along the grain) and then cut into thin strips, 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide (put the steak in the freezer for 15 minutes before slicing to make it easier to slice)
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, de-ribbed, and cut into thin strips 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide
• 2 teaspoons of cornstarch dissolved into 3 Tablespoons of water

All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce

• 3 Tbsp soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce for gluten-free version)
• 1 tsp finely chopped, peeled, fresh ginger
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 green onion, including green tops, chopped
• 1/2 tsp chili oil

METHOD

1 While you are chopping the ingredients in preparation, bring a small saucepan of water to boil. Parboil the asparagus pieces for 2 minutes, drain, rinse in cold water, drain, and set aside. If you are planning to serve this dish with rice, in a separate pan, prepare 2 cups of white rice, following the instructions on the rice package.

2 Prepare the All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce by combining the ingredients in a small dish, and set aside.

3 Stir-fry the asparagus in a wok (or a thick-bottomed pan with at least 2" sides that can take high heat) in 1 Tbsp of oil, on high heat, for about 2 minutes until lightly browned. Remove asparagus from pan and set aside.

4 Add another 1 Tbsp of oil to the pan and stir fry the beef strips, in 2 batches, for 2-3 minutes until browned but still pink inside. Return the first batch of beef to the pan and add the bell pepper. Stir and toss over high heat until just beginning to wilt, 1-2 minutes.

5 Quickly stir the cornstarch liquid and add it to the pan along with the stir fry sauce. Cook until sauce thickens, 1-2 minutes. Return the asparagus to the pan, toss to evenly coat and serve with steamed white rice (unless you are going low-carb, in which case, leave out the rice)

Wendy's Chili & Cornbread

I made this chili & cornbread for our dinner rotation last week. Fax won't eat it because it has beans, but all my kids will. (Yes, that includes Brook.) And like the picture, toppings we enjoy are sour cream and grated cheese. Quite tasty, and if you really want to healthy-it-up, you could use ground turkey. I personally think that would be WRONG, but whatever! And it's called Wendy's chili because it tastes very much like the chili at Wendy's. (That was probably obvious.) And my kids LOVE cornbread. You can also use the cornbread recipe to make muffins, if you prefer.

Wendy's Chili

Ingredients:

1-1/2 to 2 pounds of ground beef
1 can (29 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz) dark kidney beans, with liquid
1 can (15 0z) light kidney beans, with liquid
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, with liquid
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 green chilies, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups water

Directions:

Brown ground beef and drain off fat. Crumble into small pieces and add to Crockpot. Cook onion and celery in small amount of oil until somewhat tender. Add to Crockpot along with remaining ingredients. Cook on high 2-3 hours. Stir once every hour.

Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil

Directions:

Preaheat oven to 425 F. Grease 9-inch square pan and set aside.
In medium mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients. In larger mixing bowl, mix together wet ingredients (eggs, milk, & oil). Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. (I know I do this backwards, but I think it works better to add the dry to the wet.) Pour batter into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Serve with butter and/or honey.

Corn Salsa

WARNING - You will be hooked on this recipe for life. So if you're trying to cut down your chip intake right now do not make this recipe!


1 can Black Eye Peas Beans - drained
1 can Corn - drained
3 Tomatoes - chopped and seeded
1 bunch Green Onion - chopped
1 bunch Cilantro - chopped
1 package Good Seasons Zesty Italian Dressing Mix - prepared
2 -3 Avocados - chopped

Combine all ingredients except Avocado. Add Avocado just before serving. ENJOY.

This is my sister-in-laws recipe so props go to Karen.