Mongolian Beef and Spicy Asian Noodles

I'm back! I hate not being able to cook and post recipes because to me, that is my "fun time." But, I have been super busy lately and also not feeling well...Anyways, enough with the excuses and on to the yummiest, most tasty recipe I have made in quite a while. I am going to  apologize up front because I did not get any pictures during the cooking/prep time because I wasn't sure if I was going to post this recipe or not. If you love sweet/spicy foods, you will love both of these. The beef is not spicy (you could make it spicy) but the noodles have a little kick! I hope you enjoy both! :)

Mongolian Beef

Ingredients:

2 tsp + 3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

2 Tbs Minced Garlic (Fresh is always best!)

1 tsp Fresh chopped (as small as you can chop) Ginger

1/2 Cup Soy Sauce

1/2 Cup Water

2/3 Cup Brown Sugar

1 LB Flank Steak (I used the sliced up Stir Fry Beef)

1/4 Cup Corn Starch

4 Scallions Copped in 1/2 inch pieces (Only use the Green Part for this)

(If you want spicy, Add in a pinch or two of crushed red peppers)

Cooking Instructions:

• Heat 2 tsp oil over Med/Low heat in Med/Small sauce pan. No hotter because vegetable oil does not have a super high smoke point.
• Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and ginger and sautee for 2 mins. Add in water, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil for 2 mins and remove from heat. Set aside on another burner to keep it from cooking if you use an electric stove. The sauce WILL burn if you keep it on heat and that probably tastes bad.
• Toss meat in cornstarch until the pieces are all coated on both sides. If you didn't use the pre-sliced up stir fry beef, cut your steak into 1/4 inch slices then toss in corn starch. Put the meat in a sieve and sift the extra starch off the meat.
• In a large Saute Pan, heat 3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil over med heat. When oil is hot add meat. Cook each side 1.5 minutes. Remove meat and place on paper towel lined plate.
• Drain remaining vegetable oil from large saute pan and add in the brown sauce you made earlier. Leave it on Med heat. Once the sauce comes to a boil again, add the meat and scallions. Stir continuously for about 4-5 Minutes. 
• Serve & Enjoy!

Spicy Asian Noodles

Ingredients:

1 LB Asian Noodles (whatever kind you want. Get them in the Asian section)

3 tsp Fresh Chopped Ginger (chop as small as you can)

2 Tbs Sriracha

4 Tbs Rice Vinegar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Cup Soy Sauce

1/2 tsp Crushed Red Peppers (If you don't like spicy, leave this out)

1 Cup Shredded Carrots

Cooking Instructions:

• Mix Soy Sauce, Brown Sugar, Sriracha, Rice Vinegar, Ginger, and Crush Red Peppers in large mixing bowl.
• Cook Noodles as package instructs.
• Drain Noodles and add to large mixing bowl of sauce
• Marinate the noodles in the fridge for 30 minutes-1 hour
• After marinating, add in carrots and toss. If there is a lot of liquid still in the bowl, dump some out.
• Put noodles in pot on stove and heat through. 
• Serve & Enjoy.

I served the beef and noodles together, but I also made some Basmati rice and served the beef over it. 

Also, These are the Asian Noodles I chose to use. The Noodles turn out so much better if you use Asian noodles rather than regular Spaghetti Noodles or Fettuccine Noodles.

Also, Erik and I went to Shamrock Fest last weekend in DC and had a blast. This is the one and only picture I got from that.

And, Last but not least, Here's a picture of Bob Marley the Cat because he is just too stinkin' cute. :)

 

Roasted Brussies and Mac N Cheese....MMM MMMM

If I said Brussels Sprouts weren't our favorite veggie, I'd be lying. We could eat them every meal!! There are sooo many ways to cook them. Most people don't like them because of their bitterness....However, if you cook them correctly, they aren't bitter at all... Instead, they're tiny balls of cabbage goodness!! So here's my favorite way to cook a tasty brussie!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

1 Pound of brussels (fresh or frozen)

1/2 TBS Garlic powder

Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring a pot of water to a boil and put the brussels in for about 10 mins. Just long enough to soften them up a bit. Remove them and transfer to cold water bath until they are cool enough to handle. Once they are cool, remove the stems (if they aren't already removed) and chop each brussel in half (length wise works best).

Transfer the halfed brussels into a large bowl and cover in olive oil and toss....Hint: If they don't look glossy, there's not enough on them!! Add the garlic powder...toss...then salt and pepper according to your taste. Toss again until they're all good and coated.

Now line a baking sheet with foil and dump the brussels onto it. Spread them out and make sure they're in an even layer. This will ensue they each get a little bit of a crisp edge..MMM

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.....ENJOY!!!  :)

Now for my "go-to" Mac N Cheese recipe. This recipe will knock anyone's socks (and shoes...) off. It really is THAT good. If you take this for any function, gathering, shindig, Etc.....Double (or triple) the recipe...there still won't be any leftovers!

Homemade Mac N Cheese

Ingredients:

8oz uncooked pasta (any type you like)

10 oz (more for topping) Sharp Cheddar (or regular cheddar)

2 TBS REAL butter.

2 TBS Flour

2 Cups of milk (microwaved for 1 min 30 secs.)

Dash of Cayenne Pepper

Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt Butter in large saucepan over Medium heat. Add flour and mix together. This will look Pasty.

Add in the milk and bump the heat up to medium high. Stir...stir...stir...and after about 7-8 minutes It will bubble and look slightly thick. Now add the cheese, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Mix until it appears to be a smooth sauce. Remove from heat. Add the noodles and mix up.

Once the noodles are good and coated in the cheese sauce, transfer them to a  baking dish. I used an 8x8 Pyrex. Top with extra cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes...then devour. Try not to forget to breathe when you take the first bite. :)

And this is how it was served....

Enjoy!! 

Yummy Yummy Beef Tips and Gravy

So I'm just going to cut straight to the point, these beef tips and gravy are OUTSTANDING. I was a bit skeptical at first since the ingredients are so simple and the recipe is literally one of the easiest I have ever made....But who cares, it was DELICIOUS. Try it out and let me know what you think!

THE INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs: beef tenderloin, chuck roast, chuck eye, or stew meat cubed

1 10.5 oz Can: Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Packet: Onion Soup Mix

1 Packet: Brown Gravy Mix

1 4 ox Can: Mushrooms

1 Cup: Water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Cube the meat and place it into a 13x9 baking pan.

Mix all of the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl until combine and creamy looking. Pour over the cubed meat and stir.

Now the hard part....Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Put in the preheated oven for 3 hours....yes, you heard me...3 HOURS!! But I promise, it is well worth the wait. 

BE CAREFUL when you remove the foil because the steam comes out very quickly!

I served mine over mashed potatoes with a side of brussell sprouts au gratin, crescent rolls...and a glass of cab. YUM!

ENJOY!! 

Valentine's Day Recap

Valentine's day is usually a fun "Hallmark" Holiday for me. I love chocolate, flowers, traditional stuff....but what girl doesn't? This year was a little different because 1. Erik and I live together 2. I suck at keeping gifts until holidays. 3. We got hit by freakin' Snowmageddon....

Anyways, we were super lucky that our sweet neighbor let us use her shovel to dig Erik's car out, I repaid her with Valentine's day cake and she wrote us a nice note when she returned the container. We were able to make it to our favorite little Pho restaurant and then back home where we started the second season of House of Cards!! Which, by the way, the first episode is INSANE.

By Saturday, we needed to GET THE HECK OUT OF THE HOUSE.

So we went to DC and were planning to go to this Asian place that we had our eye on for quite some time, but of course they offered a limited menu for Valentine's day that had absolutely nothing on it that was Asian...Very disappointing, but we left and went to a pizza place, Pi Pizzeria, that we smelled on the way to the Asian place..and by smelled, I mean we literally smelled it for blocks. It turned out to be one of the most delicious places we have ever eaten. Yay for spontaneous decisions!! I tried to take pictures of the pizza that we got, but my phone died while we were at the restaurant. But trust me when I say it was delicious. After that we had found this little bar online that was supposed to be a quiet bar (we aren't into the whole "party bar" scene.) Unfortunately, it was anything but and they had very overpriced drinks. We had one drink and left and went to our favorite little bar called Shelly's Backroom. Despite it being very cold walking around in DC, Valentine's day was fabulous. I got to spend time with my love and eat delicious food, and that's what matters right?!

What did you do for Valentine's day? I loved seeing all the pictures of flowers, presents, food, etc.. :)

Well, here goes nothing...the first post

Well, like the title says, it's my first post! I have never blogged before, so I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Courtney, I am from a very small town in the Northern Neck of Virginia (not to be confused with Northern Virginia.) I graduated with my Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Longwood University in Farmville,(Yes, that's really the name of the town) Virginia in May 2013. Currently in the process of getting my real estate license all while working as a real estate assistant in Reston, VA. I moved to Northern Virginia in July 2013 with my lovely boyfriend of 2.5 years. I love love love wine (Pass the Cab?), cooking, learning, and Pinteresting. My plan for this blog is to share recipes, wine, randomness, and just talk about life after college. So, pop the cork and enjoy. :)