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The new year is
here. Welcome to the next century!!! Make it your New
Year's resolution to try something new!
If you've never tried preparing stir-fry, this is YOUR TIME! You don't
necessarily need a wok; your skillet is the next best thing. Give this
a try. It's really fairly easy to stir-fry, and doesn't take long
at all....
Entree Shrimp
Stir-Fry
This is a real
favorite in my family and I prepare this dish often. For a
variation, you can substitute chicken, beef, or pork. OR, you can
use all four for a sort of "Four Seasons" type of meal....
just make sure to add the shrimp at the end of the meal since it doesn't
take long at all to cook. The other meats take a little
longer to get done, so you'll want to add them first before the
vegetables instead of after them. Cut those meats into bite sized
strips, stir-fry them, and then add your vegetables. 1-1/2
to 2 lbs. shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 large bag frozen broccoli
1 small bag frozen cauliflower
2 small bags frozen snow peas
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 small can sliced water chestnuts (optional)
1-1/2 cups canned bean sprouts (optional)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3-4 tablespoons canola oil (or vegetable oil)
Hot cooked rice
*Cornstarch
*Soy Sauce (I'll
tell you at the end of the recipe what to do with the last two
ingredients) In
a wok OR a very large skillet, heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil, until
hot. Add all frozen vegetables, onion and bean sprouts at
once. Stir fry for about 5 minutes until good and hot.
Add 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 2 teaspoons ground
ginger.
Turn heat to high setting and bring to a boil. When boiling, turn
down to medium low, and cover with a lid, and allow food to simmer for
about 10 minutes.
In a separate pot, prepare hot cooked rice according to directions on
box. (I always use Uncle Ben's Converted Rice) Meanwhile,
prepare the thickening sauce:
In a cup, mix 4 tablespoons cornstarch with 8 tablespoons soy sauce.
Using a fork, mix until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Set
aside.
When vegetables have simmered for 10 minutes, add raw shrimp and turn
heat up to boiling again. Allow to boil for 3-4 minutes, or until
shrimp is pink and done.
When shrimp is pink, begin pouring the cornstarch mixture into the wok
and work mixture into the vegetables, using two large spoons. The
liquid in the wok should begin to thicken a bit.
If you use all of the cornstarch mixture but the sauce doesn't seem
quite thick enough, add more, using a mixture of 1 tablespoon cornstarch for every 2 tablespoons soy
sauce.
Serve over hot cooked rice.
Makes 5-6 servings, but I always enjoy taking these leftovers to work
for lunch to be heated up in the microwave!
Side Dishes These
side dishes are actually appetizers. Both are a little time
consuming, but can be prepared the day before the meal and heated up the
day of the meal. Definitely worth the time!
Egg Rolls
1/4 cup
chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4 mushrooms, coarsely chopped (optional)
1/4 cup diced celery
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup diced shrimp (peeled & deveined)
1/2 of a 10-oz. package frozen leaf spinach, thawed and drained
1 can bean sprouts, drained
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
Egg Roll Wrappers (Recipe will follow OR buy them already prepared at
your local grocery store)
1 egg, beaten
Vegetable oil
Bottled Duck Sauce
Hot Mustard (Recipe will follow)
Sautee onions, garlic, mushrooms and celery in hot oil in a large
skillet for 5 minutes. Add shrimp and sauté 1 minute just until
shrimp turn pink.
Stir in well-drained spinach and bean sprouts.
Combine soy sauce, salt, sugar, ginger and cornstarch in small cup or
bowl. Add to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until
thickened, about 1 minute.
Turn mixture into a bowl and cool completely.
Prepare Egg Roll Wrappers (recipe follows)
When wrappers are ready to fill, spoon about 2 rounded teaspoonfuls of
filling on center of each wrapper. Brush edges with beaten
egg. Bring 1 corner up and over filling, then bring each of the
adjacent corners, 1 at a time, up and over enclosed filling, pressing
points down firmly; roll into a neat package. Place filled
rolls on cookie sheet; cover with plastic wrap.
Heat 1-1/2 inches of oil in a deep skillet. Drop in rolls, a few
at a time. Deep-fry for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and
crisp. Drain on paper toweling. Serve with bottled duck
sauce and hot mustard.
To reheat if making the day ahead:
Place egg rolls in single layer on large cookie sheet. Heat at 400
degrees for 8-10 minutes.
**Note - these rolls are small.... if you buy the wrappers in the
grocery store, you'll need to put more filling in them. You'll
probably need about 1/3 to 1/2 cup filling for the larger egg rolls.
Hot Mustard Sauce: Mix 1/4 cup dry mustard with 1-1/2 teaspoons
vinegar and 1/3 cup cold water.
Use the sauce for dipping egg rolls.
Egg
Roll Wrappers
2 cups
sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup ice water
Cornstarch Sift
flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and
add egg and water. Stir with fork until dough holds together and
leaves sides of bowl clean.
Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and
elastic, about 5 minutes.
Cover dough with a bowl. Allow dough to rest at least 30 minutes.
Divide dough into fourths. Dust pastry board lightly with
cornstarch. Roll each piece of dough to a 14X11 inch
rectangle. Cut into 3-1/2 inch squares. Stack on a
plate. Cornstarch will prevent them from sticking together.
Fill with filling.
Won Ton Soup 1
pound ground pork
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 egg
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 package store-bought won ton wrappers (most grocery stores carry
these.. ask your grocer if you don't know what section to find them in)
Four (4) -- 13-3/4 oz. cans chicken broth
1 7-oz. package frozen snow peas
3 cups sliced Chinese celery cabbage
Combine pork, onions, egg, soy sauce and cornstarch in a bowl. Mix
well.
Place 1 slightly rounded teaspoonful pork filling on each won ton
wrapper. Brush edges of wrapper with a little water to
moisten. Bring one side of wrapper over filling; roll up as
a cylinder, leaving about 1/2 inch of wrapper unrolled at the top.
Pull the two ends of the cylinder together to meet and overlap under
filling, pinching firmly.
Place won tons in a single layer on cookie sheet as you work.
Cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying.
Heat 3 to 4 quarts of salted water to boiling in large pot. Add
half the won tons. After water returns to boiling, lower heat to
medium and cook won tons 5 minutes, uncovered. Lift out to
colander with a slotted spoon. Repeat with remaining won tons.
Combine chicken broth and snow peas in large saucepan; bring to
boiling. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes. Add won tons and
cabbage.
Return to boiling.
Serve immediately.
Makes about 6 servings.
Beverage
Suggestion: Green Tea
You can buy
green teabags in your grocery store... boil the water, add a few
teabags, pour into a teapot or individual cups, and serve! (I add
1 teabag per cup of boiling water)
Dessert
Dessert
Lemon Loaf Cake 2-1/2
cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Cooking spray Sift
flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a separate bowl:
Beat the butter, sugar and lemon rind until light and fluffy in a large
bowl with an electric mixer at high speed.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended.
Stir in the dry ingredients, alternately with the milk and vanilla,
beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, to make a smooth batter.
Line a loaf pan with two thicknesses of wax paper. Spray well with
cooking spray.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the batter into
the corners.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a wooden
toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the
pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
Loosen the cake around the edges with a sharp knife.
Turn out onto the wire rack and cool completely.
Frost with lemon butter cream frosting (recipe follows)
Lemon Butter
Cream Frosting 1
stick butter, softened
1 pound 10X sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
Dash of salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon milk Beat
butter until soft in a medium sized bowl.
Beat in 10X (powdered) sugar alternately with lemon rind, salt, lemon
juice and milk. Continue beating until smooth and spreadable.
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