Baked Corn on the Cob with Garlic Herb Butter

The 2 oldest boys and I really liked these. I particularly liked the blend of flavors. This from my August team mate **Jubes** from Newcastle, New South Whales, Australia. You will need to change the amounts for the people in your family.

Baked Corn on the Cob with Garlic Herb Butter
4 corn cobs, leaves and silks removed
2 oz butter or margarine
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 TBSP parsley
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove husks and silks from corn if you haven't already. Mix ingredients for the garlic butter. Smear over each corn cob. Wrap the corn in foil and securely seal. Place on a baking tray and bake for 25 minutes. This will be very hot so be careful! If you feel the corn isn't quite done - return to oven for a bit longer.

Scrambled Eggs with a Twist

The true name would be Brunch Eggs. The teammate is JustJanS from Warrnambool Victoria Australia. She found the recipe on the internet. I think it's just a fancy way to make scrambled eggs. The kids really liked it and it reheated just fine in the pan (NOT the microwave) for Russell when he got home from work late. The original recipe called for corn kernels - but that just doesn't sit well with me. Eggs and corn? Not at this house. At least together. For a meal. Oh - and I learned the bell peppers are called capsicum in Australia!

Scrambled Eggs with a Twist
4 oz cream cheese, softened for about 1 minute in the microwave
3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
3/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
4 TBSP butter or margarine, divided
9 eggs
1/4 tsp red chili powder (You can't taste it. I promise.)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to your tastes
6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
hot buttered toast for serving
extra chopped green onions for garnish

Saute bell peppers and onion in 2 TBSP butter or margarine over medium heat just until softened. Add sauted veggies to the cream cheese and mix well. Combine eggs and spices. (I prefer to do it in a blender until the eggs are nice and frothy. That's just me though.) Melt remaining 2 TBSP butter or margarine in pan. Add in cream cheese/veggie mixture and egg/spice mixture. Cook over medium heat until eggs are done to your specifications. Not everyone likes them the same. I prefer to have them not soft. Serve over hot buttered toast. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon (I figure one bacon slice per person) and garnish with extra chopped green onion.
We had this for dinner and used my homemade bread for the toast to make a very satisfying meal.

Sirloin Steak Kabobs

I was wanting red meat. Really bad. I was wanting kabobs. Really bad. I found this tasty recipe on recipezaar.com. It comes from Marie. The boys didn't put much on their skewers as far as kabobs go so there were quite a bit of raw veggies and uncooked meat left over. Let me just say....this was good material for stir-fry the following night!

Sirloin Steak Kabobs

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 TBSP Worchestershire sauce

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves minced garlic

Combine the ingredients well. This is your marinade.

Add:

3 lbs sirloin steaks cut into 1 inch cubes. Coat meat and refrigerate overnight.

Green bell pepper, cut into squares

Red bell pepper, cut into squares

Yellow bell pepper, cut into squares

1 small onion, cut into squares

mushrooms and tomatos would be very tasty as well....but I didn't have any

If you are using bamboo skewers....soak for 20 minutes before grilling.

Alternate meat and veggies on your skewers and grill till the meat is done to your liking.

Pepper Steak

We like Chinese food at our house. I am always on the lookout for something I think we all will enjoy. This went over well. I got this recipe from Taste of Home years ago.

Pepper Steak
1 lb boneless sirloin steak
2 TBSP cooking oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt, optional
1/2 tsp pepper
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 large red OR yellow OR orange bell peppers, thinly sliced (I used green, orange and yellow)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3/4 tsp beef bouillon granules
3/4 cup hot water
1 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 tsp sugar

Cut steak into thin strips. Marinate with a bit of oil and cornstarch. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Combine beef bouillon and hot water. Set aside.

Combine cornstarch, soy sauce, cold water and sugar. Set aside.

In large skillet or wok brown steak in oil. Add garlic, ginger, salt and pepper. Cook until meat is almost done. Add peppers and onions to skillet. Cook and stir until peppers are crisp-tender.

Add beef bouillon water to skillet.
Add cornstarch mixture. Cook and stir until mixture boils and starts to thicken a bit. Serve over rice or oriental noodles.

Savory Meatball Soup

Oh my goodness gracious! This was a perfect cold weather day dinner. I chose this recipe from my teammate Baby Kato in the March 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap on recipezaar.com. She hails from Ontario, Canada. Everyone really enjoyed this soup. It's a keeper at my house! I served this with homemade french bread. Perfect in every way! Don't let the long list of ingredients make you run the other way.

Savory Meatball Soup
2 TBSP butter or margarine
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot OR small onion finely chopped
1 zucchini, coarsely chopped
1 sweet red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
3 cups beef broth
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
2 tsp worchestershire sauce
28 oz diced tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme (I just threw in some dried thyme)
1 tsp fresh oregano (I used dried)
1/2 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
24 small meatballs, frozen (you can also use homemade)
3 large red potatoes, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Fry onion, garlic and shallots in butter or margarine for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and bell pepper. Fry an additional 5 minutes.
Pour into large crockpot. Add remaining ingredients except cheese. Cook on low all day. Serve with parmesan cheese garnish and your favorite crusty bread.

Open Omelette

This was a very tasty, hearty and filling breakfast! It takes little time to gather the ingredients. This recipe comes from JoyfulCook. My teammate in the February 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. She lives in South Wales, UK. I am changing a couple things in her recipe to make it more to my tastes.

Open Omelette
vegetable spray
1 or 2 eggs, beaten
1 slice ham or bacon, chopped and precooked
1 TBSP tomato, chopped (I didn't have tomatoes so did mushrooms instead)
1 tsp fresh chives, chopped (or green onion tops - the flavor is comparable)
1/2 potato, precooked, diced (I used 1/2 of a baked potato left from another meal- I also warmed them up in the microwave before adding to the pan.)
salt and pepper to taste
small amount of cheese

Heat frying pan that has been sprayed with vegetable oil. Add beaten egg(s). Add other ingredients. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the egg(s) is set. I even covered the pan to steam cook the mushrooms and keep the heat in for the potatoes. Very carefully slide the open omelette to a plate and serve with your favorite toast or breakfast bread.

Italian Style Bean Soup (Mix)

Italian Style Bean Soup (Mix)
I chose this recipe as part of the March 2009 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. Then our ward Scouts put on an Italian dinner for the ward. I made this soup to take and it was a HUGE hit! The original recipe says this would make an excellent mix. PaulaG from El Paso, TX gets the credit for sharing this wonderful recipe! She got it from Gifts from a Jar Soups, Chiles and More.

Mix
1 3/4 cups dried great northern beans or navy beans
1 TBSP dried onion flakes
2 tsp dried basil
2 chicken bouillon cubes, unwrapped
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp instant minced garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups uncooked medium pasta shells

Soup
5-6 cups water
1 cup prepared pasta sauce
2 oz baby spinach
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

To make the mix: layer the beans in a 1 qt jar with tight fitting lid. Combine the onion, basil, bouillon cubes, parsley, garlic and pepper in a small food storage bag. Close bag. Place the seasoning bag over the beans, spreading out bag to cover beans; add pasta shells.
Place lid on jar. May cover with fabric or raffia. Attach gift tag. Attach directions for preparing soup to jar.

Soup Directions (to be placed with jar)
Remove the pasta and seasoning packet from jar; set aside. Place the beans in a large bowl; cover with water and soak for 6-8 hours or overnight. Drain beans, discarding the water. Combine the soaked beans, water, pasts sauce and contents of seasoning packet in Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat; cover. Reduce heat and simmer 2 - 2 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Add the pasta and spinach; cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until pasta is tender. Season to taste, serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

This is what I did:
I skipped filling the jar. I went right to the soaking of the beans and added all the seasonings and everything else except the pasta and spinach. I let it simmer for a couple hours then put it in the fridge overnight. The next day I added 8 oz spinach, 1 pound of cooked ground sausage and a large package of Three Cheese Tortellini. I made this for a crowd. The tortellini did expand and were nice and plump. Probably 4 times as big as they were when in the package. I will make this again using other "Italian" style pastas like ravioli. :) We served this with grated Parmesan cheese and croutons. There was also french bread for people who like to dunk bread with their soup.

Macaroni Ratatouille Soup

I have made this a few times for our family. I found two recipes I likes parts of and combined them from recipezaar to make one I liked. This is the end product. We like this served with french bread, french bread rolls or bread sticks.
**No rats or mice were used in the making of this soup. :)

Macaroni Ratatouille Soup
1/2 lb sausage
1/2 lb hamburger
1 medium onion, chopped

Brown meats and onion until meat is cooked. Drain. Add the following...
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1 small - medium eggplant, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1 qt tomatoes OR 2 14 oz cans
1 qt beef stock OR 2 14 oz cans
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 TBSP minced parsley OR 1 TBSP dried parsley
1/2 cup uncooked macaroni

Add remaining ingredients except pasta. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Add macaroni. Simmer for about 15 minutes more or until pasta is tender. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Stir-Fried Shrimp and Mushrooms

This is another recipe I made for the December Aussie/NZ recipe swap 2008. The chef is NurseJaney from Maryland, USA. The ingredients are simple, the flavors are simple as well. I took the liberty of adding additional veggies as I was already making another stir-fry for the boys! They hate mushrooms - which was perfect for Russell and I! A stir-fry all to ourselves? Amazing!

Stir-Fried Shrimp and Mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used thawed frozen shrimp - as I have never actually deveined them - I wouldn't know what to do....)
3 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup green onion, sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
cooked rice

Saute garlic in oil. Add any hardy veggies like carrots, green bell pepper and zucchini. (This is what I added.) Saute for a little bit then add mushrooms and green onion. Add chicken broth and let the veggies kind of steam. I added the shrimp just before serving since it was already cooked. We served this with wild rice. So tasty!

Kung Pao Chicken

I love a really good Chinese dish. I really don't like them hot and spicy. This dish is a little hot and spicy but I can control the heat.

Kung Pao Chicken
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 TBSP cornstarch
2 tsp light sesame oil OR vegetable oil
3 TBSP green onions, chopped with tops (I also have used regular onion)
2 carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 small zucchini sliced and quarted 1/2 inch thick
2 stalks celery sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 - 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (you can make it more spicy if you like)
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
4 TBSP rice wine vinegar
4 TBSP soy sauce
4 tsp sugar
1/2-1 cup dry roasted peanuts ( I like the crunch factor)
hot cooked rice

Combine chicken and cornstarch in ziploc bag. Smoosh around and put in fridge for a couple hours before cooking. Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in small bowl. Set aside. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet or wok on medium heat. Add chicken. Stir-fry until no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients except vinegar sauce, peanuts and rice. Stir-fry until vegetables are desired doneness/crispness. Add sauce. Stir until mixture thickens. Add peanuts. Heat thoroughly and serve over rice.

Serves: 6