Budget Friendly Steak Stirfry

This is the extremely simple recipe for my steak stir fry. When you hear the word steak, you probably think of an expensive steak dinner at The Keg or any other steakhouse. Yet you can easily find a good tender steak for a great price in your local grocery store. All you have to do is compare prices, and pick a fairly good cut. Also tenderizing the steak will also help it become less tough if you bought a fatty cut. I recommend buying the "Family Pack" steaks, they are a great price and usually come in 4. You can freeze them and they are great for when you are short on cash and can't afford to go out for a dinner.

http://www.everydayweekender.com/picking-the-perfect-steak/

Here are the steak stir fry ingredients:

1 steak sliced thinly with extra fat trimmed off

1/2 sweet onion

2 bell peppers of any color

1 handful of green beans, ends clipped and strings pulled

1 cup of brown or white mushrooms

1/2 zucchini

3 cloves of garlic

1 cup canned baby corn

1 carrot thinly sliced

1 small tin of water chestnuts

and I know this is bad but.. 1 jar of teriyaki sauce (I use VH or kikkoman)

Step-by-Step:

Preheat your griddle or pan on medium/high heat .

Measure out 1 tbsp olive oil and place in the pan.

Add in the steak once pan is completely hot. Once you have added the steak immediately put in the onions and garlic and stir together. 

Pour in the rest of your veggies and place a lid over top so they can steam.

Once everything looks good and cooked drizzle on the teriyaki sauce and serve hot!

If you feel like you need some carbs this is also great served over white or brown rice.

Enjoy!

Dairy Free Eggnog Pancakes

In this recipe, to top your pancakes you can use either Pure Maple Butter OR

http://www.acadianmaple.com/products/maple-butter-330g

Pure Maple Syrup!

http://www.mackinawcitycanadastore.com/maple_products.php

What gave me the idea of having dairy free eggnog pancakes is, I love eggnog with a passion! The only thing is, dairy severely upsets my stomach, so I had to find a new alternative.. Guess what? So Nice Noel Nog is PERFECT!!!! I found it at Superstore and I keep coming back every winter to get it! It sells as quick as they can stock the shelves so be sure to get there early. 

There seems to be something so special about eggnog, it may be that it only comes around once a year, whatever it is, it certainly keeps the magic.

Here is the wicked recipe, hope you come back every year!

You will need:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt (or a pinch)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups Noel Nog

1 tsp vanilla

4 tbsp melted margarine or butter

Any amount Maple Syrup or Maple butter to top.

Step-by-step:

In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients (you can sift if you feel you need to).

Add the 2 eggs, and beat the mixture.

pour the vanilla in with the melted butter/margarine .

slowly pour in the Noel Nog.

slowly pour into the flour and egg mixture and fold together.

Heat a pan to medium-low heat and grease lightly with butter. (I use a papertowl and spread it on all over the pan)

Let sit for 5 minutes so that the baking soda and salt can work their magic and make the pancakes nice and fluffy.

Ladle the mixture into the pan and let sit until little bubbles start popping around the pancake surface. Flip over, let sit for 1-2 minutes then transfer to plate. 

Repeat until your pancakes are all done!

Top with whatever you please, I took a great liking to the pure maple syrup. It's like liquid gold. (So my dad says!)

Good eatin' to ya! 

"Lyndsay" Linzer Cookies

These cookies were meant to be for my uncle on Christmas, but I made so many and decided to eat a few on the side ;).

My dough didn't turn out exactly the way it was supposed to, it tended to stick to my linzer cookie cutter that I bought from Michaels Crafts Store. The flavour was still delicious as ever though! It was my first time making these, it sounded a little complicated but turned out to be simple. I found this recipe on Allrecipes and altered it a bit to my liking. I am not going to take full credit for this recipe since I didn't invent them!


Recipe:

• 1 1/4 cups softened, unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 cups sifted all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups ground almonds (I ground mine in a magic bullet)
• 2 lemons, zested
• 2 tbs vanilla extract

1 small jar of Raspberry Jam or whichever is your favourite (Raspberry truly is best for these)


Step-by-Step:

• Cream together the butter and white sugar until mixture is light.
• Add in the lemon zest & vanilla, keep mixing that dough!
• Beat in the flour little bits at a time, until it becomes stiff and everything has melded well.
• Let sit in the fridge for 1 hour minimum, although it is best to let it sit over night.

This part I copied and pasted from Allrecipes : 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll the 1/2 of the dough into a sheet 1/8 inch thick. With a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut as many circles from the sheet as you can. Knead the leftover scraps of dough into a ball and roll it out again into a 1/8 inch sheet. Cut out more circles. You should now have about 12 circles.
3. Arrange them on an ungreased baking sheet leaving about and inch of space between them.
4. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the other half of the dough, but before placing the second batch on the baking sheet, cut out the center of each circle with a 1/2 inch cookie cutter. Bake both batches for 10 - 15 minutes or until light brown. Cool on cake rake for 20 minutes.
5. Spread tops of the solid circles with a thin coating of jam, lay a cutout cookie on top of each, pressing the two together so they make a sandwich. Spoon a dab of jam into the opening of each tart and sprinkle the tops with confectioners' sugar before serving. (I think they look pretty without the dusting on top)
6. NOTE: Keep dough as cold as possible for easier handling. You may have to chill it after rolling it out so that it will be easier to cut.

Mexican Quinoa Salad/Salsa!

Alright everyone I am back with a wicked recipe I tried and loved from the one and only: Katilette from the Shaytards on Youtube. (One of the most famous families on Youtube!)

Here it is:

Mexican Quinoa Salad with Organic Corn Tortilla Chips!

Ingredients:

-1 bag of Organic tortilla chips or Ol Del Paso chips

-1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled and side aside in a bowl.

-1 jalapeno diced

-1/3 medium sweet onion, diced

-1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

-1 green bell pepper diced

-1 can of black beans drained and rinsed

-1 can of corn (niblets) drained and rinsed

-2 large fresh tomatoes, diced

-1 red bell pepper, diced

-1 avocado sliced

-1 or 2 chorizo sausages, sliced thinly and fried lightly.

Zesty Sauce to pour on top:

- Juice of 2 limes

-1/4 cup olive oil

-1 tbsp ground cumin

Salt & Pepper to taste and whisk together!

The instructions are very straight forward, Make sure the quinoa is cooled so that the salad is ready to eat right away. You can also fry the chorizo while the quinoa is sitting on the stove. Have all of the vegetables chopped and ready to dump into a big bowl, along with the canned black beans and corn. Mix in the quinoa, and pour the delicious tangy sauce over top. Serve with a handful of tortilla chips in the bowl, and voila! A healthy, filling home made dinner made in under an hour!

Vegetarian Falafel Pita Pockets

As I am growing older I am starting to realize that the only way to be successful is to start with your health. I have always been interested in trying new things and having a spontaneous lifestyle. However, it can be a great struggle to try and stay healthy and fit, which is why I would love to create a blog for newbies with this kind of stuff- just like me! Over the past couple of years I have been looking into chef training as a career choice. (I will get there, eventually $.)  

So I would like to share my ideas with all of you out there and  am so excited to get started on this wonderful journey with all of you. I will share more about myself later, now I will get to the good stuff- FOOD. Food is probably my favourite thing in life. I will share all of the recipes I have discovered over the years, and ones that I haven't even tried yet but WOULD like to try.  I also have a recipe tin with lots of old recipes from my great grandma. Enjoy everyone!!

First thing is first: Vegetarian Falafel Pita Pockets . Level of difficulty: Easy.


So I haven't even made falafels before, but I love them so so much. Mediterranean food is one of my favourite ethnic food categories, and this recipe won my heart over, with creamy low fat tzatziki and fresh vegetables and spices. It's also super easy to pack for lunch to take to work,so if you work in a bakery like I do, no need to eat the unhealthy crap! Here is the recipe, and a picture I found on the internet. (Since I don't own a camera yet .)

http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/10159/pita-pocket-with-falafel

That looks really good. I kind of want to eat it right now.

Fresh ingredients to top it with:

-1 half red bell pepper, sliced into strips

-1 green onion finely chopped

-2 leaves of romaine lettuce shredded

Falafel Ingredients:

-1 Can Chickpeas drained and rinsed

-1/4 cup chopped  flat leaf parsley & cilantro  

-2 Green onions

-2 cloves minced garlic

-1 tsp ground cumin

-2 tbsp flour (can use almond flour if GF)

-1 tsp baking powder

-1 tsp or less of salt

-1 tbsp vegetable oil

Combine above ingredients in a food processor until a grainy texture, like bread crumbs. Form into small patties, can use a large spoon to help form a small patty. Set aside on a plate.

Tzatziki Ingredients:

-1/2 cucumber, grated

-1 pinch of salt

-1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt nonfat

-Juice of one lemon

-Fresh chopped mint leaves (if you wish to put mint in it!)

-2-3 garlic cloves roasted in the oven in tinfoil then you can squeeze em out after.

http://justaddfeta.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/tzatziki-yogurt-cucumber-dip/

Directions: Place the grated cucumber on a paper towel with the pinch of salt and let sit.

Combine the yogurt, lemon juice , garlic and mint leaves in a bowl and mix together.

Squeeze the grated cucumber in the paper towel over the sink to get all of the juices out, then dump into the yogurt mixture and stir it up! Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.

Cooking your falafels:

Heat a medium skillet over medium to high heat and add the tbsp of oil.

Place patties in the pan, and cook on each side for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and crispy looking. When done with these, place on a paper towel to soak up any extra oils. 

To serve: Cut your pitas in half, slab on some of that chilled tzatziki sauce inside, Put fresh lettuce in, sliced red bell pepper and fresh green onions to top your falafels. If you don't have WW or regular pitas, you can make this as a salad as well, with romaine hearts and you can also break up the falafels and drizzle the tzatziki on top!

Yum!!! Hope you enjoy this recipe!!