Week 1: Beef with Ginger

Here is what we picked for this week:

1. chicken quesadillas
2. ham and cheese quiche
3. beef fried rice
4. Soup (Chicken Gnocchi)
5. Apple Butter Ribs
6. Chef Salad
7. garlic orange chicken

Recipe for Beef With Ginger (instead of just plain beef fried rice)

Beef with Ginger Serves 6

1 1/2 pounds eye of round steak, thin sliced
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
2 T. grated fresh ginger or 1 t. ground
2 t. sesame seed oil
1 t. minced garlic, fresh
1 c. reduced sodium beef broth
1 or 2 T. cornstarch
6 green onions, cut diagonally into 1" pieces (optional)
1 t. Thai garlic chili pepper sauce (optional, but good if you like a bit of heat)
4 c. Jasmine rice, cooked

1. Cut steak diagonally across the grain into very thin slices (I used a thin sliced eye of round, then just cut thin strips). Sprinkle one side of beef with salt and pepper.
2. Saute ginger in hot sesame seed oil in a large non-stick skillet over high heat for 2 minutes or until a tan color. If you're using ground ginger, just heat oil and add ginger, don't worry about the 2 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add beef; cook 2 - 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in soy sauce. If your pan cannot accomodate all the cut beef slices, do 2 batches.
3. Stir together beef broth and cornstarch until smooth and liquid. I added 1 T. first but added a bit more. Drizzle over beef mixture in pan. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute or until thickened. Add garlic chili pepper sauce and green onions if you like.
4. Serve immediately over hot rice.

"50 Dinner Ideas"

Hi everyone and Happy 2010! To start the new year off right, I decided to come up with "50 Dinner Ideas". I wrote them onto little slips of paper and placed them into a large ziplock bag. Each Sunday we pick "7" slips of paper. Those "7" slips give us our meals for the week. I have given myself a break by also putting "2" non-cooking options: pizza and dinner out. Here is my "50 Dinner Ideas" list and each week I will post recipes for 2 of the dinners we are having. If I have posted the recipe in the past, I will post the link so that you can easily find it.

1. Taco Pie
2. Rowley Chicken Pot
3. crock pot roast beef
4. burgers on grill
5. burritoes
6. sloppy joe's
7. ham and potatoes
8. chili
9. apple butter ribs
10. white chicken chili
11. beef roast
12. beef sandwiches
13. lasagna
14. chicken and dumplings
15. turkey breast with stuffing
16. breakfast
17. baked chicken breasts
18. pork chops on the grill
19. pork loin
20. steaks on the grill
21. nachos
22. BLT's
23. soup and sandwiches
24. cube steaks
25. chicken fried rice
26. beef fried rice
27. spaghetti
28. baked ziti
29. Johnny Marzetti
30. cranberry chicken
31. pulled BBQ pork
32. pulled BBQ beef
33. grilled cheese with soup
34. pizza carry in / out
35. ham and cheese quiche
36. chicken spinoccoli
37. garlic chicken
38. salsa chicken
39. Monte Cristo Sandwiches
40. french bread pizza
41. chicken parmesan
42.chicken quesadilla
43. dinner out
44. beef stew
45. city chicken
46. Chef salad
47. Mexitaly Chicken
48. chicken alfredo
49. seafood on the grill
50. soup (various recipes)