Lemon Pepper Pasta

Holy cow, is this delicious!  I made it last night with the cucumber chicken recipe from the church cookbook, but it would be fantastic just buttered and on it's own, or I'm dreaming of some kind of light, lemony cream sauce.  (And the recipe on the package suggests serving it with shrimp!)  Next time I go to Trader Joe's, I'm going to pick up several packages.

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

I followed this link from Jen's 7 Quick Takes last week and we all found it to be as delicious as they did.

2 pounds beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch strips
 garlic powder to taste
 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
 1 cube beef bouillon
 1/4 cup hot water
 1 tablespoon cornstarch
 1/2 cup chopped onion
 2 large green bell peppers, roughly chopped
 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
 2 tablespoons soy sauce
 1 teaspoon white sugar

• Sprinkle strips of sirloin with garlic powder to taste. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil and brown the seasoned beef strips. Transfer to a slow cooker.
• Mix bouillon cube with hot water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved. Pour into the slow cooker with meat. Stir in onion, green peppers, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
• Cover, and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, or on low for 6 to 8 hours.

NOTES:

• The original recipe called for a beef bouillon cube, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and a teaspoon of salt.  That's a ridiculous amount of sodium so I cut out the salt and only used 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.  We thought it was good (and it would be easy to add more soy sauce at the end of the process if you didn't agree).
• I used venison instead of beef and that worked well too.  This would be a good place to use a cheaper cut of meat, just be sure to cut it across the grain.
• It was pretty fantastic to have dinner done when I got home today. :)  (Why don't I do more crock pot meals?)

Grandpa's Buttery Corn

• 3 c water
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 stick of butter
• 10 cups corn kernels, blanched

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and boil for 3 minutes. Cool and divide into ziplocs before freezing.

Strawberry-Peach Slush (boozy or otherwise)

2 small peaches (or one large)
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 oz lemon juice (the yummy Costco stuff is preferable)
Sugar or simple syrup to taste (about 1/2 c.)
7 ice cubes
Blend all ingredients, adding a bit of water or club soda if necessary to keep things loose in the blender. Pour into tumblers or margarita glasses. Add alcohol or top off with club soda if desired.

Mom's Birthday Cocktail

As per usual, quantities are approximate and to taste (with the lemon juice especially).  Instead of ice cubes, I used frozen berries (a blackberry, raspberry, blueberry blend).

Frozen berries
1.5 oz Orange Curacao (or your orange liqueur of choice)
.5-.75 oz lemon juice
3 oz Coconut mineral water
A few mint leaves, mottled (We used chocolate mint)

Source: Kinda, sorta inspired by this drink.

Popovers

I can't believe I've never made these before.  They were so easy and good!

1 1/4 cups milk
1 tbls. butter, melted and cooled
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs

• Beat the milk, butter, flour and salt until blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  
• Grease pans with butter and put in the preheated oven for two minutes (time it or your butter will over brown)
• Fill buttered popover pan between 1/2 and 3/4 full.  Bake at 450 for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 20 minutes longer or until very firm.
• Remove from oven; prick each with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape.  Serve warm.

NOTES:

• Do not open the oven to peek at them while baking!
• There was enough batter for 8, but my (borrowed) pan holds 6.  I'll probably want to reconcile that somehow before I try this recipe again.
• UPDATE - for my new mini pan I baked for 10-12 minutes at 450 and then 10-12 at 350.

Creamy Dilled Cucumber Salad

1 large cucumber (sliced)
1/4 cup red onion (sliced)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 handful dill (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything and chill.

NOTES:

• This is 4-5 servings.
• Very mild flavor (You could add a little garlic, salt and pepper to make it a little more like tzatziki, or even change out the sour cream/lemon juice for some Greek yogurt.)
• I used about a teaspoon or so of dill weed instead of fresh, but fresh would be better.
• Red onion is not essential ( I used a yellow.)
• Good, easy, super fast to throw together.