Clearing the Backlog!

I have been horrible at blogging about food lately.  I haven't really made anything extraordinary but we have been using the stuff from the vegetable box in great ways and I should at least keep up with blogging that.  I have a lot on my proverbial plate right now though with school and a bunch of school related stuff.  Not to mention that I don't know what I want do when I grow up but I have to decide soon.  But I digress.

As I have mentioned before, stir fries have become a very common occurrence in our house.  They are quick and filling and we can use a lot of the vegetables from the CSA box.  My least favorite part of stir frying is trying to keep the stuff (mostly garlic and onions) from burning.  It is still very much trial and error for me.  The most recent stir fry used not one but two of our box stuff, broccoli and green beans.  The green beans are from a few weeks ago but they still good, much to our surprise.  We still have some to use but that shouldn't be too difficult.

Beef, Broccoli and Green Bean Stir Fry

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp vegetable (or peanut/sesame) oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 lbs beef tenderloin, sliced into thin strips
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch lengths
scallions for garnish


In a gallon-sized sealable bag combine the first 6 ingredients, add the beef.  Seal the bag, squeezing out the air, and turn to coat the beef.  Marinade for at least 15 minutes, turning once or twice.


Drain the marinade into a measuring cup; add enough water to make 1/3 cup of liquid.  Add the cornstarch and stir until it dissolves.


Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat.  Add the vegetable oil and beef.  Stir fry until the beef loses its red color.  With a slotted spoon, remove from the wok and transfer to a plate.  Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the broccoli and green beans.  Stir fry for 3 minutes then cover and steam for 1 minute.  Return the beef to the wok and add the marinade.  Increase the heat to high and stir fry for 3 minutes.  Serve sprinkled with the scallions.


Serves 4

This recipe is adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe and it's 4 points per serving.  You can serve it over rice, like we did.

Next up is last night's meal.  I had been trying to figure out what to do with the broccoli raab all week.  I hadn't heard great things about it so I wasn't really interested in it.  However, I don't like to throw CSA produce away so I found something that I could use it in.  Turns out Weight Watchers has one recipe that uses broccoli raab that caught my eye so I adapted it a bit and used it.  It was not as quick as I had hoped but sure was good and hearty.  It was very filling, I could't finish my portion.

Pasta with Broccoli Raab and Bolognese Sauce


2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 lbs 92% lean ground beef
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
12 oz uncooked short pasta like macaroni, pene, etc
1 lb broccoli raab, ends trimmed, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.


Meanwhile, to make the sauce, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic, cook stirring frequently until the onion is translucent, about 6 minutes.  Add the beef, cook until browned, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, about 4 minutes.


Stir in the tomatoes, salt, red pepper flakes, and oregano; bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally.


While the sauce simmers, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions.  Add the broccoli raab to pasta water 5 minutes before the pasta will be done; cook until the pasta and broccoli raab are tender.


Drain pasta and broccoli raab; return to pot.  Add the sauce and toss to mix and coat.


Serves 6

 

I've been studying for a math test!

This makes a lot of food!  I made the entire sauce amount but only half of the pasta and broccoli raab.  I froze the rest of the sauce because it is actually really good (and spicy) and will work great in some short order cooking.  This is a very easy recipe to make and aside from the broccoli raab (which can be easily left out) all the ingredients are pretty much pantry staples.

Now, on to the new box.  We got yet more canistels and I have no idea what to do with them since we still haven't used any of the old ones.  I traded the cilantro for more komatsuma so I foresee more stir fries.  We got a lot of thyme and I have something special (albeit not very diet friendly) for it.  There was more of course.

Stay tuned!