Beef Stir-Fry

This is a stand-by basket recipe! It's quick and easy and tastes great. I like to use a beef fajita mix to make things even easier, plus the beef in the mix has a great flavor!

1 bunch broccoli, chopped

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 onion, sliced

1 large green bell pepper, sliced

2 tablespoons oil

1/4 cup light soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 teaspoon fresh ginger root

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1 package cooked beef fajita meat or 1 lb beef top sirloin steak, sliced

1/2 cup beef broth

2 cups rice

Cook rice according to package directions. Mix together soy sauce, cornstarch, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Place meat in mixture and marinate 15 minutes in mixture while you chop veggies. Heat oil in large skillet. If using raw steak, cook beef 1-2 minutes or until outside is no longer pink, reserving marinade. If using fajita mix skip this step. Add veggies to skillet, stir-fry in oil 3-4 minutes. Add in beef and marinade. Cook another 3-4 minutes until veggies are tender and beef is heated through. Add in beef broth, bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute stirring gently, until sauce is thickened, serve over rice.

Chicken and Cauliflower Curry w/ Homemade Mango-Pineapple Chutney

Tonight's dinner was sweet and hot. I love stir-fry because it's quick and easy. I was actually surprised how well my kids ate this! I didn't scoop the extra chutney on top of theirs because it had some KICK! If I made it again I would probably leave out the red pepper flakes and make it more of a sweet chuteny, but my husband likes the heat so he wasn't complaining at all. (I always cool things down for the kids) **IMPORTANT** The chutney takes about an hour to make before you can start the dinner, so plan for that. I made mine earlier in the day and then it was ready, you could even make it a day or so ahead and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Mango Pineapple Chutney (makes about 2 cups)

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (leave these out if you don't want A LOT of heat!)
1/2 sweet onion, minced
1 inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
1/3 large yellow bell pepper, diced
1 large ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, and diced
1/3 small pineapple, peeled and diced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
3 tablespoons cup apple cider vinegar

Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the red pepper flakes and cook until they begin to sizzle, then stir in the minced onion. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions have softened, about 5 minutes. Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium, and stir in the ginger and yellow bell pepper. Cook and stir until the ginger is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the mangoes, pineapple, brown sugar, curry powder, and vinegar. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool the chutney completely when done and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

Pork and Cauliflower Curry

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
2 cans chicken broth, divided
4 cups cauliflower florets
4 (4 ounce) pork chops, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mango-pineapple chutney (could substitute store bought pineapple or apple chutney)

Cook rice using 1 1/2 cans of the chicken broth. Meanwhile, heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Season pork chops with 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder, salt and pepper. Cook pork 5-7 minutes stirring occaisionally. Remove from skillet and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the chicken broth, curry powder, buttermilk and flour. Add to skillet and heat to a boil stirring constantly. Add in pork, cauliflower and chutney. Cook until sauce is thickened and cauliflower is tender. Serve over rice and top with extra chutney.