Fish Fry Friday

 --- Fish Tacos two ways, plus sauces... in recipe card form.

Let me know what you think of the new recipe card look... Would you rather me post them this way, or the old way of typing everything out? These can be printed as regular 4x6 photos, then placed into a photo book turned into recipe book.
We had this for dinner last night (grilled version). It was delicious. I didn't have yogurt for the white sauce, so I used sour cream. It wasn't as runny as it should've been... but it had a nice kick to it. The salsa makes a ton, so be ready with a couple of bags of chips (which we are lacking... so not cool). I think this is going on the menu again for next week, it was just that good.

A Snack: Pepper Jelly!

I've really been trying to post a new recipe every day, but let's face it. I don't cook everyday. And I would {HOPE} you don't cook everyday either! A girl needs a day off once in a while! Usually we have two LO (left over) nights a week. Usually Tuesday/Thursday. But last night I was just too sore to stand up, so it turned into our first LO night of the week! Tonight I'm making Spaghetti and I'm uber excited. I'll post that tomorrow!

But for now... a snack food. And a delicious one at that. I've heard of Pepper Jelly before, but the idea came up again as I was bored this weekend and doing a little blog reading. I can't remember exactly whose blog it was that listed the recipe, but it was someone from our old ward. I wasn't sure how it was going to taste, but I figured it was worth a try.
So 13 Bell Peppers, about 20 Jalapenos, 2 jars of Honey, an entire bottle of Cider Vinegar and some sugar later... I have 14.5 pints of Pepper Jelly!!

So far I've only tasted it on Wheat Thins (well the cheap GV version) with cream cheese. Yum!!!
Please let me know if you come up with any other good uses for this! I have LOTS to use up now!!

Enjoy!

This makes 12 (4 oz) jars or 6 (8 oz) jars of jelly.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups finely chopped green bell pepper (about 4 large)
1/2 cup finely chopped jalapeño pepper (about 8 small)
1 1/4 cups cider vinegar
1 pkg (1.75 oz) Ball® No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin
2 cups sugar
1 cup honey
Jelly Jars with Lids and Bands

Instructions:

1. PREPARE canner and jars so they will be ready.

2. COMBINE green bell peppers, jalapeño peppers and vinegar in a large saucepan. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down over high heat, stirring constantly.

3. ADD sugar and honey. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary.

4. LADLE hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4in. headspace. Wipe rim and center lid on jar. Screw band on until fingertip-tight.

5. PROCESS filled jars in boiling water for 15 minutes.

Note: When cutting or seeding hot peppers, wear rubber gloves to prevent hands from being burned.

Beef and Veg Stir Fry

*This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution that aired on ABC last Fall. If you didn't watch it, "Shame on you!" *

Ingredients:

1-Pkg. Egg Noodles (see below)
Flank Steak, thinly sliced
Vegetable oil
2-3 Garlic cloves, minced
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1-2 fresh chiles (I use jalapenos, but am a huge wimp and 1 is enough for us!)
Peanut shoots or beansprouts (I used beansprouts the first time and we didn't like it... your choice)
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil
Fresh lime juice (2-3 limes)
1 Lg. red pepper, deseeded and either sliced or chunked (I used 1/3 Red, 1/3 Green/Yellow, and 1/3 Orange)
Can of water chestnuts
Handful of baby corn
Bunch of green onions, sliced. Separate whites from greens.
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped *optional

Instructions:
1. Prepare all veg and seasonings, keeping Garlic, Chiles, Ginger and the Whites of Green Onions separate (as this takes me the most amount of time and this meal cooks fairly quickly). Slice meat and season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a large wok or skillet until VERY hot. Add a splash of oil and stir fry the beef with garlic, ginger, chiles and onion whites until just cooked. With Flank Steak it doesn't have to be cooked to Well. It's actually better if it's a little pink! Add the shoots/sprouts (if using), a good splash of soy sauce and a little sesame oil and the lime juice for the last 30 seconds of cooking.
While the meat is cooking, cook the egg noodles according to their directions, drain and set aside.

3. Tip the contents of the wok into a large bowl, including all the lovely juices (Jamie Oliver's words, love them!). Put the wok/skillet back on the heat, add a little more oil and all the vegetables. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes, then add the cooked noodles and toss well over the heat. (I usually can't fit the noodles, so I add them to the meat). Combine everything, including Cilantro/Onion Greens and enjoy Family Style.

When the ingredients are this fresh, you know it's gonna be good!!

NOTE: Feel free to mix and match the veggies in this meal. I always have fresh mushrooms (BIG FAV!) and I added Zucchini this last time and it was so good! Broccoli would also be a good addition. I personally prefer different colors and textures and I don't like my veg to be soggy.
I like to buy Bell Peppers when they're on sale and either chunk-cut or slice them up and divide different colors among freezer bags to be stored for a quick addition later.
And if you live in a small town like I do, where Flank Steak is VERY HARD to find, when you can find it, buy 3-4 packages and freeze them! It's the best meat for this and Carne Asada (recipe coming soon!)

Egg Noodles,
can be found at most Walmarts and probably most grocery stores.
Can also use spaghetti/linguine noodles.