The Anti-Chicken Fingers Movement ~ Pepper Steak & Rice

This meal is wonderful, it's a nice change to a plain old meat and potatoes or any simple American-food routine. The kids aren't super fond of the green peppers, but I make them eat at least one every time.

Ingredients

• 1 lb skirt steak, round steak, or sirloin sliced thinly
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 3- TBL Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 can beef broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• Whole Grain Rice or potatoes (mashed) to serve the meal over
• Lightly coat steak with cornstarch. Shake off any excess. Saute in medium high pan with about 3 Tbsp of oil, till brown. Remove from pan and place aside.

Using the same pan, add about 3 Tbs of olive oil and saute the green pepper and onion. Add salt and pepper to taste. Saute to desired doneness.

Return meat to the pan and turn heat to high. Add soy sauce and 1/2 or 1 can of beef broth. Turn heat down and taste. You may have to adjust the salt content due to the soy sauce and broth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Make a corn starch slurry in a separate dish, by adding about 2 Tbsp of cornstarch with 3/4 cup of very cold water. It should be a thick, but liquid, consistency. Add the slurry to the pan to thicken the sauce. Add slowly, as you don’t want it too thick!

Serve over mashed potatoes, or rice (I served w/white rice as I had some leftover from a previous recipe, but have also made w/brown - which I prefer)

~Happy Eating Friends! ~ Trina

The Anti-Chicken Fingers Movement - Polynesian Pork Chops

Polynesian Pork Chops

I’m rollin’ the dice here…another slow cooker meal.  If you read my first Anti-Chicken Fingers Movement recipe, you may remember that my husband usually responds to slow cooked meals as though I warmed a can of pork and beans and a hot dog over a camp fire and said “welcome home honey, dinner is served” …until he tasted the divine lime cilantro tacos from last week’s bit.  So, yeah, I thought I’d try again.

This week’s meal from my favorite recipe site is Polynesian Pork Chops.  After browsing enticing photos and skimming ingredients, I found a dish that I was excited about.  I feel duped though.  What I thought was a meal suggested by a hard-working mama experimenting with dishes that were sure to please her whole family, was actually from Campbell’s.  Aha!  That’s why they were so direct about me getting Campbell’s Golden Mushroom Soup.  I figured that out after I made the meal.  Nice!

What I love about this dish:  It was so fantastically easy!  I made it more difficult at first by using a fresh pineapple.  With the medley of tastes, canned pineapple would've sufficed.  But, now we have a few days worth of fresh pineapple.

What the hubs loved about this dish:  The familiar taste of the soy sauce (check out a quick story at the bottom of this blog post regarding said husband and soy sauce) blended with the sweetness of the honey and pineapple made a typically boring dish-pork chops-well, fun!

What I served with this dish:  Brown rice instead of the white; peas (my boys love them some peas) and warm fluffy biscuits.  I’m still not eating carbs and those biscuits were killing me!

Bon appetite!

J Leah

Polynesian Pork Chops

• 4 boneless pork chops, 3/4-inch thick
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 cups cooked regular long-grain white rice
• Sliced green onion

Directions

1. Season chops with garlic powder.
2. Heat oil in skillet. Cook chops until browned. Add onion.
3. Add soup, water, pineapple with juice, soy and honey. Heat to a boil. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until done.
4. Serve with rice and sprinkle with green onions.

Soy Sauce Anecdote - We had only been dating a month or two, Zac and I. We had scored a free breakfast brunch at one of the nicest bayfront hotels in San Diego. The one I actually worked at. They had everything...cinnamon french toast, baked goods galore, an omelet bar, fresh fruit you wouldn't believe, I almost think I saw ham, and then there was the sushi table. The glorious sushi table! Mid-conversation, Zac's eyes start to grow distant and I'm getting the idea he's not listening to me. Men! Then they start to tear up. He had obviously mixed way too much wasabi into his soy sauce. I think it took him a half hour to recover!