China Bistro Mongolian Beef

I drag Scott to P.F. Chang's just so I can get my fix of this little number right here. I'm so happy to have finally found a recipe comparable enough that I can confidently make it as a substitute. It's so simple and pretty much all of the ingredients can be found in your kitchen! Enjoy!

Mongolian Beef

1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain- on bias

1/4 C cornstarch

3 tsp canola oil

1/2 tsp grated ginger

1 T minced garlic (3 large cloves)

 1/2 C water
1/2 C soy sauce ( I would use low sodium because the sauce reduces pretty significantly)
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 large green onions, chopped into thirds

Pat the slices of steak dry, then dredge them in the cornstarch in a shallow dish. Coat thoroughly then shake off excess cornstarch by placing the steak in a fine mesh sieve. You don't want a heavy coating of cornstarch or your meat won't crisp up nicely (the coating will fall off  and into your sauce, yuck).

Heat half of the oil in your wok or large pan over med- high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and let them cook and become fragrant for about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce, water, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and then transfer it to a bowl so that you can cook the meat.

Add the rest of the oil to your pan and brown the meat. Pour the sauce back into the pan and allow it to cook down to a thick syrup. Once you've reached the consistency you like, add in the green onions and cook another 30 seconds, keeping the onions green and slightly crisp.  Serve hot, with your favorite kind of rice (you could even try my mom's fried rice) and, as always, enjoy!

Scott's Slow Cooker Deer Roast

So, before I met Scott, I was definitely too cool for a slow cooker. It seemed too easy.... until he brought home a deer roast and said, "Here's dinner!".

Deer or venison meat is extremely lean, and can taste pretty game-y if you don't cook it right. Having only ever handled the most tender steak cuts, the deer meat scared me. So he proceeded to teach me something new... slow cooking!

Deer roasts are not unlike chuck roasts, brisket or round roast. Tough but flavorful. So braising was the way to go.

This meal is great for the busy family because you just throw all of the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and let it do its magic until dinner time...

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs deer roast (or any chuck roast, brisket or round roast if your not feeling so adventurous)
• 2 cans of Golden Mushroom condensed soup
• 2 T all purpose flour
• 32 oz. beef broth
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 2 T butter
• 3 T light olive oil
• 1 T whole black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves

Directions

• Set slow cooker to low setting (8 hour cook time)
• Add golden mushroom soup and broth to slow cooker, whisk to mix
• Add peppercorns and bay leaves to slow cooker

• Heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat.
• Season meat liberally with salt and pepper (this is your chance to add a lot of flavor!)
• Dust meat lightly with flour
• Brown meat on all sides; once you place meat in pan DON'T TOUCH IT! Let the meat form a beautiful brown crust on each side before turning it, this process helps to seal in all the juices!
• Place meat in slow cooker, liquid should cover a majority of the meat

• Turn down heat to medium; sautee carrots and celery 2 minutes- scraping up the brown bits leftover from the meat (these bits are packed with flavor)
• Add onions and garlic, and sautee 2 more minutes
• When carrots, onion, celery and garlic are all tender and lightly browned, remove from pan and add to the slow cooker.

The slow cooker will work its magic over the next 8 hours... you can turn the meat once or twice if you are around to do so. Once the 8 hours are up, remove the meat and "pull" it apart using two forks.

From here on out, the meal is your own to be creative with. I like to boil up some wide noodle pasta and make a light sauce with the braising liquid. I heat about 2 cups of the braising liquid over medium heat and add about 3 T of tomato paste. I cook this sauce for about 7 minutes, it thickens up pretty nicely, and then toss it with the meat and the cooked pasta.

Enjoy!