This is also from the Once A Month Cookbook

Chinese Chicken Morsels

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 cups)

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Dijon mustard (used regular~would definitely cut this back to 1/8 cup)

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (used black pepper)

1 cup regular, uncooked rice (used brown rice)

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Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes. Mix lemon juice, soy sauce, mustard, oil and pepper. Put marinade and chicken cubes into a 1-gallon bag for a few hours or overnight.

Remove chicken from marinade. Warm marinade in a small saucepan. Place cubes about an inch apart on broiler plan treated with nonstick spray. Broil 4-5 inches from heat for 7 minutes, brushing with marinade once. Turn chicken cubes and broil another 4 minutes. Heat remaining marinade and serve over rice.

This is what I would have done: I wouldn't have broiled the chicken, but sauted them in the marinade. If needed, I would have made more marinade to serve over the rice and the chicken. While I like mustard, the 1/4 cup was strong and overwhelming. I would definitely cut it back to 1/8 of cup or maybe experiment with using dry mustard. I think maybe adding some brown sugar would have helped cut the intensity of the mustard.  I think this recipe is worth trying again and then making a final decision regarding whether it becomes a regular in our menu plan.

This is from the Once A Month Cookbook.

Savory Beef

2 pounds beef round tip steak (used hamburger)

Freshly ground black pepper to taste (mine was McCormick)

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (used canned)

1 sliced onion

(I added minced garlic because I like it)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups water (didn't use ~ see next comment)

2 beef bouillon cubes (used 2 cups Swanson's Beef Broth)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves (used more than I should have)

1/4 teaspoon dill weed (didn't have)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (definitely would cut this to 1 tbs)

1 8-ounce package wide egg noodles (used 12-ounces)

Sprinkle Parmesan or shredded cheese on top

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Boil water for the egg noodles. When water is boiling, add the noodles and cook according to package directions.

If you are using beef round tip steaks, then cut into 2 inch long pieces. Sprinkle with pepper and set aside. In heavy skillet, saute mushroom, onion and garlic in oil and then remove. Put meat in the same skillet and cook until all sides are brown but still rare in the center. Remove meat and set aside.

Blend flour into the drippings in skillet, gradually adding water and beef bouillon. Bring to a boil; stir constantly until smooth and just a little thick. Mix in tomato paste, dry mustard, oregano, dill weed and Worcestershire sauce. Stir the meat, mushrooms, onion and garlic into the sauce.

Now what I did as I was using hamburger and wasn't going to put this into the freezer for later use, was to saute the mushrooms, onion, garlic in oil. Set aside. Add the flour to skillet of oil/drippings, then add tomato paste, dry mustard, oregano, dill weed and Worcestershire sauce. Stired this altogether and then set it aside. Then I cooked my hamburger in the skillet drippings, adding pepper and salt at that time. 

Because I knew Joshua wouldn't be impressed with the sauce, I served it similar to spaghetti. Noodles on bottom, followed by hamburger and then sauce.

As mentioned yesterday, I went through my Once A Month Cookbook and this is our recipe for dinner tonight.

Hearty Hamburger Tomato Stew

1 pound lean ground beef or turkey

1 1/4 cup chopped onion

1 or 2 teaspoons of minced garlic

(garlic is not part of the original recipe; used a HEAPING amount of garlic from the jar)

2 cups peeled and sliced carrots

(replaced with shredded baby carrots)

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (didn't have these )

1 16-ounce can cut green beans, drained

(green beans replaced with 2 cans 15.5-ounces black beans)

1 16-ounce can corn, drained (didn't use)

3 stalks sliced celery chopped (I used about 6+ stalks)

4.25 ounces chopped ripe olives (not part of the original recipe)

1 46-ounce can tomato juice

(tomato juice replaced with 16-ounces tomato sauce and 2 28-ounces diced tomatos in tomato juice)

1 cup water (not part of the original recipe)

2 teaspoons sugar (replaced with Savannah Gold with Honey )

1 teaspoon celery seed (didn't bother)

Salt and pepper to taste (also used various other seasonings)

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top before serving (optional)

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Brown ground beef or turkey in a large saucepan. Saute in butter chopped  celery, green bell pepper, onion, and garlic. In big stock pan add tomato sauce, diced tomatos in juice, sauted vegetables, olives, cooked ground beef or turkey, water, seasonings. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Enjoy!!!

I just finished the last of the soup I made at Caleb's request on Sunday when he was sick. I thought I'd share this recipe with you in case anyone needs soup to help a cold go away. LOL

Chicken Potato Soup

32 oz chicken broth

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4-6 white potatos, peeled

Green beans (frozen)

Chopped onion, minced garlic, shredded carrots (baby), chopped green & red peppers

Black Pepper, Kosher Salt and Oregano

I boiled the chicken as it was still frozen and my little man was very impatient and hungry. Peel the potatoes and boil. Saute the chopped onion, minced garlic, shredded carrot and chopped green and red peppers in butter~use as much of each ingredient as your family likes.

When chicken has finished boiling, cut into bite size pieces and then saute in butter. At this time I seasoned the chicken with the black pepper, salt and oregano - again, I used a lot of seasoning.

Add all ingredients to the soup pan of your choice and enjoy!!!

Here's a recipe that I just "invented" and I thought I'd share it with you. We are all suffering from various stages of a cold that Joshua as "shared" with us, so soup right now is tasting Yum-O!!

Turkey Bean Soup

Cooked turkey (I used turkey wings from Wal-Mart)

Broth from cooking the turkey (about 2 cups+)

2 -15 oz cans of small white beans *undrained*

1 cooked strip of turkey bacon broken into pieces (optional)

Chopped onion

Minced garlic

Shredded baby carrots

Oregano (as much as you like -- I was very heavy with this spice)

Black Pepper (again, as much as you like - I was very heavy on this one too)

Kosher Salt (about 5 pinces of salt sprinkled round the soup)

Saute in butter chopped onion, minced garlic, shredded baby carrots - the amount you use is really up to you. In big soup pot put in turkey, broth, undrained beans, crumbled bacon, then sauted onion, garlic, carrots. Cook for about 20 minutes for beans to become more tender and serve. If you'd like, you can also add liquid smoke.  Enjoy.

Here is an easy recipe that I just made the other day.

Brown rice
Browned ground turkey or hamburger
Canned diced tomatoes or fresh from the garden tomatoes