Skirt Steak and Bok Choy Stir Fry with Noodles and Broth

It has been raining non-stop where we live in NC, and rainy days are great for soups or asian broths.
A trip to the farmer's market this morning had me drooling over the baby bok choy and i decided to get some and stir fry with the skirt steak i pulled off the freezer last night. I wanted a hot broth with some noodles to go with it but couldn't find any Udon Noodles, which is what i would use for this broth and didn't have time to drive to the big city, so i cheated with a couple packages of ramen noodles. Add them to hot broth right before serving as they won't hold up as well as the udon noodles.
This whole meal will take about 20 minutes to make if your steak is already marinated and perfect for a school night.

Ingredients:
STIR-FRY:
1 small Skirt Steak, marinated for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. Remove from fridge an hour before cooking to get to room temperature (marinate with 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper)
1 whole baby bok choy, top burned leaves removed, roughly chopped, mixed roots and leaves (save 1 cup of greens for the broth)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 carrots, cut at a angle
1 small onion, sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon scallions, chopped

NOODLE BOWL:
Noodles of your choice, Udon is best, i used 2 packages of ramen noodles
6 cups of homemade chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 cup bok choy leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup scallions, chopped

Preheat the grill to it's highest setting.
In a large frying pan or a wok, heat the sesame and canola oil. Add onions and stir for 2 minutes. Add garlic, carrots, bok choy, fresh ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar and oyster sauce. Stir it well and cover, cook covered for 7 minutes, or until vegetables are soft, but still have a little crunch to them.
Cook marinated steak while veggies are steaming on a hot grill for 4 minutes a side for medium or longer if you prefer it well cooked. Slice steak into thin slices against the grain. Add to cooked vegetables and toss. Top with fresh scallions. Serve warm. I like adding to the bowl of noodles and broth.

For the noodles, simply heat broth until boiling. Add bok choy, vinegar and soy sauce. Cover and cook for 10 minutes until bok choy is soft. Add noodles right before serving and top with chopped scallops.

Homemade Nutella Pop Tarts

I had never in my life bought a box of pop tarts until a few weeks ago while camping. I tried the stuff and immediately spit it out. There was absolutely no taste to it. Got home and decided that i would make them and they would be awesome!!!! Which i did and they were! This week i was bringing a snack for my son's preschool class and decided on Nutella Pop Tarts. They were a hit as they were with my family a few weeks back.
I searched for recipes in books and online and the King's Arthur Flour recipe was the best i found and the one i followed. And i'm gonna be really lazy and copy and cut the recipe... and added a few remarks by me in dark print.

Ingredients:
2 cups (8 ½ ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 quarter-pound sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) milk
12 teaspoons Nutella


1 egg, beaten well to brush the pastry before filling


Make the dough: Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter until the mixture holds together when you squeeze it, with pecan-sized lumps of butter still visible. Mix the egg and milk, and add it to the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive. ( Rich and Sweet: I used the food processor on mine even though this recipe doesn't call for one, just lightly pulse a few times to cut butter into flour and then i poured the dough on my countertop and added the milk and egg and kneaded lightly by hand. DO NOT OVERMIX or you will have hard pop tarts)

Divide the dough in half; each half will weigh about 10 ounces (about 280g). Shape each half into a rough 3" x 5" rectangle, smoothing the edges. Roll out immediately; or wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Assemble the tarts: If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8" thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9" x 12". Laying a 9" x 13" pan atop the dough will give you an idea if you’ve rolled it large enough. Trim off the edges; place the scraps on a baking sheet, and set them aside, along with the 9" x 12" rectangle of dough.
( RICH AND SWEET: I divided the dough into 12 equal pieces and wrapped them individually as it was easier for me to roll them out one at a time into a 3"x4" rectangle)

Roll the second piece of dough just as you did the first. Press the edge of a ruler into the dough you’ve just rolled, to gently score it in thirds lengthwise and widthwise; you’ll see nine 3" x 4" rectangles.

Beat the egg, and brush it over the entire surface of the dough. Place a heaping tablespoon (RICH AND SWEET: I used 1 teaspoon and thought it was plenty) of filling into the center of each marked rectangle. Place the second sheet of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around each pocket of jam, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Cut the dough evenly in between the filling mounds to make nine tarts. Press the cut edges with your fingers to seal, then press with a fork, to seal again.

Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.

Sprinkle the dough trimmings with cinnamon-sugar; these have nothing to do with your toaster pastries, but it’s a shame to discard them, and they make a wonderful snack. While the tarts are chilling, bake these trimmings for 13 to 15 minutes, till they’re golden brown.

Remove the tarts form the fridge, and bake them for 25 to 35 minutes (RICH AND SWEET: 20 minutes was plenty of time for mine) , until they’re a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool on the pan. ( RICH AND SWEET: i removed them from pan with a spatula and cooled them on a rack)

Spicy Garlicky Swiss Chard

This is a favorite of mine, anytime of the year. I served it this week with Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken , it was the perfect combination of flavors.

Ingredients:
1 large bunch of Swiss Chard, washed and roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2-3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper

In a large frying pan or a wok, heat olive oil. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and fry for 1-2 minutes or until garlic is golden but not burned. Add greens and stir. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Add vinegar, salt and pepper and serve it hot.

Risotto Stuffed Squash with Balsamic Reduction

This is perfect the day after you make a risotto and have leftovers. If you are making from scratch i would incorporate the inside of the squash into the risotto, but if using the leftover risotto simply scoop out the inside of squash and fill it with risotto.

Ingredients:

3 squash (green or yellow), cut in half lengthwise , with inside scooped out and discarded
2-3 tablespoons of risotto for each half (i used a butternut squash risotto)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan or shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper
2 + 1 tablespoons olive oil

Balsamic reduction
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Coat inside of each halved squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
In a separate bowl, mix together bread crumbs, cheese, olive oil and fresh pepper.

Scoop 2-3 tablespoons of risotto and pack tightly inside each squash half. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture on top of each stuffed squash and place in a lightly greased baking pan. Cover with foil and let it rest about 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400F. Bake it covered for 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and place under the broil for 1-2 minutes for color.
In a small saucepan heat the balsamic until it's reduced by a third. Add sugar and stir for another minute. If too thick when serving, simply microwave for a few seconds to soften.
Drizzle over stuffed squash and serve hot.