Oreo-Brownie Muffins

I have seen several versions of this idea, and had to try it for my testing group,. They unanimously approve!

All you need:

- 1 pkg Oreos
- 1 pkg brownie mix, prepared according to directions.
- muffin pan with paper liners
- peanut butter




Spread some peanut butter on an oreo, then place into muffin papers.

Stick another oreo to the peanut butter.  King me!












Pour brownie batter around each oreo stack, filling to the top of the muffin paper.

Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes.

Here is what they look like inside.


There are many kinds of oreos, so lots of combo possibilities.

make-your-own Moo Shu Pork!

 I love Moo Shu, and wanted to find an easy way to make it at home.  You might not be able to use the Express Lane with this many ingredients, or you can just be one of "those" people who do it anyway.

 1. In large saute pan or wok, cook 1# ground pork or turkey. Drain, and remove to bowl.





2. In same pan, saute whatever mushrooms you like in 1 tsp olive oil until moisture has evaporated.  Put them in the bowl too.  I used sliced shittakes and one drained can of straw mushrooms.

3. Back to that same pan again - saute one sweet bell pepper, sliced thin, and one package of shredded cabbage with 1 tsp garlic and 2 tsp ginger.

 4. Prepare sauce:
     3 tbsp hoisin sauce
     2 tbsp soy sauce
     1 tsp sesame oil
    

 5. Stir sauce, meat, and mushrooms into pan with veggies.

6. Serve with plum sauce and warmed tortillas (unless your store has the rice wraps that restaurants use).



Variation ideas:

  scrambled egg
  peanuts
  bean sprouts
  shrimp
  tofu

Savory Corned Beef

Hooray for corned beef season!  I don't celebrate St.Patrick's Day, but do appreciate the time of year when the grocery store is stocking large corned beefs.

There are several ways to cook a corned beef , or any other corned - which means marinated in brine - meats that you might have.  Corned venison is a good example.  Corning is used on meats that have a lot of connective tissue, which is what makes them have a tough texture.  The brining step helps break down that connective tissue, but the meat still needs to be cooked after.


Corned meats can be boiled, slow-cooked in a crock pot, or tenderized in a pressure cooker.  I am a pressure-cooker user so that is my preferred method.  The meat and spices are brought to 15 lbs of pressure for 1 hour; by then the meat is cooked thoroughly but not quite finished.

The key to tender, flavorful corned beef is to roast the meat after the liquid-cooking stage.  Regardless of how you boil your beef, you will get a better end result if you slice it into a baking pan and roast at 350 for about a half hour.  The slices can be just rough slabs - enough to allow the heat to get to the remaining connective tissue.

Bake until the meat surfaces are sizzling hot and the edges are a little crispy.  Turn slices and roast for another 8-10 minutes.  This brings out the natural sugars in the meat and the end result is savory and flavorful.

With pressure-cooker methods, the meat is cooked first and then removed.  The veggies are then added to the broth left in the cooker, and brought to pressure for 10 minutes.  This is the perfect timeframe for roasting the meat.

If you use a boiling method, leave the veggies in the pan to stay hot while you roast the meat.

I like the way the pressure cooker cooks all the veggies to the ideal softness all at the same time.  As soon as the veggies are done and the meat is roasted, serve with dijon mustard.

Reuben Rolls!

The impending arrival of St. Patrick's Day got me thinking about corned beef - I love a good reuben.  This recipe is like a tiny reuben in an egg roll.  It had to be tried! :)

1 package egg roll wrappers
10 slices swiss cheese, halved

1 can sauerkraut, drained
deli mustard or thousand island dressing
deli-sliced corned beef

Follow the photos!


Place rolls on greased cookie sheet.  Lightly brush tops with olive oil.

Bake @400F for 10 minutes.

Serve with thousand island dressing for dipping.