Mandy and Jace

We officially have a new favorite seasoning in our little household, it’s Chinese 5 spice powder. This combination of Szechwan pepper, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, salt and white pepper smells like Christmas morning, but when you put it on something it gives it this spicy, yet cinnamon taste. In other words, heavenly. I had printed out a recipe that required this spice a long time ago and one day when we were putting together our meal plan we saw the recipe and decided to try it. It quickly became a regular in our kitchen. You can use any type of veggie you prefer. The original recipe had bok choy and sugar snap peas in it but that didn’t sound appealing to me. Give it a try. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

5 spice beef stir fry
1 pound flank steak, chopped into small slices
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced or grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 red bell pepper
1 onion
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons oil (whatever you have on hand is fine)

Combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, sugar, 5 spice powder and red pepper flakes in a bowl and whisk together. Place your beef in a zip top bag, pour the marinade in, close the bag and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

While that is marinading, julienne your onion and bell pepper.

Remove the beef from the marinade. (Don’t throw the marinade out!) Pour the remaining liquid into a bowl and add the cornstarch. Set aside.

Put about a tablespoon of oil in your saute pan over high heat. When the pan is hot add the meat. Cook for a couple of minutes stirring often until it is brown. Remove the beef and set aside.

Add another tablespoon of oil and add the onion and pepper. Cook until tender. Put the beef back in the pan with the veggies and pour in the marinade. Cook for a couple of minutes until the sauce is thick.

Serve over rice or noodles.

Did anyone else’s weekend go entirely too fast? I could swear that I went to sleep on Friday night and woke up this morning. Even though it was very short we had a good weekend and got quite a bit done around the house.

Due to the addition of a couple of pounds, I will be attempting to eat healthy this week. It’s not fun but necessary. I’ll be eating lots of veggies with my meals along with smaller meat and starch portions. Also I’m going to try to be more strict on what I’m eating during the day. Here’s my plan.

Tonight: sautéed chicken with mashed potatoes and corn
Tuesday: beef fajitas with refried beans and rice
Wednesday: nachos made with leftover fajitas
Thursday: take out before practice
Friday: date night!

Happy eating!

For about a year and a half now I have been on a mission to get healthier. There were several reasons to get healthy, but I have to admit the main reason was to lose some weight. Nothing like looking at photos of yourself and seeing something totally different than what you expected. Also, I went to the doctor for my yearly check up and they said I had the cholesterol of a 60 year old man. That’s definitely not the most comforting thing to tell a patient. So began my quest to get healthy. I started working out and eating not only better, but less. It was definitely not easy. It took me a year but I am to where I only eat about 1500 calories a day and not starve to death. Most of those calories are good foods like whole grains, fruits and veggies. I tend to eat just what will get me by during the day then splurge at night when Jace and I cook. I am now 12lbs lighter than I was when I started and my cholesterol is not better but we decided that it was genetic and no amount of diet and exercise could fix it.

One of the things that I have found that will help with my hunger throughout the day is having a smoothie for breakfast. Not only is it VERY nutritious but this one is delicious. Don’t freak out when you see the flax oil. It is just for my cholesterol and you can leave it out if you’d like. Remember though that it is great for your heart and does wonders for your skin and hair.

Acai berry smoothie
1 banana
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup acai berry juice
1 tablespoon flax oil

Place all ingredients in your blender or magic bullet and blend until smooth. Pour in a glass (or not if your using the magic bullet) and enjoy!

I haven’t done one of these in a very long time so I decided to do another one. Anyone who spends even a little bit of time with me knows that I am a shopaholic. I love to find new things whether its for my hair, clothes, music or a new cooking tool. Here we go!

I found this de frizz serum a couple of weeks ago and I fell in love the second I put it in my hair. It is Bumble and Bumble Defrizz. I have very thick, course hair and this stuff makes my hair look thinner and VERY soft. Just put it in while your hair is wet and then blow dry. I also use it after styling to tame my flyaways.

Jazz vocalist and pianist Melody Gardot’s new album My One and Only Thrill is my absolute favorite album right now. I have it both on my iphone and on vinyl. I love to come home and put it on while I am cooking or cleaning. The problem is that I end up listening to her and getting nothing done. There are a couple of songs that will make you melt. The best song on there is a song called ” Our Love is Easy” I can’t begin to explain the emotions that go through me when I listen to this song. The other song I love is the title track “My One and Only Thrill”. It has the prettiest arrangement I have heard in a very long time.

Last but not least is for the kitchen. A couple months ago I bought an Acai Berry Smoothie at a local shop and loved it. So the next day I went and got another one and watched closely as they made it. I went home, got my Magic Bullet out and recreated the amazing smoothie. (I’ll post the recipe in the next couple of days) This little machine is great. It is small enough to sit out on your cabinet and not take up too much space like a blender would. You can also make the smoothie in the mug you will drink it in so you don’t have to do a million dishes every time you want a smoothie.

I want to thank everyone who prayed for Jace’s grandma last week. She’s not out of the woods yet, but she’s doing much better.
It is getting very exciting around the Gregg household. I’ll share details later but you will definitely want to keep checking in this month. It will be very eventful!
This week Jace will most likely be doing another post on his “different” ingredient, veal stock, and I will post our recipe for 5 spice beef stir fry. Both recipes this week are some of my favorite meals we make and they are very easy.

Here’s the plan.
Tonight: chicken pasta in a veal cream sauce
Tuesday: 5 spice beef stir fry
Wednesday: breakfast for dinner
Thursday: take out before praise and worship practice
Friday: game night

Happy eating!