I baked...and I cooked!

WOW! I spent the better portion of today in the kitchen, without even realising it! It all started this morning when Cameron asked for a banana and when he went to get one out of the basket his "EEWWW" told me it was about time to make some muffins! And I was right, five mushy bananas were just right to make a double batch of Best Ever Banana Muffins which I have made in the past. They looked good, and smelled good but they weren't what I was thinking "I" wanted for breakfast so while the oven was hot I got busy and also whipped up a batch of Morning Glory Muffins! I have been wanting chinese food for the longest time but we just haven't been able to get out and go for some, so I decided to make the next best thing! I made Broccoli Beef and a shrimp fried rice for supper. The recipe for Broccoli Beef follows but the shrimp fried rice I just winged... Broccoli Beef I From: allrecipes.com Submitted by: Sara "Round steak and broccoli are quickly cooked in a soy ginger sauce. Serve over hot rice or noodles." Original recipe yield: 4 Servings Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 15 min Ready in: 30 min INGREDIENTS 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth 2 tablespoons white sugar 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 pound boneless round steak, cut into bite size pieces 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger root 1 clove garlic, minced 4 cups chopped fresh broccoli DIRECTIONS In a small bowl, combine flour, broth, sugar, and soy sauce. Stir until sugar and flour are dissolved. In a large skillet or wok over high heat, cook and stir beef 2 to 4 minutes, or until browned. Stir in broth mixture, ginger, garlic, and broccoli. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

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This was REALLY good, all of us enjoyed it and I only took a couple of small liberties … for some reason I’m unable to follow a recipe right down to the letter unless I’m baking. First I used a sirloin steak because it was the first one that I pulled out of the freezer, slightly thawed it and then cut it in strips while it was still partially frozen. Then I used low sodium soy sauce ...DH always drowns his rice/chinese dishes with soy sauce anyways and I’m watching for ways to cut his (and my) salt intake. I didn’t have any fresh ginger root so I used fresh "straight out of the jar" ginger and a liberty I took and I’m sure it didn’t change it a whole lot was to add in about a cup of fresh slice mushrooms. I knew that Cameron would probably not eat a lot of the meat (he isn’t fussy on any meat unless it is processed ham in a sandwich) and he loves mushrooms so at least he got two vegetables into his little body. I’m looking forward to seeing what the leftovers taste like warmed up tomorrow.