Dinner :: Beef and Ginger Stir Fry

Okay, I have to be honest with you. If you're reading this, you've probably noticed that I haven't posted in a really long time. Awhile ago, I thought it would be fun to make beef stir fry for dinner. I found a recipe for beef and ginger, and I've never actually cooked with fresh ginger so I wanted to give it a try. It also looked very simple, which I've become a fan of lately - not because I'm lazy, but because I think it tastes better.

This dish as a complete and utter disaster. Dis. Ast. Er. The thing about stir fries if you have to be quick on your feet, and not prone to anxiety attacks. I am neither of those two things. Well, at least when I'm in the kitchen. I'm a pretty level-headed person in general, though I wouldn't want to go through a major catastrophe or natural disaster with myself or anything.

First of all, I saw the train coming down the tracks at 90 mph before I even began. I knew to expect things to happen quickly, so I chopped everything ahead of time, grated the ginger, put it all in separate prep bowls so I could just dump it in and keep stirring, stirring, stirring. Yeah, that didn't work. Some of the prep bowls were out of arm's reach, and then the smoke alarm started going off in the bedroom, and then the one in the back stairway started going off. Panic! Panic! Panic!

And then, to top it all of, the meal tasted disgusting. It was bland and ick. I learned that I don't like ginger. And so I did something I'm ashamed to admit - I got disheartened and didn't want to write about it. Who wants to blog about something so unpleasant? But I've decided to renew my commitment to blogging, to cooking, and to trying new things. I'll get back in the saddle and hopefully you'll start hearing from me more regularly again soon!

Finally, so this post isn't a complete loss, I want to share the one success story from this dish. I've never been able to cook rice well by the method I've seen in most recipe books, which is using a little bit of water in a saucepan. I always end up losing half the rice because it sticks to the bottom. Well, Mark Bittman recommends cooking the rice more like pasta (which kind of makes sense). So you fill up the pot with water, bring it to a boil, add your rice and stir. Once it returns to a boil, you should probably lower the heat so it's just simmering, and just check on it until it's cooked. Easy! Why didn't I think of that?

So it wasn't a complete failure after all, I guess...

Dinner :: Stuffed Peppers

Google "budget recipes" and every resulting website will have a recipe for stuffed peppers. Trust me - I've been without a job for almost a month now, so I'm very familiar with all internet searches that include the word "budget." Examples include budget haircuts, budget date nights, budget fashion, budget cable bills, which is a particularly interesting one: sign up for 12-month bundle deals that are only available to first-time customers, then just change cable providers every year. Voila!

I've copied the recipe verbatim, but I would recommend changing two small things. First, I'd use 4 peppers rather than six; and second, I'd cook the rice in the skillet for at least 20 minutes. Also, I have no idea what "blanching" means, so I just skipped that step.

Stuffed Peppers
Recipe courtesy of the First United Methodist Church of St. Charles Cookbook

Blanche 6 lg. whole green peppers, seeds removed in boiling water and set upright in a baking dish. Brown 1 lb. ground beef and 1/3 c. chopped onion until done. Add 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper, 1 (16-0z) can diced tomatoes, 1/2 c. water and 1/2 c. uncooked rice. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, until rice is tender. Add 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce and 1 c. shredded American cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Put the beef and rice mixture in the pepper cups. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.