Recipes-- running girls like to eat!

Bulgogi
(Korean Barbecued Beef)

I was introduced to Korean Barbecued Beef in the small Arizona border town of Sierra Vista. I was on TDY (temporary duty) there twice in my military career at the training units at Ft. Huachuca. Excellent hiking, close enough to Tuscon and Phoenix, and of course, this little nondescript, never crowded Korean restaurant. The first time we went there, I honestly thought it couldn't be too far from Chinese food, right? Besides, I'm up for trying (almost) anything once and they served beer right out of a can. Pretty good idea to a bunch of 20-somethings. Once there, I just let one of the guys order for me, since I had no idea what was what. And that, friends, is how I had a bowl of Bulgogi set before me. It was served over a bowl of sticky rice, with julienned cucumbers. Since that first visit, we went back a few times and I never strayed from that one dish. Unfortunately, not so many Korean restaurants here in western North Dakota. What I like about Korean food is that, whereas Chinese food has been Americanized to be so sweet, Korean food is still, when you can find it on the market on make it on your own, very savory. So when I found a recipe in the Real Simple magazine a few years ago, I was anxious to try making it on my own. It's just as good as I remember! I have tweaked it a little and I'm sharing my version of the recipe below. Do give this one a try, it's so easy, and ladies, men LOVE this recipe!

                     
2            pounds  flank steak
1/2         cup  Tamari soy sauce
1/3         cup  thinly sliced green onions
 2           Tablespoons  sesame oil -- dark
 2-3        Tablespoons  brown sugar
 3-5        cloves  garlic -- minced

Make the marinade with the soy sauce, green onions, sesame oil, sugar, and garlic and set aside.

To prepare the beef, you have two options. You can leave it whole, marinate it, grill it and then slice it up thin.

Or you can slice it before you marinate it. I prefer to do it this way so that the garlic and the green onions get all over the meat. To prepare you meat this way, first rinse and pat dry beef. Trim excess fat, then cut steak at 45 degree angle across the grain, slice thinly. Flank steak is very "ropey" with long strands of muscle fiber. So it is important to slice those fibers short, and we do that by slicing across the grain.

marinade poured over the beef! Just enough time to let it set, go get the kids from school, go out for a quick run, and then come home and throw it right on the grill!

Place pieces in bowl. Add soy sauce, green onions, sesame oil, sugar and garlic. mix to coat. Cover and chill 30 minutes to 4 hours.

Weave slices onto a bamboo skewer and place on well-oiled grill.  (Note, I do this when I'm catering these, but otherwise, sometimes I skip skewering and just throw them on the grill.) Discard remaining marinade.

Grill over medium  high heat only about 5 minutes.

serve with rice, cucumbers, and even a little fruit for a perfect light summer dinner!

Breakfast Pizza

So this is not a technical, measured out recipe. It's meant to be adapted to your family's taste, and I want to tell you that you should make MORE of this than less. If you think a single recipe is enough, double it. People get seconds. And thirds. And then you'll want to eat it again for lunch! It's not light so I try to keep it balanced with some fresh fruit for breakfast, or a light strawberry spinach salad if we're having it for dinner. And this breakfast pizza is perfect for Sunday dinner! ~Jen

Not technically a recipe:

You'll need:

pizza dough mix and whatever ingredients that requires

hollaindaise sauce (I totally cheat and use the Knorr brand but I crack pepper and crush a tiny bit of thyme in

it to make it look homemade) and any ingredients required for that

Eggs (4-6)

breakfast sausage, lean

ham, diced

bacon, cooked and crumbled (or, fresh out of the Oscar Meyer Bacon Bits pouch)

cheese (I just get the sprinkle cheese that's labled "pizza cheese")

diced white onion

sliced olives

chives

anything else you think sounds good. Bell peppers. Jalapenos. Pineapple. It's all good.

see, I left all of that generic and without measurements on purpose. Because basically, you're meant to just pile on as much as you like.

So, make your pizza dough and spread on a greased or lined baking sheet. (I usually make at least two pizza dough recipes). Poke with a fork and cook for 10 minutes, according to directions. You want to precook this dough because the sauce will make your dough mushy otherwise.

While that's cooking, scramble your eggs, brown your sausage, make your hollaindaise sauce.

On your prepared pizza dough, spread the hollaindaise sauce. Layer the scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, and another other toppings you like. Cover the pizza with cheese and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until cheese is all bubbly.

Slice and serve with fruit or salad, milk or champagne!

Rustic Apple and Pear Galette- easy

This is one of my favorite, quick and easy desserts. I love to buy up green, crisp pears and luscious honeycrisp apples. And then I never eat them quickly enough. So here's a dessert that uses up what you already have in the pantry/fridge plus those extra apples and pears. Enjoy! ~Jen



2 apples, peeled and sliced

2 pears, peeeled and sliced

1/2 cup brown sugar

cinnamon

nutmeg

3 Tablespoons of butter

pecans, if desired

Pie shell, chilled but rolled out flat

egg and sugar for brushing on the edges

Directions: Directions: place the peeled, sliced apples and pears in a mixing bowl with the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss to coat. Place the apples and pears in the center of the pie shell, leaving about 2 inches to the edges. Any remaining sugar mixture can be poured on top of the pears and apples. Dot the pear and apple mixture with small pieces of cold butter. Fold the edges of the pie shell up, careful not to let any part of it split or tear. Brush the edges with a little egg and dust with sugar.

Bake at 350 for about an hour, the dessert is done when the shell is golden brown and the sugar has turned to a bubbling syrup. Serve with a little whipped cream or ice cream or creme anglaise!

Note: It is very important that your pie shell stays cold as long as possible, and that you put it into an oven that is fully heated. The reason for this is that if your pie shell does tear, the brown sugar syrup will run out.

Monkey tails

Because I hate bananas. They are a necessary evil for runners what with all the potassium and all, and it's like, sacrilege to not involve bananas in running. So I did what every other genius mom would do: smothered them in chocolate and chilled them for a while. Kids and husbands will love them too! ~Jen



ummm.... did we lick our fingers while making these?.... maybe





4-6 ripe but still firm bananas, cut in half
6 oz dark chocolate (or more!)
1/2 cup of crushed  peanuts or "nut topping" mix they sell in the ice cream section
skewers or popsicle sticks

Directions: cut the bananas in half and let chill in the fridge for about 5-10 minutes. This makes handling them easier and the chocolate set faster. Meanwhile, melt dark chocolate in microwave, stirring at 30 then 20 second intervals until smooth and completely melted. Using a fork or your fingers, dip the bananas in chocolate and then roll in the nuts. Skewer with a wooden grill skewer or popsicle sticks and place on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Let the chocolate start to set for about 10 minutes. (*Note: if you put these in the fridge or freezer right away, they will "sweat" and get all gooey when they return to room temperature. Let them set first.) Store in an airtight container in the fridge.