BYOSF

I am such a recipe girl, it almost scares me to cook without one. We have been to several build your own stir fry restaurants and I have really craved it at home. I did glance at a few real recipes and noticed they did follow a certain formula. I had on hand in the freezer some smaller portions of chicken, pork tenderloin and petite sirloin steak (left over from the fondue meal), so I decided to use it for a build your own stir fry night. Great results! Everyone got to cook their own and it was really fun. Start by heating up the pan and spray with non-stick spray. Add in as much meat as you would like, all cut in smaller pieces so they cook quickly. When the meat is done on the outside, add in the veggies. You can use the frozen mix specifically designed for stir-fry that has water chestnuts. Or you can just use what you like! There are all sorts of options-- I used all broccoli with my beef. Madison used regular mixed veggies with her pork and Jared used the oriental veggie mix. In with the veggies add about 1/2 cup of stir-fry sauce. I used a teriyaki marinade, others used a bottled stir-fry sauce. Stir and mix around and then cover and steam cook until the veggies are tender, just a few more minutes. I had cooked rice before, so you could mix it in at the end if you wanted fried rice style or just put your stir fry on top of the steamed rice. I loved it and it was a great way to use up small amounts of meat and veggies.

Slow Cooker Pizza Casserole

I got this recipe from Hy-vee. I made it for Sunday dinner. At first I thought it was going to be a lot of sauce, but as it cooked it soaked it up and even flavored the pasta. Interesting recipe!

1 lb lean ground beef (I used Italian sausage instead-- more flavor!)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 16oz package linguine, cooked
2 15oz cans pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, cook the meat and onion, drain.

Spray slow-cooker with non-stick spray, or use a crock pot liner. In slow-cooker, layer 1/2 the linguine, 1/2 the meat, 1 can of the sauce and 1/2 the cheese. Repeat layers.

Cook on LOW for 3 hours.

Serves 12 (or for me, lots of leftovers for lunches the next week!)

Pizza on the Grill

When you don't have a brick oven, this is the next best thing! We have done this method of pizza several times this summer. It gives the pizza a nice crispy crust. You can use the Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough, or make your own. Prehat the grill on medium high. Spray with non-stick spray. Roll out your dough out on a flour dusted board and then get a big sheet of heavy duty foil. Spray the foil with non-stick spray, then put you dough on the foil. Head out to the grill and flip your dough out onto the oiled grill. Grill the first side about 3 minutes. Flip over with tongs and start grilling the other side. Top with sauce and toppings of your choice. You can also just grill the dough as bread and serve with olive oil, marinara sauce, or hummus for dipping. I love topping mine with pesto and fresh tomatoes.

Muffins to Go

This isn't really a recipe per se, but you can do them with any type of muffin and any recipe. Since Madison is out the door before 6 and Gabrielle has to be ready to go before 7, we needed some quick grab and go breakfasts. The other night I made up batches of 3 different kinds of mini muffins and bagged them in zip-loc bags. The girls helped label them and then we popped them in the freezer. The girls have been grabbing them in the mornings with some milk or fruit and I feel a little better that I have fed them!

Funnel Cakes

Yeah, I said Funnel Cakes! It is State Fair season, right? Here is a great easy recipe for the yummy treats that take you right back to the midway. Top with plenty of sifted powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or fairy dust.

1 1/4 cup sifted flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

Sift together dry ingredients. Mix egg and milk and add to dry ingredients. Stir until smooth. Pour oil into skillet and heat to 375°. Drizzle batter into hot oil through funnel. Swirl batter in a circle to form cake. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side, turning once until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain. Sprinkle with topping of choice. Makes 6 cakes. And they didn't cost $4 each!

Blueberry Lemon Frozen Yogurt Sorbet

12 oz bag frozen blueberries
1 container (6oz) blueberry yogurt (I used the light variety, blueberry patch flavor)
the juice of 1 lemon
Sweetener to taste

Process frozen berries until smooth. Add yogurt and lemon juice. Sweeten to your taste using splenda or other sweetener.

As we found out, this mixture is very good when mixed with the homemade vanilla ice cream.

Strawberry Banana Sorbet

3 cups frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen cranberry juice concentrate
1 medium banana, sliced and frozen
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

Process berries in food processor until very smooth. Add juice concentrate, sliced bananas and corn syrup and pulse until combined.

You can serve this immediately or freeze until firm. You can also use this as a base for a smoothie. Just add milk or more juice to make thinner for drinking through a straw.

Feel free to just use splenda as a sweetener as well.