Hibachi Steak

This was really good and got me to eat some vegetables which is no easy task.  You can use rice instead of the noodles if you want to. 


From: Sandra's Money Saving Meals

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 large carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 (8-ounce) package sliced mushrooms
• 1 1/2 pounds top round steak
• 1 pound egg roll wrappers
• 1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Put a large skillet over medium-high heat and add half of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the vegetables and stir-fry until the vegetables are almost done, about 5 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking, heat a second skillet over high heat and add the remaining oil.
Cut the steak into small cubes, and stir-fry until browned on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Separate the egg roll wrappers into 2 piles. Roll each pile up into a log. Slice the log into thin strips about 1/4-inch thick and separate them into individual noodles. Put half of the noodles into the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and add to a serving bowl or platter. (Reserve the remaining noodles for the Online Round 2 Recipe, Japanese Noodle Bowl.)
In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and cornstarch and set aside.
Add the steak, along with any accumulated juices, to the pan with the vegetables. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the vegetables and cook until the sauce has thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the butter. (Optional: Reserve 2 cups for the Online Round 2 Recipe, Japanese Noodle Bowl).
Top the cooked noodles with the steak and vegetable mixture and serve.

Homemade Graham Crackers

So these aren't technically graham crackers since they don't use graham flour, but they are 100% whole wheat and 100% delicious! I've been making them for several months now, ever since I found the original recipe on Heavenly Homemakers. Mostly square shapes, but I also cut out umpteen dozen little leaf and pumpkin shapes in November and in December decided to give them a Christmas kick by dipping in almond bark and letting the girls decorate them with sprinkles. That was a VERY good idea. :)

INGREDIENTS:

2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons honey
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. Add the liquids: honey, water, vanilla and melted butter.
4. Stir well until a nice ball of dough is formed.
5. Lay one Silpat (or parchment paper) on a cookie sheet.
6. Place the ball of dough on the parchment paper. Lay a second Silpat (or another piece of parchment paper) on top of the ball of dough.  Squish dough down a little with your fist.
7. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough between the pieces of parchment paper.  Roll until the dough covers the whole cookie sheet.
8. Peel off the top Silpat and cut rolled dough into 2 inch squares, or cut shapes with cookie cutters, being sure to separate the shapes from the surrounding dough a little. (I use a pizza cutter *very gently* to make the cuts)
9. Bake in oven for 18 minutes.
10. Turn oven off, but leave crackers in the oven to get crisp for about 30 minutes.
11. Break cooled graham crackers apart and store in an air tight container.

To decorate them, I melted almond bark in a large coffee mug. Then I scrapped some bark on one side of the cookie and set it on wax paper where my assistants could decorate them with colored sugar and sprinkles. This, obviously, makes them not very healthy, but fun for a special treat.