Pinterest In My Kitchen

Oh, how I love Pinterest.  It's a bitersweet love, as sometimes I look at it and feel depressed about all of the wonderful things on there I cannot seem to make or have, but sometimes it is just the most wonderful way to relax and get ideas.  Sometimes I find the perfect craft idea, or recipe, and last night was one of those times.  I feel so good every time I try a new recipe, and when it turns out delicious, that's obviously even better.  I decided to make beef and broccoli last night.  It was easy and holygoodness it was so tasty.  Beef and broccoli is an old favorite of mine from the days when I'd get chinese takeout.  But to be honest, I haven't found anywhere up here that has takeout that I enjoy (except a few of my favorite thai restaurants, yum!) I blame a restaurant in Iowa that has been around as long as I can remember, and no chinese food has ever matched up since.  I suppose you could say I've become a takeout snob.  But that is beside the point.
The point is, this recipe that I found on Pinterest is so so good, that it can definitely hold me over until the next time I visit home and get some of my favorite food from that wonderful place. (I always put on a disgusting display when it comes to how much I can eat when I go back there! Have to make up for the months I'm away) I've never known how to perfect that wonderful sauce, and now I've learned and I'm so glad! I wonder if I can convince the hubs to have it once a week...  It ended up being a very affordable meal, as many of the ingredients are things we generally have on hand.  Soy sauce, flour, sugar, garlic... Yes, yes, yes and yes! There are a few others in there, but essentially we just had to buy beef and broccoli which cost a total of eight dollars.  I served it over quinoa, since we had it on hand and I'm trying to use it more often since it's a healthy option.  The recipe specifies low sodium soy sauce, and I would second that.  We only had regular and it turned out wonderful, but it was definitely a little salty.  Yes I just said that. The one who uses way too much salt on a regular basis.  Didn't phase us too much, it was just too dang good!
For dessert I made another great Pinterest find, mini apple pies/turnovers! They were so easy, and such a treat.  I'll have to keep reminding myself that they are just that, a treat, and fight my urge to make them nightly.  I put them together in a total of five minutes, and it took me no longer than that to polish them off!
I cut the recipe in half, because I didn't feel like we each needed to eat eight of them and I wasn't sure how they'd reheat.  We had two left over though, and I can tell you they reheat beautifully :) I had them at work with a cup of coffee and they were just as good as they were fresh out of the oven.  The only thing I changed was using smart balance in place of butter because I don't usually keep butter aroudn, and it worked just fine.  Next time I might try using some agave nectar instead of sugar to make them a little "healthier".  I guess using the word healthy is a stretch, so I'll say to make them a little less unhealthy and a bit more fit for my desire to eat them every single night.  

Photo via Pinterest





Photo via Pinterest