My kids will eat almost any Asian food.  One easy weeknight meal is a quick chicken or pork stir fry: just sear bite sized pieces of meat, simmer in the stir fry sauce, toss in some veggies and then serve over rice.

Chicken or Pork Stir-Fry

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts or pork cutlets, sliced
• favorite oil or Pam spray
• stir-fry sauce
• frozen stir-fry veggies of choice, thawed
• 1-2 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Sprinkle skillet with oil or spray with Pam. Heat to high.
2. Add chopped meat, sear and cook through.
3. Pour stir-fry sauce over, reduce heat and cook until sauce thickens. Prepare rice.
4. Stir in thawed veggies, continue cooking just until hot throughout.
5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice.

I love love love sesame seeds so I buy them pre-toasted in a large jar in the Asian foods section of the grocery store, however you can use plain or toast the seeds yourself. To toast the sesame seeds sprinkle in a dry pan over medium to high heat and stir continuously until browned. Serve stir fry over rice, whatever your preference. My favorite is short grain white rice, often called glutinous or sticky rice. I really like the texture and it is easier to eat with chopsticks-we take our stir fry seriously here in the Chaos household. I buy it in containers labeled “sushi rice.”

Stir-Fry Sauce

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground garlic
• 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

1. Mix together until cornstarch dissolves, pour into skillet and cook until thickened. Add more water as necessary to thin.

This sauce is really not as sweet as the amount of honey would make you think. It has a subtle, pleasant sweetness and the red pepper flakes give it a nice flavor and heat.

Need more fast food? Try these:

I have a french dip recipe we like a lot-it is quick and easy to make in the evenings and is a staple for us when we need a simple sandwich dinner on the weekly menu.  But the recipe has a few problems that have always bugged me.  First, the sliced roast beef is cooked in the au jus which eliminates the possibility of tender, moist medium-rare meat.  Also, the au jus is made from french onion soup which is why it is a “cheater” recipe, but really how hard is it to make a little spiced up beef broth? Also, I always have trouble with the bread-hoagie rolls sprinkled with garlic powder just always seemed to take away from the flavors rather than add to them.

Recently, I saw this french dip panini on Panini Happy and from the ingredients I knew it would have all the flavors of the recipe we’ve always loved and also solve the problems I have had with it.  It was just as easy and quick and the flavors were so ramped up and delicious-this is the french dip recipe we will use from now on!  I did make a few adjustments to make it more weeknight friendly and the prep time is about 30-40 minutes, but it only takes a few minutes to cook the sandwiches in a panini press and you are ready to eat.

French Dip Panini

• 1 head garlic
• olive oil
• 2 onions, thinly sliced into rings
• 1/2 onions, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 tbsp beef base or bouillon ( I used a combination of beef and mushroom base)
• water
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• thinly sliced french or sourdough bread (ask bakery to slice with their machine-perfect thickness)
• 1 pound thinly sliced medium rare roast beef
• 4-6 slices provolone cheese

1. Start by roasting the head of garlic in the oven at 400°F.  Cut off the top of the garlic to expose the cloves and drizzle with olive oil, place in a small crock or wrap in foil and place in the oven.
2. While garlic roasts, saute onion rings in a little oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until soft and brown.
3. While onions are cooking start au jus in a small pot: saute diced onion and garlic in oil until soft and translucent.
4. Add beef broth and bouillon, taste.  Add salt as desired, pepper and thyme.  If too salty add small amounts of water to dilute.
5. Allow to simmer while constructing sandwiches.
6. Remove garlic from oven when golden brown and soft, allow to cool enough to handle.
7. Squeeze garlic cloves out of paper and mash on a cutting board, stir into mayonnaise.
8. When onions are ready, construct sandwiches. Lay out bottom bread slices and spread with garlic mayo.  Top with thick piles of roast beef, then caramelized onions, then layer provolone over all.  Top with bread slice.
9. Brush outsides of sandwich with olive oil and place in panini press or cook on a griddle.
10. Sandwiches only take minutes to cook in a panini press (or in our case George Foreman Grill) but there is enough time to drop some sweet potato fries into the deep fryer.
11. Ladle au jus into small bowls and serve alongside sandwiches cut on the diagonal.

It just doesn’t have the same ring to it when written.

Does anyone not love bacon? We love bacon as much as the next family and frequently cook a pound of it to have with fried eggs, rolled up into breakfast tacos, or added to sandwiches or burgers or salads.  Generally, we pan fry our bacon because it gives us a lot more control over the doneness level.  I like bacon to be chewy but not rubbery and mrChaos likes it a little more done and cispy.  Pan frying a pound of bacon takes probably 30 minutes of active cooking time-standing at the stove, checking, flipping, rotating, removing pieces that are done and adding new ones.  It is a bit of a pain especially when everyone is clamoring for their eggs to be done and the toast needs to be started and is there any butter?

We decided recently to experiment with different bacon preparations.  The microwave is ok, it tends to over or under cook the bacon but is ok in a pinch for a couple slices.  I have found a minute per slice to be a good guideline.  Baking the bacon was the next frontier then.  How nice would it be to just lay out a pound of bacon on a tray, set a timer, then wander off to do whatever it is that needs to be done?

We did two baking sheets for one pound of bacon-one with a rack and one without.  The bacon cooked on the rack was thinner and crisper and could be difficult to remove from the rack without tearing.  It was mrChaos’s favorite.  The bacon cooked directly on the baking sheet was thicker and chewier and a bit greasier-definitely my favorite.  Pan frying is still our favorite method, but the baking method is a close second and we will probably continue using it both with and without a rack.

Bakin’ Bacon

• 1 lb bacon

1. Line two rimmed baking sheets with foil (that’s the best part of this method, no clean-up, just crumple and toss), do not skip this step because you do not want to have to clean up baked on bacon grease.
2. Place bacon either directly onto foil lined baking sheets or onto cooling racks placed on the baking sheets depending on your preference.
3. Arrange baking sheets in a cold oven, turn heat to 400°F.
4. Check bacon frequently after about 15 minutes or whenever your oven beeps to let you know it is ready.
5. Remove bacon once it is cooked to desired doneness.  We removed it in a couple of batches, the first batch was the end pieces that were done faster than the pieces in the center.
6. Blot on paper towels, serve or store.

I have always loved the combination of flavors in the classic baked potato.  I don’t get to experiment with potatoes often because mrChaos ate them too often as a kid and so thinks he doesn’t like them a whole lot as an adult.  Twice baked potatoes, if you don’t know, are baked potatoes that are scooped out and mixed in a bowl with all the delicious topping you would add to your baked potato: cheese, butter, sour cream, bacon, green onion.  Then the mixture is piled back into the potato skin and baked again covered in cheese.  A very cool, fun side dish that has always sounded great to me because you can do all this and then freeze them before the second baking.  Then when you want to add them into a meal you just bake them up like they were fresh.

So I started my twice baked potato experiment and I got all the way to the part when I pile the potato mixture back into the shells and I thought, why?  Yeah it gives a nice presentation and portion control for adults but in my house the kids usually out number the adults.  Somehow, I knew they were not going to appreciate being handed a giant potato to eat, despite its being covered in cheese-and besides I was already expecting them to eat their meatloaf without making gagging sounds so why fight two battles?  So I just piled it all into a casserole dish, covered it with bacon, cheese, a smattering of green onion and cheese.  Done.  Everybody loved it: mrChaos was pleased, the kids were pleased, I was especially pleased.  By the way, this dish would freeze, thaw, and reheat just as well as the original potatoes.  It would also be a great potluck or barbecue addition.

Below are just what I happened to use, feel free to adjust to your favorite baked potato toppings.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole (or individual potatoes if you feel so inclined)

• 3 large russet potatoes
• 6 tbsp butter, cubed
• 6 oz sour cream or yogurt (shh! don’t tell mrChaos but I used nonfat Greek yogurt cause the sour cream was funky)
• 1 lb center cut bacon, chopped and cooked into crumbles
• 8 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 green onion, sliced thinly
• salt and black pepper

1. First step is to bake your potatoes and let them cool down.  Bake the potatoes on a tray at 400°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Let cool enough to handle.
2. Prep other ingredients while potatoes are baking, set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add butter, sour cream, 2/3 of the cheddar, the cream cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cut your somewhat cooled potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh in the large bowl.  If you plan on using the skins as boats be sure to keep them intact.
5. Use a potato masher or fork to combine the ingredients in the bowl, taste and season as you go.
6. Pile the mixture into a shallow casserole of pie dish, smooth the top and cover with bacon, onion as desired, and cheese. (or do this individually to your potato boats)
7. Bake casserole or individual potatoes at 350°F for about 20 minutes or until crusty and warm.

This is not really diet food although you cut dramatically cut the fat by eliminating the butter, using the nonfat yogurt or sour cream and using half the amount bacon and of 2% cheese.  No it won’t be as good. But it might be close.