a little addiction

well, it was a good weekend overall - had a bit of a lazy day on saturday, got a nap in, did some scrapping, it was all good. sunday, got the "stuff" done for the week ahead, laundry, groceries, homework, yada yada...

so what about the addiction? well, i tell ya, we've become addicted to a sandwich. panini sandwiches. what that grill does to a couple slice of bread and some cheese is just heavenly. today when i got home from work, that's what i had. cheddar and roast beef and a bit of grainy mustard grilled to perfection. ds1 did the same thing when he got home from school. yum.

and that's also what ended up being for dinner last night - grilled panini rubens. montreal smoked meat was a steal of a deal at just 99cents for 100g at the grocery store yesterday, so dh and i decided they would make a great dinner. yum. i could eat a panini everyday LOL (my hips would sure pay for it though!)

so after an un-busy week last week, it was back to work early today. the person i'm covering for has a busy schedule, but on top of that, he sees a number of his stores early in the day - they need to be seen before 10am. that makes for early mornings for me this week. the good thing is that it also makes for a bit earlier time home as well, so i can't complain too loudly.

so on the menu tonight - we made hoisin beef noodles for dinner. on sunday, i tidied up my kitchen cart with all my cookbooks, cooking mags and various bits and pieces on it, and found a magazine from 5 years ago. told the kids to pick a couple things out of it for dinner this week. and we found the noodle dish for tonight.

Hoisin Beef Noodles
1 tbsp vegetable oil (i didn't use this!)
1 lb lean ground beef
3 cloves garlic
3 cups sliced mushrooms
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 sweet red or green pepper, sliced
1 cup beef stock
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 pkg precooked chinese noodles (450g - the steamed noodles that are in the produce section)
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups bean sprouts
2 green onions, chopped

In wok or large skillet, heat oil over high heat; brown beef and garlic, breaking up meat with spoon, about 5 minutes. Spoon off any fat. Add mushrooms and carrots; cook over med-high heat until mushrooms are tender and liquid is evaporated, about 7 minutes.
Add red pepper, stock, hoisin; bring to boil.
Meanwhile, gently loosen noodles under warm water; drain and add to pan. Whisk cornstarch with 1 tbsp water; stir into pan and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Serve topped with bean sprouts and green onions.

Makes 4 servings; 544 cal, 32g protein, 23g total fat, 53g carbs, 5g fibre From Canadian Living Make It Tonight mag - Fall 2002

and, as always, my couple changes. i doubled this - and probably didn't need to. as i couldn't find the streamed noodles out here in booney-ville, i used another dry chinese noodle, which is probably why there was just so much. we needed to add a bit of hoisin and sriracha sauce at the table to make it to our taste, but ds2 liked it without adding anything. i also just mixed the cornstarch into the stock mixture as it was just easier.
overall - yummy :) there was enough for dh to have seconds, ds1 to have thirds, lunch for all 3 tomorrow, and took a 6-cup container to one of the neighbours for her hubby for his lunch tomorrow.