Because every mom loves chocolate....

The other night my girlfriends came over for an impromptu dinner, which are my favorite kind of dinners! I like the last minute girlie dinner dates because if planned in advance my brain swirls around with all the different things I want to make and I really have a hard time deciding. So, if it’s a last minute thing I have to cook the way I truly enjoy-simple, easy and with what I have on hand.

So this week dinner was an Asian noodle stir-fry (recipe on the last posting!) with tofu, red peppers, snow peas and rice noodles. Yum. And for dessert the girls brought over the goods for a sundae bar. Double yum. So I decided to throw together a hot fudge sauce to make the sundaes extra special.  Let me tell you- make sure you send the extra sauce home with your friends because you will eat any leftover fudge straight from the fridge with a spoon!

As I was pouring the fudge into to-go containers for the ladies I thought-“I am going to make another big batch of this hot fudge, pour into cute glass jars, tie a ribbon around it and give it to the sweet mommies in my life!”  So, hopefully this super duper easy recipe will inspire you to give your mom a homemade gift to help celebrate her special day.

Hot Fudge

• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I prefer Scharffenberger bittersweet, but it can be a bit too dark for some people’s taste!), chopped
• 2 T. unsalted butter
• 1 T. liquor of choice (chambord, grand marnier, rum, bailey’s or just vanilla)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine whipping cream, honey, brown sugar, cocoa powder and half of the chocolate in a small saucepan.  Simmer over medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes until the chocolate is melted and the fudge is bubbling.
2. Remove from heat, add the remaining chocolate, unsalted butter and liquor.  Whisk together until chocolate is melted and sprinkle a touch of sea salt into the sauce.
3. Allow to cool a bit before serving.

Girls night in....

Tonight was a last minute girls get together. And in the middle of my menu brainstorming one of my friends sent me a text that read- “can you make those really good noodles I like?” I immediately knew what she was speaking of!  This dish is one of my go to meals during the week, usually because I have all the ingredients on hand.  You can change the protein to whatever you would like-leftover roasted chicken, cubed tofu, sliced pork tenderloin.  And even though this dish is quick to throw together, the flavors lend it to multiple layers of deliciousness.  Salty from the butter sub, sweet from the brown sugar, spicy from the siracha and fresh from the herbs. It’s an all in one pan kind of dish, which the token family dishwasher will appreciate!  I hope you try it next time you’re craving chewy rice noodles (with a delicious sauce and lots of crunchy vegetables…yum!)

Ingredients

-8 oz. (1/2 lb.) rice noodles, cook according to package instructions

-1 lb. skirt steak, sliced thinly against the grain

-3" piece ginger, grated

-8 cloves garlic, minced

-1 piece lemongrass (remove 4-5 outer leaves, trim bottom and cut top down so you are left with about a 3-4" piece, slice thinly and slowly-lemongrass is really tough- and then mince)

-1 bunch green onions, minced

-4 T. vegan butter substitute (I use earth balance soy free)

-4 T. packed brown sugar

-1/2 lb. snow peas, cut in half

-1 red pepper, julienned (cut into long strips)

-1/2 cup fresh mint, minced

-1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced

Directions

Make beef marinade-2 T. oil, half of the minced green onions, 1 t. grated ginger, 1/4 of the lemongrass, salt and pepper.  Mix together, pour over beef in baggie and let marinade at least 1 hour.  Remove from marinade and then pat dry.

Heat large saute pan over medium heat.  Add a touch of oil and then saute the beef until just not pink anymore.  Remove to plate.

Add the butter sub to the pan and melt.  Add the brown sugar and stir.  Cook 1-2 minutes until brown sugar is dissolved into the butter sub.  Add the remaining chopped green onions, the remaining lemongrass, garlic and ginger.  Stir.

Add the vegetables and stir into sauce, saute 3-4 minutes until a bit softer.

Add the beef, mint and cilantro and stir to combine.  Add the rice noodles and use tongs to combine all ingredients and coat noodles with sauce.

*-I like to add lots of siracha (spicy chili sauce) to mine* sometimes a squeeze of fresh lime juice is also tasty :)

Enjoy!