Korean Beef
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar (I like it sweet so I usually do closer to 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers (to desired spiciness)
salt and pepper
1 bunch green onions, diced (don't skip this!)
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown hamburger with garlic in the sesame oil. Drain most of the fat and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper and red peppers. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions.
If you are like me and use ground ginger instead of fresh ginger, I advise you to learn from my mistake. Do NOT add a half teaspoon of ground ginger. Use a sprinkle. If you really enjoy spicy foods, maybe do two or three sprinkles, but I think the correct ground to fresh ginger ratio is something like 1 to 6. But even with adding a little too much ginger, it was still amazing. Also, I don't have fancy oils, so I used olive oil instead of sesame. No biggy.
Now for dessert.
Oreo Truffles (as learned from my once-roommate Sarah Kay)
1 package Oreos (any kind)
1 package cream cheese, softened
dipping chocolate (I used almond bark)
*Each Oreo used will produce about one truffle. If you'd like to use half the package of Oreos, only use half of the cream cheese.
Step 1: Crush Oreos in a bag or pulse them to smithereens in a blender.
Step 2: Add softened cream cheese to Oreo crumbs. Mix with mixer or with hands. I personally like the lasagna method--sanitize hands and dig in.
Step 3: Form into small balls (smaller than a cookie dough ball, I'd say) on parchment. Freeze for at least twenty minutes.
Step 4: Melt dipping chocolate slowly and stir often, so it does not burn.
Step 5: Dip Oreo balls in melting chocolate. I haven't tried this, but they might come out nicer if you use a toothpick to dip.
Step 6: Put dipped balls back in the freezer for at least a few minutes. Keep frozen until you decide to devour them. Enjoy!