sichuan dry fried green beans

prep time: 10 minutes       cook time: 25 minutes      total time: 35 minutes      4 servings

ingredients
1 lb green beans
1/2 tsp salt
2 T oil
1/4 c ground pork
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 dried red hot peppers
1 tsp chinese cooking wine/shaoxing wine
1.5 tsp soy sauce
a pinch of sugar
1 tsp sesame oil

directions

1. heat your wok over high heat until just starting to smoke, and add the green beans and salt. immediately lower the heat to medium low, and sear the green beans for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. you want to see small scorch marks on the green beans. once the green beans are somewhat tender, take them out of the wok and set aside.
2. heat the oil in your wok over medium high heat and brown the pork. add the garlic and chili, and stir for 30 seconds.
3. toss in the seared green beans, cooking wine, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. crank the heat back up to high and stir-fry for a final minute. serve immediately.

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oreo ice cream cake

prep time: 20-25 minutes       freeze time: 4-5 hours (or overnight for best results)       makes 10-12 servings

ingredients
1 package oreo cookies
4 T butter, melted (for very firm crust, use 6-8 T)
a 1/2 gal. container of vanilla/chocolate ice cream, softened
chocolate syrup
1 8oz. containers of whipped topping, softened

directions

1. crush the oreos into crumbs by running them through a food processor or putting them in a ziplock bag and crushing them. save 1/2 c of crushed oreos for topping.
2. in a small mixing bowl, pour the ziplock bag of crushed oreos in and add the melted butter. stir until evenly coated.
3. spread the oreo/butter mixture into a greased 9″x13″ pan, pressing firmly to form a crust on the bottom of the pan.
4. spoon softened ice cream onto the oreo crust. spread evenly.
5. drizzle chocolate syrup in a thin layer over the ice cream.
6. spread whipped topping on top of the chocolate syrup.
7. sprinkle the reserved oreo crumbles on top of the whipped topping.
8. freeze for at least 4-5 hours or, for best results, overnight.
9. remove from freezer for about 5 minutes to thaw slightly before serving.

source