Marinated London Broil

 

This is an awesome steak marinade. I doubled the recipe for the London Broil, but ordinarily it’s enough for 2 to 3 steaks. You should have all these ingredients on hand, and once you try it I bet you’ll never use another marinade recipe again. This marinade is good for all kinds of steaks.

Steak Marinade

1 T EVOO

1 T Worcestershire

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 T soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp yellow mustard

1/4 tsp pepper

Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Place marinade and steaks into a container and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Marinade steaks over night if possible, but at least for an hour. Steaks also cook best when they are at room temperature, so keep this in mind when marinating and preparing for cooking times. Discard extra marinade or throw it into a saucepan with some mushrooms. Awesome!

To cook the London Broil, get a large skillet really hot and sear both sides of the meat for just a few minutes. Deglaze pan with some red wine (about 1/2 cup). Then take the meat and place under the broiler until done (if needed).

White Bean Turkey Chili

This is a super easy, healthy, and yummy chili. All you have to do is prep the meat and a few veggies and the slow cooker will do the rest for you.

1 lb. ground turkey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

1 lb. dried navy beans, soaked and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced

2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp tarragon

1 tsp pepper

3 cups vegetable broth

1 cup white wine

1 cup heavy cream

1. Saute garlic in some EVOO. Add ground turkey and cook until browned and crumbled.

2. Add meat and the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot.

3. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

This was awesome! One of the truly authentic recipes I’ve been able to make. I served this with my Thai Dragon Noodles but you can easily serve this with rice and it would be fabulous. I also love the fact that it’s a slow cooker recipe so all the work was done for me. All I had to do was enjoy the aroma

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt & pepper

6 green onions, sliced (all of it)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 T EVOO (or sesame oil if you have it)

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

4 tsp cornstarch

1/3 cup water

sesame seeds

1. Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and salt and pepper them, stirring to cover each piece evenly. Place into bottom of slow cooker.

2. Combine onion whites, garlic, honey, ketchup, oil and red pepper flakes. Stir well. Pour over chicken. Cook on low 4 hours, or high for 2.

3. In a small bowl dissolve the cornstarch into the water. Add to crock pot and stir in well. If you’ve been cooking on low then turn heat up to high. Cover and allow to cook another 15 to 20 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken some.

4. Spoon chicken over rice or noodles and top with sesame seeds and scallions (green part of onion).

5. Enjoy!

Thai Dragon Noodles

These noodles are super yummy. You can adjust the heat as much or as little as you want. They went great with my Honey Sesame Chicken and gave me an awesome idea for a Pad Thai recipe (coming soon)! You can use lo mien noodles, or even regular linguine if you’d like, but for an authentic dish try these Thai rice noodles.

8 oz. Thai rice noodles

2 T butter

2 eggs

1/4 tsp red pepper

1 1/2 T brown sugar

3 T soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil (optional)

1 T Sriracha (rooster sauce)

2 green onions, sliced (all of it)

2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. In small bowl mix together soy sauce, the brown sugar, sriracha, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

3. Heat skillet up with the butter and scramble the eggs with the chopped whites of the green onions. Reserve the scallions (green bits) for later.

4. Take eggs out of skillet and set aside. Put sesame oil into hot skillet and do a real quick pan fry of the noodles. Combine eggs and sriracha sauce into the skillet with the noodles.

5. Sprinkle top with scallions and cilantro before serving.

Quinoa, Black Bean & Corn Burritos

I am stoked to share this recipe with you today. After a very loooong week of hardly any cooking and no posting, I am back in the saddle and kicking May off with this awesome vegetarian (and potentially gluten free) tex-mex  meal! These burritos can easily be made with a GF tortilla or even better in corn tortillas and eaten taco style. Enjoy!

1 cup cooked quinoa (1/2 cup quinoa to 1 cup water)

1 T EVOO

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilis, undrained*

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup frozen corn

2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

flour or corn tortillas

If desired: avocado or guacamole, diced tomatoes, chopped lettuce, shredded cheese, taco or hot sauce

1. Heat EVOO in large skillet over medium-high heat and saute the onions, about 3 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook one more minute.

2. Pour in broth and tomatoes. *I used tomatoes that didn’t have chilis in them so I added a can of diced green chilis (4 oz can) but only used 2 oz. It’s up to you how much heat you like. Add in spices (chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt & pepper) and cooked quinoa; stir well to combine.

3. Bring to a boil then lower heat to simmer for about 20 minutes or until mixture thickens.

4. Stir in black beans, corn, lime juice and cilantro, and allow to simmer an additional 5-10 minutes, uncovered.

5. Serve on tortillas with desired toppings. If making burritos I suggest heating up a small pan with some cooking spray and setting the folded burritos in the pan for just a few minutes on each side. This will help keep your tortillas together and it gives it a nice added flavor and texture.

May Menu ~ 2013

You may have noticed that I took a little sabbatical from blogging. I didn’t know I was going to take a break but it was obvious that I needed one. It’s also pretty obvious that I didn’t cook nearly as much of my April menu as I intended and I usually try to make those recipes up the next month, but alas, I probably won’t get to those any time soon. But I do have a whole menu of new and exciting recipes to share, and I appreciate all you wonderful readers and fellow bloggers for coming back to see what I’m cooking

Recipes I’m cooking that I’ve shared before:

Zucchini Noodles,  Cilantro Lime Rice,  Spinach Tomato Feta Frittata,  Cheeseburger Salad,  Black Bean & Steak Taquitos

Recipes I’m working on this month:

Quinoa, Black Bean & Corn Burritos

Fish Cakes with Cilantro-Lime Dip

Mushroom & Peas Pulao

Chicken Enchilada Pasta Bake

Skinny Cheeseburger Casserole

Southwest Chicken & Corn Chowder

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

White Bean Turkey Chili

Marinated London Broil

Cajun Chicken Fritters with Cajun Aioli

Bourbon BBQ Sliders with Garlic Aioli

Southwest Chicken Wraps

Honey-Lime Chicken Skewers

Chipotle Steak Burritos

Tuscan White Bean Soup

Crispy GF Sweet & Sour Chicken

Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup

Crock Pot Short Rib Tacos with Queso

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

 Sides & Other:

Thai Dragon Noodles

Turkey Bacon & Cheddar Potato Cakes

Four Bean Salad

Breakfast Enchiladas

Quinoa Cakes

Slow Cooker Macaroni & Cheese

Desserts:

Gooey Butter Bars with Fresh Strawberries

Mini Apple Tarte Tatin

Strawberry Tart with Basil Cream

Vanilla-Coconut Rice Pudding

Lemon Cake with Raspberries and Yogurt Frosting

Poached Salmon with Sour Cream Dill Dressing

This poached salmon recipe has been sorely neglected. Once a staple in our house, it was replaced by the BBQ Salmon, and even more recently the Dijon Dill Salmon, and so I haven’t prepared salmon this way in years.

But this is good. Like really, really good. If you like salmon. And the dressing is heavenly. It makes everything better. In fact, this dressing is great on a variety of things including raw veggies and baked potatoes. It’s a thick dressing, but it melts easily and mixes in well with chunks of juicy veggies like tomatoes. But you absolutely have to try it on your salmon. Promise.

Poached Salmon

3 lb filet of salmon*

EVOO

2-3 stalks celery

1 medium onion, sliced

1 T capers

1 T lemon juice

2 T dill weed

salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350* and cut a large piece of heavy-duty foil (about twice the size of your baking dish.

2. Wash and dry your salmon. *I use individual filets without skin and make one per person.

3. Wash your celery and cut into large chunks, including leaves. Slice onion. Arrange celery and onion on the bottom of the baking dish (on top of the center of the foil), leaving a few extra pieces for the top.

4. Place the salmon on top of the veggies (skin side down). Sprinkle liberally with EVOO over each piece (about 2 tsp each) then a bit of lemon juice and salt and pepper. *Fresh lemon slices are wonderful on this dish but if you don’t have any bottle lemon juice will work.

5. Sprinkle the dill and the capers over it all and then put any extra onions and celery pieces on top.

6. Fold the foil over and seal the top and the sides, creating a pillow. Bake for about 30 minutes. *Salmon will be tender and moist.

Sour Cream & Dill Dressing

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sour cream

1 tsp dill weed

2 T minced onion

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 T lemon juice

1/4 tsp white pepper

1. Combine everything and taste. Add salt & pepper as needed.

2. Refrigerate at least an hour. Makes 1 cup.

Cheesy Stuffed Zucchini with Ragu

I’ve noticed a few Facebook and Pinterest re-posts going around for something very similar to this. It seems to happen occasionally that I’ll put something on my menu plan and several weeks later when I’m finally getting to it it’s already hit the blog circuit. Does this mean I have awesome food instincts??

Yeah…unlikely, I know.

Well, whatever it is, I can’t be too far off the foodie path, I just wish sometimes that I had something with a little “wow” factor. Hopefully this will make someone happy, as it did me. I found this recipe through TLC’s Take Home Chef, but I had to adapt it quite a bit as I’ve noticed that chef Curtis Stone likes to really stretch his culinary skills and I’m just a bit of an underachiever most days

1 T EVOO

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup red wine

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

2 tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

1 tsp basil

salt & pepper

extra zucchini, chopped*

3 zucchini

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

3/4 cup grated or shredded mozzarella

1/2 grated Parmesan cheese

pepper

1. To get the ragu started it’s best if you have about an hour. First saute the onions in the EVOO, then add it to the diced tomatoes, extra zucchini, and the wine, with 1 tsp thyme and the bay leaf, over medium-high heat and reduce it by a third. Sauce will be thickened. (20-30 minutes)

2. Meanwhile, cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and spoon out the seeds. If the zucchini are still a bit hard inside just run a sharp knife down each side and score it a little. This will help when scooping out the seeds. *Also, if your zucchini are different lengths, you can cut them all the same and chop up the excess for the ragu, other wise I highly recommend you chopping up a fourth, smaller, zucchini to add to the sauce. It’s just a tomato sauce without it, and while it’s still good, the zucchini really adds something to it.

3. Combine the tomato sauce to your ragu along with the remaining tsp of thyme and the basil. Salt and pepper to taste and allow to simmer, stirring often, for another 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350*. Combine the three cheeses together in a small bowl using a fork. Season  with pepper, and mound the cut-side of the zucchini with the cheese mixture.

5. Lightly spray a 7 x 11 baking dish. Spoon the ragu into the bottom of the dish and place the stuffed zucchini on top. Bake for 20 minutes. Then broil for an additional 10 minutes. Zucchini will be tender but if you prefer them more cooked through try pre-cooking them a bit before assembly or leaving it in the oven at 250* for an extra 15-20 minutes.

I served this over Parmesan Couscous and it was amazing. A very satisfying vegetarian and, if you serve it with rice, a gluten-free meal.

Amazing Cashew Chicken

Yay for the slow cooker! This awesome Asian -inspired meal is super easy and really, really good. It only takes a minimal  bit of prep work and then the crock pot does the rest of the work for you. I served this over brown rice with some chicken broth-steamed broccoli. Delicious!

Cashew Chicken

3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup unbleached flour

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 T sesame oil or EVOO

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 T white vinegar*

2 T white balsamic vinegar*

1/4 cup  ketchup

1 1/2 T brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup cashews**

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Combine flour and black pepper into a bowl or ziplock bag and toss the chicken thoroughly. Brown the chicken about 2 or 3 minutes on each side.

2. Whisk soy sauce, vinegars (*you can substitute 1/4 cup white rice vinegar) ketchup, sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes together until combined.

3. Place browned chicken in sprayed crock pot and pour the soy sauce mixture over it. **You can add the cashews now or toward the end, either is fine.

4. Cook on low for 4 hours. Stir occasionally.

5. Serve over rice.

              

Poor Man’s Mongolian Beef

This was sooooo good! Who would have thought you could get so much flavor from regular old ground beef, and feel like you’ve just ordered from a top-notch Chinese restaurant? Make this soon. You will love it. Seriously. Soon.

2 lb. lean ground beef (nothing less than 85%)

3 T sesame oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 cup soy sauce, or more to taste

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 cup green onions, sliced, greens too

1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, or more to taste

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

4 cups cooked rice

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the beef in the sesame oil with the garlic. Cook and stir often until the meat is browned. Allow to simmer so most of the juices and oil are absorbed.

2. Add the ginger, soy, brown sugar, cayenne, wine, vinegar, peanut butter, pepper, and salt. Combine well. Simmer for several minutes for the flavors to fuse together. Toss in a small handful of the onion whites and simmer.

3. Serve over warm rice and top with chives (green part of onion stalk).