French Onion Salisbury Steak

I hardly ever cook "burger" type things on the stove. When I do fry burger type things it sends me back down memory lane for some reason. I have vague, but pleasant, memories of the smell of frying burgers at mom's house and grandma's house.  We stopped frying when we married dad and learned about bbq'ing.

This recipe was exceptionally good. I loved the onion flavor the burger had as well as the deep flavor the gravy had. I made mashed potatoes to go along side with it, and the gravy over the potatoes was perfect.

French Onion Salisbury Steak
Recipe from Cuisine at Home
Serves 2

Photo courtesy of Cuisine at Home

3/4 lb ground beef
2 T minced fresh parsley
1 T minced scallion
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 T flour, divided
2 tsp olive oil
1 c sliced onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
1 c low sodium beef broth
2 T dry red wine
1/4 tsp dried thyme

Combine ground beef, parsley, scallions, salt and pepper. Shape into two oval patties. Place 2 tsp flour in a shallow dish; dredge each patty in flour.

Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add patties and sauté until browned, about 3 minutes on each side. remove patties from pan.

Add onions to the pan; sauté 5 minutes over medium heat. Stir in garlic and tomato paste; sauté until paste begins to brown, about 1 minute.  Sprinkle mixture with remaining 1 tsp flour and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth and wine and thyme.

Return patties to the pan and bring sauce to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pan and simmer patties in sauce for 10 minutes.

Chicken and Noodles

I've come down with a bit of a cold. Well, almost, I think. My throat is sore and I have what feels like the starts of a stuffy nose.  Oh goody.

Thankfully, I thought, I was making chicken and noodles this week. I thought it was a soup but it turns out it's more of a stew. Which was fine. I could have added more broth to make it a soup if I really wanted, but the stew consistency was just fine.

Super EAST recipe again. I love easy.  And it was tasty. I only made a couple of substitutions in this recipe. My notes on those changes are below.

It calls for already cooked chicken, so its a great recipe for left over chicken.

Chicken and Noodles

Recipe from Cuisine at Home
Serves 2

1 T olive oil
1 T unsalted butter
1 c sliced button mushrooms
1 medium carrot, sliced in coins
1 small russet potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 c sliced leeks (I didn't want to spend $2 on a leek so I used diced onions)
1 T tomato paste
1 T flour
2 c low sodium chicken broth
4 oz Kluski Noodles (dried egg pasta thick noodles) ( I couldn't find Kluski Noodles so I used Reame's Frozen Egg Noodles)
1 c diced cooked chicken
1/2 c frozen peas

Heat oil and butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat and stir in mushrooms, carrot, potato, and leek. Cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste and flour and cook 1 minute, scraping up bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in broth and noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add chicken and peas, cooking until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Taste and add salt/pepper to taste.

Salmon Steaks with Hoisin Glaze

I seem to have a love / hate relationship with salmon. For most of my salmon eating days I make the same recipe.... Slow Roasted Salmon - its easy and quick and oh so good.

This year I wanted to try a couple of salmon recipes I've carried with me for what seems like years.

This recipe seemed it would be something I liked.  It's got hoisin. Which I like. It's got salmon. Which I like. And it's easy. Which I like. So it's a win-win.

I made mashed potatoes with this meal. Odd to me to have potatoes with salmon, but I had a potato that was close to it's last leg.  When I make this again, I'd consider bok choy and rice maybe. That'd be good.

Salmon Steaks with Hoisin Glaze
Recipe from Everyday Food

Photo courtesy of Everyday Food

Serves 4

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice   

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons honey

4 salmon steaks (each 8 to 10 ounces and 1 inch thick)

Coarse salt and ground pepper

Heat broiler. In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, hoisin sauce, and honey.

Rinse salmon steaks, and pat dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Place steaks on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush generously with glaze.

Broil salmon about 4 inches from the heat source, basting once, until opaque in center, 10 to 13 minutes.

Thai Steak Stir-Fry

Two nights in a row I've had Thai.  Last night was a Thai chicken salad that was to....die....for....

Tonight's recipe was good and easy. Two of my favorite things.  I modified it slightly because it doesn't make much sauce. I like sauce. If you are not a sauce person, then don't bother adding my modifications.

Thai Steak Stir-Fry

Courtesy of Everyday Food

Courtesy of Everyday Food
Serves 4

1 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 pound skirt steak, cut against the grain into thin strips

1 pound green beans, trimmed

4 T minced peeled fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 T fish sauce

1 cp fresh basil leaves, torn if large

2 c cooked rice, for serving

In a wok or large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add steak and cook, stirring, until browned, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer steak to a plate. Add green beans, ginger, and garlic and cook, stirring, until green beans are crisp-tender, 5 minutes. Return beef and any juices to pan along with fish sauce and basil. Cook 1 minute. Serve with rice.

My modifications are simple. I mixed about a quarter cup beef broth with 1T soy sauce and then about a T cornstarch. I added that at the end and cooked it until it was thickened.

Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Princess Lori is coming over for dinner tonight to help me with a project tonight. I love cooking for people who love to eat.  Well, I love cooking in general, but especially when I'm cooking for someone who appreciates every bit of it.

I decided to keep it relatively light and make Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce. I had seen this recipe on FB a month or so ago and thought it looked delicious. 

I actually followed this recipe too. Crazy I know.  I grilled the chicken inside because I couldn't get the grill to work outside.  I did the chicken early and put it in the fridge so when I make the salad it'll chilled and the same temp as the salad. Oh I should say I didn't put in the red bell peppers cuz those are gross. But otherwise, I followed the recipe.

Photo from
 mykitchenescapade.com

Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Recipe from MyKitchenEscapade.com
serves 8

Chicken marinade
1/2 C vegetable oil
2 Tb rice vinegar
1/4 C sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
dash of salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - about 2 1/2 pounds total

Salad
2 hearts of romaine, chopped
1/2 large head of napa cabbage, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 carrots, shredded
1 red bell pepper, chopped
5 green onions, chopped
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 C salted peanuts

Dressing (I doubled this part of the recipe. It didn't seem like very much dressing for so  much salad.)
1/4 C rice vinegar
1/4 C Thai sweet red chili sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
pinch of salt and pepper

Peanut Sauce
1/4 C creamy peanut butter
2 Tb soy sauce
1 Tb rice vinegar
1 Tb Thai sweet red chili sauce
2 Tb water

In a ziplock bag, combine all the ingredients for the chicken marinade.  Mush it all around, then place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours to marinade.  Cook the chicken either on a hot grill, 6-8 minutes a side or in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.  Allow it to cool a bit, then chop up all the chicken into bite sized pieces.

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl, except for the peanuts, then add the chicken. Combine all the dressing ingredients then pour over the salad.  Toss until the salad is evenly coated with the dressing.  Dish out the individual servings of the salad.

Stir together the ingredients for the peanut sauce in a small bowl.  If the sauce is too thick to drizzle, add a bit more water.  Generously drizzle the peanut sauce over each serving of salad then top with the peanuts.

"Bring It On" Brisket

If any of you read my normal blog you know I'm a fan of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I like to go to restaurants that host Guy visits and tells us all about.  Because I'm a Guy fan I bought his cookbook.

This is a super easy recipe, but does take a lot of time to cook the meat.  As it should with brisket.  I found this super flavorful and so good I'm moving it to the top of my list of recipes to make again some day soon.

I should mention I did not use brisket.  I found it too expensive for this girl's pocket book right now. So instead I bought a 7-bone pot roast - I figured the type of meat I used in this really wouldn't make that much of a difference.  I gotta say, I'm so glad I went with the 7-bone.  The fat was less, but the flavor was fantastic.


"Bring it on" BRISKET
Recipe from Guy Fieri
Serves 6

4 1/2 - 5 lb beef brisket (I made two 7-bones that was about 7 lbs total and I doubled this recipe)
1 T kosher salt
2 T freshly cracked pepper
2 T canola oil
2 yellow onions, cut into 1" rings
2 leeks, whites and light green parts only, cleaned and cut into thirds
2 shallots, quartered
1 carrot, cut into half lengthwise, then into 1 inch chunks (I put in about 5 carrots cuz I planned on serving them with dinner)
4 celery stalks, cut into thirds
3/4 c Chili Sauce (Guy provides a recipe, but I chose to purchase the jarred Chile Sauce. In fact, I didn't realize Guy provided a recipe until this very moment.)
1/2 c low sodium beef stock
1 12 oz beer, at room temp (Pale ale is what I used)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Rinse the brisket and pat it dry. Season each side with salt and pepper, pressing them into the beef.  In a large cast-iron Dutch oven over high heat, beat the canola oil to the smoking point. Add the beef, fat side down, and sear until browned. Repeat on the other sides, 3-4 minutes per side.

Top the onions, leeks,shallots, carrots and celery. Combine the chili sauce and beef stock and pour over the brisket. Cover and roast in the oven, for 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes.

Add the pale ale, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours more, basting every 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let the brisket rest at room temperature for an hour. [Jenn's Note: Yah, I didn't let it sit for an hour. I let me 7-bone sit for about 20 minutes.]

Remove the brisket from the Dutch oven and set it on a cutting board.. Carefully remove the fat cap with the edge of a fork and discard. Remove the vegetables and run them through a food mill or puree in a food processor. Skim the fat from the pan juices. Add the pureed vegetables back to the Dutch oven with the pan juices. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and heat the sauce over low heat. [Jenn's Note: Again, I didn't do this. I served the veggies on the side AND made a little gravy with the juices from the pan.]

Slice the beef on the diagonal, across the grain, and serve with sauce.

Soy-Lime Marinated Flank Steak

I'm reminded again that using an acid while marinating can cause meat to have a weird texture.

This recipe's flavor was good and tasty but again with the too long in the lime marinade.  It's an easy marinate and one I think would be good with chicken as well.

Soy Lime Marinated Flank Steak
Recipe from WW 50th Anniversary Cookbook
Serves 4

1/4 c reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tsp grated lime zest
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp chili-garlic paste
1 flank steak

Mix all ingredients together except the steak. Let marinate for up to 4 hours.

Cook steak as you choose. I BBQ'd it

Pasta E Fagioli

One of my favorite soups of all time.  I've had a couple different versions of this and they are all pretty close. This one wasn't that all different from the others I've had. 

This makes ALOT of soup.  It serves 8. I tried to make it to just feed two, but it turns out you just can't do it. I made enough for about 4 servings.

Here's the recipe for 8.

Pasta E Fagioli
Serves 8

4 oz bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
2 cans (15.5oz each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
31/2 c low sodium chicken broth
2 1/2 c water
8 oz small shaped pasta
1/4 c minced fresh parsley
2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes.  Stir in the onion, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onion is softened, about  5 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, beans, broth and water. Salt to taste.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Stir in the pasta and cook until just slightly underdone. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle individual bowls with grated parmesan and drizzle of olive oil before serving.

Broccoli with Brown Butter, Paremsan and Walnuts

OMG this recipe was not only easy, but so darn good. Make this side dish. 

I'm not kidding, this recipe really takes broccoli to a nice new level.

Broccoli with Brown Butter, Parmesan and Walnuts
Recipe from Cooking for Two - 2011
Serves 2

2 T unsalted butter
2 T walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 bunch broccoli florets, cut into bit size pieces, stalks trimmed
Salt and pepper
2 T grated Parmesan cheese

Microwave butter in a microwave-safe bowl until melted, about 1 minute. Add nuts and continue to microwave until butter is well browned and walnuts are toasted, 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts water to boil in large saucepan.  Add broccoli and 2 tsp salt and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes.  Drain broccoli, pat dry with paper towels and transfer to bowl. Toss broccoli with butter-nut mixture and parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Cilantro Lime Salmon

I like salmon but I get bored with it quickly. I tend to do the same old "put in the oven and bake".  I have several recipes for salmon and tend to just keep it simple.

This recipe I'm glad I tried. It's super easy and tasty.  I did change it a bit. I'm not a fan of microwaving fish or anything really, so I baked the fish.

Be careful with the garlic - I put in a too big of a clove and the sauce was a bit garlicky. I'm still tasting it.

Cilantro Lime Salmon
Recipe from Taste of Home
Serves 2

Courtesy of Taste of Home

2 T  sour cream
1 green onion, chopped
1 T minced fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/4 tsp grated lime zest
1/8 tsp salt
dash of cumin
dash of pepper
dash of red pepper flakes
2 salmon fillets

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients except the salmon. 

Place fillets skin side down in a greased 1-1/2-qt. microwave-safe dish; top with sour cream mixture. Jenn Note: so I baked the salmon and then topped it with the sauce.

Cover and microwave on high for 4-6 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve with lime wedges

Cubano Chicken with Mustard Sauce

The first time I ever tasted a Cuban Sandwich was in NY.  I don't know if it was the best I'd ever had, but at the time I remember thinking where had that sandwich been all my life.  Now, I try them whenever I can.

Traditionally Cuban Sandwiches are pulled pork, ham, swiss cheese, dill pickles and mustard.  I've had sandwiches that do a spin on those ingredients and have not been disappointed.

This recipe is no different. First it's an open faced sandwich, which is good because it's a lot of food. Second, it calls for chicken instead of pork.  I'm not a HUGE pork fan (or rather pork isn't a fan of me) so this swap made this sandwich possible for me.

It's an easy recipe, and can be done without much knowledge of cooking.  Note though, it does say to marinate the chicken for 15 minutes, don't go much beyond that. The acid in the lime juice will make the chicken icky if it goes much further (Learned that lesson the hard way in another recipe).  Longer does not impart more flavor in this case.

Cubano Chicken with Mustard Sauce
Recipe from Cuisine at Home

Photo courtesy of Cuisine at Home

Makes 4

1/4 c fresh lime juice
2 T grated lime zest (um, don't be like me and squeeze the limes first and then try to zest them. Zest the limes, then juice them...its easier)
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
2T honey
1 T minced red onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp kosher salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
4 pieces thinly sliced ham
1/2 c grated Swizz cheese
1/4 c milk
3T prepared yellow mustard
2T mayo
1T dill pickle relish
4 baguette slices, cut 1 inch thick on the bias
2 T extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Whisk together lime juice, zest, oil, hone, onion, garlic and 1 tsp salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Pound chicken breast to 1/2 inch thickness using a meat mallet (or slice the chicken breasts in half length wise - and pound out the thicken end so it's all one thickness). Place the chicken in a bowl and cover with the marinade. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes.  Jenn note: I actually didn't refrigerate it. I wanted my chicken to be closer to room temp for BBQing, so I left it on the counter while it marinaded.  I put it in a ziploc and flipped the bag once.

Preheat grill to medium high heat. Remove chicken and discard marinade. Grill chicken, covered, over direct heat for 4 minutes. Flip chicken; top each with a piece of ham and 2 T of cheese. Grill  for another 4 or 5 minutes until the chicken is done. Remove from heat and let stand.

While chicken is grilling, in a small saucepan, whisk the milk, mustard, mayo and pickle relish for the sauce. Cook over low heat for about 2 minutes until it's warm.

Coat bread with oil and season with salt and pepper. Toast bread on the grill until it's golden brown.

Serve chicken over grilled bread, drizzled with mustard sauce. Pass the napkins. 

Tomato Garlic Bread

In order to keep my girlish figure, this girl MUST eat bread.  I love, as in big heart love, garlic bread. The only problem is, I get bored with just bread, butter, and garlic. I know? How could one get bored with that, but I tell ya...it happens.

I stumbled onto this recipe in one of my Cuisine at Home cookbooks (my favorite cookbooks) and have made this a couple of times. I was surprised to not find it on the blog, so I'm adding it.

First it's super easy. Second the tomato paste really adds something to the bread. Try it. You won't be disappointed, I promise.

Tomato Garlic Bread
Recipe from Cuisine at Home
Serves 8

Photo from Cuisine at Home

2 T unsalted butter, softened
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 baguette, sliced in half horizontally
minced parsley

Preheat broiler to high heat.

Combine all ingredients except baguette and parsley together in a bowl.

Place bread on a baking sheet, brush mixture over cut side of bread.

Broil 1-2 minutes (don't take your eyes off it). Cut each half into 4 pieces; sprinkle with parsley.